“Would you mind staying to speak with me?” Raven asked as I rose to leave.

  “Of course,” I said, looking toward Asuka.

  “You’re free to go, Asuka. I will make sure Olivia gets home safely,” Raven told her.

  Asuka dipped her head. “Thank you Raven.” “I will see you tomorrow,” she told me.

  “Good night,” I replied.

  “May Mother Earth watch over you,” she replied.

  Some elves still stood talking in groups and Asuka said goodbye to them as she left.

  “I imagine you have many questions,” said Raven, pulling my attention from the others.

  “Yes. But I understand it’s none of my business,” I replied.

  Her rich brown eyes had purplish grey smudges around them as though she hadn’t been sleeping.

  “While you are in the Den, it is your business as war is a very real possibility and if you are unfortunate enough to still be here when it erupts it’s only fair you understand what you are in the middle of.”

  “Who is Mother Earth? And how did the queen betray her?” I asked.

  Raven smiled. “Mother Earth is the creator of all things. She creates the seasons, helps our trees and plants grow. She’s the energy that runs through all living things, connecting us and grounding us. But she is not as strong as she once was, for the king stole something of great value to her.”

  “The king?”

  “Yes. Did you venture over the carved bridge on your return to the Den?” she asked.

  “It was beautiful.”

  “It tells the story of King Orrick and how Mother Earth fell in love with him. But he deceived her and stole something of hers that held great power. Power he used to create his kingdom with Eldora and corrupt Mother Earth’s magic.

  She spent years trying to retrieve what he’d taken to no avail, and then one day she overheard a pair of elves walking through the forest saying the king and queen had given birth to a baby girl. The next time she saw them walking through the forest, she presented herself as an elf from a faraway land. She handed them a box and said it was a box from her queen for the princess. A fairy to watch over their newborn child.”

  “That’s terrible,” I said. “How could you do that to someone you loved?”

  “Greed and power do terrible things to people,” she replied.

  “And the fairy? Did it get her magic back?” I asked.

  “That wasn’t the fairy’s job. The fairy whispered stories to the princess as she grew, and the princess understood the true nature of the king and queen. You see, the queen was never maternal. The princess and her brother were raised by the queen’s staff, and the king was so wracked with guilt he barely spoke a word. So, one day the princess rose, sharing the truth of what the royals had done to Mother Earth and left with a handful of elves.”

  “Where is the princess now?” I asked.

  “Raven!” Asuka burst into the room. “You’re needed in the armoury.”

  I hadn’t realised the room had emptied as I listened to Raven’s story. How long had we been sitting there?

  “I’m sorry Olivia, I must leave. Asuka, take Olivia to Tora’s and then meet me in the armoury.”

  “As you wish,” Asuka replied.

  20

  Olivia

  FOREST OF THE FAE

  A groan woke me from my sleep and I sat up in bed looking across the room toward Nova who shifted. Springing from bed I arrived at her side at the same time as Tora.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  Tora held her hand against Nova’s forehead and checked her wound. “I think an infection has set in. This isn’t good.”

  Nova groaned again and my throat clenched tight. “Is there something we can do?”

  “I’ll give her something a little stronger to help her sleep and get a better look at her wound.” Tora set to work mixing a concoction before dropping it into Nova’s mouth. Within moments she settled back into sleep.

  Tora placed the concoction beside her and pulled back Nova’s sheet. The dressing was soaked with blood and removing it revealed white oozing through the blood. The foul odour made me want to gag.

  Tora shook her head. “This isn’t good. I thought she was getting better. There must have been something on the end of the spear.”

  “Can’t you mix something up?” Hope pitched my voice.

  “There’s a flower that could help, but it’s impossible to get,” she said.

  “Impossible how?”

  “The royal family are the only ones who possess it. They grow it in the castle’s medicinal gardens. It’s an elderflower and it’s the only thing that will fight an infection this bad.”

  “So we go and ask for it? You have some sort of peace treaty with them, right?”

  “As long as we don’t return, yes. For one of us to ask for a flower would be risking everyone in the Den and tensions are already high. Raven won’t let us risk it.”

  “What about me? I’m not an elf. I don’t come from here. Maybe I can ask?”

  “That’s not for me to decide. You’ll have to convince Raven,” she said.

  Running to my cot I picked up a flowy dress and pulled it over my head.

  “What are you doing?” asked Tora.

  “I’m going to get Ravens permission to ask the royals for the flower.”

  “Now?”

  “She’s going to die without it right?”

  Her gaze found Nova and she nodded slowly.

  “Then we can’t wait. I need to go and convince Raven now.”

  “You’re right. Ravens not going to be impressed but we can’t waste any time,” said Tora. “I’ll come with you.”

  “I’ll be okay, you need to look after Nova.”

  “I’ll draw you a quick map then.” She found a scrap of paper and gave me brief instructions on how to get to Ravens home.

  She held the map out to me and I took it from her.

  “Wish me luck,” I said.

  “You’re going to need it.”

