Although Aislin had hoped that the castle guards would have raised the drawbridge, it looked just as it usually did, with the bridge down and two guards on either side of the portcullis. As far as she could tell, the only difference was that, instead of their typical fairy silver, the guards wore dull-gray helmets that covered their pointed fairy ears and bulky, padded clothes that concealed their slender fairy bodies.
“Who goes there?” called one of the guards.
“King Tyburr of Morain,” replied one of the king’s escorts.
A shadow moved inside the courtyard as someone ran to spread the word that a human king was at their gates. The guards beckoned the humans in, giving a nod to Aislin as they passed. She looked around as the horses clattered across the drawbridge and into the courtyard beyond. Unlike the normal bustle of activity, there was hardly anyone about. Even odder, she was surprised to see two figures standing at the top of the castle steps, dressed as the king and queen. Of course, neither of them were her parents.
Larch, the fairy nursemaid, was dressed as the queen. A white veil covered her pointed ears and a padded gown disguised her slender figure. Looking more closely at the pretend king standing beside her, Aislin realized it was Nurlue. Aislin didn’t recognize him at first because he had shaved off his long beard—a real sacrifice for a pedrasi.
The humans seemed wary, keeping their hands on their swords while they looked around, as if they expected an ambush from any direction. The fake king and queen were smiling, however, and did their best to look pleased to see them. “Welcome to our home!” Nurlue exclaimed. “I am King Nurlue and this is my wife, Queen Larch.” Though Aislin knew their true features, she was impressed with their disguises; Nurlue passed as a short human with a round body and a rather large nose.
“I am King Tyburr of Morain,” said the human king as he studied his hosts. “It is kind of you to welcome uninvited strangers. Not everyone would.” He turned and nodded to the man who had lifted Aislin onto his horse. At pressure from the man’s legs, the horse started forward. “We encountered this young lady in the woods. She saved me from an attacking bear. I would like to commend you on the bravery of your very special daughter.”
Larch reached toward Aislin. “An attacking bear?” she asked, worry in her eyes.
This seemed to please the human king. When the horse stopped beside him, he leaned toward Aislin. “I wasn’t sure you were a princess until just now. Your mother’s concern is obvious.”
Aislin made a strangled sound and slipped off the horse. She darted up the steps, where Larch caught her in her arms. Furtively, she whispered, “Be careful of the king and the man with red hair. They’re both smart and observant.”
Larch gave her a tiny nod. “Are you all right?” she whispered back.
“I’m fine,” Aislin replied, and turned around to see one of King Tyburr’s men leading the horse bearing the deer carcass forward.
“We did not know that we had entered your kingdom and that we were hunting on your land,” declared King Tyburr. “This buck belongs to you. I apologize for taking it without your permission.”
Nurlue’s smile faltered, but he quickly recovered and waved his hand, as if killing the deer didn’t bother him at all. “Under the circumstances, such a mistake is understandable,” he said, although he avoided looking at Sure Foot.
On an ordinary evening, fairy lights lit up the courtyard when darkness fell, but Queen Maylin seemed to have thought of everything. Fairies wearing helmets emerged from the lower castle doors to light torches placed in sconces on the walls. Aislin crinkled her nose at the smell, and Larch sniffed as if she too smelled something bad.
Nurlue glanced at the sky, then turned back to King Tyburr. “It is growing dark. Won’t you join us for supper and a comfortable night’s rest?”
King Tyburr smiled, although it wasn’t warm or friendly. “We would be pleased to accept your gracious offer,” he said, his hand still lingering by his sword. “We have traveled far with little to eat, and my men and I would appreciate a good meal.”
King Tyburr dismounted, handing his reins to one of his men. Aislin backed away as he started up the steps. She waited while Craiger and the other men hurried after their king, then followed them to make sure that none were left behind to snoop.
The aroma of roasting food wafted from the kitchen, hurrying the hunters’ steps. When they reached the Great Hall, the men were directed to seats at a table off to the side, while King Tyburr was escorted onto the dais with the royal family. A place had already been laid for him beside Nurlue, leaving Aislin to sit beside Larch. Aislin was relieved that there was no sign of her mother or brother, and that all the fairies were wearing some sort of disguise to cover their pointed ears and slender bodies. Sprinkled among the fairies were a few of the taller pedrasi, but none of them were seated near enough that the humans could inspect them closely.
A servant was pouring wine into their chalices when King Tyburr turned to Nurlue, remarking, “Your kingdom is very secluded and difficult to find.”
“We like it that way,” Nurlue replied. “It’s peaceful here.”
“Do you get many visitors?” asked King Tyburr.
