Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy this one, I was having MAJOR writers block! Enjoy!
"Hey Bracken! Look at this!" Kendra`s head popped up from among the piles of boxes, a stack of books in hand. They were a stack of four books, gold embroidered designs on the covers.
"What are those?" He asked, standing up and walking over to her, leaning over her shoulder. Today was spring cleaning for the residents of Fablehaven, and he and Kendra had been assigned to clean and sort the attic. Ever since they had come up about an hour ago, they had been slowly making their way through the sea of bins and boxes, sorting the items inside. There had been some stranger items, like a bin full of ornate hats decorated with various hawiian flowers or the set of china dolls complete with built in music boxes.
"Patton's journals. I must have read them about a hundred times. After I met him, he even started writing to me. But the ones he wrote before he knew anyone was reading them were always my favorite. Made me feel like he was telling me a secret." Kendra traced her hand down the front of one of the journals.
Bracken shifted to a seated position beside her, unable to tamp down his curiosity. He had always thought himself to be secretive, after living a life full of so much, and then he had met Kendra. She was always happy to tell him the exciting stories, the good ones with happy endings. It was the sadder ones she kept hidden, the ones that caused her the most pain she didn't share with anyone. And though this story was light, her eyes were full of sorrow.
"Patton was a very interesting man. I only met him once, but it was enough for me to know who he was." Bracken replied, reaching out and taking one of the books. He opened it to a random page, catching the first few lines he saw. Success! Victory! Jubilation! I should no longer be alive, though I have never felt more so!
"Didn't you give him your first horn that day? And then he gave it to the centaurs? " Kendra asked.
"Indeed."
"After only meeting him once?"
Bracken smiled, a memory of that day beginning to take hold of him. "Irrational, I know. But I just had a…" He trailed off, unsure of the words he wanted to use.
"A feeling?" Kendra filled in his thoughts, looking up at him with a strange sort of hope in her eyes.
He nodded. "A feeling. That was the first and last time I ever saw him. I went to Living Mirage soon after, and of course you know he died before I got out." Admitting those thoughts were painful, and his time in Living Mirage even more so, but he wanted to be as honest as possible with Kendra. Hopefully it would encourage her to do the same.
"The last time I saw him was right before we went to Living Mirage to try and rescue everyone. We had this grand plan too. I mean we really believed it would work too." Kendra tilted her head thoughtfully. "And the first time I met him… well, that was during the shadow plague. He saved us. Or… him and Lena."
Bracken remembered hearing the story of the shadow plague and how the naiad named Lena died. "I'm so sorry."
Kendra seemed to force a smile onto her face. "It's okay."
Bracken leaned over, taking his hand in hers, sure that his physical presence was more helpful than anything he could say.
After a moment of looking through some of the journals, Kendra looked up, her eyes still tight with pain, but her shoulders were relaxed now. "Tell me the story of how you met Patton."
Bracken smiled, leaning back, pulling Kendra with him, wrapping an arm around her. "It's a long one."
"I've got time." Kendra's head dropped down onto his shoulder.
"Alright then. Well, it all started when the Queen sent me to a preserve in South Africa…"
One Hundred and Thirty Two Years Ago
"Bracken, we don't have time to sit around and enjoy the view!" A voice called from behind him, pulling Bracken's attention away from the sun rising over the mountains in the distance. The warm, hot air gusted across the cliff side, blowing the trees of the broad jungle below.
Smirking, Bracken turned back around to his friend, pulling his horn from his belt. "Don't we? I rather thought that was the reason why we were here."
Standing next to the shining pool of water leading from the fairy shrine, Zephyr had transformed from his unicorn form into his human one, wearing a magnificent grin, obviously pleased with himself.
Bracken raised his eyebrow as he approached his friend. "What are you so happy about?"
"Oh… nothing at all Prince Bracken. I'm just thrilled to spend some time in the presence of my glorious commander!" Zephyr replied sarcastically, a grin fixed in place.
Bracken sighed, leaning down and beginning to look through his bag of things. Bracken and Zephyr had been sent to South America by his mother to retrieve a stolen artifact from one of her shrines by a dragon. It still remained to be seen whether or not they could find the dragon, and they were trying to evade the notice of the human caretakers. Zephyr hadn't exactly been pleased to be sent on a mission as an assistant, rather than a leader as he always had been before.
