Chapter 7

I slept fairly well in the room that Kailen had made up for me. It was not much. Just a small room in his little wooden shack. There was a sturdy bed and he made sure that I had plenty of blankets and a comfortable pillow. It made me sad to think of Lilith in that huge house with all of those posh bedrooms while Kailen and his friends had to live out here like this.

The people of Drake had a few guys that would sneak into Petrona to get supplies from time to time. They were there when I came. That is why the door was unlocked. Apparently, they had connections in the city and were allowed to come in when they needed to.

I woke pretty early and I could hear shuffling around in the village, probably some of the women preparing the morning meal. Kailen must have still been asleep because his home remained pretty quiet. Except for his soft snore that I could hear drifting from his bedroom.

The main living area of his little shack was sparsely decorated with a few pieces of furniture. There was a small bathroom where I was able to shower. All of the cooking was communal and done outside, so there was no kitchen.

A few trinkets were scattered about on shelves and small handmade tables. They looked like things that he must have collected from the human world. There was a gold pocket watch and a compass proudly display on a shelf on one wall. In addition, another shelf was lined with a collection of books. Mostly classics and do-it-yourself manuals.

There were candles of various sizes and colors scattered about because there was no electricity here in Drake. I lit one of the candles and settled into his small sofa to think. I needed to figure out where I was going to go from here.

I definitely did not want to go back to Petrona and I was afraid of what the queen might do to me if I did. Returning to Louisiana was out of the question. I did not think that I could bear to live there without my family, and I had no idea how I would be able to support myself. I was really in trouble.

I had only sat for a short time before I heard Kailen start to stir in his bedroom. “Good morning Princess, I mean Callie.” He said as he entered the living room.

“Good morning.” I replied as I smiled at him. “Kailen, how did you know that I was the princess when I first arrived in Drake?” I asked.

“That is an easy question, Callie.” He said. “I could tell by your wings.”

“My wings? But I thought that you could not see my wings.” I said with dismay.

“You could not see your wings Callie, to me they were the most beautiful wings that I had ever seen.” He said and I started to blush. “They are even more beautiful than your mother’s were, and hers were lovely.”

“What did my mother’s look like?” I asked wishing that I could have seen them.

“They were silver and trimmed in gold. They were very beautiful. Your father’s were steel grey and outlined in black, but I have never seen any that were quite like yours.” He explained.

“But everyone here has beautiful wings, how are mine any different?” I asked.

“Yours are true to your bloodline, Callie. Only a true heir has wings of gold or silver.” He answered with a smile. “Actually, I have never witnessed anyone with gold wings before. It is quite rare. As are the designs that cover them.”

There was no denying who I was now. “Why didn’t anyone in Petrona notice my wings then?” I asked.

“Petrona stays shrouded by a powerful glamour spell. The queen wants to pretend that she is human. She feels like they are the superior beings because they live on the surface while we have been driven here.” He stated.

I was trying to let all of these things sink in when Kailen finally broached the subject that I had been dreading all morning.

“We need to start preparing a proper house for you today, Callie. Once we get the main structure built, you can come in and decorate it to your liking.” He said.

“Kailen,” I said hesitantly. “I can’t stay here. The queen’s guards are probably out searching for me right now. There is no telling what she would do if she found me here. I can’t put you or these kind people in jeopardy like that.”

“Callie, where else will you go? You have no choice. We will consider you our true queen, and we would proudly protect you until our last breath.” He pledged.

“I do not know where I will go, and I am very honored that you would offer such a kind thing. But, I can’t accept. I planned to continue through the tunnels until I could find a place of my own, far from the reaches of the queen and her guards.” I answered.

“You can’t keep running away Callie.” He looked at me very seriously. “And you would never last for very long on your own like that. This place is your home, always. Petrona is your home as well. You just have to claim it.”

That all sounded good, but I knew that my life would never be that easy. I needed to find some place that I could call my own. Some place that I would have time to learn about the fairy ways without others getting hurt trying to protect me. If I ever did want to be queen, I needed to be prepared to take over a powerful woman like Lilith.

“Kailen, I am only an eighteen year old girl. Last week I was still going to high school. I have only known that fairies existed for a few days. I know nothing of being a fairy princess, let alone a queen. I have only discovered that I had wings just yesterday. I cannot take on Lilith. Not now. There is so much left for me to learn. I have to go. I have to leave today Kailen, before they track me here.”

