Chapter 3

Tall, shiny, silvery buildings were everywhere, making Anaella squint her eyes in surprise. Everyone around them was dressed in long colorful cloaks, from the brightest yellow to the darkest green. Most of the people were men, but there were some women and children scattered about. Exotic trees lined the road rising high above the bustling city and covering the top of it, blocking out the sun. The trees were a canopy for the whole city, and did not let any light into the domain. But there was light in the wizard city. Tall pillars also lined the main street, and on top of them were large, glowing, blue balls. They were like balls of fire, but it did not crackle and dance wildly. It blazed brightly and lazily, casting over the city a misty and mysterious blue color.

As the dwarf, fairy, three wizards, and one human walked down the street, some of the wizards stopped to look in surprise. It was very rare for visitors to come to the wizard city, and the people stared at them in awe. It was Anaella and Willy who had caught their attention mostly. The wizards tended to be tall, serious, and shadowy. Willy's short cheerful figure, and Anaella's shimmering golden hair and bright white unicorn, left them speechless, or left them murmuring to one another.

Tnsaiu led them to the largest building, through another archway and into a long dark tunnel. Anaella's eyes darted here and there she disliked being in the dark where she could not see the other people. She felt trapped and helpless. It wasn't until they reached the end of the corridor, that she began to feel better. Tnsaiu opened a door into a large, green-lighted room. It looked like a forest, with the exotic trees creating the walls, and a dark soft earth.

Here they stood for just a moment, not saying anything. Then at one end the green forest opened like a door, letting three people come in. The first two were men, tall and draped, so that Anaella could not see their faces. The last one was an older woman. She was dressed in a long grey dress, and her face, unlike the others, was cheery and bright. Her grey hair was pulled into a tight bun, and she looked at Anaella and Willy with great curiosity.

"Gimgimno is ready to receive you now, Captain Dasian, Tnsaiu," said one of the men.

The other said, "You may all dismount. We will care for your mounts."

Dasian glanced over at his followers as he dismounted. Anaella and Willy did the same, and the two men led the horses out of the room. Tnsaiu, Fidel, and Dasian went through the door the men had just come through, and disappeared. Willy tried to follow, but he only got a bump on the nose, when he ran into the forest wall.

"Hey!" cried Willy, "Why can't I go?"

The older woman laughed. "You are not important enough to go."

Willy scowled.

"But if you will go with Veronica, she will feed you, and you can rest from you travels."

At this Willy perked up. The older woman smiled and said, "My name is Hunara. Come, Anaella, I will take you to your room. Willy, Veronica will be pleased to escort you to yours."

Veronica looked anything but pleased, to Anaella. She almost rolled her eyes at Hunara, and she gave Willy and Anaella a haughty and annoyed glare. Willy did not notice any of this as he followed the thin dark woman out of the room.

"Now," said Hunara, "We must first find you better clothing than the ones you have. You are to become a spy, and must put off the fairy attire."

"How do you know so much about us?" Anaella asked.

"Oh, it is one of our many little tricks," she smiled, and clapped her hands several times. As the forest opened, Anaella entered into a beautiful room. It reminded her of her fairy home. The walls were covered in vines and flowers. Vines climbed up the bed posts and window frame. Birds sang sweet songs through the window and sunshine poured through the window.

"Do you like it?" asked Hunara.

"This is exactly what I lived like at my home for eighteen years," said Anaella politely. "Don't you think I've had enough of this pretty scene?"

Hunara nodded, "Aye, you are right." She raised her hands and clapped thirteen times. The room instantly changed, from a bright cheery room, to a dark dismal room. The walls were plain and the bed was more like a cot. The window was tiny and Anaella blinked her eyes in surprise.

"Oh dear," cried Hunara, "Wrong room. That is the kind Veronica likes." She clapped her hands three times and the room again changed. The walls were again made to trees, but there were no flowers, and the room had a purple glow about it. The bed wasn't nearly as fancy as the fairy bed, but it looked very comfortable to Anaella.

