But before she could get through the doors of the Lodge, Sienna found the Regent, who seemed to be waiting for us in the hall that was being cleaned up after the previous night's celebrations.
Before she could speak, he let out a word that he already knew about what had happened in the woods when I was supposed to be hunting.
Noting the injuries suffered by the children that had decided to accompany me, he tried to console Sienna by saying that it was his duty to punish the one responsible for putting them in danger.
"I understand that he shouldn't have been out there with the children, but he didn't drag them along. Roen would never do that."
"And how can you be so certain?"
"Because I forbade him from doing so. If anything, he left the Lodge with the sole intention of doing his duty and nothing else."
"Miss Nia, are you saying that all those children's parents are liars?"
"I don't know what they are, but what I do know is that last night, Roen was the only one to return in a sorry state, and yet the other children were playing throughout the feast. Shouldn't we be concerned for him?"
"You may, after all, he is your responsibility. However, those children are the progeny of some very important figures in the Lakewoods, and if they were to raise considerable commotion during the King and Queen's visit, well then we'll all have hell to pay."
"I... I understand, but it isn't right to punish him when he did nothing wrong."
"Well, that's not what the other children said. And I cannot simply let this be. Your punishment, Roen, will be to..."
"You'll do no such thing, Lord Niall. The child did no harm."
The one who spoke was the golden-haired Laoise, spouse to Beril the builder. While her husband served as an apprentice to one of the Lakewoods' oldest builders, she worked in the service of the Regent as their honored seamstress. For the glorious garbs he and his wife wore were the work of her and her aides' countless efforts.
Standing beside her was a girl with eyes such a vivid green that they would have shamed even the clearest emeralds in her presence.
"Finley, tell the Regent what you told me."
Her hair was braided into bright locks of gold, which she would often find herself brushing over her shoulder and down her back because of its impressive length.
"Only what I saw. We followed after we saw him leave the city and head into the forest. When we found him, he had been cornered by an unfamiliar beast. Fionn managed to scare it off with his magic."
"The youngling can already cast magic? So those scars then..." Niall wondered in surprise as he heard the little girl's words.
"Only the burns. The scars, I believe, were from his encounter with the beast."
"I see. So what you are saying is that he was saved by the arrival of the other children."
I watched her nod as he asked.
While he still held true to his frustration, the presence of Laoise and her daughter had done quite the deed in quelling his need to reprimand me.
"Ugh, while I have their words, your careless actions cannot go unpunished. But there are greater matters of importance to address right now, and I would not like to waste another moment on this matter. So off with you. Bring me the quarry for the breakfast feast."
"My lord."
I comforted the stressed Sienna as I managed to free the bow from her grip.
"I'll return as soon as I am able," I said, giving Finley a curious glance as I spoke to my caretaker.
"...Are you still in pain?"
Noting the first question to pass her lips, I mustered the strength to wear my best attempt at an endearing smile as I spoke.
"I'm alright. No need to worry yourself or cause any more concern for the Regent."
I let go of her before leaving the Lodge.
While it may have been late in the morning, the heavy fog that settled over the city made for a haze that dulled one's sense of time, as even the King found himself waking up long after he was expected.
"Well, if she is already out, I'm sure they don't need me. Which means..."
Getting ready while embraced by the morning breeze, all of a moment was needed for him to dress himself in the style of the common people.
His magnificent mane even took on a brunette tone under his spell before sitting far above his shoulders.
"Looks like there's an interesting place I can finally visit."
He leapt out of the window of the Lodge and landed beyond the boundary of the Shimmering Pools. He gave the vast structure another look to ensure he wasn't seen before moving with the aid of the butterflies he had previously adorned himself with.
Vanishing in their mesmerizing and innumerable dance.
I had already made my way into the woods by then, taking each step with care, leaving not so much as a bent branch or crushed flower petal in my wake, as though the forest itself guided me every step.
