Chapter 1: Seven years
Chapter Text
Why should anyone decide
What I should feel?
You don't know what's going on inside
How could you ever see?
I keep it undercover
Always smiling through the pain
They never wonder
What sadness I feel cause sun shines through the rain
Undercover - Madilyn Paige
Seven years.
That's how much time passed since Fantaghirò arrived in Elsewhere and defeated Nameless.
Even if she wasn't held hostage, she felt captive. Since the day of the celebration the villagers pulled together for the ogre's defeat, she worked on putting on a brave face, pretending not to feel the anguish she did for having left her family and kingdom behind.
Deep down, in a place she wasn't going to admit even to herself, she was scared: when she found out that the feelings tied to her memories could be taken away from her at any whim of the local witch, Asteria, she did everything she could to hide she wasn't fine with her staying in the foreign realm, in order to avoid a second taste of the treatment.
She had to put on a brave mask, the face of a woman always smiling and happy for her new love, little mattered if inside she died a little every day: this was her life now, and the people around her loved her as much the ones she left behind, which made her grateful for they gave her a new home.
Besides, there was apparently no way to go back to her own realm.
It didn't mean she stopped looking for one.
She had become quite a celebrity in this land too thanks to the kids rescued from Nameless, and frequently people from near and far villages came to ask for her support.
In secret, when she left the village for this or that request of help, she kept looking for magic able to bring her back to her loved ones.
Not that she didn't love the people in Elsewhere, she had been honest when she said she was beginning to love them, but it wasn't the same kind of deep-rooted love she had for her family.
Aries, bless him, understood that the moment the elation for the newfound love had worn out and he managed to see through the cracks in her mask. He couldn't ignore it when she cried in her sleep, or she spent a long time in the day gazing so far that nothing could seem to reach her, lost in her mind as she became when sadness overwhelmed her. Her melancholy was so deep whenever she spoke of motherly love or described to the kids the high towers of her castle that it'd be hard to miss to someone as observant as he was.
He was a practical man, one who always lived for himself and used to watch his back and get people's characters with a short observation and he had no troubles confronting her on the matter.
Then, he gracefully accepted the truth: that Fantaghirò's heart still belonged to Romualdo and the knight queen was trying to cope with the loss. That of course, she had been charmed by Aries when her real feeling had been taken away, and she was willing to take care of Ezela, Masala and the other orphaned kids, even if she was still longing for home, but it wasn't the same as her family. Her desire to be back was beyond measure.
In addition, the queen couldn't help to disapprove of the fact Aries ran behind skirts whenever he had the chance, and they both knew it would have been a big problem if they had stayed a couple, but it didn't matter that much as long as they were friends. Anyway, he never left for too long and Fantaghirò was glad he found his fatherly love for the two orphans enough to make him feel at home once in his life.
Also, he was the only one who could help her, following her on her trips, and so he did. Whether in hope of winning her heart, or get her goodbye's words if she managed to find a passageway to her kingdom, only he knew.
But every place had the same answer: the Wishing Plants were the only things with powerful enough magic, and those were extinct.
With seven years of fruitless search to make her heart heavy, Fantaghirò desperately tried to put her mind at ease, to no avail.
Until something happened.
A few neighbouring villagers had come to the market with weird news of an old abandoned palace that suddenly had come to life, but in the creepiest of ways.
The walls were covered in a thick layer of frost, which replaced the once broken windows and missing pieces of the roof, giving to the previously decaying residence a spectral, cold air.
People who had ventured close to it swore they heard children's cries day and night.
The man added that monsters made of stone and ice had been seen around the palace and sometimes even in the nearby villages, stealing different kinds of food and goods: clothes and covers left out to dry, vegetables, fruit and dried fish and meat.
«I bet» the man added «That the evil being in the palace hates fire. Fears it even!»
«Has anybody tried to go in there?» Fantaghirò asked, curiosity ignited by the tale.
«Impossible. Every door and window is closed by the ice, it's so cold that putting a hand close to the wall you end up with frostbite. Also, no one has ever been seen going in or out, ever!»
«And the monsters?»
«Just tales» the man's companion scoffed «The ice may be real, but no one really saw the monsters except a half-mad woman who had her laundry stolen and a couple of field workers who probably got too much sun on their heads»
«I'd still like to see it» Fantaghirò said, already planning the next trip.
A female voice reprimanded: «You're leaving again? What's wrong with you?!»
Ezela was a teenager now, not anymore the sweet girl she once had been, but headstrong and easy to anger.
Every time Fantaghirò decided to leave even if she wasn't asked to, Ezela threw a tantrum. Sometimes Fantaghirò was tempted to lose her temper at this girl she accepted to raise as her own, just like she had once done with Smeralda, who she missed dearly now, but she restrained herself. More often than not her brother was there to reprimand her first anyway.
«Oh, shut up, Ezela! Not everybody wants to stay always in the same place as you do»
Masala, instead, didn't change much, even if he was a young man more than a teen now. He was taller and more capable both in fishing and swordfighting, perhaps he got calmer and more thoughtful with age, but at heart he was still the boy wishing for adventure.
«Speaking about it, Masala, why don't you come with us?» Aries suggested «With a haunted house, another pair of good eyes could come in handy»
«Can I?»
Ezela scoffed and stomped her feet «Oh, wonderful! Really, Fantaghirò, what kind of mother are you, to always leave me behind!» and she walked away without giving them the time to answer.
The mention never failed to make the woman feel like she had twisted the knife in her heart. The blonde girl pointed out often how little Fantaghirò resembled to Ezela's deceased mother in moods, appearance and behaviour, but it wasn't the worst part. Fantaghirò had always been proud of who she was as her own person, different and unique, and had worked hard to have people recognize she was fine as she was.
No, the real pain was in those exact words: "what kind of mother are you?".
Fantaghirò often wondered so herself.
It was clear as the day that she wasn't the mother Ezela wished or needed.
Moreover, she didn't keep her promise to Smeralda, ending up not being a mother for her either.
But the very worst part was the other child she left behind.
Her heart clenched every time she thought about it: her son Rinaldo, her flesh and blood, the result of her true love with Romualdo, who barely got to meet her and was now supposed to be seven years old.
She had given birth to him just a few months before the Black Witch sent her men to kidnap her and that very day had been the first she put a foot outside the Castle without a carriage and a big escort to follow her.
It was a mistake she sorely regretted today.
She avoided talking about him, cherishing that memory so deep and private in a way that not even Asteria could take it even if she wanted. Also, her love for him was the one that took less time to come back, which didn't come from the little magic parasites of the witch, but rather hidden at the bottom of her heart, where it refuged when it was clear the rest was being ripped away.
«Don't listen to her» Masala tried to distract her from her somber state of mind «She's just jealous»
«It's not like we ever forbade her to come with us, if she wanted» Aries pointed out.
The younger man shrugged «She'd be useless and she knows it»
«Now, Masala, stop talking like that about your sister» Fantaghirò scolded him, putting back a smile on her face «I wasn't offended, and she's sort of right: I'm not the mother she wished for»
«It's not like you chose to come here. It's our fault you ended up with us, hers more than ours» the boy recalled.
Fantaghirò shook her head «Enough of this. I'm here now, no? So no need to speak about the past. Are you coming with us at Salimea or not?»
«Sure I am!» Masala answered.
«Then go packing!»
«Yes, madam!»
Chapter Text
You learn to count the quiet winds
An hour with no unprompted tears
And not to count the deadly days
As they fade into years
You learn to stand alone at last
So brave and bold and strong and stout
You learn somehow to like the dark
And even love the doubt
You Learn To Live Without - Idina Menzel (from If/Then)
Seven years went on for Romualdo as well.
Seven whole years without the other part of his soul. His better part, if one asked him.
Seven years he spent searching and praying and wondering. And, eventually, grieving: when hope escaped him in full and his heart felt so, so heavy because nothing worked and he resigned - not really, never for real, she was still alive, he could feel she was - to the fate his beloved was lost to him for good.
Because who could know what truly happened that fateful day?
Romualdo had cursed himself a thousand times, and a thousand more for not following her that day. Sure, he could have never known she was going to be kidnapped, but he should have known she was weary and couldn't stay still in the castle a minute longer, she who was always such a free spirit, who never wanted restraints, who felt nature and its call inside her very being.
Back then, he only thought a bit of fresh air could do her good and pretended with a smile not to see her sneaking away from the castle in that peach-coloured gown that suited her so nicely and she wore because Smeralda had chosen it for her.
It was all bitter memories now.
In the middle of the afternoon, Rinaldo started crying very loud. No one, not the wet nurse, not Caterina nor Carolina, nor Smeralda could calm him down. Despite everybody joking it wasn't a man's job to take care of babies, Romualdo ran to the nursery and took the newborn in his arms.
And the boy stopped screaming, gracing his father with a light wail, some scared-like grimace that Romualdo felt deep in his heart as he cradled his son, whispering reassuring words the baby couldn't understand yet, but that calmed him down all the same.
Only later, long later, Romualdo would have realized somehow his son had felt his mother was missing. That that must have been the moment.
When nightfall came and no one could find the youngest queen, worry rose in Romualdo as well. A search party was sent immediately and despite the royal family's hope Fantaghirò was going to show up with a smile on her face and dirt on her dress, making fun of them for being needlessly worried for her sake, the search went on for days, spanning into weeks.
At some point, Goldimane was found in a market on the far off part of the country, the zone that bordered with the Black Witch's domains. Some ruffians were trying to sell the talking horse, asserting it was given to them as payment for a job.
It took little for the horse to speak up and describe the ambush he and Fantaghirò had fallen into, how they got separated and that the only thing he knew was they were brought to the Black Witch's castle.
As soon as Romualdo heard that, he prepared to march on the witch and free his wife (or help her free herself, he expected everything from her), but Cataldo and Ivaldo stopped him just in time.
Since nothing had gone untried in the previous days, Romualdo had asked Smeralda to write to Tarabas and ask if he could lend any help.
The answer from the wizard just came: he was on his way, along with his wife, to give any kind of assistance they could.
But, in the end, it didn't make much difference.
The Black Witch, deprived of her dark powers by the little good she had done in her life, didn't put on much of a defence, armed only with spiteful words, her long nails and a few ragged weapons she couldn't even hold properly. She was fast cornered and forced to speak.
She had not killed Fantaghirò. Not for lack of will, she damn well tried, but because she had disappeared in front of the eyes of the kidnappers.
Needless to say, there was no reason to doubt her words. If the wicked woman had managed to kill Fantaghirò, the queen's head would have been on a pike in front of the Black Castle at the very least.
So any hope was lost.
Not immediately, of course.
Tarabas did all he could with the little magic he had, the neutral magic coming from the earth that had stubbornly hanged on him, but nowhere on earth she could be found. He asked for his mother's help, for her ability to peek inside reflections, and she skittishly but surely tried.
The sentence was terrifying: "she's not in this world anymore".
When asked to explain, Xellesia refused, asserting she already said too much and they had to find the answer on their own.
Ever since the search for Fantaghirò was held without huge search parties of armed men. Only Romualdo, his friends, his sisters-in-law, plus Tarabas and his wife went on looking.
To no avail.
Seven years came and went and not a single step forward was made.
So he grieved, but vowed to go forward in life, to abide by his duties, to raise his children the way Fantaghirò would have wanted.
Such pain had changed him. Anyone who knew Romualdo in the past would have not recognized him anymore.
The handsome young king who wore his heart on his sleeve now showed openly the same heart completely broken in his dark clothes that spoke of emptiness and made his facial features look sharper and older. He seldom showed a smile that managed to light his eyes anymore, and when that happened, it was only in presence of his son, whom he cherished and protected like nothing and no one else.
Some said he'd let the whole kingdom to ruin for his son's sake. Who knew him didn't think it was that far from truth.
Rinaldo was now a healthy boy, bright and smart, with brown curls that Caterina and Carolina swore were exactly like Fantaghirò's at his age and mischief in his eyes akin to his mother's.
And just like his mother, he had a penchant for troubles and an aptitude for weapons.
«Daad! Evaldo doesn't want to spar with me!» the boy came running into his father's study room. He was the only one in the entire castle allowed to barge in the King's rooms unannounced and exploited this right with the carefree attitude of a kid his age that didn't get how big of a privilege it was.
