The Gauntlet
by Melissa Farrell
*965 AD*
Out on its rocky outpost, Castle Wyvern blazed with lights from within. Night had just fallen, and now was the time for the wedding of the year. The singing of maidens echoed within the stone walls, their songs lighthearted and gay.
However, there was one inside the castle who did not share in the merriment.
"Lady Ninane, you are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen!"
Ninane turned to regard the young servant girl, biting her lip and clutching her wedding bouquet closer to her breast. "Oh, child, if you only knew..." she thought. Aloud, she said "Thank you, Moira."
"Ye be so luck te be marryin' the Archmage! Ev'ryone know he's the most powerful man in the Castle!"
Ninane made an effort not to tense. She was not lucky, not by a long shot.
"Moira, may I please have a few moments alone?"
The servant girl's eyes opened wide. "But of course, ye ladyship. Jest call if ye need me" and the young girl scurried out of the room.
The youngest child of Oberon and Titania looked at her reflection in the mirror. The white gown she wore was perfectly made for a bride; tight in the bodice and loose in the skirt, made of plain, snowy material. It all looked so innocent... She closed her eyes. She knew what the Archmage's game was, and she was being forced to play along with it.
Fighting back tears, she looked deeply into the mirror, beyond the mere pane of glass. She began to mouth the words of a spell:
The mirror's mist became iridescent, as if searching, then faded back to its original dull color.
And the glass returned to its usual crystal clear image.
Ninane pounded a fist against the gilded frame. "Damn you, Puck! Where are you when I need you? You're supposed to stop this madness! You were sworn to protect me!" She gave the gilding another punch, then turned angrily away from the mirror, tears of frustration blurring her vision.
Through the mist of dampness, memories surged and danced before her eyes. She recalled a vision from her past; when she was only a baby.
"My lord, the child must have a protector. All of the other Children do."
"Yes, my Queen, but her arrival was.. unexpected. Guardians are assigned even before birth."
"I know that, my Lord." Titania, Queen of the Fay, looked steadily into the icy eyes of her husband. "However, she is here now, and don't forget, it is your fault as much as mine that this is true."
Lord Oberon tightened his lips into a straight line. He descended from the royal dais, his cloak swirling majestically around him. He drew closer to the crib where Titania was standing. He looked down into the cradle with a cold aloofness that only the ruler of the Fay could possess toward his newborn child.
The baby girl within gurgled and cooed at the sight of the blue blob she knew to be her father. She reached up, kicking her tiny legs in excitement.
Oberon stared at the child, then looked into her eyes. There he saw a vision of the woman she would grow to be; tall, majestic.. powerful. He bent closer and reached out to almost touch the image...
And a tiny hand closed around his index finger with incredible strength. The Lord of the Fay was shocked out of his vision and found himself staring at the child's face, her eyes showing joy and mischief. He tried to shake her off. "Let go of me, you little beast!"
But she resolutely held on, her baby blue eyes flashing defiance as she gripped on even tighter.
Oberon stopped, stared, then burst out laughing. Titania looked worried. "Are you.. all right, my Lord?"
It took him a few minutes to respond. "Quite all right, my Queen" he replied, wiping tears of merriment away with his free hand. He straightened up to regard the child, his finger still captive. His lips twitched with a concealed smile. "This child should prove quite amusing. Already she seeks challenge. To ensure that she attains her majority, she should have a protector." He sharply turned towards his wife. "Are there any of the children who are not already guardians?"
"They all are, my Lord. All but one."
"And who might that be?"
Titania regarded him levelly. "Your messenger, Puck. He is the youngest save this one" and she gestured toward the cradle.
"Yeeees." Oberon stroked his chin thoughtfully with his free hand. "It is about time that Puck learned a little about responsibility." He looked at the child and she released his hand with a baby pout of regret. The Lord of the Fay clapped his hands. "Puck! Come here to me!"
