Shadows and Stealth
DAPHNE
It is evening now, and the moons rise in the sky, frosting the Hidden Forest with an ethereal glow that shimmers of opalescence and magic as the deep purple of the sky pushes the blue over the sun into rest. The banquet shall begin when the moons rise to their highest point which, according to Klesque, means we only have hours before I will address the court.
As Klyesque and I sneak out the back of the giant elm palace, dodging Starla who we can still hear scouring the stairwell in search of us, Aquini's words once again find me in the midst of my troubled thoughts.
'Gather your armies and take seat upon your throne. Only then will your ascension be complete.'
I had thought she meant the throne here in the Hidden Kingdom, but perhaps such was not the case.
When my magic awakened when I first arrived, when my back had ceased its burn and I sat panting on the throne along the dais, the book raised itself, leaving my cloak pocket and fluttering before me as if it was caught in the wind. And then, within a whisper's embrace, I felt a presence hug me, right before the book floated behind the throne to embed itself to the back of the elm seat. It became part of the headrest. Melting from pages to wood in half a heartbeat.
The act left me confused and a bit sad, honestly. But, according to Magda, the Hidden Throne is where the book resides and my magic is hers and hers is mine. Meaning everything she could do, I will do soon enough. For the book is a conduit. A link to the queens of old. The forbearers of this mighty realm. And the only one that can remove it, the only one that calls its power now... is me.
Still... what I wouldn't give for a bit of its insight at this moment.
I have yet to try to cloak myself without the book in my hands and now I wonder, should I try?
"Where do you think they've gone?" I whisper as we creep behind the stables, where the lantern lights are low and visibility is shadowed.
The only horses kept on ties seem to be the three that Ash and his brigade rode in on. The beasts of Fury Rekyr. All the rest roam free in the grazing lands behind the Dracuum's oak, where a bubble brook can be heard over the cacophony of the feast preparations.
The shadow steed are among them, and it is the oddest thing, but when I picture them, Trielle and Delago, I can see them in my mind's eye, as they drink and pick from the fruit of the orchard. Happier than they have been in years.
And I know, all I need do, is reach for them within my heart and they will answer me.
This being a faerie business is a lot more than I ever imagined it might be. All the power... all the connection... it nearly overwhelms me at moments.
"They did not retrieve their mounts," Klyesque murmurs, her eyes scanning the landscape scrupulously. "But chances are they intend to leave them anyway. They would travel much more stealthily without." She eyes the pathway that leads toward the gate and says, "Ash knows you will feel his pulse when he exits, so I don't believe they intend to leave just yet. No... knowing him, he'll wait until he has you sated and rested. He knows that your people, the Hidden Fae, no matter where they are about the realms will have felt your magic's return. They will know you reside here. That you are home. And all that were loyal to your mother, all that are loyal to you are likely headed here right now. So, he will wait until you least suspect and he will leave when other's cross to give himself a head start."
"Of course," I growl out, walking with quick steps inside of the stables and gesturing for Klyesque to follow me. "That is precisely what he means to do. Disguise himself within another's footsteps."
Klyesque smiles, cocking an eyebrow as I nibble my lip, deep in thought. "What are you concocting in the beautiful little brain of yours?" she asks.
Holding up one hand, I bid her grant me one moment's respite and I focus. Closing my eyes I remember what it felt like to touch the book, to hold her, to be her... And then I imagine I am a ghost, just an entity, just a breeze. I want to be cloaked. Invisible.
Hidden.
"Daphne..." I hear Klyesque's voice and I try to imagine she looks through me, beyond me, but what she says next has me stomping my feet in frustration. "If you wish to nap, I'm sure you'd be much more comfortable in your rooms."
Damn.
My eyes pop open and I groan, "I was trying to cloak myself."
She snickers. "Ahhh... Well, you didn't."
"You are thinking too hard, young one," Magda's voice sounds as a whisper of leaves flutters in a circle and she appears before us in a shimmer of green sparkles. "You are honing into the wrong things."
"Well then what are the right things?" I hiss, upset.
She smiles, and I notice for the first time her dirty brown robes have been replaced with shrouds of dark green silks and her hair has been washed and braided to rest over her shoulder toward the ground. "Nature. Necessity. Emotion. UYou simply have to want for it and it shall be. Instead of thinking on what you want your body to look like, think about why you are trying to do it and the emotion pushing you toward that task. Think of the why... not the what. Try again," she whispers, whacking my feet with her staff.
I swallow a curse and do as she says. This time, I don't even close my eyes, I simply want to be unseen. I want to sneak about without the notice of people... I want to catch Ash and my so-called Captain of the Queensguard redhanded. I want to-
"There!" Klyesque exclaims. "Daphne! You've done it!"
I look toward my hand, eyes closed, and behind my lids I see the world in phantom. "Yes," I say. "I believe I have."