22. Chapter 22

twenty-two

Grandma's eyes glowed with a golden flame. She reached over and placed a hand over Lily's wound, which closed cleanly, leaving only a small scar to commemorate her heroism. Lily opened her eyes and saw the regal figure leaning over her. "Oh, it's you." She smiled serenely and closed her eyes again.

Harper picked up the small sprite, holding her close. "Thank you, Grandma." Suddenly, the familiar, haunting sound of faery music arose, as it had on her last visit, seeming to swell from the ground below, the sky above, and the trees all around. From nowhere, a crackling fire appeared, surrounded by an open pavilion.

Then other Fae, Grandma's former attendants, arrived, armed only with thick blankets and warm drinks. One of them took Lily from Harper and laid her gently in a small bed closer to the fire. Remembering their previous warnings about eating or drinking here, Harper regretfully declined a steaming mug when it was offered. She was hungry and thirsty, but in the day's confusion, she had lost her backpack, her water bottle and trail mix with it. Her grandmother smiled at her. "Now that you've claimed your inheritance, there's no risk involved for you to eat and drink as we do, Harper."

She picked up the hefty earthenware mug and tentatively took a small sip of the most delicious warm drink she had ever tasted. She could detect chocolate, roses, sweet cream, and something herbal that she couldn't identify. After drinking it, she found herself feeling uplifted yet peaceful, as though she had enjoyed a substantial meal followed by a long night's sleep.

She basked in the bliss it bestowed while the others were tended. Soon enough, her grandmother turned to her. "Well, Darling, you showed up just in time. You were plucky and brave. We're all proud of you."

Only then did Harper realize what she had accomplished. Though she had never thought herself a weak person, ever since Grandma had gone away, most her of energy had gone into protecting herself. But today, she had thrown aside her own welfare for those she loved. Once that sunk in, she felt pleased with herself, too.

She looked around at all these beings she adored. "Thank you. I'm still shocked it happened at all. None of it seems real. So, that woman in red and gray—she was your aunt?"

"She is my aunt, Harper. She's your great-aunt. And she's not gone, at least not forever. The last time you were here, I didn't have time to tell you of the whole history. I'll tell you a bit more now." Harper snuggled deeper into the soft, snug blanket, eager to listen. The attendants had taken seats and were settling in with drinks of their own, their faces turned to their queen.

"Eons ago, when our kind first came to this corner of the realm, the being you met tonight, Lady Lockspur, had a twin sister, who was my mother, Dewberry. They were not born royals. For many lighthearted centuries, the two Fae sisters were playmates, best friends, and protectors of one another. But at some point, their people, who had been free for all of memory, came under attack from some of the Others. Humans today might call them demons or aliens … it depends on one's perspective and experience. They are a specific breed—fierce beings. And they wanted to control us and our sphere."

"Those were the ones we barely escaped today," Piper whispered in her ear.

"The sisters' father, my grandfather and your great-great-grandfather, Granitejaw, led the defense of our people and managed to defeat the invaders. But that's a story for another day. From that time to this, they haven't bothered us. For a long while, they've stayed in their area, and we've stayed in ours. You could say we now peacefully coexist."

"To peaceful coexistence!" muttered the surrounding Fae, raising their mugs.

"In gratitude for his leadership, our kind wanted to make my grandfather a king, and his wife, Difflefled, who fought bravely beside him, their queen. From that point on, Lockspur and Dewberry grew apart. You see, my mother wanted our Fae to remain free. She wanted no part of royalty or rulership, preferring to let everyone follow their own star, so to speak.

"But Lady Lockspur felt differently. Traumatized by the attacks, she believed that to protect ourselves, we should keep company only with our own people. In time, her caution turned to hatred. And once she saw the power that royalty gave her parents, she wanted it for herself." She paused and took a sip of her own drink, contained in a golden goblet, studded with enormous pearls.

"Rather than wait for her parents to die a natural death—yes, we do move on eventually—she learned to practice forbidden magic, which she regretfully used to hasten her parents' demise.

"Once she'd accomplished that, the only thing preventing Lady Lockspur's supreme rulership was her sister Dewberry."

Here Queen Sophia held up the heavy gray and red mirror that Harper had dropped. "Both sisters had been given magic mirrors when they were born, a gift from their ‘faery godmothers,' if you will. Lockspur secretly put a spell on her own mirror, making it a snare for anyone who peered into its surface. But one of the faery godmothers, Betsy…"

"Betsy?!" Harper said in surprise. It didn't sound particularly Fae-like to her.

"Betsy," her grandmother affirmed, "discovered her wicked scheme. While she couldn't remove the spell from Lockspur's mirror, she borrowed Dewberry's mirror and placed a counter spell on it, making it capable of ensnaring a soul as well. The difference between the two mirrors was that Dewberry's was enchanted only to trap a soul who meant its owner harm."

Harper felt into her pocket and pulled out the mirror that she had cherished for decades and moved to sit on the sofa's edge.

