Excalibur's Seven - Chapter 20: Chapter 20

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN obvious. Every sign made itself clear to Lord Herwerde, but he chose not to see it. Somehow, the young Prince saw it before he did, he was sure, making off with the Seelie, their only chance to avenge the King.
When he returned to the castle empty-handed, he knew Kit was right. He did everything he could to hide who had rescued the Seelie, but he was not the only man there the night the Princess was rescued. Prince Kristofer was now a wanted man, no matter how he tried to prevent it.
He searched high and low for the prince when his child came to the castle, knowing he would be safest if he were as far from the King as he could get. All he could do now was hope he made the right decision.
Herwerde, however, had no real escape plan. All he could do was stay alive.
The Lord was silent as he sat at the Table with King Wylan and the other Knights, discussing a course of action. Just yesterday they found the Prince in a town near the capitol, but he got away by some miracle. They refused to say what that miracle was, likely out of pride, but one way or another, the boy and his companions got away.
They had nothing now, and Lord Herwerde could only foolishly hope it stayed that way. His baseless hope was short-lived, though, when Prince Connor stepped through the doors.
"We have received word that they are in Faerie," he announced, seating himself beside the King. "They've obtained invitations to the midsummer ball, which is apparently a big Seelie celebration."
Herwerde's fists clenched as they rested on his lap. He wished he could find some way to warn them.
"Excellent," King Wylan bellowed. "Connor, take your pick of five guards. You leave at nightfall."
If only he had some way to warn them.
It wasn't always easy for one faerie to trick another. They knew each other's tricks, they were all clever creatures. It was hard to manipulate their own kind. Giselle, however, had spent a lot of time with Unseelies, the trickier of the major courts, and she was dealing with diplomatic Seelies.
That's how she managed to pull six invitations, for five humans and an Unseelie, at that. All it took was a little exaggerating of her rescue and capitalizing on their relief that she had returned.
When she returned to Morgana's cottage in the morning, she was shocked to see him up and moving, the color back in his cheeks and his limp hardly noticeable. His remedy never worked that fast, she had to wonder what changed.
What shocked her even more, though, was Kit helping him pleasantly as he prepared a meal at the stove, not a word of contention between the two. Granted, they weren't saying anything at all to each other, but at least they weren't bickering.
"You look brand new," she told Morgana.
"I got help," he told her, and she could only guess what that help was, eyes flickering to the prince. "I told you I would be fine, Giselle. You don't have to worry yourself so much."
"You can't make me," she teased.
The door swung open then, revealing the Lady in casual attire, flyaways sticking to her forehead with sweat as she carried two large buckets filled with water.
"Giselle, you're back!" she said brightly, leaning in to kiss her cheek as she passed to set the buckets at Morgana's feet.
Giselle closed the distance to properly kiss her, to the surprise of absolutely no one in the room.
"Did you get the invitations?" Selene asked through labored breathing.
The Seelie grinned, pulling six envelopes from her pocket. "I said I would, didn't I?"
Selene swept her up into her arms and spun her around. "You're a lifesaver, Princess."
Morgana pulled away from his task to narrow his eyes at Giselle. "How in God's name did you manage that?"
"I just bat my pretty eyes and told them how you all saved my precious life. 'Anyone brave enough to bring our dear Spring Princess back is worthy of our celebration,'" she quoted with a mocking accent.
The corners of his lips quirked up. "Good work, Your Highness."
Once the princess was settled in again, they ate a meal consisting of exactly no fish, then they began to plan their mission for the next shard.
The Foraoise Dorcha was the darkest wood in the Unseelie region. Few things were known of it, but one thing was certain--no one with a brain stepped foot beyond those twisted, evil trees.
"We need to know more about the forest," Morgana said. "There's a library in town. There's bound to be something about the forest there, and maybe we'll get a hint, at least an idea of where to start looking."
Chalice's eyes lit up, ever fond of a good book. Giselle admired their sharp mind, their unending curiosity. That was a strong Sídhe value, she was sure they would be welcomed by her people, especially the intellectual Summer Folk.
"How many days until the ball?" Kit asked.
"Three," said Giselle. "If we hurry, we'll have enough time to search, get the shard, and return in time to get ready. That's as long as we leave for the shard tonight. We'll be expected to look dashing for the ball."
Morgana was already making his way to the door. "Then we'll have to leave now," he told them. "I expect we'll be searching for awhile."
The trip to the village wasn't short, but they got there while the sun was still high in the sky. Despite being a Winter faerie, Morgana lived in the Autumn kingdom, as his mothers who adopted him were both of the Autumn Court. Giselle was glad for this, because at least there was no snow to trudge through.
"We're here," Morgana said as they stepped through into the village.
