The Misadventures of Annika Brisby (43 page)

“Lots of things,” Annika said.

“Well I can’t teach them to drink me under the table, I can’t teach them archery in a day, and playing them a gypsy song won’t do much good in the long term.”

“But you’re so good with your hands,” she said with a coy smile. “I’m sure you can think of something. I’ve seen those paintings in your room, and the murals on the ceiling in your dad’s library. And the greenhouse. With all the skills you have, combined with your artistic eye, I’m sure you’ll come up with something,” she assured with a wink.

For the rest of the afternoon, Zaven and Finn sat with Tri by the fire repairing the chairs that had sat unused outside for the past year. Justinian was glad the daredevil was using his hands for something less risky. The other older boys were tending to the sheep with the samodivi, showing off everything they’d learned from watching their dad, Justinian, and Nikola. Talvi and Annika sat at the table constructing a little house for the purpose of luring fairies back to the troll’s property. They kept stealing kisses when they thought no one was looking, and glancing at each other with stars in their eyes.

“It’s getting close to dinner time. Do you think it’s okay if we start cooking without Chivanni? I certainly don’t want to offend the fellow,” Justinian asked, polishing his armor with his brother. “I know he’s very p
articular
about doing the cooking around here, but I’m getting hungry and I don’t know where he is.”

“Why don’t you ask Nikola to find him?” Talvi suggested. Nikola looked up from his work and scowled.

“Perhaps if you stopped playing with your little dollhouse long enough to—”

“It’s not a dollhouse, it’s a fairy house,” Talvi swiftly corrected him as he carefully painted protective magical runes on the outer walls.

“Whatever you call it, you sure are wasting a lot of time on it,” Nikola muttered, wiping grime off of Justinian’s shield. Finn and Zaven glanced over at him, but said nothing.

“Building a fairy house is a highly complex task,” Talvi said softly, still focused on painting. “If you understood their purpose, you wouldn’t call them dollhouses. Annika thought they were birdhouses, but she knows better now,” he said, looking at her and smiling sweetly.

“I did think they were birdhouses at first, but they’re not,” she agreed. “It’s no wonder the fairies love to visit. Ask Finn or Zaven how many of these they have at home.” Nikola glanced at the two, who shrugged.

“Forty two, I believe,” answered Finn.

“Hmm,” Nikola hummed in his most unimpressed tone and went back to his polishing. The samodivi came back with the boys and the house was bursting with the extra hustle and bustle of fairy-free cooking, as there was no trace of Dardis and Chivanni anywhere. It took much longer than they had expected, and Talvi took the opportunity to explain to the boys why it was so important to be kind to fairies.

“If you put up this house and leave them little gifts and don’t scare them away by being so loud, you might just convince a family to move in. If you do kind things for them and protect them, they’ll do kind things for you, like helping with chores and meals. In fact, it’s possible that you’ll never have to wait this long for your supper again. You’ve seen Chivanni’s fairy magic; you know he can make you a hundred pies if you want.”

“Really? That’s amazing!” The boys’ eyes lit up as though Talvi had just granted the best wish in the world.

“It’s true,” he went on. “But if you’re too noisy around the house or you’re mean to them, or if you trample the yard and don’t leave any green places for them to play and hide in, they’ll go away. That means no more dessert for you.” The boys looked around at each other and nodded. They weren’t about to jeopardize their beloved dessert.

Now that the chairs had been repaired, some of the boys sat at the dinner table. They had taken baths, and washed their hands, and they were back to using spoons and forks. Yuri, Hilda and Sariel looked very content with how things were turning out as Nikola asked everyone how their day went.

“Besides building that doll—I mean,
fairy
house, what else have you done around here?” he asked Talvi.

“Oh trust me, I’ve accomplished a lot today,” he said with hint of a smile.

“Such as?”

“I hung up the laundry to dry. Oh, and I made one impressive snow angel.”

“Well now, that’s quite something,” Nikola said facetiously. “You hung up laundry, made a snow angel, let one of the boys get shot with an arrow, and built a dollhouse all in one day. I’m impressed.” The group shared a few looks. They didn’t understand why he was being so nitpicky.