"If we're going to make it to the cave by nightfall, we need to start walking." Bracken proclaimed, throwing his bag over his shoulder. He and Zephyr began their walk down the steep cliff through a series of switchbacks carved into the side of the cliff.
"I don't understand why I have to go in human form," Zephyr complained as he almost stumbled off the side of the cliff. Bracken grabbed his arm, pulling him back and allowing him to steady himself. Most unicorns were considerably more clumsy in their human form, and much more adept with four legs rather than two. Except Bracken of course, as he had no choice but to traverse the world appearing to be human.
"Did you miss the part where the Queen emphasized subtlety? An unfamiliar unicorn and strange companion aren't exactly inconspicuous." Bracken continued down the path, careful to keep an eye of his friend.
"This is ridiculous." Zephyr grumbled, though he soon fell silent as he concentrated on getting down the cliff safely. As they reached the ground, Bracken knew something was wrong. He could feel it charged in the air, tension seeping over him.
"I think-" Zephyr could barely get two words out before a crackling sound in the jungle drew their attention. Their swords flashed up almost in sync to face the threat. Bracken sucked in a breath at what he thought he saw through the trees. His fears were confirmed as a nearby tree was yanked straight from the ground, roots and all by a humongous gray cyclops. The single eye in the middle of the forehead was yellow and filmy, but alert all the same. Zephyr's voice spoke in his mind, fast and harsh. What do we do?
Stay still. Bracken forced himself to remain calm. It's eyesight is terrible. As long as it doesn't hear us, we should be fine. And indeed, it seemed that the cyclops hadn't noticed them as it lumbered over to the side of the cliff, taking interest in a berry bush sprouting from the wall. Barely breathing, Bracken began to back away, following Zephyr. If they could get into the full cover of the trees, they would be fine.
But just as he was sure they were going to evade this threat, someone crashed into him, knocking them all to the ground. The resulting noise caused the cyclops to roar, wildly thrashing until that yellow eye focused right on him.
"RUN!" Bracken yelled as he scrambled to his feet, barely taking notice of the mysterious man who had appeared out of the jungle. And so, not bothering to be quiet anymore, he, Zephyr and the man who had caused all this crashed through the woods, running as fast as possible. Out of the corner of his eye, Bracken could see the mustached man was tall and broad, a canvas bag over his own shoulders and dressed for hiking. He was bleeding from a cut on his forehead and neck, and though he seemed to be human, had no trouble keeping up with Zephyr and Bracken.
"Split up!" Bracken ordered as he took a right around a tree, Zephyr hanging a left and the man continuing forwards. Behind them, the cyclops crashed through the trees, roaring in fury. Despite how large the creature was, he was right on their tail. It just so happened that the path Bracken had chosen was uphill, causing him to stumble more than once. Though as the roars grew more distant, he began to actually believe that the cyclops had been outsmarted.
But of course, the universe couldn't give him the satisfaction of that for long, as all of a sudden, the top of the hill Bracken was heading towards suddenly became over taken by a long, giant shadow. Dread collected in his stomach as he saw the cyclops stalking over the top of the hill. Bracken wondered how on earth the creature had gotten in front of him without him noticing, but then again, for all Bracken knew, he was running in circles. So he froze, hoping the monster hadn't seen him yet.
"This way!" A harsh whisper from right beside him, made him jump. It was the man from before, and he was motioning towards the trees directly to the right of the cyclops. When Bracken still did not move, the man grabbed him by the arm,yanking him towards the cover of a fallen tree. As they approached, Bracken could see that a glass structure had been created out of the tree, possibly a safe haven for mortals on the preserve. He had seen one before, and also knew that they did not apply to him. So Bracken resisted, trying to pull away from the man as they reached the shelter.
"I'm not mortal!" Bracken hissed as the man still pulled him in.
"It's the only way he won't see us. Get in!" The man insisted, pushing Bracken to the ground. And seeing as the cyclops was getting closer by the second, he crawled into the shelter. It was relatively large and clean considering, big enough for the two of them to fit in comfortably. The man crawled in as well, pulling the door shut. They sat in silence, waiting for the cyclops to pass, fully aware if it found them, they were both dead. As minutes passed the man did not say a word to Bracken, or even look at him at all. And he had to admit, he was a little miffed at being ordered around by a stranger who had caused this in the first place. Yet, their only option was to be quiet, and so, as minutes turned into what felt like an hour, finally, the cyclops passed by them.