  Following the directions on the map I ran as fast as I could up the stairs to Ravens home. It was mid-way up and looked much like the outside of Tora’s home. Knocking on the door I waited but after a moment no one answered and I banged it with my fist calling out.

  “Raven! Raven!” I didn’t care who I woke up, I needed to help Nova.

  Finally, the door opened and Raven stood rubbing her eyes. “What’s going on?”

  “I need to talk to you,” I said pushing past her into her home.

  “What’s so important you had to wake me so early in the morning?”

  “It’s Nova, she’s not well.”

  “Tora is the best healer we have,” began Raven.

  “Nova has a bad infection and Tora said the only way to stop it is with elderflower…” I let my words hang in the air for a moment so they could sink into her sleepy head.

  Her eyes narrowed. “And you want me to storm into the castle grounds and take it?”

  “No. I want to go in and ask for it,” I said.

  She laughed. “Did you not listen to my story last night? The queen will never let you take their pressures medicinal plants. They know if there were a war keeping those plants to themselves could be one way to win as it limits our chances of healing the wounded.”

  “But I’m not an elf,” I said. “She won’t even know I’ve come from here.”

  “She’ll know the moment you ask for elderflower. I’m sorry about your friend but I won’t allow it.”

  “Aren’t you tired of the royal family keeping you in hiding? Keeping vital medicinal plants from you?” I bit at her. Frustration laced my words with an anger I’d never possessed before. But my friend was dying, and the royals had the one thing that could save her.

  “We aren’t in hiding. We chose to leave.”

  “Still you can’t see those that stayed behind. You can’t even access plants that could save Nova’s life. What if it was you who needed the flower?”

  “Enough! You are new and don’t understand the situation here, but don’t storm into my room early in the morning demanding me to risk the life of every elf in the Den to save your human friend. I’m sorry your friend is ill. I’m sorry she will die. But there’s nothing I can do.”

  “Nothing you can do, yes. But what about me? Please, at least let me try.”

  “It’s too dangerous and risky,” she said.

  “I can’t just let her die. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be dead. Just give me a chance. At least then if it fails, I know I at least tried. I’ll do everything in my power to leave your people out of it. I just want Nova to live.”

  Raven paced the room for a moment in silence.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Yes?”

  “Yes, you can go. But you need to be careful not to share where you’ve come from. I’m trusting you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now, can I go back to bed?” she asked. “Not that I’ll get a wink of sleep worrying about whether or not this decision will bring war much earlier than we anticipated.”

  “Yes, once you tell me how to get to the castle.”

  She groaned and walked over to a cupboard where she opened a drawer and pulled out a small box. She took a small silver cylinder out and passed it to me. It was cool in my palm and light as a feather. Small symbols were etched along its curved sides.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “A whistle. Blow it when you’re out in the forest and help will come,” she said.

  “I can’t thank you enough,” I said.

  “Don’t thank me yet. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going back to bed. I’ll need sleep if war is soon to be on our doorstep.”

  The sadness behind her eyes and the defeated tone in her voice made the reality of the weight now on my shoulders settle heavily.

  She guided me towards the front door and opened it.

  As I stepped outside, she went to close it behind me before opening it once again.

  “Olivia?” she said. “May Mother Earth watch over you. May she watch over all of us.”

  21

  Lucy

  BILSTONE, AUSTRALIA

  A smile spread across my face as I jumped off the school bus wishing Gus a nice weekend. It was the first day I hadn’t been teased and tormented since I was ten and I’d successfully spent the day flying under the radar. There were a few whispers and sideways glances from the cows, but they kept their opinions to themselves, which I was grateful for.

  Skye bounded down the driveway and I jogged towards her giving her a rough pat.

  “How was your day girl?”

  She barked at me and a yawn stretched across my face. Dad and I had sat up late enthralled by Olivia’s story until we realised it was almost one in the morning and we climbed into bed. An early night was on the cards.

  Skye and I jogged up the driveway and then up the stairs of the veranda where I kicked off my boots and spotted Dad’s boots missing. Peering out over the property, I couldn’t spot him, and it looked as though his ute was missing from the shed. Maybe he’d gone to help Pete?

  Inside, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the couch was empty.

  “Olivia?” I called out, making my way through the house. “Olivia?”

  “Lucy! You’re home!” Oliva stepped out from the spare room. “Look what your dad did for me. Isn’t it wonderful?”

  The spare room which had been full of boxes and other junk was now clear. All that filled it was a double wardrobe and a single bed made up with pink and purple floral sheets.

  “Wow, I didn’t know this room had carpet,” I said.

  “And I had my first ever shower!” she said. “It was amazing.”

  “You look much fresher.” Her hair was still damp, hanging in red spirals over her shoulders.

  “How was your day?” she asked.

  “Good. Not one word from Tracy and her herd.”

  “I’m so happy to hear it. You have a glow about you.”

  “Fingers crossed it stays this way. I’m not holding my breath but it was nice to have at least one day’s break. Where’s Dad?”

