The trailer wasn't as bad as Reece thought it might be. Being mentioned in the same sentence as the halter made it seem like the worst thing ever but they were moving fast, faster than Wefios had ever moved and faster than they had ever seen anyone move ever in the world. The girl constantly turned back to look at the thing that Wefios was riding in and to send messages to him asking if he was alright and smiling at him and waving even though he told her repeatedly that he couldn't see her. Whatever free time she had between those things was spent looking at the landscape that was speeding to the side and marveling at the buildings and not-trees and other things that were on the side. Their guide had begun by saying what certain things were but now he only responded to her questions with a grunt or a mutter of the name and nothing more.
It wasn't a long ride but at the same time it took forever because Wefios was back there alone and she wasn't moving and the thing they were riding didn't want to talk at all and the first time she had tried to play bubbles because she was so bored the fairy-man had yelled at her to knock it off and couldn't she just sit and be quiet until they got there. Wherever there was. The girl slumped down in her seat and looked at the man talking to the thing they were riding and then outside the windows again because the scenery was changing. Bigger buildings! Bigger everything! There were more of the things like the one they rode on except they were smaller and different colors and faster. They circled their animal like they were being bracketed and that thought made her nervous as anything because she didn't trust the man that had grown so quiet and mumblely in another language about things she had no idea about except sometimes she heard the word Versailles which made her worry more. They had to find their way home from somewhere there and she had no idea where they were except the pendant around her neck seemed to be getting warmer the closer they got to the big city and the feeling that she was going to be home soon was getting stronger and stronger.
When at last they finally stopped the man looked at her and then got off the thing he was riding. He walked around the front and let her out and she bounced out with pleasure that she could move again and not be punished for twitching too much or trying to stand in the cramped belly of the monster. Then the man was at the back of the thing that Wefios was stuck in and opened the door and the mule tore out almost as fast as Reece had and she ran to him to give him a big hug because it was almost dark and they had started when it was just getting light outside and that was the longest she'd ever been away from him in forever. He accepted a single hug before he too began to move around and stamp and eye the man-fairy with disdain. That was not what he felt like when he was ridden he was certain. He bore this look for some time before he looked away at a nearby castle and began to speak for the first time in a long time.
“That's where you're supposed to go. Guards at the front. Tourists everywhere. And certainly no mules allowed inside. We'll have to find some way to get you in, some... distraction. A pity you've no invisibility, but we'll have to make due without I suppose. Once you get in you'll have to run like you've never run before to get to wherever the portal is. The humans will try to stop you but if you can get through none of that matters.”
Reece's mind whirled with how they could get in and with happiness that they would finally be able to run somewhere. No more walking, no more pretending to be something they weren't. Except her wings were still hidden by a stupid shirt the man had made her wear that wasn't a natural shirt at all. Her wings hurt and she wanted to run now but the fairy-man was already walking forward and she had to follow the stupid fairy-man. They reached the gates and he said something in that other language to him and the guard laughed a little and waved him forward. The guard frowned at the mule and snapped something at the back of the fairy that made him turn around and shrug. The two argued back and forth before the fairy stomped back to Reece and Wefios. With an unhappy shrug he pulled the halter, the hated thing, from beneath his coat and approached Wefios. Both mule and fairy reacted unhappily – one reached to grab it while the other bared their teeth to bite at the stupid man. He slapped away one and ignored the other and whispered loudly for them to both knock it off and just trust him already. He fit the halter on with some difficulty and turned to glare at the guard who laughed and waved him inside the gate.
“What did you tell them?”
“Nevermind that, just keep walking.”
“Tell me! You told them something! You're trying to trick us! You're turning us in!”
“I told them he was for kids to ride. Does that make you feel better?”
It didn't. Not even a little bit. The thought of Wefios being used for a kids ride made her sick and made him more annoyed than ever at this fairy. It was better that they knew though, she wanted to know everything he said in that other language in case he tried to hand them over to someone else. The trio moved slowly toward the castle until they were in front of it and staring up at it. It was huge! How were they supposed to know where to go? As if in response the amulet brushed against her skin. It was so hot it was almost burning and had begun to glow and was not at all the pretty little necklace that she had been given at the start. As the two of them stared up at it the fairy-man went to the guards and began talking again in that funny language. Reece didn't even know that he had disappeared until he turned to her and yelled for her to go. She looked up at him and saw him in place of the man at the door somehow and giggled until she saw Wefios bolt past her into the palace. With a gasp she raced after him, mentally yelling directions to the mule. There were people in the way, a lot of people, but the pair ran around, into, and with them in a desperate attempt to get to where the amulet was pointing them. Up, it wanted them to go up! The two braked abruptly and scrambled up the stairs, racing down a corridor and through rooms that almost made Reece stop to stare at them. The only thing that kept her from stopping was the yells and shouts of those that followed them from room to room. Within one they saw themselves over and over and Reece was astonished to see a clear reflection of herself and even more astonished to see the amulet around her neck. It had become red, red-hot like fire and pulled toward a particular mirror. There, Wefios! The pursuit had not yet made it into this room yet. The two charged the mirror and leapt at it after the amulet. There was that sensation again, the void that twisted and turned and pulled at them but this time it was different. It was shorter. It was kinder. And rather than be thrown into a hot desert the pair was thrown back where they started. The omni wasn't there, but they were. None could have been more glad to be home even if the horrible halter had made the journey with them. |
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