"You must be tired, dear," commented Hunara. "You get some sleep, and I'll go find you some food and clothing. Tomorrow you shall leave, and you must get some sleep."

Anaella nodded wearily and fell onto the bed in a deep sleep. She did not wake for some time.

The sound of rustling dresses awakened her. The light in her room was a dreamy blue; it poured from the window. Anaella jumped out of bed, fearing she had slept too long. Hunara stood at her bedside looking surprised.

"My goodness, I was being as quiet as possible so as not to wake you."

"I've always been a light sleeper," sighed Anaella.

Hunara nodded thoughtfully. "Well, now that you are up, even though it is the middle of the night, you can get dressed." She gestured to the dresses she had laid out on her bed. Anaella looked at the dresses in uncertainty. They were long, heavy, bright gowns, with wide necks, and beads embroidered the edges.

"Hunara," she said with doubt, "They are very nice, for a princess, but I don't think I could travel very well in these."

"Oh dear!" cried Hunara, "You must forgive my old mind. You see, I forgot you were a spy, not a princess, you are so beautiful. I am surprised such a beautiful girl like you would want anything to do with the spying business. It is so dangerous and mind boggling. You have to be on your guard every minute, your ears must always be alert, and you can never relax. Why don't you find some handsome prince and settle down as a princess?"

Anaella could not help roll her eyes a little. She sighed drearily and said, "I could never do that. Handsome princes and cozy lives are nothing to me. I've had that kind of life ever since I was born, and I've never been interested in that lifestyle. I've always preferred to play and hide in the woods, and ask questions. I've always wanted to explore and find out things. My beauty is something I wish everyone would ignore. I want them to see the real me, not the outside me."

Hunara nodded pitifully, and clapped her hands. The fancy dresses disappeared, and a new one took their places. It was a long dark green dress with wide sleeves that tightened at her wrists, and when Anaella took hold of it, she found it extremely light. It fit her perfectly, and she could hardly tell it was there. Hunara gave her a belt with pouches of herbs and a knife. Last of all, Hunara draped a long, dark brown cape over her shoulders. The cape's fabric was thick, but light. Her long golden hair fell over a large hood and down her back. Anaella felt warm and secure.

"There," smiled Hunara, "You are dressed plainly, yet are a beautiful spy."

Anaella's smile was wiped off when Veronica suddenly appeared in the room. She raised a disgusted and surprised eyebrow at Anaella's new attire and said, "Good, you are finally up and about. I was wondering when you would awake from your slumber."

Anaella let these remarks slide by and asked, "Are we going to leave soon?"

"Yes," said Veronica, she stepped forth, and started to circle her. "Your clothing isn't quite what a fairy like you would be wearing."

"I'm not a fairy anymore, but a spy."

"Not a fairy?" Veronica stopped. "Well, you do look like human, only intelligent people can tell whether your fairy or not. And since your only have fairy, you won't do very well as a spy. Fairies have magic don't, they?"

"Some," said Anaella modestly, "Not nearly as much you wizards, though."

"Can you do any magic?"

Anaella hesitated. "I do know one little trick, but is too small to be of any importance."

"Show me."

Anaella glanced behind the dark girl and said, "Is there anything you want me to do, sir?"

Veronica swirled around and saw the shadowy image of Tnsaiu standing in the doorway. But then the figure disappeared and reappeared at the bed side. Anaella made the mirage of Veronica's superior appear several different places before letting it vanish.

"I can make things appear places that aren't really there. Mirages is what they are."

"Very interesting," said Veronica keeping her voice cool and haughty.

"Wonderful, Anaella," exclaimed Hunara, "That will help you a lot in spying. Why Ver..."

"Enough of your chit chats," broke in Veronica, her eyes becoming annoyed. "Your Captain wants you now."