"Alright, I think it's gone for now." The man murmured, experimentally pushing open the door of the shelter and pulling himself out. Bracken followed, and as soon as he got to his feet, he drew his horn, transformed it into a sword and placed the tip on the man's chest.
"What is the meaning of this?" Bracken demanded, sure to speak in english.
The man didn't seem impressed, raising on one his eyebrows expectantly. "You mean saving your life?"
"The one you endangered?" Bracken countered, keeping his voice low.
The man looked at him incredulously. "You two showed up out of nowhere in the middle of a cyclops territory, I'd say that's hardly my fault. Now," The man stepped back, placing his finger on the tip of the sword, forcing it down. "If you please could stop poking me with that, I'd appreciate it."
Bracken reluctantly lowered his sword as the man touched the cut on his neck. "Your recklessness could have killed both myself and my companion." His voice threatened to rise as he thought of Zephyr, who could be anywhere.
The man rolled his eyes. "Your friend is fine, he shifted into his unicorn form as soon as we split up and easily outpaced the two of us." The man surveyed him with something almost like amusement. "Speaking of which," To his surprise, the man switched to flawless Sylvian. "It is a pleasure to meet you Prince Bracken."
Bracken took a few steps back, now fully on guard. How could this man know who he was, especially someone he had never even seen. "Have we met?" He kept his voice cool and calm, even though a million questions flooded his mind.
The man grinned broadly, extending his hand. "We haven't! Though I have met your mother. I'm Patton Burgess." Bracken did not deign to take his hand, instead raising an eyebrow.
"I've never heard of you."
Patton was not discouraged, his smile remaining in place. "Well that's perfectly fine. I don't expect that royalty would sink to the level of such common folk like me." His tone, cocky and sarcastic irritated Bracken. It was with this same tone that so many people spoke of his family and their position, as if they deserved verbal abuse simply because they were royal.
"If it would make you feel better, I give you permission to read my intentions?" Patton suggested, once more offering his hand. Though Bracken did not plan on engaging with this man any longer, he supposed it would be good to confirm he did not mean any harm and was indeed telling the truth. As Bracken reached forward and took Patton's hand, it became clear he was fairy struck, and though no outward light shone, every aspect of his mind had been enhanced by magic he recognized as his mother's. He wondered how his mother could have ever allowed this man to become a part of her kingdom in any way.
Bracken withdrew his hand, sighing. "I suppose you are telling the truth. However, my business does not concern you anymore. Goodbye." Without allowing Patton to respond, he turned and began to walk back down the hill. It wasn't long before he felt Patton following close behind.
"Do you even know where you're going?" Patton prodded, and that was enough to break Bracken's fragile composure.
"Do you? How could you possibly know where I want to go?" Bracken snapped, facing the taller man. A smirk was firmly in place on his face, irritating Bracken further.
"Well no, of course not, but I figured it was better to wander in the jungle with someone who would vouch for them to the caretakers." Patton looked him up and down. "I do assume that you're here without permission from the caretakers?"
"I do not need the permission of mortals to go where I please." Bracken replied haughtily, continuing down the hill. Even though he didn't necessarily believe that, it was better defense then continuing to deny the obvious.
"Oh, really." Patton laughed, a hint of his own temper in his voice. "And is it by your grace that we all live to serve you?"
Bracken scoffed, choosing to let his silence speak for itself. It didn't matter that he didn't believe that, anything to get Patton Burgess off his back.
He internally celebrated his victory as he continued forward through the trees. Just as he thought he was actually getting somewhere, of course, he was proven wrong. His foot squelched in the mud, sinking in around his boot. He struggled to pull it out, but instead of his entire foot and boot coming out, only his foot did, leaving his boot behind. And then, because apparently nothing could go right for him, he tumbled down the muddy hill, all the way to the bottom. Sore and muddy, he sat at the bottom of the hill, stunned at his own incredible bad luck, hoping that Patton hadn't seen that. Though, his hopes were shot as a shadow loomed over him.
