What happened, Challe? Challe! Whatever it was, I have to do something.
Despite her feelings, Anne was so overcome with shock that she couldn’t think of anything to do.
Noah had roused Keith and Kat, plus Benjamin and Mithril, and they all ran out into the hallway. When they saw Anne there, and the lone fairy sitting on her bed, they had no idea what to say.
“Anne… I’m sorry, Anne. It’s because I didn’t notice.”
Tears streaming down his face, Noah grabbed the sleeve of Anne’s nightgown. Anne cradled his purple head in her arms and hugged him tight.
“You don’t need to apologize, Noah. We knew this might happen. It’s okay. Everything will be all right. But, Challe… Why…?”
She repeated her reassurances as if trying to convince herself.
“What’s going on here?!” Mithril shouted in a frustrated voice. “What the hell was Challe Fenn Challe doing?!”
Kat brushed back his light-gray bangs and grumbled, “Well, somethin’ musta happened. Can’t imagine that guy just doin’ nothin’.”
“You’re right,” Keith said. “But before we look for Challe, we have to find the other fairies. We must come up with a plan.” Keith stepped into the room and got down on his knee in front of Emere. “You’re Emere Torte Ray, yes?”
Emere’s eyes opened wide. “You know my name?”
“We asked you your names when you first arrived, didn’t we? Listen, Emere. Are you sure you don’t know where the other fairies have gone?”
Emere shrugged. “I don’t. They said they were escaping and told me I should go with them; that’s it. I said I wasn’t going, so they just left.”
“…Why did you stay behind, Emere?” Anne asked without much thought. “What kept you if you didn’t care about breaking the promise?”
Emere looked at Noah, who was crying messily in Anne’s arms. “Because Noah is here.”
At her words, Noah raised his tear-streaked face. Then he pulled away from Anne and wiped his tears, as if suddenly embarrassed.
“Noah is here despite being free. I knew there had to be a reason for that. I figured he probably came here because the things you said and the future you described weren’t lies. So if we all ran away, the dream you spoke of about our kind’s future would vanish forever. So I stayed.”
Emere’s eyes were the same golden brown as her hair, and there was a mysterious brilliance to them. She fixed those eyes on Anne, gazing at her.
She’s the only one who believed me.
Emere hadn’t stayed because of her promise, but because she was willing to put her faith in the future Anne and the others had described.
“So one in fifteen believed us, huh?” Kat said bitterly. “Guess we didn’t work hard enough.”
From behind the group, a voice answered, “One in fifteen is fine work. I thought it would be a complete failure.” He slowly walked into the room from the direction of the lesser hall.
“Challe?!” Anne exclaimed. Overwhelmed by relief, she ran over and clung to him. “Thank goodness, Challe. I thought something had happened to you…”
She couldn’t keep her voice from wavering. Challe gave her one strong squeeze back. Then he gently pulled her off.
“Challe, what happened here?” Keith asked. He ran over, and Kat followed close behind.
“The fairies ran away in the night. All but one, that is,” Challe said, glancing at the door of Emere’s room. “I followed them and found where they escaped to.”
“That’s not what you said before, is it, Challe Fenn Challe?!” Mithril yelped. “You promised to let Anne and the others know if the fairies showed any signs of running. And you claimed you were prepared to convince them to stay, didn’t you?!”
Challe simply shook his head. “Trying to persuade them would be pointless.”
“Then why did you promise as much in front of the Silver Sugar Viscount?!” Keith demanded accusingly. “You swore to persuade all the fairies who tried to run and stop them if that didn’t work! You said yourself you don’t want to make Anne a criminal. That’s why I—”
Keith stopped himself. He knew he’d spoken out of turn.
But Challe stayed calm, and his response was even more opaque.
“I won’t make her a criminal. And I will get the fairies to understand. However, there are those circumstances under which people listen and those under which they do not. As long as the fairies were at Hollyleaf Castle, they weren’t going to listen to anything we said.”
Both Mithril and Keith cocked their heads at Challe’s puzzling statement. Kat furrowed his brow and stroked his chin intently.
Challe was looking at Anne with his arms crossed, as if waiting for whatever she might say next.
Last night, when the fairies ran away, Challe let them go because he thought it was pointless to try to persuade them. But now he’s come back here and is telling us to try again. Why? Isn’t it too late?
