Chapter 9
The Faerie Hollow
Despite Kanda's many protests, Tock insisted that they allow Herne to camp with them.
"We're not even sure if he's human!" Kanda had hissed as they settled down in a small clearing.
Tock had hit him over the head and muttered for him to shut up. Herne tied his horse and his hunting dogs settled down next to it. They lit a fire and Herne sat back with a sigh. Then, much to Tock and Kanda's astonishment, he grabbed his antlers and removed his deer's head. Tock stared wide-eyed; Herne was a handsome man, with a slightly roughish appearance. Then she looked at the deer's head, it had become nothing more than a mask made of leather and branches.
"A glamour!" She gasped.
"That's right," Herne smiled, "I know a few faerie tricks. So I take it that you aren't here for the Wild Hunt?"
Tock shook her head.
"No sir, we came looking for a special object. We think it's the cause of all the boogies being restless, attacking humans and such. We thought perhaps the white stag had something to do with it, for the object we seek glows white."
Herne rubbed his scruffy chin in thought.
"Perhaps it is the white stag. But if you want to know of mystical objects and faerie stones, you'd best ask the Faerie Queen."
"Faerie Queen?" Kanda said skeptically.
"Aye lad," Herne said, "the Faerie Queen is the ruler of these forests. If there's a faerie stone that makes boogies go mad then she'll know about it. I can take you to her."
Tock sat up, wagging her tail excitedly.
"You really would?"
Herne laughed heartily.
"Why sure. Two fine hunters such as yourselves deserve an audience with the Queen. We'll set out tomorrow."
Tock laughed and hugged him.
"Oh Herne, you're wonderful!"
"Eva! Eva I'm home!"
At the sound of her brother's voice Eva bolted from the workshop and into his waiting arms.
"Daniel!" she beamed, hugging him tightly. Then she looked up, her face serious. "What'd you bring me?"
Daniel laughed.
"Alright then, close your eyes." He said.
Eva covered her eyes, struggling not to peek as she heard him rummage around in his bag.
"Alright now. Open them."
Eva opened her eyes and gasped. Daniel was holding a wooden figurine of a deer, exquisitely carved and painted pure white.
"The white stag! Oh Daniel you're the best!" she cried, holding the figurine delicately, as though it were a relic of some sort. "Tell me the story again." She said as they sat on the couch.
"Herne the Hunter and the White Stag?" Daniel replied, earning a nod from Eva, "Well now, Herne the Hunter was the finest huntsman in the kingdom, admired by all of the King's court. One day the King and Herne were hunting in the forest when they spotted a boar of immense size, with tusks like kitchen knives. But this boar was the pet of Arduinna, and when Herne killed it, Arduinna appeared. She slew Herne with her knife. But it was no ordinary knife, it was a knife of Faerie making. It tore Herne's soul from his body and turned it into a white stag, faster than any deer alive. 'If you want to leave this forest, you will have to catch your soul.' Arduinna laughed. And so Herne was cursed to wander the forest for eternity, constantly in search of the White Stag, his soul."
Eva smiled, gently stroking the figurine.
Tock sighed happily as she uncurled herself from her state of meditation. She turned to look at her partner who was still fast asleep. She smiled, it was only rarely that find that kind of peace.
"Your friend reminds me of me." A voice said.
Tock turned around; Herne was awake too, tending to the fire to stave off the morning frost.
"'ow's that?" Tock asked.
"There is a certain disconnect between his body and soul. It's probably why he's so irritable, that kind of discord creates a tempest within."
Tock nodded.
"Yes, I hope one day he'll be able to catch his white stag." She said.
Deciding that they should head out before it was too late, Tock went over and poked Kanda in the ribs, narrowly avoiding the elbow that was aimed at her face.
"Come off it!" She yelped, "It's morning alright?"
Kanda sat up and glared at her. Tock only smirked back and plucked out the leaf that was stuck in his hair.
So with Tock in her activated form she and Kanda were able to ride alongside Herne as they made their way to the Faerie Hollow. Once they had entered the forest proper the trees grew so thick that only little pinpricks of light were able to get through the leaves, making it impossible to tell the time of day. Herne conjured up a ball of Will o' the Wisp to light their way, placing it between the antlers of his mask. Tock's eyes shone on their own, acting as torches in the ever growing darkness.