Romualdo looked up from his papers, sighing lightly at the regular occurrence «Rin, we talked about that...»
«But I'm good at it, dad!» the boy protested.
«Your cousin is older, hence training with heavier weapons. If he were to lose control, who do you think would get hurt more, you or some older and more experienced swordsman?»
«I'm fast» Rinaldo stubbornly replied «He'll never catch me!»
His father ruffled his hair and shook his head «I don't doubt it. But better safe than sorry»
The boy pouted. He hated that phrase, almost as much as his father seemed to like to repeat it.
It was always "better safe than sorry" when he wanted to go horseriding alone, and "better safe than sorry" when he tried a new weapon, and "better safe than sorry" when he walked out alone, and "better safe than sorry" when he wanted to play with his best friend's magic. He was never allowed anything fun because of his father's obsession with "better safe than sorry".
If there was something that had grown inside Romualdo in those years, along with his protectiveness, was the love for his child. As he had to fill the role of father and mother as well - despite Carolina and Caterina's best efforts -, he couldn't stand to see his kid unhappy.
So, more often than not, the king set aside his duties and took all the time he could for his child. After all, what good was it to be a lot to rule if they didn't have lighter burdens?
«Come on» Romualdo got up and offered his hand to Rinaldo, who took it without hesitation «You need someone expert to spar with»
«Who, dad?» the child looked up, wondering.
«Me, of course»
Rinaldo's eyes lit up and his whole face radiated happiness to the point Romualdo felt the warmth that came from it and couldn't help to smile back.
The brightest light of his life, that's what his son was for him. In that smile, anyone could see Fantaghirò's.
They reached the courtyard where the soldiers were training. On the side of it, Romualdo spotted Cataldo instructing his own kid, Evaldo, while Sabina sat on the balcony just above it with her mother Carolina and aunt Caterina, trying to paint the scene on the other side of the archery pitch, where Smeralda was refining her aim.
«Go pick a sword, will you, Rin?» the king encouraged him, and the boy happily ran for the racket. Waiting for him to come back, he approached the archery pitch.
«Elbow up, Smeralda» he advised his adoptive daughter.
She didn't even turn «I know» she muttered, but adjusted her position all the same. A perfect bullseye followed and she smirked, immediately getting another arrow ready.
She had grown fine, everybody agreed on that. Despite some spikes of nervousness and a tendency to barge into the soldiers' activities, she was deemed a beautiful young woman, with smartness to spare and a temper to be feared.
Unlike the great majority of the women in the castle, Smeralda didn't wear her hair in complex hairdos, nor used fancy hats. She didn't cut her golden curls short either, preferring to tie them with a leather string when she needed it. She wore gowns, although shorter than the other women her age, in order to move with more freedom, and sturdy boots and wielded weapons such as knives, bows and her old slingshot like few other people in the kingdom.
Romualdo let her do as she pleased, as he and Fantaghirò agreed about when they took Smeralda in as their daughter. At least, this princess didn't have the tendency to cross-dress, some said, but he wouldn't have minded even if she had.
He wouldn't go as far as to say he loved his children equally, but he loved both as they were his all the same. Both of them showed bits and pieces of Fantaghirò and both were beloved for this, but also for who they were: Smeralda and her delicate taste in clothes, with her fierce ways and wit in politics, Rinaldo with his fascination for books and magic and his boundless kindness and not a single spiteful bone in his small body.
Parts of his lost spouse but their own people, children growing up healthy, wise and strong.
How he wished his wife could see them!
And there they were, the grim thoughts that plagued the king and he tried so hard to fight, but never entirely, for he didn't want to lose the pain that still made him feel his heart beat as strong as ever for his love. He could never give up on that.
Rinaldo had come back with a pair of swords, he needed his father's attention to be explained how to correct his stance in some points, and what move was more efficient for a certain kind of attack and so forth, the task absorbing the king's mind completely, blissfully, until a page called for his attention.
«What is it?» Romualdo turned, gesturing for his son to put down the weapon.
«Lord Tarabas is here, your Majesty. He asked to speak with you posthaste» the page announced with a bow.
«I'll see him immediately» was the quick reply.
It was unusual for the former wizard to come unannounced unless something came up. Romualdo forced himself not to raise his hopes, mindful that the last time the news had been grim.
Tarabas and Romualdo considered each other friends now. Some experiences tend to do that to people, and their never-ended search led them to live a few adventures together that helped them bond.
Tarabas had changed as well in those years, but in the opposite direction Romualdo had. His green eyes didn't exude solitude and sadness any longer, his steps were lighter and his smiles didn't hold back his happiness as once did, when he didn't understand feelings and unconsciously worried anything good would be snatched away from his hands or he'd ruin it.
So when Romualdo saw him, he immediately knew something was very wrong from the clouds on his face only and the curt way he greeted Smeralda and Rin.
«I need to speak with you,» Tarabas said without preambles «Something's happening»
«Nothing good, I have to presume» Romualdo replied and gestured for his friend to follow inside, away from prying ears.
«I want to know too» Smeralda ran behind them.
«Stay with the kids. Whatever it happens, don't leave them alone» Tarabas instructed, to the girl's puzzlement. She trusted him enough to listen, especially when he was so serious, even so, the two men could count on the fact she was going to drag her brother and cousins to eavesdrop with her to obtain what she wanted without breaking the command.
Romualdo made a gesture to Cataldo to join them and ushered Tarabas inside, certain his sisters-in-law would see it as well.
Once in the throne room, the three men were indeed joined by the queens and, shortly after, by Ivaldo.
The relationship between the rest of the royal family and the former wizard was amicable. Ivaldo, Cataldo, Caterina and Carolina had not forgotten Tarabas had tried to kidnap their kids years before, but at the same time, they acknowledged his efforts to make amends for his wrongdoings and appreciated the help in Fantaghirò's search, even as fruitless as it had been.
«I've been in the western countries for the past few weeks» Tarabas started «There I encountered a strange phenomenon»
«Is it that bad?» Caterina asked immediately.
«I'm afraid so» Tarabas replied «There are voices running around about kids leaving home in the middle of the night and disappearing without a trace. In several kingdoms and apparently without connections with each other. A good number of them returned, but without memories of what happened. Many didn't. Not a lot of people remember my involvement in the last event of this kind, but someone could make the connection to me»
«I know you're not that person anymore» Romualdo assured him, with some nods from his family.
«It doesn't matter who I am, but what people are going to think. And that children keep disappearing without a trace. Some of them are regular boys and girls, but among the ones who didn't return there are children of witches, fairies, mages and any kind of magic practitioners. It could easily cause a ruse, even a war to all the lands at this rate. I assume nothing of the sort happened here yet, and between this and our friendship, other kingdoms could turn against you»
«What can we do?» Caterina wondered, dark eyes alert.
«An assembly has been called, in one of the central kingdoms. I don't know what it'll fix, but...»
«It'll be better to be present» Romualdo completed with a sigh «Do you think our children are in danger?»
«Any kid is» was the answer «I can't identify a single trace of that magic. It's like it's not of this world»
Romualdo's blood froze. "Not of this world" could mean a lot of things. It could easily mean it had a connection to Fantaghirò's disappearance, as well... It could mean his son was at risk of following his mother's fate. That he could be taken from him and he would never know where... or how... and how would he be... leading to years and years of separation and fruitless search...
A hand on his shoulder grounded him. Only then Romualdo realized he had spiraled down his deepest fears, blocking out the world around him.
«It's no time to panic, my friend» Cataldo slapped again an heavy hand on his back, bringing him back to reality and earning a grateful glance from the other king.
Ivaldo spoke as well «Our kids are still here, we can act before anything happens»
Romualdo nodded to his friends, regaining his composure «Of course. When is the gathering?»
«In two days. If you leave now you can get there in advance and test the waters» was the advice from Tarabas.
«Better to get ready then» Romualdo asserted «We should probably inform the Queen of Elves as well»
«I'll write a letter» Ivaldo offered.
«Are you going to this gathering as well?»
The former wizard nodded «I need to go back home first, to inform my family. I'll join the assembly last minute, I think»
«Will your wife go too?» Carolina asked, half in curiosity and half in worry.
Tarabas grimaced «We believe she'd better not move for the moment being. I'd rather not leave her in the predicament the kingdom is currently under, but fortunately, she's not alone and this issue is just as worrisome»
The blonde queen nodded to herself, then she excused herself to go check on the children.
«Smeralda will make a fuss if you don't let her join» Caterina reasoned before leaving as well «I'll see her luggage to be prepared along with the carriage, you can tell her»
This closed the reunion and the group split. Romualdo decided to accompany the guest outside and, as he did, he noticed something.
They were in the courtyard, where Tarabas had left his horse when Romualdo addressed the matter: «What else is there?»
The former sorcerer shook his head and patted the side of his horse. They knew each other well enough now, it wasn't a surprise he understood there was more in his worries, so he spoke up: «Darken's sword is still in your vault, isn't it?»
«Of course. We can go check on it, if you want» the other assured.
«I trust your word. There's a reason I left it here. According to my mother, it could infect magic items and twist them with darkness, but in this castle there is none, so here is the safest place for it to be»
«Why are you worried about it now, all of sudden? That sword has been there ever since we defeated Darken, years ago»
«There's a reason I was in the western countries. The Mirror was stolen»
The Mirror Tarabas was talking about was no normal item. It was the very same Darken used to keep in his volcano, the one that could show the past and present of things, but it had a high number of other capabilities.
Two years before, hoping it could help in the search for Fantaghirò, Romualdo and Tarabas went to retrieve it and Tarabas had been studying it ever since, uncovering its potentialities. Some were good or neutral, like showing events as they were, some more were upsetting. It was an item full of magic that in the wrong hands could do awful things.
Romualdo connected the dots: «You think there's a connection between the disappearing kids and the Mirror?» it wasn't really a question.
«I hope not, but... Just make sure the sword stays where it should before leaving, those two objects shall not be in the same hands ever again» then he mounted on his horse.
«I will» the king assured «Have a safe journey, my friend. See you in two days»
«Likewise» Tarabas replied and galloped away.
Chapter Text
Come little children
I’ll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment
Come little children
The time’s come to play
Here in my garden of shadows
Come Little Children - from Hocus Pocus
The gathering was absolutely useless, Smeralda thought, and it wasn't only because she had been excluded from the actual discussion and forced to attend a boring party instead of being with her father and Tarabas where the decisions were going to be made, nope.
First of all, she had to babysit Rinaldo. Now, that wasn't the worst thing, she loved her little brother, but if she had to stick by him, she couldn't even try to sneak into the room where the real talk was happening.
She huffed, struggling with the uncomfortable feeling of a dress that trailed on the ground instead of her usual short garbs, not willing to join the pointless chatters of the few other nobles her age either. She had tried to speak with them, but her fellow princesses and ladies were uninterested in politics and the male nobles didn't take into account her opinions, the older ones because of her age, the younger ones more interested in complimenting her beauty than listening to what she was saying.
Any other day she would have done what she wanted to anyway: sneak in the room where the actual policies were discussed by kings, queens, high lords and magicians of high level, eavesdrop all the discussion, coming out to call out the first idiot who'd say something against her family, this sort of things.
This time, though, Tarabas and Romualdo had been categorical: don't lose sight of Rin. The way they said it, the dark worry on their faces, the little she heard when Tarabas visited the last time, told her the matter was serious and she had a few escape routes planned just in case it meant they were wary to be attacked since theirs was one of the few lands where no kids had disappeared from, so far.
What really angered her was that she was supposed to be in that room, and she was out of it only because Rinaldo had snuck in her luggage and revealed himself only halfway to the gathering, forcing his family to take him with them. And, fine, she would have probably done the same thing at his age, but if he had stayed at home just as planned she wouldn't have had to deal with this now.
So there she was, at a boring party, with old-style dances and a stupid corset on - whoever invented this new fashion for young women should be forced to wear one, she swore! - and a few nosy young counts and princes who looked at her as if she was a good prey.