Challe had to be expecting something more from Anne and the others. There had to be some reason this was necessary for them to make a breakthrough.
“…I’m going after them,” she said. “I’ll accompany Challe.”
Anne didn’t know what would happen or what she was supposed to do about it. But Challe was silently waiting for something. She knew she had to meet his expectations.
“You’re going?!” Keith balked. “There are fourteen of them; it’s too dangerous. If anyone’s going, it should be me…”
“Challe will be there, so I’ll be all right. Besides…it will probably work out best if I go, since I understand Challe’s position. Instead of coming with us, Keith, I want you to work on candy making with Noah and Emere. Make good use of this time, since they both stayed.”
“But—”
Keith was about to protest further, when Kat clapped a hand down on his shoulder.
“Go on, Anne. I dunno what’s so important about that Challe fella, but there’s something there, or that dimwit wouldn’t have involved him in our work. Powell, you continue making candy with the two fairies who stayed. I’m goin’ to Lewiston. We have the fairies on loan for seven days. Now that things have gone to hell, I figure we need to extend that time a little.”
“I appreciate it,” Anne said, bowing to Kat. Then she ran over to Noah again. She hugged him, then looked straight into his eyes. “Thank you, Noah. Emere stayed because you’re here. Will the two of you work on your candy?”
Noah’s face fell again, but he nodded steadily. “Yes. I’ll work with Emere,” he said.
“That’s how apprentices should be. A good apprentice never takes a day off,” Kat said, gently patting Noah on the head. “I’m going to Lewiston. Powell, take care of the rest. You too, Anne.” Then Kat hurried off down the stairs.
Keith watched him go, then sighed and turned back to Anne and Challe. “Fine. I’ll stay here,” he agreed. “Anne, I hope you can do something about the fairies, but don’t be reckless. Challe, look after her.”
“Of course,” Challe answered, without a moment’s hesitation. His level response reassured them both.
Anne looked up at him. “Let’s go. Show me the way, Challe.”
Challe drove the horse forward, holding Anne against his chest. The animal bobbed up and down, sunlight shimmering off its coat. The scenery around them was thick with green, and the sound of the wind tickled Anne’s ears.
To the west of Hollyleaf Castle, there was a succession of gently sloping hills with a river meandering through them toward the south. Most of those hills were covered with evergreen forests, and grassy banks spread out on either side of the river.
However, this foliage thinned out as they moved west, and rugged rocks began to dominate the landscape.
Finally, the scene transformed into the wasteland around the Bloody Highway.
Challe steered their horse off the road just before the spot where the highway began and guided their mount toward a grassy area by the river. As they proceeded along the riverbank, through grass which reached the horse’s ankles, Anne gazed at their surroundings.
“The fairies came to this desolate place?”
She could hear the pleasant sound of the flowing river and of birds chirping in the forest. The little flowers growing in clusters underfoot were adorable. But this area was caught between Lewiston and the Bloody Highway. Because of the wild beasts that wandered in from the wastelands, no humans settled there. It was a lonely place, without a single wheat field.
“They’re here because it’s so desolate.”
Challe brought the horse to a stop and got out of the saddle, then lifted Anne down, too. He tied the horse to a shrub near the riverbank.
“They couldn’t get very far on foot. On top of that, a large group of fairies walking around together would attract attention. So they came to this forest to hide, at least for the time being.”
Challe started walking toward a tree-covered hill. Anne followed along unsteadily, trailing him through the tall grass that came up past her knees. Just as she was starting to sweat a little, they passed into the forest.
The air was cool, and there was little undergrowth. Scattered sunlight streamed down from above, passing through the gaps in the canopy.
“Do you think we’ll be able to find everybody?” Anne asked.
Challe slowed his pace a bit. Anne caught up with him, and he delivered his answer in a hushed tone.
“They’ll find us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Keep quiet.”
The wind blew, and above their heads, the trees rustled noisily. After that, the quiet returned. Then, off to the right, Anne heard the faint rustle of someone pushing their way through a thicket. She looked over her shoulder, then caught the sound of a twig snapping behind her.
She sensed the presence of several people watching them from a distance.
Anne grabbed Challe’s sleeve, and he came to a halt.
“Challe, is everyone here?” she asked quietly, a little nervous.
Challe nodded. “Probably.”
“Well then, that’s perfect.”