Nurlue shook his head. “You’re the first in a long time.”
Or ever, thought Aislin.
King Tyburr took a sip of wine, and nodded his approval. “Do you ever travel beyond your borders?” he finally asked.
“Not in many years,” Nurlue told him.
“And why is that?” King Tyburr asked.
“The rest of the world holds no attraction for me. I have everything I need right here.” Nurlue patted Larch’s hand.
The servants began to carry out platters and bowls filled with leafy vegetables, sautéed mushrooms, and root vegetables in heavy sauce. King Tyburr looked around expectantly, but when no other dishes emerged from the kitchen, he turned back to Nurlue. “I noticed that you have an abundance of game in your forest, yet you don’t serve meat with your supper,” he said.
Larch leaned forward to see past Nurlue. “We’re careful about what we eat,” she told King Tyburr.
“I can see why,” King Tyburr said, glancing at Aislin before turning to the heavier pedrasi and the fairies’ padded clothes.
Aislin blushed and turned away. She didn’t know what he meant, but his tone of voice and the expression on his face told her that he was being unkind.
Noticing Aislin’s pink cheeks, Larch pursed her lips. The fairy’s hand shook when she reached for her chalice, causing her to spill wine onto the table. “How clumsy of me!” she exclaimed.
Aislin suspected that the nursemaid had done it on purpose to change the subject.
King Tyburr didn’t seem to notice. “This wine is delicious,” he declared, and drained his chalice. “I don’t think I’ve ever tasted any like it.”
“We make it ourselves,” Larch told him proudly. “Our vintners are very talented. Be careful though—our wine can go straight to your head if you aren’t accustomed to it.”
King Tyburr laughed. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” He smiled when a servant refilled his chalice.
Aislin thought the human king looked more relaxed than he had before. When she glanced at his men, they all seemed to be enjoying their food and wine as well. She noticed that the servants were quick to refill their cups with the potent fairy wine as soon as they were emptied. A few of the humans were already yawning. Only Craiger seemed more interested in the people around him than in what his trencher and cup held. He seemed especially intrigued by the fairies seated across from him. Aislin wondered if their disguises weren’t quite good enough. When she looked at them more critically, she realized that one or two might have overdone it; although their bodies and padding-plumped arms were very round, their faces were still thin, and their hands long and narrow, making them look quite odd.
After sampling his food, King Tyburr turned back to Nurlue. “Most people don’t believe that anyone lives between the mountains. I was surprised when I saw your daughter. Do you have many subjects?”
“A goodly number, scattered here and there,” Nurlue replied, careful not to reveal too much.
Aislin’s gaze wandered back to Craiger. The man was staring at King Tyburr as if hoping to catch his eye. Whatever he had to say to the king, Aislin had a feeling that she wouldn’t like it. Perhaps it was time for another distraction. Setting down her knife, she turned to Nurlue and said, “I think our guests might like a song, Father. With your permission …”
Nurlue glanced at Aislin, then at Larch. When Larch gave him a tiny nod, he said, “Wonderful idea, my dear. We always enjoy your songs.”
Aislin stood and faced the humans seated at the table below the dais. As she began to sing a song about love and valor, everyone stopped talking. She had thought this through and was careful to leave out the words “fairy,” “ogre,” “flying,” “magic,” “curse,” and all references to incredible age. Her gaze wandered around the hall as she sang, and she saw her plan had worked; she watched as everyone, including Craiger, sat back to listen and sip from their cups of wine. Only the servants seemed alert, hurrying to replenish the guests’ drinks.
Aislin sang until the wine had made most of the humans fall asleep with their heads pillowed on their arms. By the time King Tyburr himself slumped with his mouth open, only Craiger was still awake, although even his head was starting to droop. Aislin kept singing until Craiger was snoring into the remains of his supper. As soon as she was sure that he really was asleep, she turned to Larch and Nurlue.
“Come with us.” Larch beckoned and led the way to the anteroom next to the Great Hall.
“Mother!” Aislin cried out when she saw the queen waiting for them. Running to the queen, Aislin threw herself into her mother’s arms. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to keep them from coming to the castle! When I saw that it couldn’t be avoided, I kept them away as long as I could.”
“You did well,” her mother said, holding her close. “My dear, brave girl! I wish it hadn’t been up to you to deal with these men. I’m very proud of you.”
Relieved to see her mother, Aislin was bursting with questions. “Is Father coming back?” she asked.
The queen shook her head. “I sent word to him right away, but the fairy messengers came back to tell me that neither your father nor your grandfather are in Fairengar. No one knows where they are right now. We have to handle this ourselves.”
