I noticed a green and brown stretch of land on my left—it was not very close to us yet not very far. We were going through a bay now, instead of the vast sea, to the border of Village of Magic—Ryan had to agree to take me to the borders— it was the least he could do.

Ryan had said that the route through the bay was shorter than the sea-route. I had only shrugged at that time, however, if not for the bay, I would not have been able to see the long stretch of green, dotted with browns and sometimes, a very rare yellow.

“Isn’t that where we are supposed to go?” I asked Ryan, pointing towards the green landmass.

He looked at me, then towards the stretch of land. “No,” Ryan said. “That is the Band of Forests. Village of Magic is an island, quite a few nautical miles away from here.”

I nodded and nudged Kia to move ahead. We covered I did not know how much distance, in silence, when I remembered that Myra had told me that Aeron only took over the Kingdoms.

I glanced at the thread-like stretch of Band of Forests and frowned a little. We were not that much close to the Forest now, but its thin appearance looked duller than the general bright form of Odalis’s landmasses. Maybe it was because we were going away from it that it seemed cold and lustreless.

“Why did Aeron not take over the Band of Forests and Village of Magic?” I asked him. I was keeping all my interactions with him a minimum, talking to him only when I needed to know something; and like a good human being…uh, faerie…he was answered all my questions.

“The Village of Magic is protected with spells, and the Band of Forests…it—it is a part of Odalis but in a way, detached from it, so Aeron cannot take over the Band of Forests,” Ryan said.

“Deta—?” I started to ask but Ryan cut me off.

“—but he will most probably try to take over the Village of Magic,” he added.

“Detached? Why are the forests detached?” I asked

“Uh…I only know that the dark witches and really notorious faeries are banished to the forests, so that is why, maybe, the forests do not work in the same way as the rest of Odalis. It is, umm, more like a place for the banished creatures to do whatever they want, that will not affect the rest of the continent." Ryan glanced at the now blurred landmass of dull green. "The dark witches are known to cause storms, landslides and many more of such havocs that are destructive to the kingdoms. They can do all that they want in the forests, no one cares since it will not affect the Kingdoms. However, everyone considers the Band of Forests to be an inauspicious place, reserved only for the worst of them.”

“Can’t they come out of the Band of Forests? Is some magic working, keeping them in that place?” I raised my brows.

Ryan gave me a why-will-she-want-them-to-get-out-of-that-place look, in other words, a bewildered expression. I shrugged.

“Those who are banished are bound to live in the Band of Forests forever, until further notice, that is. Once banished, however, they are forgotten, and that further notice is never given,” Ryan said shrugging.

I nodded and looked forward.

I saw the outlines of land—a shore. I was busy inquiring Ryan and did not realize we had come near the Village of Magic.

***

“What are you muttering?” Ryan muttered something under his breath before he proceeded to enter Village of Magic.

Ryan turned to me—he seemed to have been thinking something. I waited a few seconds for him to talk. “What?” I asked again, when Ryan remained silent for too long.

“I don’t know…”

I furrowed my brows.

“…if I should tell you.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“I can try. Obviously.”

I sighed. I was so confused. What was he talking about?

“Please try,” I said blandly.

Ryan looked at the yellow beach of Village of Magic, again muttered something, and ran his fingers through his hair. Then, he looked at me. “You know how this island is protected by spells,” he started.

I nodded.

“The wards prevent one from entering the island. No one can enter until and unless the wards are lifted for some time, either by a lifting spell or by a senior witch from the Village of Magic. I uttered the lifting spell so that I can enter the Village of Magic.”

I contemplated what he said. “Why were you so secretive about it?”

Ryan looked irritated. “Maybe because the spell is a secret.” he said.

I needed to know about it. I needed to know as much as I could and Ryan would not tell me anything if I remained silent. Everything was not written in the books—I knew I would have to acquire knowledge on certain things about Odalis either from my own experience or by pestering someone else who had the needed experience.

“You give too little explanations,” I said.

When I saw Ryan, still looking at me with a blank look on his face, I added, “I am not going to tell the confidential matters of Odalis to anyone, Ryan. Was I wrong to assume that you trust me?”

"No. I trust you."

"Your behaviour says otherwise."

“Most humans would not even have noticed if anything was secretive,” Ryan said to himself. Nevertheless, I heard what he said. It was a little insulting to my kind, but I let that pass. However, I believed that any sane and conscious human being would be able to notice if someone was trying to hide something, especially if that someone, being as confident as Ryan was, behaved like a nervous wreck.

“I am very inquisitive in nature, Ryan. And you did not try to hide your weird behaviour from me,” I said with a sweet smile.

Ryan’s eyes snapped to me as he realized I had heard what he said. “Why are you even human?” he blurted out.

I laughed in his face. His comment was so abrupt, so out of the blue — I could not help but laugh. I should not have, because what he said could come off as rude, as if I did not deserve to be a human—maybe I would have been offended if those words came out from the mouth of a fellow human, but Ryan was a faerie, and the way he said it—it did not sound offensive at all. It sounded outright funny, and almost like a compliment? A very weird compliment, I thought, and laughed some more.

“Stop laughing, Spark.”

“You—you,” I said gasping for some air—I was feeling out of breath due to all the laughs. “You want me to be a ghost?”

Ryan’s eyes widened, then they were shut close. I could tell he was trying not to laugh at his own embarrassing situation. After a couple of seconds, he opened his eyes. “Why would I want you to be a ghost, Spark?” he said and then cleared his throat.

"I suppose you meant why am I so attentive?" I released my hold on Kia and crossed my arms.

Ryan came to me, his tail gliding across the water. "I like that you are attentive." He brushed his finger along the curve of my ear. "I like that you are a human." He took my palm and caressed my little finger — my finger small and child-like against his long, slender ones. "It was something that came out of my mouth."

I turned my attention from his hand to his eyes. "It must have been true, since you cannot lie."

"Perhaps it was a subconscious thought, one I hadn't realized earlier that I had thought of," Ryan chuckled. "Great way for that realization to come."

I gave him a faint smile. "Our subconscious do have a plethora of unusual thoughts."

Ryan smiled at me and with a small, swift kiss on my finger, left my hand. Observing the sky, he said, "It will soon be evening. I must go now and you should also return underwater."

“NO!” I said immediately. “First tell me why were you being so secretive. And tell me the spell too.” I flashed him a saccharine smile.

______________

Hi! So...

Chapter 31! Still a lot of chapters to go XD.

How are you liking the story so far? Are you happy with the characterization? Do tell me. 💫😊

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