Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Chaykeely ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Chaykeely

Chapter Two

© 2005 Ohne Sie

 

Arietta carefully picked up a book from Keiran's shelf and flipped through it. She stopped near the middle and inspected the page. "Werecats?" she wondered aloud. Then there was a knock on the door and she quickly replaced the book before answering it.

 

    "Hi, I need to get something," Keiran started, but Arietta cut him off.

 

    "Go ahead, my ceremony's done." She stepped aside to let him enter.

 

    "Oh, um...Brighid cooked lunch for everyone, you might want some." Keiran wandered over to the shelf, with Arietta staring after him.

 

    "I don't eat what is cooked by a witch."

 

    "You know, Brighid isn't a bad person." He picked up the book Arietta had been looking at and frowned after sniffing it. "Did you touch this?"

 

    Arietta said nothing, but looked at the floor. Keiran sighed.

 

    "Okay, what did you see?"

 

    "Something about werecats? I only saw it for an instant. Well, I know what they are already...werecats are somehow distantly related to elves. I think. I can't remember. My father told me..." She trailed off and looked up at Keiran. "Hishi nora."

    "What?"

 

    "It means 'I'm sorry.'" Arietta turned her head to look at the wall. "I just wanted to know more about you."

 

    Keiran laughed softly. "And I didn't want you to know. Well, you've guessed, I'm sure, that I'm a werecat...or a cat demon. I turn into a cat during a full moon, like tonight, and times of great stress...which is kind of impractical. That's really all I know."

 

    "All you know?"

 

    "Yes."

 

    "How about your parents? Family? A tribe, maybe?"

 

    Keiran smiled sadly. "If I knew that, I wouldn't need books about my kind." He thought for a second. "Actually, I didn't know elves and werecats were related."

 

    Arietta nodded. "We share a common ancestor. Other than that, I don't know. I can't ask my father, obviously."

 

    "I'm sorry," Keiran told her. "Um, well...I'm going to go now. I'm taking my book." He walked to the door and looked back. "You'll be all right?"

 

    "Of course." She smiled and waved. "Mirina tulor."

 

    "Um...what does that mean?"

 

    "Goodbye." Arietta laughed and sat on Keiran's bed as he waved and exited the room.

 

    "I'm still hungry," Kael whined pathetically.

 

    Aisling rolled her eyes. "Well, don't expect me to make anything. I'm leaving."

 

    "Where are you going?" Kael jumped up from the table and stared at her worriedly.

 

    "Um...out there. To walk around. Or fly. I don't know. Why would it matter?" She started toward the door.

 

    "No, you can't! The witches are out there, what if they find you?"

 

    "Um...we have a shield around the house...remember?" Aisling again tried to leave, but she was stopped again.

 

    "It's too dangerous, you're not allowed." Kael shook his head. "Look, you'll just get the rest of us killed if you go out."

 

    "I don't care. Besides, Arietta left and she didn't get yelled at for it. Oh, wait. I see." she smiled contemptuously. "Because she's a princess, right? And princesses get everything. This is why I left Chaykeely to begin with."

 

    "She didn't wander far, and it was her job anyway." Kael walked to the door and blocked the doorway. "Plus..." He trailed off.

 

    "You don't trust me, right? You trust a stupid elf princess you just met, but not a lowly pixie you've lived with for over a year."

 

    "That's not it either. We don't want you to go alone."

 

    "Okay." Aisling reached past him. "So you'll go with me, then?" She pulled open the door, knocking Kael out of the way.

 

    "What?"

 

    "You'll come with me, right? I can't go alone. So you'll go with me." She stepped outside. Kael sighed.

 

    "I suppose I will," he said, walking after her.

 

 

☼

 

 

    "Where is he? We can't wait forever. We have to move, now!" One of the two female witch underlings shifted her feet impatiently.

 

    "Patience, Enya," the other girl said gently. "Donelle will punish him if it's necessary. Remember, he did help get us into Chaykeely. He's proven his worth so far. If he says the princess is alive, she's alive. He's the one with the ring, after all."

 

    "Yeah, but I'm not convinced it wasn't his fault the princess escaped in the first place," one of the males pondered. "Keelty, remember how he reacted when we asked about her and he realized she was alive. She is his fiancée, after all. I think he has some sort of feeling for her. He must."

 

    "But faerie marriages are arranged from birth, right? He probably doesn't love her, Galvin. My guess is that he hates her, truly," the other male countered.

