17: Faery Dissension
1375 Words
We didn’t get far.
The sounds of battle unexpectedly rose up around us. The wolves went on alert, and even my father bared his teeth with a snarl, hackles raised as his ears pulled back and his head lowered. Surely they didn't come through this to get to me? I checked the wolves closest to me for signs of battle-inflicted wounds, but saw none. Something very strange was going on. Using my smaller size, I slipped between the wolves, hearing my father’s warning bark behind me, but ignoring it. Until the Mists began to clear around me.
The sight in front of me had me stumbling back and nearly falling to my haunches. I had not expected that witnessing a Fae battle would be the most beautifully horrific thing one could ever see. The stunning creatures wielding their most deadly attributes in terrifying displays of power and grace were just… indescribable.
The Fae King had indeed called up the Hunt, which meant ghostly, decaying looking creatures fought amongst creatures of supreme loveliness. It was a contradiction in and of itself, considering the Fae King was the one I was here to save, and he was of the more terrifying of those on the battlefield. That is, until I looked closer, and saw the ‘beautiful’ Fae lunge at an opponent. Their pretty faces would twist into horror masks. Sharp teeth emerged, glowing eyes sinking into faces suddenly going pale with eerie skin colors, long nails emerging to rake at their foes. They would fasten onto their prey, tearing at them more viciously than any beast. It was brutal. It was inconceivable. Were all Fae hiding such monstrosities under their skin? Is this what they truly looked like, the pretty exteriors only a false image to lure in unsuspecting humans?
Either way, it didn’t matter. I was heading home with my father. I could accomplish what I set out to do and go home without feeling guilty. My eyes scanned for the Fae King. One paw in the air, balancing mostly on my haunches, I tried to see through the mess of battling Fae, when I was pinched by the scruff and pulled off the ground. A familiar growl rang out even as I chittered in protest. I arched to try to free myself, but was denied, so I let my form burst apart, startling Papa as I reformed, human, crouched in front of him.
“This mess,” I gestured wildly at the battle behind me. “is because of me. Because the Fae King was too proud to tell them he released me. Because he’s too stubborn to realize he doesn’t need me here for the changes needed for his Realm to improve. Because the people think I’m a threat. I need to tell them I’m leaving so they don’t kill him.” I yelled. Papa’s eyes narrowed, but I didn’t have time to argue. I launched to my feet, twisting to run. However, teeth caught me around the wrist.
I looked back into the large wolf’s eyes. The eyes of my father.
“I owe him Papa. Please. Let me go.” I murmured. He whined, then growled, shaking his head slightly. It was enough to wobble my arm, but not enough to injure me. “He released me Papa. Please, I owe him.” I tugged my wrist, the flesh caught in the space between his canines and molars, smooth gums resting against my skin so I wouldn’t be hurt. He resisted briefly, but then his mouth came free as he whined again. He laid down on the ground, head on his paws. The pain and betrayal I could see in his eyes burned my very soul.
“I promise, you can rush in and save me if it looks like I’m in danger.” I gasped out, then tossed one last look over my shoulder as I ran towards the battling Fae. A small, sad yip followed me as an answer that nearly broke my resolve.
What in all the Gods’ names was I doing?
I ran towards the center of the melee. Surely the Fae King would be somewhere there. I rippled between human and fox form, using every skill in the book to dodge, jump over and under battling Fae and rotting oddities. Every creature that could be ridden imaginable was in use, and I had a time getting around those too, leaping from back to back as a fox, scrambling from harness to hairy hide or leathery skin, feathery back or even scaly spine! It wasn’t long before a cry went up about the human in the midst of the battle. After all, wasn’t that what they were fighting about? It was even less time before someone put together that I was that human that they were concerned over, and then I had a hoard of them on my tail. Sometimes quite literally.
In my human moments, I desperately wished for armor I didn’t have as claws, talons, weapons, and the Gods knew what else were used to attack me. Scrambling to a halt after my latest leap and resuming my human shape, I gaped at my latest set of attackers.
“Who trains a wild cat as a war-beast, you savages?” I bellowed from the back of the skeletal horse I was perched on. I assumed I was safe enough with the Hunt members, but the horse still swung its skeletal head around to glare at me with empty eye sockets. I was too consumed with the large cat to care though. It stood nearly as tall as me while it stood on all four paws. It was a sandy color, with a great mass of hair around its head. I’d not seen the like. But then, I’d only grown up in the Kingdom, unlike my grandfather, who had conquered many lands. I would have to dig through our library when I got home to discover what it was. I wondered if I could emulate it?
Strong hands grabbed me from behind while I was lost in thought. I struggled until a familiar voice whispered across my ear.
“I told you to go.” The Fae King breathed.
“I was intending to-” I told him, then shouted “Do you hear that? I’m going back to my Realm now! Your fighting is pointless! Cease! You die needlessly! I AM LEAVING!” The Fae King chuckled behind me from where he had sat me on his Stag.
“I’m afraid it’s too late for that.” There was almost sorrow in his voice and I turned to look at him over my shoulder. The crowd of Fae surged towards us at that moment, and I felt claws sink into my thigh. I began to slide from the Stag, even though I scrabbled and fought to stay put. And though the Fae King roared and tried to protect me, I was ripped from the Stag and from his arms, my hand slipping from his grasp while he swung a sword at my attackers. Wolves swarmed the armies and I curled my body into a ball, changing shapes to try to escape. I was tossed here and there by scrabbling hands that tried to rip me apart. Despite my struggles, I couldn’t fight my way free from the press of angry bodies. Then my little fox form was scooped up by Papa, his great wolf once again grabbing me by the scruff as though I were a pup, snatching me from the air and grasping hands of the grasping mob. He snarled and barked around my fur as his wolves cleared a path for us. His huge paws and form quickly bowled over any opponents the wolves missed, and suddenly we were clear, racing away with the sounds of the battle fading behind us. But all I could think about was the Fae King. Had he survived the attack? He had been completely surrounded when I last saw him. All of that worthless fighting! The Mists drew in around us, and then thinned out again. A familiar smell began to tickle at my nose.
Home. We were home.
But why couldn’t I be happy about it?
- Writer