"In time, my mother learned of her sister's treachery. And thus, thousands of years of conflict between the sisters began. Both had loyal backers. The tides of battle continued to turn until just after I was born. Then Lockspur, threatened by my birth, was determined to rid herself of my mother once and for all. She had both my parents fatally poisoned. Once they were gone, my mother's followers spirited me away to the Earth Realm where I would be safe from my aunt until I was old enough to fight her." She turned her beautiful eyes to meet Harper's.

"I grew up with no idea of my lineage. As I've told you, my human parents told me I was adopted. I believed I was human and led a human life. Then, right before your tenth birthday, I received a visit from a hauntingly familiar and compelling being. After he convinced me he was Fae, the being gave me the mirror. He instructed me to bring it with me to Whippoorwill Gap the following week. He told me I was needed in my homeland. As I held the mirror, visions of this realm came to me. I knew I would be leaving the Earth—and you—behind." She sighed softly and placed her goblet at her feet.

"You and your parents had already left for the beach. And I knew that you would be devastated to lose me. My daughter was such a self-centered creature. That's why I sent you the mirror. I intuited that it would connect us. I still don't regret it, though it did place me at a disadvantage. I hadn't a clue why I really needed it until I got back and was instructed more thoroughly."

Harper finally comprehended the price her grandmother had paid for her welfare. "The mirror got me through some of the darkest days in my life. I've always treasured it. But I would have given it back right away had I known you needed it. And I think it's only right to give it back to you now." At that, she took the mirror and rested it on her grandmother's palm. Queen Sophia stopped speaking for a few moments as though overcome with emotion. Then Harper leaned over and gave her grandmother an impulsive kiss on the cheek before returning to her seat.

The queen continued. "I learned that I had the ability to watch you through my internal connection to the mirror once I got here. And I did keep an eye on you until the connection became too muddied. But I've also had other ways of keeping up with you." She looked at the group of faeries around them and nodded. "We never know how we'll benefit when we're open to other places and ideas."

They had all been sitting quietly, listening to Queen Sophia's tale. Now Hawthorne spoke up. "So, you see, Harper, we wanted to come back to you. And your grandmother wasn't holding us back. We came here the very night you told Piper about the troubling new cloudiness on your mirror. It didn't sound right to us, and we wanted to investigate. And," he added, glancing around at the rest of the troop, "we also hoped to bring you a present from this realm."

Alida piped up. "We thought it might give you confidence when you opened your shop."

Hawthorne nodded and continued. "But when we arrived here, we found power had just shifted back to Lady Larkspur for the first time since your grandmother's return. We tried to give aid, but soon after we arrived, Queen Sophia became imprisoned in Lockspur's mirror. Your great-aunt closed the portal to the Earth Realm. Once she accomplished that, her subjects could return here through the portal, but we could no longer leave. Your mirror was our only hope of defeating your aunt. Nevertheless, though we knew you could, we hoped you wouldn't come. It was too dangerous. Then today—there you were, mirror in hand."

"There you were," they all repeated, looking at Harper in wonder.

Harper's brows furrowed. "Where is Lady Lockspur now?"

Queen Sophia nodded toward the silver and gold mirror Harper had given her. "She was imprisoned inside our mirror as soon as she saw herself in its surface."

"Okay. I figured something like that would happen when I held it up to her." She got to her feet again. "Well, that's good, isn't it? Now, we'll just bury it or destroy it, and she'll never bother any of us again. And while we're at it, we'll destroy her mirror, too. That way, no one will ever be trapped there again."

Her grandmother shook her head. "I refuse to kill or destroy another being. Underneath her accumulated false ideas, Lockspur is still one of us. But for now, and probably for a good long while to come, she will be incapacitated. We can all enjoy a well-earned rest."

Harper looked at her with doubt. "But wouldn't it be better to put a stop to her craziness now?"

Her grandmother shook her head forcefully. "No, Harper. I have neither the wisdom nor the right to destroy her. But I have a feeling, given enough time, she will destroy herself. In the meantime, we must all live up to our highest standards while appreciating the ability to do so."

Queen Sophia looked around at the others. "And I think we can all agree that, from here on out, our Harper will be fine. She's discovered amazing things about herself today, hasn't she?"

They all rose, as if at some secret sign, and held up their self-replenishing mugs. "To Harper!"

Earl Grey stepped forward, removed his cap, and bowed before the Queen. "Forgive me, Queen Sophia. But perhaps we should be making our way back to the Earth Realm. I've left behind some friends I've been missing."

The queen inclined her head toward him and stood to her full height. The gold and silver light began to twinkle around her as she beamed a beatific smile at him. "Dear Earl Grey. Yes, I suppose you should." She reached over and placed a hand on Harper's thick striped hair and looked deeply into her eyes. "Always remember, My Child, you are descended from Fae. You have magic in you. Never settle for a life without it."

With that, she pulled out a soft handkerchief and handed it to Harper, who wiped her eyes, blew her nose, and laughed. "I love you, Grandma. I'll look forward to seeing you again."

Then Queen Sophia's light became so bright that Harper could no longer look directly at her. Her powerful voice rose and echoed through the forest, replacing the music that had emanated from it before. "You have done well, my child. My love is with you always." And with that, she disappeared completely.