Excalibur's Seven - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

THERE WAS A MULTITUDE of emotions that flooded the druid's chest at the mention of the Unseelie Queen. The first, fear, obviously. But then curiosity. She was such a mystery, what if she wasn't all they said she was? Unseelies were no worse then Seelies, it was just a myth that they were more wicked than their lively counterparts.
After that came excitement. If they were truly going to go visit Queen Mab, maybe they would come back with an answer. They'd figure out whether she was truly all legend said she was. Chalice didn't even know what she looked like, and they found themself eager to find out.
"When do we leave?" they asked, breaking the silence that had followed Giselle and Kit's announcement. "And, um, what will we do about Morgana?"
"We'll bring extra guards," Giselle answered, easing up that concern at least a little. Morgana had always been a tricky fellow, but now that he was properly against them, he was more dangerous than he'd ever been before.
"We're going once we're all back in shape for an adventure," Kit carried on. "That means good rest and full meals. Morgana will be getting the same."
Chalice didn't miss the pale look that fell over his face when he said that, and they had to wonder why that was. Kit often spoke of Morgana like a rival denying an underlying fondness would, but this time, he spoke of him like he was truly disturbed.
It didn't take a genius to observe the way Kit looked at Morgana before, it must've hurt him and Giselle the most to watch him change his loyalties. Kit didn't seem the type to just let go of feelings like that.
"I trust that includes you, too, Kristofer," Selene said pointedly.
"Of course it does," he answered, but Chalice could see the dodgy look in his eye. He had no intention of sleeping.
"I can watch him," Chalice piped up, catching his attention. "If that's what you're worried about. I can rest and pay full attention to him at the same time. Even if you don't trust the guards, you can trust me."
Kit's features relaxed. "Are you sure? If he tries anything--"
"I've got a good eye for faerie tricks, Kit, you can count on me." They gave him a smile, which he did his best to return.
"I think this means we should get ready for dinner," Giselle announced. "All of you, clean yourselves up." She took a deep breath. "My mother will be joining us."
The princess left after that, taking Selene and the boy with her. That left Kit and Eurion, but the thief went out after them, presumably to get ready to meet the Queen.
"Selene talked to everyone else," they said. "But you haven't had a moment to get yourself together." They patted the bed, eyes following Kit as he joined their side. "Talk to me."
He didn't say anything for awhile. They thought he wouldn't say anything at all, but he finally did, right before they could take their invitation back.
"Everyone keeps telling me it's not my fault," he said, looking down at his battered palms. "But it is. Some of it, at least. I'm imperfect, Chalice, I wish people would let me admit that. I made a mistake. I'm right to feel bad about it. Selene is happy to tell me all the things wrong about me, but no one is letting me feel like I messed this all up."
"You did," Chalice agreed, taking him by surprise. "You did mess this up, and your mistake cost everyone a lot.  But you already know that. So now what are you going to do about it? Wallowing certainly won't help."
Kit looked at them with a twinkling look in his eye. "I'm gonna... I'm gonna make it right. As right as I can make it. There's nothing I can do to make up for the lives my mistake has cost, but I'm gonna make right what I can."
"That's right," Chalice said, patting his knee. "And the first step to doing that is taking a bath and eating a full meal, and then going to sleep because you need it more than anyone else."
Kit kept looking at them funny, and they felt a pit of dread settle in their stomach when he started leaning in. They were about to shove him away, but were overcome by a sense of relief when all he did was wrap his arms around them, pulling them into a warm embrace.
"Erm--" Their hands awkwardly sat on his shoulder blades, eyes staring up at the ceiling. They were still incredibly unfamiliar with this new hugging territory.
"Thank you," Kit said, giving them one last squeeze before pulling away and rising to his feet. "Thank you, for everything you've done. You're a wonderful friend, Chalice."
"Of course," they replied with a nod of their head an a tight smile. They weren't trying to be a profound shrink of any sort, but they seemed to have done something right, so they let him be grateful.
As soon as the prince was gone, they were alone to search their satchel. They had a spare change of clothes, and they scooped it up and stepped into the washroom. The tub was already filled, so they just locked the door and stripped, slipping into the lukewarm water.
They took in a lungful of air and slid down beneath the surface, letting their mind clear. They focused on the nothingness, kept themself anchored on it, and then let the messages come.
The first thing they saw was the lake of Fells. They couldn't see anything else, not the village or the nearby fields or the mountains in the distance. All they saw was the lake.
The only place they could look was down and into the waters. They dared to swim into them, but it was just as dark as they thought it would be.
"Swim deeper," said a voice.
"I can't."
"You can. Take a breath and swim deeper."
"It's water, I breathe air."
"But you can breathe water, you've done it before."
"I thought that was one of you. I've never done it before all this started."
"Well, have you ever tried?"
Chalice shot back up, panting and wiping the water from their eyes. They had no idea how long they were in there, but judging by their pruning fingertips and the fists pounding on the door, they figured it was a lot longer than it felt.
"I'm coming!" they called out to the nurses calling for them. They were going to be late for dinner.