 

    "Galvin, Enya, Keelty, Calder. Come here," Donelle ordered. The others dutifully obeyed and gathered around her. "Devlan has a request for us."

 

    The elf prince perched in a tree, looking down at the witches. "I can probably get her to join our side. It shouldn't be too hard. If I can't convince her, we can kill her, but otherwise, I request..."

 

    Enya sighed and whined. "Oh, come on!" She beat her fists against the trunk of the tree upon which Devlan sat, trying to unnerve him. It had no effect. "Can we just kill her now? Please?"

 

    "No, just let me face her alone. We've been friends since she was born, which for you would be..." He thought for a bit and finished, "One hundred sixty-five years?"

 

    Donelle sighed and nodded. "All right, I suppose we owe you this much, but make sure she realizes who is in charge. If she cooperates, maybe you two can rule what is left of Chaykeely together. Not that you'll have anyone to rule, really, but you can rule. Otherwise..."

 

    "I understand. I warn you, it may take a while to find her. My ring can locate her, but it does take some time. So just give me some time. A day or two is all I need."

 

    "Very well, then. You have exactly one day. You had better begin your search now, or you will run out of time," Donelle commanded as she attempted to look through the cluster of treetops to the sky. "Be back here at noon tomorrow."

 

    Devlan nodded, looked at the other witches, and ran off.

 

 

☼

 

 

    "So why are we out here again?" Kael asked Aisling as she flew above him.

 

    "I hate feeling trapped inside that house," she replied simply. "That's all, really." She glided down and landed next to him. She walked next to Kael silently for a few moments, until he spoke again.

 

    "Well, if you want to leave again...just tell me, and I'll go with you. But please don't leave on your own, all right?"

 

    Aisling nodded. "I'm not stupid. It's not like I'll go beyond our boundaries. I'd be more concerned with Arietta, if I were you."

 

    "Keiran went after her. She wasn't alone. She didn't get any special privileges."

 

    "Yes, but she didn't know he was going, and neither did we, really. He never said anything about it. He just followed her." She stopped and looked back at the house. "This is where the shield ends, isn't it?"

 

    "Yeah. Aisling, you don't mean to say you'd rather think you were alone than to spend time with me?" He whimpered and pouted. "Don't you love me, Aisling?"

 

    Aisling laughed. "No, I hate everyone." She began walking back to the cottage. "I thought you knew that."

 

 

 ☼

 

 

    Arietta soon grew bored with the drab adornments in Keiran's room. "He must not spend too much time in here," she noted, looking around at the empty walls and lack of furniture. "A bookshelf, a dresser, and a bed. I wonder if the other rooms look like this." She walked to the door and left the room, then went to the kitchen, where she saw Kael, Brighid, Nevan, and even Aisling sitting, playing some sort of card game. Uninterested, she went into the living room, where she found Keiran. She slipped silently out of the room, determined to investigate the rest of the house.

 

    She went back to the door into Keiran's room, then went in the room next to it. The first thing she noticed was the lack of a bed. There was a fold-out bed in the corner of the room, but it looked unused and there was no bed that seemed to belong in the room. The next thing she noticed was a beautiful hand-carved cherry desk, and on it, a collection of scrolls and quill pens. Arietta walked over to the desk, entranced, and picked up one of the pens. She felt the ebony feather gently and then placed it back with the others, attempting to make it seem as though no one had touched it. She walked to the closet and opened the door. There was an old blanket and a few capes in the closet, but nothing else. She placed her hand against the wall of the closet, and jumped when it fell backward. She blinked a few times to get used to the darkness, and squinted at what she supposed was the wall. Her eyes widened in awe as she realized that it was not a wall, but a coffin. "Nevan's room," she whispered. "He doesn't need a bed..." She tried to pick the coffin up and put it back in place, but could not do it. She sighed and left the closet, hoping Nevan would think it fell on its own and hoping that no one heard the sound it made when it fell. She left Nevan's room and went to the next room.

 

    This room was drabber than Keiran's. In fact, there was absolutely nothing in it, except for a bed with a few boxes under it, and what looked like a hole in the ground. As Arietta moved closer, she realized that it was, in fact a hole. She looked into it, and saw a miniature version of a bedroom, excluding a bed. The room looked approximately the right size for a person about one foot tall. Not even Arietta, when she wanted to look younger, would be able to walk comfortably in that pit. There was a bookshelf with the tiniest books Arietta had ever seen, and a rug on the ground. Arietta wanted to reach down and pick up one of the books, but she resisted and left the room before she could cause any damage to this room as she had with Nevan's. "It must have been Kael's room...but what is he?"

