A musical laugh preceded Cecille's appearance. She was once again draped in a gray gown which seemed to be made out of the softest vapor. Her black hair flowed behind her and her dark eyes were filled with amusement. Her ethereal appearance was as enchanting as ever, but Cage was starting to become immune to it.
"I see you're having a reunion," the High Fairy said, glancing at the portraits.
"Yes, we were having a conversation." He saw no point in telling her that she was rudely interrupting.
Cecille floated into the air and placed herself upside down, glancing at the portraits. Her dress was not affected by gravity and continued to rest against her knees. "It always fascinated me how you managed to save the essence of your friends."
"You're the one who did the complicated magic." Or so he'd always assumed.
"I just provided you with a vessel." She spun again, landing next to the sofa. "The magic was all you. I should have known then that you would be up for the task, even if you were useless for seven years."
"Best seven years of my life," he deadpanned. "Why are you here?"
"To check on your progress."
"Ah, so you decided to see if we're still alive after you tossed us in front of the palace gate."
She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "It was the most efficient place to be."
"You threw a mermaid on dry land! You almost had us all killed!"
"You humans and your petty dramas."
The answer was not unexpected and Cage would not fall into an argument that could end with him being immobilized and tortured by magic again. "Alright. Where have you been?"
The fairy frowned at him. "Excuse me, but do I answer to you now?"
"I thought it would be useful for me to check on you as well seeing as--" You ruined my life. "--we're bound together now."
"That we are," she said, but didn't sound thrilled.
"Do you have any news on Lucille and what she's planning?"
"No." Cecille hesitated and Cage was convinced he was about to hear more bad news. "It doesn't work like that."
This he hadn't expected to hear. "What doesn't work like what?"
"Lucille has revealed herself, so the game has officially commenced."
"A game? This is a game to you?"
The High Fairy hesitated again, and this time he could actually read her expression. She was considering whether to share something with him. For a second, it seemed possible, but then her expression darkened and she closed off.
"This is no business of yours, human."
He'd expected that answer. He was already so used to Cecille's moods that she had become predictable. Unfortunately for her, he'd changed a lot since the day she'd cursed him, and she hadn't been around enough to see how. Everything that had happened since Kat had destroyed the Jolly Marauder had marked him deeply, shifted his perspective on the world and his role in it. His role was not to be a plaything for a fairy.
"Fine, keep your secrets. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than entertain you."
The pain was immediate, but he'd expected it. Instead of tensing, he forced his magic to untense his muscles. It worked and the pain became manageable. As expected, Cecille scowled at him and released him.
"This is the first time you fight me."
"As I mentioned, I have other more pressing matters to take care of. You're either here to help or I don't need you."
The pain this time felt as if it crashed half of his bones. It was much harder to push against it, but he did it, pushing his magic as hard as he could. He was aware this was it. The final showdown between him and Cecille. She would either kill him for his rudeness or accept his boundaries. This time, she didn't pull back, but continued to press on him. He pushed back as hard as he could, but his energy was depleting fast. His only chance was for her to give up before he ran out of magic to push against her.
It flared inside his veins, making him dizzy. His magic was no match for a fairy's. It was only a mild shadow of what Cecille had inside her, of what she could do. Borrowed magic and borrowed time. The only way he could have a chance against her was in a fair fight. The pain inside him grew, but with it came the realization that he wasn't paralyzed this time. With a speed he didn't think himself still capable of, he picked up a glass from the table in front of the sofa and threw it at Cecille.
She turned her body immaterial, but the shock of his action disrupted her enough to release her hold on him. The relief almost brought tears to his eyes, but he had no time to celebrate. In an instant, he hurdled over the sofa and caught Cecille in a lock. She gasped as his arm went around her neck.
He was too aware she could kill him in a million ways in that position, but for the fraction of a second he had the upper hand.
"How about you fight fair if you want to fight?" he hissed into her ear.
She became immaterial and he retreated at once. Her eyes blazed with anger and magic, thin violet tendrils spreading across her dark pupils.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Cage was aware of all he'd risked to teach the High Fairy a lesson, of how he'd put not just himself, but his entire kingdom in danger. However, filled as he was with the fervor of conflict, he accepted the consequences. He could even convince himself what he'd done was for the greater good. That maybe his death would mean something.
