Hi guys! I just wanted to let you know that I recently started school, so I'll be a little scarce on here for the next few months, but just know I am continuing to work super hard to try and put up as many chapters as possible. This will be two parts, one that I'll be posting today, and one I'll be posting sometime next week, so stay tuned.
Thank you NaoSa for inspiring me to write about the Fairy King. I'm pretty sure this is not what you expected, but I hope you like it anyway!
As the dust rained down from the cracking ceiling, Kendra flinched, trying desperately to stay calm and strong. There were people depending on her, and she had to be there for them. But at the same time, she wished more than anything that she was back at Fablehaven where life was so much simpler.
"Princess, we have orders to take you and the King away from the castle to wait for the Queen." Gilgarol, captain of the Astrid's spoke up from behind her, his voice low and serious. Kendra glanced over at the King who sat on his throne, motionless and dazed. Kendra sat in the other throne, doing her best to pretend she was calm and collected. It had been four long years since Zzyxx, and though the demons had been locked up, that didn't mean the threats were gone. Ronodin, the dark unicorn, led vicious attacks against the fairy kingdom. Two simultaneous attacks had drawn the Queen and her children out of the realm to fight, and as the highest-ranking official present, Kendra was the acting Queen of the fairy kingdom. It had been just over two weeks since she had last seen the Queen, and it seemed that the attacks had finally reached the castle.
"Who gave those orders?" Kendra asked, keeping her eyes on the ceiling that looked ready to crack.
"The Queen herself, your majesty," Gilgarol replied. "I'll prepare a convoy." She gave him an absent nod and as she left, she rose to her feet. Kendra wore a long dress with tight pants and boots on underneath it, silver adamant armor strapped to her chest and a crown on her head. It was almost funny, as just two weeks ago, Kendra was in this very room celebrating her coronation. Her entire family had been there, and Bracken had asked her to marry him. She hadn't been able to give him an answer then, and just four days after her coronation, Kendra became the acting Queen. If only she had known then.
Reaching down to her belt, Kendra pulled Bracken's horn out, gripping it tightly and calling out to the Queen with her mind. "Where will I be taking the King?" Kendra asked without preamble.
"To Wrymroost, I have already spoken to Agad and he has agreed to host you. And the astrids will be going with you." The Queen answered, sounding determinedly calm.
"There will be no one to protect the castle. I can do this myself." It hadn't been a long time ago when Kendra had been afraid to even speak to the Queen, but recent events had stripped the formalities away.
"The King cannot be lost, and you will need all the help you can get. Take the astrids with you."
"What about the people inside? They can't be moved." Kendra tried to keep the frustration out of her voice and mind.
There was a stony silence on the Queen's end for a moment. "Kendra-" Abruptly, her connection to the Queen cut off, just as Gilgarol ran back into the throne room.
"The wards just went down!" Gilgarol sounded just the slightest bit panicked. Fear shot through Kendra's veins like pure ice. She tried calling on the Queen, and then Bracken and his sisters. No answer at all.
"I can't communicate with the Queen anymore. None of them. Something is wrong." Her heart thudded in her chest as she tried to figure out what to do. Outside the palace, the skies were dark and the towns empty. It wouldn't be long until demons were at the gates.
"We need to go to the Queen's aid at once!" Gilgarol insisted, hurrying to the door.
"Wait-" Kendra tried to call out to him, however, Gilgarol was already talking again. "I shall arrange for a guard to stay with you, and the rest of us will go."
"Gilgarol!" Kendra had to shout to make herself heard over his incessant planning. "We will not abandon the castle!"
The Astrid captain looked shocked. "You propose we abandon the Queen?" He hissed, his voice low and accusatory.
Kendra felt anger bristle inside. "Gilgarol, remind me who is in charge here." She forced her voice to be calm, though panic and despair and anger battled for control.
Gilgarol looked affronted. "You are." His voice cracked on the last word.
Kendra nodded. "Indeed I am, and we are going to deal with one crisis at a time. Right now, we have to trust that they can take care of themselves and focus on keeping those who are defenseless safe. Trust me, I want to go after just as much as you, but we have responsibilities to the people who we have promised to protect."
Gilgarol took a deep breath, seeming to calm a little. "What about the King?"
Kendra turned around, looking to the frail, empty man sitting on the throne. He hadn't reacted at all, and she doubted he would. Kendra had been charged with keeping the King safe. The Queen had explained to her that as the chief monarchs of the fairy kingdom, their life forces sustained the powers of fairies and like creatures everywhere. With the Queen using most of her energy fighting, the King was bearing that burden alone, not that he knew it anyway. If the King were to die, the realm would fall, and nearly everyone would perish.
