She couldn’t quite meet Quinn’s steady gaze, so Angelique turned to stare into the shade of the forest and watched falling leaves dance in the slight breeze. “I’m actually not here on Farset’s behalf—though at the Summit held to review the widespread calamities that have been hitting the continent, Rider Nareena did speak of the sudden increase of wraith and troll attacks. I’m here for the elves.”
“I see. I’m afraid I can help you even less, then,” Quinn said. “No one has seen much of the elves for over five years now.”
Angelique kept staring at the trees—it was strangely calming. “They’re cursed.”
Quinn’s smile dropped, and her eyebrows shot up. “What? How is that possible?”
Angelique wasn’t surprised she didn’t know—only recently had Odette explained the situation to Angelique.
She tucked some of her wild hair behind her ear to give her hands something to do. “I don’t know. I still haven’t spoken to them. I found out my information only because a friend of mine has made contact with them. She doesn’t know the particulars of their curse, for it seems they cannot speak freely of it.” She finally pulled her gaze from the forest and swiveled to face Quinn, unable to keep a grim frown off her lips. “I spoke of it to the Veneno Conclave, and they sent several representatives to the Alabaster Forest to inquire. They were not able to meet any elves, which meant they could not enter the woods. As the Alabaster Forest is the sovereign land of the elves, entering their home without their permission is considered an act of war.”
Quinn furrowed her eyebrows. “What will the Conclave do?”
“Not much. It seems there is not much they can do.” Angelique pursed her lips. “Politics has their hands tied. Any elf-friends may enter, of course, but those are unfortunately far and few between.”
This was the one spot where, unfortunately, the Veneno Conclave’s reluctance to act was acceptable, though she wished it were otherwise.
Quinn turned her face up slightly. “Except for your friend?”
“Ahh, yes.” Angelique squinted at Quinn and tried to figure out how much she could safely say. “Odette makes deliveries for them.”
“Can you not meet the elves with her?”
“She does not meet them often and will not meet with them for several more weeks. I will wait until then if I must, but I rather hope not. By then it may be too late.” Angelique’s gaze wandered back to the trees as she felt the taunting tug of defeat pulling at her again. “Or perhaps it is already too late. Our enemy…the Chosen….”
The Chosen were a group of rogue mages who used magic for nefarious purposes. They had first popped up hundreds of years ago in Verglas, before the famed Snow Queen tore their forces apart and banished them. Since then, the Chosen had bided their time and built up their forces.
Angelique shook her head and tried to dislodge the threat of despair. “But enough. As you can see, I’m afraid no one can help me except the elves themselves, and it seems they are in a position that makes them unable to respond.”
“I understand.” Quinn nodded. “I would still like to give you my contact information, as well as the name of my commanding officer, so you may find me should you need it.”
Angelique didn’t know if she should gape at the soldier or hug her. “You really are fearless. I give you all of that bleak information, and it doesn’t scare you off?”
Another smile bloomed on Quinn’s lips. “I am a soldier in the Farset army. We are trained differently than most forces.”
Differently? Most people would have bolted or started delegating more work on me at this point.
Angelique speculatively studied Quinn. “Prince Severin of Loire told me previously that the Farset army was very unique—and undefeatable in forests. But even with your training, I thought the threat of a curse would have spooked you.”
Quinn’s smile dimmed a little, but the long lines of her body remained relaxed. “Ah, perhaps that is because the Twelve Princesses of Farset have been under some strange sort of compulsion for a few years now. Most believe they, too, are cursed.”
And there it is: there’s a curse around here after all.
Angelique massaged her forehead, hoping to ward off the headache a curse was sure to bring. “I had nearly forgotten about them. By Pegasus’ feathers—there are too many curses plaguing the lands.”
“My army band and I have volunteered to investigate the princesses’ curse.”
“Have you?” Angelique waited, but Quinn didn’t follow up with any kind of request for help. This, combined with the fact that Quinn offered to help her, elevated the soldier up to almost a saint-like stature in Angelique’s mind.
Naturally, this meant Angelique had to help her at least a little.
A person who is this good deserves it!
Angelique fumbled with her black cloak, struggling to unhook it. “In that case, I have something that may help you.” When she finally got the cloak off, she held it out to Quinn.
The soldier took a few steps backwards and shook her head. “I couldn’t.”
Angelique’s lips curled slightly upwards. “You would refuse a gift from an enchantress-in-training?”
“It is fall. Farset nights are usually cold, but soon they will turn bone-chillingly freezing.”
Angelique had to press her lips together to keep from laughing.
She is too kind! If only there were more like her.
“Ahh, again your noble kindness.” Angelique smiled—which came even easier now and was, dare she say it, warm. “But don’t worry—my dress is spelled, just like this cloak. I could wear just my dress in Verglas and still be fine. Which reminds me, I ought to show you how the cloak works. Here.”
Angelique ignored Quin’s protests and wrapped the cloak around Quinn, latching it over the soldier’s right shoulder.
Now, what charms did Rumpelstiltskin say were left in the thing? I know it leaked some of the magic he had put in it, which was why he needed a new one, but there were some dead useful charms for a soldier investigating some cursed princesses.
Angelique strained her memory for another moment or two before she recalled what her craftmage friend had listed off when he gave it to her.
“There’s a heat charm to keep you from freezing, a cooling charm for hot days, and a fire resistance spell, so it won’t catch on fire. Those are all passive spells—meaning they’re active all the time. What I think you’ll find most useful is the invisibility spell.”
Quinn had been fidgeting in the gifted cloak, but she paused when Angelique finished the list. “Invisibility?”
“Yes! It’s a hard spell to put into cloth goods, but this cloak used to belong to a Grandmaster Craftmage. He infused all the spells himself.” Angelique smiled fondly with the memory of Stil and the proud way he’d strutted around in the new cloak his wife, Gemma, had made for him. He’d be happy to know someone was going to get some more use out of his old cloak.
Angelique cleared her throat and forced herself to focus. “To activate it, hold the fabric up to your mouth so your breath can touch it, and say shroud. To release the spell, do the same thing, only speak the word reveal.”