Sprite

The early winter snow didn’t last. In less than a week, most of it had melted with the return of fall-like temperatures, leaving only the snapped, leaf-laden branches as a reminder of the damage the storm had caused. Another side effect was that the forest was no longer likely to go up in smoke at the least touch of a spark. Added to that the fact that Avery had returned to Datro with the bulk of his men, and with true winter not too far off, the changelings could breathe easier for the next several months.

If Neistah and Valin’s little talk with Avery had anything to do with it, it would be longer than just a few months. Time would tell. In the meantime, the Hanan estate became the unofficial center for changeling activity in the area. Will and Pup both used it as their base, sending out patrols to the various changeling villages which still, for the most part, preferred to keep their locations secret even from the well-meaning Hanan family. Not that anyone blamed them. The truth of the matter was that even the Hanan estate could not sustain all of the mutants.

Anais had accompanied Norah as far as the mortal side of the gate Norah’s blood had made. The gate no longer seethed with raw energy, and a single red blossom poked out of the snow, marking the gate for those with eyes to see. She kissed Norah’s brow and stepped back into the shimmer. “I must remain here,” she murmured regretfully. “Lara will go with you.”

Lara, still dressed in her curious mix of ancient wooden armor and flowing silk, took Norah’s elbow and steered her back down the muddy trail to where Will stubbornly waited by Leane’s pond. Leane sat with him, wrapped in one of Miriam’s blankets. She stood quickly when Lara and Norah approached. ‘The lady?’ she asked.

‘She holds the land,’ Lara replied obliquely.

Will looked up as Norah approached. “Are you all right?” he asked, scrambling to his feet. “They said you were, but—I’m glad you came back.”

“What were you thinking?” Norah shook her finger at Will. “You could have frozen to death!”

Will smiled at Norah’s indignation. They both knew he wouldn’t freeze. “Sorry,” he mumbled uncontritely.

“Well, let’s go in. Roselle must be worried sick.”

Will had the grace to flush.

Norah caught Leane’s eye. “You shouldn’t have waited for me.” She walked on past Will towards the house. Roselle stood silhouetted in the front door for a moment before she went inside, closing the door behind her. By the time Norah got inside, Roselle had gone.

Lara followed her inside. ‘You’re not going back?’ Norah asked. She hadn’t really thought about it, but Lara did not seem as if she would be comfortable among mortals.

‘I’m not,’ Lara replied, leaving Norah to wonder which thought Lara had addressed.

Leane, who came in behind them both, but without Will, laughed softly. ’She is not here for a mortal. ’ She locked gazes with Lara. ‘Am I right?’

Lara inclined her head, smiling softly.

With the mild weather Leane’s pond thawed enough so that she and the newest sprite, Lara, could swim once again. Miriam often came to watch them, though she chased away the few changeling boys who remained to guard the house. They only cared about catching a glimpse of the unclothed sprites before they slipped under the water.

Norah swam too, but having grown up in the mortal world, she was very careful to slip off her faerie gown at the last possible moment before stepping into the frigid water. The cold didn’t bother any of the sprites and they cavorted together under the deceptively still surface of the pond, occasionally appearing in a brief blur, much to the delight of the watchers. Little Jenny was so fascinated that her mother had a hard time making her leave before the sprites emerged from the pond, which sometimes wasn’t for hours. Roselle sat on the porch, as fascinated as the rest, though she avoided Norah’s eyes when Norah passed by.

Will had gone on patrol shortly after Norah’s return. Norah suspected Leane had something to do with it. It was surprising, considering how Leane had stalked Will mercilessly before she found out about Roselle’s pregnancy. The green-haired sprite woman had undergone a complete turnaround, even leaving the other changeling boys alone, although Norah wasn’t sure how long that reprieve would last, Leane being what she was.

One crisp, autumn morning Leane carried Jenny on her hip down to the pond, gently untangling the little girl’s hand from her hair. “When summer comes, I’ll teach you how to swim,” she promised the child, earning a startled look from Miriam. Leane smiled a little too sharply, and Miriam looked away. It was a stark reminder that the sprites were not human, and could not be expected to think or act as a human would. Leane laughed softly, catching the thought, and melted into the water.

