“Did you do that?” I asked Keir accusingly.
“No, that's all her,” he chuckled.
“I don't know, Cat,” I frowned at her form.
She cocked her head at me and changed into a Shar-Pei. I grimaced as she shook her head, all of her wrinkled skin wobbling with her. She looked at me askance and I shook my head. Then a massive mop head sat before us. I gave a horrified gasp and pulled back in my seat as I stared at the cotton ball-colored puff of dreadlocks.
“What the hell is that?” I pointed at Cat.
“I believe it's called a Puli,” Tiernan observed. “They're Hungarian, supposed to be waterproof.”
“No, Cat,” I shook my head emphatically. “You'll attract more attention as that than you would as a puka.”
She shifted back to her normal form with a whine.
“She'll figure something out,” Keir waved a dismissive hand. “The point is; I want you to have all the protection possible. You'll take your Guard and a few of mine as well.”
“Dad, I don't think that's necess-”
“Seren!” Keir stood abruptly and slashed his hand through the air like he was physically cutting my sentence short. “You will not disobey me in this. I want you protected from our enemies and from your own folly. My knights will report to me alone and will have orders that will supersede yours.”
“What?” I gaped at him.
“I don't want you running off and signing things in my name again,” he growled.
“First of all,” I stood up and glared back at him, “you didn't have to honor that contract if you didn't want to. I signed my name, not yours. Second, this trip is an ambassador mission so I'll be acting as Ambassador Seren, not Princess, and therefore, I'm not obligated to you or your instructions. I have to be seen as functioning in a neutral capacity and your personal guard will screw that image up for me. Lastly, what the hell are you so pissed off about? I'm the one who has to go to freakin' Tulsa!”
Keir took a shaky breath and rubbed an elegant hand over his face. “I apologize,” he sat back down and I followed suit. “I feel unsettled about this, deeply unsettled, and that translates into a desire to control everything.”
“I'll be okay, Dad,” I gave his hand a pat. “I can take care of myself, remember? I got that new fancy smancy firethorn magic. If someone attacks me, I'll pull abind and burnon them.”
“Don't get cocky,” Keir shook his head. “Any magic can be overcome, no matter how powerful it is. And any magic can fail you unexpectedly. The first step towards downfall is believing yourself to be invincible.”
“Yeah, I get that,” I sighed. “I was just trying to make you feel better.”
“I'd feel better if you never left Twilight again,” Keir grimaced.
“Hiding isn't really my thing,” I said gently.
“I know,” Keir smiled indulgently. “And I'm so proud of your heroism. Still, I'd rather you be safe and alive, than a dead hero.”
“Safe is boring, Dad,” I grinned when he groaned.
“There's one more thing you should know about the raven mockers,” Keir exchanged a circumspect look with Tiernan.
“What is it?” I sobered.
“They're ours,” Keir said simply.
“Excuse me?” I blinked at him, sure that I'd misunderstood.
“They're twilight fairies, Seren,” Keir sighed. “The raven mockers are our people, one of the twilight races.”
Chapter Three
The Fairy Realm, isn't technically a planet, it's a solar system, as the Human Realm refers to the solar system which Earth is a part of. But Fairy and Earth are the only planets in both of those systems that are populated. So generally, when one refers to the Realm of Fairy or the Human Realm, they're referring to the planets of Fairy and Earth. That being said, Fairy is connected to Earth in several locations by pathways which can be used to travel between the planets. These paths are like wormholes through space, anchored by fairy mounds which are also known as raths. Each rath leads to a specific location and if you were to lay a map of Fairy over one of Earth, you could connect the raths with a pin shoved through the maps. That's how perfectly aligned the planets of Fairy and Earth are.
The Twilight Kingdom is connected to the United States, with exception to Hawaii and Alaska, which are in Unseelie territory. Even though raths are controlled and guarded by fairies, the Human Councils had built their Council Houses nearby, to both keep an eye on the fey and keep in communication with them. So there was a fairy mound which led directly to Tulsa. I just had to travel to the Tulsa rath in a rather medieval style; by carriage... which would take days.
