Reversing Fae

Chapter 12 

Faragon was the advisor of the late Seelie Queen. He is an elf and also the twin brother of Grignel. The last time I saw him was during my escape from this specific palace. I always feel guilty whenever I see Grignel back at the Unseelie Palace because I remember Faragon from him. It always makes me wonder what happened to the elf that helped me find Klovis. I was smiling widely for a while until I noticed that something was off.

Faragon was missing his left arm.

The damage was clear as Faragon wears a tunic type of uniform. The cut can be clearly seen and I knew that it was done by blade.

The elf sees where I was looking. "If you're thinking about blaming this on yourself, I highly suggest that you don't."

"Faragon—"

"I am an advisor. I know what was going to happen when I did what I did. This is actually better than being sentenced to death." He laughs it off like it was nothing. "I guess being smart has its perks."

"It looks like it hurt. How can you act like it was nothing?"

"I said it before, I already expected it." Faragon waves away my worries as if what happened to him was just a minor injury. He pats his missing arm and grins. "It is good to see you again, Lady Livia. Though I have to say that I didn't wish to see you here again."

"Sorry. I didn't want to come here as well. There's just something that I had to get."

"Were you successful in your quest at least?" Faragon inquires. I nod my head. A relieved smile appears on his lips. "I'm glad." He pauses. All the joy from his face evaporates, and then I start to see a ghost of desperation in his eyes. "Lady, do you think you can do me a favor?"

"Anything." I answer quicker than I expected. With everything that Faragon has done for me, it is the least that I can do.

"I want you to take my brother with you."

"Grignel!?" A massive swirl of emotions settled at the pit of my stomach. Knowing that he is here made me happy that he is alive. However, it also made me feel nervous about what his current state is. I hope that he is alright. "Grignel is here? In the palace?"

"Yes." Faragon nods grimly. "He is."

Judging by how his expression suddenly turns dark, I know that Grignels condition isn't good.

I must not have responded for too long for Faragon to assume that I was thinking of leaving without his brother because the elf suddenly begins to bargain with me.

"I know how much you hate this place, but I promise that I will make sure that you and my brother will be able to leave here safely. Just please. I don't think that Grignel can make it if he doesn't leave." I can hear the desperate cries in his words even when he was trying to say it calmly.

"Faragon, all you needed to do was tell me that Grignel is here and, no questions asked, I am going to help. If Klovis was here, I know that he would do the same."

There's a change in Faragon's expression. For the first time, he was smiling widely, like a huge thorn in his chest had just been pulled out.

"Thank you." He lowers his head. "Thank you so much, lady Livia."

"And you are coming with us too."

"Pardon?" Faragon takes a step back in surprise.

"I can't leave you here. If they found out that you helped us, who knows what he will do to you?" I made the mistake of leaving him once, and that caused him to get punished. Surely, he can't expect me to leave him again just to be tortured again—or worse—killed.

A torn expression made his flawless elf face wrinkle. It was there for a brief instance before it was replaced with a small smile.

"I believe it is better to take things step by step. Let's first make sure to get my brother out of prison." Faragon is quick to turn his back on me and starts heading the other way.

I am not blind. I know that he is avoiding a topic. Rather than asking him about it, I quietly follow him since I also feel anxious about being in front of Zhier's room for too long. Who knows when he'll be back?

***

I have never ventured alone in the palace before, and it is for a good reason. If you aren't familiar with the corridors or wall hints, you would easily get lost. The walls and paths are constantly changing, making anyone foolish enough to become a trap in the palace. This is the sort of situation that I have never experienced back when I was living in the palace with Klovis. The Unseelie Palace is much more stable and welcoming. At some point, I actually consider it to be my home in the fairy realm.

Left, right, right, left.

I honestly can't follow the amount of turn we took to get to the holding cell where they keep their prisoners. As much as I want to, I can't peek who is in the holding cell. The design of the holding cells is guarded with large thorn traps. I can see a little from the other side, but I wouldn't dare to look closely because all around the thorns, there are venus fly traps everywhere.

They aren't just the normal ones. They are massive, and they move swiftly—not to mention that their teeth look more like fangs.

"Don't touch anything, or you might loose your hand."

He says it like it isn't obvious enough. Just one look at those plants is already sending red alerts in my head. I guess this is the reason that there aren't any guards because the gate itself is the guard.

A few more steps ahead before we pause in front of one of the cells. By the looks of it, Faragon was trying to burn the thorns, but considering that he only has one hand, it was taking too long. I decided to help and burn away all the thorns along with the Venus fly traps.

Faragon looked at me with an astounded expression when I created flames.

"Yes, I can do magic now. It's a long story." I answer the question plastered on his expression.

"Uhh, right. My brother is—" Faragon turns to the cell. His face pales. "-brother!" His alertness made me look in the same direction and saw Grignel lying flat on the ground, unmoving and covered in blood.

*~*~*~END OF CHAPTER~*~*~*