Tomas looked appalled. “I didn’t know! I never met Aghamonda; I just know what my father told me when he asked me to bring the locket to Baibre. I believed him when he said it was a gift. I am so sorry!” he said to the tiny face inside the swinging locket. “I never would have given it to you if I’d known!”
“Don’t blame your father. He probably didn’t know either,” said Aislin. She examined the locket, turning it over in her hand. “We can’t just leave it here for someone to find. I’d free her if I could, but I don’t have the magic to undo this. Not many fairies do. My father and his parents could, though. We’ll have to take it with us.”
When she tried to give the locket back to Tomas, he pushed her hand away. “I can’t look at that thing.”
“Then I’ll carry it,” said Aislin, and she slipped the chain over her head.
“I think my father did know,” said Tomas. “Because now the rest of what he said makes sense. He said that if Baibre doesn’t tell me not to, I’m to take the locket back to Aghamonda. I couldn’t figure out that part until now. I mean, why would you give someone a gift, then take it back right away? But Baibre can’t tell me not to if she’s trapped inside it. Why do you think Aghamonda wanted to trap her sister like this?”
“I’m not sure, but it can’t be for anything good,” said Aislin. “I don’t think you should give it to her.”
“I won’t,” said Tomas. “Anyone who would do this to her sister can’t be a good person. What do you want to do next? You helped me, and it’s time for me to live up to my part of the bargain. I said I’d take you home after we gave Baibre the gift. Are you ready to go?”
Aislin wanted to say yes. From the moment she’d left her family’s castle with King Tyburr, all she’d wanted was to go back home. She’d dreamed about it every night when she fell asleep, and thought about it a dozen times every day. The word was on the tip of her tongue, but she knew she couldn’t, not yet at least. Something was going on with the fairies who’d been left behind. Her grandparents needed to know about it, and Aislin was the only one who could help.
“I think I’d rather go to Scarmander with you instead. I’d like to meet this fairy, Aghamonda. She’s up to something and I want to know what she’s planning.”
“All right,” Tomas told her. “But I have to warn you, I’ve heard that she’s very intimidating.”
Aislin laughed. “She can’t possibly be more intimidating than my grandparents, but thanks for the warning.”
Tomas and Aislin headed toward the sleeping-cat rock and found the two soldiers among the trees not far from the road. Cadby was asleep on his back with his mouth open, snoring softly, but Marden was whittling and he saw them right away. “How did it go?” asked Marden.
“I did what I was sent to do,” Tomas told him, looking grim. “Let’s go. I want to put this place behind us as soon as possible.”
“King Tyburr’s men passed by a while ago,” Marden said as he tucked his knife into his belt. “We heard shouting, but they haven’t been back this way since.”
“We’ll make our best time if we stick to the road for as long as we can. Be alert for horses and riders!” Tomas told them.
Aislin glanced back as they approached the dirt road. Although she couldn’t see them, she could sense that two beings were following her. She was sure they weren’t any of King Tyburr’s men. From the feeling she got, they were more likely the manticore and the griffin.
Aislin and Tomas walked without talking, listening for the sounds of someone’s approach. Dust puffed around their feet, clouding the narrow band of sunlight that brightened the center of the road. A snake that had been warming itself slithered into the underbrush at their approach. Something big enough to make the trees shake lumbered off when they drew close. They hadn’t gone far when Aislin heard a cry for help coming from the woods on the far side of the road.
“Twinket!” she cried, recognizing the doll’s voice. Alarmed, she ran into the woods without waiting for the others.
“What’s a Twinket?” asked Cadby.
“I have no idea,” Tomas replied as they took off after Aislin.
Aislin followed the doll’s cries deep into the woods, stopping only when she saw the reason Twinket was screaming. Seven trolls—long-armed, lumpy, and not much taller than the princess herself—had found the doll. Aislin had never seen a troll before, but she’d read enough descriptions of them to recognize them now. Their red-rimmed eyes, straggly, greasy hair, and loose, slobbery lips made them repulsive, but their smell was the most awful thing of all. It was so strong it attracted flies that buzzed around the trolls, landing on the corners of their eyes, on their mouths, and on the skin exposed through their raggedy clothes.