“For someone who drank so much last night, it’s a wonder you got anything done all,” Justinian said kindly. “Speaking from experience, I would still be lying in bed with my head under a pillow.” His brother looked at him sideways, but said nothing.

“Well Nikola, I did do one other thing today,” Talvi said, smiling a little bigger. “But you probably don’t want to hear about it.”

“And what was that?” Nikola asked, folding his arms across his chest. But Talvi just shook his head.

“I really don’t think you would be interested.”

“Try me,” Nikola said, with a slight glare in his pale eyes.

“Come on, Talvi!” Runa cried. “I want to know!”

“Yes, me too. You have us all curious now,” Hilda said. He waited until everyone was begging, and he looked over at Annika, who had buried her face in her hands. She knew what he was going to say.

“Well,” he took a long breath, drawing out the suspense for everyone. “I asked for Annika’s hand, and she said yes.” There were gasps and hoots from everyone except Nikola, who was left wide-eyed and speechless.

“Congratulations!” said Zaven.

“We should have a toast!” cried Runa.

“Oh, please no,” Talvi said, making a wretched face. “Besides, I’m already intoxicated enough.” Justinian looked horrified at this remark.

“What?” he asked, looking surprised. “After last night?” Talvi grabbed Annika close and kissed her on the cheek.

“Don’t worry, I’m only drunk on love,” he assured him and flashed a goofy smile, making Nikola roll his eyes. The girls cooed and sighed, excluding Yuri. She stood abruptly and hurried outside with no explanation. Finn rose to his feet as well.

“Talvi, there’s something we need to discuss,” he said, looking at the door where Yuri had just left. He didn’t have the same smile as everyone else wore.

“Finn, I think he knows what to expect on the wedding night,” Hilda joked, taking his hand. Runa laughed so hard that she started to choke on her dinner.

“Yes, well, it really can’t wait. Come on Talvi, let’s go for a walk.” Finn seemed urgent, and it was obvious that his mind was racing behind those dark eyes as he walked towards the door.

“Can’t I at least finish dinner?” Talvi asked.

“It will be there when we get back. Now come on,” Finn said impatiently. “I just hope there’s enough time…”

the ring thief

The next day Talvi was restless. He and Finn hadn’t returned until very late the previous night. They got back so late that Annika had only vaguely been aware of him curling next to her under their wool blankets. He was now carving a little table and chair set for the fairy house, but he wasn’t making much progress because he kept getting up and looking outside. Dardis and Chivanni weren’t back yet and he was starting to get worried.

“Why do you need to see Dardis and Chivanni so badly?” Yuri asked him. “They’re probably just looking for nearby fairies to come live in that house you’re making. It’s really nice. It’s one of the nicest that you’ve ever made.”

“Hmm…” was all her brother could respond with. She frowned as her compliment fell on deaf ears, then watched as he looked out the window again.

“That can’t be right,” Hilda yawned, trying to get Sedem to take a nap as she rocked him in the cradle. “The fairies left before you even started making that thing.” Talvi folded his arms across his chest and sighed heavily with concern.

“I know.”

That night Annika felt a hand nudge her awake from her dreams. It was the middle of the night and everyone else was deep in slumber.

“Annika, my little dove, wake up,” An urgent voice hissed. It was Talvi.

“Huh? What time is it? What’s going on?”

“Shhh, don’t wake anyone. Let me see your hands.” She pulled them out from underneath the blankets. He picked up her right hand and tapped her huge diamond ring.

“Aside from what’s wrapped around the ring, is the metal and stone very important to you?” he asked. She shook her head.

“Well, it’s worth a lot of money, but I’m not particularly attached to it. I only wear it because it’s so pretty. Why?”

“I wondered if I could borrow it for a while. I promise I’ll give it back, and I’ll be careful of what’s wrapped around it. I just want to show it to Dardis and Chivanni.”

