Over the next several weeks, Cassie adjusted herself to living alone again. The house seemed to miss Taliesin, she had at least managed most of the time to call him his true name in her mind when she thought of him by now, and the cats were extra loving, sometimes too much so. Boötes came over to her no matter where she was in the house and asked for loving and pettings. Orion managed to stay close when she was seated or in bed. Most of the time she watched old movies, some from the 80’s when she had grown up like The Princess Bride, Ghostbusters, When Harry Met Sally, and Labyrinth and some of the classics like Casablanca, Key Largo, Rear Window, and It’s a Wonderful Life. The last made her cry, but it always had in the past, just now she cried a bit earlier and a bit longer, especially at the happy ending.
She had lunch a few times with Andi, confiding in her that she was expecting, but not yet that Taliesin had left. She could not bear the looks of pity she knew would come from her sensitive sister. She also could not tell her the truth because she still expected him to come through the door and kiss her on the nose, hold her hand, and rub her belly in the night.
Because she wanted to keep the baby healthy, she decided to stop painting with the oils and acrylics. Although most of her paints had notations of non-toxic on the packages, she still didn’t want to risk it. Instead, she began baking. She purchased several different loaf pans in different sizes, from petite to full size, as well as cake pans and even a spring form pan for cheesecakes. Andi gave her a sourdough starter, and Cassie began her domestic goddesshood.
Between loaves of cracked rye bread and pumpkin bread, she called around trying to find Ainsel. He had been working at the Bush and Brier with Taliesin since they had opened the restaurant. But since he left, Ainsel had only managed to work three shifts, and had seemed to have fallen off the planet. Cassie suspected otherwise, but she still tried to find him, going so far as to find the picnic site and looking around for any trace of anything to contact him.
She also began spending a lot of time in the library, looking up history of the faerie lands, of the fae themselves, and of her mother-in-law in particular. She learned a bit, but nothing that she could get her hands around. She looked for a way into the Faerie realm, and found several, but none of them were anywhere near
A week later, Cassie found herself at the airport with a ticket to
She drove up to the outbound parking and found a close up spot. Checking herself in the mirror, she fluffed her hair and took a deep breath. Her departures case and a small carry on accompanied her to the check in, and all the way through security. Her passport had never been stamped and she was both happy and sad that she was going to get her first visa today. After security check in, she made her way through customs and onto the train to the concourse.
She sat quietly on the bench at the far end of the car and watched people get on and off the train. When the train reached her concourse, she did not get off for some reason even she wasn’t entirely sure about. She rode the train to the final terminus and stayed on as it began its return trip. Faces flashed in front of her eyes, and in every single face she saw Brendan, Taliesin, whoever he was, she saw bits of him everywhere, and tears began to fall from her eyes, down her nose and collect on her sweater, making a dark patch on her chest.
After riding the train twice, once up and once down, she finally decided to get off at her concourse and walk to her gate. Her carry on bag had little wheels in the end, which allowed her to pull it after her instead of carrying it. She walked quickly from the train toward the gate. The passengers sat or stood in the waiting area; a few children played with toys or read books on the floor. She found a chair that had plenty of space on either side.
She caught sight of dark red hair out of the corner of her eye. Cassie turned her head to see if it was Ainsel, but it was a woman. Sighing, she pulled out a book and began to read.
Just before the final boarding call, while Cassie was standing impatiently in line waiting to board, her name came over the airport intercom system. “Cassie Huntington, please pick up the white courtesy phone. Cassie Huntington, please pick up the white courtesy phone.” Slightly irritated she left the boarding line and headed toward the nearest white courtesy phone. She picked it up. “This is Cassie Huntington. I am about to board a plane going out of the country. What can I do for you?”
“You can come back to
“Ainsel? Where the hell have you been? How do you…”
“I’ve been around. Just come back to the house.” After a moment he added, “Please. We need to talk.”