Larch snorted and shook her head. “I still say we should have given those humans the toxic mushrooms. Humans aren’t to be trusted.”
“We weren’t going to kill those men!” the queen exclaimed. “Tyburr is a king! Surely his people know that he came this way. If he doesn’t return, they’ll come looking for him. The last thing we want to do is start a war! We’ll just send them back where they came from and reseal the pass when they’re gone.”
“Shouldn’t we put them in bed for now?” asked Aislin. “We can’t leave them in the Great Hall all night. Do you have rooms ready?”
“We do,” said the queen. “They’ll sleep in the west wing. We’ll post guards to make sure they don’t wake up and go wandering.”
“After drinking all that fairy wine, those men will be out till morning,” said Nurlue.
“I hope so,” the queen replied. “For everyone’s sake.”
“Oh, they’ll sleep all right. After the last one fell asleep, I cast a spell to make their slumber long and deep,” Larch declared. “They won’t wake before morning unless something extraordinary happens.”
“You didn’t!” the queen said, alarmed. “I told you to talk to me before you used any magic!”
Larch shrugged. “You weren’t there and it needed to be done.”
“No more magic unless I agree to it,” the queen told her. “Do you understand?”
Larch looked meek when she bowed her head and replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I’ve sent Skarly and Kwarel to carry the humans to their rooms,” said the queen. “Aislin, come with me. I want to hear about everything that happened.”
Aislin accompanied her mother to her solar, passing the ogre footmen on the way. Both ogres were carrying two humans, one over each shoulder. The humans were snoring loudly and didn’t show any sign of waking.
“Poppy told me that a deer warned you about the humans and that you found them near the pass,” the queen said as they reached the solar. “She also told me that she warned other animals, but Sharp Claw didn’t listen. He was lingering when the king arrived and shot him with an arrow.”
Aislin nodded. “Then Sharp Claw charged and I told him to stop. The king thought I had saved his life, but I was really trying to protect Sharp Claw. When the king ordered his man to take me up on his horse, he asked me where I live, but I didn’t tell him. The man named Craiger climbed a tree and saw the castle. After that they knew which way to go. I tried to get them lost, but Craiger is too smart. He’s as smart as the king—we have to watch them both. We also have to make sure that no fey show who they really are. The king and Craiger are sure to see it. When I was with the humans in the forest, fey tried to help me, but I told them to stop because I know how important it is that the humans don’t learn the truth about us. The way Craiger was looking around during supper made me wonder if he doesn’t already suspect something. I offered to sing to distract him.”
“You have helped so much, my darling girl,” said the queen. “I wish you hadn’t had to talk to the humans at all. Thank you for everything you’ve done. Now go to bed and don’t worry. I have something in mind that will make them want to leave.”
Aislin hurried to her room, wondering what her mother had planned. When she opened her door, Twinket ran to greet her.
“Princess, I was so worried!” cried the doll. “Did those horrible men hurt you?”
“Not at all,” Aislin said as she scooped her up. “And Mother has a plan to make them leave in the morning. Thank you so much for helping me!”
“You know I’ll always do whatever I can for you,” the doll said, and planted a quick kiss on Aislin’s cheek.
The princess sat on the edge of her bed and sighed. “I’m really tired and I have a feeling that tomorrow morning is going to be very interesting, but I don’t think I’ll get a wink of sleep knowing that humans are in the castle.”
“I can go watch them for you,” said Twinket. “If you go to sleep now, I’ll wake you if something happens.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Aislin said, stretching out on her bed. She closed her eyes as the doll climbed down the covers and ran across the room. The princess was asleep before Twinket reached the door.
It seemed like only moments later that Aislin woke to Twinket patting her face.
“Get up! You have to come see this!” cried the doll. “There are ghosts in the castle and they’re trying to wake up the humans!”
“Huh? What?” Aislin mumbled, still half asleep. “This castle doesn’t have any ghosts!”
“The sprites invited them here. They’re trying to scare the humans away!” exclaimed Twinket.
Suddenly wide-awake, Aislin slipped off her bed and ran to the door. “Go tell Mother and I’ll try to stop them,” she told the doll before starting down the corridor.
Aislin was out of breath when she reached the west wing, but she didn’t stop until she spotted the guards at the end of the hall. They were arguing with a group of sprites who were snickering and peering toward the rooms where the humans were staying.
“What’s going on?” she asked the guards.
“The sprites invited ghosts into the castle,” said one of the guards. “Do you know how hard it is to get rid of those things? Once ghosts arrive, they never want to leave, and they make so much noise that no one can get any sleep. They won’t give up until they either scare you or drive you batty.”