While Tomas and his men caught up, Aislin held her breath, watching as the trolls tossed Twinket back and forth. Poppy was there, flying after the doll, too small to do anything but scream at the trolls to stop.
The men reached the princess, gathering around to protect her. She was too stunned to speak, until one of the trolls ripped Twinket’s arm off, tossing it into a tree where it lodged in the branches. At the sight of the poor, sobbing doll, Aislin screamed, “No!” even louder than Poppy. The trolls turned, wide grins splitting their scarred faces at the sight of new victims.
The men had already drawn their weapons and were taking aim at the shambling trolls when Tomas pushed Aislin behind him. From everything she had read, men and their meager weapons were no match for a troll, let alone seven. She was looking for bare rock when the manticore arrived, crashing through the underbrush, while the griffin dove from the sky to rake the trolls with his eagle talons.
The trolls bellowed, swatting at the griffin and throwing boulders, logs, and anything else they could pick up at the trumpeting manticore. Nimble and fleet of foot, the manticore avoided everything easily. When the troll holding Twinket threw her as well, Poppy swooped down, turning big in midair, just in time to grab the doll. The fairy tucked in her legs and arms when she landed, rolling across the forest floor with her body wrapped around Twinket.
“Over here!” Aislin called, even as she backed away from the trolls.
“My arm!” screamed Twinket, waving her remaining hand at the tree where her arm was barely visible.
“Here, take her!” Poppy cried, shoving the doll into Aislin’s hands.
The fairy turned small again and darted to the tree. Too tiny to carry the arm, Poppy grabbed hold of it, tugged it loose, and hurled it as hard as she could at Aislin. Marden snatched it from the air and handed it to the princess, shaking his head when he saw that it was nothing more than fabric.
“Run!” Aislin shouted, and they retreated toward the road.
The trolls followed them, roaring and knocking down the smaller trees that stood in their way. The men paused now and then to shoot bolts from their crossbows, but the trolls paid the bolts no more attention than they did the flies that swarmed around them. When even the griffin and the manticore were unable to turn the trolls aside, Aislin began to fear that they might not reach the road and the narrow band of sunlight in time. As far as she could remember from her reading, sunlight was the only thing that trolls feared, because it could turn them to stone. Her party would be safe only if they could get to the other side.
She could hear the trolls drawing closer behind them when an idea occurred to her. Not knowing much more about trolls, she had no idea if it would do anything, but if it had worked with ogres …
Although singing wasn’t easy when she was running, Aislin gave it everything she could. She sang the first song that popped into her head, a fairy drinking song that ended with everyone asleep in a meadow far from their homes. It was one of the ogres’ favorites, and when she heard the trolls growing quiet behind her, she decided that it was now one of her favorite songs as well.
“Did you see that?” Cadby exclaimed as they finally reached the road. “As soon as the princess started to sing, the trolls stopped running and fell to the ground! I never would have believed it if I hadn’t looked back and seen it myself.”
“Just like ogres!” said Twinket.
“Except ogres don’t fall down,” Poppy reminded her.
“Aislin, are you going to introduce us?” Tomas asked, glancing at the fairy and the doll that could move and talk.
Thinking that it was too late for some secrets, Aislin turned to him and smiled. “Of course! These are Poppy and Twinket. They’re my best friends and I’ve known them all my life.”
“Uh, you’re a fairy, right?” Tomas said to Poppy. “I saw you turn tiny and fly and everything. But what exactly is Twinket?”
“I’m a living doll!” Twinket explained.
“That’s exactly right!” Aislin said with a laugh. “I couldn’t have said it better!”
Twinket grinned, but a tear in her cheek made it look lopsided.
“Aislin, let me have Twinket for a minute,” said Poppy. “I need to fix a few things.”
Everyone kept walking as Poppy used her magic to reattach the doll’s arm and mend the bigger holes. Tomas and his men watched, amazed, as the torn pieces drew back together and looked as good as new.