Cassie looked down at her thousand dollar plane ticket and saw her gold ring on her left hand. She sighed loudly and agreed. “Ok, I am coming back, but you better have some answers.”
“I have answers, you will not like them, but I do have answers.”
“I willbe there in forty or forty five minutes.”
“See you at your house.”
Cassie drove nearly recklessly back to
Ainsel stood on the front porch when Cassie pulled up. “Where have you been?” she cried, flinging open the front door from the inside. The cats both swirled around her feet, purring loudly. “Get in here, consider that your invitation, just tell me what I can do. How can I get there?”
Ainsel slunk into the house and went to stand by the fire place. He twitched his hand and a fire lit up over the empty grate. He waited for Cassie to quiet and then answered.
“You can’t get there. If you’ve never been, you cannot get there on your own, not unless you fall into a trap or someone invites you. There are no traps in the
“Then invite me,” Cassie growled through gritted teeth. Her hand protectively covered her belly at Ainsel’s pointed stare. “I willworry about the baby.”
“Congratulations on your impending motherhood. May you be a better mother than the Queen,” he said.
“I need to find Taliesin. What do you want me to do to get your invitation?” Cassie doggedly pursued her train of thought.
“Why do you need to find him?” Ainsel asked, deflecting the subject.
“Because he’s my husband, and because he is in danger.”
“You do not know that. The Queen would not hurt her only son.”
“Hurt and danger are two different things. I can’t explain it but I know she’s got something in mind, and I have to stop her.”
“I can’t invite you.”
“Why NOT!” Cassie actually stamped her foot. “You just said you could invite me.”
“No, I said someone could invite you. I am unable to invite you.”
“Tell me why.” Cassie took a deep breath and sat down on the couch. Orion and Boötes curled up on either side of her, both watching Ainsel with interest bordering on intent. She tried to remember the rules Taliesin had given her.
“You cannot tell me why you think Prince Taliesin is in danger, but you expect me to tell you why I cannot help you.”
“It is not cannot but will not, Ainsel. Tell me.”
“It is can not, I am afraid. I have a pre existing reason that is confidential.”
“You sound like a cross between a medical doctor and a lawyer. What can you tell me, Puck?”
“I can tell you you’re in less danger here than if you go to Taliesin. Also, you might want to keep your pregnancy a secret.”
“It’s kind of hard,” Cassie gestured to her stomach. “The baby is getting bigger every day. I’m due in June. How can I keep it a secret?”
“First of all, stay away from any woodland or mists, and let your cats protect you. Put salt around the house especially the doors and windows, keep the fire lit whenever you’re home, and get a strange affinity for wrought iron fixtures, especially external fixtures around the doors and windows, at least one per opening. Stay in the house or at your studio unless with friends or family. Get very close with your sister, who is also pregnant, her aura will confuse the watchers.”
“What watchers? Ainsel, you’re confusing me. I will do what you ask, but why do you care, why won’t you help me?”
“I am helping you, not on my own volition, and let’s leave it at that. You cannot help Prince Taliesin in the Realm, but you can keep yourself safe, which is what he wants more than anything, even his own safety.”
“I want him here with me, with our family.”
“The only way he can be here is to get what he went for from his mother, Her Majesty.”
“And what does he want?”
“He is looking for her blessing, that and her oath to leave you alone, all of you including Prince Taliesin, you, and your progeny.”
“Is that all?” Cassie stroked Orion’s head and considered Ainsel’s words.
“Yes, that is all, and believe me, that is everything.”
“Ainsel, did Prince Taliesin ask you to help me? Did he send you?”
“I have not been back to the Realm since I stole the rings you and the Prince wear.”
"Stole?" She turned the ring on her finger. Right now its temperature seemed normal, warm to the touch, unlike the icy cold band that threatened to slice through her very flesh the first and last time she had met her mother-in-law. Her ring grew slightly warmer and her finger then her hand began to tingle.
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