Chapter 67

**Merianna**


“I thought you were responsible enough to go to bed early, Merianna.” Fog admonished as he led me out of the castle’s barriers and into the surrounding woods.

“I tried. I went straight to bed after dinner but my head didn’t want to shut up.” I complained as I pulled my cloak closer around myself. The early morning mist was chilly and my eyes were still so tired that I couldn’t stop squinting and rubbing them.

Fog sighed ahead of me and grabbed a hold of my free hand. I thought he was just going to lead me by the hand, but before I knew it he had pulled me in closer and hauled me up onto his back.

“I can walk on my own! I’m probably heavy!” I exclaimed in surprise as he secured my legs around his waist and proceeded to give me a piggyback ride.

“That’s silly. You might be bigger, but you aren’t heavy. Now sit still before you fall off child, we’ll be at the briars soon.” Fog said with a grin as he continued walking without issue.

I smiled as I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into his back. It sure felt nostalgic. I giggled and Fog tilted his head in a silent question.

“I was just thinking that it’s been so long since I’d gotten to ride on your back like this. Your back was a lot bigger back then.” Fog chuckled as well and bumped his head with mine.

“You were such a little trouble maker back then. Well, come to think of it… not much has changed, really.” He muttered.

“That’s Noch’s fault, not mine. I’ve grown into quite the Lady you know!” I defended myself.

“I must say I have never known a proper Lady to run down halls brandishing axes and scythes to cut down a fellow Order Member.”

I groaned against his back as he continued to gain amusement through my embarrassment. “Like I said! It’s all Noch’s fault! He keeps antagonising me!”

“A Lady would ignore such antics and not feed his ego.” Fog snickered, at which I lightly knocked my fist against his head.

“You’re just as bad as he is.” I muttered unhappily.

Fog laughed at my antics and continued walking through the trees. “You’ve definitely gotten bigger since the time Noch found you.”

“Well of course, years have passed since then. It only makes sense that I’d have grown.” I said proudly and laid my cheek on his shoulder. It has indeed been a long time since then.

“We’re here.” Fog announced as he stopped in front of a bush of brambles.” I looked skeptically at the twisted mass of twigs.

“You’re not going to imply that we should try to crawl underneath that bush, are you?”

“Of course not.” Fog said and let me get down from his back. Once my feet were on the soft forest floor, he extended his hand. I squinted as a haze seemed to come over the bush, which distorted its shape. After a minute the bush was no longer there, but was replaced by a natural vine archway. Then I realised what the haze was.

“Glamour?” I asked Fog in surprise.

He nodded. “Glamour has a wide variety of uses. Disguising one’s likeness or species is just one of them.” 

“Right.” I muttered in awe as I stared at the archway.

Fog took a hold of my hand and started walking towards the archway. I was confused for a second, didn’t we need to ‘activate’ the archway to take us to the Fae realm like we do with the gateway in the Atrium? Fog didn’t hesitate as he pulled me along. I expected us to walk through the archway and just step on the forest floor that I could clearly see on the other end.

I was stunned when I stepped my foot across the threshold and suddenly saw a whole different scenery than what I was expecting. There was no sensation of movement, no feeling of walking through a barrier, just a sudden and unexpected change that rocked my senses for a minute.

I gaped at what I saw. The forest had completely disappeared and was replaced by a place that I could only describe as a fairytale land. A waterfall cascaded over a cliff face far in the distance and we had suddenly ended up in a big, bright green field. Flowers were blooming in more colours than I’ve ever been able to see before!

“Now remember Merianna, don’t say anything to any of the Fae here. I don’t care if you feel like you’re impolite by not responding. The Fae in the Realm are not like Dorris. Some may have good intentions, but the majority don’t. They are more concerned with gaining as many favors as they can handle. Think of it as humans trying to line their pockets with riches even if it meant killing one of their own.” Fog said as he held my hand tightly.

