The World Below, page 22
I feel in my bones that Snake is right. The tension in the room has lessened, as this was perhaps the only outcome that would not end in bloodshed tonight. I move closer to Snake, his presence calming me and boosting my confidence. We must face this quest head-on and end this nonsense. It is what my parents would do. They would never give in to bullies, and they raised me the same way.
‘We agreed to do this, so please don’t waste your political capital for us. I fear you would lose anyway. For some reason, Bernais, and many of his friends, want Snake and me out of the way.’ I stand a little straighter as I voice my opinion.
Agret grunts. ‘It was a long shot, anyway, but I felt we had to try. I cannot just stand by and allow the two of you be sent on some useless quest that could get you killed.’
I wiggle out from Snake’s comforting arm, refreshed and ready to face whatever this was. ‘You won’t be standing idly by. While we are away, you’ll be working to find out why Bernais wants us gone, what he wants with our parents, and what is really going on in the World Below. And you can start by telling me why my father is not considered part of this court.’
Agret looks at Earth, who shakes his head. ‘But she deserves—’
‘For reasons of their own, your parents did not tell you about their past. I believe you have a right to know, but this is their story to tell.’ Earth reaches out and takes my hand. ‘What I can tell you is, I know them. As I have already told you, I met your uncle once. He is a kind and wise man, as is your father. You can trust their intentions were good when they decided to keep their history from you.’
I roughly withdraw my hand. ‘I suppose you cannot tell me why people keep attacking me either.’
Earth shakes his head. ‘That would be part of the same story, I am guessing.’
This skirting around the subject of my past is getting beyond a joke. My fists clench as my temper threatens to take hold, but I am suddenly overtaken by a deep weariness. It will do no good to rant and rave. If outright questioning will not gain me answers, then I will have to be more subtle… but not tonight.
Tonight, I’m exhausted and overwhelmed. To my shock, tears form in my eyes, and I resist the urge to brush them away. I am a mess. I want to appear strong, but at the moment, I have never been more lost and alone in my life.
‘I worked out I am related to Elias, and I guess to Bernais too, but I don’t want to stay with either of them. Do I have any more family here? I mean, I need to find somewhere to stay the night.’ I know I sound forlorn, but I don’t have any energy left to hide that that is exactly how I am feeling.
Earth again grabs my hand, and I see that underneath his facade, he is still the kind and generous creature I met in Cornwall. ‘Of course, you will be staying with us. Agret already sent word for rooms to be made up.’
I sag with relief. ‘Perhaps if we leave now, you can tell us something about what to expect on this quest.’
Again, Earth looks at his nephew, and a wry smile forms on Agret’s mouth. ‘We might have boasted about going on quests when we were youngsters, but truth be told, no one has been on one in generations.’
My stomach clenches. If I had not realised what a big deal this was before, it was made clear to me now.
‘All we know is that it is likely to be dangerous, and you will need your wits about you to succeed,’ Earth adds.
I am stunned into silence. Fortunately, Snake is not. ‘Can someone go and fetch our packs from the conference centre behind the refreshment bar in the lobby? We may need some of our stuff for tomorrow.’
‘Of course, I will arrange it now.’ Earth departs so hastily, I believe he is relieved to be away from us.
Agret smiles at his son. ‘I will look after your mother while you are gone. I will make sure nothing happens to her.’
‘I trust you to honour that promise,’ Snake says before turning to me.
‘If we are to be sent to our doom tomorrow, we should enjoy a little of tonight. I believe we have earned it,’ he says, grinning crookedly, a glint in his green eyes. He holds out his hand. ‘Would you like to dance?’
I look around in amazement at the people swaying around us. I had been so deep into our conversation and my own misery, I had not even noticed the band take the stage, and they are singing music from home.
‘Don’t they have their own music?’ I ask.
Snake smiles. ‘They do, but the first night of the ball is always a mixture of songs from both worlds to celebrate people from the World Above coming home.’
As the band finishes off Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” and the first notes of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” drift out, Snake takes my hand and leads me to the dance floor. He draws me into his arms and says, ‘For a while, let’s pretend we’re just two normal people at a dance.’
Swaying to the music with Pris in my arms feels right, more right than anything has since the Bad Fairies took my mother. The music changes to Coldplay’s “Trouble”, and I can’t help but chuckle as I start singing along under my breath.
‘This should be our theme song,’ I say. ‘You’ve had nothing but trouble since I stumbled across your doorstep.’
She pulls away from me just far enough so I can look into her eyes.
‘If you hadn’t tracked me down, I would never have known what happened to my parents, and goodness knows where I would be now.’ She smiles softly at me, her eyes warm, inviting me to move closer, and I oblige.
She is so beautiful, and I want nothing more than to lean forwards and brush my lips against hers. In her eyes, I see that she would not object if I did. I hesitate, and the moment is gone when, over Pris’s shoulder, I catch sight of Bernais glaring at us.
