“It has already happened, and you cannot prevent it,” Drekkoril said. “If that explains why we lack memory, then we will arrive upon it. I just wish to get there. There are so many issues that plague the Fae, and I cannot address them in a dream.”
“My good friends, we still seek the same answers but cannot stay forever in this dream,” Rorie told Orlami and Zurenzi. “You have done an excellent job of escorting us through it, and we are grateful for your help. Please do not enter the city. We will return shortly, and Renny and I will devote several hours to play and pets.”
As if they understood, the two Faedrekan took off toward their secluded area of the castle grounds.
“Let us hope your talk with them will speed things up,” Drekkoril said. “Now let us see what is happening to the rest of the wildlife on our realm.”
Rorie nodded, and their group moved swiftly to the bright buildings of Sindrell. They were barely past the first roof when he noticed a cage. In it was a tiny etiti’sosa whose sunny natures were notorious, but this one was miserable. Its fur was dirty, and it lay on the ground with a pitiful expression on its adorable face. Rorie didn’t care if his action was thought out, he went with his impulse and shattered the cage, careful not to hurt the creature. Rorie soaked it to the skin with a spell to cleanse it, then warmed it with a flow of gently heated air.
It ran off and he put a slight wind at its back to increase the speed, so another mean Fae would not capture it again.
“Outlaw the practice of caging animals,” Rorie stated tightly.
“I will,” Drekkoril responded. “As well as chaining them up. We do not have the domesticated beasts of Renny’s world, and Fae have proved themselves not worthy of the trust and care it takes to start the process of having any.”
They strolled through, and Rorie went through countless spells to free, clean, feed, and otherwise care for the neglected trophies the idiotic people of Sindrell had left out to fend for themselves. With barely any room to move in their cages or in the short ropes that tied them up, it was a wonder they’d not starved to death, but perhaps they thought upon that and tossed out some scraps from time to time.
Drekkoril’s power supply was larger, and he was burning through his quicker than Rorie as he was equally disgusted by what they found on their walk through Sindrell. The D’Vaires were aiding them, but it would take days to wander through the entire city, and Rorie’s heart broke at the thought that they’d have to return home, knowing they’d left behind scared and mistreated animals.
“Don’t worry,” Alaric stated. “While not all our family has magic, we can free them and carry food. We can scour the city and keep the animals from being kept this way.”
“I have hesitated to get you involved in our realm, as I did not want the Fae to believe I was allying myself with the D’Vaires first and them second, but I have lost patience with their foolishness. Why Bétea has not turned these people dark, I have no notion. I am tired of not being able to help the Fae, and I will not allow them to hurt innocent animals. If you do not mind patrolling Sindrell to free them, I would be grateful for your help. I wish your presence would stop the practice, but you are unlikely to influence them enough in this dream,” Drekkoril said, his voice vibrating with fury as he removed ropes from an entire family of docile llank’eolls.
“We’ll get started right away,” Alaric responded.
Chapter 21
Although Renny was growing used to changing into his kiot’rs each night, he wasn’t sure if he should be happy or sad about it. The inescapable fact was, they’d been on the Fae realm for a significant amount of time, and he was growing concerned that they might never wake up. It made him wonder what would happen if they continued to sleep. Would it eventually go past the eight hours Rorie had promised? If so, how long would it take the world to find a mansion with an entire extended family that refused to stir?
The door whipped open, and Renny was glad it was Rorie who was heading for their bed. “Did you finally run out of food?”
Rorie was frowning as he tore off his clothing. Strangely, he wasn’t doing his usual slow striptease or otherwise flirting, and while Renny always appreciated his beautifully decorated skin, he did not like it when he was upset. “Your family is making a schedule to travel the city and outskirts, looking for cages and feeding the poor creatures my idiotic people are harming.”
“We’ll get up and help in the morning,” Renny promised.
“Let us hope that if more than a night passes, we will not find Sindrell once again full of caged animals.”
After getting naked, Rorie dumped his kiot’rs over his head and joined Renny, who was already lounging against the pillows. “Good thing our family is scary.”
Rorie curled up with him, laying his head on his chest. “I was so proud to bring you here. It was my wish that this dream would make you fall in love with the Fae realm. Instead, it is I who am growing disgusted with my people. I do not know how I could have been so blind to the truth.”
“Do you think your parents wanted to protect you, so they kept certain things secret?”
“I am not a child, Ren. I am an adult, and I would have preferred not to be lied to by the two people who professed to love me.”
“Just because they hid aspects of themselves doesn’t mean they didn’t love you.”
“I confess I still have such emotion in my heart for them, but I am struggling with my respect for them. They had no right to decide their way of life was better than anyone else’s, and they used honorary titles to cause turmoil in a government that had peace for many millennia.”
“It’s interesting how old your history is. Your people existed long before anyone on my realm.”
“It is often said that the Fae are as old as Bétea herself.”
“I want you to know that I don’t hate it here. The land is beautiful, and I’m fascinated by your magic-driven culture.”
“But you are no doubt as disgusted as I am by the unrest.”
“I don’t think it helps the Fae, that’s for sure, but it’s not really my place to judge it. I’m an outsider and I’ve only been here…well, it’s kind of impossible to quantify it since time passes so weird in this dream.”