They splashed water over the edge of the tub as they climbed out, creating a puddle on the floor. They dried off and slid into their less-than-fancy attire and scurried out of the room.
"Apologies, truly," they murmured as they passed, dripping down the halls until they reached the dining hall, air dried by the time they arrived.
"Chalice, you've not even brushed your hair," Giselle whispered, rushing over to their side. She pulled a comb from her lavender hair and got right to brushing the druid's ginger locks. "What took you so long?"
"I took a bath and... well, it's a great place to meditate. Nearly got lost in it," they murmured, thinking back to the vision. What would've happened if they went deeper like the voice wanted them to? Should they have listened?
Well, they'd be late for dinner with the Queen if they did, so they supposed it was a good idea to take a rain check after all.
"Do you think she'll mind my clothes?"
"Oh, hardly," Giselle said with a wave of their hand. "She will probably be too busy judging you all for being human to care what you're wearing."
"She is ready for you," said a bellowing voice, pulling open the doors which lead into the dining hall. Giselle and Selene went first, everyone else followed suit.
The Queen was an extravagant woman. Her hair was a light, dusty pink, but her skin was just as dark and shimmery as her daughter's. Her eyes were big and blue, face round and sturdy just as Giselle's was. She didn't look a day over thirty, but her eyes held something ancient, just like every other faerie Chalice had ever met.
She didn't look as cheerful and kind as Giselle did, she seemed hardened by time. She dressed the part of Vernal Queen, but she didn't seem to act like it.
"This is the woman you spoke of," The Queen said, eyeing the Lady Knight.
"Yes, mother," Giselle said, voice reserved. She clearly didn't want the Queen to think ill of her lover. "She was a Knight, the first woman in the position. She's very skilled, and she's kept me safe through all of this."
"Very good," the Queen murmured, much to Giselle's relief. "And these are your new friends?"
"Yes. Kit is a prince, and Lionel is his son. He's a very good little boy. Chalice is a druid and perhaps the most skilled Gifted I've ever met. Eurion is very clever, you'd like her, I think." The other five of them smiled as politely as they could. They all caught on to Giselle's desperation, it would appear.
The Queen's frown never left her face. "They're better than the Unseelie you've kept around for so long. It's about time he get locked up."
Giselle looked down at her hands. This wasn't the first time the Queen expressed her dislike for Morgana, Chalice could tell.
The rest of the meal was spent in tense silence. Even Kit and Eurion made no attempt at small talk, for once in their lives understanding social cues when it was most important for them to.
"Thank you," Giselle told them all once the meal was over. "You were all very polite in there. She's kinder than she appears, she's just... protective. She's learned not to give her trust so easily."
Selene took the princess's arm. "We'll be off, then. Get some sleep, everyone, we have a long day ahead of us."
They obeyed. Chalice and Eurion left the boy to his father's company this time, returning to their room in the medical wing. They were all as recovered as they could be so early on, but the rooms were well guarded and easily available to them for the single last night they needed to be there.
"How do you feel about all this?" Eurion asked, cross-legged on her bed on the floor. "About going to the Unseelie kingdom and asking for an army?"
"I think it's foolish," Chalice admitted. "But compared to all our options, it's not the worst one we have. All we can do is our best, and I think a trip to the Unseelie kingdom is the best we can do."
"Do you know anything about it?"
"All I know is that we don't know much. But maybe everyone's fear of Mab is unwarranted. They're all afraid of something they've never seen," they told her. "For all we know, she could be a better Vernal Queen than Giselle's mother."
Eurion chuckled. "I'll be honest, that bar isn't very high."
"Fair point," said Chalice with a grin. "Well, I best get to the dungeons. Kit won't sleep unless he knows I'm watching Morgana, I'm sure of it."
Eurion smiled. "Goodnight, then, Chalice."
"Good night, Eurion."
The druid blew out the candle by the door and left Eurion alone in the room, descending to the dungeon.
Kit was already there when they arrived, giving Morgana a full plate of dinner and a glare as sharp as Excalibur in its prime.
"Get to sleep, Your Highness," they said. "He'll be alright with me."
Kit tossed the faery one last look before slamming the door behind him and leaving the dungeon.
"He left you to babysit for him, then, didn't he?" Morgana sneered.
"No, I volunteered," Chalice corrected. "I'm entirely confident he'd do it himself if anyone let him. He'd be a greater idiot if he was tired, though. I'm doing all of us a favor."
"There are guards down here more skilled than any of you in every asset keeping me in this cage, I don't know why he's so worried about me," Morgana murmured.
"He's paranoid." Chalice slid to the floor. "I can't say as I blame him. It's more about his own sense of control than it ever was about you or the skill of the guards here."
"Right," Morgana said, tossing a cherry tomato at the wall. "Well, I'm going to sleep. I can't scheme when I'm sleep deprived."
"Goodnight, Morgana," they said. "Happy scheming."
As soon as the druid could catch a hold of silence once more, they positioned themself for proper meditation. They cleared their head, focused on the nothing, and once again, let the message come to them.
They were back at the lake in no time. This time, they swam deeper.