Chapter 2

Amnesty

London, England, 9:18 am, Ashenburt Residence

"E-Edgar, what are you saying?" Lydia said hastily, looking at the ground with a face red, his thumb still on her bottom lip.

"You heard me," he said firmly. "I'd kiss you right now, but I'm positive you'll probably hit me afterward."

"Th-that's ridiculous…" Lydia stammered.

"Oh, so you won't hit me? Very well—"

"No, I mean it's ridiculous that you want me to kiss you if we find the Land of Ibrazel!" Lydia said quickly. "We… might not even ever find it."

"Ah, don't worry Lydia, we'll find it!" Edgar assured her, gripping her shoulders and looking confident. "Even if I have to die trying!"

"Edgar!"

"By the way, I never found out whose name I said while I was drunk," Edgar added, making Lydia flush again. "Was it Megara? That was the name of my old babysitter when I was a child…"

"Give up, Edgar," Lydia sighed, brushing him off of her. "It was a long time ago."

"Then you forgive me?" he said excitedly.

She pondered for a moment. "No." Lydia swept off into the dining room again, where the table was set full of expensive breakfast items. Kelpie was stuffing his face and Paul was trying not to watch in disgust.

"After breakfast, we're leaving," Edgar said, sneaking up behind her and placing a hand on Lydia's waist as if it were as natural a thing as breathing. "I'll have Tompkins prepare a ship for us to sail to Colt Island."

"I'd rather not sail," Kelpie drawled through a mouthful of food. "I'll swim."

"I wasn't going to let you on my ship anyway," said Edgar breezily, pretending he hadn't noticed the glare Lydia had shot him.

After everybody had eaten, Kelpie took off, saying that he'd meet them all at London Harbour, and Edgar escorted Lydia out to the carriages, half-ignoring everyone else (especially poor Paul).

"Here Lydia, come sit next to me," said Edgar kindly, helping her into the carriage and scooting in after her.

"Edgar, don't be rude to the others," Lydia hissed, blushing at the special treatment as Nico hopped onto her lap and curled up.

"Oh right, how silly of me," said Edgar, reaching down and gently petting Nico. "Hello, Nico."

Lydia rolled her eyes as Paul and Raven got in, and the carriage set off.


London, England, 10:29 am, London Harbour.

"Uwah, Edgar!" Lydia gawked, half-ignoring Edgar's charming beam as he helped her out of the carriage. "This is your ship?"

"Indeed, Lydia," he said, clasping her hand tightly as they gazed up at a colossal ship in the harbour, bobbing gently in the water. "She's called Amnesty."

"Why did you name your ship Amnesty?" Lydia asked confusedly, and his ash mauve eyes skimmed to hers, hinting that she'd just stepped into dangerous territory.

"I certainly need amnesty, don't you agree?" Edgar said softly, before letting go of her hand and striding off towards his ship.

Lydia watched him go with her head cocked to the side and brows furrowed, wondering what he was talking about. Did he mean about saying Ermine's name in his sleep, or did he mean about locking her in the room in the Fairy Realm to face Ulysses alone? Lydia heaved a sigh and felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see Paul smiling at her.

"Are you ready to dock, Lydia?" he said kindly, and she smiled back at him.

"Yes," she said happily. "I can't wait to start getting clues to the Land of Ibrazel."

"Perhaps this will inspire a painting for me," Paul said thoughtfully, and he graciously offered Lydia her arm, which she took gratefully, and he escorted her up the suspended plank to the deck of the ship.

Paul cried out in alarm, and his arm yanked out of Lydia's grip as he was suddenly lifted off of the ground by his shirt collar. A very irritated-looking Kelpie was the culprit, his free hand on his hip, and he was glaring at Paul with his coal-black eyes.

"Oi, don't go snuggling with my Lydia," Kelpie barked at Paul, who was steadily going red in the face as his shirt collar slowly strangled him.

"Actually I agree with Cain," said Edgar, approaching the two of them wearing a look that suggested he wasn't happy either. "Though I don't approve of his punishment methods."

"Kelpie, put Paul down!" Lydia scolded.

"Would you like me to eat him, Lydia?" Kelpie asked brazenly, smirking at her. "You can use his liver for that crap you humans eat… foie gras or something like that."

"If you don't put him down now, Kelpie, you're not coming with us to the Land of Ibrazel," Lydia fumed, resisting the urge to stomp her foot.

"Keep him up there a couple more seconds, so I won't have to put up with you for this voyage," said Edgar with a smirk.

Kelpie glared at Edgar and promptly dropped him back down onto the deck. Lydia bent down next to him and helped him up as he coughed, face red from lack of oxygen.

"Paul, are you okay?"

"Fine, Lydia, fine…" he choked.

"Wonderful!" said Edgar enthusiastically, clapping his hands together. "Off we go then. You, get off my ship," he spat at Kelpie, who flipped him off irritably and dove over the side of the ship.

"Miss Lydia," said Raven's sullen voice from behind her, and Lydia rose from the deck to see her baggage in his hands. "Please follow me, I'll show you to your cabin."

