Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Whatever was cooking smelled like heaven to Skye. She hadn’t eaten all day, and after using So much magic, she honestly couldn’t believe she was still conscious. The walk back from the hot spring had been difficult. Her head had spun from the heat, lack of food, but most prominently: Tidas.

The cold night air had felt amazing on her skin. She watched the steam rise from her arm with a chuckle as she rolled her sleeve back down. Getting closer to the campsite, she could hear three familiar voices practically yelling. When Skye had heard what they’d said, it had shocked her.. but at the same time, not. She’d gotten an odd feeling when she’d made the hot spring with Maevis..

The water Skye had funneled through the caves; she’d never been able to identify specific minerals through her Water magic before. She could control the water enough to bring minerals to the surface, but never pick and choose what ones. It hadn’t registered at the time that she was even doing it; just like when she healed Celestia.

But Maevis noticed and now apologized for not telling her then. She explained to Skye that after the turn, she had done nothing.

Skye was at a loss for words. Why was all this happening to her? And why now? Before she could think it through to herself, she asked if her interactions with the Fae could’ve triggered her powers somehow.

“Honestly child; we don’t know. It may have been a factor, considering our magic is not the same as human magic... But we just don’t know. There’s never been a precedent for this kind of situation..” Nicolas replied sadly.

Skye instantly regretted the question. She didn’t want them to think she was blaming them in any way. Bumbling her words slightly, Skye said; “Ima not blaming the Fae folk in any way! I honestly love ye two. And Aero was, kind.. after he sent the bear away. Umm; I just want ye to know that, regardless of the reasons this is happening to me: Ima very happy I got to meet all of ye,” Skye said with tenderness in her voice.

.....

“Oh sweetie..” Maevis tried to speak, but fought back the lump in her throat instead.

Nicolas coughed, but averted his eyes so Skye wouldn’t see the tears in them. Tidas saw, however, and smiled at the old fairy in acknowledgement. They were good people; no matter their race. And that was all that mattered to him and Skye.

Petrie made a loud, exhausted sigh; gaining everyone’s attention. He smiled at the group as he said, “Happy to see all is right with the world again. But if yer planning on eatin’, then I suggest ye hurry. Because Ima not waitin’ any longer.”

The group took turns trading looks before all heading towards the warm fire. The smell was almost tantalizing now. Skye stopped over at the hollow and grabbed the picnic basket Peggy had packed that morning. She thought for a moment about how worried her old servant must be, but then pushed it from her mind. She would deal with her home situation tomorrow. Now was dinner time.

The rabbits turned out well, despite being cooked over mostly pine. The fire crackled and popped as it burned, sending sparks dancing into the moonlit sky. They sat on armless chairs Maevis had made. It was a cozy setting, and Skye was determined to enjoy this time. She knew that after the wedding was over, Tidas would have to return to his duties as a prince.

And Prince Tidas was still trying to figure out how to explain that he was part of the Royal Mages Corps. He couldn’t tell Skye before he left. His mission had depended on no one knowing of his powers or true rank. His target would’ve found out. Which wound up happening anyways, and he nearly died. His survival was kept a secret to gain the element of surprise again. Tidas had objected, not wanting to lie to Skye. He’d sent a secret messenger, but she still wasn’t told the truth.

“Tidas?! I thought you were starving?” Skye’s voice brought him back from his thoughts.

“Ah, yes. Thank you... Skye, we need to talk..” Tidas said hesitantly.

“In a wee bit; Nicolas was tellin’ stories of when we were little,” Skye replied eagerly.

“What?! How is that even possible?” Tidas asked, his bafflement apparent.

“Remember how we used to chase those mysterious lights all around here? How we found our hollow? Turns out it was Nicolas and Maevis! They used to watch over us whenever we came into the forest. We Really were chasing fairies! I was right! And ye owe me a whole chocolate cake!” Skye finished with a child like humor about her.

Tidas found it cute, and welcomed her changing the topic for now. He decided to enjoy his dinner whilst listening to stories, before endangering his relationship. Considering the lengths Skye went to to kept her powers hidden; her reaction to his position could turn out very bad..

The rabbits were excellent, but the basket was the real lifesaver. Peggy had outdone herself. There was an entire loaf of fresh baked cottage bread with two kinds of jellies, and a small jar of fresh butter. A large section of ham that had been glazed with honey caught Tidas’ eye.

