Dorian shoots that one down before I can even get into how many things are wrong with the idea. “If they can see through glamour, you won’t be able to fake the marks. You’d need to carve into a person while they are still alive to give the wounds a chance to scar over.”
She frowns. “Shit. Well, one plan scratched off the list then.”
I go to double check our bags, making sure we each have one this time. We could very well end up in a position where we have to run, and if we get separated, I don’t want anyone to be screwed. Each bag has some clothes and food, emergency supplies, a knife, and a gun. I also tossed a plastic jar with a screw-on lid that we could use as improvised lanterns with the river water. I have no idea what we’re going to encounter after the panther incident, and aim to be better prepared this time around.
“Why don’t we plan for an early night and head out before dawn tomorrow? This trip home hasn’t been what I’d call fantastic and resetting might be good.”
She snorts, turning on the TV since it’s still a couple of hours before we can even entertain the thought of sleeping. “You say that like we need to go on a family camping trip to decompress. We might get mauled to death, you know; nothing to really look forward to.”
I sit beside her and drag her onto my lap, taking a page out of Dorian’s book and toying with the golden tips of her hair. “It was beautiful though, wild animals aside. I like it far better than your mother’s kingdom. We need to find the good amongst the bad or we’ll drive ourselves crazy. We have each other. That’s just going to have to be enough.”
***
“It really is stunning,” she agrees wistfully, looking around the light blue glow encompassing the dark forest.
I take it all in with a pang of longing, tempted to stay here forever. I might be considered successful, even lucky back home, but there’s countless stressors. There’s never a dull moment, and before Cambria forced my hand, I never had much downtime to just...relax.
A part of me never wants to leave.
“Are we finding somewhere to set up camp or just spending the day here?” Dorian asks, and I turn to Cambria for the answer.
“It feels so much more potent here than I’m used to.” She crouches down and runs her hand over the soft grass, nearly purring. “I don’t think I’ll need to stay the night; just hanging out for the day should be enough.”
That settled, we begin walking, eyeing things with caution. With as many things as could be hiding in the shadows, we can’t very well let our guard down, despite the very air begging us to. But peace does not equate to safety, and ultimately, I need to protect my family over lounging around.
Hours pass as we traipse through the woods languidly, just exploring. Our steps grind to a halt as we hear voices up ahead, all traces of ease vanishing in an instant. We crouch down, drawing our weapons.
“Why Achlys won’t let us fight is beyond me,” a male voice gripes, his footsteps so light we’d never have heard them coming if they weren’t immersed in conversation.
“Why the queen doesanythingis anyone’s guess,” the other sighs, sounding worn down and defeated. “You know as well as I do what a suicide mission it would be at this point.”
“Like we aren’t all going to die anyway?” the first growls.
They carry on without seeing us, following a subtle path to the left and presumably towards a town. I’m tempted to follow and eavesdrop, anything to glean more information about what led to Queen Elorie wiping the shadow court from her subjects’ minds. Yet I stay rooted to the spot, because getting caught will only lead to trouble, despite my desire for answers.
Atlas thumps his forehead against a tree trunk when we’re alone again. “I swear, I get more exhausted every trip we make. Lies on top of deceit; I swear, the trees would sell you out for a drink of water. ”
Cambria threads her fingers through his. “At least we know what direction the nearest town likely is? So we can avoid it now. And we have a name for the queen here, which is more than we had before, so that’s a plus,” she tries in a pitiful attempt at comfort.
“To be fair,” Dorian starts slowly, mulling over an idea aloud. “We’re just assuming they’d be hostile if they found us. Rickon wanted to come here for a reason. He may have known the dangers in the forest well enough he thought they could survive for some time, but he planned this for years. He’d have known they couldn’t camp here forever. Maybe he thought to start over in that town.”
I run my tongue over my teeth again, agitated. “That’s a hell of a gamble for us to take.”
Atlas rests his chin on the top of Cambria’s head, one arm slung over her collar and holding her against him. “Maybe we should stake it out. Whatever information we can gain, the better, but we can’t just go from hiding her in the house to hiding her in the woods. There has to be a way out of this mess that gives her a shot at an actual life. If that jackass Rickon could figure something out, then we can too.”
Nervously, I agree, and the four of us creep stealthily without uttering another word. The closer we get to the town, the higher the likelihood of running into somebody before we’re prepared, and we have no idea what they’re capable of.
The light steadily increases with our proximity to the ‘city’ if you can even call it that; It’s more like a village nestled in a massive clearing. I feel the shimmer of power tingling across my skin when we step past a certain point, the same sensation as when we entered the glamour surrounding the castle. Here though, it was concealing the city from the outside and once you stepped through, you were seeing the real thing instead of a fake projection of perfection. It leaves my skin crawling, like a perpetual itch I can’t quite scratch.
So they’re hiding from Elorie too.
It’s a large enough settlement that I can’t see to the other side of town, especially from this angle. The homes are single or two stories, but nothing larger; built from wood or stone. The river runs right through the center of town, illuminating everything, and the plant life coating the exterior of the houses brightens the rest of the space.
Men and women flit in and out of view, a few flying, but not many. As opposed to Cambria’s flamboyant appearance, most are a deeper shade of unusual colors. Plums, maroons, sapphire; though it doesn’t make them appear subdued at all. They seem to have a tangible air of magic to them, as if lit from within. It’s mesmerizing and entrancing, making it hard to look away.
A child chases a ball, nearly tumbling into the river before a passerby snatches him up at the last second, sending him on his way with a shake of his head. We simply observe, trying to get a sense of the sort of fae that live here and if they’re any different to the ones in Elorie’s kingdom. After at least an hour of people watching, it’s clear there’s a sense of community that isn’t common in the human world anymore, and far less toxic than the light court. Everyone helps keep an eye on the stray children running rampant, even when it’s clear they aren’t related. They help one another, offering to lend aid to someone carrying too much, or greeting each other with smiles.
From the corner of my eye, I glance at Cambria to see how she’s dealing with the development, only to see her completely enraptured. After how ostracized she’s been, I imagine seeing so much easy kindness hurts to behold. She has every right to be envious, and I find myself not faring much better. My loneliness pales in comparison to hers, but I’ve always struggled to connect with people, been on the outside looking in for as long as I can remember.
