Page 34 of Chased By the Fairy

“I don’t know... he had a greenish tinge to his black outer shell.”

“Figtree beetle,” Cypress muttered to himself. Which meant he needed to go to Haven Hollow. He hated going there. Those that occupied it were the worst of them all. “How long ago was this?”

“Five days.”

A gust of wind swelled, cutting the sudden tension that grew thick between them.

“You’re telling me,” Cypress started, moving forward with heavy stomps, “that you’ve known who took him for five days? You were in the same town as my guards, and you only informed them now?”

Cypress grabbed Sunny by the collar of his brown vest that blended in perfectly with his feathers.

Yanking him down to Cypress’ level, his nose crinkled with rage. “Why didn’t you come forward earlier?”

“The fact I’m even alive is a miracle in itself.” Sunny narrowed his eyes downward. “That Toad ordered my beating for interfering and then threw me in the pond to drown. I had to find a place to recover without freezing to death. Be lucky I’m here at all to give you this information.”

With an annoyed grunt, Cypress let him go.

“Fine. Can you think of any other details?”

Sunny cupped his chin before scratching at the feathers near his hairline. “I don’t know. I didn’t see much else. Maybe a plum vest?”

Cypress lowered his gaze when that sounded familiar – and not in a good way. The hairs on his nape lifted as he analysed that description until it eventually clicked with him.

“Shit. Jeffers?” Cypress cursed again, hating the idea of that nefarious sprite having Sorrel. He turned to Zahrya and her back stiffened at his attention. “Get me a fur coat.”

“You’ve been ordered to stay within the kingdom tree, your highness.”

“You will either get me a fur coat from the armoury and accompany me, or I will do so by myself. The choice is yours, but I will no longer sit safely inside this tree while there’s the possibility that Sorrel is out there” – he pointed to the blizzard getting stronger by the hour – “by himself in danger. I’m going to Haven Hollow to find that beetle, and he better hope he fucking has him safe and sound, orelse.”

That was the only solace of this. If Jeffers had Sorrel, then he was likely still alive and unharmed.

He knew what Jeffers had: his little collection of strange items and people. As much as Cypress had investigated what that beetle was up to, finding it absolutely despicable, there was little he had been able to do to intervene.

Flower fairies had no control or ruling over animal fairies. Each class was ruled by themselves, and they often did little to stop crime and horrible acts.

Zahrya’s lips tightened in defiance at his words, and at the menacing way he said his threat. Cypress, the calm prince, was no longer calm. None of the guards currently standing around him were used to an outburst like this from him.

When she didn’t move, his gaze darkened.It appeared she’d rather disobey him than his parents.

“You know better than anyone that I can sneak in and out of the kingdom unnoticed. Do you wish to tell the king and queen when they emerge from their hibernation that I’m missing also, or that I’ve been found dead, because you were too stubborn to listen to me? I will leave by myself, and you know it.”

After a few moments of facing off, he raised his brow at her, and Zahrya’s shoulders slumped.

“Yes, Prince Cypress. I’ll make sure you have everything you need while we accompany you.”

Then he nodded towards another guard as she ran off. “You, prepare my bird for flight.”

His house sparrow would be better at flying through the winter storms than he was with just his own wings. He was too light and would be blown about, but nothing was going to stop him from going after Sorrel.

He was tired of waiting. Tired of doing nothing.

He didn’t care that it was dangerous. He would no longer remain idle and watch winter slowly pass from within the warmth of his home tree.

“What about Mr Toad?” the last guard remaining asked.

Cypress looked at him over his shoulder, his nose crinkling as his eyes sharpened. His voice was dark and menacing, and filled with so much spite as he stated, “I’ll deal with him when the time comes.”

Cypress held on tightly to the ash-brown neck feathers of his house sparrow mount, hugging his body tightly to its back.

---