These Wicked Myths

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓕𝓲𝓿𝓮✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

I stood out back my manor, a goblet of somewhat stale mead in my hand. I didn't much mind the off-taste, however. Mead was one of the few things I truly missed about my last trip to Faerie when I resided in the human world for the last 2 years.

"You have a visitor, Maeve." I heard Blais announce from the doorway.

"Please have him come out here. Thank you, Blais." I turned around and stood face to face with my visitor.

"Maeve Briarwood, as I live and breathe."

"Pliar A'therys" I welcomed him with an open embrace. "Long time no see." Pliar was an old acquaintance of my mother's, who had assisted her and I on many occasions.

He smiled down at me from his tall stature. Even now as an adult, I still felt that he towered over me just as much as he had when I was a child. "I have not seen you since my wedding some 10 years ago."

"How do you even remember that being me, Pliar? I was hardly present at the ceremony." I do remember accidentally stumbling into poisoned Faerie fruit while playing with the other children in attendance, and that having been the reason my mother and I left so abruptly. However, I did not see a need to bring up the embarrassing story.

"My memory can stretch for ages." He replied in a joyous tone. "Krysthana is very fond of you. We wished you had made such a trek back sooner, and that it was not under such unfortunate circumstances."

My smile becomes a tad weary.He is right: it is unfortunate that my return was no for happy reasons like visiting Pliar and his wife. "That is partially what I wished to speak of today."

I downed the rest of the mead in a single gulp and placed down the goblet onto the terrace next to me.

"What do you know about fighting techniques against Coldbrookes? Are there any sort of weapons or tools that could be of assistance?" I asked after a moment. Pliar's gaze shifts into one of confusion, and then out of fear.

He pulls me close and hardly whispers, as if there was one currently listening to us nearby. "Maeve, are you in trouble with Coldbrookes?"

I brush his hand off my shoulder, attempting to ease his worries. This was a difficult feat considering I was hardly calming my own nerves in this impetuous situation. "Nothing to be worried about. I simply am just inquiring on any knowledge you might have of their weaknesses."

Pliar does not seem to believe me. However, he knows me well enough to not investigate my words further. I know how to protect myself, and I also know Faerie. I may not have lived here for my entire life, but I have spent enough time here to be able to understand the environment and how to participate in combat.

"Very well, Maeve." He snaps his fingers and a text appears in his hands. No matter how much time I spend in this world, I will never get over how magic can come so easily to the creatures that inhabit it. He flips through the pages until he lands on one with a photo of a bracelet on it. It was woven with forest leaves, each one uniquely shaped. While a darker green, they held somewhat of a golden hue. A quartz diamond sat at the bracelet's centre, Although a typical diamond is clear as the sun, it instead had dark undertones.

"This is the Bracelet of Eldertide," Pliar begins. "It can not only serve as a second sense of warning, but it can modify one's current abilities—to extreme levels. It has assisted in many fights involving Coldbrookes, and is an old relic. Although I believe it belongs to the Coldbrooke line, it has not been used in many moons."

I take the book from him and search through the following pages. However, I cannot understand enough of the Elvish to comprehend the words. It is a more ancient version of it. "Do you know where it is kept at the moment?"

"I had acquired a map of the region some time ago, with the location of the bracelet pinpointed."

"How the hell do you know where this priceless artefact is??" I retorted.

Pliar shrugs and evades my question. "Would you like me to summon the map for you, or not, Maeve?"

I sighed and waved my hand, a restrained signal for him to summon the map. Within a moment, a map was provided in his hands.

"This map is a replica—and before you utter a single word about the legality of obtaining this—I found it in an old atlas. Apparently, Coldbrookes are not as organised as they believe themselves to be, and allow certain items to be misplaced."

Pliar hands over the map. I had expected it to be dated, but surprisingly it has remained in good shape. The edges—barely torn—were still held together with an eccentric lace weaving. It looked more hand-stitched rather than stitched through magical sources like most texts are, which left me with a strange sense in the pit of my stomach. I run my hand over the sketch, the coarseness of the page leaving a minor cut against my hand. I didn't notice the slight sting though, because I'm too enraptured with the writings. They felt very vague, and untrue. It did not explain much into how the bracelet changed a being, though, as Pliar had stated.

However, I do not have time to dwell on what the bracelet truly is capable of. With a Coldbrooke being my current opponent, I'm assuming she has thought of finding the bracelet as well, and might very well be on her way right this second.

"Thank you for your assistance yet again, Pliar. You are a wise companion." I pull him in for a quick embrace before beginning to make my way through the manor. If I was to find this Bracelet of Eldertide, I would need to leave now.

"Maeve, wait!" I heard him shout right before I managed to get through the doorway inside. I turned back around to face him. He had a genuine look of terror in his eyes. He waited a moment, seeming as if trying to find his words. He finally speaks after a long period of silence. "I don't know what issue you may have with a Coldbrooke, and frankly I am not in the position to truly help you overcome it. However..."

"However..?" I retorted, trying to get a move on.

"I assisted your mother at a point in time with a Coldbrooke issue. Despite my help, she was unable to escape it." He breathes out and squeezes his eyes shut, opens them a moment later. "Be careful, but also be realistic. Coldbrookes are not known for mercy or failure, and if you were to already have met with one, you should consider yourself lucky to still be breathing."

I understand what he was saying. That I should be expecting death, as no one in the history of Faerie has outsmarted a Coldbrooke, or better yet, survived a single meeting with one. And based on the royal markings I had glimpsed in Blais' text a few hours prior, I knew that there was something strange and unknown lying in wait for me. I need to prepare myself for the possible worst, because it seemed to be the only true possibility.

"Thank you again, Pliar A'therys. I hope to see you again." I let out a small smile, taking a few steps further backwards while still facing him.

"I do, as well." His smile is weary, but I pretend not to notice. "Good luck, Maeve Briarwood."

I dipped my head in a solemn gratitude, and turned back towards the inside of the manor. I quickly dashed up the staircase and into my chambers. I stopped at my bed and reached before, pulling out the Coldbrooke's dagger from where I had stashed it. I twisted my hand around the handle, feeling all the divots of the names in the dark wood.

I descended the stairs yet again, and without uttering a single word to Blais, who was still sitting in the library at the start of the estate, I walked out the door.

As each step passed, I felt my heart rate quicken. It was only a matter of time before I was face-to-face with the Fae girl again, and that truly shook me to my core.