Chapter 6

I continued to run until I thought my lungs would collapse. All that I could think about was my parents lying in a pool of their own blood. I could not get the image out of my mind.

I ran up and down the streets of the city. I started to fear that I would never find my way out. I ran past endless people that turned to stare. I never stopped. I couldn’t.

As I ran, I spotted something that caught my attention. I slowed my pace and finally, I stopped. I bent over with my hand on my side. I was panting for breath and my muscles ached from exhaustion.

I looked around and found that I was alone. I had noticed along one of the walls of the cavern that surrounded the city, that there was a heavy iron door. A shiny gold padlock dangled from it but it was not closed. I stepped forward, ripped the lock from the latch, and carefully slid into the narrow passageway that was behind it. I carefully closed the door behind me.

I vaguely wondered why a locked door would be along the city’s wall. I also wondered why it might have been left unlocked, but I could not stop long enough to think about it. I did not want to be caught somewhere that I was not supposed to be. I pressed forward through the passageway and it led into large tunnel. It was very much like the one that Brokk had brought me through. The walls were slick and dark, and it smelled of mold and stagnant water. I worried that I might see a rat or something worse.

The one thing that I did not expect was to be able to see as clearly in the dark as I did now. There were no lights or lanterns in this tunnel, the same as before. Only now, I could make out the piles of jagged rocks that were strewn about the floor, and I could see to avoid the sharp edged stones sticking out from the wall. Perhaps spending a week underground with no natural light had caused my eyes to be able to see more clearly in the dark. I had no idea how else to explain it.

I followed the tunnel for a good while through the darkened underbelly of the earth. I had ran for so long in the city that I knew that I would have to rest soon. My legs were starting to ache and I was very winded.

I could barely make out that the tunnel branched off a few yards ahead of me. I made my way to the intersection and stood there contemplating which way to go. I was deep in thought and feeling sorry for myself when I suddenly heard what I thought sounded like music coming from one of the two corridors.

I followed the sound of the music down the corridor to my right. I knew that I had made the correct choice because the sound became louder and louder as I approached. I made my way around a sharp curve and to my amazement, I found that there was another large cavern, almost as large as the one that contained Petrona.

The cavern was filled with the warm glow of fire light, and the scent of a delicious meal cooking on a fire. There were small wooden shacks scattered about, and several people were gathered around a large fire in the center of the village. Some of them danced while others played a little tune with flutes and piccolos.

The music came to a sudden stop. I looked around to see what was happening. I could see that one of the flute players had spotted me and dropped down on one knee into a bow, then gestured for the others to follow suit. They all kneeled and bowed their heads to the ground in the same manner as the first and I just froze where I stood.

“Hello?” I said after a few moments passed.

“My lady.” The flute player said as he started to stand.

He looked like he was maybe a few years older than me. He was tall and thick with very powerful looking muscles. He had dark brown hair and a broad smile that filled the room as he beamed at me. He wore snug fitting blue jeans and an old I love NY t-shirt that was just tight enough to really show off his huge biceps.

“Hi, I am sorry to interrupt,” I started to say.

“No, my lady. You did not interrupt.” He said. “We were just having a little fun after a long day of work. What brings you down here, if I may ask?”

“It is actually kind of a long story. I was trying to get away from the city and I found this tunnel.” I gestured toward the passage behind me. “I really do not mean to intrude.”

“You could never intrude, my lady.” He replied.

Wow, what was with all of this “my lady” business? No one is supposed to know that I was even here, but this guy is certainly treating me as if I were royalty.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked.

“Oh yes, Princess. I know exactly who you are.” He said with a smile.

How could he know me? What if these were the guards that killed my parents? I slowly started to back my way toward the passageway. I needed to get out of there before it was too late.

“We have been waiting for you to return for many years, Princess Calliope.” He said as he stepped forward. “When your parents made the decision to leave Petrona for your safety, it was my father and a few others that helped them to escape. My father taught them how to use their glamour to keep themselves hidden away from the humans.”

“Glamour?” I asked puzzled.

“Have they not taught you anything of our people since you have been back?” He asked, looking troubled.

“Do not tell me that you are going to start spouting off about fairies too!” I said. “I have heard all that I need to hear about fairies from that jerk, Brokk!”

“Brokk?” He looked startled. “They have introduced you to Brokk?”

“Brokk is who they sent to kidnap me from my home! Brokk is the one that dragged me down here to this awful place! Brokk is the reason that my parents are dead!” I yelled before I could stop myself.

“The King and Queen are dead? No!” He was clearly shaken. The others that were still gathered around him were obviously upset as well. Their whispers increased in intensity and some of them began to weep.

“How could this happen?” He asked.

I explained to him how Brokk had taken me from my home and brought me to the queen. I explained how the queen had locked me away. I told him all of the things that she planned to use me for. I then had to explain the heartbreaking story that Brokk had told me earlier that day. I told him about how Brokk had found my parents, and about how I ran away and ended up back in the tunnels. I was thoroughly worn out by the time that I was through. I buried my face in my hands and sobbed until I cried out all of my pent up tears.

“Princess,” he said gravely. “You must be exhausted. Come, sit and have dinner with us. We will explain the ways of our people to you, while some of the others go and prepare a place for you to rest.”

