Kerwyn the Fae (special preview)

There was a castle north of your village perched upon the rockiest cliff of the mountain. It had been there as long as you could remember, as long as anyone could remember really. It sat up there as a decaying statue. No one had been in or out in decades, only birds flew back and forth, and only thorns grew around it.

“Stop staring! We’ve got chores to do!” Your sister snapped at you.

“Right,” you gasped. You followed along after her, taking one last glance at the castle over your shoulder.

You couldn’t tell you had been bed ridden only a month ago. Sometimes your bones ached from the long rest, but it was a miracle you were moving at all. No one wanted to speak of what brought you there, they said it would be too traumatic for you. And yet, here you were, running errands for the family, doing your chores, and going about like nothing had happened. Which you understood is exactly what you family wanted.

“You would think you had enough of dreaming,” you sister scoffed as you picked out vegetables in the market.

“Who said anything about dreaming? I was looking. Don’t you look at things?” You snapped.

Your sister gave you the eye and went back to inspecting the cabbages. “That castle should be none of your concern. It’s not something us mortals need to worry about.”

“You don’t find it fascinating then?” You asked.

“No, I don’t. It’s a decaying house on a decaying hill.” She didn’t even look at you that time, instead she picked out a cabbage and moved on.

You sighed and shook your head. There were gaps in your memory, so you had to rely on your family, your sister especially, for a lot. Despite being the eldest child you were treated as the youngest now, almost like an invalid.

You were going towards the bakery on your sister’s command when you spotted a magpie upon the store sign. It was looking at you, not just in that ‘i’m a tiny animal inspecting the predator’ sort of way. But more like it was looking at you. This magpie had particularly bright, golden eyes and a very long tail that seemed to be missing a feather, or had a bald patch.

The magpie hopped across the sign, still looking at you.

“Good morning,” you said to it. “If I get a particularly crusty loaf, I’ll try to give you a piece.”

The magpie fluffed up then fluttered out it’s wings. “Wock, wock,” it called out.

You smiled, giggling to yourself. “I’ll be right back, I promise.” You started to go into the store when you think you hear someone calling your name. You turn around, but no one is there expect the magpie.

When you leave the store, you see the magpie sitting in the window, watching you wet again. “How curious,” you murmured to yourself.

You walked outside and presented the magpie with a roll. “The shopkeep gave me this, so I can share a bit with you if you’d like.”

The magpie opened it’s beak and said your name.

You stared, perturbed now that it was looking and speaking at you.

“I beg your pardon?” You whispered to the bird. “Do you know me somehow?”

The magpie hopped across the windowsill. “My lady, we’ve been looking for you! Everywhere1 Up and down! All over the mountain!”

You opened your mouth and shut it. You looked to the roll then back at that magpie. You knew you had somehow hit your head, but you didn’t realize how hard until a bird began speaking to you.

“I’m not sure what’s happening,” you said with an uncertain laugh.

“You don’t recognize me! I thought you did when you offered me a crust!” The magpie fluttered and rolled, acting dramatic for the sake of being dramatic.

“I don’t know any birds!” You hissed with a soft voice. “People are coming!”

The magpie flew at you and perched himself on your shoulder. “My lady, it is I, Penry! Do you really not remember me?”

The name rang a cheerful pleasant bell in the back of your mind, but it did not conjure up anything else. You looked around, ducking away when you saw your sister coming from down the street. You hid, going down a small alley where you sat in a doorway.

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid-”

Penry fluttered his feathers and jumped down from your shoulder to the cobblestones below where he began pacing. “Oh this can’t be happening! They really took your memory too! Cruel! Cruel!”

A painful flash of light coursed through your brain. It felt like a jab from a pin and twice as bright as the sun. You flinched and  covered your face with your hands.