"You idiot." The fairy floated above the floor, her hair raised above her shoulders like black flames. "You dare touch me?"
He raised his hands, but didn't answer. There was no point for conversation. After a few seconds in which nothing happened and Cecille continued to seethe, he lowered his arms and heaved a sigh.
"I really don't have time for this," he mumbled. "What are you trying to prove? That you're all-powerful? I already know that. Everyone knows that."
"What were you trying to prove?" she retorted, landing on the floor again.
"That you need me, I guess. Or I'd be dead. So maybe stop playing games and let's help each other."
He expected her to smite him again or disappear. Instead she frowned, deep in thought again.
"This is a game," she finally said. "And it started the moment Lucille showed herself and named her champion."
Cage frowned, too, aware this time that there was more to it than he first gathered. He was also grateful that Cecille seemed inclined to explain rather than magic his head off. "What kind of game?"
Cecille hesitated again, as if the importance of the information weighed heavily. "You were able to resist my hold."
"Barely. It was agony."
"Yes, but you no longer accepted it. You fought it."
"As I said--"
"Yes, yes, you don't have time." She waved her hand dismissively, then fell into the same contemplative state.
"I'm going to continue to improve my use of magic because I'm aware I don't have a choice. With or without you, I'm already in too deep. I need to protect Iride."
Cecille nodded, her brows still furrowed. "That you do. But maybe it's better to know that there's more at stake here."
"Yes, it's better that I know because then I can do something about it." He said the words even if he hated them. Even if he wished Cecille would have never showed him what awaited his kingdom if he didn't step up. He was aware he might get a glimpse into something even worse.
"When a High Fairy is chosen, she is chosen for life," Cecille said. She then stopped for a moment as if to consider how to put what she wanted into words. "What you are about to hear now is one of the most sacred rituals of our kind. I would rather you do not repeat it to anyone else."
Hard to do, but it wasn't like he had a choice. He was maybe going to finally find out why Cecille had burst into his life. So he nodded, and indicated that she should go on.
"However, even if we are chosen for life, there is a way in which a High Fairy could be replaced. This is called the Champion Trials."
Cage didn't like this at all. He was too aware that Cecille had chosen him as a champion which could only mean one thing. "Did Lucille challenge you?"
Cecille nodded, her expression stoic. "I saw it coming. I knew the heir of Endir will surface and I knew that after the abomination she did, she would choose her own kin as her champion."
"And you knew she would challenge you?"
"Of course. After all, I'm the one who challenged her during the last war and had her losing her position. Many of our sisters abhorred what Lucille was doing. Her consorting with the human was the final straw. But our laws did not allow us to replace her by any other means but the Trial. She had her champion in the Witch King."
"While you had my grandfather." It made sense, but he was still shocked that Cecille had been High Fairy for such a short time. Thirty years must mean nothing to beings who were essentially immortal.
"Correct," she said. "I saw in him honor and bravery and I knew he would do anything to protect his kingdom."
"But he was killed. He died while killing the Witch King."
"True. It was a point of debate. But Iride managed to cause Endir to retreat to their own lands. It was considered that Iride won this war by means of your father, the direct successor of my champion. Therefore, I was considered the victor."
"What does this mean for what's to come now? Can't your kind banish Lucille? Refuse her rule?"
Cecille let out a hollow laugh. "Our laws are what keeps our magic alive. If we refuse to abide by them, we lose it. If we do not honor the Trial, our kind will disappear. And to answer your question, what this means is that the stakes are not just about your kingdoms. They are about the fate of the fairies and how magic will impact all humans from now on."
"Is this why magical creatures have resurfaced?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Magic attracts magic. The creatures which you call magical are those who actually feed on magic. They return because they have what to feed on again. Why do you think there were Cusiths in the woods near your castle? They were drawn to you."
Great, now he was putting his people in danger by enabling the existence of dangerous creatures.
"Don't be a fool," Cecille said as if reading his mind. "Those creatures have as much right to live on this plain as those you consider normal. You'll have to learn to coexist."