"Who are you, and why are you in this territory?" A loud, clear voice spoke from above him, and he groaned, because though it was not Patton, he almost wished it was, sure that he had run into the staff at the preserve. And now he had to find some way to explain his way out of this, alone and covered in mud.
But before Bracken could speak, another voice chimed in. "Relax Zaru, this is my companion. The one from Europe I told you about." Patton Burgess walked out of the jungle and over to the pair of them. The man, Zaru immediately lowered the machete he held to his side, casting a cautious glance over Bracken.
"I thought you said he couldn't make it." As the two men talked, Bracken sat up, wiping the mud from his face as best he could.
"I did, though he luckily made it at the last second." Patton approached him. "Unfortunately, as you can see, he hasn't had much of a fun time."
Zaru nodded. "You two were attacked by the cyclops as well?" The man directed his question down at Bracken.
"Yes, we, erm, were forced to retreat."
Zaru sighed. "I'll have to inform the caretaker, these attacks are getting out of hand. Do you two wish to ride back with me and clean up?"
"No time, but thank you." Patton answered for the both of them. "Give Mr. Grady my regards, if you would."
Zaru nodded, and headed back through the trees. Patton waited until he was out of earshot before he spoke again. Out of his bag, he pulled Bracken's shoe, offering it to him.
"I think you lost this?" Though his words were teasing, they were gentle, and Bracken was grateful. He didn't think his pride could take much more damage after the day he'd had. Bracken accepted the shoe and Patton's hand, pulling him out of the mud. Thanks again to Patton's handkerchief he was able to clean off his face and pull his shoe back on.
Bracken sighed, finally willing to admit he may need help. "So I take it the cyclops problem is more extensive than I anticipated?"
Patton smirked. "These lands have been at war for close to three years now. Two cyclops clans battle for control and crush anything that happens upon this place. Only those sanctioned by the caretaker to cross here are safe. Something you would know if you had let me help you."
Bracken crossed his arms. "You were unclear."
"I wasn't actually." Patton motioned for him to follow. "Let's find your friend and get you two out of here before they discover you aren't actually my companion from Europe."
"Wait." Bracken winced, hating the words about to come out of his mouth. "I need your help."
"With what?"
Bracken winced again, knowing how Patton would respond to the next few words. "I need to find a dragon."
To Bracken's utter and complete surprise, Patton Burgess's face lit up with pure, unadulterated happiness. "Oh, wonderful!" He gushed. "I haven't had a good dragon encounter in such a long time!"
It was then Bracken was beginning to understand that Patton Burgess was a madman, but he was a madman who seemed willing to help.
"You understand that this will be dangerous? That you will mostly not make it out alive?" Bracken pressed, wanting to be sure Patton was not fooling himself into believing that this would be easy.
Patton raised an eyebrow at him. "What, because I'm human? I'm much more durable than one might think, Prince Bracken."
"No. Because we have to steal from it."
If it was even possible, Patton's smile grew. "Even better."
"Alright, there she is." Patton murmured as he and Bracken crouched behind a line of bushes. In a valley that was relatively clear of trees, the entrance of a cave was being guarded by a dragon. The dragon in question was large, purple and showed viciously sharp teeth as it napped lazily. According to Patton, who apparently had an absurdly good memory, this dragon was named Vesailia and was extremely protective over her belongings. Which was just wonderful.
"How do we want to approach this?" Patton asked. "Letting her capture us would be less than ideal."
Bracken nodded. "If we can sneak past her, and get the item, the Queen should be able to draw enough power from it to pull us back to the nearest shrine."
"The pool on the ridge, yes?" He surveyed the entrance of the cave, his eyes seeming to light up.
"I think I know how we can get past her." Patton reached into the bag strapped to his back, rummaging around.
"Well, I was thinking-" Bracken started before Patton cut him off once again.
"In my experience, the direct approach never works well with dragons. Let's give it a try, shall we?" Patton glanced at him with a wickedly gleeful look in his eyes.
"The direct approach? Did you miss the part where I emphasized we needed to sneak past her?" Bracken was truly at loss for words. Why Patton would want to run face first into the path of a dragon was beyond him. Though the man didn't seem at all discouraged, his big easy smile remained firmly in place, even as he grabbed Bracken's shoulder, pulling him up from behind the bush.
