peace between us. Until Nixa was murdered. A foolish faerie woman, to be sure, but she did not deserve to die the way she did.”
“I will be free soon of the Foresters’ claim,” Lara said.
“Do you think, my child, that they will heed the law? They will not, especially if they find you in their realm. I have seen you now, and you have been reunited with your mother, which was my desire. I shall fade away happily, Lara.”
“But to lose you when I have only just found you?” she protested.
Maeve smiled. “It was never meant that I be a part of your destiny, Lara. Now give me a kiss, dear girl. It is time for me to go.”
Lara put her arms about the old faerie woman and hugged her, noticing that it was almost like hugging the air. She kissed Maeve’s cheeks several times. “Goodbye, grandmother, and thank you.” She felt the tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.
Reaching out, Maeve brushed the tears away, and then before Lara’s eyes she disappeared in a cloud of pale smoke. “Goodbye, Lara.” Her reedy voice echoed softly.
“You have made her very happy,” Ilona said to her daughter. “In a few weeks she will fade away completely, and I will be the new queen of the Forest Faeries. I will have to return then, and so we have little time together.”
“I know that faeries live for several centuries, but if I am your only child, Mother, who will follow you?” Lara asked Ilona.
Ilona sighed. “Once my mother has faded and I am crowned, I must take a mate who will sire a child on me. Son or daughter, it does not matter as long as I have an heir to follow. The Forest Faeries have been ruled since the beginning of time by our family. Because you are half-human you are not eligible to follow me, Lara. Our line must remain only faerie,” she explained.
“You preserve your purity as the Forest Lords once did, and continue to pretend they are doing,” Lara remarked with a small smile.
“I suppose we do,” Ilona replied. “I never thought of it that way. But if faerie blood becomes too thin the magic disappears as well. We are pleased to mate with humans, but my heir must be all faerie.”
“Do you have someone in mind?” Lara asked her mother, curious.
Ilona nodded. “His name is Thanos. He has been my faithful suitor for many years. Since before I knew your father. He has been patient in his waiting.” She smiled. “We are friends as well as lovers now. I will make him my consort.”
“Not your king?” Lara was surprised.
“If he were king, he would take precedence over me,” Ilona said. “Nay, he will not be king. Learn from me, my daughter. You were taught by your grandmother, Ina, a good but foolish woman, to be subservient to menfolk. That is the way of it in the world of Hetar. In the faerie world, women are the equals of their men, and ofttimes their superior. Let no man tell you that you must give way to him. If you choose not to, you do not have to give way in love, or war, or anything else, Lara. This is your first lesson.”
“Will you teach your daughter faerie ways then, Ilona?” Kaliq asked, hearing her words. He smiled to see them together, so beautiful, so alike.
“Yes, prince, I will. And I will beg hospitality from you for a short time as well,” Ilona replied. “Who is your best warrior?”
“Lothair,” Kaliq said.
“I want him to begin teaching Lara how to use a bow, a sword and a staff,” Ilona told him. “She must have the ability to defend herself in this world. Her path will take her to dangerous places. I will provide her with the staff myself.”
“I hope it is like Master Bashkar’s staff, Llyr,” Lara said with a smile. “It is always scolding, and complaining, but when Llyr praises you, you know you have done not just well, but very well.”
“Aye, it is a staff with a spirit. It is called Verica, and when it speaks it gives you the advantage of surprise against your enemies,” Ilona told her daughter. “But first you will learn to fight with just a plain pole so that you come to depend on yourself alone, and not another. Prince Kaliq can tell you that warring is a hard business, whether you war for a cause within a great army, or simply for yourself against the world.”
“I will inform Lothair of your wishes, my lady Ilona, and it will be done,” the prince told her.
In the weeks that followed Lara had scarcely any time at all to herself. The days were taken up with lessons from Master Bashkar in the mornings, and from Lothair in the afternoons. Lara invited Noss to join her in learning the martial arts as well as her other studies, and Noss, to everyone’s surprise, turned out to be an archer of the first rank.
“Usually such skills are faerie,” Ilona noted.
Lara preferred the broadsword and the staff, and soon excelled with both. Each evening mother and daughter would forswear the hall, and Ilona would teach Lara how to make certain potions, how to bring objects to her when she extended her hand, and most important of all, how to change her shape. This was the faerie skill that most fascinated Lara, and the first time she was successful at it she was astounded to find herself in the shape of a cat.
Ilona laughed as the small yellow feline jumped nervously. “Is that what you meant to be, daughter?” she asked.
“Yes,” the cat replied. “I just didn’t think I could really do it.”
“Change back,” Ilona said, and Lara stood once again before her mother. “Excellent! You have a good strong mind, daughter. Now, become a bird.”
“What kind?” Lara asked.
“A songbird?” Ilona suggested.
Lara contemplated a nightingale. “Aral go!” she said, and becoming the bird she flew about the garden before lighting again upon a marble bench and saying, “Lara return! Mother, this is amazing! Can anyone do it?”
“Nay,” Ilona told her. “This is your faerie blood that now sings in your veins.”
“How long can I remain in a different shape?” Lara asked her.
“As long as you choose,” Ilona said. “But allow few to know you are capable of this magic, Lara. And only those you completely trust.”
“Just Kaliq for now,” Lara replied.
Ilona laughed. “I will not ask why,” she said, “but your secret is safe with the prince.”
That same night a faerie man appeared suddenly in Prince Kaliq’s hall as they dined.
“Thanos!” Ilona was immediately on her feet.
The faerie man, tall and handsome with golden hair and bright blue eyes, bowed to her, and then knelt. “Greetings, Queen Ilona,” he said. “I have come to bring you home, for Queen Maeve is near gone and will not last the night. You must be there to claim your heritage as all queens and kings before you have been.” His gaze went to Lara, and his lips twitched in a small smile.
Ilona nodded. Then she turned, embracing her daughter. “I must go now, Lara. The Celestial Actuary keep you safe in your journey. When you need me, you have but to ask Ethne. She will find me.”
“Mother, I beg one final boon of you,” Lara said. “Let me be there when you take Thanos for your consort.”
Ilona shook her head. “Nay, your grandmother is right. We must keep you safe from the Foresters. You cannot come into the woodlands again while they seek you.”
“Seek me? They are seeking me?” Lara was astounded. Almost a year had passed since her escape. “Why would they bother after all this time?”
“Because they still believe a faerie’s child can help them break Maeve’s curse on them, and they have not found another to take your place,” Ilona told Lara. “You must soon leave Shunnar, my daughter.”
Lara turned to Kaliq. “You knew?”
“Only recently,” he replied. “I will explain later, my love.”
Thanos had now risen to his feet. He put a proprietary arm about Ilona. “We must go,” he said in a low, urgent voice.
Ilona pushed his arm away, giving him a sharp look. Then she embraced her daughter a final time. “I will give Thanos a son,” she whispered to Lara. “I want no other daughter, for you are everything I could ever have desired
