A Modern Fairytale

In conclusion

If a war was to take place in the skies above my island, no matter how quickly it was expected to land, one would reasonably expect that I would have been advised to go elsewhere—somewhere not as close to the heart of Rectitia above which the kingdom of clouds hovered.

"If something rains on us, there is no telling what consequences we might suffer," came a calm voice next to me in a room of long tables and many empty chairs. "Navitusia is beyond us."

"Thank you," I said, smiling, "Your input means the world to me."

"Although, Your Majesty," said the same person, "I reckon you will stay."

"Of course."

☆☆☆

"If a castle drops out of the sky on King Alasdair, I'll cut it into two."

It sounded more metaphorical than literal when Valerie first said it. The false angel who asked, too, had only meant it as an unlikely hypothesis. Regardless of any premises, right now, King Alasdair was indeed watching an entire kingdom dissolve. He might not have seen it happen at all if he hadn't looked out of the window. It looked very much like any drizzle—and rain was not such a rare occurrence on this island. Was it really about Rectitia at all, or did the elemental simply know Valerie would be looking for him anyway? Was he tired of living for so long, was it an attempt to secure an ending the exact way he wanted it?

Outside, a false angel with white wings landed gracefully into King Alasdair's garden. He had been cupping something carefully with his hands; he now released it on the ground next to himself. The speck turned out to be a brown-haired fairy who, had he not been speaking with the false angel, would probably already have turned back invisible. After an exchange, both false angel and fairy looked up. When they found King Alasdair's gaze, all three smiled in acknowledgement. Just a moment ago, Iefan seemed to be discussing something solemnly with his fairy friend; when he smiled now, one could almost mistake him for a true angel. Next to him, Einar Boneflare also looked convincingly like a human being—even as both took flight to reach the doors faster.

☆☆☆

"Valerie is still up there, I think," Iefan said, "After she put the crown on King Sepher, she told us to leave first."

"She's with the...other one," Einar added.

"Ulric?" Alasdair suggested.

"Right, Ulric."

Alasdair nodded. Behind him, a servant closed a window, drew the curtains, and bowed to his King before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. When it was certain that there were only three people in the room, the King spoke again.

"My condolences to you, Einar," he said, his gaze lowered temporarily. "Is there any family left?"

"...oh. Thank you." The fairy let out an awkward chuckle. "No, it's been just us two for a while—though that's also quite common in Mecrisdale."

"What a society." Alasdair sighed. "Do you need anything? Want anything?"

Instead of answering, Einar simply shook his head.

"What does Valerie need?" Iefan voiced quietly, standing by a closed window.

Both Einar and Alasdair turned their attention to the musician. While Einar furrowed his brows in silence, Alasdair smiled.

"Iefan, look out the window next to you. Let me know when you see her."

As instructed, Iefan opened brushed the curtains aside by just a slit and looked outside. The next few minutes passed in complete silence—until a soft "ah" escaped the false angel.

"She's back with Ulric!" he said, "And uh..." He pinched his lips together, unable to say more. There seemed to be a pinkish glow on his cheeks.

"Well?" Alasdair prompted, "Does she need anything?"

"No..." The false angel drew the curtains closed again. "I knew she was with Ulric," he mumbled to himself.

Before saying anything, Einar first turned away from Iefan—to hide the smile on his lips. "She did ask the two of us to leave first, you know. Actually, I'm surprised...Sepher Andilet? Didn't sense a whole other fairy with her."

Iefan breathed a soft sigh of relief at the change of topic. "What did he say?"

"Do give me a rundown of what happened, Einar," Alasdair added.

Turning back around to face them both, Einar recollected, "Iefan took Valerie and I up to Navitusia. I was invisible and in my fairy size on her shoulder. She—I'm not sure about that part. It took her a second to pop up right next to Sepher Andilet. He seemed to sense that something wasn't the usual about her but couldn't point out what. He tried to pull all the air from her; I just raced him in manipulating the particles to prevent that. Then, she put the crown on him and he vanished."

"Venethema is not just the crown then," Alasdair noted, slightly leaning forward on his desk. "It really is a specific place."

"I'm curious," Iefan said, "How King Sepher's imagination fares on dry land."

"Maybe you could pay him a visit," said Alasdair, "How much does a lack of air affect you?"

Iefan simply shook his head. An adventurous gleam appeared in his eyes. Einar's reaction to that look was to blink—in revelation, as if discovering something of utmost importance for the first time—and then shift his gaze to King Alasdair, whose calm emeralds were already on him. When their eyes met, the King nodded subtly, the movement itself barely detectable—in acknowledgment, as if he had known for a very long time.