"Just trust me. When I tell you to run, run straight past her into the cave." Patton whispered as he pushed him along. They were a few hundred feet out from the cave when the dragon noticed them, waking up fully. The dragon drew herself up, smoke curling from her nostrils, a nasty half-grin curling up the edges of the dragon's mouth.
"And who is this, perhaps it could be my own little visitors?" Vesailia purred, a dozen voices speaking in unison.
"Just passerbys! No harm no foul right?" Patton called out to the dragon, a smirk firmly in place with the confidence of a man strolling through his own house. Bracken did not say anything at all, choosing to remain silent, hoping against hope that Patton was right. Vesailia leered down at them, smoke puffing out of her nostrils.
"Of course." The dragon drew herself up to her full height, and Bracken felt himself tense. "Come a little closer, why don't you?"
Patton stopped, releasing Bracken's shoulder. The thing he had pulled out of his bag was in his other hand, and he began to raise it. "It would be our pleasure."
"GO!" Bracken felt a push on his shoulder. He couldn't see what Patton had done, except for an aura of light emanating from somewhere behind him. But as Patton had promised, there was an opening in the cave now. Vesailia had reared up away from the entrance of the cave, and then Bracken was running to the cave. He had just reached the entrance when Patton joined him, his chest heaving.
"Wonderful. Worked exactly like I thought it would. Now come on, before she comes back." Patton led the way into the cave, Bracken finding himself following once more.
"What did you do?" Bracken inquired.
Patton turned back to him, holding out the item in his hand. "Distractor spell. Especially made for me. It creates dozens of copies of myself, so no one can tell which one I am."
Bracken had to admit, he was impressed by this mortal. Even if he could be insufferable and cocky, he was smarter than he had ever given him credit for. As they traveled into the cave, a giant cavern opened up underneath the ground. The sides of the cave glittered with crystals, every color of the rainbow. At the bottom of the cave, the dragon's hoard glittered, not even a piece of treasure hidden from sight. Bracken squinted, barely able to see the harsh footholes carved into the side of the cavern. "There."
Together, the two men picked their way down the side of the cavern into the hoard. With every passing minute, dread rose in Bracken's stomach, hoping that Patton's spell was enough to keep the dragon distracted. Eventually, they reached the bottom of the cavern, dropping onto the hard floor. It was dark down there, but then again, nothing was ever truly without light, at least for those blessed by the Fairy Queen.
"Alright Your Majesty, what is this object and how do we find it?" Patton gestured out to the expansive hoard.
Bracken smiled a little, as he pulled his horn from his belt. "The Queen plans ahead." He usually never brought his first horn anywhere outside the fairy realm, though Mother had insisted he did, just once. She had performed a spell on his horn to seek out alike magic. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the draw of his mother's familiar magic. Without thinking, he began to walk, his horn guiding him along. He sensed Patton following behind him quietly. He walked until the roar of a dragon startled him from his concentration. Patton ran to a pile of ornate chests, climbing up a while to listen.
"Bracken, if you're going to do something, do it now!" This was the first time Bracken had heard urgency in the man's tone. Though, luckily, he sensed he was close, and indeed he soon saw the dull glow of a tiny statuette resting on the ground. He picked up the statue, his fingers closing around the stone fairy. He joined Patton near the edge of the cavern, showing him the statue.
Patton frowned. "That looks like one of the statues on the Queen's shrine."
Bracken nodded, tilting his head. "Indeed it is. Now, we just need to get out of this cavern into the sunlight. That way, the Queen will be able to find us and draw us out to her nearest shrine."
"I don't think that'll work." Patton pointed up to where they had entered. Flapping wings and the huffing of an angry dragon filled the top of the cavern.
Bracken sighed, looking around. "We just need-"
"Light." Patton finished. He was heading back to the pile of the chests he had been on before. He pulled one of them open, searching through it. Out of it, he pulled a knife.
"Listen, the crystals in the wall, if we can get one out, maybe we could reflect the light of the crystal through a mirror. Maybe it could be enough."