Lydia gave Paul one last concerned look before following Raven down into the lower decks. He led her down a brightly lit hall with an expensive red carpet to the door at the very end and opened it, stepping aside to allow her to go in first.

"I'll leave you to unpack," he said darkly, shutting the door before Lydia could thank him. Sighing, she turned to her luggage just as Nico reappeared from thin air on her bed.

"Is it just me or is everybody hating Paul lately?" Nico drawled, playing idly with the tip of his tail. "Maybe Coblynau told everybody that Paul is bonkers."

"Paul is not bonkers, Nico," Lydia sighed again, taking her nightdress and laying it out on the bed. "Edgar and Kelpie are just jealous, and they're taking it out on Paul."

"Maybe they have a reason to be jealous," Nico said knowingly. "Paul's been acting rather… friendly, with you, don't you think?"

"That's because we're friends," Lydia said firmly.

"Suit yourself," the fairy cat said idly, jumping off of the bed and flouncing toward the door. "I'm going to see if the Earl will give me any whiskey."

Lydia sat down and watched Nico leave with a swish of his tail, wondering if he was right.


Atlantic Ocean, 5000 miles from Ireland's Shores, 8:58 pm.

Lydia mostly stayed in her cabin for the rest of the day, leaving only when lunch and dinner were served. Now she was idly sitting in an armchair in the corner of her cabin, reading a fantasy book by candlelight. There was a knock at her door, and Lydia closed the book, thinking it might be Nico. But when she opened the door, Paul was standing idly in the hallway, a blush tinting his cheekbones and a small smile on his mouth.

"Hi Lydia," he said, almost shyly. "May I come in?"

"Of course," Lydia said, stepping aside to let him in. "But why?"

"I thought perhaps you'd like to talk," he said earnestly, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "It seemed like you avoided everyone today."

Lydia sat down too and smiled guiltily. "Forgive me, I wasn't avoiding you all. I was just thinking."

"About what?" Paul asked, actually looking interested. Lydia studied him carefully for a moment, wondering if Nico was right. Paul's face reddened. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No, no," Lydia chuckled. "I was… thinking again." She paused. "Paul… were you in love with Banshee?"

Her question clearly took Paul severely aback, and they sat in an awkward, stunned silence for several moments. Then he laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "No, Lydia, I didn't love her. Not as a woman, anyway, more like as a daughter. She was a child, after all."

"I see," said Lydia, smiling warmly at Paul to assure him she wasn't embarrassed. "Do… do you really think I look like Banshee?"

Paul nodded almost excitedly, reached over without thinking and softly gripped one of her rust-coloured locks. "If your hair were silver and longer, and your eyes were amber, you'd look almost identical." He leaned over curiously and began to examine her face, tracing his fingers over her jaw and cheek. "You have the same high cheekbones…"

Lydia blushed and resisted the urge to turn away. "Paul, you're too close."

Paul's face blanched and he practically hurled himself away from her back into the chair. "F-f-forgive me!"

Lydia smiled nervously again just as there was another knock at the door. Raven's voice sounded from the hallway, "Miss Lydia?"

"Come in Raven," Lydia said, and the door opened and Raven stepped through looking just as surly.

"Lord Edgar sent me," Raven said darkly. "He wanted to know if Paul was in your room."

Lydia cursed Edgar's jealousy and said hotly, "Yes Raven, he's here, as a guest and a friend. Tell Edgar that, and emphasize that Paul is welcome into my room whenever he wants."

Paul flushed again and Raven nodded blankly, closing the door again. "Miss Lydia, why do you say such things to the Earl?"

"I'm sick of Edgar's petty jealousy," Lydia said moodily, crossing her arms and pouting. "He acts like he owns me."

Paul hesitated. "Aren't you engaged?"

It was Lydia's turn to flush. "I only agreed to get out of the Fairy Realm and stop him from marrying the Queen of the Fairies! Plus, Edgar won't take the ring off," she added bitterly, giving it a useless tug as though to prove a point.

"I see," said Paul. "Then you don't love him?"

Lydia was spared the answer by another knock on her door, and Raven stepped through again.

"He got angry, threw a plate at the wall and said he'd chop off Paul's head if he touched you," Raven said callously, and Paul blanched and Lydia sighed.

"Okay, instead of making you go back and forth as a messenger, why don't you join us, Raven?" Lydia said, smiling. "We'd like to have your company."

Raven paused for a moment at her last sentence before nodding curtly and standing next to Lydia's chair.

"Well now that we're all here, why not play a game?" Paul suggested. "Let's tell secrets."

"Ooh, that sounds fun," Lydia giggled. "Who shall go first?"

"Well, I suppose it's your turn, Lydia," Paul grinned. "You asked me the question about Banshee."

"I suppose that's only fair," Lydia said. "What would you like to know?"

Paul thought for a moment. "What is the story behind that crazy horse-fairy, Kelpie or Cain or whatever his name is?"