Smeralda huffed again. She knew everybody thought she was a good party to take in marriage and she knew she was in the age a regular princess would be up for an engagement, that's what they were interested in: she was the sole heiress to her birth parent's kingdom and she would take her throne as soon as her homeland's laws would declare her of age, which would happen in a short time, making her a young queen of a small but rich kingdom, protected by powerful allies.
According to her, getting married was low-priority. Not until she found love, or at least a good match, and she'd hardly find a kindred spirit in the stiff, calculating environment she was currently in.
Lost in her thoughts, she barely paid attention to the smug marquis around her age who was getting closer and stopped halfway, nor to the way the chatters had slowed down and the predatory gazes glossed over. She noticed, instead, that the few kids in the room, her brother in particular, had stopped playing.
A silent music, a wordless song echoed inside little minds, who, curious, stopped their running and followed the sound of voiceless magic.
Nobody found it strange but Smeralda.
She didn't hear the whispered lullaby, nor the hushed melody, still, as soon as she saw the children walk together towards the same spot, she couldn't avoid following them as well, curious but also alert.
The kids' eyes were void, their steps followed in unison a similar march but, as bizarre as it all was, none of the adults seemed to notice.
Alarmed, Smeralda tried to call Rinaldo back, to remind him not to leave her side, then she tried to grab his hand, to no avail: the boy, as if possessed by a superhuman force, yanked away from her grasp as if it was nothing more than a stray branch holding his sleeve. When she tried to pick him up, an even more bizarre event happened: the boy's body slipped away from her arms like a snake and Rinaldo reprised his walk.
Seeing there was no stopping him, or any of the other children, she preceded them towards their common goal, outside the steps of the palace, where more and more victims were converging towards the same point.
Only then she saw, sitting on the high branch of a tree, a lanky man in blue and purple jester garb, playing some kind of flute whose melody the princess was still unable to hear.
The first children were under the tree. A sort of ripple in the air, like the halo that formed on the horizon in especially hot days, hovered under the branch and the first child, a little boy none older than four, walked steadily towards it.
Then, he disappeared. As if he had crossed an invisible door.
More followed.
Smeralda didn't waste time thinking: the adults discussing inside of the threat had been completely unable to see what was going on under their noses, but she wasn't. She ran towards the tree and started to scale it, dead set on ripping away from the man that instrument of hypnosis and a few answers as well.
She was fast and her climbing skills good enough even in the long dress: in a moment she was up, ready to jump on the jester-garbed man.
But he jumped down, besides the invisible door, quickly resuming his playing as if his life depended on it, and children kept crossing it. His alert eyes met Smeralda's enraged ones and, challenged by that look, she jumped down on him. Surprised, the man let go of his instrument and a look of terror followed the realization.
A few kids, the furthest at least, seemed to wake up. The younger ones, upon seeing themselves away from their caretakers, started crying and calling out.
The princess heard none of this, too busy trying to restrain the musician who, now in panic, struggled like a wounded beast to recover his instrument.
«What are you doing? Where does that thing lead?» she shouted.
His answer was an elbow in her abdomen. The corset took a part of the impact, but one of the wooden sticks bent out of place under her ribs and broke, making her lose her breath for a moment and, with that, the grasp she had on her adversary, who stumbled away and grabbed the flute, starting immediately to play again.
Alerted by the sounds of the commotion, woken up from some sort of dream-like state they had been in until then, several people arrived and managed to stop a few of the children before they could get close to the evanescent door.
The musician looked around for a second, just how much it was needed for the princess to recover and try to snatch the instrument from his hands, but he was faster: he threw the flute inside the portal and jumped inside as well.
Without hesitation, Smeralda followed him, just before the portal dissipated in front of the incredulous eyes of the bystanders.
Chapter 4
Notes:
Christmas is Fantaghirò's season so it seems right to add a new chapter during the holidays, so, Happy Holidays! ^_^
The first section is possibly the first I wrote when I started the project, I still got the draft on one of my law notebooks (since it was what I was studying back then), but the rest is mostly new (in the sense I completed it in November and waited until now to post it lol)
Chapter Text
Sisters we are everywhere
Warriors, your country needs you
If you're ready ladies, better keep steady
Ready, aim, shoot
Don't need ammunition, on a mission
And we'll hit you with the truth
Divas, queens, we don't need no man, salute!
Salute - Little Mix
Salimea wasn't further than a day and half of travel, a good part by boat, the other by foot.
Fantaghirò, Aries and Masala said goodbye to a disgruntled Ezela and a more than resigned to bear with her Sarshut first thing the next morning, before sailing.
The first day went on uneventful, the navigation was tranquil and Masala spent a little time fishing with a net some fresh prey to eat in the evening to avoid consuming too fast their stocks.
In the evening they decided to sleep on the boat itself, taking turns to sleep to spare at least half a day of travel.
Fantaghirò never slept well on boats, she was simply not used enough to those, so taking the longer shift was no problem to her. Still, Aries awoke a little earlier.
«You'd better go to sleep, highness» he suggested «Tomorrow will be a long day and you're not as young as you used to be» he joked.
«I'm not tired yet» she moved aside so he could sit «Not in the body at least» she admitted.
«Not a good reason to exhaust yourself» was his comment. He drank from a little flask and passed it to her before asking: «Want to speak?»
«Not really» she replied, refusing the drink as well «It's just the usual»
«Ah, it's "the usual", now?» he elbowed her, trying to get her to reply or smile «Well, maybe this trip will have some opening»
She hoped so too, but seven years of delusions taught her to lower her expectations. She learned the hard way it was less painful than putting all her faith into a potential dead end.
«We've been to Salimea already, Aries» she reminded him.
«And there were no ghost stories back then» he pointed out «Something changed there, the world never stops changing and, who knows? maybe there's something new for you. I have a good feeling about it»
«Even if I'll finally manage to leave?» she inquired.
«Better to know you're happy in your kingdom than gloomy here. Even if I'll miss my sister-in-arms» he winked, finally getting a smile out of her and a friendly punch on his arm.
Aside from "highness", "sister-in-arms" was one of Aries' favourite ways to call her. He had behaved surprisingly well after their affair was officially over and he became Fantaghirò's best friend and confidant, a trustworthy partner for her travels who was her equal in skills and whose quick-thinking took them out many kinds of situations; he helped her raise Masala and Ezela, and worked so the village could be back to its previous wellbeing with his ability to make deals that made their once small settlement of fishermen a prosperous and well-known exchange market.
She didn't find a lover in him, but rather the brother she never had and this was precious beyond measure in her eyes.
A sudden yawn escaped her mouth.
«I think I'll try to sleep a bit» she announced.
«That's what I was saying, no?»
Fantaghirò put an effort in not rolling her eyes and just smiling as she settled next to Masala to get a little rest. Before falling asleep she remembered something.
«Aries?» she called, her voice half-asleep. He turned, his head tilted.
«Thank you» she said.
«Ah, don't mention it» he made a nonchalant gesture with his hand and turned back.
She fell asleep faster than she imagined, lulled by the waves and the hopeful feeling that, this time, Aries could be right.
Rinaldo opened his eyes, jumping up when he found himself in an unfamiliar place.
Until his eyes found his sister was close-by, trying to calm down the other children around - and there were a lot - who were sniffling or calling for their mothers.
He was scared, the music had been weird and he wanted his dad too, he was in a place he didn't recognize and Smeralda looked alert, and she was always confident, so that wasn't good, this much he could say.
Once she managed to quiet the kids, she tried to open the sturdy-looking door that closed the not-so-large room they were confined in, to no avail.
Even so, Rin couldn't cry, nor show fear. He was a prince, and Fantaghirò's son, and if his mom didn't cry when they made her sleep in the well, neither would he now.
And then someone came.
Between the darkness of the corridor and the too-small opening at the door's top, they couldn't see anything but a pair of glowing purple eyes.
«Well well. What do we have here? A big one among my little birdies» a voice taunted.
«I am no bird and they are not yours by any means» Smeralda replied, putting herself in front of the door, eyes to eyes with their captor «Free us at once»
«Ah, a princess you must be» the disdain in the voice was palpable «No one else would be so arrogant to ask things this way in someone else's home»
«I am» the blonde replied «Princess Smeralda of Eduan. And courtesy would have you reveal your name at least, since you hide your face»
A laughter «In your land, perhaps. But this is my domain and I do what I deem fit. And I deem fit for you to stop being a bother»
«Wha...» she couldn't even complete the word: a blur of purple reached her head and Smeralda fell to the ground, unconscious.
«What did you do to her?» Rinaldo shouted. He went to his sister, ignoring the cries of the other children, but his head felt dizzy again.
He turned to the door just as the mist caught him too. The purple eyes were gone.
Around midday, the trio arrived in the harbour of a twin settlement of their village. People there knew Aries pretty well and the group left the boat in their care without much worry.
There weren't horses available for them, so they packed their stuff and moved towards the next village on foot.
«We'll lose all the time we gained this way» Masala complained.
«There was nothing to do» Fantaghirò reminded him «Those people needed the horses for their fieldwork...» she stopped as she saw Aries spying something behind a tree.
«What are you doing?» she asked.
«Swordfighting» he muttered in response «Here of all places! And look at them...» he added with a grin, half in admiration and half in disbelief.
Fantaghirò and Masala exchanged a confused look but moved beside him to see what he was talking about.
The two people fighting were women.
One had raven black hair, tied up in a neat bun over an oval face and black almond eyes, she was small built and dressing in a mid-long tunic with side slits and trousers underneath, with the top of a light armour over it. The other had a short red mane, curls flying around her face as she moved like wildfire, she was bulkier than her opponent, taller by almost an inch and half and was wearing a deep indigo short dress over a creamy shirt, rough but which didn't restrict her movements, with brown leather protections on her arms and chest, akin to the sturdy-looking trousers and boots she wore underneath.
The two opponents, deeply different as they were in physique, one stronger built and taller, the other shorter and lean, had fighting styles that made advantage of it: the redhead had a more aggressive style and used a sword much heavier and thicker than her opponent's, her movements were vehement and every attack was well planted and powerful as much as the other's was sleek, elegant and controlled, light-footed and technical, aimed mostly at tiring, disarm or have the other lose her footing, which wasn't easy as the taller woman was equally agile and stood firmly on her ground.
They were well balanced, both with a similar amount of experience even if their styles were polar opposites. It took Fantaghirò a moment to realize it wasn't an actual fight, but rather a sparring match as neither aimed for vital points and only used the flat of the blades.
A little on the side, closer to the observing trio, sat another woman, an elder cloaked in a long tunic with a large hood. She was watching the other two with worry, her chubby hands ran to her mouth or to cover her eyes whenever there was a more risky move from either side and she tapped her feet to the ground as if she was impatient for it to end.
Eventually, the red-haired woman managed to have the other fall to the ground by faking the uncovering of her side.
Both laughed as the winner helped the other to get up, and together they moved to the elder, who had two satchels ready for them, along with other supplies that lied at her feet in big backpacks and smaller weapons holders.
«This was very violent, girls. Very very much so» the sitting woman reprimanded.
«It was barely sparring, Melissa» the shortest said politely «A real fight would have been much harsher»
To this, the one called Melissa, shook her head «It's still very dangerous and terribly unkind»
«It's defence» the taller replied, taking a quiver from the ground and assuring it to her side «Believe me, if I had had my weapons when that monster took Adair, he would have gotten the bite of my sword and a few arrows up his...»
«Greer!» the cloaked woman cried, indignantly «This is not nice»
She stopped in the middle of checking her bow «He almost took Camilla too, didn't he?» she replied, then pointed her chin as the third woman «And Mei-Fen's charge as well»
«Still, revenge brings no honour, nor peace of mind» Mei-Fen nodded to herself. She sheathed her sword and untied her hair to re-do the messed up bun.
«I just want my nephew back home. The fate of that treacherous imp is none of my business» Greer assured. Then, quick as lighting, she nocked an arrow and pointed it in the direction of the observing trio.
«You'd better come out there if you don't want to be used as practice targets»
Aries, always the smug one, was the first to leave their cover and answer, hands up but steps nonchalant «You have a good eye, miss, may I ask...»
«I make the questions here» the redhead interrupted, then added «Out there you too»
Masala glanced at Fantaghirò, who nodded at him to follow and both joined their companion in the clearing.
