Fay Tale - Chapter Twenty

Maidd shaded his eyes with a hand as he peered up into the tree. An acorn sailed through the branches, and he caught it easily with his free hand.

“You really do have a good arm, Lily.”

A tangle of golden curls popped out of the leaves and grinned at him.

“I’m a great thrower!”

“And you better keep throwing or we won’t gather enough acorns to appease the dreaded Sea Monster.”

“Noooooo! Don’t wanna get eaten!”

Maidd chuckled as the curls disappeared among the leaves only to jump as something brushed his leg.

“Scylla likes acorns now?” Bremen purred as he twined around the ogre’s large appendage.

“Don’t you have better things to do than scare ogre guardians?”

The feline merely mewed and Maidd was hit on the head with an acorn for his troubles. Muttering to himself the ogre turned his attention back to the tree and the acorns raining from it.

Bremen leapt up to the ogre’s shoulder, surprising him yet again.

“Why are you collecting mini trees?” the cat asked.

He peered into the basket at the ogre’s feet, which held the growing pile of acorns.

“Lily thought we could add it to the pile of tribute for Scylla.”

“If it’s not shiny she won’t like it.”

“Well, maybe we’ll think of something else. For now she’s climbing something that’s not hundreds of spans up in the air so I’m happy.”

“What a shame that I bring news that will upset your domestic bliss,” the cat purred. “Majesty would like to meet the two of you at the forest gate. Lily is going on an outing.”

Lily’s head popped out of the leaves again.

“I don’t want to do more counting. Counting with Grumps is boring.”

“No counting this time,” the cat promised. “Majesty wants to go visit the ponies.”

Lily shrieked with excitement, making Bremen’s ears twitch unhappily.

“Catch me Maidd!” she declared then flung herself out of the tree. Maidd caught her easily then swung her up onto his free shoulder.

“I bet Seris is glad he’s not the only one that has to catch her now,” Bremen said.

“I bet he won’t be when he sees the new heights she’s been jumping off of,” Maidd muttered.

“Maidd’s a good catcher!” Lily agreed as she patted the ogre’s cheek. “Wanna go see the ponies!”

“Not yet,” Bremen corrected. “You and your guardian have to be ritually clean for this visit.”

“What does this ritual cleansing entail?” the ogre asked suspiciously.

“Gotta take a bath and wear lotsa white!” Lily said. “Daddy says I look like a ghost!”

“You’re nearly as chatty as one,” Bremen agreed.

“Bremen talks lots too! Daddy says so!”

“Not as much as you do.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Don’t argue or you’ll both have to walk instead of riding the Guardian,” Maidd warned them.

Lily stuck out her tongue at the cat who responded in turn only to begin washing his paw when Maidd glared at him. The silence continued as far as the side entrance to the castle.

“We’ll be going on horseback,” Bremen informed the Guardian as they turned into the corridor which held the princess’s rooms. “Can you keep up with a horse?”

“Not if they’re galloping. Ogres aren’t the best sprinters.”

“The fastest Majesty will go is a trot and just until we reach the forest.”

“I can handle that.”

“I’ll let Majesty know we don’t need a cart.” He paused as Maidd opened the door to Lily’s room and carefully maneuvered his large body through the small opening. “And he wants to know if you’ve been practicing on your pony, Lily.”

The princess ducked her head unhappily.

“That’s what I told him. He’ll tie you to his horse again.”

“Can’t I just ride with Grumps?” she pleaded.

“Grumps says you have to learn how to ride on your own.”

“Daddy lets me ride with him!”

“Daddy coddles you too much.”

“Does not!”

“Does s-”

“Enough,” Maidd growled as he grabbed them and set them on the floor. “Lily go ahead and start your bath while I talk to Bremen.” The princess glared stubbornly up at the ogre. “If you’re late, the king will go see the ponies without us.”

She promptly dashed into the bathing room with a shriek of alarm. Bremen curled into a smug ball on the floor.

“And you. Don’t think I won’t step on you and apologize to the king later,” the ogre warned. “Now tell me more about this ritual cleansing.”

While Bremen chatted away, Maidd kept one ear on the child’s progress in the bathing room. He listened to the water fill up in the tub then stop about the time it would be full, but the lack of splashing made him frown at step toward the door.

“Lily are you in the tub?”