He led me to a group of chairs that were arranged close to the fire. He had me sit and he propped my feet up on an old wooden box while some of the other villagers finished preparing the meal.

“Thank you.” I said. “You are being so kind to me and I do not even know your name.”

“You do not need to thank me Princess, you are always welcome here. I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I am Kailen, and this place is called Drake.” He swooped his arm out across the cavern. “The village of the outcasts.”

“Outcasts?” I asked.

“Princess, we choose to follow only the true King and the true Queen.” He explained. “Lilith is an imposter. We could never live under the rule of a fraud and tyrant such as Lilith. So, when your family left so did we, and most of us settled here, in Drake.”

Obviously, I was a little too hasty when I thought that these men might have been among those that killed my parents. They were still very loyal to my family after all of these years.

“Kailen, please call me Callie. I only learned of my parent’s true identity a little over a week ago, and I have never thought of myself as a princess.” I asked.

“As you wish, Callie.” He smiled. “Now tell me, what have you been told about our people?”

I thought for a moment. “Only that we are fairies, and that we were forced to go underground when we started to fear the humans.” I said. “Oh, and Brokk kept calling me the Chosen One. He mentioned something about a prophecy.”

Kailen laughed. “Yes, some do believe in a prophecy. An old fortuneteller spoke of your birth, and your eventual rule here. That is in fact why your mother insisted that she take you away from here to protect you. You are destined to be a very powerful woman, Callie. That news made a few people quite nervous.”

“Why? Why would anyone want to stay if I am destined to lead us out of here and back into the world above?” I asked.

“There are many reasons that people would want to stay here.” He explained. “Power and greed are a strong force. Someone like Lilith would want to keep you from taking your rightful place as the queen. She is quite comfortable ruling here, and she has gained quite a few followers. Others prefer to avoid conflict, no matter what the expense. Those Fae fear an uprising. They would rather stay here than to have to fight.”

“This is all starting to sound a lot like some boring made for TV movie.” I groaned. “I never even wanted to be a queen or your Chosen One. I just want my normal life back, but I guess that can never happen now.”

“Unfortunately, that part of your life is pretty much over, Callie.” He said. “It may be for the best if you started to embrace who you are and learn all that you can about our people and our way of life.”

Maybe he was right. I could never go back home. There was nothing left for me there. I definitely did not want to go back to Petrona and I had no idea how long Kailen and the people of Drake would let me stay here. Queen Lilith had probably already sent her guards out to search for me. If they found me here, I was sure that there would be trouble.

“Okay, where do I start?” I asked as a pleasantly pudgy woman with curly dark hair brought me a bowl of stew.

“I think the first thing that you need to do is to learn to control your glamour.” He explained. “What color are my wings?”

I started to giggle. “Is this some sort of trick? You do not have wings.”

“Hmm, that is quite odd. I do indeed have wings, Callie. As do you and I am not using glamour.” He said.

This news had me turning around in my seat. “Kailen, I do not have wings. I think that I would know it if I had wings.” I strained my neck trying to get a good look at my back.

“It is all a part of the magic, Callie.” He explained. “I am afraid that your parents have cast glamour over your eyes as well as your wings. Try this, close your eyes and concentrate. Now envision the glamour dropping away from you, as if it were a curtain. Now open your eyes. Tell me what you see.”

“Oh my gosh! Kailen! It is true! Your wings are beautiful!” They were beautiful; they were like the wings of an exotic butterfly. They shimmered in bold shades of green and blue. I looked around and I noticed several more pairs of elaborately decorated wings. My mouth hung open in amazement.

“Callie, look at your wings.” Kailen send in awe.

I turned so that I could look toward my back. My wings were glorious. They were a shimmering gold with elaborate designs scrolled in a darker shade from the top to the bottom. I could hardly believe that they were real.

“Can I fly?” I asked, a little breathless.

“Oh yes, you can do anything you want. All that you have to do is think about it.” He said with a grin.

I envisioned myself flying across the cavern and landing near the passageway. Before I could say a word I was soaring through the air, I got a little nervous so I imagined myself landing gently onto my feet, and so I did. “This is amazing!” I yelled as I clapped my hands together and did a little bounce.

After I played a little longer, I sat back down next to Kailen. He went on to tell me the rest of the things that he thought I need to know about being a fairy.

I learned that once we reach adulthood, we barely age. We were nearly immortal, the only thing that could really hurt us was iron. That must have been what the guards used to destroy my parents. Anger began to boil in my veins whenever I thought about their deaths. I would have to do something to make them proud. To show that their deaths were not in vain. But what? I would have to work on that in the days to come.

Kailen and the other villagers had me practice using my glamour. Once I got the hang of it, I could make my wings disappear and then reappear within seconds. They also showed me how to tuck them against my back so that they would not get in my way when I was not using them. They were a bit cumbersome now that I knew that they were there.

All too soon I noticed that some of the villagers were starting to retire for the night. I felt a little awkward being there. I started to think that maybe I should make my way back into the tunnel. I really did not want to be a burden.

“Callie, you must stay. We have prepared a place for you to sleep for the night. I insist.” Kailen said as he directed me toward one of the wooden shacks.

I could not argue. I really had nowhere else to go and the thought of having to sleep in the cold damp tunnel with the bugs and rats was not very appealing. So, reluctantly I followed him and settled in for the night.