«Why were you spying on us?»
«We mean no harm. It was just curiosity» was the honest answer «Weapons of any kind are almost forbidden in Elsewhere, so you can't be from here» Fantaghirò explained.
«We didn't know that. Greer, dear» the elderly woman gestured at the other.
After a skeptical look, the redhead lowered her bow, but she didn't put away the arrow. The other warrior moved slightly in front of the eldest but had a more friendly stance.
«We're sorry we worried you» Melissa apologised «I assure you we have no ill will. I'm Melissa, witch of the Auburn Lands. This is Lady Greer» she gestured at the redhead, who nodded «And she's general Mei-Fen, from the Sunrise Empire»
«It's a land confining with Catai!» Fantaghirò exclaimed.
«A small section of our south border laces with that country, yes» Mei-Fen confirmed with a curious stare.
Masala turned at Fantaghirò «That Catai? In your world?»
Aries made a face. It was his "I told you" face that would have usually earned him a good smack on the arm, but this time... This time Fantaghirò was too happy to care.
After seven years, she had a chance to go back home. A real chance.
They came from her same world, so that's where they were going back to, eventually. Or, at least, they may know how to.
Mei-Fen frowned «Who are you, exactly?»
«My fair ladies,» Aries walked in front «My name's Aries, this young man is my pupil Masala, and my companion's name is Fantaghirò, who you may have heard of if you come from where you say»
The newcomers' faces spoke on their own: of course, they have heard of her.
«Fantaghirò? The Knight Queen, the same who defeated Darken?» Mei-Fen asked.
«But that's impossible. Queen Fantaghirò disappeared seven years ago» Greer opposed, wide-eyed.
Fantaghirò nodded «I was brought here by magic and I've been here the whole time. I couldn't find a way to come back, no matter how much I tried»
Melissa's eyes became, if possible, even gentler as she got closer and patted the younger's hands «Poor dear, what a terrible thing it must have been»
The other two women's eyes widened further.
«You mean it's really her?»
«I can see the truth in people's words. This girl is the one of the legend, the lost queen of Tuan, and my sister's student» Melissa confirmed.
«Your sister, madam?» Masala tilted his head.
«Glauce. Oh, you know her as the White Witch. All good witches are sisters at heart and in magic, my dear» Melissa explained with a motherly smile «I wished for so long to meet you, hoped you'd find your way back home to your family and your people. Women like you and Mei-Fen set an example for other young women who wanted to rise beyond the rules of men. Our Greer can tell you»
The redhead blushed wildly «You showed men we can be their equals in fight and politics alike. You paved the way for a lot of us. Your disappearance made you somewhat of a legend»
«That's flattering... But I'm not dead yet. I am here, I just couldn't come back» Fantaghirò replied humbly, even if a part of her was proud knowing how much difference made her life in those of her fellow women.
Melissa smiled warmly «Now we know, dear. Your happy ending could be close»
«We have to end our mission first» Greer interrupted, not as harshly as before but with a certain urgency «We can't go back until we do it»
«You said someone took away your child» Fantaghirò recalled «Is there a way we can help you? Who is that?»
The two younger women seemed hesitant, so Melissa spoke up: «They call him the Pied Piper. We are not aware of his real name, just that he's in possession of a magical flute. They say its music is able to lead animals and children to do anything the player wishes. That's how he took away several kids from our realms and many others»
At that, Aries had finally turned serious «Kidnapped children... that's bad»
«We suspect he's not the mind behind it» Mei-Fen added «Our aim is to rescue the children and see that the situation doesn't repeat itself»
«How do you know there's more to it?»
«It takes a great amount of magic to cross the borders of realms. Too much for a single magician» Melissa explained «A whole gathering had to be called, and only few were chosen to try the ordeal»
«Couldn't they send a bigger search party?»
Greer scoffed «Had it been possible, a whole army would have been with us»
«More than one» Mei-Fen added «I heard Queen Elsa was ready to offer one of elementals, even»
«Thank goodness she didn't» Melissa put a hand on her chest, but Fantaghirò held fondly the memory of her friend and her powers and found reassurance in the fact she was well enough to have considered the idea.
With his innate curiosity, Masala inquired about another matter: «How did you get here then?»
«With a lot of help. All the magicians who were close enough to come gave their contribution. As of now, they're waiting for us to send a sign we found the children to bring us all back home»
«You think it has something to do with the ghosts in Salimea?» Aries wondered, the question aimed at Fantaghirò.
«Ghosts?»
The trio briefly retold the little info they had and the nature of their own trip.
Melissa, once heard everything, started a search in her pockets. It looked like she had quite the amount of them hidden in her cape and clothes because she kept searching for a solid minute without answering any of the inquiries the others made.
«Ah, here it is!» she eventually rejoiced. Her hand was cupped around a little globe of translucent stone. She muttered a few words and the ball started twirling with light.
When the luminescence settled, an image appeared in it: a grand villa, covered in frozen vines, its roof gleaming with ice and piles of white, most likely snow, outside the doors.
«Can this possibly be the place?» the fairy showed, holding the globe up.
«Those are Salimea's hills» Aries confirmed «That building is the old villa of the Ferarith family»
«According to tracking magic, the children are there» Mei-Fen informed «This is our goal»
«We will help you then» Fantaghirò assured.
«First we need to retrieve the rest of our search party. We got accidentally separated»
«How?»
Greer rolled her eyes «After crossing the portal we ended up in a river. The current split us up»
«There had been some miscalculations» the old witch blushed «But no worries, we'll find them. I am almost certain they are in the village in the valley down there»
Aries and Masala exchanged a worried look.
«The Thullùn's village...» the youngest said with a worried frown.
«Do your friends carry weapons too?» Aries asked.
«Well, yes...»
«Then we'd better move. And hide yours too. As we said, weapons are not liked in Elsewhere, and amongst the Thullùn least than anywhere»
«What can they do?»
«Well, they could decide to put them in their cages for a few days, it's the best outcome. But they usually hang people upside-down, or tie them to horses to be dragged around and...»
«I'm sure our friends don't want the details» Fantaghirò interrupted, noting Melissa's rather sickened expression «Let's just go help them, shall we?»
It wasn't the first time Tarabas and Romualdo ended up prisoners in a new place they visited. It wasn't new that it happened only because they carried weapons either - the High Prophetess of Diltani was every bit of a scaredy-cat and there was an incident with the Pharsian itinerant court too... - so they weren't overly worried about that.
Time wasn't on their side, though. With the anxiety for the kids' fate and not knowing to which point they could trust their travelling companions, saying the duo was a little antsy was an understatement.
«Any idea how to get out of here?» Romualdo asked from his suspended cage up on the ceiling of a sturdy-looking building. The king estimated the place they were in had to be more ancient than the rest of the town, the architecture didn't match after all, except for the ceiling, and had it been another moment he might have mentioned that too, but in the current predicament...
«I'm trying» was the reply from the other, who had his eyes closed and a hand outstretched towards the keys, several meters under them.
«What happened to "no more magic"?»
«With the children involved, this is not my top priority» Tarabas muttered.
Romualdo rose a brow «You don't have to. We'll find a way out of it even without that»
«Not like I have any choice. This strange land's metal doesn't obey me» the former wizard slumped to the bottom of the cell «Either that, or those cages are magic inhibitors, somehow»
The two sat in silence for a few moments, thinking what they could do.
«This brings back memories»
Tarabas tilted his head «The expedition in Ozmandya?»
Romuald shrugged «I was thinking of Maideur, but that too»
«Right. How did we get out of that again?»
«Parsel. Maideur is one of the isles of his kingdom and he vouched for us» Romualdo recalled.
«What about how we escaped in Ozmandya?»
«We're not repeating that, Tarabas. I almost broke my legs to do that»
«Almost» the other precised, as if breaking a leg was nothing noteworthy. Maybe it wasn't for him, since he benefited from the accelerated healing of his fae blood, which wasn't the case for Romualdo and his human frailty, not to mention the number that age and prolonged efforts did to his body.
«And we don't have Silurus here» he added, mindful of how in that specific case it had been thanks to the huge magical catfish the White Witch had sent their way that they got out that situation unscathed.
«So what? Do we wait for those people to free us? We don't even know them that well»
«I do. Didn't I tell you I lived for some time in the Auburn Lands? It was before my father died and I had to come back to take his place» Romualdo recalled.
«And?»
«Greer is the younger sister of the duke of the Auburn Lands, who was my friend back then. When I lived there she was ten or so and was already a spitfire with the fame of never leaving any of her playmates behind, no matter what mess they put themselves in. If she's still anything like that, and from the stories I heard of her she is, she won't leave us here»
After a moment of silence, Tarabas switched position to get a better look at the room underneath and said «I'm still going to look for a way out on our own»
«So am I. But I believe you're looking the wrong way»
At Tarabas' interrogative side-eye, Romualdo pointed at the ceiling.
«Ah»
«My thoughts exactly»
They both grinned.
«How many times will you disappoint me?»
The Piper crouched to the ground, head low. He knew better than to raise his head up or try to answer.
«First you have a human follow you, a princess no less. And now...» a pause «Do you even know what have you done, this time?»
He shook his head. The second-to-last raid had had, in fact, mixed outcomes, with more children than ever but also the young lady who stopped and followed him through the portal.
But this time? True, he brought a pitiful catch, he knew...
«An adult magician! You brought here an adult magician, you fool!»
The Piper frantically gestured to his mouth and, to his relief, he was given back the ability to speak.
«My liege,» he started «There were no adults in my last harvest. I wasn't followed or else...» he stuttered, whimpering when a hand yanked his hair.
«Then what is this power I feel from the last batch? You can't tell me such magic is of a child!»
«I-I don't know... I...»
A huff, then the swirl of a feathered cape «I'll go check myself. And if there's another intruder, you can say goodbye to your tongue for good»
Chapter Text
Now I'm lost in restless nights
Just a whisper of the life that we created
Shadows falling
I am calling
And I could see it clearly once when you were here with me
And now somehow all that's left are pieces of a dream
Pieces of a Dream - Anastacia
The Thullùn weren't known for their smarts, that much was certain.
The very manner their town was built, around the riverbank but not exploiting it, in a way that anyone could end up in the middle of the town through the waterway without passing by the gates, was bad planning at best, foolishness at worst.
Originally, the town had been built by another population who had huge gates and used sturdy stone around and inside, but time, illnesses, and a subsequent invasion destroyed the smarts of the previous makers and the Thullùn rebuilt their own cheap and ill-made town over the previous city, salvaging at a later time the few buildings they hadn't destroyed in their incursion and re-using them once they decided to go pacifists like the rest of Elsewhere.
Their prison, to say one, used to be a storage for common resources - a concept the Thullùn didn't quite adopt nor understood - and wasn't as well-kept as it'd be proper, not that the ordinary shortage of prisoners required it to be.
Anyway, what Aries knew, aside from all those miscellaneous facts, was that the roof of the prison was not surveilled and was in dire need of repairs since... well, for years. The only thing that was done was to build another roof on the inside with cheaper materials, while most of the original one was barely patched up.
«If your friends are in there, we can sneak in from the top roof, enter the chamber that separates it from the second roof, and free them without being seen»
The plan was simple but solid. Even the best plans can go wrong, though.
For example, they didn't think there would be surveillance in the alleys surrounding the building.
The guard had his back turned when they spotted him. Mei-Fen made a slow gesture to the others to wait there then, quick and silent as a cat, she snuck in, got behind the guard, and took him out with a swift chopping blow to the base of the man's neck. The guard was left on the floor and dragged out of sight without a sound being made.
«The way's clear» she gestured at them to come forth.
«You need to show me how you did that, that was so smooth!» Greer whispered to her companion, who smiled a bit, then turned at Aries «Which way?»
«All the way up» Aries replied, pointing at the wall «I assume you ladies know how to scale a measly wal-»
He didn't even manage to finish the sentence, Greer had tied a thin rope on one of her arrows and shot it near the top of the building, just under the roof, then pulled the rope a few times to make sure it would hold.
«Can you?» she replied, then started to climb without waiting for an answer with what couldn't be anything but practiced mastery.