"I will not abandon the people here." Kendra walked back up to the throne, picking up her bow and quiver, slinging them over her back as she formed her plan. "We must get the wards back up and functioning. Once we've done that, I will take the King to Wyrmroost and you will assume command here. We'll send a scouting squad to the Queen and take things from there."
Gilgarol's mouth opened, and she could tell he was beginning to object, but she cut him off. "I was not asking Captain, those are my orders and you will follow them." Gilgarol's mouth thinned, but he nodded.
"The wards are controlled through a magical shield in the dungeons. It was poisoned with dark magic." Gilgarol told her, seeming to force back an objection.
"Take us to it." Kendra grabbed the King's hand and pulled him upwards. As usual, he went without a word, and when it came time to walk down the stairs, he went carefully and with the precision of someone completely aware of themselves. Down and down they went into the dungeons of the castle, past the room where the children and the medical bay were. At the very bottom of the catacombs, a giant glowing shield sat in the center of the room on a table. The pearly glow of the shield was tainted with black splotches, slowly spreading over the surface of the shield. In the corner of the room, a demon lay slumped over and dead, as a pair of Astrids stood over it, talking quietly. Gilgarol ordered them out of the room, and as they bowed on the way out, Kendra led the king over a chair and sat him down.
"Alright Gilgarol, how does this work?" Kendra asked, leaning over the shield.
"The magic of the shield needs to be purified. Only then will the wards come back up." Gilgarol responded, his voice tense.
"How do I do that?"
Gilgarol shook his head. "This shield was in operation in the old realm as well and brought here during the Zzyxx fiasco. The only time I'm aware it was not in operation was during the transfer. As soon as we settled here, the Queen restored its power herself."
"What? Why didn't she have someone else do it?" Kendra examined the splotches that were growing bigger by the minute.
Before Gilgarol could respond, a knock on the door startled them. "Come in!" Kendra called.
"Princess, my apologies but someone has asked for you." An astrid appeared at the entrance of the door, a man hovering behind him. The man was small and old, back stooped with age and lines all over his face. She recognized him as one of the Queen's advisors and friends, though she had never spoken to him personally. Apparently, he had been vital in directing the troops during the Zzyxx disaster. "Your Majesty, I am sorry to interrupt. My name is Faro." The man spoke up, stepping past the astrid.
Kendra took a deep breath, putting on the best smile she could muster. "Hello, Faro. What can I do for you?"
Faro shook his head. "The question is rather what I can do for you." He took a few more steps into the room. "I was a part of the team that constructed the fairy castle in our old realm. I myself installed the shield and the Queen imbued it with her power."
Kendra glanced at Gilgarol. "Does that mean you know what to do?"
Faro gave a grim smile. "Aye, though you won't like it."
"Try me," Kendra ordered. "I'm feeling pretty desperate right about now."
Faro strolled over to the King, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know, the King was always a good friend to me, even after he became the other monarch of this place." Faro left the King's side, coming over to the shield. "The only ones who have the power to restore the shield are those who can access the power of the crown."
"Meaning?" Gilgarol asked, his voice tense with worry.
"I'm sorry, but the King is the only one present who can restore the shield." Faro met Kendra's eyes, something old and sad in them.
Something inside of Kendra twisted as she realized how screwed they were. "The King is catatonic. There's no way he can do this."
"Indeed." Faro nodded sadly. Silence fell in the room for a moment, Kendra's mind desperately spinning for a solution.
"Perhaps you could Princess." Gilgarol studied the King thoughtfully.
Kendra looked over at him. "I'm not a monarch of the fairy kingdom."
"No." Faro agreed as an idea seemed to occur to him. "Though it could be possible to allow yourself to become a conduit between the shield and the King." The old man frowned. "The power he possesses is still inside him, even though he can't access it himself. Think of it as being similar to recharging a magical object. Instead of using your energy, use the King's "
Kendra shook her head. "I can't risk the King's life. What if there's feedback, or I drain the energy out of him?" In the past four years, the Queen had taught her much about her powers, including how to access the energy inside her, as well as to locate the magical energy of other people and objects. However, nothing could prepare Kendra for a problem like this.
Faro reached over, touching her on the arm. "Your Majesty, if I may be candid?"
She nodded. "Go ahead."
"The wards are down, and the castle is completely vulnerable to attack. Make no mistake, demons are moving to our position, and unless you get the wards back up, they will crush us." Faro's eyes held hers.
