On Fallen Wings (7 page)

“Thank you.”

I opened my eyes. While we waited for the answer, a raindrop hit me on the forehead.

Raisa lifted her arms and called out to us. “Faeries have spoken. The terms are accepted.”

Gaelle marked the parchment.

Another raindrop hit the top of my hand.

Gaelle rolled the scrolls, tied the leather binding, and replaced them under the altar. As she sealed the stone with her star key, a high-pitched rustle, like a thousand birds fluttering their wings at once, shook the leaves above us. A flash awakened the sky.

I closed my eyes and cringed as thunder rocked the temple. Despite my efforts to hide, it reached inside and shook my soul, all in an instant, before rumbling away. When I looked up, a wave of icy rain covered us in showering sparkles. I held out my arms, smiling—although soaked and cold—and enjoyed the display of nature’s acceptance to our council. Many around me did the same. It was a magical moment.

Raisa spoke, but I couldn’t hear. Her voice was drowned by the clashes of the raindrops in the temple. She motioned to the forest and, one-by-one, the Fae hustled into the aspen trees. I was in the middle of the group, following the crowd of white and gold. When we arrived at the edge of the forest, the other women ran toward the village, covering their heads with their hands and arms. Exposed to the wind, I wrapped my thin shawl close, but the biting reaches of nature mocked its meager protection.

Madeline found me, offered the added protection of her own shawl, wrapped me close, and together we headed home.

Messages

The next morning, after breakfast, I stood near our stable, emptying a bag of oats into the troughs that lined the meadow fence. Morning chores were a part of life in Aisling. Leila usually helped me provide feed and fresh water for the horses while Ethan worked with my father at the barn. I had bundled myself under a thick sweater and wore wool leggings under my work dress. It was a cold morning.

“Oh, this hurts today.” Leila stretched her arms wide and twisted her neck sideways. “The early cold is bothersome.”

I shook the dust off an empty sack and tossed it onto a pile at the back corner of the stable. “Stop complaining,” I told her. “You should have been in the rain yesterday.”

“I was,” she retorted, flashing a glare back at me. “I had to do the work while you were at the council. Father told Ethan to help me, but he spent the day chasing horses.”

“I’m sorry,” I told her blithely, not really meaning my words. I grabbed an empty bucket. “The gathering was important. I couldn’t miss it.”

“What is it like at the temple?” asked Leila. “Is it magical?”

I smiled. Yesterday had felt magical. “It’s special,” I told her. “Sacred. It’s as if all the peace in your dreams were bundled into one place. I love it.” I allowed my words to linger in the air as I caught tiny memories of the peace they brought. All too soon, the day found me again, and I left through the stable door, hustled toward our little well, and filled the bucket with water.

When I arrived back at the stable, Leila had an armful of hay. She was almost to the long row of troughs. “Rhiannon—look!” She dropped the hay and pointed behind me.

Ethan was running from the house, waving his arms and yelling. “Hey. Hey, come here.”

I set down the bucket while Leila brushed past me, calling. “Ethan, what’s wrong?”

My brother was running too fast and knocked Leila over when he tried to stop. Normally, I would have laughed, but his momentum carried them both into me, knocking me into the pile of hay that Leila had dropped.

“Go to the house, quick,” said Ethan, scrambling off us and to his feet. “There’s a messenger.”

I stared at Leila for a moment, forgetting to be upset. We bounced off one another and scrambled toward the house. I arrived there first and shoved open the back door.

“What’s wrong?” I called out, stumbling inside.

Leila and Ethan were close behind. Together, they bumped roughly into me—again.

The messenger stood next to the table in the dining room, drinking from a goblet and nodding to my parents. I had seen him before. His name was Gavin Tully, and although older than Ethan, he was shorter—and thin. He wore the amber tunic of a messenger, and his light red hair lay flat against his head, giving him the look of a large bug.

“Gavin has a message for you,” said Father, grinning between gulps of liquid.

“Is it bad news?” I panted, out of breath from my wild run. I didn’t expect the news to be bad, but wanted instant proof that something exciting was happening.

“No.” Gavin’s voice cracked. “I have a message from Sean Bauer.”

The mention of his name made me smile. “Yes?” I leaned closer to the boy. “What is it?”

Gavin straightened—in an obvious attempt to look taller—while Ethan crowded next to him. “Sean would like your blessing,” he said. “He wants to visit.”

I stepped back, surprised. “Of course,” I answered. “He doesn’t need my permission.” I glanced at Mother and then back at the boy. “Why did he send you? He could have come without an invitation.”

I expected Gavin to respond with a shrug, one of Ethan’s favorite tricks for avoiding answers, but the boy responded with the confidence of someone twice his age. “Sean has an important message for you. He wanted to display his respect for tradition, and his future family.” Gavin looked around, proudly, and smiled.

I grinned back. Sean’s gesture made him regal and proper. Messengers were sent on rare occasions—usually for urgent business of the Elders or the Fae. Some of the aged villagers, insisting on tradition, would send them, but it was expensive. This was a moment worth remembering.

“Gavin?” asked Mother, reaching out her hand. “If Rhiannon accepts Sean’s request for a visit, will you please ask him to come for dinner?”

I cut in. “Yes—yes, he may come.” I turned to Mother, then I scowled. “Dinner will be so late,” I said. “Remember, the order of the Fae. No one may go out alone past dusk.”

Mother nodded at me and then walked back toward Father, who snorted gruffly. She grabbed one of his hands and began stroking his fingers. “I remember the rule,” she said, softly. “Today, we will eat early.” She leaned close to Father. “Soon after midday, when he arrives.”

My heart echoed my joy with tiny little beats, like the wings of a hummingbird. “That’s settled.” I turned back to Gavin. “Will you please invite Sean to a meal here after midday?”

