Chapter 4
It was the 520th day; this year had been irksome the winter months had been too cold, and the snow had fallen relentlessly, pearling onto people’s roof terraces and by the sides of the promenade, the last piles of snow turning from pink to dark grey blobs.

The spring had been far too wet causing a blight on the Wyne tree harvest. The river Ylla burst its banks flooding the moonflower fields, washing them away, which meant the yeomen couldn’t brew their cider, much to their disgust.

Summertime had been hot and arid it caused droughts which led to civil unrest.
There was also a hue and cry, about goings-on around the village, accusations of Blackmagic, and the se-duction of folk into practices deemed unnatural. Some were called before a council of their peers to give testament.

Then there were those, those sprites, Faery folk they lingered just out of plain view, at the peripheries of your sight, teasing you when no one else was around. They were often seen, but never actually confirmed to exist. Of course, most intelligent people would say that it was scientifically impossible and that natural phenomenon was to blame.Tricks of the light, marsh gas etcetera and that in fact they didn’t exist at all, that it was just merely your imagination playing tricks on you, but most of the people around Marin village believed it regardless.
Yep, every time something got moved or lost, every nook and every cranny was searched yet the thing in question returned to where it was always meant to be, without any explanation.

It felt like kay would never again see Autumn or Tempest Retreats which for most was a time of being locked away indoors and boredom, but for Kay, it meant Freedom and being unshackled. No one to watch him, no more spies to report back to their paymasters, his prison would be for a brief time without its jail-ers.
It was almost time to get indoors… aside from one more meeting.
There was a gathering in the town square to talk about taking special precautions, whilst being sheltered away. It was long and tedious, officials that enjoyed the sound of their own voices, men of straw, and pen pushers, all deliberated over the problems.

After what felt like forever the meeting concluded, it was time to get under shelter, Kay felt freer than usual, he walked back towards his modest villa, alone, without prying eyes watching him, and it felt good.
It was then that he saw it, an odd thing breathing heavy, it looked pained, and in a state of disarray. He walked over slowly to it, it recoiled away from him and spoke in a strange tongue, that he couldn’t place, it wasn’t Mercian or Catolunian, Georgian or Florentine?
Everyone since the Reformation spoke in Meese, so it was indeed a riddle?

Kay thought to himself,
What an odd-looking thing, damp with light golden-brown skin, a young female no less, with hair as black as pitch, like leer the night mother herself, the most high. It looked at him. It was indeed an exotic pretty little thing, with a round shaped face and white eyes, brown pupils, full red lips and a small, slender frame, it seemed to announce itself with a beguiling smile, and it made its eyes big as if to disarm, or bewitch you with its charms.
But yet what harm could it be? Like the handmaidens from his house used to say, don’t be concerned about those occurrences of nature you can’t explain, just be vigilante against the ones you consider abhorrent.
He invited the strange distressed young thing into his home. For no other reason than it was an act of defiance on his part because he could, no one to ask, he could defy his captures.
He was glad he had, it was quite a bit more than taking in an injured bird with a poorly wing, an Allie, a neutral person at last to befriend, albeit a strange one, not one that will tell him lies, or try to subjugate his liberty
He had noticed , a look about her, when she wasn’t concentrating, she’d let her face be natural , Kay knew that look, the look of being forlorn, tired of feeling you don’t belong and you tell yourself that you do, in search of something not knowing quite what it was you were looking for . He had seen it before. When you understand that everything you believed before was wrong and you realize your holding onto nothing.
The faery a brownie no less was looking around with her curious eyes as if she were seeing things for the very first time.

The Sprite. Now spoke perfect Meese, if that wasn’t an indicator of faery enchantment, then it was definitely something that needed explaining, although you couldn’t believe everything that she said, she had exclaimed she was from the third planet which as everyone knows is scientifically Impossible. Maybe she meant the sky yes that must be it, he told himself. She was referring to the overworld, where en-chanted folk often dwelled.
Strangely she had a familiarity about her that reminded him of his daughter, although his daughter was long deceased.
It was painful to think about those times, it left a knot in his gut, and it made him feel sick to his stomach, the old times a world away when life was very different.

Since that black day, 7 years ago.

That day of been called into action, that day of calling your conscience into making a decision, to do the undoable, to commit the unthinkable, the Day that sent ructions through the empire and into civil war.
Of course, the publicized history would spout propaganda but the real history the real history would be recalled only by the select few. The red death, the infanticide of the winette children with their red hair, the official line was that they were carriers of a disease that was highly contagious. At the red epitaph they laid wreaths of fire flowers, held vigils offered up prayers & sung songs, to remember their long-dead relatives, on each and every anniversary, everyone knew Someone touched by the calamity, but only the few knew that the real history was as bad as a rotten ghost. The madness of the tai tsar, and the insidious changeling named by the ordinary folk as the knightmare.
It was hard to recount.