The doors of the throne room flew open, admitting a small tornado. It whirled across the polished marble floor of the throne room to stop before Oberon. The whirlwind died, revealing the playful figure of Puck. He bowed overelaborately.
"You sent for me, Lord Oberon?" Puck inquired, his voice holding just a touch of irony. The sprite raised an eyebrow when Oberon paused to give him an icy glare.
"Remember your manners, Puck. You have been called here for a very important reason."
"Ooooh, important reason, is it? Oh my, my, my. What could it be? Let me guess.. Banshee needs another negligee, am I right?"
Oberon shook with fury, but forced himself to calm down. "No Puck" he said through gritted teeth. He took several deep breaths before continuing. "You know that the Queen has just recently given birth..."
"And you need me to remove the stretch marks, right?"
Oberon turned a more purplish shade of blue. "PUCK!!!!!" he roared, "BE SILENT OR FEEL MY WRATH!!" His words echoed through the throne room, power in every accent.
Puck shrank back. "Okay, okay, no more wisecracks. Soooo.. what is it?"
The Lord of the Fay snapped his fingers. "You are too impatient, Puck."
There was a lengthy pause before he spoke again. "The child that has just been born is the youngest of the trueborn; an heir to Avalon itself. Since her arrival was.. unexpected.. she is different from the other Children. Rather than being a part of Avalon, Avalon itself has taken over a part of her soul."
Titania looked at her husband. "Is this true, my Lord?"
"So it has been written. It is also why I have tried to distance myself. Even as a babe, she is powerful, my Queen. We must take great care in raising her. If she ever realizes her full potential, she could quite possibly destroy us."
"Then she should be raised in the mortal world, my lord; away from the power of Avalon." The Queen looked into the cradle. "Her features are human enough, and there she will be discouraged from using her magic. Our rule would be safe..."
"And then Puck would not be needed."
"Hey!"
"No, my Lord. Puck would have even more responsibility. Sending a child of Avalon into the world is dangerous. She would need guidance, and a great deal of protection."
"Almost constant surveillance."
"Exactly."
The rulers of Avalon both stared at the trickster. "Oh, no, not me! Never been a baby-sitter, never will be! I'm the baby around here!"
Oberon glared at Puck. "You are no longer. Henceforth, you are charged with watching over this child." He motioned to the baby. "It is your responsibility to watch over her and protect her from all harm."
"No!" Puck protested, sulking. "I don't even like the little brat!"
In the cradle, the tiny girl-fay's face scrunched up, as if ready to cry, but instead she waved a baby fist at Puck. A bolt of electric blue energy enveloped the trickster, hurling him across the room to smash into the opposite wall. He fell to the floor groaning, putting a hand to his head.
"Owwwwwwwwwwwww! That hurt!"
Ninane gave out a baby giggle and clapped her hands, then stuck her tiny tongue out at her brother.
Oberon and Titania looked at each other. "Yes, I think it is best that she be raised in the mortal world, my Lord" the Queen proclaimed.
Puck staggered up to the cradle and looked down at the baby. He opened his mouth to speak, but the voice of Oberon stopped him.
"Puck, do not do anything rash. I highly doubt you wish to be thrown against the wall again." Oberon turned to his wife. "I would ask that you take care of her, though, my Queen. I have business to finish in Camelot."
Titania's eyes grew cold. "As you wish, my Lord. The true power behind the mighty Merlin cannot be bothered with such trivialities as a child!"
"I helped raise that halfling of yours!"
"If it were not for you, my Lord, that halfling would never have existed!"
Puck rolled his eyes. Lately the royal couple had been constantly bickering, with no end in sight. Ever since the Queen had gone to the mortal realms and helped start a terribly overwrought chain of events known as Camelot, and Lord Oberon took exception to it! He sighed. "I wonder if they will ever stop" he sighed.
Ninane wrinkled her face up like a prune and waved a hand in the air.