“And hurry,” added Leila, smiling at the boy. She rushed toward him and handed him an apple. “Please?”

“Y—Yes, okay,” Gavin answered, accepting her offer. His voice cracked again as he turned to leave.

Ethan rushed down the hall and opened the door for him.

“Goodbye, Gavin,” called out Mother. She continued stroking Father’s fingers. “I’ll work on a meal right away,” she whispered.

Once the booming sound of the front door closing echoed back into the large room, I turned toward the large glass window and stared at the field. “I’ll finish the chores quickly,” I said, staring at Father. “I’ll do them all.”

“Yes, you will,” he answered, plainly. He watched me for a moment and then exposed his big yellow teeth in a smile. “The last several days have been exciting for you,” he said. “These are days to remember, Rhiannon. They are days to remember.”

Then the moment caught me. I rushed to my parents and reached around them, pulling myself close to them in a hug. “I love you both.” I released my warmth into them and accepted theirs.

~ O ~

The morning passed in rapid pace while the sun tried to warm us. Leila and I worked quickly and finished the last of the chores. Even she seemed excited for the visit, offering more help than I was used to receiving. After wiping my face and hands clean at the well, I rushed around the stable and back toward the house.

Smells of carrots, sweet pork, and biscuits greeted me at the door. I paused to inhale, and waved to Mother in the kitchen before rushing upstairs. In my room, I shut the door and scrambled to my closet. While digging for the perfect dress, I untied the leather string on the one I wore and slipped it under my shoulders, allowing it to fall to the ground.

Where is it?
I slipped out of my boots—they were soiled from the work outside—and kicked them against the wall. Locating the green gown I wanted, I held it against the light from the window. While I lifted it over my head, pounding rocked my bedroom door.

“Rhiannon?”

The dress fell down around my shoulders. Through the folds, I caught sight of Leila at the door. I quickly wriggled my arms into the sleeves.

“Sean is here.”

“I’m not ready.”

Leila laughed while watching me wrestle into my clothes. “Father almost let him come up to get you. That would have been a surprise for him.”

“He wouldn’t!” Blood rushed to my face. “Did he?”

Leila disappeared behind the door.

“Hey—Leila, come back.” I twisted more in the dress to get the fit right. “Hey!”

Leila pushed open the door. “I’m still here. No—” She twisted the word. “Father wouldn’t let Sean come up. You know that.”

Relieved, I smiled and tossed a slipper at my sister. “Good. Get in here and help me with my hair.”

Leila grabbed my brush from the windowsill and danced around me for a moment. “Ugh,” she said, “there’s too much straw.” She tugged at the back of back of my head.

“That’s why you’re helping me,” I said, wincing as she pulled again. “There wouldn’t be if you hadn’t knocked me into the hay. Will you straighten my dress in the back?”

After frantic grooming, and many painful pulls from Leila, I examined myself in the small mirror on my dresser. I grabbed my silver strand necklace and attached its clasp, before straightening it low on my neck. Then, pulling an errant lock of hair aside and moistening my lips, I resigned any efforts to improve.

“You’re perfect. Sean will love you.”

“He already does,” I said, smiling. “Toss me my green slippers.”

Leila slid my shoes across the floor, and I stepped into them with grace before scrambling down the narrow steps toward the front door.

“Surprise!” Sean’s brother, Cael, poked his head around the wall corner.

Startled, I screamed and froze in place. Unprepared for my abrupt stop, Leila ran into my back and knocked me forward into the front door.

“You were taking forever,” Cael laughed. “I almost came up to find you.”

“My father would have pounded your head until you were shorter,” I said curtly. My face smarted from the impact with the door. The fright he had given me was quickly being replaced by annoyance. “What are you doing here?”

Before Cael could answer, Sean called me from the dining room. “Hey, Rhiannon, are you coming?”

I brushed past Cael and skipped down the hall. When I reached my fiancé, I leapt into his welcoming arms.

“Wow,” said Sean, stepping back after releasing me. “You’re beautiful at midday.” He took a long slow breath. “And you smell wonderful, like flowers.”

Leila giggled, then rushed to the kitchen after Mother glared. They both returned to the dining room with metal plates and goblets. I reluctantly released Sean’s hand and went to the counter to retrieve the platter of steaming roast. Despite protests from Mother, Sean followed me. He grabbed a bowl of biscuits.

“You don’t have to help,” I whispered.

“I know,” said Sean. “I owe you after the other night. Pretend I baked these.”

His answer made me grin. The questioning glance Leila gave us made me beam.

My family and our two guests gathered around the table and ate the early meal. It felt different to see daylight while eating—like the Sun Season had never passed. Cael, who was nestled on the bench between Ethan and Leila, dodged repeated pokes and prods from my giggling siblings. I held my smile, but was happy to see him punished for his rudeness.

“We enjoyed the messenger, Sean,” said Mother, after a long drink. “I didn’t know that you could be traditional and proper.”

“This is a special occasion.” Sean glanced around the table, waited, and then smiled at me. “I’m leaving tomorrow—at dawn.”

I missed a breath.

While I stared at Sean, waiting for his words to amend, the room spun out of focus. The words never changed, and the room kept spinning.

“What?” My voice cracked.

Sean coughed before speaking again. “I am starting my quest in the morning,” he told me. “I need to find you a white horse, remember?”

I squeezed Sean’s hand tight and stared into his eyes, pleading with mine for him to stay, at least for a while longer. I hadn’t expected him to leave so soon, and it shocked me. I couldn’t speak. It was my own demand that was taking Sean away. Sean’s face wavered in the tears that welled up in my eyes until they overflowed.

Father broke the silence. His voice thundered in my head like a tree branch crashing to the ground. “Where do you plan on searching, Sean?” He gnawed casually on a carrot.