He may not like Pris, but he would never stand for a mere gnome taking advantage of an elf, let alone an elven princess. My eyes flick around the room, and I realise he is not the only one.
Pris’s face is now a picture of confusion, and the hurt I glimpse stabs me like a knife. I pull her back into the circle of my arms. She is not for me, not in the long-term, but we can have tonight, can’t we?
‘What’s up?’ Pris asks, her breath tickling my ear as she speaks.
Should I explain the social norms of the World Below to her?
‘Is it because they are all staring at us?’ she presses.
‘Partially.’
‘And they are doing that because gnomes and elves….’
I wait for her to finish, but she doesn’t.
‘Yes, because gnomes and elves don’t mix,’ I confirm.
‘I deal with people treating me differently because of my skin colour all the time. You must know all that doesn’t matter to me.’
She doesn’t go so far as to say she likes me, but I hear the unspoken words, and a grin forms on my lips. I pull her even closer and rest my cheek against hers.
I finally admit what I have been trying to ignore for the last week. I want to be with her so much it aches, but this is all I will have. We might be able to overcome the race thing, but she is elven royalty, and I am a not-quite elf. We will never be able to overcome our different social statuses.
‘If they won’t accept us down here, we will be fine when we return home,’ she says, snuggling closer.
I stop moving. She is so positive we will succeed. That we will go home and everything will be normal.
‘Snake?’
‘Sorry, got lost for a moment there,’ I say.
I will not be the one to tell her nothing will ever be the same for us after this. Battle lines have been drawn in the World Below. If we survive our quest, the ripples of this war brewing around us will permeate into the World Above, changing the world as we know it.
The song changes to The Fray’s “How to Save a Life”, and I croon along softly as we sway to the beat. I close my eyes, blocking out the room, wishing we could stay like this forever.
The Minotaur’s Maze
CHAPTER 1
The Morning After the Night Before
Early morning sun casts a giant shadow over the common of the ancient oak resting at its centre. It is a brother to the two magnificent specimens that wizards encouraged to entwine their limbs to frame the entrance to the council chambers millennia ago. The tree sings his song to me as I shelter under his branches, waiting for Eleanora to appear.
I will his song to soothe me, but I remain agitated. I could lie to myself. Tell myself that my unease is because this is my last chance to escape back to my bed beside the fire in the World Above. Honesty forces me to admit that is only part of it.
Unease creeps through my bones because of this place and the memories it brings of a time in my life of great misery and change. No, I will not go there. Better to focus on the present. Better to work out how to avoid joining Snake and that blasted elf in their foolish quest to save their parents from being banished.
If only they'd had the skill to sidestep Bernais’s machinations last night. If only they allowed their parents to go through the judgement process, all would have been well.
No, I am lying to myself again. All would have been well for the elf’s parents. Their connections would ensure that. Snake’s mother, however, being only a gnome, and with Bernais intent on her downfall… who can say what will happen to her.
I pace a little under the arms of my friend the tree, and I only stop when two council members enter the great hall. It is almost time. I take a steadying breath. Ginth fo Drefin, Snake’s mother, is still in captivity, albeit in the castle under guard. Through no fault of her own, she is caught up in some political scheme beyond my understanding. If I can do anything to help her, I should just do it and stop dithering.
I release a frustrated sigh. That elf, Priscilla, is so very ill-equipped to help her parents. They kept who she was from her, so she really has no idea how to even be an elf, let alone how to live in a magical realm. I should not hold who she is against her. I should be the better creature and support her more.
My resolve wavers as I catch Bernais, one of the Queen’s cousins, and his cronies entering the common area through one of the surrounding archways. There is something of his father about him, and it sends shafts of fear to the very pit of my stomach. Once I had not believed him to be as evil and bitter as his father, but the events of the last few days have caused me to change my mind—the acorn has not fallen far from the tree.
‘Ah, there you are, Percival. Shall we go in?’
Eleanora’s voice comes from behind me, and I wait until she and her sister, Eugenia, join me before saying my hellos. Elias Crown is with them, as are two wizards I have not met before. I can only assume they are the rest of witchkind’s representatives on the Great Council.
I suspect this group spent last night plotting and scheming for some particular outcome today. It is, after all, what the greater creatures do whether they are forced into it like this group, or by choice like Bernais and his followers.
Elias smiles at my greeting. ‘Are you ready to do this, Percival? The Queen will consider it a great service, and—’
‘Yes, I am ready,’ I say, cutting him short. I do not want him to voice what such a debt of gratitude may mean for me, or what I may or may not request from the Queen for helping out. I have a nice life now, and I am no longer sure I am ready to start down that path again.
Besides, that is not why I will help the two children from the World Above. I will help them because I should, and also because Bernais is up to something. He may call himself Crown, but he is a Baarenson through and through. And, like his father, his plans will no doubt end up causing harm to others, and I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.
As if summoned by my thoughts, Bernais walks close by as he enters the hall. I am positive this is so we will overhear his words.
‘This charade of Elias ruling our kind stops here and now, and I will return to my rightful place at the Queen’s side.’