Mei-Fen had imitated her and added her own rope, although she used a small crossbow she had somehow hidden in her sleeve. Fantaghirò couldn't but admire their skill as she followed with Aries, perhaps more clumsily, at their rearguard, while Masala was set to keep watch.
The four were up and on the roof in a matter of minutes, and the faults in the tiles were just as Aries had described them: large enough for a thin adult to pass through or patched up with wooden planks easy to remove.
«It's a wonder this is considered a prison to begin with» Mei-Fen noted «The prisoners must escape with ease»
«They're executed too quickly to try, on average. And the inside is more guarded, we'll have to be careful down here»
Fantaghirò suddenly had a realization: «Something you want to share, Aries?»
He huffed «I was not detained in this prison, if that's what you're asking. I was hired to get someone out of there once, that's it»
«Did you succeed?» Greer wondered, a bit of sarcasm in her tone.
Aries winked and bowed «My dear, of course I did»
Fantaghirò didn't ask if the one Aries freed was guilty or not, both because the Thullùn's laws were absurd and because she knew Aries wouldn't have bothered to find out, at the time, only that the pay would be worth his time and effort.
She elected to ignore the whole thing and stick her head in one of the bigger holes to check the route instead.
It was dusty and dirty, barely illuminated by the fissures in the ceiling, with no windows of any sort in sight. The planks directly under the holes were moldy and didn't seem stable enough to jump on, ruined by the rain and sun, but the ones nearby seemed decent, so she balanced her weight, angling her fall to land on the safe ones when she jumped in.
«Careful of the planks» she warned the others before they could come in.
«They could manage this place better» Greer scrunched her nose.
«Be glad they don't» Aries replied «Or our work today would be harder»
«Where now?» Mei-Fen interrupted.
«There must be a ladder that goes down to the main chamber. The guards probably use that, which means we'll have to be car-»
A sudden and rather loud sound resonated through the dome.
The group rushed to find the ladder that would lead them to the entrance of the chamber to peek in: much to their confusion, it was empty, one of the cells has been broken, one half still hanging from the ceiling, the second was shattered on one of the walkaways, while the other cells were wide open, as was the entrance door, two floors down.
«Looks like they didn't need our help to escape» Fantaghirò noted.
«They do if they went for the bottom, right in the arms of the guards» Aries replied.
The group rushed down, the clamor of fighting getting louder and clearer.
Greer excitedly pulled out her sword and threw herself through the door and into the brawl without a second thought. The guards, in brightly dyed uniforms and scant leather protections, were about a dozen but unprepared for the armed attack of four more experienced fighters coming all of sudden, on top of the two already in.
It took a moment for Fantaghirò to realize who the other two people were, a detail she filed away in the heat of the battle but hit her like a log propelled by a hurricane as soon as she stopped.
Romualdo and Tarabas were there.
There, right in front of her, flesh and blood, not a secret wish, not a wonderful dream, they were there!
She knew because, although Tarabas looked more or less the same she remembered, Romualdo was so different, so changed, and she didn't have the ability to picture how age would have touched him, or she did, just she didn't imagine he'd look that way.
«Fantaghirò?» Tarabas said, the incredulity in his voice not enough to shatter her stupor.
«Is it you? Is it really you?» she replied, tears threatening to spill.
«Yeah, uh, maybe we should have told you before» Greer hesitated, fidgeting with her sword.
Aries tapped her shoulder «Sorry to crush the moment but we really need to go before more of those friendly guards get here»
Mei-Fen, ever practical, nodded «I'm afraid I have to agree. Are you unharmed? Can you run?»
«I think so» Tarabas replied for both, not without a side-look at his friend who, silent like never before, was not looking their way, but picking up his sword, still sheathed in the scabbard - she recognized it even from afar -, and assured it to his waist, then handed Tarabas another.
The former sorcerer had a bit of confusion on his face as he took the weapon, but his only reaction was an inquisitive frown.
Still stunned by the surprise of being so close to two of the most important people in her old life, Fantaghirò smiled and nodded, letting Aries lead the group out.
Two years had passed already since Fantaghirò disappeared. I braved my pain in silence, everybody was suffering, I couldn't give them more worries.
But...
Caterina and Carolina were busy, with Evaldo and Sabina and Rinaldo, other than with the kingdom. I took care of him too, of my adoptive brother, while the adults were out, looking for her.
I studied, learned to read, and perfect my aim with my slingshot, then learned how to use a bow and even started to practice with knives. I always had a good aim.
For the first year, Romualdo barely spoke with me, always so hurt, always so desperate and despairing in his search, but he looked almost happy... that's a stretch, more like almost proud when he was told of my results. He needed more time to become more like a father to me.
Tarabas showed up only to help, then he had to leave too, to try more or to reach others he loved. Sometimes they came with him, other times he took me with him. The only bits of solace, moving to a place sadness had not contaminated for good.
At the castle I was alone. So alone.
It was as if I wasn't even there, at times.
«Everyone I love disappears» I sobbed, hiding away in a secluded corner of the forest. What forest? I don't remember. The pain I ignored for so long for the sake of others, to look strong when the adults who took me in expected me to, now was too much to bear, I felt like I was exploding, especially so after the last failed research.
«Why? Is it me? Do I bring misfortune? Maybe I should be the one to disappear...»
And I did. I did, at last.
«Shh, Smeralda, no, don't say such things»
Cold but soft arms wrapped around me, a gentle hand carded through my hair. I knew this voice, knew those hands. «It's not your fault»
My still small hands grabbed back, and tightened on light fabric, tears still stinging in my eyes. I couldn't see, but I knew who was there, who found me and wanted to console me.
«She never came back. She never will. My parents too...»
«None of it was your fault, Smeralda. I understand what you're feeling...»
«No, you can't» I rebelled, but I didn't pull away. She didn't have the same warmth as Fantaghirò, but her embrace was just as reassuring and I missed that so much. The embrace of a mother.
«My parents died too, you know, when I wasn't much older than you. They were looking for a way to help me. And I felt it was my fault for the longest time»
I sniffled and looked up at her crystal blue eyes, and she wiped the tears from mine.
«But, you see, what happened had a meaning we didn't understand at the time. Everything happens for a reason, the roads we take lead us to where and who we're supposed to be. Cry, if you need it, but then get up again. We'll figure it out. You're not alone»
Smeralda woke up abruptly. She knew well why she relived that memory.
"Cry, if you need it, but then get up again. We'll figure it out. You're not alone"
She curled more on herself, face hidden in white feathers.
No, she wasn't alone, and even if she was, she was going to find a way out for herself and for everyone else.
Romualdo was in a dream, nothing more than that. He had had dozens of those, he knew indulging in them was only going to break his heart all over again, but couldn't manage to wake up.
This woman maybe looked like his wife, but she wasn't. She couldn't be.
Even if she answered to her name, fought like her, and spoke with her voice - Gods, how he missed her voice! - she couldn't... she wasn't...
Their eyes met.
Romualdo had fallen in love with those eyes, long ago, madly and truly. He couldn't mistake them. They were embedded in his heart in a way nothing else was from the very first moment he saw them.
For a second, a blessed moment, he was tempted to drop everything, run to her and kiss her senselessly, hold her close to make sure she couldn't get out of his sight and away from his arms again.
Then the scruffy-looking man who was with them patted her shoulder and her eyes turned to him, she smiled at the stranger with a familiarity he knew was once his, and Romualdo felt like dying.
The never-healed wound in his heart twisted and bled out, more painful than ever.
Obviously, it was too good to be true.
He had found her - or she found him? -, only to discover he had lost her to someone else, who knew how long before.
His dream had fallen into pieces and he only had himself to blame. After seven years, he shouldn't have hoped to begin with, Romualdo chastised himself. She was alive and healthy, still confident, still beautiful. She could still smile and it made him think she was happy and there was nothing more he could wish for her.
He had to content himself with that knowledge. He had to.
Closed behind a practiced mask of indifference, he retrieved his and Tarabas' swords from where the guards had stored them when they caught them and assured his own back to his side, letting the others do the talking on the way out and ignoring with all his might the gazes launched his way.
He wasn't going to let jealousy consume him, he had his pain for that, and he'll be damned if he let either show.
Fantaghirò kept looking back to Romualdo all the time of their escape, trusting Aries, Greer, and Mei-Fen enough with leading them all out of the city.
For a moment, a beautiful, blissful moment, he had looked up at her and she had seen all the love and adoration she had to live without in those long years apart. Now he was looking away, evading her eyes, ignoring her entirely.
Was he angry? Hurt? Wasn't he happy to see her again?
The situation didn't allow her to confront him immediately, as much as she wished to. More guards could come any minute and they had to be quick and silent evading the Thullùn guards and any possible passerby who could alert them of the escapees.
They were out soon enough, rejoined with Masala, and left the town before a crowd could rise and block their way out.
It was only after they were in the safety of the woods and on their way to pick back Melissa and then on the road to Salimea, when Aries started recounting one of the stories of his past attracting the attention of their companions of adventure as he liked to do, that Fantaghirò could make a move.
Romualdo kept a few steps behind the others, silent and stone-faced. He didn't make a sign of having seen her even when she started walking beside him.
It hurt her in a way she didn't imagine was possible. So close, closer than they'd been in years, and still he looked so far in mind and soul.
«Romualdo... you really have nothing to say to me?»
«Is there anything to talk about? Seven years is a long time, Fantaghirò, I'm glad you're alright, that much I can say»
She could hear the impassioned will to close the subject build a stone-cold wall between them and, for a second, she thought she had lost him and her voice was gone in turn, nothing she could think, nothing she could say would make sense in front of such words, such firmness.
But then she heard Aries' tale becoming louder and more obnoxious, along with the small glance full of anger Romualdo sent that way, and she noted Tarabas' worried but encouraging look back at them, a little nod as if to exhort her to go on and not give up, with a bit of reprimand from the former wizard to his once rival.
Little tell-tale signs, small shreds of hope she clung to with all her willpower, uncaring of the possibility they could cut her and make the ever-open wound in her soul bleed in new and more painful ways.
«Please stop for a moment, I think there is much to say» she started, carefully.
Again, he barely glanced her way «I don't think it'll change much, but if you wish so...» he conceded.
Heartbroken.
Yes, it was the only way she could describe him. She didn't remember so much pain in his eyes ever since he was trapped in Fiodor's ugly guise. But pain was not indifference.
They slowed their walk, distancing themselves from the group, close enough to be of help in case of need, but too far for ears to eavesdrop.
«We shouldn't take too long, or we'll lose them» he pointed out as they stopped.
«I know this forest. We'll catch up with ease» she assured. She tried to take his hand, but he moved a step back, out of reach.
She let her own fall at her side and looked at him. It was mesmerizing how much those few years of separation had changed him, made his eyes always full of love so guarded and distant, how little wrinkles had formed between his brows and his lips stayed closed in a thin line instead of smiling at her like he used to.
«You wanted to talk. Go ahead then» he said.
Though his tone was still even, she didn't let herself feel discouraged and started her tale: «When I got here, in this land, it was through magic. The Black Witch had had me kidnapped and would have killed me, but a mysterious magic whisked me away and to this land. The kids of a village needed help fighting an ogre who wanted to feed on them and I was their only chance to survive. I had to help them»
«This sounds like you» he conceded.
«My only desire was to save them and come back as soon as possible until they told me there was no way, that I had to stay because they had used up all the magic to take me here and there wasn't any left to send me back home. I was so sad and disheartened that one of the kids, sweet little Ezela, got worried for me and together with the witch who instructed the kids they erased any memory of past love from me. It was then and only then that I...»
His head snapped up, he moved a step forward «Do you remember now? Of me, our kingdom, our life? Of our son?» he sounded full of expectation, even his eyes had regained a bit of the light she used to know.
There was hope then, she rejoiced. Both in herself and in Romualdo, who so desperately wished for an answer she was more than happy to give him.
«Yes! Yes, I got back all the feelings tied to my memories and since then I wished nothing but to come back home! But as much as I searched, I never found a way»
Romualdo kept staring at her, unsure of what to say, or, maybe, still in too much pain to trust her words. He glanced back, in the direction the others were proceeding.