“Will you look at that!” Cadby breathed, regarding Poppy with respect. “A doll that can walk and talk and a fairy with real magic! You’d be mighty handy to have around on mending day! My old mother would be crazy about you!”
Poppy gave him a shy smile, her cheeks turning bright pink when he matched his pace to hers. Aislin had to grin when she saw the look on her friend’s face.
“Why didn’t you use your magic to stop the trolls?” asked Marden.
“Because fairy magic doesn’t work on trolls,” Poppy replied.
“Someone’s magic does,” Tomas said, giving Aislin a speculative look.
The griffin and the manticore came out of the forest and started to follow the group down the road. It made the men nervous, even though the beasts had just fought the trolls beside them. When the men put their hands on their weapons, Aislin dropped back to talk to the manticore. “Thank you for your help, but why were you following us?” she asked him.
“We said we’d do your bidding and we can’t do that if we can’t hear you. Besides, there’s no reason to stay behind. We’re supposed to protect Baibre,” the griffin replied. “We don’t sense her in her home now. She’s with you. We talked it over and decided that we should follow you as long as you have her.”
Aislin nodded. She could sense the magic in creatures around her; who was she to argue when others could sense such things as well?
“All right,” she said. “You may stay with us as long as we’re in the forest. But remember—you aren’t to eat humans anymore.”
“We already promised that we wouldn’t!” the manticore blared, looking affronted.
“You’re right, you did,” said the princess, and she turned to rejoin the group.
When Aislin caught up with Poppy and Twinket, she asked, “What were you two doing here? I thought you were still in the castle.”
“We were looking for you, of course,” said Poppy. “As soon as I heard about the troops in the city, I grabbed Twinket and ran. We listened to talk in the street and heard which way your carriage went and followed it. I had a feeling we were getting close, but then those troll oafs grabbed Twinket and I didn’t know what to do. I’m so glad you showed up when you did!”
“So am I!” Aislin said, and gave her friends each a hug.
They walked for more than an hour without seeing anyone or anything unusual. Marden finally told them that they had to turn west, and they left the road to head back through the forest. The griffin and the manticore had been trailing behind them, but they took the lead now, finding the way around thick underbrush and across a deep ravine.
They were passing through a forest glade when something darted past Tomas, only inches from his face. “What was that?” he cried, taking a step back.
Something tweaked Marden’s nose while something else knocked Cadby’s cap from his head and pulled his hair. Whatever was doing it was moving too fast for them to see.
“Stay here,” Aislin told the human men as Poppy started to chase a tiny, moving target. When one flew close enough, Poppy’s hand shot out and caught it. Aislin hurried to join her.
“Let me go!” cried a small, shrill voice.
Poppy opened her hand, revealing a tiny fairy dressed in fern tips. “They’re angry flower fairies,” Poppy told Aislin. “We must be in their meadow.”
The fairy darted out of Poppy’s hand and flew backward to get a better look at her. “You’re a fairy, too!” she cried. “Where did you come from?”
“That’s not possible!” cried a second fairy as they all came for a closer look. They were moving so quickly that it was hard to count how many were there.
“Who are you?” asked another.
“My name is Poppy,” she said. “And this is Princess Aislin, granddaughter of Queen Surinen.”
The fairies gasped. Some of them stopped beating their wings and almost dropped to the ground before they remembered to fly again. Others bumped into each other, looking confused, while some clapped their hands and looked at Aislin with joy in their eyes.
“Is the queen back?” one asked. “We’ve been waiting for this day for so long!”
“No,” said Aislin. “She’s not. Poppy and I are the only ones.”
“Wait!” cried a fairy dressed in pink petals. “How do we know she really is who she says she is?”
“I’ll show you,” Aislin said, and held out her hand.
“I’m not touching her!” cried the fairy dressed in pink. “I don’t trust her. You do it, Bluebell.”
“Chicken!” cried the fairy wearing a bluebell cap. She darted over to land on Aislin’s finger.
