Chapter 18

The next day dawned bright and clear. There was still a chill in the air after breakfast when Ivy emerged onto the steps of the Keep, but the shawl around her shoulders was keeping her warm, as was the bundle of cloth tucked carefully under her arm — freshly baked shortbread, still warm from the ovens. Shed been sorely tempted to take a piece from the tray, but some instinct had told her not to try any of the batch, intended as it was to be a gift. Observing rituals was important to autistic people, and important to the Fae… that, at least, was something Ivy could understand about them.

Edward met her by the stables, dressed for riding with the pin of the Sept attached firmly to his collar. She could tell he was preoccupied with where they were going and who they were meeting, but he still stooped to steal a kiss when nobody was looking, his eyes dancing with mirth when he pulled away. Giggling, the two of them lead a pair of horses from the stables, Ivy thinking back to her pony club days with a smile. Her teenage self would never have believed that all of those lessons were going to come in handy like this.

Shed been looking forward to showing off her skills a little. There were so many things in this strange new world that she had no idea about, but riding a horse shouldnt have changed… right? But she hadnt reckoned with the added dimension of the thick, full skirts of her gown. Tacking up the horses was one thing, but when it came time to climb aboard, she found herself hesitating, gritting her teeth as she gathered her skirts unsurely in one hand.

Do I have to ride sidesaddle? she asked, glancing up worriedly at Edward. He tilted his head, his expression making it clear that the question had never occurred to him, and she sighed. Ive never ridden in this kind of outfit, thats all.

Edward helped her climb aboard the horse eventually, much to her chagrin… but things werent much better once she was up there. The layers of fabric that swished so pleasantly around her legs when she was standing on the ground were suddenly her enemy, bunching around her thighs, forcing her to wriggle back and forth with mounting irritation as she tried to free her legs enough to make contact with the uneasily shifting horse beneath her. Finally, she managed to force her feet into the stirrups, puffing a little with the effort and resisting the urge to snap at Edward, who had climbed nimbly aboard his own horse and was waiting patiently for her to join him. It was all very well for him, wasnt it? Ivy fiercely regretted not taking Nancy up on her offer of sorting out a set of more comfortable riding clothes for her. At the time the woman had made the offer, shed already been feeling overwhelmed with the adjustments she was trying to make, so shed fobbed it off with a maybe later... and now, it seemed, she was paying the price.

Still, once the horse was moving, she felt a little better. It still felt oddly precarious to have so many layers of fabric between her legs and the horse — no matter how much she yanked at each skirt, there always seemed to be another one beneath it — but at least she could get the creature to go in the direction she needed. Edward was patient as anything, which only served to annoy her more as they waited for the gate to be lifted… and then they were off, their horses ambling down the narrow land bridge that connected the Keep to the mainland.

Does it look familiar? Edward asked, nodding toward the dirt road as they reached it.

Exasperated by the wardrobe malfunction as she was, Ivy couldnt help but smile as she looked around. Much nicer by daylight, she said, her horse falling into step behind Edwards as he steered them down the dirt road. A lot muddier now, though, she added, hearing the hooves squelching in the mud and wrinkling her nose with a mixture of pleasure and disgust.

Aye, you beat the spring rains by a few days. Edward smiled. Good timing, all told.

Weve got the Sidhe to thank for that, I suppose. She gazed out over the lake as they rounded the Keep and set off down the long road. Wheres the gate?

The burgh? Ive never quite been sure. Down there, somewhere. Edward pointed toward the far side of the castle, where she could just make out a couple of fishing boats headed for the docks. Beneath the docks.

So all the Fae things that come through to this world… they come through there? Dont they risk drowning?

Aye, that or worse, Edward said, a wicked grin dancing across his face. There are more things than fish in the depths of Loch Ness…

What about the friendly ones? Shed been getting something of an education on the complex political situation on the other side of the gateway to the Fae world, but it all seemed rather ambiguous. The Seelie ones?

Seelie Fae are always welcome here, Edward said firmly. Theyre in no danger from the denizens of the Loch when they visit — Maggie sees to that. But the Unseelie… those are the ones with something to worry about. If the Monster doesnt catch them, then the men of the Watch will.

So for the Fae to have kidnapped Colin, theyd have had to go through the Monster, and then avoided the Watch?

Aye, Edward said, nodding. Not an easy prospect at the best of times — which is what Laird Donals argument has been. Still, hes in a difficult position with Clan Gilroys Chieftain so convinced that the child was stolen. Taking too strong a stance either way could lead to war with the Gilroys… but he doesnt want to accuse the Fae of anything, either, because a war with them would be much, much worse.

A shiver ran down her spine despite the warm sunlight on her back. Is that possible? A war, with the Fae?

Anything is possible, Edward admitted. The difficult thing about the Fae is that we simply dont understand them very well. You heard the way Aelfred spoke about his time in their world… theyre so different from us that we can hardly communicate. Even relations with our closest allies, the Sidhe, are built mostly on hope and faith… and the assumption that if they keep sending us such wonderful new additions to our numbers, that they must like us, he added, flashing her a smile that made her heart flutter unexpectedly. He was rather deft with the stealthy compliments, this man.

It wasnt long before the muddy road led them to a small cottage, set off the road far enough that Ivy might have missed it if not for Edward slowing his horse ahead of her and waving them both to a halt. The cottage looked like something out of a storybook… shaded by the trees of the forest that closed in around it like a shroud, a slightly crooked chimney emerging from its thatched roof, and a great big rocking chair on the porch, swinging ever so slightly in the breeze as though it had very recently been evacuated. A single pair of boots were sitting by the threshold of the door, and the faint smell of smoke in the air told Ivy that a fire was burning in the hearth. The inhabitant of this cottage, whoever she was, was home.

Edward slid down from his horse and gallantly helped her down, too, having the good grace to look away when she almost fell on her face in the mud. She took a few seconds to straighten her thoroughly ruffled skirts, crumpled and creased from her time on horseback, then lead her patient steed over to where Edward had already tethered his horse on a long rein to a tree that stood in front of the cottage. She tethered her horse the same way, and both beasts lowered their necks to crop at the sweet new grass that was growing around the base of the tree.

Got the gifts? Ivy asked, lifting her bundle of shortbread.

Edward nodded, tapping the bag that he had slung over his shoulder, which clinked gently when he moved — honey mead, hed told her, a favorite treat of the eccentric woman who lived in this cottage. Feeling rather like she was getting ready for an audience with the Queen, Ivy took a moment to straighten her hair a little… then, with a deep breath, she followed Edward up the stairs to the cottages front door.

She could do this. Shed spent her whole life working on communicating with people who saw the world in vastly different ways to her… she could handle an eccentric old lady, couldnt she?