Episode Fifty Four
Part One
Gwen was tossing in her sleep. She hadn't had this much trouble sleeping in a long time. She finally got up, laying there wasn't going to help her. She might as well do something useful with her wakefulness. She wandered down to the common room with her backpack, stoked the fire and started working on an essay Dumbledore had assigned her on classroom etiquette from both the student and teacher perspective.
He was thorough if nothing else.
She tapped her quill against her lips, trying to think of a good opening line for her essay.
It just wasn't coming to her today. It wasn't unusual for her to write her essays last minute. She'd never had a talent for scholastic writing, although she fared pretty well with her own little fictional stories based on her daydreams. That wouldn't help her now, however as the candle she lit to work by sputtered indignantly.
One of the windows in the common room was ajar. She hadn't noticed it, but now felt the cool splash as the outside air leaked in. She went to close it and was almost bowled over as a large owl swooped in. The owl perched on a cushy chair and held out her leg.
"For me?" Gwen asked.
The owl simply waited. She stepped over to it curiously and pulled the letter off of her leg. She looked at the envelope before opening it. Only one word appeared on the cover. "Witchgrass." She intoned inquisitorially. "Well that's me." She said as she opened the envelope with a sigh.
There was no parchment contained within, just a bit of colorful dust. She frowned and was trying to think of who would send her dust when the contents began to swirl on their own inside the envelope. The dust rushed out of its confines, past her and into the air, shimmering with light.
She nearly screamed as the envelope burst into flames. She threw it into the fire grate and turned again to face the massive cloud of dust dancing before her. It was beginning to spell words, slowly but surely.
"Witchgrass,
You would be surprised how easy it is to learn a new language. English is possibly the most colorful. It has the most expletives. I wanted to apologize for the secretive nature of the mound. I must keep some things secret. Gemma expressed her concern over our interest in you. I see no distinction between sellie and unsellie, although many of my subjects do. I see all the fey as my children and you are no exception."
The dust waited for her to catch up and then rearranged itself to spell out the next section of the letter.
"I couldn't stand to see one of my children in pain, so I stole you away from the death eaters and cared for you, until you were well enough to return to school. I hope my behavior has not caused you any inconvenience. Should you ever need me all you have to do is say your name aloud. I will rush immediately to your side. For now, farewell and take care little one.
Your King"
The dust waited once again for her to finish and then slowly faded. It was sucked out of the window and she ran to watch it dancing on the wind back to the Forbidden Forest. She raised her eyebrows. "That was interesting."
Part Two
Gwen decided to send Gemma an owl, explaining the letter that the Stag King had sent her. She felt a sort of pride in knowing that the king took such good care of his subjects. Even though she was only partly fey he still cared enough to steal her away and hide her from danger. What country couldn't do with a leader like that?
She slept well the rest of the night and finished her essay in ample time for Dumbledore. She sent away her owl to Gemma and another to Graves, apologizing for her anger the previous evening. She would tend to Harry directly.
It seemed to her that the best way to deal with her strange existence was to keep plugging away. Sometimes she was a little afraid to get out of bed, but it was for that reason that she roused herself every morning. The unknown, the exciting mystery each day promised was more than enough to keep her hooked on life.
She wasn't living in optimistic times (who ever is?), but she was living optimistically herself.
Harry was glad to see her back to her usual self later in the day after receiving her apology for the huffy behavior.
"It's ok." He laughed. "Graves and I were being pretty asinine. It's just that your so…" He paused, fishing for the right words. "Worth it." He finished.
She rolled her eyes. Worth it, indeed. Worth all of the trouble she tended to cause? Worth all of the problems and unresolved past that haunted her still? She hardly felt worth it.
Harry noticed the way she was staggering back and forth in her mind. She felt powerful and yet she felt worthless. She didn't think she was worth the lengths he and Graves went to in order to keep her affection. How could he explain to her that she was? This seemed to be more of a self-esteem issue than anything and while Harry had his share of chips he couldn't very well help someone else unload theirs.
Gwen saw him staring off into the distance. He was so troubled sometimes it was frightening. He had seen hell, had been face to face with the devil himself. She blinked her eyes to clear the thoughts in her head. She couldn't help him until she helped herself.
As before, neither one of them knew that they were thinking and feeling the same exact things.
Part Three
Gemma replied immediately.
"Dear Guenivere,
I am honestly surprised that the Stag King would take time to write to you. I know he is a kind and generous albeit mysterious individual, but I never understood his stance on the fey world before now. He may be having trouble with his current definition soon enough. With the rise of Voldemort there is trouble brewing, even in our world. Some of the unsellie are already prepared to die for the dark lord. Others are adamant that they will not join either side of the fight. And then of course there is the sellie court. None of us are certain what to do. Do we fight for something we have no connection to, or do we hide in our mounds until it all blows over? If it blows over.
Listen, I need you to be doubly on you guard. I was right in thinking you shouldn't be out beyond Hogwart's grounds and you definitely shouldn't come to the Forbidden Forest any more. There is a rumor, if only a rumor that Hogwarts may be attacked before the end of the school year. Please be responsible.
Gemma"
Gwen sighed. During her next visit with Dumbledore she showed him the letter. He read it, peering over his half-moon spectacles with a look of resignation.
"Even the fey are choosing sides." He said softly.
"I will do everything I can to help our cause." Gwen said emphatically. "I'll even go and speak with the sellie court if you would like. I might be able to convince them that we need their help. They can do some amazing things sir."
"I appreciate your offer Guenivere. We may very well take you up on your offer to be an emissary to the fey for us, as none of us can visit the mound and come back freely."
She nodded.
"I will be looking into this rumor of an attack. As of right now, I need you to be up to speed so that you can readily defend yourself and our school should it be attacked."
She nodded again, much more firmly. She wouldn't give up Hogwarts without a fight.