Aislin didn’t move, but the contact was enough to make the fairy jump in surprise. “It’s her!” she cried, and started dancing in midair. “It’s her! It’s her! It’s really her!”
“A fairy princess?” said the one in pink. “But you aren’t just fairy, are you? You aren’t shaped like a fairy and your eyes are different.”
Aislin shook her head. “I’m also a pedrasi princess. My father is King Carrigan, son of King Darinar and Queen Surinen. My mother is Queen Maylin, daughter of King Talus and Queen Amethyst.”
“Wow! A lot has happened since we were left behind,” Bluebell declared.
“I can’t believe we couldn’t tell that she was part fairy!” cried another fairy.
“Why is that hard to believe?” the fairy in pink asked. “We can’t switch any more either.”
“What do you mean?” Poppy asked her.
The fairy sighed. “After we were left behind—”
“It was our fault!” said Bluebell. “We slept in after a big party the night before and didn’t wake up until everyone else was gone. We looked and looked, but couldn’t find anyone, so we came back here. When word got out that the king and queen were gone, humans started hunting for fairies, so we stayed small and hid here so long that we’ve forgotten how to get big again. Without the king and queen here, there isn’t as much magic around as there used to be. But you’re back now and everything is going to be all right again!”
When Bluebell started dancing around Aislin, the others joined in, forming a flying garland of brightly clothed fairies that wove in and out around the princess. Suddenly Bluebell stopped and darted toward Aislin’s face. “I know you said that you’re the only one here now, but the others are coming back, aren’t they? We need the king and queen. Nothing is the same as it used to be.”
“I really don’t know,” Aislin told her.
“Please, please, please ask them to come back!” cried the fairy in pink.
“I’ll tell them how much you need them,” Aislin replied. “I promise.”
Aislin and Poppy joined Tomas again. “What did you talk about?” he asked.
“All sorts of things,” Aislin replied. “I just made some new friends and a promise that I’ll keep as soon as I can.”
“And?” he prompted.
“And it’s time to get going, don’t you think?” she said with a smile.
Tomas grumbled, but she had no intention of sharing her conversation with the fairies.
The fairies seemed delighted with her promise. They escorted Aislin and her companions all the way to the edge of the forest, hanging back with Poppy while they asked about life in the fairy court and inquired after friends they hadn’t seen in hundreds of years. Poppy told them that she’d come back to teach them how to get big again, which made them so happy that they started another dance. Aislin felt bad about leaving them behind, but even worse when she thought about how disappointed they’d be if her grandparents didn’t bring all the other fairies back.
As she walked, she realized she was contemplating her family’s return, something she never would have considered when she lived in Eliasind. That was their home, and had been for her entire life, but they’d had a home here before, and friends and family who missed them dearly. She had so much to discuss with her grandparents! Before she went back, however, she had to find out what the fairies were doing in the wider world beyond the forest.
The edge of the forest wasn’t far from the border between Morain and Scarmander. The griffin and the manticore were reluctant to remain behind, but Aislin was firm and wouldn’t let them leave the concealment of the forest. Avoiding the road and possible guards, Tomas led the group through fields and orchards, crossing the border on the way. They spent the night just beyond the border in a farmer’s barn.
Even though Aislin was exhausted, her mind was roiling with too many things for her to fall asleep. King Tyburr knew about fairies. Clearly, the ceremony for the baby princess wasn’t the first time he had summoned Morning Glory for a christening gift. That meant that he had known about fairies before he ever visited Eliasind. Was it possible that he knew that fairies lived in the land between the mountains before the visit? Did he know that fairies lived in her parents’ castle when he was there? How did he find out about the pass, anyway? And even with the pass open, it wasn’t easy to get through and would have been hard to find—unless someone had told him where to look. He wanted to go back, too. Was he just looking for a way into Scarmander like Poppy seemed to think, or was he looking for something else?
Before Aislin fell asleep, she decided that she would very much like to have a conversation with Morning Glory, the fairy who had visited King Tyburr’s court and the only fairy that she knew had traveled between the human kingdoms. Maybe she would have some answers.