“Right, I’ll keep that in mind.” I said absentmindedly as I stared in awe, Fog just sighed and pulled me along as he walked towards the forest’s side of the grassy field.

I was trying to take in as much of the scenery as I could as we moved. I was surprised to feel that the ground we were walking on was completely level and free of unruly shrubs. In the distance, I could see dragonflies flitting around close to the flowers. Even the air itself seemed like it had wisps of colourful energy floating through the area. The shadows under the trees we were walking towards seemed like they were moving restlessly.

“How safe is that area we are walking towards Fog?” I asked as I stared at the shifting shadows.

“Well, I can tell you for sure that this direction is much safer than the direction towards the waterfall.” He said with a smile.

“Wait, really?” I asked dubiously. My head was telling me that the light, cool and beautiful area that was out in the open would clearly be the safer option over the shadows of the forest that looked like they were alive and ready to swallow anything that would walk too closely.

“This is one of the reasons why it’s important to stay close while we’re in the Fae realm. The places that are more rich in energy always attract stronger Fae creatures. Whereas the areas that have less energy tend to be slightly safer.” He explained with a smile.

I frowned. “How do you mean?”

Fog pointed towards the beautiful waterfall and flitting dragonflies. “Over there are thousands of trouble loving Pixies, also the water is rich in energy and abundant, the Selkies and Kelpies love inhabiting such waters along with swamp and bog lands.” Then he pointed towards the dark forest. “Whereas over there we will find a community of tree Fae and possible peaceful Dryads.”

I heart skipped for a minute when he explained what awaited at the waterfall. “By Kelpie, you mean that fabled horse-like Fae that drowns and eats humans?” I squeaked.

Fog tilted his head my way with a bemused grin. “I take it that Noch told you some bedtime stories when you were younger?” 

I shuddered at the memory of his dark grin as he scared the crap out of Nelia and me. Granted, that day I did try to throw a knife at his stupid face. “Yes…” I said miserably.

Fog laughed and shook his head. “Well, regardless of whether it was a story he told you, it is true. Kelpies do tend to be a lot more merciless than Selkies. And here in the Fae realm, there are plenty of them to go around, along with many other nightmare creatures. Faery, after all, likes to be a place that toys and masters in contradictions.”

“So a pretty and innocent looking Pixie that wants to play a game with you will turn the game into something that you have to bet your life on?” I suggested, with a nervous knot forming in my stomach.

“You catch on quickly my dear.” Fog said with a proud smile.

*Was it too late for me to regret tagging along?*

I stuck close to Fog as we wandered into the shadows of the forest of towering trees and lounging vines. Once we stepped foot into the shadows, the heavy darkness that seemed to hang over it from the outside suddenly lifted and gave way to flourishing undergrowth and scattered flowering plants. The vines themselves seemed to move and slither over the branches of the towering trees. As we walked closely past one of the trees, I stared at the thick moss that blanketed its bark.

Before I took my eyes off the moss, it seemed to move and a pair of small black eyes suddenly stared back at me. I squealed and jumped closer to Fog. He chuckled as a small humanoid creature emerged from the moss and flitted its beetle wings. It seemed to smile, then flit away into the air, where many others started to join it in a little swarm-like dance. One of the little beetle Fae came flitting down and placed a flower over my ear. 

When I looked at Fog with wide eyes, he merely chuckled at me and took the flower out of my hair, only to place it on a sapling. Well, I thought it was a sapling until it spontaneously started moving and caressed the flower that fog seemed to have put on its ear.

I gaped as I stared at the surroundings that had suddenly come alive. No wonder it had seemed like the shadows were moving from outside. It made perfect sense if all of this was happening while I was watching.

“Amazing.” I breathed as I stuck closely to Fog.

“Yes indeed. The vibrance of life in Faerie can’t really compare to that of the mortal realm.” Fog seemed delighted at my obvious surprise, despite the fact that he originally dreaded the thought of bringing me here.

