Shade stared at Ilarial. Nothing made sense to her, absolutely nothing. The stones glistened and vibrated on the table, almost glowing. Shade felt power radiating from them like a nauseating heat that was making her slightly dizzy. “What does that all mean?”

“It means that you have come here in a time of war within our kind. Our Queen demands a force to be assembled. Now as we speak, we must prepare to take a great journey that has not been traveled in a thousand years by our tribe to retrieve the Santiran magic. It is a pool of water; this water holds the powers of the origins of earth. All elements and creatures were born of this spring. It holds life and death. It can be used to summon the powers of earth, it helps the balance between good and evil in our land, and evil will wither against it.

‘It is said only the one that belongs to both man and faery can hold this liquid and return it to the great city of Aturine here in Guildrin; where the queen resides. Only then will we be safe from the Lonares attacks and vicious battles.” She paused, studying Shade’s face. “The stones tell me that someone must be you, Shade.”

Shade tried to close her mouth, as if the words would taste bad if they reached her lips. Why was she so special? She was just a senior, in high school, she wasn’t even sure if she was going to college. She was also quite unsure of what to eat for lunch most days. Why would she be so useful? “No way, no, um, sorry but you got the wrong girl or something. This is nuts. I gotta go, it’s getting late.” She nervously chuckled, shaking her head. She turned to Jack as she stood up. He was silent and looking just a bit glum.

“Has the Queen called assembly yet?” He asked Ilarial.

“She is as we sit here, right now. We must go now and listen. This will be legendary to hear the assemblage of the task force. Shade, we must take you there now,” the oracle said.

Ilarial stood, and her movement was light and airy, almost as if she were floating. She waved to Shade, as Jack opened the wooden door to the hallway once more. Shade was in too much shock to object; she followed them both down the tunnels, returning to the main room, were Renny had attempted to arrest her. She stood wide-eyed at the scene; it had swelled up with more people or faeries, or whatever the heck everyone was down here. Ilarial pushed through the crowd, or rather it seemed to part just for her, until they reached a great platform. Here stood several guards and another woman in a great, long, red velvet gown. A tall crystal tiara flashing with diamonds and blood red rubies rose from her long dark black hair. She watched them as they approached the raised platform, passing her eyes from Ilarial to Shade. Gleaming green irises bore into her like fire burning in pale skin. This woman was not to be messed with, the air of command and power swirled around her like a cloud. Shade’s suddenly felt quite tiny.

Most Seelie queens were fair-haired, but Zinara had been born with the dark hair of an Unseelie queen. Nonetheless, she had won her crown and had paid dearly of flesh and blood for it. Shade listened to Ilarial’s small history lessons as she watched the room turn to give the queen its full attention.

“Your majesty,” Ilarial bowed to the queen deeply and kissed her hand. “I must present to you Shade, a halfling who has joined us today. I have read the stones and she is the one I have been telling you about. She has finally returned to us; she is the one that I have foreseen for this journey, you assembled here today and the magic of Faerie brings her to us.”

The queen listened intently. Her eyes adverted from both of them to view the crowd. She seemed to be thinking about something faraway. Nothing anyone seemed to think strange. Shade felt sick. She was homesick already. The pressure of all the things she was being told bore down on her. She felt as if she were sinking into the depths of a deep dark well. Her chest ached and she felt like someone or something was holding her down with heavy rocks. She watched the crowd and wanted to fade into it. She wanted to run down the tunnels and out of the forest, as fast as she could.

“A pleasure to finally meet you, Shade,” the queen said as she turned her gaze back to her and offered her hand.

Unsure of what to do, she copied Ilarial’s gestures and kissed the queen’s hand. She noted Ilarial’s approval and returned her gaze to the amazing queen as she let her go. The queen then turned back to the crowd and the room fell silent.

“Dear ones, I find it difficult to address you today. The evil that surrounds us has threatened our peaceful lives, many times, as of late. My heart breaks with the death that reeks onto our precious earth. I am forced to ask of you the most dangerous of requests. We must obtain the magic of the Santiran fountains once more. Our ancestors used this when the earth was once out of balance and evil lurked around every corner. We have attempted to fight the Lonare’s, but have failed to hold them back with terrible losses. I fear our only savior and chance against the vast Unseelie armies is this magic; but we must now take a perilous journey to get it.”

