A Kind of Magic

Fifty-Two

They reached the eaves of the Black Forest in the late afternoon of the following day, even as the sun was beginning to set.

The weather kept in its improbable clemency even though the sky had become a little hazy as the day progressed, as if it got tired of all the sunshine, just like Fiona seemed to have become weary from the long journey, or more likely from the distance the two of them were forced to keep between themselves for their companions' sake, Peregrine's mind suggested, making his lips quiver with a content smile. By the old gods, he suffered from not being able to hold her in his arms constantly just as she seemed to do, it was clear from the multitude of longing, lingering looks they had exchanged throughout the long day, he mused as he helped Alexandra off his horse.

"If everything goes well, if we cover as many miles as we did today tomorrow, this will be our last night spent outdoors before reaching the Bleak Moor," he announced. He knew a noble vampire family loyal to Alaric who would offer them shelter tomorrow,  then they would spend the following night with Wilbur's pack...

His eyes strolled to Leodhais unconsciously for a brief moment, his memory suddenly producing a vision of Auriel before Freddie walked up to him, insisting to help him with the horses.

"Where are we?" the boy asked as they tethered the beasts to one of the uncountable trees surrounding them on all sides, so tall that they turned the falling twilight into dusk prematurely. 

"In the Centaur Territory."

The boy gasped in awed surprise, wide blue eyes darting into the gloom pooling among the tall, thick tree trunks. 

It made Peregrine smile. "Don't you get too excited, Master Frodo. They hardly ever appear, I only met a couple of them a long time ago. They treasure solitude and prefer the company of their own folk."

He kneeled next to the silent, awe-inspired boy the moment they took care of the horses, making the best of his endless curiosity, feeding his hungry mind with facts. There was no better way to learn about the kingdom he will inherit one day, than the present moment, before his imagination would become used to all the things he now, coming from a different world, regarded as wonderful and magical. 

"They are elusive, nocturnal beings, spending nights by observing the stars and divining the future. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they knew about your and your mum's arrival even before your grandfather sent us to find you," he said, winking at the boy before he stood up again, and taking his hand in his most naturally, led him back to where Leodhais and Gilderoy, or rather Annwyn, had managed to lay a fire.

"I can see the future sometimes..." Freddie muttered, making Peregrine's step falter, "I knew you would come for us. I even see granddad and Emrys in the ring on some nights..."

Peregrine gasped and stopped in his tracks, his mind working at triple speed to produce correct questions to ask-- no one had ever spoken about Emrys to the boy, he was sure, there was no explicable way he should know that name-- but Freddie freed his hand and dashed off towards his mother, letting him know that he was done with this subject for the moment. 

Feeling that the boy wished for their conversation to remain private, Peregrine didn't say anything about it to Fiona as he gathered her in his arms once the fire burned down to lively flickers of golden light dancing like will-o'-the-wisps in the inky darkness creeping upon them from the surrounding forest, relishing in the way she seemed to only relax entirely when he was so near that she could lay her head on his chest, drifting off to sleep in seconds. She needed the rest he couldn't afford to take; with only Gilderoy still knowing about the dragon shifters following their progress across Silmarea because they seemed to be simply harmless observers, and he didn't want to alarm the others pointlessly, the two divided the night watch between them.