The door opened and a bare child stepped out.

“No.”

Maidd sighed. “Get in the tub please.”

“But I have something to tell you.”

“Wait until after your bath.”

“But Bremen’s not supposed to be in my room!”

Maidd glanced at the feline, expecting to see him indignant at the child’s latest insult, but found Bremen was already trotting toward the door with guilty speed.

“He isn’t? Why’s that?”

“Because Daddy gets madd.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised. You two seem to argue a lot. Now into the tub!”

Lily shut the door and moments later Maidd heard a loud splash. The ogre sighed then headed for the door where Bremen sat, straddling the threshold with an indignant expression.

“And you. Scoot.”

When he refused to move, Maidd carefully shut the door, scooting the feline the final few inches out of the room. Bremen yowled his displeasure then stalked down the hallway in search of an expensive tapestry on which to relieve his injured feelings.

~~~ 

Less than a candlemark later the Guardian and his royal charge were cleansed, dressed in all white garments, and standing in the courtyard next to the royal stables.

“Where’s Grumps? Are we late? Did they leave without us?” Lily wailed.

“Hold on let me ask,” the ogre soothed. He gingerly stepped into the stables and winced when the nearest horses turned to stare at him from their stalls. “Excuse me?”

“Coming Sir!” A stable-hand trotted down the aisle to help only to freeze when she saw the ogre.

“Has the king arrived yet?” Maidd asked politely.

“Y-yes he’s h-here.”

“Would you please tell him that Princess Liliana and her Guardian have arrived?”

She nodded then bolted back up the aisle as quick as she could without startling the horses. Maidd stepped back out of the stables with an inward sigh of relief.

“Don’t worry, Lily. They haven’t left yet.”

Lily let out a cheer.

“Wanna see ponies!” She paused. “Don't wanna ride to see the ponies.”

She gave Maidd her best sorrowful expression.

“Why don’t you like horses?”

“Because they don’t listen!”

“That is because you do not communicate to them in a way that insists you be obeyed,” the king said as he walked out of the stables leading two mounts.

The one at his right was a grey gelding. The other was a brown pony with a jagged blaze on his nose who tried to inch close enough to snap at Maidd. Anand tugged firmly on his head, and the pony snorted in disappointment.

The princess looked unhappily at her mount.

“Don’t wanna ride him.”

“You must practice, Liliana,” the king said firmly.

Slowly she dragged her feet towards the pony. An older stable hand gave her a boost into the stirrup, and she gingerly swung into the saddle. Maidd kept his distance while the stable hand tied the pony’s lead rope to the king’s saddle.

Anand mounted the gelding more easily then considered the ogre.

“I am given to understand that you will be able to keep pace on foot.”

“As long as you keep to anything under a gallop,” Maidd said with a slight nod.

“The distance is not far. Unless an emergency arises we will not be going anywhere with undue haste.”

“If I may ask, where is the rest of your guard?”

“They are unnecessary for an excursion into the king’s forest. Come Liliana.”

He waited until the princess gave a half-hearted nudge to her horse then set his own into a trot. It took the pony a moment to follow the gelding’s example, but by the time they reached the nearby gate, he was following placidly on his lead.

Maidd jogged along to their right, easily keeping pace. He kept an uneasy eye on the area around the group as they trotted out through the forest gate. The king might believe there was no reason to have extra guards, but Maidd knew most bad things happened exactly when they weren’t supposed to.

He inched closer to Lily’s pony, watching as the princess bumped painfully along. Just as he was certain she’d be bumped right off the back of her mount, the king slowed their pace to a walk. Anand observed the forest momentarily then glanced back at the rest of his party. His eyes narrowed at Lily’s slumped posture.

“Sit up, Liliana. You are not communicating properly with your mount.”

“But my butt hurts,” she whined.

“It would not hurt if you had practiced.”

She straightened reluctantly then stuck out her tongue the moment his back was turned. The king pretended not to notice.

As the road narrowed into the trees, Maidd inched a bit closer. The trees would provide plenty of hiding places for anyone who wished the royal family harm. As he crept closer the gelding’s ears pinned back and it gave a warning hop. Reluctantly Maidd backed away, unwilling to risk the gelding landing an accidental kick on Lily’s pony.

“There is no need for alarm,” Anand called back once he detected the source of his horse’s complaint. “We are safe within the forest.”