Bracken nodded along. "Hurry then. I'll find a mirror." Without bothering to be quiet, Bracken desperately searched through the hoard, finding a small hand mirror shoved into an old bureau. Patton had pried a crystal from the wall, shining its own light in the darkness. With the dragon coming closer and closer, Patton held the mirror and the crystal, angling the light towards the statue in Bracken's hand. The light of the statue glowed brighter and brighter, until finally, he could feel some of the lost old magic rekindling inside him.
"That's enough, let's go!" Bracken seized Patton's arm, pulling him along. Together, they raced away from the dragon to the other side of the wall. And all at once, he felt his mothers;s presence whisk him and the man beside him away, just as he felt the dragon's fire on his back.
"Ouch." Patton examined a burn on his shoulder, frowning at Zephyr. The Queen had transported them to the very shrine he and Zephyr had come from, and now his friend was treating the burns on Patton's back and shoulder, who apparently hadn't totally escaped Vesailia's fire.
"This one complains a lot doesn't he?" Zephyr spoke in a fairy tongue, trying to exclude Patton from the conversation.
But Patton was not one to be talked about, answering in the same language. "I was burned by a dragon helping you two."
Bracken smiled a little. "Zephyr, be nice. Mother chose him as fairystruck."
Zephyr rolled his eyes. "Fairystruck or not, he complains too much." His friend stood, heading back to the shrine. The statue was wrapped in Zephyr's bag. Without a second glance, he vanished into the shining pool, as the Queen brought him back home.
Bracken grinned, holding out a hand for Patton. "For what it's worth, I do appreciate your help."
Patton accepted his hand with a grimace. "You'd better put in a good word with the Queen for this. I'll probably have scars!"
"And that would be a shame, wouldn't it? And believe me, the Queen will be hearing all about today."
Patton laughed. "Even when you slid down a muddy hill and lost your boot?"
Bracken shook his head, unable to hide his smile. "Perhaps that could stay between the two of us?"
"Perhaps." The man's eyes twinkled. "It was a pleasure Your Majesty." Patton held out a hand, a very human gesture at its core.
Bracken accepted his hand. "A pleasure indeed. Thank you Patton Burgess." He turned around, about to follow Zephyr back into the realm before a thought struck him. It was a ridiculous one, and he wasn't sure he was even thinking straight, but something told him to pull his first horn out of his belt. Most other unicorns gave away their first two horns in favor of their third. Bracken was an exception of course, having lost his third horn, his first two his only power. But then again, Patton Burgess was nothing like any other human he had ever met. He was willing to run into danger for the sake of helping another person, he barely knew. And perhaps there was something to be admired about that level of courage. Blind courage perhaps, but courage all the same. The decision was made in a split second. He didn't need his first horn, he second did the job quite well, and maybe, just maybe his horn could save someone else's life. Maybe it was just a feeling, but it was one that he had to act on.
"Patton!" He turned back from the shrine, and held out his first horn, a smile on his face. "Think of it as a token of my appreciation."
It seemed that for the first time, Bracken had truly stunned Patton Burgess into silence. The man swallowed, his face growing red, though all he said was, "Are you sure?"
"I suppose you could say I have a good feeling about this. Take it, and do good with it."
Patton accepted the horn, stepping back from the pond. "You know, I might have misjudged you."
He grinned. "And I definitely misjudged you. Thank you for everything."
Patton nodded, his eyes glimmering. "There's this preserve called Fablehaven, it's where I'm from. You ever need anything, find me."
Bracken turned around, acknowledging the other man's words with a wave of his hand. "I have a feeling we'll see each other again one day Patton Burgess. Goodbye for now, my friend." He felt a pull in his stomach, and so stepping forward, he accepted his mother's invitation home, leaving behind the ever enigmatic Patton Burgess.
Thank you to Katie (for all of you reviews, you are amazing!), MonstersHaveGreenEyes, WolfLover27, Yakall, Jayla Loves Reading, Jesussaved even me and NaoSa (your ideas are so good, and I can't wait to use them!)
I appreciate all of you so much, and I love writing this story. I feel like its a place where I don't feel super pressured to post and can truly take my time to perfect an idea. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it. I'm aiming for another update in a few weeks from now, right before I start school again!
Bye my loves, stay safe, wash your hands and wear a mask!