She paused and sighed, seemingly upset by what she was saying. “Unfortunately, I cannot go myself because being near the fountain would prove fatal for me. The magic of the Santiran Fountains can only be bequeathed unto a halfling, one of both worlds, human and faery. We have finally found her, thankfully, on this night of all nights. I am most pleased to introduce our most precious treasure, Shade.” Her hand outstretched toward Shade and the crowd cheered thunderously.

Shade was sweating with anxiety, how much longer could she stand here? She felt lightheaded and the room was shrinking in her vision.

“She will take this journey, for it is her destiny. I must request though, an entourage to help her get there safely. I must ask for volunteers for this most dangerous task. Can anyone selflessly swear loyalty to her? Can anyone be such a guide and guard for our precious jewel?”

Silence seemed to engulf the room. Whispers echoed in the great room, as everyone shuffled and shifted about. The excitement was electric and it reminded her of Jack’s unglamoured figure. Speaking of Jack, where did he go? Shade thought to herself.

“I’ll go, I found her, and she is my responsibility.” Jack bowed to the queen and then stepped back. The queen nodded and smiled at him and approval was evident in her eyes.

Another man, tall and muscular stepped from behind Jack, his long brown hair tied back loosely with some loose wisps framing his face. He wore form fitting armor and leather, with a sword strapped to his back. He seemed younger than Jack but older than Shade. He also bowed before the Queen. “Your Majesty, Soap, at your service. It would be my duty to serve you. I swear loyalty to this young lady and take on the dangers of her quest as my own.” He stepped back and received the same approving look and a nod from the queen.

Another figure stood out in the crowd lifting his arm into the air. “Your majesty, Ewan here, I will also swear my loyalty and take on this perilous journey for you, my queen. I have experience traveling to the Santiran land. I hope I can be of use.” He also bowed.

Another and another and another stepped out from the crowd. The band of noblemen, were named: Than, a specialist in the oriental knife throwing arts, a lady warrior named Sary and another man named Stephen. The queen approved all these volunteers swiftly.

“Now, only magic can fight magic. I also need one brave volunteer who is practiced in sorcery to join the others. Is there anyone of such skill that would accept such a feat?” The room was once again quiet. Shade was definitely feeling lightheaded now. Her stomach lurched and soon the room began to spin, Ilarial stepped over to her and smiled, placing her hand on Shade’s arm, she seemed to sense she needed some aide and steadied her with one hand; her other hand retrieved a small stone from her gown.

“Shade, suck on this stone, it will make you feel better.” She reached over and placed it into Shade’s mouth. It tasted sweet as honey. The spinning ceased and her stomach calmed and felt better, instantly. . Wow.

“I, Braelynn, will take this task at hand,” the voice echoed across the crowd. A woman stepped forward, shoving the throng of people around her to part. She wore a light brown dress and had honey colored hair, it was draped about her shoulders. She also had freckles sprayed across her nose and cheeks. Her bright hazel eyes glowed with fire and ice.

“Dear Braelynn, yes please, I would be honored if you would accompany Shade on this quest. I just heard you have become a great sorceress from apprentice. I am pleased that you have passed your trials with exceptional grace.” She nodded in approval and turned to face Ilarial and Shade. “Dearest Shade, I am indebted to you now. Please, get some rest and some food, you will need it, tomorrow the quest begins.” She then bowed and turned to leave, moving to the right and leaving the great room to walk down a corridor, without any further instructions for Shade.

Now what? Shade felt panic rise in her throat. How could she get out of this? What would her mother say? Her mother, she must be so worried. She turned and stared at Ilarial and Jack, both softly discussing something to each other. It all felt so surreal.

Ilarial reached over and took Shade’s hands. They felt comforting to her. She motioned her to follow. “I know this is very overwhelming for you. I cannot make you feel more at ease, but I do hope that I can answer any questions you have. But first, of course, let’s eat, it is late and tomorrow’s journey will be long and tedious. We should join your entourage and get to know them, they will be vital to your safety.”