"Princess," Gilgarol stepped up beside her. "You said it yourself, with the rest of the royal family unavailable, you must assume the worst, and address the present threat. And if it helps, as someone who knew the King, he would gladly lay down his life if it meant his people would be safe."
Kendra cleared her throat, her breath shallow and quick. She couldn't believe this, it seemed only yesterday her grandparents wouldn't let her go to a party by herself, and now she was in charge of the fairy kingdom. But they were right. She had no choice, and if there was a way, she had to try. "Okay, let's try it."
She walked over to the King and knelt down in front of him, taking his hand. He didn't react to her, but she had expected that. Either way, she spoke to him quietly. "Your Majesty, we need to get the wards back, and I need your help. Only you can do this, and since you can't do it alone, we're going to do it together." She pulled him up out of his seat, leading him over to the shield.
"Alright, someone tell me what to do." Kendra ordered.
Faro stepped up behind her and the King. "Use Prince Bracken's horn. It will help strengthen your connection with the King, use it as a guide. You will feel the King's energy, follow it, and visualize a connection between that power and the shield. Pull the energy out, imagine purifying the shield, overwhelming the dark energy with light." As Faro spoke, Kendra drew Bracken's horn from her belt and wrapped the King's hands around it, placing a hand on top. She rested her other hand on the surface of the shield and closed her eyes.
For the past few years, Kendra had been learning to sense other creatures' energy, as well as her own, and make use of it, but she had never done something like this before. Searching for the King's energy felt like stumbling around in a dim room with her eyes closed. She could vaguely sense sources of light, but most were too fleeting for her to grab onto. But Bracken's horn gave her strength as if it was lighting up the King's energy, and eventually, she found herself drawn to it, and as Faro had suggested, she followed it.
It felt like riding a bucking horse, there was little she could but hold on and wait for the rough ride to end. She was beginning to feel removed from her body until she could no longer recall its existence.
All of sudden, Kendra was alone in complete darkness. "Hello?" She called out. There was no one, no Gilgarol or Faro or the room with the shield, not even the King.
"Your Majesty, where are you?" Kendra felt panic rise in her throat and choosing a direction, she began to walk. As she did, she began to hear a strange sound. There was a man sobbing, calling out for help. It had to be the King. The sobs were loud and heart-wrenching, some much so that Kendra could hear where they were coming from. Though, strangely enough, every time she got close to where she thought they were coming from, the sobs echoed from another direction. Running did nothing, only aiding the rising panic in clogging her throat.
"Please, help me find you! I need-" A sob ripped through her voice, and she paused, shocked as tears began to streak down her cheeks. "Please…" Kendra trailed off, falling to her knees as sobs wracked her shoulders. She was alone and she was failing and everyone was counting on her. There was no way she could get the wards back up, or protect the King or help the Queen and her daughters and Bracken. Bracken. She wished more than anything that he was with her. She wished she had said yes to him that night, without any hesitation. She didn't even have his horn…
Except, she did. At her side, hooked in her belt was Bracken's horn. She pulled it out, holding it in her hands. Slowly, her senses returned, and once more, she could hear the sobbing. Though she reasoned as she got to her feet, she had tried running after it, and that hadn't worked. But what had Faro said?
Use it as a guide. A guide. That required trust, and if Kendra trusted anyone, it was Bracken. Closing her eyes, Kendra gripped the horn and tried to focus on the sobs. Then gently, the horn gave her a pull, and she followed it, not daring to open her eyes. She walked for what felt like forever, the sobs getting closer and closer with each step, until finally, she crashed into someone, knocking them both to the ground.
Kendra's eyes snapped open, and suddenly, she was face to face with the Fairy King, tears on his cheeks and looking very much so alive and aware. His eyes combed over her and hardened into something vaguely hateful.
"Who are you?" The King's voice was different than she had expected. Instead of a weak, light whisper that his frail body seemed capable of, his voice was deep and booming. He sounded exhausted and sad, not angry like she had expected.
Kendra was stunned into silence, her words stuck in her throat. The King's eyes rolled, and he got to his feet, beginning to walk away from her. That shocked her into scrambling up, her words coming unstuck.
"Wait, Your Majesty, I need your help!" She called after him, racing around him so she could see his face.
"And why would I help you? You're just here to torment me, just like all the others." The King muttered, shoving past her, surprising strength in his grip.
"But, I'm not! My name is Kendra, and… I saved you!" As soon as she uttered the words, the King stiffened.
"Saved me?" His voice was low and ugly. "Then why am I still here?" He turned to face her, a terribly dangerous look in his eyes. "You are nothing but a demon of the pit mocking my kind, trying to break me."
