When she finally spoke, the room hushed just to hear her words.
"The humans...how did they originally lay her to rest?" She asked quietly. Cass swallowed. This was where his knowledge from Cassian didn’t help. He had no fucking clue outside of what the others had already told him. Edgar cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention before he spoke.
"They built her a lake. It’s filled with wildflowers, old growth trees and made into a beautiful place. The royal family is tasked with tending to it, written into law since the age of founding. It has, what I think, is a rather lovely folktale about it. If you confess your love on the shores of Lake Taniora, your love will remain true." Edgar told them.
A soft sigh filled the room, and Cass didn’t know if it came from one person, or several. All Cass could tell was that the words did seem to appease several of the people around him. His Aunt was still frowning, but it was less in anger and more in confusion.
"So, if they did something like that, how were they able to attack fairies and kill them? That is a proper burial for one of our kind. Especially for one that did something so courageous and honourable." Edgar looked conflicted, but it was Gideon who spoke up solemnly.
"They erased that she was a fairy." Gideon said simply. He let out a slow sigh, shaking his head. "Even in the oldest records we had on the lake’s origins, I had no idea she was a fairy until I met her." Gideon said. Cass stared at him, confused.
"The oldest records? How do you know that?" Cass asked and Gideon looked embarrassed.
"I did a lot of reading as a child and I liked reading about monuments and special areas around the capital. I mixed it up with my consumption of the temple’s documents." Gideon told Cass. Edgar shook his head after he heard it.
"That is exactly the kind of thing that Gideon would know. Don’t you remember him pulling random facts out of his ass when we were traveling before?" Edgar asked and Cass, not wanting to make things awkward, nodded.
"I guess I just didn’t think about it before." Cass muttered. "Anyways, I have Taniora with us, and with her body." That had the others tensing.
"Her body?" Ser Hune repeated, her voice deep, annoyed. Cass nodded.
"Yeah. They needed something to cast this kind of magic, and well, her body was what we ended up finding that they used. It was a rather emotional moment for everyone." Cass said softly.
"She’s...okay?" His Aunt Alysora asked carefully and Cass sighed.
"I don’t think anyone could be okay after being forcefully stolen from their eternal rest and then forced to be a decoy to hurt one of your friends. Especially one of the friends that tried to save you." Cass said. The weight of his words settled over the others and his Aunt sighed.
"No, I suppose not." She agreed. The other fairies were silent, until one of them spoke up. The pink skinned, pink haired fairy cleared their throat.
"We should let her out then. By all means, she’s one of the ancients. While she passed young, she deserves our respect. I wouldn’t like to be kept inside of a small pocket for a long time." They said. Cass couldn’t help but agree with them and his Aunt nodded begrudgingly.
"No matter what, she is someone to be respected. We should let her out to breathe, and then ask her what she wants to do. If she is sentient, like you said, she should be given the choice of where she would like to rest now." She glanced at Cass and nodded. "I now understand why you were hesitant to show the nursery tree. This could be something shocking to it if it was alive during that time." She agreed and Cass was glad that he hesitated.
Slowly, Cass opened the top of the bag and looked inside. It was a void to Cass’ eyes, and he did wonder what Taniora saw from her side.
"Taniora? We’re now somewhere safe. Unfortunately, the red dragon had to leave our sides to go do his shed, so we’re back in the capital. There are...some fellow folk who would like to meet you." Cass told her. There was a pause on the other side before Taniora let out a shaky breath.
"Is it safe for me to come out? What if I start disappearing again?" She asked and Cass knew that was a valid concern. Cass glanced around, taking in the energy all around him, all the fairy magic he could sense and for some reason, Cass was pretty sure she would be safe.
It felt like they had gone from somewhere that was heavy in demonic energy to a place that was heavy in fairy magic. Cass was just the bridge that connected the two.
"I think you’ll be fine, but if you start to worry, I’ll leave the bag open and you can dive in again." Cass told her. He didn’t want her to be scared, and instead wanted her to be happy and comfortable. He wanted this to go well.
Cass put the bag down, forcing the others to take a few steps back to give her some space. He had no idea how this was going to go. After a long pause, a thin arm came out of the bag, slapping down on the ground after a moment swinging around in the air. Then, another, before Taniora’s head came out of the bag. It appeared that she was struggling to get out, so Gideon moved over and offered her a hand.
She hesitated, before reaching out and he pulled her out of the bag. She then turned, reaching inside as if she had always known how the bags worked and grabbed her body. It was wrapped in the blanket that Cass had given her, but he knew what it was.
The fairy magic that came off of them was intense, like a punch to the solar plexus.