“Right
now
? They’re back?” she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Yes, they’ve just returned. May I see it?” His eyes were anxious, but he wouldn’t explain himself. She shrugged as she pulled it off. He quickly climbed back down the ladder and walked away with the expensive ring, examining it closely. She was confused as to why the fairies wouldn’t have asked her to see it before three in the morning on this particular day. She cracked open the giant window shutter in the loft and watched Talvi jog back into the house, where Finn was waiting for him at the door. A bright fire lit the main room and blue smoke was puffing furiously outside of the chimney, colored so by the constant moonlight of Badra and Vega. The cold air snuck under her shirtsleeve and chilled her to the bone. She closed the window quickly and went back to her bed, wondering what in the world the brothers were up to in the middle of the night.

the first sunrise of winter

“Talvi, do you still have my ring?” Annika asked when she came into the kitchen the next day. He was putting the finishing touches on the little fairy house furniture.

“Oh right…I’m having it cleaned for you,” he said as he scratched his head. “I’ll give it back soon, I promise.”

“I know you’re lying. You didn’t lose it, did you? You know it’s not the ring that I’m attached to. It’s what’s wrapped around it that I’m more concerned about,” she frowned. He looked up at her and set down the small paintbrush.

“Sit down, we need to talk,” he said, his tired eyes glancing around. Neither he or Finn had come to bed last night, and it looked like they hadn’t slept a wink either. The boys were playing outside with Justinian and Nikola, and the others were gathered around the fire, too far away to hear what he had to say. Annika sat beside him and waited expectantly for her answer.

“Do you trust me?” he asked finally.

“Yeah.”

“Do you love me?”

“Of course!”

“Do you
really
want to marry me? What if it’s sooner than you expected?” he asked. Annika wasn’t sure where the conversation was going to end up.

“I haven’t really considered a date yet. I hate planning things. I’m a big procrastinator,” she admitted.

“Really? Hmmm.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Well…um…what if…” He bit his lip and took a deep breath. “How do you feel about getting married at sunrise?” Annika’s face melted. She thought outdoor weddings were so romantic, let alone one at sunrise with an early summer breeze and fresh flowers in bloom all around.

“That sounds so dreamy! When do you want to do it?”

“At sunrise,” he repeated.

“You mean, like
tomorrow morning
?” she squeaked. He nodded, and Annika felt a panic setting in. “I…oh god…that soon? I thought, well, I thought I would have more time!” Her mouth grew very dry as a dim restaurant scene from months and months ago flashed into her head. The entire staff of the restaurant surrounding her table. A blue box from Tiffany’s sitting on that table. Plane tickets to Hawaii that departed in less than a week, sitting next to that blue box on the table. Danny’s expression as he delivered his heartfelt proposal, and then Danny’s face as she delivered her heartbreaking decline. She began to feel nauseous, but Talvi reached up and smoothed her hair to try and calm her nerves. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly before he spoke.

“Annika, I would give you all the time in the world if I could. I told you I didn’t care when or how we were married,” he said gently. “I know it’s very sudden, but there are other circumstances that put the timing out of my hands.”

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with that walk you took with Finn, would it? Or why neither of you came to bed last night? Or why you’ve been acting so weird about the fairies being gone?”

“It has everything to do with all of that,” he said with his blue green eyes twinkling, but his confidence wasn’t as pervasive as usual. “I can’t really explain it just yet, but I promise I’ll tell you very soon.”

“Like, tomorrow morning?”

“Yes.”

“So, what am I supposed to do?” she asked. Her nausea had faded a little, but her heart and her thoughts were racing a mile a minute.

“Leave everything to me. All you have to do is trust me and show up. And you might want to dress warmly before you go to sleep tonight, so you don’t have to bother with dressing in the dark tomorrow. But,” he smiled to himself, “you’ll have to borrow a wool skirt from Dardis. You mustn’t wear pants, and especially no knickers,” he instructed, and picked up his paintbrush to finish his project.

That night, Annika couldn’t sleep. Her nerves had been building up all day, and she felt her hand shake more than a few times as she gave the boys haircuts. Luckily, they didn’t seem the type to mind her unsteady hand. When Finn had sat down for a trim, he turned to her, holding her trembling wrist in his large soft hands.

