2412 Tull 17, Kindreth

Xanthy frowned at the line of trees that didn't seem to end. It's only the second hour of the first quarter and her skin already felt like it was being baked under the sun. She wiped at the sweat beading on her forehead and turned to June who sat beside her. "How much longer?"

June clicked his tongue. "Relax your breeches. We have barely passed through the Disfavoreds."

Xanthy sighed. Yesterday, they had spent the whole day trekking through the forest. She had memorized the ballooning crowns and the sound of air whistling as it rustled leaves.

The wheels caught a snag and Xanthy bumped her shoulder against the wooden wall. She hissed and then looked around. Hopefully, nobody heard that.

June had snuck them into a passing merchant caravan yesterday. He claimed that this would get them to the Commons faster than walking on foot. Xanthy had noted the four-legged animals that looked so much like the dagrine the Civil Guards used. Yes, if those animals were stronger when pulling carts, then what June claimed would be true.

They had waited until night had fallen and after tailing the merchants all day, Xanthy had never felt more relieved when the dark skinned fairies stopped and set up camp. It's only a matter of tip-toeing and climbing the carts after that.

General Pell's going to have Xanthy's head for this.

Sunlight beamed through the only window to the wooden carriage that carried most of the merchants' goods. Xanthy had tried to elbow June to scoot a bit so the sun wasn't directly in her face but the boy was busy snoring with his arm plopped over a crate.

That was three hours ago. June awoke and muttered things to himself that Xanthy didn't catch before flashing her a hazy smile. Then, silence coated the air around them with only the sounds of wheels clattering against the forest soil to accompany them.

Xanthy wiped another round of sweat from her forehead. June still hasn't scooted away. He was looking out of the window with a disinterested look.

"So," Xanthy gestured for June to move to the side. "Have you been to the Commons before?"

June moved aside until his back was leaning against the crate beside him. "Yeah," he watched Xanthy crawl to his side.

"What can you say about it? I have not been," Xanthy plopped next to June. The sunlight was no longer in her face. She sighed. That's notches better.

June tapped his chin and pursed his lips. "Hmm," he pondered. "It is noisy. Smelly. Depressing, mostly."

Xanthy raked her hands on her hair. Khaki strands fell at the edge of her vision. "Like the Disfavoreds, then?"

"The Disfavoreds have this...sentimental vibe," he shrugged and waved his hand "The Commons is just..." he shook his head. "You will see when we get there."

Xanthy glanced at the window now showing her a montage of trees, morning sky, and the occasional animal snout that edges past their cart. "How can you be sure we would even end up in the Commons?" she asked. "These merchants might as well be on their way to the Junction City."

"Which is what we need, mostly," June replied with a lazy tone. Then, his eyes widened as if he realized what he had just said. He chuckled lightly. "B-but, to answer your question, I know we are going to the Commons because I overheard their conversation as we were tailing them."

Xanthy raised an eyebrow. What an observant fellow. June coughed into his fist and continued, "Of course, there is still the matter of the border to think about..."

"Border?"

June blinked at Xanthy. "Yeah. Border," he inclined his head at her like that explained everything. "You are from here. Surely you know about it?"

Xanthy pursed her lips. "I know that they keep a tight patrol so that no Disfavored could escape to the Commons but I never knew how tight. I do not even know what the border looks like."

June sighed and let his head thump backwards at the crate. His throat bobbed as he spoke. "That makes it harder for us," he twined his hands by his stomach.

"How did you understand the merchants, anyway?" Xanthy eyed the crates around them. Vials clinked with every turn of the wheels.

"I could speak Keijula," June scratched his nose. "Could you not? You are a fairy."

Xanthy extended her foot towards a pile of folded animal hides pushed against the corner. "I only became a fairy two days ago. If that makes sense," she glanced at June to find him staring at her without blinking.

"Two days ago?" he knitted his eyebrows as if counting the days that went by.

Xanthy chuckled. "Is it normal?" The rolls of textile of every shade to Xanthy's left had never looked so interesting. A lump formed in her throat. "Do fairies grow pointed ears at random?"

June pinched his palm. His white hair had never looked so messy with bits of mud, dust, and splinters clinging to it. "No, they do not," he shook his head. "Most fairy bodies are developed at your age. Ears included. I have never heard of a human turning into a fairy before. Are you sure that that is what happened?"

