Rue

Chapter 5

I stopped at the river to wash off the blood before returning to the cabin.

A Faerie. A Faerie.

Of all things to meet in the woods, I ran into a Faerie. It explained my sudden and miraculous escapes. Faeries weren't human; they could manipulate things with ease. Something like undoing chains or my cuffs would be easy.

When I was a child, my mother told me fairy tales before bed. Ours differed from the stories of humans. Ours didn't have happy endings most of the time and always featured creatures of our world that were true. I had yet to hear a happy story about a faerie.

My face paled as the cabin came into view. Smoke rose from the chimney. I remembered Henri was supposed to let me out from the basement at sunrise, and wished I hurried back faster. Excuses ran through my head. Not telling him about the faerie would be best until I knew more about her. She could have been just passing by, or could have been living in the woods.

I pushed open the door and peeked in. Henri sat in the same chair as yesterday, a cup pressed to his lips. The smell of coffee filled the room. A small pot rested on the table, a second cup in front of the empty chair.

Henri's lips stretched across his face as I crossed the room to the pile of fresh clothes resting on the bed. I scurried to dress, dropping in the chair after.

I avoided looking at his face. The smile hid what he was really thinking. He didn't seem all too surprised to find that I escaped. He poured me a cup of coffee. I sipped it, enjoying its warmth.

Uncle forbade me from enjoying such things as coffee. I had snuck it a few times, but drinking it in the open with Henri was something I could get used to.

"How was the hunting last night?" I asked.

Henri took another sip before answering.

"Splendid. We brought down a moose. Father is overjoyed. There will be a feast tonight, so ready yourself for that." He sipped his coffee. "How about you? Perhaps you should change your brown eyes to purple. Being a wizard is the only way to explain that little disappearing act of yours."

I looked down at my wrists; the red marks from the cuffs completely gone thanks to my speedy healing.

"I think someone has been letting me out." I muttered.

Henri poured himself another cup of coffee.

"If I didn't just unlock the chains on the floor, only to find an empty room, I would have called you a liar. Well, I'm not sure who would lack the brain to free a wolf from a locked room."

I nodded. A faerie, it seemed, wanted to free me.

Henri drained his cup, dragging his tongue across his lips. "I'll keep quiet about this, but in exchange, I want something."

My cup clinked as I placed it on the saucer. "I have nothing, cousin. Uncle claimed everything as his own—"

"When he became King." He finished my sentence. "Yes, I understand, but what I want isn't physical objects but something worth much, much more."

I sipped my coffee, looking into his eyes. Something sparkled in them, but where this conversation was going worried me. When I didn't answer, he continued.

"What I want is your word. Swear your fealty to me."

My eyebrows crunched together. "Swear to you? Why would you want that? You aren't even—" I stopped, noticing Henri's smile.

"Not yet, cousin. Just as my father killed yours, I will kill my father to become King."

I hunched forward, rubbing my chin. Henri's confession sent a shiver down my spine.