They were almost there, according to Herne, when a strange cry sounded. Kanda immediately reached for Mugen but Herne laughed.
"Easy now lad, it's only Guennean." He said.
Herne held out his arm and a pure white barn owl landed on it, cooing softly.
"This is Guennean, my longtime friend and companion." He said as he let the owl sit on his shoulder.
Then the dogs began baying and howling, running in excited circles.
"Are we close then?" Tock asked.
"Aye, we must be if the hounds are acting up." The huntsman replied.
As they rode further into the strange woods Kanda leaned down and whispered to Tock.
"Do you think he's an exorcist?" he asked.
"Eh?" Tock whispered back, "What are you goin' on about?"
"That light trick, the way he was after that deer…how do we know he's not some sort of rogue exorcist?"
"Because he's Herne the Hunter," Tock hissed, "just have a wee bit of faith in the old tales will ya?"
Kanda grumbled and sat back, trying not to focus on the owl staring at him.
At last the path they were wandering began to widen and widen and eventually turned into a large clearing. And at the far end of the clearing were three stones with glowing blue markings on them and a small mound. But no Faerie Queen.
"Where is she?" Kanda growled.
Herne sat back on his horse.
"My Queen, I have brought two travelers with me. Great huntsmen who seek an audience with you." He called.
A sudden gust of wind blew past them, picking up leaves and swirling them around. The leaves blew onto the mound in front of the stones before finally settling, leaving a very beautiful woman in their place.
The Faerie Queen's beauty was quite extraordinary, there was something otherworldly about her, and her deep green robes seemed to shimmer with their own light.
"Greetings Herne." She said.
Herne bowed and Tock did the same, upsetting Kanda's balance and causing him to do the same.
"My Queen I have here two hunters who wish to ask you a question. They are very powerful, for they were able to slay the kelpie who lived in the loch."
"And a cait-sith and a barguest that had been terrorizin' the town of Kellsborough." Tock chimed in.
The Faerie Queen studied them for a moment, there was something about her that just seethed power.
"You may speak, hunters." She said.
"We're looking for an object," Kanda said, "it's called innocence. It looks like a golden cube surrounded by gears and glows bright white. We believe it's the cause of the Akuma attacks around here."
"He means it's why the boogies have gone mad." Tock said. "We were wondering if you had any Faerie stones like that, or know of anything of that description."
The Faerie Queen looked thoughtful for a moment. Then she smiled.
"Yes, I do believe I know of such an object. But I am not going to give such a powerful item away for free. You must go on a quest first."
"A quest?" Kanda said skeptically.
The Faerie Queen smirked.
"Why of course. You must deliver to me one selkie's pelt."
"A selkie's pelt!" Tock gasped.
"By midnight tonight. You will find that the selkie likes to swim in the cove a mile from here. Steal her pelt for me and then you will get your stone of power."
And with that the Faerie Queen disappeared in a flurry of leaves.
"This is going to be really bothersome isn't it?" Kanda deadpanned.
"Aye." Tock nodded.
A selkie's pelt? Well what's a good faerie story without an impossible quest amirite?
Okay, points of interest.
1) Okay so my Herne doesn't actually have a deer's head. How'd that freak you out? ;) There is no official Herne the Hunter story. The oldest dates back to Shakespeare who mentioned him in the Merry Wives of Windsor. From his description we can gather that he's some sort of ghost of a man who was hung for something he did wrong. Or for something he did that so depressed him he committed suicide. But as the legend goes on it would seem that he's been combined with Cerunnos, the Celtic god of the forest and fertility. So I imagine him as a man who gained a sort of Faerie status. The White Stag story will appear a few more times as the story goes on as it features heavily in the the culture of Tock's home town.
2) Faerie stones are actually neolithic (stone age) artifacts or, later, Viking artifacts that were found before the inception of archaeology. So stone tools or Viking runestones would be called faerie stones and burial mounds were called faerie mounds.
3) If you don't know what a selkie is Tock will explain it to Kanda in the next chapter, which is the final chapter of this arc. Then I get to transcribe an episode from the anime! :D No actually that will be hard. But not as hard as writing my own mission. I think I got lazy having half my stories here come pre-scripted. ^^;;;