Once upon a dreadful time

Geas

When her silver mirror went black, Gloriana staggered and fell weak, nearly swooning, and Auberon scooped her up in his arms and bore her to her bed, all the while calling for her ladies-in-waiting. He knelt at the bedside and took her hand in his and chafed her wrist and whispered to her, but what he said, Regar knew not. First one and then another and then two more Fairy maidens came rushing in. “My king,” said the first,

“we will attend her now.” After a hesitant moment, Auberon kissed the queen’s fingers and stood and motioned to Regar, and together they stepped from the room.

“I’m afraid it came as a great shock to her, to us both,” said Auberon as they walked down the corridor. “We each thought him safe, locked away as he was, in the Castle of Shadows.”

“My lord,” said Regar as they entered another chamber, “the Wizard Orbane is your son?”

Glumly, Auberon nodded. “Blood of my loins, as is your mother.”

“And yet you raised your armies against him in the last war.”

“Oui. He had to be stopped, and without my aid it could not have been done. . or rather, it could not have been done in time. I and the others delayed him until a solution could be found. Little did we know that two thieves would provide the key to defeating my son.”

“Two thieves?”

“Valeray and Roulan.”

“Valeray? Of Le Coeur de les Saisons?”

At Auberon’s nod, Regar said, “But he is now a king.”

“Oui, and Roulan is now a duke. ’Twas their rewards for the part they played in the war, for they are the ones who stole the amulets that brought Orbane down. My son’s own magic did him in, just as foreseen by Lisane.”

“Lisane? You know Lisane?”

“Oui. A lovely Elfmaiden she is.”

Regar’s eyes flew wide in startlement. “Elfmaiden? Lisane is an Elf?”

Auberon frowned. “You know Lisane?”

Regar’s gaze softened. “She is my truelove.”

“And yet you did not recognize her as an Elf?”

“I have not had dealings with Elves,” said Regar.

Auberon laughed. “Ah, my petit-fils, did you not see her faint golden hue, much the same as yours?”

“But my own mere had a hint of d’or about her, and so I thought it but natural.”

Auberon smiled and said, “ ’Tis the glimmer of both Fairies and Elves, for we are much the same.”

The intimate room they had entered was lit with soft light.

A sofa and two comfortable chairs centered about a low table formed a conversation pit, and on a sideboard sat glasses and a crystal decanter filled with a deep ruby-red wine. At Auberon’s gesture, Regar took one of the chairs, while the Fairy King poured a bit of the liquid into each of two goblets. He handed one to Regar and kept the other for himself and sat in the chair opposite.

Flic said I was to take neither food nor drink, for-

“Fear not, Grandson,” said Auberon, with a smile. “I have not magicked the liqueur. Besides, I am not certain it would work against you, Fairy-blooded as you are. You may safely drink.”

Regar hesitated but a fraction, and then took a sip. A warm glow slid down his throat and into his chest.

“It is made from bluebells and blackberries,” said Auberon, sipping his own. “An old family recipe, very old. Someday I’ll tell you how ’tis done.”

An amiable silence fell between them, one that could not last, for dreadful events were afoot. Finally Regar said, “Well then, Grand-pere, your only son, my mother’s half-brother, my own demi-oncle, is now loose, and once again there will be war. Will you aid this time? Raise your armies and oppose your own son?” Auberon sighed. “Oui, I must, for to do otherwise leads to chaos.”

Regar nodded. “And will you and your good Fairies oppose him with your magic?”

“We cannot,” said Auberon.

“You cannot?”

“Non. Gloriana has laid an unbreakable geas upon us all, herself included, and, by her fiat, neither Fairy magic nor Elven magic can be used to oppose her son.”

“What of his armies? Can you use your numinous powers against them?”

Auberon’s shoulders sagged. “Not while they protect Orbane. The queen’s love for her only child has tied our hands, and our magic cannot oppose him. . nor aid him, for that matter. No Fey magic whatsoever can be used.”

“But you can fight his armies with sword and spear and such?”

“Oui, though we cannot bring them to bear against Orbane himself. As I said, the queen has tied our hands.” Regar frowned in puzzlement. “But, if Elven magic cannot be used against Orbane, then how is it in times gone that Lisane, an Elfmaiden, was able to see his downfall? And of recent she has read the taroc and again sees looming a great struggle, though this time not how it will end.”

“Her magic is not in direct opposition, for it only speaks of possible outcomes and not sureties.”

“I see,” said Regar. They sat in silence for a moment, but then Regar took a deep breath. “My lord, would you stop someone who is neither Elf nor Fairy from taking your son’s life?” A tear slowly slid down Auberon’s face, and he tried to speak, but could not. He looked at Regar in agony, and finally turned his face away.

“You would not oppose?”

At last Auberon found his voice enough to choke out, “I would not.”

He would let others slay his son, though they can be neither Fairies nor Elves. And given the geas of Gloriana, I wonder if I, with Auberon’s blood flowing in my veins, though dilute, can raise my sword or loose an arrow against their only son, my oncle, evil though he is. And if not I, then who, I wonder, will dare do the deed and reap the wrath of the Fairy Queen?