Cass had a feeling that the reason he hadn’t noticed it before was because they had been saturated in demonic magic at the time in the dungeon. No one who could sense magic would be unable to tell who those bones belonged to.
Cass felt a sickness fall into the pit of his stomach as he realised that that meant it would make them easy to steal, too.
Taniora looked around, brushing her hand down her dress to make sure that she was presentable. Her eyes searched the room for a second, and Cass could tell she was looking for Lucian even after Cass had told her that he wasn’t here. When her eyes landed on Cass, there was deep sympathy there.
"It must be hard to be parted from him when you are bound. I am sorry if I played a role in that." She told him seriously and Cass felt his face warm as all of the fairies looked at Cass, including a rather giddy Ser Hune.
"Y-You didn’t play a role in that. I was the one who asked him to stay longer when he needed to leave since there was a dungeon to be cleared. I’m sorry that your arrival was timed with that." Cass said. "I know he would want to be here." Cass told her and she gave a faint smile.
"I can tell that he’s changed." She said, and Cass blinked. Then, his eyes narrowed.
"How so?" Cass asked and she gave a soft, knowing smile that had Cass blushing before she even spoke.
"I know how honest the red dragon is, and how...loose he is with his affections. However, I also know how the affection that he carries for others changes once he has shared a bed with them. The fact that he stayed knowing that it would put you in a poor position after you two have laid together is a great show of how he has changed. For the better, I might add. He was a little too...wild before." She gave a fond smile. "I remember them fighting over who would be at the front for several battles. The red dragon insisted that he be at the front because he was more durable, while my love wanted to be at the front. He was constantly arguing with the red dragon to care about himself." Cass gave a soft, annoyed chuckle.
"That is still the same argument I have with him." Cass muttered. Taniora smiled.
"It is hard for ones as ancient as dragons to change themselves. Have patience with him. As you have all the time that They can give you, take advantage of that. He has had a lot of loss in his life," her smile grew bitter, "mine included." Cass nodded, unable to disagree with her. He was sure that was the case.
Cass had no idea why Lucian had been asleep, nor for how long. Just that it was told in the story that he had been asleep for a long time and had awoken because Fiona’s powers had interested him. Now Cass knew why.
He had sensed the familiar powers his friends had once had.
Edgar let out a heavy sigh next to him, as if his own thoughts had followed the same paths as Cass’.
"I would like to lighten the mood a bit and introduce you to a few important people in my life." Cass said, and Taniora brightened.
"Oh, of course." She said, before glancing down at her hand and then showing it off to Cass. "I’m not transparent yet, so we’ve got time." She joked. Cass could understand why Lucian had liked her. She was like Lady Ava, but so much nicer and softer. She didn’t feel like she had a mean bone in her body.
It was truly a shame she had not been able to live her own life to the fullest.
Cass gestured to Ser Hune first.
"This is one of my guards, and someone who had been spying on me to see if I was of fairy blood. This is Ser Ailia Hune. Standing behind her is her husband, Sir Dustin Sanders." Taniora gave them a weird curtsy in acknowledgement, something that Cass had never seen before, but caused a few of the fairies around them to stir. "Then we have my companions. Seated next to me is Lord Edgar Vespertine, and the one who helped you out of the bag is Lord Gideon Ridgewood." Taniora’s eyes went wide.
"Vespertine? Ridgewood? Those names continued on?" She asked, sounding rather confused. Cass nodded.
"I myself am a Blackburn." He said and she looked rather shocked.
"Oh. I’m sorry. I’m just a little shocked that they stayed such prominent names." She muttered, her hand going to cover her mouth. However, even she was curious about the women and men around her with pointed ears, big eyes, and the same kind of fairy magic that she was projecting. "Um, who are your other companions?" She asked and his Aunt stood.
Then, she bowed. It was an old kind of bow, so elegant that Cass wondered if even Edgar could pull off that kind of maneuver. Taniora seemed surprised, but not upset.
"Hero Taniora, I am Matron of the Southern forests, Protector of all wild things, Mother of Ailia Hune, Matron Alysora. It is with deep pleasure and gratitude that we welcome you, Hero." Her voice was soft, deeply respectful, and Taniora gave a rather lopsided smile.
"Oh my goodness. It’s a little strange to be greeted by a Matron like this. I was barely a babe when I left the forests in pursuit of knowledge. Being called a hero?" Taniora gave a soft, tinkling laugh. "It feels a little strange, no?" She joked, but Cass’ Aunt didn’t think so.
"While it may be strange, I ask that you accept our welcome as we intend it. With open arms and thankfulness. You have done all of us proud." Cass swore he saw the dead woman swallow. Cass was sure that was something she had wondered when she had been traveling. It must be relieving to hear it now.