“It’s alright Annika, you can trust us,” he said in his rich, deep voice. “Have I ever let you down?” he asked. She shook her head. “You’re such a strong person; don’t be afraid. If you love him as much as I know you do, you have nothing to fear.” He held her close and she felt her anxiety absorb into him. “Please don’t cut too much off. Hilda is very fond of my curls.”

Now she was lying next to his brother, unable to close her eyes. They had dressed and nestled under their blankets before anyone else had come up for bed, and no one except Finn had a clue what they were up to. Annika was afraid to look in Talvi’s eyes. She didn’t doubt that she loved him, and she didn’t doubt that he loved her just as much. But she couldn’t shake the nervousness completely. It was all happening so fast. She felt Talvi’s hand rest on her face and his thumb stroking her cheek tenderly, then saw his face in front of hers. In the dark, his eyes barely glittered, but she could feel the tip of his nose brush her own as he stared into her soul.

I can’t sleep, can you?
she asked him silently.

No,
he blinked, replying so no one could hear them.
The harder I try, the more elusive it becomes. Are you nervous?

Yeah, a little. I’m sorry. I can’t help it.

Don’t be sorry. I would be much more concerned if you weren’t nervous at all. I am too, but I know everything will be all right in the end.

What will happen in the end? I don’t understand.

All the answers will reveal themselves when the time is right. I promise. You know I keep my word.

She was overwhelmed by a sensation of freedom, as though a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She could feel in that moment how much he truly loved her. She reached out her hand and traced the lines of his eyebrows, down his straight nose, exploring his face with her fingertips. She wanted to know every line, every rise of the cheekbone and hollow of the jaw, along with the delicate angle of his softly pointed ears. She looked at him with wonder, amazed to feel the most spiritually sublime of emotions wash over her. It left her saturated in the deepest of loves like the wet sand on the edge of the sea. But the thing that amazed her most was the intense connection, the frequency they shared which spoke to her, telling her that he indeed, at this very moment was feeling the exact same thing.

“Annika, get up. It’s time.”

The forest was still dark, but after twenty minutes of riding they came to a little meadow. There was a large glowing circle on the ground, and as Ghassan came to a halt, Annika saw it consisted of dozens of burning white candles, with a pile of pillows in the center. The fairies were waiting for them outside the circle. Talvi and Annika dismounted and he took her hand as they stepped over the candles and into the center of the circle.

“I’m so nervous,” Dardis said as her periwinkle wings fluttered in excitement. “I’ve never married anyone before.”

“Is that why you and Chivanni disappeared?” Annika asked. The blue-haired fairy nodded her head enthusiastically.

“Yes. Right after Talvi apologized to me for calling me that horrible name, he told me he wanted to marry you,” she said happily. “We had to look all over to find the nearest fairies to teach us how to do it properly.”

“If those trolls hadn’t scared them all off, it definitely would have made them a lot easier to find,” Chivanni sighed, and smoothed his long bangs to one side of his face. “It’s a good thing we found them when we did.” Dardis motioned for them to kneel down on the pillows facing each other as she had them hold out their left hands. In their right hands, Chivanni placed a ring that shined brightly. They were identical rings, except for their size. They were thin and delicate, with intricate silver designs running along the circumference of the band.

“I promised I would return your ring,” Talvi said with a smile. “I think these are much prettier, don’t you?”

“This is what you did with it?” she gasped. “Where’s the diamond?”

“The diamond couldn’t be used,” Chivanni said proudly. “It’s too pure and too hard of a substance for magic to alter. But the platinum melted quite nicely, after we got the fire hot enough. Do you like your ring?”

“It’s gorgeous…” Annika sighed, examining it closer in the flickering firelight. Chivanni appeared satisfied with her response and let Dardis step close to them.