"So, now, it's a matter of who wins the war," he said. "If I do, you stay High Fairy. If Kat does, Lucille will retake her throne. What happens to you then?"
"I think you know that better than most."
He did, but he hoped it wouldn't be so since Lucille was not killed. But Lucille did seem the kind to break rules, and legend had it that she fled the coves of the fairies and lived outside their laws. He opened his mouth to ask why she was just toying with him instead of helping him, but closed it. He was smart enough to figure that out for himself, so he had another question.
"What are the rules of this Trial?"
Cecille's smile proved that he had asked the right thing. "We are to act as discreet influences upon our chosen champions. They are the ones who will do battle. For us fairies, the test is how wisely we have chosen."
Cage raised his eyebrows. "And you chose me. The one who you thought was nothing but a drunken womanizer."
"I didn't choose you then. I initially approached you for that purpose, but I was... distracted. I chose you after you broke the curse."
"And you tied me to Lucille's champion without knowing." Oh, how ironic the gods were sometimes.
"I must admit, you were a bit of a gambit. At the time, you showed no sign of controlling your magic."
Of course he was a risk. Unstable, rebellious, headstrong. Doing everything he could to subtly annoy the fairy because he hated her. He wasn't sure he didn't anymore, but it wasn't as if negative feelings would help now.
"Either way," Cecille said. "Your link to her is broken now."
"You also tried to make me forget her."
The fairy faltered, her eyes widening. For maybe the first time, Cage was seeing her surprised.
"Well, you're definitely not supposed to remember that."
"I remember her. I just..." He rubbed his chest, wishing the pain would go away. "You shouldn't have done that."
"Trust me, if I didn't, the pain would be much worse. You wouldn't be able to do what you have to do."
"What I have to do for you."
"Think about it? Isn't it the same as what you have to do for your kingdom?"
It was. And that was Cecille's luck because otherwise, he wouldn't be caught dead doing her bidding. "Isn't this cheating, though? This interference?"
"If you think Lucille hasn't wiped out Kat's feelings for you, you are a naive idiot."
Unfortunately, Cage was convinced that was the case. "But this is it. You can't help me with anything else? Like giving me information and bringing me updates?"
"I'm afraid not. We fairies don't like to linger among humans anyway. Just... Be wary. Lucille might break the rules, but I will not hold my position through treachery. "
Cage appreciated that about her. He was also glad he'd finally found out why the High Fairy had waltzed into his life and turned it upside down. If he looked at it like that, like a string of fate that was slowly coming unraveled, everything didn't feel so bleak anymore. Maybe it would all turn out well if Lucille lost the Trial. But what would that mean for Kat?
"So how will this work from now on?" He nodded towards her. "Will you be visiting me occasionally to catch up or will you have orders? Tricks?"
Cecille drummed her fingers on her chin. "I'm not sure. I guess it will depend on how Lucille will choose to go about this. That I can inform you about."
"Do you know anything about Kat?"
A disgusted expression filled the fairy's face. "One thing you should be happy about is that I can't give you news on her. Once the Trial begins, we are no longer allowed to roam into the territory of the enemy."
Which meant Lucille couldn't just wander into Iride. That was indeed good news. He had a lot to think about, but he needed to be by himself for that.
"Thank you for telling me all that."
"I thought it would help you get rid of this ridiculous imposter's syndrome you've been displaying ever since you took that crown."
Heat rose to his cheeks and he couldn't believe she'd managed to fluster him like that.
"That crown is yours, Cage," she said, her form becoming more immaterial with each word. "It would have ended up on your head one way or another. You can't run from fate."
And just like that, she was gone.
⚜⚜⚜
Alas, the reasons behind Cecille's interference in Cage's life have finally been revealed. And things are about to go down! I'm sure no one would be surprised if Lucille broke the rules.
Now, it's more than just about two kingdoms. It's also about magic and whether it will be friendly or dangerous.
And maybe, just maybe, Cage can now embrace his role of king and get things done!
Thanks for reading! Any thoughts on the story so far are greatly appreciated, especially because I know it's a bit different from the other two books.
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