A Fairy-Tail Marriage

Chapter 3

The crowd around the pair of kings had grown. Fairies, who had been watching safely from the other side of the river, flew across for a closer view of what proved to be a very entertaining fight. The werewolves also gathered around, and each kind cheered on his king.

The cacophony of noise rose to a level that was almost painful to Althea’s ears. The screams of the spectators and the growls and howls of the opponents were deafening. She cringed when the werewolf took the first swipe, though her father’s lion reflexes saved him from a nasty injury just in time.

The pair circled each other, her father roaring his anger while the werewolf barked in return. After two complete circles, the lion seemed to lose patience with the tiptoeing around and leapt at the werewolf, tackling him to the ground. Cheers from the fairies escalated as their king pinned the werewolf with his great paws and snapped at his throat. The werewolf held him at bay with his own powerful paws, snarling. After a few seconds, the werewolf managed to dislodge the lion from his place on top of him, throwing him to the side and launching himself to his feet. Before the lion could prepare, the werewolf jumped on him, and a wrestling match in the dirt ensued.

The dust clouds prevented anyone from seeing much, and when they rose together out of the dirt, both were bloody, though none of the injuries were deadly or even that concerning. They began their circling of each other again.

Althea frowned. The fight, which had already lasted the better part of five minutes, was not escalating past snarls, barks, and a few swipes of the claws. “Mother, they aren’t really hurting each other.” She glanced at her mother, whose eyes were narrowed as she watched the pair.

“Yes. It’s almost as if they planned this show of manliness for show,” Mariah mused, but she shook her head. “But I know your father hasn’t spoken to the werewolf king before we came here today.”

“Are you sure? Maybe he spoke with him secretly, through secret messengers or something.” Althea’s was speaking to her mother, but her eyes had returned to the pair. The lion slapped the werewolf’s chest, drawing blood. The werewolf howled and jumped on the lion, dragging his claws down the lion’s flank, adding to the list of injuries for both.

Mariah stood. “This is absurd. Neither are trying to hurt the other, but pain causes anger, and anger becomes fury. And then we’ll have a real fight on our hands.” She looked at Althea. “Stay here. Do not come down there. When you see your father and I leave, fly to the other side of the river and meet us there.”

Althea nodded. Her mother, unlike her father, covered loopholes when telling her what to do. So she waited in the tree as her mother flew down into the crowd and magically grew to the height of a human woman.

Mariah waited for a break in the fight, when the two separated and left a space between them. At the right moment, she stepped out of the crowd when a separation of about five feet occurred. Just as the two were about to attack again, she threw up her arm, creating an invisible divider between the two. Both lion and werewolf slammed into the barrier and fell backwards onto the ground. The lion shook his head to clear it, and the werewolf looked around, confused. Both looked at the lovely woman between them.

“Enough of this.” Mariah’s voice held the authority of a queen. “Nothing is being solved with your petty little battle. You are not behaving as kings, but as little boys who want to play with the same toy.”

The lion and the werewolf looked duly chastised. Tristan returned to his fairy form. “You are right, my dear. This isn’t solving anything.” He looked at Braxton as he too shifted into human form. “Braxton, I apologize. This is not the way to handle our disagreements.”

Surprised by the quick apology, Braxton nodded his head. “I’m sorry, too. We should know better. Your wife should not have to chastise us like we’re children.” Braxton wiped his face with his hand, wincing as the marks on his chest pulled. “Madam, I am sorry.”

Mariah smiled at him. “Please, King Braxton. Men are men.” Her simple explanation elicited nods from the women, fairy and werewolf alike, in the crowd. One even called out, “Hear, hear, my lady!” Several in the crowd laughed.

Braxton and Tristan looked at each other, then stepped forward and shook hands. Tristan said, “I think we should tend to our wounds separately, let our tempers and our egos cool, and speak in the morning.”

“I agree, Tristan. Please accept my apology for my behavior,” Braxton repeated.

“The same, sir,” Tristan replied. “Would nine be early enough for you?”

“Nine is perfect,” Braxton replied. He glanced over the river. “Do you and your wife have somewhere to stay? Other than tents, I mean.”

“According to my wife, there is a lovely inn just beyond those trees. We’ll stay there.”

“Have a good evening then,” Braxton said with a bow of his head.

“Good evening,” Tristan replied, returning the bow.

Braxton watched as the queen took her husband’s hand and halted him. The couple looked into each other’s eyes, and Braxton wondered if they were speaking telepathically to each other. He had no idea if the fairies could do that.

The queen looked at him. “King, I have the ability to heal your wounds, if you’d like. I’ll be healing my husband’s. It’s only fair that I offer.”

Braxton smiled at her. “Madam, thank you, but I will shift into wolf form again and will be healed by morning.” A couple of the werewolves gasped; he’d revealed a secret they thought the fairies were unaware of. Braxton shushed them with, “The fairies know that little trick of ours, friends.”

Mariah tittered. “Yes, we’ve known about that for centuries.”

“Queen Mariah, your kindness is exactly what we need to end all this nonsense,” Braxton said. He looked at Tristan. “You’re a very lucky man to have such a wife.”

Tristan smiled at him. “Thank you. She’s my rock, I’ll admit.” He turned to his wife. “Let’s go.”

“Good bye, Braxton,” Mariah called as she and her husband shrank and flew across the river.

When they were out of earshot, Tristan asked, “Where is Althea?”

“She was with me in the trees behind the clearing. We watched the fight. Were the two of you trying not to hurt each other badly? It looked like you were just putting on a show for your peoples.”

“What gave you that idea?” he asked as they landed gingerly in front of the inn.

Althea rushed to them. “Father, are you all right?”

“I will be once your mother heals these cuts,” Tristan grunted. “Let’s go inside.”

Mariah let Althea lead her father inside. A smirk appeared on her face. Tristan had avoided her question about the fight being a just a show, which told her she was right in her assumption. She recalled the conversation they had shared with Braxton, and his comment about Tristan being a lucky man to have such a wife. An idea was forming in her head.

“Mariah!” Tristan bellowed from the doorway when he realized she wasn’t behind them. She hurried to follow them inside, the smirk still on her lips.