Page 32 of The Knucker King

Avice smiled sleepily up at the Knucker. “How did it go?”

“The Wulver have agreed to take Boarden.”

She furrowed her brow. “Wulver? Not the Piskies?”

Bramble shifted his head from her lap, with a huff, so she could stand. The Knucker lowered his head. Avice clambered onto Trewoofe, and he began their journey. He explained what had happened in the Underneath as he climbed down his hill and entered the surrounding woods.

“Both recognised some sort of magic on the offspring, but neither knew what Faerie it could be from,” he concluded.

Avice clutched Trewoofe’s horn with one hand as his head gently swayed. He kept a slower pace than before as he delivered her home. Her other hand lay on the crystal pendant around her neck. She ran her gloved fingers over the smooth surface as she contemplated.

“I feel as though I can hear your thoughts flying,” Trewoofe commented.

“Hmmm…”

“Hmmm…?”

“Spring is late.”

“Yes.”

Extremely late, Bramble chipped in, trotting at the Knucker’s side.

“And two babies born in unusual circumstances in such a short space of time with some sort of Faerie mark,” Avice added. “Could they be related?”

“Spring is a part of Nature’s blessing, the cycle that always comes. For her to be so late… it could mean a powerful group of the Folk is holding her back.”

“Folk? Like wild Faeries?”

“Before the Cross God came, before humans came, we were all Folk. We only became Good Neighbours when we lived in close enough proximity to people. We became more domesticated, softer around the edges, and easier to live next to.”

Avice bit her tongue. In her experience, the Good Neighbours were not soft or domesticated, even her garden Faeries could pose her threat.

Just look at the Pillywiggins! And well… him.

Avice leaned around Trewoofe’s horn, sneaking a look at his head. A well-muscled jaw powered his fang-filled mouth. She glanced down as a huge leg strode forward. His massive paw was tipped with serrated talons.

In appearance, there is nothing soft about him. But he is gentle with me. Is that because he has lived close to humans for so long? Or because he sees something special about me? Avice glanced down to her pendant and softly smiled. I think that is my answer.

“We are here,” Trewoofe announced crossing through the stone circle boundary into her garden.

He lowered his head to the ground, and Avice slipped down his neck. She did not stumble this time. Trewoofe had his tail ready, prepared to steady her if needed. Her heart fluttered at the gesture. Avice opened her mouth to speak, but a loud grumble from her stomach had her slapping her hand over it instead.

Bramble nosed at her belly. When did you last eat?

“I cannot remember,” Avice admitted. She smiled up at Trewoofe. “I am going to eat… something.”

Trewoofe tilted his head. “Something?”

Avice shrugged. The impact of this lingering Winter meant that her food stocks were dwindling. She shivered at the thought of going down into her root cellar. She hated stocking it and retrieving from it, but necessity overtook her fear. Beneath the cool ground, her jars of preserved food kept unspoiled for much longer than they would in her warm cottage. Keeping her food stocks there was the only way she could ensure she could keep herself fed through Winter.

Avice led the way through her garden. Mostly still frozen, except for where Trewoofe had lingered. The spots where he had wandered were flushed green and punctuated with large, ornate blooms. Each flower wafted a delicious fragrance on the frigid air, leaving a sweet flavour at the back of her throat. Their colours were vivid against the barren surrounds, reminding Avice of a startling rainbow against storm clouds.

Winter remained.

Only the presence of the Knucker’s magic seemed to force its retreat.

They are connected, the marked children and long Winter. I am sure of it.