Lara, who except for swimming wore her curious wooden armor all the time, was bare now, covered in shimmery soft brown hair that reminded Norah a little of Pup’s downy fur. Or Will’s. Lara walked arm in arm with Norah down the wide porch steps to the pond. Norah glanced at Roselle who sat on the porch with a blanket across her knees, staring at them as they made their way across the lawn to the pond. When she waved her arm, Roselle turned her head, suddenly deep in conversation with one or another of the changeling girls who sat with her.

With a sigh, Norah sank beneath the surface of the pond. Once beneath the water, she forgot her troubles and let the water transport her, at least in mind, far, far away. She only wished the pond were bigger. A disturbance on the surface interrupted her thoughts.

X x X x X x X x X x X

Neistah and Valin followed Avery’s men at a distance almost all the way back to the city.

‘I don’t trust him,’ Neistah remarked silently. ‘He knows what we are, and he knows Norah is one of ours. I thought the knowledge would change his perceptions.’

‘It has,’ Valin replied darkly. ‘But maybe not in the way you’d hoped. We will have to wait and see.’

‘It’s still not too late.’ They were on the outskirts of Datro. Open fields dotted the approaches, and the snow of a few days ago had already shrunk down so that muddy brown earth outlined each farmer’s field. No people were about, however, except the weary hunters who trudged through what was left of the snow towards the city gates. ‘We can kill them all now, before they reach the city.’

Valin put a hand on Neistah’s arm. ‘They’ll blame the changelings,’ he sent softly.

Neistah realized he was right.

‘We can go home,’ Valin continued. ‘Leave this world to the mortals.’ He glanced at Neistah out of the corner of his eye. ‘Is that what you want to do?’

No. ‘No.’ Neistah sent back. He did not want to give up this mortal world with all its interesting problems. What would he do in faerie?

‘This world is a reflection of our own,’ Valin sent. He turned back towards the forest, and Neistah fell into step beside him. ‘A poor reflection, but nevertheless, what one stirs up in one place eventually will be felt in the other. We have to see this through.’

Neistah looked up sharply, prepared to be angry at his father for blaming Neistah once again for all their troubles, but Valin wasn’t blaming him, not this time.

By the time they reached Hanan’s place, bypassing the distasteful metal fencing by climbing over tree trunks that had fallen against it, most of the snow was gone. Autumn had returned in full glory, and Neistah intended to make full use of the limited thaw to swim in Leane’s pond. He and Valin had regretfully passed their twin mirror ponds which were no longer sealed in ice, in favor of hurrying back to check on Norah and the others.

Neistah sprinted the last few yards past his father and dove head first into the still-as-glass pond. He wasn’t surprised to find Leane and Norah already there ahead of him. As a third sleek body hurtled through the dark water to greet him, Neistah stilled, astonishment sending little bubbles to the surface. ‘Lara?’

She twined herself about him without actually touching, but her joy was evident. Norah and Leane quietly arrowed to the farthest end of the pond to give them some privacy, amusement coloring their thoughts.

Neistah didn’t hesitate. He reached out on one of Lara’s tight turns and pulled her to him, fastening his lips to hers as their bodies melded. Lara was not adventurous, Lara rarely ventured away from Anais’ green pond, preferring to wait patiently until Neistah came back to her. Neistah felt a surge of protective anxiety. The mortal world was not safe. Lara was vulnerable to its iron, to its unpredictable inhabitants. She could be hurt in this place. ‘Why are you here?’ he asked, without breaking from their kiss. He didn’t think he could let go just yet.

‘Because you are,’ Lara replied. ‘Did you think I would wait forever?’

Neistah pulled back to look at her blankly. She giggled, sending up a stream of bubbles, and twisted away from him, fleeing across the pond. Neistah hesitated, then surged after her, with indulgent laughter from Leane and Norah—Norah!—echoing in his brain.

X x X x X x X x X

Norah prudently climbed out of the pond, stooping to slip her faerie gown back on. Her skin rippled in the cold air. She squeezed water out of her hair as she walked up towards the house. Miriam had gone back inside long ago, but Jenny remained at the bottom of the steps, the closest her mother would allow her to go without supervision. Roselle and the other girls sat, as they did every afternoon, wrapped in comfortable blankets, knitting as Miriam had taught them.