‘She must name you heir soon. I am surprised she hasn’t already,’ a superior-looking elf turns to say.
They are too far away from me to make out Bernais’s response, but from the corner of my eye, I catch Elias stiffen.
With all thoughts of my warm bed at home driven from my mind, I wonder why the Queen does not just attend the Seelie Court and put an end to this infighting.
As I walk beside Eleanora into the chambers, I straighten my shoulders, determined to thwart Bernais’s schemes at any cost. The song of my friend the oak follows me in, strengthening my resolve.
The gentle press of his lips on mine melts my legs, and I lean my body against his as I reach up to twine my fingers through his hair. My heart beats a tempo in time with his, and he draws me closer as he murmurs, ‘Pris.’ His voice is deep with longing. I part my lips and…
Crash!
The covers fall to the ground as I sit bolt upright in bed, staring at the open door bouncing against the wall.
‘Oops. Ever so sorry, Your Highness.’ A young girl—a gnome, judging by the rounding of her ears—colours a deep shade of crimson as she makes her way across the room and places a tray on the table by the window.
‘No worries,’ I say. ‘I was awake anyway.’
My hope that the small lie will make the girl more comfortable as well as cover my own embarrassment at having been woken from such a dream fall on deaf ears. She mumbles something unintelligible and rushes from the room, slamming the door behind her as she leaves.
‘Good one, Pris,’ I mumble. ‘How to make friends and influence people.’
I reach my arms above my head and stretch, a yawn escaping my lips, then rub the sleep from my eyes. It is hard to believe only a little over a week ago, all I had to worry about was how to fill the time between finishing my A-Levels and starting university. In the short time since then, my parents were kidnapped and I had been persuaded by a guy who thought he was a gnome to go on a wild goose chase to rescue them—only to find he really is a gnome, and I am an elf; and not just any old elf, but a goddamn elven princess.
Now I am in a magical world, about to go on some sort of quest, and the only person I have spoken to rushed from my room like a banshee was chasing her. Hold on, are banshees even real? I should ask Snake.
At the mention of Snake, my thoughts rush back to the dream, and my heart starts to race all over again. Unfortunately, the dance at the World Below’s Midnight Ball had not gone quite like the scene in my head.
Most of the night had been spent watching our parent’s trial, falling into a trap set by one of my newly found cousins, and ended with us committing to a quest to ensure our parents’ freedom. Hardly the perfect build up to a romantic kiss.
Only after all of that had we danced. And Snake had indeed lowered his head as if to kiss me—something I would have more than welcomed—only to stop when he became aware people were staring at us.
If the covers had still been on the bed, I would have thrown them off in agitation. All right, people were watching us, but he knows I do not hold with the stupid notion that creature races should not intermingle. If Snake cared for me even a little, he wouldn’t worry so much about it either.
I wander across the room to pour some tea. Catching sight of myself in the mirror, I do a double-take. My white corkscrew hair is a fright, making a fizzy halo around my head, which manages to accentuate my now pointed ears—just one of the changes my body underwent when I entered the portal into the World Below last night.
Frowning, I spend a moment trying to calm my hair, then give up in disgust before really studying the strange reflection staring back at me. It’s a little alien, but I guess it is still me. I mean, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing my hair white instead of its usual brownish black. Although my blue eyes are a little more almond shaped, they’re definitely mine. And my skin is still its normal light brown.
Mmm, that was something else that bothered me last night. Dad and I were the only elves in the room with dark skin, which made us both stand out in the crowd. I’m used to being in a minority because of my colour, but there’s something more to it than that, I’m sure. What’s more, I suspect that something is why people won’t tell me about my family history.
When I ask questions, they act cagey. At best, they’d tell me it’s something for my parents to explain. It is more than frustrating and means I still know very little about where I fit in down here.
I shake my head and move to the table and pour myself a cup of tea. There are so many questions my parents need to answer, I barely know where to begin. Then again, they can’t say much while they are locked up, accused of profiting from their work in the World Above.
So, I guess finding out who I am and why they kept our magical origins from me will have to wait. In the meantime, I need to concentrate on figuring out why that elf Bernais was so intent on railroading Snake and me into going on a fantastical quest—the first one to be undertaken in hundreds of years.
He wants me and Snake out of the way for some reason, I’m sure of that. I wish I knew why. And I don’t trust him to wait for us to return before he makes another move against my parents or Snake’s mother. If I want them to be safe, this quest needs to be wrapped up in a few days, giving him little time to plot anything new.
I take a sip of tea and glance towards my backpack sitting by the door. Should I get dressed? Will my clothes even fit me? When I walked through the portal, I didn’t just get pointy ears, I grew about half a foot. Fortunately, my dress grew with me or that would have been embarrassing. But what about my other clothes?
An unknown someone had placed the pack in the carriage as we left the ball last night. I was so excited to be riding in a horse-drawn carriage and then to arrive at a gnome house, I had not even checked the contents.