Lydia frowned at the memory of him. "He pursued me simply because I was a Fairy Doctor, and to ward him off I asked him to bring me the moon."

"The moon?"

"If you tell a fairy 'give me the moon that waxes and wanes' they have no choice but to leave you alone, since you can't bring someone the moon." Lydia hesitated and glanced down at her ring, knowing that was technically a lie. "Ah, it's your turn Raven!"

Raven blinked blankly back at them as Lydia thought up a question to ask him. She thought of one and hesitated. "Raven, do you miss Ermine?"

There was a pause. Then Raven spoke bluntly and swiftly, "I admit that yes, I do miss my sister. But she isn't constantly on my mind."

"Who is constantly on your mind then, Raven?" Paul asked interestedly.

"I can't tell you that," Raven said quietly. "I care about this person almost as much as I care about Lord Edgar, and it would complicate things if I told you all."

"Fair enough," Lydia said. "You answered the question anyway."

"I wonder what you mean by that, Raven," Paul wondered aloud, rubbing his chin with his hand. "How would it complicate things? And with who?"

"Paul, maybe we shouldn't pry—" Lydia began.

The overlapping shouting of two clearly angry males outside in the hall interrupted her, and Raven turned immediately to open the door. Edgar and Kelpie appeared in the doorway, Kelpie's face red with fury. Edgar had his arms crossed, brows furrowed and eyes closed as if trying to block the image of the angry water-horse that was currently shouting at him.

"You're in over your head as usual, Cain," said Edgar loudly, leaning against the doorframe and clearly leaving the fact that everyone's eyes were on him unnoticed.

"I am not!" Kelpie fumed, stomping his foot. "It is you that is in over your head, you stupid Earl! I love Lydia all the way to the moon, and I brought her the moon! All you did was buy her some crappy flowers and dresses. It is I who loves her more!"

"I love Lydia from one end of the universe to the other," said Edgar in an almost idle tone, and when Paul's eyes snapped over to Lydia she flushed. "Educate yourself a little, Cain, and you'll know how much that is. It certainly beats down your subjugation of the moon, which in the end I presented to her."

Then the two of them paused when they finally noticed Raven and Paul watching them blankly and Lydia staring at them with flushed cheeks and glaring eyes.

"Ah Lydia, I didn't notice you there," Edgar said charmingly, before glancing at Paul. "What are you doing in here?"

"We were talking, Edgar, until your petty argument interrupted us," she said irritably, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms.

"Forgive me, Lydia," Edgar said, strolling into the room and ignoring the livid look he was getting from Kelpie. "I was on my way to speak to you when I discovered this piece of trash stowaway aboard my ship—" he gestured to Kelpie, whose eyes flashed red at his comment "— I was going to tell you that one, you made me break a rather expensive china plate from Denmark and two, we'll be docking in Ireland early morning."

"You broke that plate yourself, Edgar," Lydia sighed.

"If you say so," said Edgar airily, before turning back to Kelpie. "You, off my ship now. You—" he pointed to Paul "— go back to your room."

"Paul can stay if he wants to," said Lydia irritably, but Paul smiled down at her and said, "It's fine Lydia, it's getting late anyway."

"Indeed," said Edgar almost moodily, as Paul slipped by him to get into the hall. "Raven, please leave us alone for a moment."

Raven bowed to the two of them and exited the room swiftly, and Edgar stepped in and closed the door. Lydia flushed at the realization that once again they were in a bedroom together, alone.

"What is it, Edgar?" Lydia mumbled, staring at her knees.

"Why do you invite every man on this ship into your bedroom but exclude me?" Edgar said almost crossly.

"I didn't invite Kelpie," she pointed out.

"He's not a man," said Edgar firmly. "He's a pain in the arse demon thing." As Lydia gave him a cross look at his comment about Kelpie, Edgar got on one knee and gently took her hand with the moon ring securely on her finger. "You're engaged to me, Lydia, not Raven and certainly not Paul."

"Speaking of that, could you perhaps take this thing off?" Lydia said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

"Say please," said Edgar with a charming smile, ash-mauve eyes twinkling.

"Please."

"No," he said happily, bringing her hand up to his mouth and kissing her wrist, parting his lips against her skin. "Your skin is so soft…" He gently pulled her hand up to his face and brushed his cheek against it, making Lydia blush.

"Edgar, what are you—?" Lydia started to say, but she stopped her sentence when Edgar turn her palm towards him and kissed it gently, the skin of his lips tickling her slightly.

"I don't know if I can wait until we find the Land of Ibrazel to kiss you Lydia," murmured Edgar against her palm. "You're too alluring."

"Edgar…" Lydia sighed as he rose up and leaned over her neck.

"Let me kiss you here, at least," he whispered, the breath of his words ghosting over the sensitive spots on her throat. Lydia neither complied nor refused but waited in shivering anticipation for Edgar to do something, anything…

A/N: ehm. got a lotta reviews and msgs on this thing telling me to move my butt :x forgive me :p lol left it on another cliffhanger, aren't i the worst? ;)