To the Castle

           Idiot.

          Unlike the first time I had been teleported by magic, when it had been just a quick moment of confusion, this was almost sickening. Like a certain chocolate maker’s crazy tunnel, it was like a nightmare of swirling colors and confusing images. I did not like Brand’s way of traveling.

           So you were left behind. Did that make you helpless?

           The dot that had zipped to and fro on the radar-like-map I mentioned in the last entry now made sense: Brand’s method of teleportation was to jump crazily from one location to the next. We had looked at three different towns before I could blink. I think there may have been eight jumps altogether. It was inefficient, but we were standing in the courtyard of the castle in a matter of seconds.

            Jinge gave you that ring. The ring! Why didn’t you use it? Why didn’t you run?

           At last the nauseating flashing stopped. The soldiers tramped to their stations in a hurry. Their hunt wasn’t over. I could only hope Donal and Ciaran were safe.

            Be safe. Don’t get caught. Don’t try to save me and die. Don’t die!

I shook my head in miserable dizziness and saw that I was standing on cobblestones, inside the gates of the center of the Faerie World. In the dark night that it was, and with the soldiers running here and there in high alert, it was more like an enemy base than anything.

“Welcome to the capital.” Brand said pleasantly, leading me by the arm into the castle. It wasn’t quite like the castle in Sleeping Beauty, but it may have been in the sunlight. Right now, it’d be more akin to the cursed castle in the other Disney cartoon: Beauty and the Beast. It had tall, grand turrets, lit up by many torches and surrounded by strong, thick walls. I got a crick in my neck just trying to look at it all. Brand tugged on my arm, and we walked through some large wooden doors, down a long hallway, and into a large room, where some people were gathered, concerned and whispering.

“We had partial success.” Brand announced to them. “It won’t be long now before this is all over and things are back to the way they should be.” he laughed suddenly. “Why are you still wearing those glasses?”

“I have to stay in the habit for my disguise.” I recognized that voice. It was the same voice on the other side of the hedge that talked to Ciaran-- the same weird intonation. But that wasn’t just it.

            “Not anymore! The monster is dead, and we caught the human girl.” Brand gestured towards me.

It finally clicked in my head, who that voice belonged to.

“John?!” That was him, all right. He looked like a faery, and was dressed like one; he was no longer balding or bone-skinny, but it was him. He was standing there, dignified, and with his hands behind his back. I was astounded.

            “Our infiltration was good, wasn’t it?” Brand said smugly. “You had no idea.”

John gave me no more than a glance, his face expressionless. “What about the boy?” he asked Brand.

“Probably not too far away. Make sure she’s taken care of, and I’ll see about catching up with the others.”

“Yes, your majesty.” several people answered at once.

“Well! Enjoy your stay-- it won’t be long.” Brand smiled at me, and walked out of the room.

I was still staring at the faery version of John. So tired, so confused. He stared back calmly. There were uncomfortable whispers from the other faeries in the room.

“I suppose the first thing to do would be to have her bathe.” John said, but not to me.  “Aimee, Rosalie, see to it, would you?”

The servants, or whoever they were, hesitated to approach me: the filthy human who’d been traveling with traitors. With a monster.

“Not anymore! The monster is dead!”

           Again I saw Jinge stagger, the spear sticking out of him, his blood... My legs wobbled. I fell to my knees and threw up on the shiny floor.