«If it's the truth, and my Fantaghirò wouldn't lie on such a matter so I know it is, I don't blame you. I can't blame you» he admitted, eyes low, avoiding hers once again «You made the choice I asked you to when I thought I was never going to be myself again. You found love in someone else and I want your happiness more than anything»
«I never loved anyone as I love you» she assured him, touching his cheek with feather-light hands, scared he could reject her touch once more «I feared I was to stay in this land forever so I tried to rebuild a life, just as you would have wished for me, but I never stopped loving you, nor I gave up hope of finding a way back home»
Once more, Romualdo stepped back. He held his head high with a gesture that seemed to cost him a lot of effort and said: «It doesn't matter. Not right now»
It hurt so much, watching him putting space between them as if everything they had was gone, Fantaghirò could feel her heart break a little more at every step he made.
«Why not?» she asked, her tears ready to fall, so strong was the anguish she felt.
«Because my son is in danger and I do not need more pain to cloud my mind»
Her brows furrowed in confusion «I never meant to hurt you...»
«The mere sight of you hurts me!» he blurted out, raw emotions pouring out at last «The idea you stayed away, all this time, that I could have done more to find you, while you were trapped here, making yourself a new life...» his voice broke and her first instinct was to cup his face in her hands.
This time he didn't move. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch, a few tears escaped and fell down his cheeks. She moved her fingers to wipe them and he grabbed her wrist, held it gently, and placed a kiss in the palm of her hand.
«I lost you and it's all my fault» he murmured, defeated.
She shook her head «Never. You never lost me. I was far, but my heart has been yours for all those years. It still is and it will be as long as I live, even longer because my soul will carry my love for all eternity»
He opened his eyes and let her hand go with an abrupt gesture «You have a new family. You spent more time with them than with me» despite the accusatory meaning of those words, he didn't sound angry. Just disheartened, almost empty, which sounded worse to her ears.
«Don't try to placate my pain just because you're sorry for me» he went on, the tiredness of his soul seeping into his voice as he stepped back «I lived with this heartache for the past seven years, mourning your loss and raising our son for both of us, giving him all the love in my heart. I'll feel better as soon as he'll be back in my care. Please, stop worrying about me, Fantaghirò. Stop giving me fake hopes» he begged.
Her sight blurred from the tears pooling in her eyes «Fake hopes? How can you believe I'd lie about my feelings for you?»
«Whether you're lying for my sake or not, how should it matter, as long as other people are between us? You gave them your love and your life for the past years...»
«I want to come back home with you!» she exclaimed «I always wanted to, from the very first moment I arrived in this land and every day after. It's true they mean a lot to me, Masala and Ezela are like my children to me but I never forgot Rinaldo and Smeralda, not even for a moment. And I may have believed I was in love with Aries when I had no memories of my feelings, but after I recovered my past I recognized there was no comparison, and he knows that too. In these years he had not been my lover, but a friend, the brother I never had. Why can't you believe me?» she was outright crying now, feeling no shame in it, but looking down because she couldn't bear to see his distant gaze any longer.
Their love had bloomed in war and survived curses and hardships of every kind, how could it be that time and distance destroyed it?
Then, suddenly, she felt a hand under her chin, gentle beyond measure, the ghost of a touch, enough to make her look up.
Hope, again, filled Romualdo's eyes «I believe you. Against my broken heart and my better judgment, I do because I never stopped loving you either»
An unspeakable happiness bloomed back in her heart, showing in her ardent eyes that finally could gaze freely into the ones of her beloved. Unable to contain herself, she leaned forward and kissed him, rejoicing at the feeling of his hand on her neck and the arm around her waist, holding to her like a lifeline.
For a moment they were again the young couple who fell in love through curtains of foliage and disguises, who recognized each other even when cursed, who never stopped fighting for each other and loving each other no matter what distance or hardships there were between them.
When the weight of all the hurt they suffered in those seven, painful years fell on them, their kiss became gentler, like they wanted to soothe each other's open wound, close it with caring, trembling hands so one day they could look at the scar and know it was past.
They eventually separated, out of breath but smiling wide, their hearts whole and beating at the same time, the light had returned in their eyes, of love and strength and resolve.
«Let's go. Let's save our son. Together»
Notes:
It's holidays season again so new chapter! My Nika knows half of it was drafted looong ago, as is a good chunk of the fic, but I hope now it's better.
Happy holidays!
Chapter 6
Notes:
I'm back! This fic is starting to become my Christmas gift to Nika since I end up updating only near the holidays. This chapter is long but hopefully still good, I hope you like it.
Chapter Text
Tell me is that what happens just for having a good intention?
Look what happened to my Good Intention
Why won't anybody answer my question?
Why is the silence so loud?
I think I've thrown it all away
I don't know, I don't know
Good Intentions - Dappy
Fantaghirò and Romualdo had caught up with the rest of the group without troubles, hearts so light even their steps seemed effortless.
If any of their friends noticed something, no one dared to bring it up, but the smug or knowing looks thrown around spoke for themselves, Tarabas in particular rose an inquisitive brow towards the couple, who smiled back at him.
It was Aries who couldn't keep his mouth shut for longer than a few minutes and turned to say: «So, dear sister, do I finally get a formal introduction or do I have to wait until I become prim and proper? Because, you know, it's not really my style...»
«Shut up, Aries» she replied without snark, so much was her glee. She couldn't but notice the eased look on Romualdo's face when he heard Aries call her "sister", which probably surpassed the annoyance at his buffoonery.
«Aw, how harsh» Aries moaned «Fine, I'll do things for myself: nice to meet you, Your Highness, I'm Aries. I'd take off my hat if I had it on me, I hope a bow would suffice» he concluded with a flourishing gesture of his arm and a bow so outside the rules of protocol that could have been insulting, had any of the people present worried about such things.
As things were, Romualdo replied in a curt and formal way, after which Fantaghirò introduced Masala too, by name only.
«Ah, the other son I didn't know I had» was his reply this time, definitely kinder.
Masala muttered something unintelligible, without even trying to keep the conversation going, and that was the end of introductions.
Sure, Fantaghirò knew Masala could be shy in certain circumstances, but she suspected there was something more behind the boy's behavior and committed herself to finding out later.
«I don't know how you could think she'd choose another over you» Tarabas rose a brow at Romualdo's way after the exchange.
«At this point, I wonder that too» was the reply «She even rejected you, back in the day, I don't know what worried me so much! Except for the seven and something years apart and no knowledge if and how much she changed or what she went through»
«My my, the sarcasm! And I was the one who'd be different?» Fantaghirò noted, then added: «When did you two become friends? You can basically understand each other with one look! I'm starting to get jealous»
«Good» Romualdo replied and she couldn't hide a giggle.
Tarabas shrugged «While searching for you, mostly. And if you think this manner of sarcasm is relevant, you should hear it when he and Elsa are in the same room. They made the youngest prince of Assabel run away in tears from the Estaoria ball, two years ago»
«He insulted Anna. Our intervention was preferable to letting her and Kristoff beat him to a pulp»
«I never said you did wrong, only that your combined sarcasm is lethal» the other replied «What was it? Your lack of manners...?»
«Your lack of manners doesn't surprise me, after all, your House is known for your deficit of good traits, facial or otherwise» Romualdo supplied.
«That. The prince became green, said he'd "never been this insulted before", and Elsa added "Then you've never met any people with good eyes or common sense, my condolences", at which the whole room started to laugh»
«He ran away at that» Romualdo completed.
«Not much else he could do, he had insulted a queen, any other reply would have been asking to become an ice statue or start a war»
Fantaghirò frowned «Wait, didn't you say he insulted Anna?»
«Anna is the Queen of Arendelle now. It's a long story. One I thought you knew since it happened before your disappearance, I know I wrote to Smeralda about it»
She huffed «My sisters insisted on keeping me calm and serene during my pregnancy and immediately after, they worried the baby would come out a troublemaker like me if I was perturbed, or something like that. I was barely allowed books and some mild paperwork on decrees and the likes for months, and no external news that could trouble me»
Romualdo frowned «It wasn't only your sisters, the physicians had some concerns about your health, if you recall»
«For naught» she replied «I was fine, fit as a fiddle from beginning to end, save for the boredom. I have never been kept so much under control, not even when I was a child»
«This reminds me that now I know what your sisters meant when they talked of your mischievous ways, Rinaldo is quite like you in this regard, although they say he's not as disruptive as you used to be, their words»
«Is he?» not that the notion surprised her, it was that she knew nothing of her own child and any scrap of info was valuable.
Romualdo nodded «Spirited like you, and twice as stubborn. He never obeys anyone, except when he wants to know something»
«Like what?»
«About you, mostly. He knows you from the tales of the bards and your sisters' retellings of your deeds. Other than the puppet shows, of course, those are his favorites»
Fantaghirò smiled at that. Romualdo didn't know, but she always loved puppet shows, from childhood well into adulthood, but the only one who knew was the White Witch.
The mention of the child was a heavy reminder of their mission, though.
«Do you think he's scared now?» she couldn't but ask. She had no idea what Rinaldo could be afraid of, what worried him, what should but didn't. If he feared thunder or if he associated it with friends coming over, if he preferred the open air of the forests or the safe walls of the castle.
«I'm not as worried as I would be if Smeralda wasn't with them as well. She knows how to take care of herself and her brother, and Rin knows it»
«Smeralda was taken too?» Fantaghirò's eyes widened.
«The Piper's magic had a strange effect. On adults, it made us dizzy, as if we didn't have the perception of the world around us; for the kids, well, we suppose they were hypnotized, but that didn't work on Smeralda somehow, and she tried to stop the Piper. Before we could reach her, the portal was closing and she jumped inside it» Tarabas recounted, his mouth stiffened in a firm line.
«It was brave of her, none of us was able to react as fast» Mei-Fen praised.
Tarabas shook his head «It was reckless. We don't know what happens to the children, the ones who came back don't remember anything»
«And the few ones who didn't come back are children of magic users. All of them» Melissa added.
«Wait. So there's a chance Smeralda is already back home?»
Greer shrugged «We don't know. The Piper never took anyone older than thirteen before her, as far as we know»
«Nevertheless, her will to save the kids and her actions were noble» Mei-Fen observed.
Romualdo didn't agree «She challenged a power she knew nothing of, without thinking or warning us, not to mention with no plan. She'd be with us otherwise, or safe at home, and not in the hands of whoever's behind this»
«I still don't understand how is it that she was the only one to see something was going on when we didn't» Greer frowned «She has no magic, no?»
«Even though she has no magic of her own, Smeralda has been in contact with it ever since she was ten. And there may be some protection spells upon her» Tarabas added, looking straight in front of him.
«No magic, indeed» Romualdo rolled his eyes.
«I never said I cast them» the other objected «I'm not the only one who cares for her wellbeing»
«Sure» the sarcasm was back again, dripping from the single word.
The former wizard refused to answer to the taunt.
«In any case, we'll have to be ready for anything» Mei-Fen reasoned «Should she and the kids be in different places, we will need to check»
«She's a spirited little thing, I bet she can hold her ground until we find the kids» Greer replied confidently.
«But for how long? We don't know what's going on after all» Melissa added.
«Hey, no need to be pessimistic» Aries interjected «We'll do what we have to as we go, wrecking our nerves over it will only make things worse»
It was a familiar saying from him, Fantaghirò shared the philosophy in full, even more so in her years of despair. Getting her hopes up and thinking of the worst were both detrimental, so she learned to not expect either. It did wonders for her peace of mind.
«A bit of planning can't hurt» Mei-Fen reasoned «It doesn't mean we have to get stuck into whatever plan we prepare, in fact, we need to be flexible and think ahead of all the possibilities and how to deal with them»
Greer rolled her eyes «Sure, make a plan, see everything go sideways, thrash the plan and then improvise, that's how it always goes, girl. We're not in the military here, wars are clean-cut in comparison»
«There is nothing clean-cut about wars»
«Planning and strategies work in wars more often than not, but in adventures? No way, and you can't tell me otherwise»
«I have to agree. You can never know what may happen in this kind of situation because we don't know the variables involved» Aries shrugged «One should be prepared for the unpredictable»
«Which is as good as not being prepared at all» Mei-Fen concluded.
