The leaves of the trees in the forest were providing the perfect morning shade, filtering out the heat of the sun and making the air a very cozy temperature. Francis had taken it a bit easier this morning after the night's vigil, and had found a fruitful blueberry bush to pick from for his breakfast, along with the croissant he picked up in town yesterday. He now sat under a tree, whittling on a branch with a pocket knife.
In the clearing next to him was the faerie ring. Ludwig had made it last night for Natalya to be lured into, and as long as the fae maintained the connection on their end, any human who stepped in it now would be whisked away to Tivalon. Lukas came back to find Francis after the failed abduction, giving instructions to stand guard through the night and prevent any human from approaching it.
If Lukas's warnings were to be true, then Natalya and her new friends would return this morning to investigate. They must think they can quickly check out the ring in the daylight, then step on a mushroom to break it and close it with no harm done. Francis knew all too well that this was a foolish decision on their part, they were walking right into their trap. He had his part of the deal with Gilbert to complete, after all, and he'd be damned if Natalya ruined everything for him.
A couple of horses whinnied nearby as the sounds of trotting quickly approached the faerie ring from the west. They were quickly joined by voices, two masculine and one feminine, that began chattering about dismounting the horses and tying them up nearby. Francis tossed aside the branch he was whittling and pocketed his knife, before getting up from his perch and walking in front of the faerie ring.
Down the path, a short ways away, was Natalya.
While they were busy with the horses, Francis quickly grabbed his gemstone from his left pocket and sent a message to the fae.
Natalya has arrived, the mermaid and the princes are with her. No other guards or servants this time.
He kept the gemstone in his left hand and tucked both hands behind his back, just in time for Natalya to finally turn to look in his direction. He only observed her, eyebrows raised, as she froze in her steps with a shocked look on her face.
"Natalya?" the Prince with the lighter redder hair asked, glancing between the two of them as the others came to her side, "Do you know who that is?"
"She sure does," Francis answered for her, "Don't you, my dear?"
"Francis," Natalya finally identified, a venomous bite to her tone.
"Francis?" the darker-haired Prince spoke, "So this is the bastard that locked you in a tower for thirteen years?"
"For her safekeeping, I assure you all," Francis amended, "Couldn't risk having anything happen to her while she came of age."
"All I ever wanted was to see the world, Francis, a world your mother was so eager to teach us both about. You're the one who locked me away for thirteen years, who denied me the chance to learn about the world and how to survive and make myself a life in it."
As she prosecuted him, Natalya stepped forward into the clearing, while the princes and mermaid followed a couple steps behind. She raised her left hand to point at him once, the sleeve falling back to her elbow and exposing the white ribbon still tied around her wrist. Just as she finished talking, the gemstone still in Francis's own left hand thrummed as he received a message.
We're on our way.
"The world is a dangerous place, Natalya," Francis justified, keeping his expression as resolutely neutral as possible, "I couldn't risk having you spoiled or ruined by it."
"Tell me the truth, Francis," Natalya demanded, "Did you really barter me to the Unseelie King as a human bride?
"Of course I did," Francis verified, "It was the only way to protect us both."
"Protect you both from what?" the lighter-haired Prince grilled.
"From the Unseelie fae, of course," Francis replied.
"And how is marrying the Unseelie King supposed to protect me from the fae?" Natalya interrogated.
"You will become fae yourself when that happens," Francis explained, "In exchange for your hand in marriage, Gilbert will give me his protection when he takes over the human realm."
As Francis was speaking, the Unseelie Prince and the two loyal blond bodyguards suddenly appeared behind the quartet of humans.
"When he takes over -"
The dark-haired prince's question was interrupted by a gasp, as the four humans suddenly saw something happen behind Francis and stepped back in alarm. Francis saw the flash of colourful light out of the corner of his eye, and knew it was the faerie ring activating from the Tivalon side. He finally tucked the gemstone into his left pocket, while he stretched his right hand forward and summoned a quick spell of his own.
On his silent command, the white ribbon untied itself and began partially unwinding from Natalya's wrist to set up the trap. As she gullibly went to swat at it with her right hand, the unwound half of the ribbon wrapped around her right wrist and bound her hands against each other. Once the new knot was tied, Francis willed the ribbon to pull Natalya forward, forcing her to take the last few steps towards him.
As she fought against the forward momentum, the two princes reached out to hold her back, only for Berwald and Mikkel to finally step in the path. Their strong yellow wings stretched out to create a barrier between Natalya and her friends, which was closed off from behind by the Unseelie Prince and his own wings.
Once Natalya was within his reach, Francis grabbed her tight and spun around so they could both face the faerie ring where the lights had now faded. A fae with red eyes, silver-blond hair and silver wings now stood in the middle of the ring, his hands behind his back.
The King of the Unseelie Court.
"Your Majesty," Francis greeted, "May I present Natalya, my adopted sister and your human bride."
Gilbert took a step forward towards the inside edge of the faerie ring, and raised his right hand to touch her face. Francis held her tight and prevented her from struggling as Gilbert guided her jaw to tilt her face for inspection.
"You were right, Francis," Gilbert observed, "She did turn out to be a rare beauty after all."
"I will not be marrying you," Natalya refused.
"A feisty one, too," Gilbert continued, "No doubt you will keep the Court from pushing you around. The deal stands, Francis, you will have what protection I can provide. Safety plans will be provided in time for the ritual."
Gilbert withdrew his other hand from behind his back, and presented a flower with large pink petals lined in blue. Francis chuckled to himself, understanding exactly what power the flower's fragrance had.
"This flower is from Yuvalon, and has a beautiful scent," Gilbert described, "You simply must sniff at it, Natalya."
Knowing what was about to happen, Francis tilted his face away and held his breath as Gilbert shoved the flower directly into Natalya's face, giving her no chance to resist breathing in its essence. Moments later, Natalya suddenly went limp in Francis's arms as she fainted, and Gilbert pulled the flower away from her face. Ignoring the hollering from the human princes, Francis reached down to grab her legs and lift her into a carrying position, before passing the unconscious woman into the arms of the fae king.
"Destroy the faerie ring as soon as we've passed through," Gilbert instructed as he carefully took a step back.
"Natalya!"
Hearing the new voice shout from the unexpected direction, Francis turned to look north, and saw three blonds on horses riding fast in their direction. The faerie ring suddenly lit up, and Francis looked back just in time to see Gilbert and Natalya vanish as the King took her to Tivalon.
"No!"
The first horseman with golden blond hair halted his horse abruptly as he entered the clearing, swiftly turning the horse sideways and looping his leg over its back. Realizing that the rider was about to jump down into the faerie ring and try to follow Gilbert and Natalya, Francis swiftly placed his foot over one of the ring's mushrooms.
The rider leaped just as Francis squished the mushroom below his foot, and landed hard on the ground in the ring, without any magic teleporting him away.
The faerie ring had been destroyed.
The rider could not follow Gilbert and Natalya into Yuvalon.
Francis suddenly felt something pummel into his back, knocking the wind out of him as he fell to the ground and got pinned. As soon as they started talking to the golden-haired rider, Francis realized his unseen attackers were the Solyran Princes. Ludwig, Mikkel and Berwald must have made a swift departure as soon as possible after Gilbert, setting the Solyran Princes loose.
As the princes worked to restrain him, Francis watched the last two riders enter the clearing still on their horses. They both looked familiar with their flaxen blond hair, one of them being a woman who looked straight at him with an expression of recognition.
She sure did look a lot like Natalya.