“That’s why we invited them here!” cried one of the sprites. “If they scare the humans enough, that king will leave and never come back.”
“Ooooh!” wailed a ghost somewhere out of sight.
Aislin scowled and ran toward the sound. When she reached the corner, she saw three pale figures gliding from door to door, moaning. Cold fog drifted across the floor, seeping under the doors. The princess darted behind a tapestry covering an alcove and gave out a muffled shriek when she ran into Bim. The little sprite was peeking at the ghosts, chortling.
“Why are you doing this? My mother is going to make them leave,” Aislin whispered.
“We want to help,” Bim whispered back. “Look, one of the doors is opening!”
Aislin joined him in peeking out from behind the tapestry. Two humans stepped out of a room and looked around. A ghost floated toward them, waving its arms and moaning. The men fell back into the room, slamming the door.
Other sprites carrying lanterns began to creep along the corridor. Bim reached for an unlit lantern on the floor, whispering, “They started without me!”
As he was lighting it with his magic, Aislin asked, “What are you going to do with that?”
“Knock on the doors and lure the humans to the window and make them fall out,” the sprite whispered.
“That’s horrible!” Aislin said a little too loudly. “Stop this right now! Mother will be furious.”
“She won’t be mad if we get the humans to leave!” declared the sprite.
“Bim, I order you to stop!” Aislin said in a fierce whisper.
The little sprite sighed. “Oh, all right. If you’re going to be like that!”
Dousing the lantern, Bim stepped out from behind the tapestry and went to talk to the other sprites. They gathered around him as he whispered furiously, pointing at Aislin, who had come out from behind the tapestry, too. The sprites looked disappointed as they put out the flames in their lanterns and started down the stairs. Soon only Bim and his father were left to talk to the ghosts, who seemed reluctant to leave. When the pale figures hesitated outside the doors, Aislin walked toward them. As they turned in her direction, she pointed her finger at the stairs and whispered, “Go, and don’t come back!”
The ghosts moaned louder than before, but they all drifted past her and around the corner. Bim and his father followed, stopping long enough for the little sprite boy to whisper, “Don’t blame us if the humans stick around.”
“I won’t, but I will blame you if those ghosts don’t leave!” Aislin replied.
Queen Maylin and Larch were there when Aislin reached the first floor. “I was waiting until the small hours of the morning, but I think we need to take care of this now,” said the queen. “Larch, please begin.”
Everyone watched as Larch started walking. “What is she doing?” Aislin asked her mother.
“Sending a dream to the king that will make him think he is urgently needed at home and make him want to leave.”
No one moved while they waited for Larch to return. She was back only a few minutes later, looking pleased with herself. “There! That should do it!” she announced. “King Tyburr may not remember the dream when he wakes, but the desire to go home will stay with him.”
“Excellent!” said the queen. “Now everyone except the guards must go to bed and stay away from the tower. We should be rid of these humans in the morning!”
Aislin went back to bed, expecting to finally get some sleep, but it wasn’t long before Twinket returned with more news. “One of the humans got up and went looking for the garderobe. A guard told him where it was, but just as he got there, Jasper came out.”
Aislin gasped. “I forgot that a satyr lives in the west wing. What happened?”
“The lighting wasn’t very good, so all the human saw was Jasper’s shadow,” said Twinket. “He ran away screaming something about a monster. Now Jasper is upset. You know how sensitive he is about his broken horn.”
“What did the human do after that?” Aislin asked her.
“Nothing. He stayed in his room,” Twinket replied.
Aislin sighed and burrowed back under her covers. “I hope nothing else happens!”
Exhausted, she fell back asleep, but jolted awake once more when Twinket returned. “Cosmo just had a bad dream. You could hear him roaring in his sleep all the way to the top floor. I went downstairs to wake him. He said he was dreaming that young humans were chasing him through a labyrinth with swords and spears! It sounded really horrible.”
Cosmo, the Minotaur, lived in the lowest floor of the castle. He often had bad dreams and was very loud when he did.
“Did the humans hear him?” asked Aislin.
“They must have,” said Twinket. “I could hear them talking, but none of them came out of their rooms. The sprites are watching them now.”
Aislin was about to lie down again when a new thought occurred to her. “What do you mean when you say ‘watching’? They didn’t go in the humans’ rooms, did they?”
“Of course not!” Twinket assured her. “They’re peeking in through the windows.”
“They shouldn’t do that! The humans will see them!” Aislin cried.
“No, they won’t,” Twinket said. “It’s so dark out they won’t see a thing. Everyone is just trying to help, Aislin. You can’t blame them for that!”
Aislin glanced out her window. It would be light soon. Maybe she could get some sleep after the humans left.