Eventually, my trek through the forest opened up into an immense glade that seemed to only end after meeting the River Rua, with twin streams parted by the open space before joining at the mouth of the river, forming quite the set of fairy rings that embraced it.
Well within the borders of the forest, I moved through the place I knew best, keeping myself beneath the dew-touched canopy of immense trees that towered with darkened bark and hosted a variety of luminescent moss and toadstools.
It must be somewhere around here.
Remaining unseen and unmoving for a few moments, my patience paid off with the confirmation of a truly unusual sight. A Sol'ruaig stag appeared to walk through a veil at the mouth of the river, its hooves stepping over the streaming waters before coming upon the glade.
The mane of the beast seemed whiter than even the fiercest winter's snow and flowed like a sunlit waterfall under the luminance of the stag's brilliant antlers. It helped itself to the various bushes holding berries that looked like a pearlescent violet.
I had seen the marks before, but the sight itself was enough to still my breath. These creatures had the ability to step through a veil that concealed their presence, vanishing from the world until they were ready to return to it.
Though the sight before me was disrupted the moment I heard the faint disturbance of snapping branches in the treeline above.
With the morning's light bleeding through the leaves above, not much came into view.
Then I released.
A whistling streak rained from the mosaic of light patches above, moving with such speed that its form was only seen after it ripped through the stag while it continued to feed without any notice of the red stream flowing down its throat.
I watched its legs begin to give out with a violent shake before it keeled over in no apparent struggle, tinging the bush with its bloody spray as it stopped moving.
Still uncertain whether anything else had been drawn by the kill, I remained where I was, watching the glade. Not long after, I descended from the canopy, leaping through the nearby branches before landing on the forest floor.
I wore a covering that was a mix of matted leaves and bark, all tied and bound to the woven mesh of string and muddied straw that gave me the appearance of a strange-limbed tree, which was all the odder considering all manner of flora that existed within the Lakewoods.
I approached the dead stag, brandishing a piece of dull steel from my breast as I knelt down beside it.
I was at work on the carcass for some time before finally standing up and binding the stag to my frame with a surprising amount of ease.
"You seem quite busy today."
The voice appeared in a flurry of petals swirling about his presence.
The King's voice stunned me.
"..."
"Oh… right. Well, you may speak. After all, I am the one who interrupted your work."
"Your Majesty."
I placed the stag down again before turning around and removing the covering from my neck, allowing me to remove the headdress before taking a knee.
"It's fine. It's fine. I wasn't exactly thinking of getting any sort of royal attention when I dressed myself in these garbs, so you can relax, Roen."
"I see. But sire, where are your guards? Actually, why are you out here unaccompanied? The forests aren't always timid, and I thought you would be with the Regent?" I asked, still kneeling in front of the curious fae.
"So many questions from someone who was dead-silent just a moment ago. I came here out of my own interest after I saw something peculiar during our conversation last night."
"Ah, then I must excuse myself."
Lifting my quarry and firmly binding it onto myself once more, I tried to head on my way, and yet the King continued to follow, reappearing behind every other tree I walked past.
"Oh, and now you're back to being quiet."
"..."
"If you won't speak, I can always find out for myself, though I don't always find the forceful measures to be enjoyable for everyone involved."
"...Not quite. I'm just trying not to cause trouble for the Regent again."
"Again? Hmmm. And you believe that you may find yourself drawing the Regent's ire once more by speaking to me. Well, you are nothing if not a cautious young man."
He finally stopped in front of me as he spoke.
"But I was informed of no trouble, so as far as I'm concerned, that has nothing to do with me. Besides…"
A flush rose to my cheeks as he drew close enough for me to be met with his scent.
My senses were tended to by smells that felt foreign, despite how much time I had spent in the forests.
"If there's someone you should be worried about upsetting, it should be me, young one."
He placed his hand on my head.
"So you'd best entertain me."
He smiled with an expression that left me in knots.
"Now let's be on our way."
He patted me before leaping away, cloaked in a flurry of the same butterflies, whose grasp grew to cover me as I stumbled back when they got too close.