"I am human. I feel human," Xanthy insisted. "Then all these signs started appearing. First the ears then the magic. I am just...confused."

"Hey, you will figure it out," June smiled. "Do you remember anything that might tell you something? Maybe about where you are from?"

Xanthy frowned. Why hadn't she not thought about that? "I was born in the Disfavoreds, I think."

"Family? Do you know them?" June prodded.

The word set an uneasy pit in Xanthy's stomach. She knew what that word was but she wasn't sure about what it meant. "No family," she shook her head. "Not anyone I could remember, at least."

"Well, what do you remember?"

Xanthy stared at the crates filled to the brim with strange, colorful fruits. She tried picturing herself as a child with people she could call her parents. Or her with friends. Instead of the bright landscapes of the things she experienced, anything past that time when she was ten was a black, barren field.

"That is strange," Xanthy tamped down the panic rising in her throat. "I do not remember anything before I was ten. I was at the Disfavoreds by then."

June narrowed his eyes. "Strange, indeed," he bit his lip. "Perhaps that is when you were dropped into the Disfavoreds? Whoever these people were, they must have access to a powerful thyminka too."

Xanthy didn't understand half the things June said but she shook her head. "I do not know," she sighed. "I do not even know who I am anymore."

"Do you, at least, have a family name?" June asked.

"Vivenca," Xanthy blurted even though she didn't know of it until now. What was happening to her? Disfavoreds didn't have family names if they were born inside the city! Her throat constricted.

June, oblivious of the turmoil in Xanthy's mind, looked towards the ceiling. "Vivenca?" he muttered. "Sounds like it is from Penleth. Or Narfalk. Let us not forget Alkara too even though that is technically the same as Penleth..."

The words blurred in Xanthy's ears. Had her whole life been a lie? First, she discovered that she wasn't human. She couldn't even trust her own memories. Then, suddenly, she knew of things she hadn't until they were asked of her.

To top it all off, darkness crept at the edge of her vision like when she was running from the Civil Guards. It was the darkness that blew houses apart and torched sempervivum to ashes. Xanthy whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut. Calm down. Calm down. She could handle this.

"Xanthy?" June leaned closer to her with a concerned look in his eyes. "It is alright. Just...breathe."

Xanthy inhaled and exhaled loudly. One. Two. "It is just...a lot," she rasped.

"We can talk about something else," June offered.

"Yeah," Xanthy nodded. "Talk about...magic or something."

"Magic? Okay," June tousled his hair and dropped back to his position against a crate. Xanthy glanced over to find it full of bottles of dark red liquid. Wine. For the Nobility, perhaps?

"How much do you know about magic, anyway?" June's question tore Xanthy's attention from wanting a taste of the premium drink.

"O-oh?" Xanthy wiped at her mouth in case there was saliva dripping from it. Then she shrugged. "I only know that humans can cast magic, too."

June nodded. "But not like you did back there," he winced when Xanthy glared at him. "Humans do not have their innate ability, their synnavaim, as fairies do. So, to cast magic, they would need to embody it in words."

"Like you did when we were running?" Xanthy recalled. Then, she frowned. "The Civil Guards weren't shouting when they were raining spells on us."

June bobbed his head. "With proper training, you can just cast spells just by thinking the words," he explained.

"So does that mean that you are not trained properly?"

June chuckled. "You catch on quick," he said. "I learn on the job."

So...June was Human? That makes it all easier. Xanthy pursed her lips. She didn't need to be afraid. "And fairies? They have that sina-something."

"Synnavaim? Yeah," June tucked his hands inside his dark cloak. "It is their innate ability, the one that dictates which race they belong to."

Xanthy touched the lobes of her ears. Much to her disappointment, they're still pointy. "Hypothetically speaking, does that mean I have a synnavaim, too?"

"Could be, yeah," June shrugged. "Hypothetically, there are also a ton to choose from. Take your pick."

A light laugh escaped from Xanthy's lips. "Well, what are my choices?"

"You could bend light, like the Pixies," June laid his palm out for Xanthy to see. "Or you could summon spirits from the afterlife, like the Banshees."