We kept walking for another while until we came across a big, towering tree that seemed to be older than the others around it. Fog led me up to the tree and then rapped his knuckles on its bark.

I raised my eyebrows in confusion and was just about to ask him what on earth he was doing knocking on a random tree in the forest, when I suddenly heard rustling coming from within the tree itself.

“Who in the blazes is knocking on my door at this hour?!” I heard a disgruntled deep voice complain from inside.

“Open up already Herris, you knew well beforehand that I was coming to visit.” Fog said just as irritably.

“Visit? What visit?! You never just visit. If you ever did come to visit for leisure, I swear it would snow in the Seelie Territory!” The clattering from within the tree got louder as he spoke. I raised my eyebrow and looked at the width of the tree again. It couldn’t have been wider than 3 people with outstretched arms. Why did it sound like the occupant had so much space to cover?

I jumped back in surprise when the bark of the tree suddenly swung open like a door and a creature emerged that I had never seen before. Its eyes were big, black, and bug-like, while its body seemed to mimic the texture of trees as well. He was small, reminding me of dwarves that Noch once told me about, barely reaching my waist in height. He gave a huff and crossed his branch-like arms over his chest.

“Maybe if your attitude improves, I’d be more inclined to visit for leisure.” Fog teased with a smile to the Fae.

“Ha! I’ll believe that when I see it!” Herris then seemed to notice me slightly hiding behind Fog. “Fog what on earth were you thinking, bringing a young human girl to a place like this?”

“Oh nothing much, she begged to come along, so I had no choice.” Fog said fondly as he put a hand on my head.

“Hmph! You’ve gone soft if a little heap of flesh like this could twist your arm!” He snorted and opened the door wider for us to go in. If I wasn’t told not to say anything, I would have been tempted to tell this Herris guy a thing or two about being a heap of twigs.

Fog led me into Herris’s home and I was surprised to see that the space inside the tree was many times bigger than I had originally thought by looking from the outside. It was spacious, tall and cozy. There was a fireplace, living room, bedroom, and even a section that looked like a kitchen area. The space was also sparsely decorated with furs and rugs over the wooden furniture. It made me wonder for a minute if creatures made of wood could actually feel cold.

“Tell me Fog, you sent a message saying that you had an opportunity for my favor to be repaid to you. So don’t beat about the bush and just tell me straight out what it is you need from me.” Herris said as he plopped himself down on one of his wooden armchairs.

“Very well then.” Fog said as he pulled me along to sit on the wooden couch. “I need you to get into the Dark Warlock’s base and gain information for me. As much as you possibly can. They are up to something that won’t turn out well for any living being in this land. I need to know who are all involved, what exactly it is they are doing, and when they plan on playing out their plot.”

“You sure know how to make a debt hard to repay, don’t you?” Harris grumbled with a raised eyebrow.

“If you feel that the method of repayment is too hard or is beneath you, you can always call in the favors you yourself have and get others to do it for you.” Fog shrugged. “I do not care how you go about it, I only want the information.”

Harris eyed Fog shrewdly. “How big of a mess am I getting myself into?”

“You already ended up in the mess the moment you asked for my assistance last time.” Fog said with a deceptively friendly smile. Seeing his interaction with Harris made me think twice about Fog’s personality, since I only knew Fog as a good guy. He might only be half Fae, but that was still a big part of him. All I ever saw was the human side at the Order.

Harris sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. “Very well Fog. I’ll do as you ask. I assume that there is a barrier or something around the Dark Warlocks’ home that inhibits magical humans from entering or something?”

“Yes, that is correct. Which is why your help is needed in this situation.” Fog confirmed.

Harris threw his hands up in defeat. He knew that there wasn’t any way for him to weasel his way out of the deal and he knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy task to complete.

“You have my gratitude, old friend. Once you have information, send me a message and I’ll come visit you again.” Fog said as he stood up from the couch and started dragging me along again.