«That's not entirely true, our abilities and experiences are things we can rely on» Fantaghirò concluded.
«We only have to hope we have enough»
The night fell fast and despite not having to cover more much road to reach Salimea, they decided to stop for the day being.
«Arriving into the city in the depth of the night won't be of any help» Fantaghirò reasoned «Salimea closes the gates at night, they won't open up for us even if we get there»
«Yeah, to get to the Ferarith mansion we'll have to get through the city anyway» Aries recalled, which settled the matter for the group, who agreed to camp in the forest for the night.
Quickly, they shared the tasks: Masala went to get water and fish from a nearby river with the help of Mei-Fen, while Aries tried to show off by teaching Greer about the different berries and edible herbs that could be found in that forest and used for seasoning. Melissa sat on a rock in the place they picked for the camp, to check with her sphere for eventual troubles.
Romualdo, Tarabas, and Fantaghirò were left with the task of gathering firewood and lighting it up, which was done quickly enough while Fantaghirò informed herself about how her sisters, niblings, brothers-in-law, and the kingdom as a whole had been in her absence.
«So you still have magic» Fantaghirò observed at some point, recognizing the small rotation Tarabas made to light the fire, the same as the one he did that one night when they met first, a time that seemed like an age before.
«It never left, but it's not in the same form as before. It's complicated and this is nothing but a little trick anyway» he glossed over.
«He keeps using this excuse whenever he needs magic too bad» Romualdo left his stack of wood on the ground with the rest and sat beside his wife «This and "elemental magic is not evil"»
«Because it's not, or Elsa would be the most powerful practitioner of evil magic living and she isn't» the other replied.
«So do you use it or not?»
«I vowed to abstain from evil magic, which was the biggest part of my powers, but the rest I can't deny, I risk an outburst if I contain it too much, not unlike Elsa and the Eternal Winter accident»
Fantaghirò decided to put the matter aside for the moment, to satisfy another curiosity: «You haven't told me yet what happened after the last time we saw each other. Didn't you say you were going to try to love Anjalika? To change the rules of love itself?»
Tarabas stared into the fire, lost in a distant memory «I tried, but it never worked between us. Those rules are such for a good reason, now I know it, it was naive of me to think I could change them. The more time passed, the more I knew Anjalika and I had nothing to share, not an interest or a single thing in common, let alone a life. Besides, Anjalika loved the wizard in the tales she heard of, not the man I wanted to be, and tried to lead me back to the way of dark magic against my will, no matter how many times I told her I had no intention of doing so. She eventually got tired of me, just like her father once said she would, and left me free to leave for good when I addressed the matter»
Despite the sadness of the story, his eyes during the retold had been serene, which was no surprise to her: she already knew it wasn't a hurtful matter to him for he never loved Anjalika, or if he did, it was past now. True, Fantaghirò had hoped he was going to find love in the princess, but it turned out they weren't meant to be.
«I'm sorry» she said, putting a hand on his forearm.
«Don't be» was his immediate reply «The right path showed itself to me also because of this and I'm grateful for it»
She nodded in understanding and went back to prepare the cooking tools «Then what happened?»
He didn't stop poking at the fire while he retold: «The kingdoms East to Catai were joining in an alliance to fight a common enemy, so King Tohor sent Anjalika there to see what they were aiming for. I was supposed to go with her, along with Argalia, but we parted before that. I left her an enchanted ring, one I still had from my old days, for her protection, and then I left Catai for good. I have to say, it was a relief»
«What did you do, then?»
«My first intention was to wander for a while on my own, but I understood that I couldn't become a good man if I didn't try actively. Being good in solitude is easy, but I needed human interaction to do good. So I went to visit my mother, who resided in Arendelle, and hear if she had any advice. Once there, Mother told me she wanted to go back to her birth garden. She deemed it time for her to purify herself from all the darkness of the past decades but didn't want to leave her work with Elsa halfway, so I offered to take it on myself. Elsa agreed, even if she had become quite fond of my mother, and I moved to her palace»
«So that's how you live in Arendelle now. What has been of Anjalika?»
He shrugged «Last I heard about her, she got married to some soldier she met on her trip, breaking the hearts of a dozen local knights in the process and almost causing her host to lose a war»
Fantaghirò couldn't help but smile «That's quite a feat»
«She's quite a person» he replied, equally amused «I don't know what she's up to nowadays. It's been a long while since I've had any news of her»
«You didn't keep in contact?»
«No. After she came back from her trip, she sent me a letter to inform me of her marriage, I guess out of spite because she added that I didn't have to bother with writing to her anymore since she got her happy ending without me» he left the stick to the ground to play with one of his rings «It was a year or so after we saw each other the last time. I had other issues I was dealing with, at the time, so, I didn't care to find out more. I sent her a letter when I got married too, but she never replied»
Only then Fantaghirò spotted him playing with the only golden ring he was wearing among his old ones. A simple band with a delicate design and tiny semi-transparent gems, diamonds perhaps, or aquamarines, it was hard to say in the dim light of the campfire only. It made a bit of a contrast seeing it mixed with the large dark stones and heavy silver of his other jewels.
Before she could ask more, the rest of the group was back with the food and more firewood for the night and it was just too busy to restart the conversation.
The company, though somewhat in a somber mood at the thought of the missing children, was far from unfriendly and the dinner was spent exchanging notes about various aspects of fish cooking, fight techniques, and, eventually, the plan for the following day.
Even if shifts to guard the camp weren't deemed necessary, they still decided to have some, just out of safety. An ambush was unlikely in the peaceful Elsewhere, Fantaghirò explained to them, even so, the Pied Piper or someone who worked with him could still try to catch them in their sleep.
Melissa, who was already lamenting her old bones creaking, would get the last shift and the task to wake them all up the following morning, and she went to sleep before the rest of them.
«I don't think this wood will last all night» Mei-Fen noted.
«Time to grab some more then» Greer got up, followed by Masala, who she waved off «I'll manage, kid, go to sleep. You get the midnight turn, the worst»
A few more chatters were exchanged, until Fantaghirò caught Romualdo looking back, into the trees.
Tarabas had moved, completely unnoticed, to the edge of the clearing at some point, sitting on a low tree branch, away from the others.
Fantaghirò caught it with the tail of her eye and frowned.
«He's quite in distress for this situation» Romualdo explained in a low voice, so only she could hear «Too many things happening at once»
«Aside from the kidnapping?» she asked in equally hushed tones.
He nodded «His lands had been in some trouble recently, his wife had to run herself thin to take care of the situation and there is the danger of a war breaking out in his absence. He's worried about that, more than he shows. And there's the matter of a magic item that was stolen from him. I couldn't say anything to ease his worries»
«Let me try» she got up and moved towards her old friend.
His gaze was lost in the distance. When Fantaghirò approached him, he didn't turn.
«It's ironic, isn't it? The monster who once kidnapped dozens of royal pupils is now struggling on the other side» was his comment.
The knight queen put a hand on his shoulder «You're not that man anymore. You changed, got better, turned your back to evil»
His green eyes went up, to the bit of starlit sky that could be seen between the foliage «Then why this still feels like a punishment?»
«Guilt doesn't go away so easily» another voice interrupted and the two turned to see Greer with some wood under her arm. She balanced it on the hip and went on: «If you feel regret for your wrongdoings, this is a good place to start to fix things»
«I'm not sure how you know this, but thank you» he quietly replied.
«Oh, I did my share of crazy stunts» she chuckled «I even had one of my friends turned into a donkey. By accident, of course. It was sort of funny, except we had to go through some weird experiences to fix him, to earn the forgiveness of the earth goddess we offended. But no matter what, anything can be fixed, this much I learned»
«It won't be as easy for me»
«Not a good reason to give up» Greer noted «Everybody makes mistakes. The difference between good and bad is a choice: whether to fix the wrongdoings or persevere in those»
«It's very good advice, Greer» Fantaghirò agreed. The redhead winked and went back to the camp.
«You know I did far worse» Tarabas reminded «Redemption can't be easy for me»
Her gaze softened «Didn't you help Romualdo looking for me all these years? How much time did you devote to this? All time you could have spent with your wife and your mother. And before that, you did your best to defeat your father, no matter what; to resist evil and put yourself on the right path. I'm sure you've done many good things since the days you were a dark sorcerer»
«You still have a gift with words,» he said, a half smile on his otherwise somber face «It's been days already. I hope they're fine, but I have a terrible feeling»
«I'm sure they are. It's a matter of hours and we will get them back and be on our way home»
«As long as nothing else happens. We have no clue who our enemy may be»
«We'll figure it out, and bring the kids back safe and sound»
He nodded «I hope so»
It was night when Rinaldo woke up again. Immediately, he remembered where he was and sat up in full alert.
When he awoke the last time, his sister wasn't there anymore. It would have been easy to spot her long body among the small ones of his fellow children, so he was sure she was nowhere close.
He blamed himself for falling asleep, even after trying the whole time not to, hopeful Smeralda would re-appear.
She was still gone, and some of the kids had disappeared overnight too. Not all of them. Somehow, though, the room was as crowded as before.
And someone he knew was there.
«Ida» he called, recognizing with equal joy and worry his best friend. She was slumped in a corner, asleep like most.
He got up and ran to shake her «Ida. Come on, wake up, Ida!» he urged.
The little girl stirred, pushing clumsily her dark hair away from her face «Rin?» she called back, then looked around in confusion while rubbing her eyes «Are we in your castle? I don't remember coming here»
«No...» only then the boy realized that maybe waking her up was a bad idea. He had no answers to offer and Ida got scared easily, which was never good in a crowded room.
«W-where are we?» she stuttered.
«I don't know» was his honest answer, then the best idea glowed on him «But if you use your magic we can get out and find out»
The room was starting to get colder. He had to convince her quickly: «We'll be fine! Use your magic on the door and we'll get out and find Smeralda, she'll know what to do for sure»
«You promise?»
«Come on» was his reply, offering his hands for her to get up.
More children started to wake too, some whined and others just looked around. Rin and Ida approached the door. It'd be easy, to break the lock with her magic, they tried the trick while playing, once, and Ida could do it if she calmed down enough to focus.
Surprisingly, there was no need: the door opened on its own, without warning, before she could even try.
After a moment of hesitation, the kids rushed out, out of instinct, and down the corridor. Rin held tighter on Ida's hand and went too, focused on the need to find his sister. Either that or the way out.
All was pitch black, scary, and cold, the humidity made the floor slippery at points, but there was only one route and a tiny light far away.
They leaped forward once close to the meager source of light, the smaller children crying, the older screaming or pushing, until they saw they were in a large circular room with one closed door over which there was a flickering torch.
The door was decorated with the effigy of a large, tremendous beast, with rubies in place of its eyes, complete with scales and fangs, and the kids were too afraid to touch the handle. Not Rin, though, a statue couldn't scare him, and, still hand in hand with Ida, he went to grab it.
It was stuck. Or too heavy, hard to say. He tried again, Ida and a few of the older kids tried to help him and they almost moved it...
Only to be grabbed by black vines, one by one, as soon as there was enough space for them to slip in.
Screams filled the air all over again, calling for parents, trusted adults, or just help.
Until they didn't.
No sound could be heard, or uttered in the dark and deadly quiet room filled with terrified children.
Rin felt Ida panic, he could tell by the way his hand, always clasping hers, was going numb, but he didn't let her go, even with the vines trying to pull them apart and his voice not coming out to calm her down. Her magic coated the restraints and was the only source of light with its faint glow, aside from the torch over the now open door, and maybe it was better that way.
«Look look, how many birdies caught in my trap» the voice of the purple-eyed captor mocked them «Let's see, who of you fledglings has magic here... oh, pity...»
From where they were, close to the ceiling, Rin and Ida could see only the top of a hood covered in black feathers, and a single finger touching the faces of the kids under them, one by one, looking at them in the eyes until they fell motionless under the stare.
«Those ones can go» a mutter, barely audible had there not been such deadly silence «I have no use for them»
Ida's panic rose when those purple eyes went her way, to the point Rin was forced to let her go.