Petrie was partial to the sweets; he ate three of the six honeyed tarts with almonds. Maevis and Nicolas loved Peggy’s dressing on the vegetables. She had sliced lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, dandelion heads, and added thin slices of strawberries. All mixed in a sweet vinaigrette. There were also six hard boiled eggs, deer jerky, and a small quarter wedge of hard cheddar cheese.

They all decided to save the eggs, half the bread, the cheese, one rabbit, and the jerky for their breakfast. When they’d reached the bottom of the endless basket, a bottle of wine was wrapped up in a picnic blanket. Petrie scoffed aloud, drawing everyone’s attention.

He cleared his throat before saying, “Mighty strange to put the blanket on the bottom.. Normally ye want it on top so ye got somewhere to put yer food as ye pull it out the basket.”

“If we did that, the bottle would’ve been broken, soaking and ruining the food and basket,” Skye replied as she bit into a chunk of ham she’d stolen from Tidas before he could retrieve it.

“Then why didn’t she just put the bottle on top as well?” Petrie asked cockily.

“Why? So it could smash the bread and force the vegetables to wither?” Skye rebutted sarcastically.

Petrie sat thinking a moment before throwing his arms up in the air in defeat, and said, “Ack! I just canna win against ye! Even over inane things; ’tis quite frustrating.”

“Been there,” Tidas said low.

“What was that my soon-to-be-husband?” Skye asked, feigning ignorance.

“Nothing, my Love,” Tidas replied with a cheesy smile.

“Ugh, Ima eatin’ here,” Petrie said with a disgusted look.

Skye grinned wickedly at Petrie as she put her left hand up in the air, and wiggled her fingers. Petrie swallowed the food in his mouth in one gulp, in a panic. He smacked his chest like he couldn’t get it down. Holding his arms out in a defensive manner, Petrie yelled, “Ima sorry! I yield! I swear I yield!”

Nicolas sat back in his seat, smiling as he watched and listened to the young humans’ bantering and laughing. It reminded him of the good old days with Mae; adventures long past. He looked over to Maevis who stared at them with similar nostalgia reflected in her eyes. They had lived very long lives. Over eight times longer than the average healthy human. The time it took for Skye and Tidas to grow seemed no more than a blink of an eye to him. It saddened him to think of how short human lives were.

Maevis looked over at her long time friend in turn. She knew what he was thinking about, but didn’t say. Bringing up the past was painful for Nicolas; for both of them.. Maevis shook the gloom from herself. She didn’t want to dampen the children’s good time. She looked to Nicolas again, and cleared her throat.

“I believe you had more stories you’d wanted to share, right Nic?” Maevis said in a loud voice.

The three who were arguing turned to the old Fae that resembled Santa so. He stared hard at Maevis for putting him on the spot like that. But at the same time, he was thankful she had pulled him from his thoughts. He averted his eyes, cleared his throat as she had just done, and smiled at the three children.

Laughter echoed throughout Warrick Forest until late into the night. Nicolas shared stories of Skye and Tidas’ childhood, revealing their beliefs as children to be valid. More than once; Skye had jumped to her feet yelling: “I knew it!” The mysterious lights, the emptied jars of jam, the small gifts of food and clothing whenever they were in need; it all had been Nicolas.

“I think of you two like grandchildren. Of course I’d help you when you needed it,” Nicolas said as Petrie poured a few drops of the wine into a hollowed out acorn for him.

“Ima thinking ye might’ve had a wee bit too much there, Nic,” Maevis stated as she watched him sway while seated.

“You’ve had.. had much more than I have, Mae. If yooou can keep on drinkin’, then me can, I too!” Nicolas rambled.

“Aye, but I can hold me liquor better than ye can, ye old dotter,” Maevis said with snark.

“Ha!” Nicolas pointed at Maevis as he blustered; “You always slip back to your.. bumpkin speech, when YOU are too drunk or flash-flush-Flustered, Hahahahaha!”

The look on Maevis’ face sent everyone into a fit of laughter. Nicolas actually fell backwards, sprawling out on the human-sized stool. His laughter slowly died out as he slipped into a deep sleep. Maevis fluttered unsteadily down to the ground, and used her magic to create a blanket for her old friend and drunkard. She covered him up and asked Petrie to take him into the men’s hut.

When he came back, Maevis looked at Skye and asked her, “Now that Nic has finally stopped talking: would ye like to discuss yer dormant Earth magic a wee bit?”