Bladeshire 29

By David C. Daoust

Chantilles felt alone in the silent chamber. She sat on the ground, close to Khadory, one hand on his shoulder. He was breathing, in fact he seemed peaceful. She was relieved that the light did not fade, even as he lie unconscious on the cold earthen floor. The light seemed to emanate on the very air. Air which was stale and somehow filled with the smell of dirt. She knew where they were, she remembered her fall down the shaft. She remembered telling Khadory of the danger above, just to be whisked away– replaced by the elf queen.

So much had happened, she could not believe it all. She had found herself, once again, trapped in that Tower of Darkness, which was some sort of magical crystal holding her spirit… or soul; She was not sure how that worked. Her friend Doisna, a tiny sprite, had come and freed her. According to the fairy, the elf swapped their souls. Which meant Chantilles was able to take possession of the Queen’s body. A body that, clearly, was not normal… the sun burned her horribly, she healed quickly, but the experience left her with such a powerful hunger that… she could not resist the urge to feed. The memory was tactile, and twisted her stomach with dread. She ran her finger over her teeth again, just to check; found them normal. The experience of drinking blood made her shiver.

The queen was a vampire, clearly. Going by the old stories, she had always thought that vampires were male… and human. The queen was an elfess. She supposed the lore was rather limited in that regard.

Chantilles felt something on her ankle and flinched, jerked her legs in closer to herself, just to find Chut tumbling to the ground, holding her cross.

“Oy,” the tiny Spriggan griped as he stood back up, weary of anymore hasty movements, “I think I could use a break from some of the punishment!”

“What are you doing down here?” Chantilles asked even as she collected the cross from him. She held it close to her chest.

“Well, to rescue you of course!” The tiny hero announced. “I dropped a line down…”

“Oh but how will we ever get back up?” Chantilles lamented as she spotted the shattered ladder on the ground.

“That’s what the line is for!” Chut explained oddly.

“A line?” Chantilles was tired, maybe not thinking clearly.

“The rope,” Chut clarified as he pointed, realizing it was probably sailor talk that confused her. “Your pup and I precured it up above. I secured it… and pulled it down here so that you could climb back up.”

“Oh thank heavens,” Chantilles whispered as her gaze followed his finger to the rope hanging down into the chamber. “Is Abe okay?”

“Of course,” Chut was happy to inform. “That pig dropped dead as soon as it sent you careening into the pit…”

It was then that the tiny pops began, one, two, three… Three Sprites arrived on the scene. Tiny little fairies with fluttering, colorful wings.

Doisna looked rather put-out at the sight of Chantilles, comfortable on the ground near the unconscious male. The sprite huffed at the sight of her, but did not speak out.

“That was certainly a turn of events,” Ha’rin expressed as she and Rosalba fluttered towards Chantilles to start fixing her hair.

Chantilles had become accustomed to the small beings fluttering around her. Was not sure, exactly, what they were doing to her hair, it seemed as though they were always fixing something.

“Oh! what’s this?” Rosalba asked when she spotted Chut. “What are you doing… all on your own?”

The Sprite’s interest was piqued, clearly. Yet the Spriggan was unable to speak up and answer.

Chantilles was once again surprised by this bashful behavior, which was now proving characteristic of the Spriggan. Just like Leaf… and the others, when she first met Doisna. With the thought, she was suddenly worried about the other Spriggan up in that satchel… hanging from the shed door… where she left them all… But how long ago was it? So much had happened.

“A hero maybe?” Ha’rin guessed after a moment of studying Chut.

“A rare find indeed…” agreed Rosalba.

The Spriggan’s eyes were downcast, his face a bit red at the attention.

Rosalba gasped as something occurred to her; Chantilles could only wonder.

“A rule-breaker!” Ha’rin squealed in delight upon the same mysterious occurrence.

“My goodness, you broke all the rules,” Rosalba was quick to add, a bit disapproving.

“I love a rule-breaker…” Ha’rin fluttered forward, her wings beating a bit quicker.

The look on Ha’rin’s face was familiar to Chantilles. The very look Doisna got when she found out Leaf led an entire expedition so far from home. Chantilles knew what was next. No sooner had the thought occurred to her, than the blond haired, fluttering fairy abruptly swooped down at Chut, lifted him up off his feet, and swooshed them both into a tiny crevice.

Chantilles eyes were huge, suddenly wanted to be anywhere but where she was. Luckily, Khadory stirred even as she began to collect herself to rise from her position.

Suddenly Doisna fluttered forward and spoke up quickly as though she may miss her chance. “Oh, how could you do this to yourself?” Doisna asked, perturbed, and wrought with worry.

The sprite became a distraction even as Khadorys’ eyes opened. Chantilles’ attention was split between the pair, she could not really answer to Doisna now that Khadory was awake, so she cast the upset Sprite a questioning glance…

“You sullied yourself,” Doisna accused, she was really upset, near tears, “Contaminated… you were so pretty. Now you’re just a mess. We can’t even hear you anymore.”

Chantilles was horrified. She knew what the tiny fairy meant. She’d fed on mortal life. She did not want to, “It was the body…” she argued feebly, despite Khadory sitting up.

“Where’s oldman Hindal?” Khadory asked, glancing back at an old pine box. “We have to let him out.” He was up on his feet, struggling with the lid…

“Oh, piffle,” Doisna, ignoring Khadory, disregarded Chantilles excuse. “Why would that matter? You are ruined!”

Chantilles believed her. The thought of the blood filling her mouth, the bodies crumpling in her grip, to become lifeless husks. All of it would haunt her the rest of her days. She knew the Sprite was right. She knew she was ruined. The dread was not going to leave her any time soon.

Doisna, with one last disapproving glance, turned her back and vanished.

Rosalba looked shocked, surprised even. Yet, she also, gave her a disapproving glance, and quickly turned away and vanished.

Chantilles felt completely alone, even as Khadory managed to pry open the box… Oldman Hindal was within. Sound asleep.

“How did he get in there?”Chantilles asked as she moved to help.

Khadory looked a bit guilty, “Let’s get him out– before he wakes up.”

As surprised as she was to find the old man in that coffin, it was nothing compared to when she found out just how many elders were sleeping away in the next room.