Betrayals of Spring (25 page)

He rears back excitedly and huffs in my
face. “I knew you could,” I encourage him. I saddle him up while Ashur saddles
up his horse. Aki is pacing around the stables and I know he is ready to get
moving. So am I.

“I’m ready when you are, Princess,”
Ashur calls out.

“You hear that, Prince Ashe. Let’s go!”
I command.

Aki runs ahead of us and we follow
closely behind. He knows his alpha’s scent well so tracking him should be easy.
We head away from the palace and out the Winter gates. Several of the Winter
warriors tried to stop us, but we sped past them without a second glance. To
where we are going I have no clue. All I know is that I will travel through the
Land of the Fae a million times over if that is what it takes to find Kalen. If
Elissa hasn’t spread the word then I am sure it has now. We ride for several
hours without a moments rest until there is no more energy left to be spent.
Aki is tired, and I know the horses are as well.

We have reached the Mystical Forest and
have decided to set up camp. It’s dark out now, but the moonlight shines
through the trees giving the forest an ethereal glow. Ashur and I are about to
lie down and rest when we hear a rider approaching. Ashur swiftly pulls his
sword, and I already have my bow in hand and ready to fire in a matter of
seconds.

I recognize the fierce rider coming this
way by the long, white-blonde hair billowing out in the wind. It’s Finn. What
is he doing here? I lower my bow as Finn comes to a stop before me and
dismounts from his horse. “I thought you could use more help,” he suggests. I
could use the help, but I wouldn’t feel right asking for his. How can I ask him
to help me search for the man I left him for?

“I can’t ask you to do that, Finn.”

He lets out a sigh and takes my hands in
his while looking me in the eyes.

“You didn’t have to ask. I’m here
because I want you to be happy, and getting your prince back will make you
happy. The Land of the Fae depends on you both,” he admits.

He is right. The Spring Court can’t be
formed without Kalen. The Land of the Fae will falter and grow weak if I don’t
find Kalen and bring him home. I pull Finn to me and he encloses me in his
arms. “Thank you, Finn. I don’t know what I would do without you,” I say genuinely.

He kisses my head and lets me go. No
more words were spoken as we set up camp for the night. I lie down on my
blanket while Aki snuggles up to my side. We’re going to find him,
I
whisper to the stars above. I hope…

“Princess?”

The sound of a tiny voice in my ear
startles me awake and I bolt upright. Dozens of sprites are flying around the
camp and the buzzing of their wings sound like a swarm of bees on the verge of
attack.

“I’m sorry I startled you,” the little
sprite apologizes. Ashur and Finn are awake and by the scowls on their faces it
would appear they are slightly annoyed by the intrusion.

I smile at the little pink sprite and I
beckon her closer while holding out my hand. She settles onto my palm and I
bring her up to my eye level.

“It’s OK. I just wasn’t expecting to
have such a grand audience. What’s your name?”

Her voice sounds child-like, but if I
had a guess, I would say she is older than me by centuries.

“My name is Ansley, and I came to warn
you. The forest isn’t safe.” That caught the attention of my men and they
stride over quickly.

“What are you here to warn me about?” I
ask.

She looks from me to Ashur and Finn.

“There’s evil in the forest. It’s
parading around wreaking havoc in its wake. It’s no place for a princess like
you.”

Now I have more motivation than anything
to find the dark sorcerer. He not only has taken over Kalen, but he’s
tormenting the lives of innocent fae creatures. “Thank you, Ansley, but that
evil is exactly why I’m here. I have to put a stop to it.”

Her eyes go wide and she flutters up in
the air to come closer. “Please be careful, Princess,” she cries. “We are
leaving the forest to seek shelter somewhere else. We no longer feel safe
here.”

The sprites all around me look scared
and unsure, so I do the only thing I can think of to do. I motion for the
sprites to gather around me so I can address them all.

“Dear friends, I want you all to go to
the Summer Court and stay there until I return. I have several sprite friends
that will take care of you. Tell them I sent you, and you will be safe.”

They all murmur their gratitude and fly
away in the direction of the Summer Court.

“You sure do have a way with the fae
creatures, don’t you Princess?” Ashur grins.

I grin back while loading up my things.

“I do, but I love to help them,” I
admit.

Aki is huffing and looking off into the
forest. I know he is ready so we pick up the pace and pack up our camp. We only
rest for a couple of hours, but I feel energized to go on for several days.
It’s still dark outside, but the horizon toward the Summer Court is slowly
turning pink with the approaching sun.

We all three mount our horses and both
Ashur and Finn nod their heads showing they are ready. Aki runs ahead and we
swiftly follow him into the unknown depths of the Mystical Forest. The forest
is huge and I have never ventured off into the heart of it until this day. I
have only traveled along the outskirts of it to get to the Fall and Winter
Court from my home in the Summer. I have heard of the dangerous fae creatures
that live in the forest, and I do fear of what will happen if we encounter
them. I sneak a glance at both Ashur and Finn and I know they are thinking the
same things as well.

We ride hard throughout the day heading
deeper into the Mystical Forest until we come across a small village that looks
dark and desolate. It reeks of death. I have never seen this place before, but
I can tell this isn’t what it is supposed to look like. I can smell the
foulness of black magic permeating the air and the taste of it is even worse. The
village we are in is a leprechaun village by the symbols engraved on their
doors. I was taught all the ancient symbols and these are surely ones of the
leprechauns. I have met a couple of them in my lifetime and they are very
superstitious creatures; hence, the symbols on their doors that stand for
protection and luck.