«Ah, so it was you. Hard to believe» a wicked smile of pearly teeth within black lips «Your best catch so far, Piper. I underestimated you»
«Thank you, my liege» a male voice came from the hidden zone behind the door, out of sight.
«I want the useless ones out, I'll check the rest later. I'll have enough with this one for now»
Rin tried, he tried so hard to keep his grasp on Ida, and he knew she was trying to hold onto him too, but the vines seemed unaffected by her magic, and the same heavy feeling he felt when Smeralda disappeared had started to fall on his eyelids.
The last thing he saw was his best friend going limp in the clawed hands of their purple-eyed captor.
The long winter nights in Elsewhere weren't cold, or at least they weren't as cold as the ones in her kingdom, which meant Fantaghirò didn't bother much with keeping the fire too strong during her shift.
For good measure, though, she added some more wood before calling for Masala's turn, just in case the boy was too tired or absent-minded to do it himself.
She had not forgotten his uncharacteristic silence during the whole day, the glances he kept sneaking at the strangers, and the way he stuck more by Aries' side than usual or tried to get away as much as possible. It worried her, and she knew she couldn't sleep until she knew what plagued him, but surely couldn't embarrass him by asking when everyone else could hear, so she waited until they were asleep, knowing his turn would be right after hers.
He was fully awake in moments, a sign there were good chances he had slept little, to begin with, and it gave her more reasons to address the matter.
«Masala, what's wrong?»
«Uh?»
«You've been looking at me in a strange way, and been silent the whole day what is it?»
«It's nothing, really» he deflected «Go to sleep, I'm fine»
«Come on, I know you enough to know there's something, just tell me»
Masala pursed his lips, grimaced a bit, then his shoulder fell «It's just... I don't think I've ever seen you this happy. Well, maybe not happy happy, I can tell you're worried, just... I don't know, it's something new»
«It's not that I was never happy with you and your sister, I have some wonderful memories with you. But...» she hesitated. Admitting this to her adoptive son was bound to cause him some hurt, she knew, nevertheless, she felt it was the right time for him to understand what she never had the courage to say.
«I missed a piece of my life, a piece of my heart, and I've never been so close to getting it back as I am now. The thought of going back to my homeland, to see my family again, fills me with new hope»
The young man fidgeted a bit with a stick he then used to poke at the fire «Yeah, no, I guess I knew. You wouldn't have kept looking for magic to go back otherwise. It's just that I never thought...» he shook his head «Nevermind. It's good to see you feel better anyway»
«Masala, your feelings are important too»
It wasn't the first time she had to remind him of that. Ever since the whole ordeal against Nameless and his pirates, Masala had been putting other people's needs before his wishes, plagued by the guilt of not having done enough to save his mother and the other villagers.
Fantaghirò knew the boy, now a young man, was at his happiest when traveling with her and Aries, and he never quite wanted the adventures to end, that he went back to his village only because he knew Ezela was there and waiting. All his hard work in the village, the way he tried to learn every traditional custom and every technique - was it about fishing, farming, housebuilding, fixing boats, and so on - his fellow villagers used, that was for the benefit of the other orphans who couldn't learn the same things from their parents, but that life felt tight on him. He burned with the same fire, the same will to live, the same yearning for more that used to be in him before the tragedy struck.
Yet, he always shoved it down, hid his true desires until a chance to live them came up, only to bury it all again when he had to go back.
«I didn't... ah, leave it. It's late, you should sleep» he shrugged off.
«Masala, come on» she prompted «If you have something on your heart, it's better we talk it out, you know. It's going to be worse if we don't»
For a long moment, he was quiet, only the crackling of the fire and Aries' snores could be heard in the clearing.
«I didn't know you had children, okay? You never said anything and... I knew the Wishing Plant took you from your home to save us, but we took his mom from a kid, just like Nameless took ours, and I didn't know that! And it's our fault, we should have asked Asteria if there was a way to send you back before we took you here, spare some leaves from the Wishing Plant or something. We've been awful to you, and you took care of us anyway and we didn't even know»
«And what good would it have been if you knew?»
He looked up, wide-eyed.
It was her turn to look away, lost in bitter memories «Asteria and Ezela knew I missed my family. Their solution was to use magic to suck my feelings out of me: everything I used to feel, they took it away, made me forget what was in my heart. Aries forced them to give it back, and that was all that could be done»
Masala seemed outraged on her behalf «They did what? Why?»
She shrugged, having made peace with it long before, or so she told herself «They thought they were helping me cope with the fact I wouldn't be able to go back to my home. I hold no grudge towards them, as I know it wasn't your fault I couldn't go back, you kids were in a terrible situation and had no other choice, so put that guilt to rest. What you did was because of Nameless, you did nothing like what he did. He acted out of selfishness and cruelty, and you were kids, you were afraid and needed help, so you asked for it, it's completely different»
«Does it matter when we hurt your kids just like we have been hurt?»
«It does because you didn't know, nor you did do it with the intention of hurting anyone. It makes a world of difference»
If possible, he looked even more dejected, staring at the fire «If I had known a way to send you back, I would have told you»
Fantaghirò couldn't avoid patting his head, as if he was still a child, just to reassure him «I know, Masala. You're a good person»
There was another stretch of silence, but she knew it wasn't all, so she waited until the young man would speak again.
«Do you think he's angry at me?» Masala nodded forward «Your husband»
«I told him you kids needed help and were desperate. Romualdo is kind and fair, he would never hold it against you, especially knowing it was something out of your control. You have nothing to fear from him» she assured.
He nodded, then smiled a bit. It still looked forced, but he didn't seem that bad anymore, so Fantaghirò deemed it safe to go to sleep a bit.
The following morning, a little before they left, Masala, though with shaking hands, approached Romualdo and bowed his head.
«I know it's not much and there's nothing I can do to repay you but... I want to apologize on behalf of my village, for all the time we stole from you when we asked Fantaghirò to help us. And I'm going to apologize to your children too, once we rescue them»
«I appreciate that, but there's no need to» the king replied, watching the young man with genuine kindness «The situation you were in didn't allow much choice and you weren't made aware of the consequences. I hold no grudge towards you, please, get up and walk with me today»
Masala obeyed and lit up, still speechless, and Fantaghirò winked at him when he looked her way, as to say "I told you".
With eased hearts, they left the little clearing and all the heaviness they all shed in it.
Rinaldo was awake again. It was impossible to say how long he'd been in that place, but he could tell it was day, at least if the small blade of sun coming from the way too high barred window was any indication.
They had been given food, some strange fruits and water, nothing with bad taste. The older kids - Adair, who was twelve, and Helen, who was thirteen, were the eldest, but there were a few eleven years-olds too - had to convince the youngest to take a bite and calm down.
Rin was used to eating weird stuff, with his dad having traveled a lot he always got to try many unusual things, so he didn't fuss as others did. The food wasn't anything special, a sign it was likely safe - Tarabas instructed him to never trust when foods made by magicians were too good, as magicians preferred to disguise their true intentions beneath sweets and the likes - and not spelled nor poisoned, so he felt okay with encouraging others to eat too.
There weren't as many kids as before, once they counted heads, only around a dozen were left, the room was way more crowded than before.
Smeralda wasn't back, nor was Ida, and Rinaldo was worried for them both. He kept thinking of them, because he knew he was relatively safe.
Some of the others had started to say their families would come and save them. Adair boasted about his warrior lineage and his invincible aunt, Glenn about his witch mother, Feng-Mian chirped about her parents and uncles and her protectress, and Clorinda hoped for her kingdom's army, but without much conviction.
Rin was quiet. He knew his dad would do all he could, but...
But he never found his mother. He wasn't invincible, he wasn't a magician, he had an army but he couldn't move it just for Rin and Smeralda, because their soldiers had many tasks in the kingdom, and waging war was never a choice to make with a light heart, his dad said.
No, he and Smeralda and Ida had to make do on their own.
Suddenly, a weird sound came from the closed door. It was like that of a goose, but a lot... squeakier? Like a broken trumpet. He looked at the opening in the door and caught a glimpse of white feathers, batting up and down, and heard something hitting the door and possibly the lock.
Rinaldo ran to the door and pushed with both arms and legs as much as he could to climb on the creases of the door to get to the slit, which was miraculously open enough to let him see that there was, in fact, a huge white bird similar to a goose, yet with a larger beak with a black contour and a bigger body and longer neck. What was the name? Oh, a swan! He saw one, once. Back at the time, they were on the water and they didn't make a sound, yet he was sure that was a swan.
And it was trying to open the door with its beak, it seemed.
«Come on, you can do it!» he whispered. Curiously, the bird stopped and turned his way, looking at him for a long second, then tried to get closer to the opening, emitting some more of those verses, that were starting to make sense, at last. It was strange that he didn't understand it before: like his parents, he knew how to speak with animals.
«I'm getting you out» the swan was saying «Then you have to run, and be quick! Run out, before they get back»
«What is it?» some of the other kids asked, but Rin didn't answer, too busy to listen to the swan's instructions.
«Go to the left door, the left door, not the right corridor, and up the stairs, then you get past the kitchen and ballroom and get out from one of the terraces, you hear me? There are stairs there that lead out the valley, be careful. Left door, stairs up, kitchen, ballroom, terrace, stairs down, you get it?»
«Yes, yes!» Rin replied, a bit exasperated «Why do you repeat things like that? You sound like my-»
Oh.
He almost fell from the door when he realized. Well, not almost, he did fall. He picked himself up, a bit embarrassed he was on the floor like a fool, with all the other kids trying to ask him too many questions at once, while he was trying to listen to what went on on the other side of the doors, please!
Then a gentle voice, words impossible to tell apart for how low they were, added to the squeak of concern from the swan.
At once, the door was open but, unlike the first time, the kids didn't run out like scared mice. They learned the lesson, thank you.
«We need to go» Rin exhorted the others «I know which way to go now, follow me!»
«How do we know it's not another trap?» Helen raised a brow. Despite the doubt in her tone, she was already holding hands with two of the smallest children.
«We don't» another kid said, but from the corridor.
Rin and a few others peeked out, to see a smaller group come their way, led by a boy whose hand was held up high and glowing just enough to light the dark corridor.
Ida was with them, her steps freezing lightly the floor that glowed briefly, but as soon as she saw Rin, the ice dissolved, just like his worries for her.
«Come on, we have to go now» the new kid said.
It was a leap of faith, but it was their only chance.
They ran.
Salimea wasn't the biggest city in the land, but it had its center and outskirts like any big town, with ancient walls from centuries before and gates that were still closed at night for a long-time habit more than out of necessity in the peaceful Elsewhere.
The haunted villa was in the abandoned area outside the city, on the opposite side to the one they entered from, so the fastest way to get there was to cross the city.
It had been the residence of the only noble family in the area before its lineage died. The only heirs chose a life of traveling and found their death at sea in a powerful storm. Their mother, already a widow, died of heartbreak and was buried more than forty years earlier. It was said that only the youngest son outlived his family, but he left the land long before, and no one had seen him in over thirty years.
Aries knew the tragic tale from the first time he got there and was happy to share it while they walked in the streets, never forgetting to take a look at any pretty woman he saw in-between gathering extra intel about their destination.
«Is he always like that?» Romualdo asked at some point.
«No. Today he's behaving» Fantaghirò replied with a smile, watching Masala who was in between taking notes and dissuading Aries from flirting with some lovely lady who sold candles.
The lady in question knew nothing, but one of her brothers did, and she went to call him from the back of the shop.
«Nobody goes there anymore. They didn't much before, but now no one dares at all» the man said «It's cold and things tend to disappear around there»
«Since then?»
«A week or so» was the answer «There are weird tales about the Ferarith house. Things about ghosts were always said, it's the rest that's new. The cold, especially, no one ever felt a cold like that before, not even in the worst winters. It's like the spirits took residence in the very stones of the walls»
The timing didn't align perfectly with what they knew, but it was their only lead.
The kids started to disappear almost three weeks before. After the gathering, it took a while for the magicians to perfect the portals, two days to find the one that, according to the magic used, led to the land the children were in, then the search party was split by the river before the three women met with Fantaghirò's group.
There was a gap of a few days they had no idea how to fill, still hoping they were on the right track. But they had to follow the only lead they had.
«Let's go there immediately»