Read Online A Fairy Tale by Shanna Swendson - Free Book Online

Maeve’s eyes look warm and twinkly in comparison. Aside from the white hair, they showed no signs of age, but Emily still got the sense that they were absolutely ancient. Behind them rode more courtiers and soldiers, and red-and-white hunting hounds ran alongside the horses.
    They passed within yards of Emily’s hiding place. She held her breath, now understanding why the fairies had run for cover. These people had an air about them that said they saw the entirety of creation as existing to serve their whims. A hidden fairy not much farther down the lake’s shore must have made some noise because the queenly woman gestured and one of her soldiers dismounted, then pulled the struggling fairy out of the bushes. He bound the captive’s hands with a silver chain and fastened that chain to his saddle before remounting and rejoining the procession. The fairy captive was left to run alongside the soldier’s horse.
    The procession went on forever, with hundreds and hundreds of fairies, not all of them going willingly. Emily thought a few of the captives looked human. They all moved in total silence, aside from the occasional blast on the horn. None of the fairies spoke to each other. They just stared straight ahead. If this was the alternative, Emily could see why fairies might be drawn to Maeve’s court. Maeve seemed like a lot more fun.
    Finally, the tail of the procession passed. The hiding fairies waited several more minutes before tentatively emerging from their shelters. “I’m lucky you were there,” Emily said to the fairy girl who’d helped her.
    “I would not subject anyone to the whims of Niamh and Fiontan,” the fairy girl said with a shrug.
    “I don’t suppose you know a way out of here—to the outside world?” Emily said, hoping the girl’s helpfulness might go further.
    The fairy pointed behind Emily. “There is a passage in the woods. Look for the roots of the oak tree.”
    “Okay, oak tree. Got it.” Emily left the fairies behind and headed deeper into the woods. This was like the Ramble in her park, only it really was wild, not carefully cultivated to give the appearance of wildness. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was also getting darker, and not just because the trees blocked the light.
    It would have been easier if she knew what to look for. Would it be like a magic mirror with the real world on the other side, or would she hear traffic noises? Traffic noises would have been reassuring and definitely less creepy than the noises she heard now, which were wilder and fiercer than anything that came from the zoo.
    She glanced up at the forest canopy to look for oak leaves, then realized she wasn’t actually among trees. Roots came down from above to form what she’d thought were tree trunks. So, that was what the fairy meant when she mentioned the roots of the oak. Fairyland must be underground, and there must be a passage hidden in the tree roots. The trick would be finding it. How would she recognize an oak tree without being able to see the leaves?
    She was so busy looking up as she walked that she tripped and fell. While she was still on the ground, something pounced. She swatted it away, but then something else came at her. Things pulled at her hair, and she felt sharp teeth pierce the skin of her neck.
    Leaping to her feet, she shook them all off and ran back toward the light. Now she knew why she’d been able to escape. They didn’t have to worry about her getting too far. The dark areas where the barrier between fairyland and the real world was thin were too dangerous for her to pass through on her own. She no longer had a destination in mind. She just wanted to get away from these attackers. She ran blindly, as fast as she could go, toward the only source of light she could see.
    The light turned out not to be the flat twilight that counted as daylight in the fairy world. Instead, it was squares of windows. As she drew closer, she saw that the windows were set in a forest hut. Would it