Calvin nodded, his jaw tense. “I want to get this over and done with.” He took a moment to get his bearings, then pointed. “This way.”
They made their quiet, careful way through the forest, Diana using the light on her phone to avoid any pitfalls amongst the shadows. The sun was still not fully up, the forest’s denizens just beginning to stir – or heading back home after a night out, in some cases. It really was another way to see a world she’d thought she was familiar with. She didn’t say a word that wasn’t necessary, just enjoying the quiet stillness of the natural world. And of course, the knowledge that Calvin was here, by her side.
After some time, Calvin stopped dead in his tracks, before nodding to himself. “Here,” he said quietly.
Diana peered past him, but couldn’t see what he was indicating. Then he pulled back some branches, and…
She squinted. Shesupposedthat there was a path, buried in there somewhere under all the undergrowth? How Calvin had ever found it originally, she had no idea.
Still, it probably explained how the sprite had remained hidden for all these years. She couldn’t imagine that too many people had followed this path recently.
She followed him down the path, ducking under small branches that Calvin carefully bent out of her way, clutching the tribute all the while. It was hard to judge the amount of time that had passed, but the sun was mostly above the horizon at this point, slanting its golden beams through the canopy and casting the world in brilliant pale light. Birds trilled and cawed all about her, and rustlings and bumps hinted at the presence of creatures that remained unseen.
Eventually, Calvin stopped and turned again.
“We’re here,” he whispered. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
She nodded, nervous but determined. She wanted to help Calvin. And she knew that he would protect her if necessary. She didn’t know a lot about sprites, but she was certain that the wyvern could take one down if it had to. Not that she wanted it to come to that! A peaceful meeting and agreement to lift the curse was all she was after.
Together, they entered the clearing.
Diana looked around with trepidation, half expecting for some half-crazed sprite to burst out and zap her.
If it can’t curse Calvin again, I guess there’s always a chance if we get this wrongIcould end up cursed as well….
But all she could see was a beautiful glade. It wasn’tquiteas lovely and mysterious as Sieval’s, but maybe that was just her opinion being colored by the fact that Sieval hadn’t cursed anyone – or, perhaps even worse, made them solve a riddle.
A small spring of crystal-clear water was nestled amongst mossy rocks and ferns, the sound of its gentle movement almost lulling her into a state of sleepiness. The last embers of sunrise cast the glade in a warm, pink-golden glow as the morning mist slowly evaporated.
Okay, okay, it’s pretty darn gorgeous,she admitted grudgingly.I can see why Calvin decided to stop here.
But, beautiful or not, she didn’t really feel comfortable just standing here. Was the sprite watching and waiting, making preparations to spring a trap? Was it asleep, and likely to be grumpy if they woke it up?Didsprites sleep?
She exchanged a glance with Calvin, who appeared to be thinking the same thing:now what?
“Uh, hello?” she called out softly. “Sprite? We’re really sorry to intrude on your home, but we’d like to talk.”
Nothing, except the gentle whisper of the breeze in the trees. Clearly, she was going to have to play hardball.
She raised her voice. “We have a tribute for you.”
Diana was half expecting the brilliant blast of light that followed the statement – but it was still shocking nonetheless, and she had to scramble to catch the tribute as it almost slid from her lax fingers. The warmth of Calvin’s hand on her shoulder anchored her, slowing the adrenaline that flooded her body.
“You bring me tribute?”
A glowing silvery figure stood imperiously before her – orfloated,rather – a sneer twisting her pretty face. Diana could identify her as a sprite immediately. It was odd, how much she resembled Sieval, yet also didn’t resemble Sieval at all.
The situation reminded her a little of a computer game that Ash had played once where he could design his own character, adjusting its features by increments. Take Sieval as a starting point, then make it a bit more feminine, give its eyebrows a haughty arch, change its color scheme from blue to silver, dial up its arrogance stats to eleven… yeah, the end result was pretty much standing in front of her.
Poor Sieval,she thought sympathetically.Everyone has that one relative who just makes things awkward.
She opened her mouth to reply, not quite sure what she was going to say – but then she noticed the sprite looking back and forth between her and Calvin.
The sprite’s nose wrinkled. “Oh.You.”
Her voice was oddly melodic, in a way that would probably have been quite beautiful if she hadn’t been using it to talk to Calvin like he was something she’d just scraped off of her non-existent shoe. Diana steeled herself, resolving not to jump to Calvin’s defense – as much as she wanted to give this self-important sprite the tongue-lashing of a lifetime, she knew that the best way to get this situation resolved was to give the sprite what she wanted.
Calvin stood up straighter, if that was possible. “I have the answer to your riddle.”