I dismount my horse and bend down to
touch the ground. With my ability for nature, it keeps me in tune to the land,
and this area of land is screaming for help. I look around the village and I
don’t see a soul, but I can sense they are near. They probably ran scared the
moment the dark sorcerer’s evil took hold. I need to know what happened and I
do not want them afraid of me.

I speak loudly, addressing the entire
village.

“I am Princess Meliantha of the Summer
Court, and I am here to help you! Please don’t be afraid and show yourselves to
me!”

A few minutes later the leprechauns
begin to come forth. One by one they slowly make their way out of their hiding
spots. They all wear the traditional red coats and red hats. The mortal realm
classifies them by wearing green, but here that isn’t so. The women also wear
the traditional red, but instead of wearing breeches, they wear long dresses
that fall just below their calves, and cinched at the waist with a thick black
belt.

They circle around us and with our
height we tower over them all. Leprechauns usually only reach about three feet
in height and are known to be excellent boot makers. I look down at their faces
and they all look angry and scared. “What happened?” I ask the crowd, even
though I have a good guess.

A rough, gravelly voice speaks.

“A man of great power swept through here
and killed our land. Our once thriving village has now been poisoned with
evil.”

He comes forward and I can tell he must
be an elder by the sheer knowledge showing in his eyes.

“May I ask your name, elder leprechaun?”
I ask.

He bows his head and replies warmly, “My
name is Griffin, Your Highness, and I’m honored to meet you.” I wonder how he
knows I am a royal.

I place my hand on his shoulder.

“As am I, Griffin.”

He smiles.

“I remember the day you were born. Word
traveled fast that there was a purple-eyed fae among the Summer. We knew then
that you were destined for great things.”

I look around the crowd and they all bow
their heads. I look around at the land and it pains my heart to see it like
this. I can fix it, but it’s going to take a huge amount of power, and I have
never healed anything to this extent. As much as I hate to frighten the
leprechauns, they have to know who they’re dealing with.

I announce sadly, “The evil that has
corrupted your land is because of the dark sorcerer.” Gasps erupt from the
crowd, but I continue, “He has finally returned again and is determined to
destroy our lands, and take over the Land of the Fae. I can heal what has been
done, but the evil won’t permanently be gone. The dark sorcerer is powerful and
he’ll continue to raid our lands until we defeat him.”

“How will we protect ourselves?” Another
leprechaun calls out. This time it’s an elder female leprechaun that has
spoken.

I acknowledge her first and then glance
back across the crowd.

“If you fear for your safety, I’ll
gladly offer the protection of my court.” Shouts of appreciation sound off all
around us and I take a deep breath before informing them of how dire the
situation actually is. “You see, the man who destroyed your home isn’t only the
dark sorcerer, but Prince Kalen of the Winter Court. The dark sorcerer has
taken over the Prince’s body and is keeping him hostage. He has done this to
keep us from completing our bond. Our bond is supposed to form the Spring Court
just like my sister, Queen Calista and King Ryder, had formed the Fall Court.
If we don’t complete the bond, the Land of the Fae will fall prey to the
darkness.”

“What can we do to help?” Griffin, the
elder leprec-haun, asks. They all nod their heads enthusiastically hoping to
help, but I honestly don’t think there is anything they can do. Their
willingness to help warms my heart and I wish to the stars there was a way they
could help.

A little leprechaun boy runs forward
holding some-thing in his hand. “What about this? Will this help?” he yells.

He puts something in my hand and I
instantly recognize it as Kalen’s thistle birch cord. My eyes instantly water
and I clutch the cord tightly in my hands. These brown leathery cords are made
from thistle birch trees found in the Winter Court. They are supposed to
provide strength and luck to warriors in battle. All of the Winter warriors
wear them, and I know Kalen always wore his.

“Thank you, little one. This will most
definitely help me along the way,” I answer with a smile. His grin is huge as
he saunters off back into the crowd. I take the cord and I secure it around my
wrist. This will give me strength and luck in my search for him. I turn my
attention back to Griffin.

“Thank you, Griffin, for your help,
but…” I hold my arm up where the cord is tied snugly to my wrist, “This right
here is all the help I need.”

He nods his head and motions to the
village.

“How can you fix what the dark sorcerer
has done? The land is dead.”

I open my mouth to answer, but Ashur
silently interrupts,
“Can you really do this, Meliantha?”

I respond without looking at him.
“I
hope so.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do all that I can,” I
reply to the leprechaun.

I look around the crowd at their hopeful
faces and I pray that I don’t let them down. Ashur and Finn look worried, but I
smile to reassure them. I walk away from the crowd to the center of the
village. The life and energy of the land is suffocating from the black magic. I
can hear their screams as I bend down to touch the ground. It rips at my heart
and the tears automatically begin to flow. The pain of the land is my pain, and
it’s eating away at my soul.

With both hands placed firmly on the
ground, I call upon my magic and it instantly begins to surge beneath my skin.
The power blasts from my fingers and into the ground. I can see it spreading
throughout the land and everything that had turned black from the poisonous
touch of the dark sorcerer is now vibrantly green and splayed with flowers. The
village bursts with color. The sounds of the leprechaun’s cheers bring me joy,
and I revel in their happiness.