A Fairy-Tail Marriage

Chapter 2

The border area stretched for about a quarter of a mile and was determined by a river whose water always ran clear. Except when the blood ran in it. This quarter of a mile was considered neutral territory by both the werewolves and the fairies, so both would visit the river to fish, swim, and have fun, each on their own side of the river. The area was beautiful, a nature lover’s paradise with its various species of trees, birds, and other animals.

Braxton remembered coming here as a child. Back then, the werewolves and fairies had got along. On the last camping trip his family had taken before his father died, Braxton and his siblings had played with the fairy children who were also camping at the river. The fairies had shown them their magic, and the werewolf siblings had shifted and let the fairies ride on their backs. They’d had so much fun playing together.

He shook his head as he shifted into his human form. Memories were only that. He couldn’t bring the past into the present no matter how much he wished for it. Better to face the problems at hand.

Blake shifted next to him and brushed himself off with his hands. Werewolves always traveled in wolf form; horses were too skittish around them so were raised only for racing and meat. “Seems pretty peaceful,” he observed. “Let’s get dressed. The fairies are not as comfortable with our nudity as we are.”

“They used to be,” Braxton murmured as he stood proudly, hands on his hips, watching the slow movement of the water as it flowed.

Blake looked at the nostalgic look on his friend’s face and nodded. “Yes, I remember. Simpler times.”

Braxton looked at him, a grin splitting his face. “We sound like old men, not two men nearing thirty.” He shook his head and chuckled, repeating, “Simpler times.”

With a friendly slap on the back, Blake replied, “That’s what happens as you get older. Your past suddenly looks brighter and more promising than your present.”

“Not always,” Braxton answered as he watched a clothed werewolf, a man who lived here, approach them. “Good morning, sir.”

The man bowed slightly, something Braxton hated but had been told to leave alone. “Good morning, King. We are happy that you are here to help us.”

“Are you the leader of this clan?” Braxton asked. He also wasn’t supposed to let the common people use his first name, another part of this whole king business he didn’t like. He felt it separated him from the others, which was actually the idea. But he had drawn the line at ridiculous titles such as Your Highness. Word had spread, even out here, that he preferred just King.

“I am,” the man replied and held out his hand for a shake. “Jacob, sir.”

Braxton shook his hand and indicated Blake. “My second, Blake.” The pair shook hands, exchanging the necessary niceties.

“The fairy king and his retinue are also on the way, King. They should arrive in an hour or so,” Jacob told him.

Braxton arched a perfect eyebrow at Blake, who shrugged and said, “This is actually a good thing, Braxton. Perhaps the two of you can sit down and have a calm discussion about how to end the violence between our people.”

“I like that idea,” Braxton murmured. A servant stepped forward and handed Braxton and Blake bundles of clothes. They began to dress, and Braxton spoke to Jacob, “Where is the family of the werewolf who was killed?”

“The tavern, I’m sure, sir. He had a wife but no children, although she is pregnant, sir.”

Braxton frowned. The widow was left alone with a baby on the way. He glanced at Blake, who understood the look instantly. The king would provide for the woman and her child, possibly offer her a position at the castle should she wish to take it. Blake leaned close. “I’ll take care of her, sir.”

“Thank you, Blake.” His clothes on and adjusted for comfort, he spoke to Jacob again. “I’d like to meet her.”

“Of course, King. Right this way.” Jacob led them towards a nearly invisible path that led through the woods that surrounded the village. Not one hundred yards inside the forest, and completely hidden unless one walked along the particular path, was the village this clan had built.

Small but clean, the village had perhaps ten little cabins, all sturdily built, and the tavern, a lovely little building that could hold every member of the clan and another dozen visitors as well. Everything was made from wood carefully culled from the forest around them. A handful of young werewolves scampered around in their wolf forms, growling and nipping at each other playfully, but they froze when Braxton and Blake, who had traveled with only a handful of others, stepped into the clearing.

A woman, one of their mothers, Braxton presumed, waved her hands at them and told them to go play elsewhere. Braxton waved to them as they ran away, barking gleefully. The woman watched him enter the tavern, and slowly, she followed, along with several others from the village.

Inside, the tavern was charmingly decorated with taxidermy made from all sorts of woodland creatures, even a few Braxton didn’t recognize right away. Strange animals must live in this part of the kingdom, he mused. Everything inside was also made of wood, and the place was much cleaner than one would expect.

Braxton spied the widow immediately. She sat in a rocking chair, also wooden, her belly protruding and almost resting on her lap. She was near her time. Her hands rested on her belly, and though her eyes spoke a sadness Braxton could not relate to, she seemed content. He walked to her and knelt, laying his hand gently on the arm of the chair.

She smiled at him and put her hand on his. “Thank you for coming, King. I’m Laih.”

“Laih, it’s a pleasure, although the circumstances are not.” Braxton spoke to her in a quiet voice, following the usual custom of speaking quietly to a grieving person.

“But you’re going to fix that, aren’t you?” she asked quietly, her eyes calm though strong. “The violence has to end. My child will grow up without a father, and there are two fairies whose families must continue on without them as well. It has to end!”

Surprised by both her empathy towards the fairies as well as her fierceness, he squeezed her hand. “The fairy king is on his way here. I plan to work with him until this situation is handled.”

Laih sighed in relief. “I hope so.”

“Laih, I know you’ve been left on your own here. I would like to offer you a position at the castle, where you and your child will be well cared for. You can work there, live there.”

Laih laughed, a tinkle of a sound that was both charming though a little grating at the same time. If she took a position at the castle, he would make sure it was not serving him. “What a wonderful offer, King. But I’m not alone here.” She gestured at the clan members around them. “I’m well taken care of, as will be my child. But thank you so much for the offer.”

Braxton smiled, rose, and looked around at the clan members. Werewolves were known for being fiercely protective of their own. No one in the clan suffered if the others had plenty. Braxton addressed the group. “The violence will end, I promise. The fairy king and I will find a way.”