  “He’s gone to help a man name Pete. He’ll be back by dinner. Oh, and I have to give you this.” She picked up a box from beside the door and handed it to me.

  Flipping open the lid it was full of albums and paper and other knick-knacks. “I’ll take it to my room and check it out. Thanks.”

  In my bedroom I put the box on my bed before dumping my bag in the corner of the room. Sitting beside the box, I found a piece of yellow clothing folded up on top. Pulling it out, I unfolded it to reveal a strappy summer dress. A smile tugged at my lips. This had belonged to my mum.

  Resting it on the bed beside me, I pulled out a small wooden box, carved with a Celtic tree. Inside were a pile of photos.

  The top one showed mum nursing a baby who I assumed was me. She wore her long mousy brown hair out, and it fell in waves over her shoulders. I twisted my ponytail in my fingers. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d worn my hair out. Would it look like my mothers? Her white singlet and denim shorts hugged her slim figure and her wide smile showed how proud she was of her baby girl.

  My eyes dampened as I searched for my last memory of her. I was five when she passed away, and although I have snippets of building sandcastles on the beach and playing dress ups on the veranda, each birthday I celebrated dulled more and more memories. The last time I’d seen her was when she was in hospital. The colour had drained from her skin and although she tried to grit her teeth, I knew she was in pain. But, despite knowing what she faced, the same smile spread to her eyes every time she saw me. She was weak but did her best to hold me tight and she told me she loved me and would always be with me even if I couldn’t see her anymore. It didn’t make sense then.

  “You okay?” Olivia appeared in the doorway.

  I wiped at the tears that had escaped over my cheeks. Now I know why Dad found it so hard to talk about her. “I’m fine. Just looking through a bunch of Mums old stuff. You can have a look if you like.”

  Olivia made her way to the bed and sat beside me, the bed giving a little. I pulled out the next photo, one of Mum and Dad hugging. Mum was wearing the yellow dress and they both looked very young.

  I passed it to Olivia. “This must be when they were in high school.”

  She took it from me. “How old were they when they started courting?”

  “Courting?” I asked. “You mean dating? Going out?”

  “Yes, I think that’s what I mean.”

  “They got together in the final year of high school. Dad said they had their fair share of ups and downs, but they always loved each other enough to work it out. She was the love of his life.”

  Sifting through the photos, I found a photo of her and me sitting on the grass up near the shed when it was green. She lay sideways, her long white dress flowing over her legs and onto the grass. Her long hair was twisted up into a loose bun and her bright blue eyes beamed along with her wide smile. I sat in front of her, a young chubby baby clasping my hands.

  A grin broke across Olivia’s face. “She was beautiful. You look just like her.”

  “Dad says that all the time. She was beautiful, wasn’t she?” I pondered on that for a moment, staring at her photo. “Sometimes I wonder how different I’d be if Mum was here. Dad said she loved dresses and nice shoes but was more than happy to dress down and get dirty on the farm. Sometimes I wish I had that dress and shoe side of her. Not because of the teasing at school, but because it’d be nice to feel like a teenage girl sometimes.”

  “Maybe you and I could go shopping and find something that says Lucy?” she offered.

  “I think I’d like that. I’ll talk to Dad when he gets back.”

  Dad returned home just as the sun sank below the horizon. After a quick shower he warmed up a casserole Catherine the hairdresser had given him and with a full belly tiredness crept in.

  “I think I need to go to bed,” I said, barely keeping my eyes open.

  “It was a late-night last night. Did you get the box of your mum’s things?” Dad said.

  “Yes, Oliva and I went through some of it this afternoon. Thanks, Dad.”

  I wanted to ask about shopping, but my brain was shutting down, so I climbed into bed, easily falling into a deep sleep.

  A breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked by Dad awaited me when I woke the following morning. The three of us sat around the kitchen bench.

  “I thought we could all go up and look at the hot air balloon today,” said Dad. “See how bad the damage is and if we can repair it?”

  “That would be wonderful,” said Olivia. “It’s my only hope of ever getting back to Edith.”

  “Do you miss her?” I took a mouthful of egg.

  “I can’t tell you how long I’ve been away from her. Months, years. Time is different everywhere I go. But there hasn’t been one day I haven’t thought about her, regretted leaving on this quest. I try not to overthink it less it drive me mad. But I wonder how long I’ve been missing to her, what she thinks happened to me.” She swallowed hard, fighting back sadness.

  “We’ll do everything we can to get your balloon up and running again, even if it is a death trap,” said Dad.

  He still didn’t completely buy Olivia’s story, I couldn’t blame him, but he knew the balloon was important to her and that she’d become important to me.

  The balloon’s basket sat up on blocks, one side was torn and crumpled while the rest was okay. Skye ran around the ropes that trailed from the basket onto the floor, two of them burned and charred. The tanned canvas of the balloon lay splayed out with a large burn hole in its top. It wouldn’t be flying anytime soon.

 

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