“Because this hand is nearest to your hearts, this shall be the hand that will show the world your love for one another,” she said, sniffling a little. “This shall be the hand that wears the ring, the hand that sheds the blood, the hand that binds you together as you consecrate your union with each other.” Annika’s heart thumped wildly as Talvi slipped her ring onto her finger, and then she did the same to him. She looked into his eyes, and she realized that this was the very moment he’d seen when they had first kissed. Goose bumps flashed over her entire body, even though she was dressed warmly enough.

“Annika?” Chivanni said nervously. She looked over at him and saw he was holding Talvi’s knife, offering it to her on his palms. She’d never looked at it closely before. The blade was inscribed with strange writing and the handle looked to be carved from ebony. She picked it up carefully and Talvi turned his palm upwards, holding it out to her.

“Don’t be afraid,” Talvi told her. “But press as deeply as you can. You won’t hurt me.” She felt her stomach jump about as she pressed hard into his hand. The blade was razor sharp, and it cut deeper than she had intended. He flinched, but his eyes remained fixated on hers. Blood was gathering in his left palm as he took the knife in his right and quickly cut into her left hand, making her cry out as her blood rushed to the surface. Chivanni collected the knife while Dardis held up their hands and pressed the bleeding wounds together. Talvi’s fingers folded in between Annika’s tightly as Dardis wound a thick white cord around their hands and knotted it again and again. Annika could feel the rings clinking together lightly. Talvi shuddered, and when he blinked, tears fell down his cheeks.

“The reason you and I are here at this day and time is because three hundred years ago my parents received a prophecy. It was Dragana’s great-grandmother who them that the first male twin to be born to them would be married on the same day as his creation to a girl from a distant land; a very unusual girl, one with the blood of a samodiva running in her veins.

She told mother that we’d been conceived at dawn on the first day of winter, and that I should be called such, so that I never forgot my destiny. Talvi means winter. As for Anatolius,” he smiled softly at her, “I know you think it’s amusing, but it means sunrise. It’s a good thing that Finn is so observant about the solstice and Yule, because I had no idea that it was already so late in the year. Time has flown so quickly since you came into my life, and I honestly think everything happens for a reason, Annika. Everything.

I used to believe that love was trite, that it would make me weak, and I’ve tried to avoid it for so long. If I had been the marrying type, I might’ve ended up with the wrong elf a long time ago. I wouldn’t have known you existed. If you hadn’t come to visit your uncle, I never would have seen you that day in Sofia. If the Pazachi hadn’t altered the portals, you might have returned home without me ever finding you again. And of all the unicorns in the land, why would Nadira have come to you and surrendered an indestructible hair of hers?”

“Nadira?”

“Yes, the only black unicorn known to exist.”

“But Sariel said she was pure white,” Annika replied.

“She used to be,” he said knowingly. “Every other unicorn is as white as the driven snow, but Nadira is black with silver hair. When she rescued your greatest grandmother, she absorbed her darkest pain. It altered her physical appearance forever.”

“Nadira gave me the hair as a gift…and when I asked her how I could repay her, she told me to use it when the time was right,” Annika said with amazement.

“I really cannot think of a better time, Annika. Can you?” He pushed back the hood of his cloak. “Look at our rings.” At that very moment the sun’s first rays of light struck out over the horizon, flooding the sky with an onslaught of orange and bright pink. It seemed the sun had never burned so brightly as it did that morning of the winter solstice. Annika’s eyes were watering from the intense light, but she blinked until she could see the rings closer. She squinted, recognizing the tiniest shapes inside of the band. It was fairy writing.

“Do you recognize what it says?” he whispered.

“Yes!” she gasped. They were the glyphs he had written in the dirt so long ago. They were the words he had said to her the first time they kissed. “
Mo reis to comp anya vlatzee
.” Talvi nodded and both of the fairies wept out loud.

“This way, even when you’ve gone home, our love can cross any meadow…no matter how large, no matter how far apart we are. Do you recognize what I had Dardis and Chivanni use to make the characters? It’s that strand of Nadira’s hair. Our rings are one and the same, created from the same metal, from the same strand of hair, forged by the same hands. Everything was used to make them, except the diamond, which was too hard to break. There will never be another ring like ours made.” Annika started to cry and he held her against his chest.