Just the thought of interacting with the dead spooked Xanthy. She wouldn't want to cross paths with a Banshee. Ever. June rattled off the races. In the course of five minutes, Xanthy learned that there were fairies who could control memories, vanish into thin air, and invent machines. There were ones who could sculpt glass and alter their appearance. Varichrias could weave magic into anything they want.

"...and then you get to the nature fairies who could charm animals and make plants grow," June was saying. He gestured wildly. "They go woosh, woosh with their elika listris powers and the next thing we know, they have built a forest or something."

Xanthy didn't quite get what elika listris was, but the way June made her laugh.

"Lastly, you could bend the elements, like the Sprites," June leaned in and winked. "The merchants owning this cart? They are fire sprites. You could tell by their refusal to wear tunics."

As much as it amused Xanthy, panic rose to her throat. Her stomach tightened. "What are we doing here, then? They are dangerous," she looked around and considered jumping through the window to escape.

"It is fine. Merchants are harmless, I think," June gestured at her to calm down. "Besides, they would not even know we were here."

Xanthy relaxed. June looked like he knew what he was doing so she would trust him for now.

"So? Which one do you think you have?" June asked.

"Mmm," Xanthy touched her chin. "Being able to bend light sounds cool. So is that vanishing into thin air. You sure those are everything?"

"There is another synnavaim but it is no use pining for it since it is reserved for the beyonders," June shrugged.

"Beyonders?"

June scratched the back of his head. "Ah, that is a long discussion," he inclined his head towards the window. "Seems like we are slowing down."

Xanthy looked at the cart's floor. True enough, the vials clinked against each other less. The line of trees thinned. "So, Beyonders—?"

"Shh," June pressed a finger to Xanthy's lips, cutting her off. She recoiled.

Outside, footsteps scuffled. Voices floated in the air. The conversation was too fast for Xanthy to catch. Slowly, June rose to a crouch, prompting Xanthy to follow. Together, they toed around the cart's floor. June seemed to know where to step without eliciting the slightest creak and Xanthy did her best to follow.

June pried the cart's lock from the inside using his dagger. He tossed the broken metal into a pile of fur by the door. He splayed his fingers on the wooden door and pushed. Sunlight streamed in full and almost blinded Xanthy.

With a grimace, she followed June as he stepped off the cart and into the open. They were...at the Magic Road.

June hissed at Xanthy and she saw him already by another line of carts. When had he gotten there? Xanthy picked her pace and followed June as he wove through the throng. Wheels clacked. Animals brayed. Merchants chattered.

There seemed to be a line for something. Merchants leaned against their carts while fanning their necks with a stack of thin parchment. Young fairies with various skin and hair colors ran back and forth, carrying water skins. Some trickled water into the mouths of the animals pulling their carts.

It was...normal. All around Xanthy, fairies walked, drank, and complained almost like humans. The only thing that set them apart were their pointed ears. Was this...was this the people she was taught to hate?

Why were these merchants even going to Cardina if the Humans hate fairies so much? Why would the Humans depend on the fairies for trade? It's something Xanthy didn't understand since she was a child.

June led her into yet another cart. Its merchant was missing and instead of the usual four-legged animal with interesting coats pulling the cart, it was a large bird. Xanthy spread her arms in askance towards June.

"Why are we switching carts?" Xanthy hissed as June pulled her to the side of the cart where the locked door stood. The only ones who could see them from here were the twin dagrine pulling the next cart. She hoped they wouldn't rat her out.

June twisted his dagger whose point was slotted into the keyhole. Xanthy had seen him do this at least twice. Should she be trusting this guy? He seems like a talented thief.

Silently, June pulled the door open and shuffled Xanthy in. He shut the door behind them. Xanthy's surroundings dimmed at the absence of windows on the cart.

June trudged forward and tapped the floor with his boot. Then, he crouched and yanked a trap door open. "Good. We can escape through here when we need to," he declared.

"Would we need to?" Xanthy asked as June closed the door. "What was that door for?"

"To unload the crates," June answered, wiping his palms against his trousers. "It would be such a hassle to shuffle the inner crates through the cart's steps."

Xanthy nodded. "So, we stay like this until we reach the Commons?"

June plopped down on the floor and rested his head against the wall. Unlike their previous cart, this one only had a few boxes of dark pellets that smelled like meat. Animal food?

"Yeah," June answered. "Yeah, we do."

Xanthy hoped that he was right.