“Norah!” Jenny bounced down the last step and flung herself at Norah’s legs. This was a new development. Apparently Jenny considered Norah one of the sprites now, and not the sister who was in competition for their mother’s affection. The fact that they both had red hair had cemented Jenny’s friendship. Jenny, just like all the humans, wanted to be a sprite, too.

“Hey, JenJen.” Norah smiled down at her little sister. She would take what she could get. Both Leane and her mother told her not to be foolish, that Jenny was just a little girl, but it had bothered her that her own sister had avoided her up until now. They walked together up the last few steps to the wide porch.

“Valin’s back,” Lou told her. “He went inside to find Jim while you were swimming.”

Norah nodded, glancing briefly at Roselle, who pointedly avoided looking at her. This was ridiculous. Norah hadn’t done anything. If it was anybody’s fault, it was Will’s. “Roselle, can I talk to you? Please?”

The other girl turned reluctantly to face Norah. “What?”

“Inside. In our room.” She glanced down at Jenny. “JenJen, go wait for Leane. She should be coming in a minute.” The little girl let go of her hand and bounced happily back to the bottom step, her watchpost.

Norah, Leane and Roselle still shared Norah’s old bedroom, and now Lara stayed with them as well. Because it was so crowded, they rarely were in the room at the same time except to sleep. Roselle had commandeered the little bed which used to be Leane’s, leaving the big bed for the three sprites. It made sense. Roselle’s growing pregnancy made it uncomfortable for her to be sleeping in such close proximity to other people, and the sprites didn’t seem to mind sharing.

Roselle was just beginning to show, a little bump that could have been from overeating, but it wasn’t. “Do you feel well?” Norah asked, when they were alone.

Roselle flounced onto her small cot, and snapped, “I’m not ill. I feel fine.”

“Are you mad at me?” Norah knelt on the floor beside Roselle and rested her arms on Roselle’s knees, peering up anxiously into her friend’s face. “You never talk to me anymore. I miss the way we used to be. Is it because of Will? I swear, I have no interest in Will at all. You know I would never do that to you.” Norah hoped she was telling the truth.

“Will?” Roselle laughed. “Will’s a man—and an idiot, and no I don’t blame you.” She hugged her knees to her chest, dislodging Norah’s arms in the process. “I understand about the attraction you sprites put out—he can’t help it any more than you can. I get that. Once the baby is born, things will be—different.”

“Then what is it? Why are you avoiding me?” Norah pried Roselle’s hands from around her knees and held them in her own.

Roselle stared at her without speaking. Finally, she said, “You’re one of them now. I look at you and you’re beautiful just like they are. You spend all your time with Leane and Lara, you only want to swim. I’m just a stupid human girl. Why would you want to spend time with me?”

Norah sat back on her heels, stunned. “What?” she asked weakly. “Roselle, you’re my best friend! How could you think that I’d replaced you?”

“But you have, haven’t you?” Roselle smiled sadly. “It’s inevitable. I’m going to be a mother, you’re going to leave this place. Life goes on. Will is going to have a hard time once you’re all gone. But I’ll be there for him, me and our child.”

Norah blinked back tears. “I didn’t say I would go,” she protested, squashing down the memory of what she’d said to Breyan. Roselle was partly right. She wanted to go back to faerie, but how could she leave Roselle, and her mother, and all the rest of the people she loved? Breyan had been right, too. She’d had to come back, if only to figure out where she belonged.

Roselle leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “Let’s not talk about it anymore,” she said. “I’ll stop being such a baby and we can be friends like we were before, all right?”

Norah gulped, and tried to smile. “All right. Roselle, I’m sorry—I never meant to hurt you.”

“I know. Things are changing so fast for all of us. Sometimes it’s scary.”

“Yeah,” Norah agreed. She climbed onto the little cot next to Roselle, still lightly holding Roselle’s hand.

“Move over, your hair’s still wet,” Roselle said, closing her eyes, a faint smile on her lips. But she made no attempt to move herself.