A loud snort came from one of the king’s saddlebags.

“Nothing may pass through the border of the forest without permission,” the king amended. “And it is unlikely for anyone of malicious intent to be granted such.”

Unlikely didn’t mean impossible and that didn’t make the ogre feel any better. Maidd sighed then stared as two brown ears suddenly poked out of the saddlebag ahead. They twitched in his direction then back toward the surrounding forest. Eventually Bremen’s whole head popped into view, and he mewed to gain the king’s attention.

“Here Majesty.”

The king brought the gelding to a halt, and Bremen hopped down onto the forest path.

“You will await our return?” Anand asked.

“Probably,” Bremen said with a shrug then causally sauntered into the undergrowth.

Anand nudged the gelding into a walk once more and the party continued deeper into the forest. When the trail branched, the king followed the left fork, which eventually ended in a large meadow. Maidd scrutinized the open space warily but found nothing obviously out of the ordinary. Anand continued to act unconcerned as he dismounted and tied the gelding and pony to nearby trees.

Lily was off the pony and climbing a tree in less time than it took her father to display fang. Maidd followed her progress from the ground while the king hobbled both horses then untied them from the trees and set them free to graze. His task finished he turned in time to see Lily leap from one oak to another across a distance few humans would dare.

“She is an excellent climber,” the king observed. “It is unfortunate she does not apply the same energy to learning horsemanship.”

“Don’t like horses, Grumps! I like trees!” Lily called from her current perch.

“She’s half-squirrel,” Maidd agreed.

“Lily is nutty!” the princess shouted, and her guardian laughed.

“Liliana come down. We must not keep the ponies waiting,” the king reprimanded.

“Okay! Maidd catch!”

She jumped and Maidd swung her down to the ground in a move that was fast becoming second nature. Then a flash of red caught the corner of his eye, and he whirled just as two massive creatures shouldered their way through the trees on the other side of the clearing. His first impression was that of a horse. If horses had scales, two horns, and coats the color of freshly spilled human blood.

“There is no need for alarm,” the king said quietly before the ogre could grab his charge and flee into the forest. “They will do no harm to any of our party if you refrain from threatening them.”

Maidd looked at the approaching beasts, nearly identical in height that matched his own, each several hundred pounds heavier, and slowly picked up his princess. Just in case.

Both creatures stopped at the small brook, which cut the meadow precisely in two.

“Mortal King!” one declared in a deep, brassy voice. “What reason have you to seek our Herd?”

“I come bearing gifts to your Herd and its Lord,” Anand replied. “I bring Liliana, Princess of Eirendyr, and her Guardian, the ogre Maidd.”

“Unacceptable! This Guardian is not known to us!”  the second said, stomping an enormous hoof in displeasure.

Anand turned his gaze to the second creature.

“He is to myself and the princess,” was his mild reply.

“Mortals are easily deceived! Full of weakness and corruption!”

“The Lady Aisha also speaks for him.”

The creature hesitated and its twin took advantage of the pause to step across the brook and approach the group. It headed straight for the ogre, stopping mere fingerspans away and regarded him with one black eye.

Maidd sensed more than felt magic travel through the creature’s gaze, and only the king’s meaningful clearing of throat kept him from pulling away. After a long moment, the great red head swung away to regard its companion.

“He holds little danger for our Herd. None for our Lord.”

The creature at the brook stamped his hoof once more but did not argue.

“Maidd is really nice! He’s a guardian just like you, Halt!” Lily declared.

Maidd tensed again as the nearest creature’s head swung back to regard the child in his arms.

“I would never call an ogre nice,” Halt replied, “but he seems an excellent guardian, mortal princess.”

“Maidd is super nice! He lets me climb trees!”

Halt blew gently down into her face, sending blonde curls streaming back.

“Trees are no place for a princess,” he said sternly, “only birds and squirrels.” Then he turned and lumbered back toward the stream. “Verbaedenbenhamid! You may come out and play!”

Maidd glanced around, puzzled, then his eyes widened as small, white creature stepped out from behind the other red creature’s leg. Slightly smaller than Lily, it was a delicate contrast to the red giants that towered over it. As it trotted over to the royal family, the morning sun caught on the small, curled horn in the center of its forehead.

Maidd’s jaw dropped.

It was a unicorn.