Kailen sat looking down at the floor. He did not say anything for a long time. When he finally looked up at me, he locked his eyes with mine. “Callie, if you must go, if there is no other way, then I am going with you.”

“No Kailen. I could never ask you to do that!” I said in alarm. “These people need you here. You can’t leave them.”

“They will do just fine without me. My brothers are here, and so are many others that are capable of leading them if they need it. I have no other ties to this place and you need help. You could never learn to fight or use your fairy magic on your own. You can’t do this by yourself, Callie.” He gave me a stern look, and I resigned.

“Fine.” I said. “If you truly want to come with me, then I can’t stop you. But, you have to know that I have no idea where I am going. I am pretty sure that Lilith’s guards will be looking for me and I do not know what they will do to me, or to you if they find me. Brokk has already tracked me in the human world. He should have no trouble tracking me down here.”

I found myself absent-mindedly twisting Brokk’s ring around my finger.

“Ugh, Brokk.” He groaned. “I know the consequences. I know exactly what you are up against. All of the people from Drake came here at some point to escape Lilith’s wrath. I also know that it will be different with you. She will want to make sure that you never come back to claim the throne. That is why I can’t let you go alone.”

Kailen went about the village making arrangements with his brothers and some of the other men and women. In Drake, there were no kings and queens. There was only a village council that was made up of several members of the community. Kailen’s departure meant that someone would have to be elected to take his place, but the council felt sure that a suitable person could be found to take his spot.

We spent the rest of the morning gathering supplies. Kailen found two large backpacks that he stuffed with as much food and water as we could carry. Plus blankets and a few changes of clothes. He also brought along a large knife that he strapped to his waist. Once he was certain that we had everything that we may need, we said goodbye to the villagers. We would be leaving during the night, once everyone was settled.

I sat on the bed in Kailen’s home while he paced the floors in the living room. We both should have been resting for the long trek ahead of us, but there was a strange tension in the air. I could not put my finger on it, but obviously, Kailen felt it too.

I stepped into the living room and watched Kailen as he walked in a circle from one end of the small room to the other. He stopped and looked at me when he heard me approach.

“Something is not right.” He said. His eyes glowed with nervous anticipation.

“What do you think it is?” I asked softly.

“I am not sure but I think that we should go. Now, before it is too late.” He whispered.

I nodded my head and collected my things. We stepped out of the house into the shroud of night. Most of the lanterns had long been extinguished in an attempt to conserve their precious oils. Kailen stayed close behind me as we made our way through the maze of wooden shacks toward the exit.

Kailen froze and pulled me back by my arm as we heard a loud commotion at the entrance to the cavern. We peered into the darkness, searching for some explanation of the sound. Three shadowed figures moved into cavern through the doorway and stood as they glanced around at the village.

“Search every corner! Bring the villagers out and question every one of them! I want to find her fast so that we can get back to the city!” One of the men called.

Before our eyes, an army of the queen’s guards poured into the cavern. Each heading off into a different direction. They kicked in doors and forced people out of their homes as they searched each one for a sign of me.

“We have to do something!” I said to Kailen.

“No, we can’t Callie.” He said. “It would be worse if they actually found you here. The villagers can take care of themselves. This is not the first time that they have encountered the queen’s guards. Come on, this way.”

He led me behind a row of houses and to the far wall of the cavern. He pointed to a small hole at the base of the wall and said, “Through here.”

“We can not go through there!” I argued. “We will never fit.”

“We have to, Callie. Crawl through it, I will be right behind you.” He urged.

The sound of the guards drawing near was all of the encouragement that I needed. I got down on my knees, took a deep breath, and crawled in through the hole. The rocky walls ripped at my skin as the passage narrowed. The gravel beneath me imbedded painfully into my palms and knees, and I whimpered in pain.

“Just keep going Callie, it’s not far now.” Kailen called from somewhere behind me.

I pushed on into the total darkness. I felt like the world was closing in and about to swallow me up. I tried hard to control my breathing, taking in long slow breaths as I moved forward.

I had to hold in a scream as something small and furry scampered across my hand. I did not know if I would be able to stand it much longer. I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. I still could not believe what was happening to me.

The passage turned at a sharp angle and once I was past it, I could sense the air change. I let out a sigh of relief. I knew the end of the tight space was approaching.

I tried to hurry myself along when suddenly the ground beneath me gave way and I tumble out of the wall and landed onto the hard tunnel floor.