It was bustling with life, a fountain in the center where children tossed coins, while others played hopscotch on the uneven cobblestone ground. Adults moved back and forth between stands and shops and conversation with one another.
The trees around the village were brightly colored, reds and yellows and warm oranges that filled the square, and they were everywhere. Giselle liked to step on the leaves that fell to see which ones would crunch beneath her feet, and pick up the large ones that were still fresh and alive to keep with her.
She found two beneath a dark red tree and handed one to Selene, who took it with a smile and tucked it into her hair. The villagers all stared at the Princess as she passed through, but Giselle only had eyes for her Knight.
Finally, they found the library. It was a tall building, and it smelled of spices and fresh apples. The interior was filled with beautiful dark wood and lit by tall windows and a dashing chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The village wasn't rich by any means, but the library was clearly a sacred space worthy of their investment.
"Search for anything about the forest," Morgana instructed. "Even if it's a children's tale. Clearly, those can still be useful."
They went to work then, searching through shelf by shelf for anything that might have even a shred of information on the forest. There were a lot which spoke of the creatures there, some spoke of the flora. Not many spoke of the lore, though there were several spoken legends of the forests that most Fair Folk knew.
None of them gave a single clue of where to look, though. At least, most of them didn't.
"I think I've got something," Chalice announced. They held up a book of religions of the Sídhe, to which Giselle furrowed her brow. She wasn't surprised, though. It was not unlike Chalice to look where no one else would think to look, and most of the time, they were right. Giselle thought it a useful skill, to know what questions to ask and where to look for the answers.
"This says that long ago, a small collection of Unseelie found a strange jewel after getting lost in these woods. They believed it to be from the goddess Cailleach, who rules over the Unseelie seasons." They paused to whisper something under their breath, perhaps praise to the goddess they spoke of, before continuing on.
"Apparently they made a temple in the woods, where they believed they would be protected there so long as they worshipped her jewel." They pulled out a scroll they found, a map of the Unseelie kingdom.
"In our book, it says the shard was brought to a lake in the woods, guarded by a protectress of stone. I can only assume it's this lake, the only one that's been recorded to be in The Foraoise Dorcha." They rolled the scroll back up.
"Good work, Chalice," Giselle said. "We should head on now while we still have sun."
They took the scroll and the book, promising their return to the library, and the seven of them left for the woods once more.
Chalice and Morgana took the lead, Selene and Giselle taking up the back. Kit and Eurion stood on either side of Lionel to keep him protected. The woods were deadly and unpredictable, and human children were especially endangered in Faerie. Their positions were fully intentional.
They were already in thick wood when they arrived at the border of The Foraoise Dorcha. They could feel the dark magic infused with the life within it. The trees were as deadly as the wicked pixies hidden within the tops of the trees, and the nymphs disguising themselves in the grass, waiting for their chance to take.
"Here goes nothing," Morgana muttered, and Chalice recited a prayer, before the two took a step forward.
Giselle clutched Selene's hand, Kit gripping his son's, and they stepped through into the suffocating magic of The Foraoise Dorcha.
She felt her hair standing on end. The forest was beautiful, with bright green vines and flowers the size of her face, but she didn't trust it. No one did.
They were slow as they descended into a denser part, where the trees were so close together that hardly any light shone down. Fog covered the ground, curling up their feet, whispering things she couldn't understand, though she knew exactly what they were saying.
There were pockets of light here and there, but Giselle knew what they were. They were deceptions, a beacon of hope where an unknowing traveler might go for freedom from the clutches of the dark. But she knew of the things hidden in those meadows, of the beasts waiting to attack.
They stuck to the dark, moving slow enough not to alert the creatures waiting, but quick enough not to provide them with an easy strike. They walked until the moon replaced the sun and they finally broke away from the endless darkness of the clustered trees.
She knew better than to feel relieved, though. The moon gave the Unseelie power, and where the trees were further apart, the creatures had more of its light. If anything, they were more vulnerable here than they were in the dark.
They walked on, staying close together, clutching to each other for safety. No one said a word, but no one had to. They were all terrified, all on edge, like they were just waiting for something to happen, to jump out at them from nowhere.
Morgana froze then, and Giselle could feel what he did only moments after. There was something there with them, something more vicious than nymphs or pixies. She held Selene tighter.
And then came the sound.
It was an aching cry, a horrifying scream, one that filled the whole woods around them, coming from no single direction. It filled Giselle's chest with dread and pulled tears from stoic Selene's eyes. It was a mournful sound, a sound no one with a person they loved ever wanted to hear.
The sound was a warning, a cry of fate. No one ever hoped to hear the screams of a banshee, for a banshee only foretold one thing.
A banshee foretold death, and this one was no different.