 

    She walked across the hall and opened the door. She was greeted by a variety of smells, the most overwhelming of which was the smell of smoke. She held back a cough s she closed the door. In the corner, there sat a table. On it was what looked like an altar. Arietta shuddered. "Witches..." she mumbled, looking away. Her eyes settled upon the bed, an enormous canopy covered in stuffed animals and dolls. She walked to it, and touched the sheets, which were made of a fine silk. Arietta vaguely wondered how Brighid had obtained the silk, but was too preoccupied by the scent to wonder for long. The walls were covered with what looked like various spells. "Not a very good witch. I guess she has these here as reminders." The smell became too overwhelming, and Arietta left the room to avoid having a coughing fit.

 

    The last room, directly beside Brighid's, was Aisling's. Arietta expected it to look like she herself would make her room, because Aisling was, after all, from Chaykeely. As she stepped in, however, she realized that she was wrong. Aisling had no bed; instead there was a mat on the floor. Nothing in the room reminded Arietta of Chaykeely. There was no greenery around. Aisling didn't even have a window. Arietta questioningly walked to the closet and opened it. There were clothes on hangers, but nothing else. "She doesn't even have any books?" Then she realized something. Arietta looked through the clothes and found what she was looking for. "Ah, here..." She touched the wall, as she had in Nevan's room, and a doorway opened. A larger room was beyond this door. She stepped in and heard birds chirping. What was contained in this gigantic room was a large garden, filled with fragrant plants and birds. In fact, the room was more like a forest. Arietta smiled to herself. "Thought so..." She began to walk through the forest, but a bird spoke to her.

 

    "Do not come further. Aisling will find out."

 

    Arietta looked up at the bird. "I do not fear Aisling."

 

    "It is not a matter of fear, Princess. This is Aisling's room. It is her private sanctuary. Please do not invade her privacy."

 

    Arietta smiled softly and nodded. "I understand. You will not tell her I came here?"

 

    The bird flew down and landed on Arietta's shoulder. "Of course I won't."

 

    Arietta laughed and held out her hand. The bird climbed on her finger, and she kissed it lightly. "Thank you. I'll go now."

 

    "Goodbye, Princess!" The chorus of birds called.

 

    "Goodbye."

 

    She closed the door to the forest and the closet door, then also left Aisling's room. As she was walking back to Keiran's room she was confronted by Brighid.

 

    "Arietta--er, Princess?" Brighid was watching her, staring at Arietta's hand. "That ring...why is it flashing?"

 

    "What?" Arietta also looked at her ring and gasped. "Only he knows how to use it...Devlan...he must be alive..."

 

    Aisling now poked her head through the doorway to the kitchen. "He is? How is that possible?"

 

    Arietta shook her head, ignoring the fact that Aisling had been eavesdropping. "I don't know." She frowned. "He's trying to contact me."

 

    "Is it wise for you to respond?" Brighid asked worriedly.

 

    "No." Arietta took off her ring and placed it in her pocket. "It's probably a trick." she continued walking, but Aisling called out to her.

 

    "How can it be a trick? Only Devlan can use the other ring, so it must mean he's alive and trying to find you."

 

    Arietta shrugged. "I don't care anyway. If he's alive, good for him. It doesn't matter to me. I don't need to see him."

 

    Brighid watched Arietta and then spoke. "Might he be a traitor?"

 

    Arietta nodded. "That's why I think it's a trick. Someone must have given the witches the key into the faerie realm. Aisling doesn't know the current key, so she couldn't have done it." She walked on into the living room, where Keiran was reading.

 

    He put his book down and jerked upright upon seeing her. "What's wrong?" He asked worriedly, noting the distraught look on her face.

 

    "I think my fiancée is looking for me. But I think he's...well, on their side, really. I don't know what to do. This ring will eventually lead him to me, no matter what."

 

    "Can't we break it?" Keiran asked.

 

    "No...it's indestructible."

 

    "Can you get rid of it?"

 

    "How?" Arietta cocked her head to the side and stared at him.

 

    There was a short period of silence, and then Keiran grinned. "You can talk with the animals, right?"

 

    Arietta nodded slowly. "Yes..." It dawned on her and she grinned as well. "Yes!"