Anaella nodded, and Veronica left. Hunara led Anaella back to the forestry waiting room. Dasian stood leaning against the wall, talking to Willy. Hunara left and Anaella was left alone with her two fellow travelers.

Dasian looked up at her entrance and said, "Good, you're here. You fairy..."

"My name is Anaella," she said, almost sternly.

The Captain's eyes flashed with impatience but he said curtly, "Right. Once we return to my camp, you will be put with a wizard to learn to spy. Since you have no experience whatsoever, being a fairy. If you betray us, or do not excel in any way, I will personally kill you. Understood?"

Anaella nodded, undaunted by the threats, though she knew they were true.

"Plus at all times, you call me Captain."

"Yes, Captain," said Anaella raising her eyes to clash with his. He hesitated, fixing his dark eyes on hers, as if trying to get any secrets out that he needed to know. When he was satisfied with her honest complexion, he nodded and turned to Willy.

"Are the horses ready?"

"Sure, Captain. But I have to ask if we are taking the unicorn. It will stand out in the dark forest like a sore thumb."

"I can take care of that," said Anaella.

"How?" challenged Willy.

"I'll change his color to black and make the horn invisible."

"Can you do that?" he asked, very surprised.

"Yes."

"Good," said Dasian, "Come on." Anaella and Willy followed him to the stables, where ten draped figures awaited them. They were the wizard spies Dasian was to take back to Gespian. They were all mounted on black horses. Anaella recognized Tnsaiu, Fidel, and Veronica, but the rest she had never seen before. They mounted their horses, and Anaella spoke to Eldane softly. His coat changed from shining white, to midnight black. The beautiful horn on his head disappeared. To everyone Anaella was riding a black stallion, but in her eyes, Eldane, her unicorn, hadn't changed a bit.

As the group of spies rode out of Quari, Dasian and Tnsaiu fell to talking at the head of the line. One of the wizards rode up to Anaella. He was a thin young man with a small beard and mustache. His hair and eyes, like all the others, were black, but unlike the others, they were round and wary. He smiled faintly at her and said, "My name is Tadeusz, Anaella. My fellow companions are, Nucio, Jyquis, Liska, Baldur, Rolshawn, and Ignatus. I understand you will be trained to be a spy under my supervision."

"Tadeusz, do not lie to the pretty fairy," said Liska. He looked back at Anaella, his thin black eyes glowing, "The Captain has promised me you shall be taught to spy, by me."

"Not so," said Nucio, "You two would frighten the little fairy. I shall teach her to spy."

Rolshawn, a brawny wizard with flashing eyes and soft, light brown hair said, "Nucio, Tadeusz, and Liska fall back and don't talk to her."

At this point Dasian stepped in. "The fairy is not to be talked to, or to be touched."

They backed off as Rolshawn glared at them.

Anaella bit her lip in frustration. She knew why they had been bickering over her. Oh, she hated being a beautiful fairy. Being a fairy did not make her helpless and unskillful. She sighed and glanced around her warily. The three young wizards who had been bothersome to her dared not even look at her, not with Rolshawn's and Dasian's watchful and piercing eyes on them. The other two wizards, Ignatus and Baldur kept a little aloof from the other wizards and had a low conversation with each other. They had hardly glanced at Anaella, only to give her a light encouraging smile, as if they knew how out of place she felt.

To soothe her mind, Anaella looked into the woods around her. They were so dark, so mysterious, so thrilling. She had always loved the dark forest, ever since she was a little girl. Sometimes she would see shapes and figures of animals and birds in them. Other times she would hear the growls of the animals that dwelt there, or the flutter of the birds, fleeing from a predator. She breathed deeply yet silently and returned her constant gaze to trail before her.

The line of draped figures rode swiftly through the woods. It would still be a day or two before they reached the end of the forest of Ardunt. Then they would ride rapidly to Prince Gespian's camp, there to be given their first assignment.

Thank- you Ellea Dawn andStardustPixie! Btw, I love the name pixie, my cat is named that.