"If you had never gone to the mortal realms..." Oberon stopped. The Lord of the Fay looked down to see himself clothed in only a pair of rose-red long underwear. His mouth worked, but no words came out. Titania stifled a smile.
Ninane grinned a tiny, toothless grin. Puck looked at the baby, stared at Oberon, turned back to the baby. His amused laughter rang out through the throne room.
"Good one, kid!! What a way to stop an argument!" The sprite rolled around on the floor, clutching his sides. It was some time before he recovered enough to speak again. "Well, it looks like we're related after all. Watching over you could be fun! Truce! What d'ya say?" and Puck went back over to the cradle and offered his hand to the baby.
The child seemed to think, then nodded and grabbed the trickster's index finger. Puck tried to pull away. "Hey! Let go!"
The baby held on, grinning. The sprite struggled to escape. "Let me go! Let me go!"
Something stirred at the edge of his consciousness. It was faint, no more than a whisper, and spoken with great difficulty.
"Say you're sorry."
The Lord of the Fay turned his head quickly to glare at Puck. The trickster stared back. "It isn't me!" he protested. "It's her!" and he jabbed a finger in Ninane's direction.
"Say you're sorry!!" The baby's face grew red and began to scrunch up.
Puck jumped. "Okay, okay.. keep the finger! I don't need it anyway!"
"Please.. just say you're sorry!" This time, a touch of desperation entered into the message. Ninane's face was no longer upset. It was in an expression of.. could it be pleading?
The trickster melted. "Aw, kid, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. It's just that I've always been the youngest and I wasn't expecting to have to give it up. I'm sorry."
The baby nodded. "Thank you." He tiny voice dropped to a whisper again and faded away. The voice centered itself again; this time within the mind of Oberon himself. "Say you're sorry."
The Lord of the Fay glared at the baby, then turned disdainfully to Titania. The child repeated the message to Titania. The Queen looked at her husband. She sighed. "Forgive me, my Lord. We should not quarrel.. at least not in front of the child."
"Apology accepted, my Queen." He glance at the cradle. "Although I make no apologies."
"Say you're sorry!" The child's face scrunched up.
"Don't dare tell me what to do, impertinent child!" The Lord of the Fay came up quite close to the baby, his face inches from hers.
Ninane waved a fist in his face. The long underwear turned from plain rose-red to being decorated with baby lambs jumping over fences and tiny chickies and duckies all over it. As a finishing touch, a drop-seat appeared in the rear of the underwear.. with one button hanging by a precarious thread. The child's eyes blazed, challenging her father.
Oberon felt a slight draft and realized her next move. He gave out a great sigh of irritation and whirled around to face Titania, who was chuckling softly. He ignored Puck's hysterical laughter as he approached his wife with all the dignity he could muster.
"My Lady wife, I humbly apologize for speaking as I did. Please forgive me."
"Apology accepted, my Lord."
There was a flash of light and Oberon stood clothed in his normal attire. He inwardly sighed with relief and looked toward the cradle.
Puck, meanwhile, had recovered from his laughing fit. He now leaned over the cradle. His finger gently traced the line of the child's forehead and cheek. "Ya know, I think this could be the start of something great!" His eyes grew serious. "I hereby pledge, by my soul which is tied to Avalon's shore, to protect you, Ninane, from all harm.. until one or the other of us is destroyed."
The child looked up and saw the sincerity shining in her brother's eyes. She turned her head and nuzzled his finger as a sign of acceptance. "And so the pact is made!" Oberon proclaimed.
The trickster glanced up a trifle ruefully and nodded. "And so it is."
The image shimmered and vanished as tears spilled down her cheeks. The bride-to-be hastily wiped them away on the sleeve of her wedding gown. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Ninane straightened her dress and the crown of white flowers in her hair. "Come in!" she called, forcing the roughness of tears from her voice.
The door swung in with a slight creak and the fay turned to greet her unexpected visitor.