She ushered Shade down another corridor that opened to yet another large area, where many people were already sitting at wooden tables. They were eating a variety of vegetables, fruits, breads and meats. Shade’s stomach grumbled with desire, she had forgotten already how sick she felt not a moment ago; and now all she could think about was food!

She followed Ilarial to one of the great banquet tables. It looked extravagant. She pulled a plate from a stack, much like a buffet style, and handed it to Shade. Her new entourage of friends were following close behind; they piling berries, meats and veggies high on their plates.

When she was done filling her plate to the brim and accepting a drink from a friendly lady who was handing out stone cups of fruit juice, she followed the group to a far area to the left in the banquet hall. They all sat down and began to dig into their meals, as if they had never been fed. Shade included. She had inhaled most her food as she glanced at everyone. She began evaluating them with an inquisitive eye, noting how different they all seemed to be. She couldn’t remember their names. She was feeling too stressed to concentrate on that; and being hungry didn’t help the memory either. She listened to all of them chatting, murmurs of conversations and laughs rang through her ears and filled the great hall.

One of the warriors, with the honey-brown, long hair, swept some strands of hair off his face, catching her eye. He was smiling deeply and laughing at whatever joke Jack had been telling. He chewed his food and talked with his mouth full, it added to his charm. He had stopped chewing once he noticed her watching him. Her cheeks flushed, as she turned her head and quickly took a bite a food. As she was about to immerse herself in another mouthful he winked at her.

“Ilarial?” She spoke softly to the oracle beside her.

“Yes, dear Shade?”

“I was just wondering. Does everyone have secret powers like Jack? He showed me what is under his glamour. I wondered if everyone here wears glamour too?” Shade was looking at her peers as she spoke, they were still emerged in their conversations and all of their faces seemed so different.

Ilarial paused thoughtfully and glanced at the crew also. She seemed to hesitate, but not for long. Her small mouth slowly chewed her last bite of food. She fixed her gleaming grey eyes upon Shade; a warm smile slowly spread across her face and now appeared less nervous.

“Shade, I’m surprised that Jack has already let you know what he is. He is usually wary of strangers. Some refuse to use any kind glamour and do not venture into the human world, such as Renny. I believe you have met him; he is one of the guards of this underground city. He never leaves; he thinks humans are inferior and powerless.

‘But, you have also seen Jack, he mixes among mortals easily when he is glamoured. He is so easy to get along with too. He often is sent on errands into the human world, since he can remain within the iron of the city. He can stay in the city for longer periods of time, compared to others of our kind. We do try to keep any incidents to a minimum; Jack has a stellar track record. I on the other hand do not get out much and I am most sensitive to iron sickness, if I tread through the cities for too long. Most faeries have this issue, though” She then turned her gaze to everyone at the table, some were partly listening and some had not noticed the intense subject.

“I know that you need to understand what and who everyone is. These are your guardians; and you must have complete trust in them. Even if that means their true identity is to be revealed to you. Let’s see,” She waved her hand towards Braelynn, seated on the other side of her. “You already know that Braelynn is a great sorceress, she needs no glamour, all witches and warlocks look quite human. Then there is Than, he glamours his pointy nose and pointy ears to blend with humans of the orient. He is a skilled hunter and warrior, excellent with knives. He has lived in Aturine all his life.” As she said this, Than nodded towards Shade, melting his glamour away with a quiver. Shade held in her breath in surprise, and stared at a more beautiful version of Than. He now had pointy ears, larger eyes, and thinner nose. He seemed the same yet slightly different.

Shade listened intently trying to process of the new and valuable information.

The oracle continued on in one fluent breath. “Sary is a warrior princess, she is human but immortal. She is set to be queen of the immortal Vyn people of the south when her mother passes the crown to her. She is very strong and powerful and a most efficient archer, though she prefers to work in the medical arts in the meantime.” The Princess nodded towards Shade and then continued to eat. “Stephen is a full faery, he glamours himself to look less attractive, his appearance also would be unnatural to humans, he is an expert at tracking. He can find almost anything and anyone, anywhere.” She smiled at Stephen who also bowed his head while melting his glamour away.