It was then Kendra realized that the King believed he was still stuck in Zzyxx, and this was the curse that Gorgrog had put him under to pacify him. She also realized that he recognized her as a fairy creature. "No, I'm not!" Kendra insisted. "Your Majesty, Gorgrog is dead! You're free!"
The King laughed, cold and terrible. "If the beast was dead, I'd be too."
"No, no listen! My name is Kendra and I am your wife's handmaiden! Four years ago, I faced Gorgrog and I killed him and the Queen freed you! The Sands of Sanctity restored your body and your family has been trying to wake you ever since!" Kendra pleaded with the King who simply watched her, absolutely livid.
He shook his head. "You know, if I believed everything anyone told me, I would not be as sane as I am. Leave me alone." The King deadpanned.
Kendra scrambled for a solution. Again, Bracken's horn was right there, and it was perfect. "No, wait, I can prove it!"
"No, you can't."
"I can! Look-" Kendra grabbed the man's arm, pulling him back. She forced Bracken's horn into his hand. "This is Bracken's first horn. Your son. Feel the energy inside, this is real!"
As the King held the horn, something within him changed, as if some part of himself rekindled. "My son… it's been so long…"
Suddenly, his face turned and he yanked the horn away from her. "Where did you get this?"
"Bracken gave it to me." Kendra tried to keep her voice calm, her eyes darting to the horn, resisting the urge to grab it and pull it away from him. Without the horn, she was lost in here.
"Why would he give this to you? You're nobody." The venom in his voice struck her like a slap.
For a moment, she didn't know what to say. Every insecurity inside her told her that the King was right. But as the last good memory she had, surfaced, of her and Bracken dancing under the stars at her coronation, Kendra found her voice again. "Because he loves me."
Seeming intrigued, the King raised an eyebrow. "He loves me." Kendra continued. "And I love him more than anything in the world, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life with him."
For a moment, the King looked at a loss for words, until he finally repeated his very first question. "Who are you?
Kendra straightened her back. "I'm Kendra. Handmaiden to the Fairy Queen, and Princess of the Fairy Realm."
The King's eyes narrowed and Kendra could tell he was starting to believe her. Bracken's horn was helping, she was sure. Unicorn horns could not be possessed by those who had taken them unjustly without feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. That was, except shadow charmers like Seth. "Alright… suppose for a moment I believed you. What are you doing here?" He asked slowly.
"The realm is under attack by demons. The Queen has put me in command in her absence, and now we can't contact her, or any of your children. The sick, elderly, young, and injured are taking shelter in the castle and the wards have fallen. You're the only one who can put them back up." She watched as the King's face morphed from surprise to anger to fear.
"I can't help you." The King replied quietly. He looked down at the horn in his hands. "I'm stuck here, even if Gorgrog is dead."
"You have to." Kendra captured the King's hands in her own, holding them tightly. "Everyone is counting on us. You and I are the only things standing between the demons and your people. You can fight this, and you aren't going to do it alone."
The man looked up, his eyes softening a little bit. "I don't know you. And I don't know if I trust you, but if there's a chance, you're telling the truth…" He trailed off, something akin to a grim smile settling over his face. "I suppose I have to try." He met her eyes firmly. "What do we do?"
Kendra smiled too, pulling one of her hands from the King's, keeping one intertwined with his and the horn. "We close our eyes, and we trust that love will guide us home." She let her eyes fall shut. "This is all in our heads. We have real bodies to get back to. Visualize yourself, and run. Don't take no for an answer."
"On three then?"
"Yes." Kendra squeezed his hand even tighter. "One."
The King answered her. "Two."
And together, as if guided by an unseen force, Kendra and the King began to walk, and then run, and then all-out sprint. Around them, Kendra could sense that the world was getting brighter, and hotter. Behind them, something was pulling back, fighting back against their leaving. It felt like running through the water, legs pumping uselessly against the pressure of the water, but gasping and panting, she and the King continued on, Bracken's horn gripped in their linked hands.
And then, all of a sudden, just as the heat became almost too much to bear, as pressure holding them back became too overwhelming to fight, the floor was dropping out beneath them, and she and the King were falling, screams chasing them into the abyss.
Thank you so much to Jesussavedevenme, Katie, Yakall, NaoSa (again, thank you for the inspo and prompt!), Jayla Loves Reading, and more!
I'll see you guys next week, and hopefully sooner rather than later! Life is super crazy, and I will be doing my best to update here, but updates will be slow for a while!
Stay safe everyone!