The Sprite had looked around his garden, they’d had a strange dialogue, and they’d introduced themselves to one another. Suddenly there seemed to be a flapping noise which was getting closer and closer, the sound of wings.
There was a strange thud against the canvas awning and in it flew with a large whoosh sound as it deaccelerated through the jet stream, it tore down one of the counterpanes, and all of the cloth screens Shook. In flew, the familiar sight of Eulin the whitebird.
The Sprite has never seen a white bird thought kay.He could see her reaction was one of alarm, she was unprepared and quite a bit nervous, it caught her by surprise. It was strange to her; she didn’t scream, she did not react like how normal young girls might have acted, this Sprite had pluck, she took the stone she held behind her back and hurled it at the great bird as if to make it flank, “shoooo!!!” She shrieked.
Kay scurried forward he threw himself between the bird and boulder like he was a goalkeeper trying to save a ball, in his hand, he gripped the red wooden fan which he flicked open it caused a thunderous crash, and he somehow managed to deflect the stone.
He rolled forward and back into a low guarded stance with the fan once again closed , like some-thing out of an old Hong Kong kungfu movie.
The sprites Jaw dropped open, and she appeared speechless that was the last thing she was expecting.
The heron blinked its eyes as it looked down its long beak, at the strange female, She could see that the Bird was, in fact, no danger to her, she’d been startled and reacted like most youngsters do when they are untrained.
Li kay wasn’t surprised, in fact, he was
A little bit content that he’d seen the cautious side to the young Sprite, he demanded “what in the blazes are you doing? “I don’t know, ” she stuttered “I… I, I was scared okay, you said you wanted me to be on edge. ” The sprite was quite articulate and in a naive way, one in which perhaps she was too young to understand, quite disarming, it was hard to be angry at her when the girl had only done what any guardian would’ve wished for their child.
“well! “Kay growled “there is a ground rule here., and that is……Don’t harm the white bird!!! ”
He paused and softened his voice “this, is Eulin! And he is on our side! We need to look after him, do you understand ” He hadn’t realized but saying on our side like that had made them comrades, they had more in common than they both appreciated.

Eulin was not hurt in the slightest, bemused he crouched there majestic and resplendent, he spoke in the familiar voice that was amorphous and only really heard within the confines of Your head- jussi ; a bird term of Endearment -“who is this strange female are we taking strays in now”, Kay responded ” enough now beaky!” it must have seemed quite mad to the young sprite, or maybe just eccentric to see a grown-up speaking to a bird “I took you in, in the dead of night when you broke your wing didn’t I, don’t be so facetious !”
For some reason, the Sprite said ” I’m Brownie,!” as if she too could hear the voice mystified kay said “Do you, hear the bird too” he looked at her, and she nodded. ” good! ” “Let me introduce you, a brownie” he pointed at the Brownie, then his finger moved to the bird “Eulin, a crazy white bird!”
Whilst they stood uncomfortably in silence, kay repaired the counterpane the wind was picking up he could hear it hissing as it crossed the plains writhing like a serpent
“Sprite !” He yelled “Eulin we’d better get inside,” he said as there was a large bolt of lightning. The wind-breakers weren’t perfect there was dust coming through the places that weren’t entirely covered, the sound of the storm was now considerably louder, even louder
Then carrying the sound of their voices, he thought this is going to be a bad one, it had grown too quickly for comfort , he grabbed the sprites hand , and together they wrestled against the current of the oncoming wind, ” hold tight” he told Brownie , he grabbed the bird in his other arm an wrapped him loosely in his shawl , they moved slowly ,like an obscure human chain. Dust was getting through the gaps in the windbreakers, and into their eyes, so vision was limited to none,

They moved through the threshold in towards the inner sanctum of Kay’s house and indoors. All three of them fell through the threshold and onto a pile in the grand reception hall.
The three lay there for a while, what a picture they must have made a huge white bird, stretched out on its back, the master of the villa, and a faery stranger, who now was damp and dusty.
There they lay for a minute, but it seemed longer, the silence was broken by the little Sprite who started laughing profusely, as a feather was tickling her nose, Kay looked at her, for a moment he thought she even had tears in her eyes, she was very naive , there was something very contagious about it as he too found himself unable to prevent himself from laughing, until he couldn’t stop ..an adventure had begun, the game was afoot, and there seemed to be more questions than answers .
It was good to laugh again.
Ow, his sides hurt.