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It was a normal enough night, which for Tom meant his parents were fighting. Again. He couldn’t even remember what had started it – not that it took much these days – but they’d been going at it for more than an hour before he couldn’t take it anymore. It wasn’t a smart decision, leaving the house after dark, but his stomach was empty and he needed to be anywhere else. He hadn’t originally planned to head for the woods. He wasn’t completely daft. But even though the curfew was more of a suggestion these days, he didn’t want to risk staying in the middle of the village. Which left the forest.
Tom couldn’t even remember the last time there had been a real threat from that direction, so it was probably only a bad idea and not a truly terrible one. Probably. It certainly beat waiting at home for his parents to stop fighting. Or for one of them to remember he existed. Or that they he hadn’t had anything to eat. In the forest, there would at least be mushrooms. And not to sound too arrogant, but he’d gotten pretty good at foraging mushrooms.
The moon was full and they sky surprisingly free of clouds for the time of year, so if he stayed toward the edge of the woods, he would have decent chances of being able to see something edible. Assuming there was anything left this far into autumn. It was technically forbidden to enter the forest, but none of the guards actually bothered to stop anyone anymore. Which of course meant that most families unofficially augmented their food supply with mushrooms, berries, or small game. Anything one could plausibly smuggle back into the village without being blatant. It was just that most people who did the augmenting waited until high noon, when the faerie who were said to live in the forest were at their weakest.
But as he neared the woods, his luck appeared to have taken a turn for the better. Someone had missed a small circle of horse mushrooms just a couple of meters off the path. How they could have overlooked them, Tom wasn’t sure, given the size. But he was also hungry and a patch like that was at least worth investigating. And a closer look paid off! They appeared surprisingly intact, their pale heads nearly glowing in the moonlight without any blemishes to indicate an animal had gotten to them first. Tom had just pulled out his knife to cut one off for closer inspection when he heard a voice to his right.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Tom spun around, raising his knife in front of him in defence and hoping whoever had snuck up on him couldn’t tell that the only experience Tom had with a knife was chopping vegetables. The sight that greeted him was not one he expected. It was a boy, about his age. Except that “boy” hardly seemed like the right word to call him. Sure they had a nose and two arms and two legs, but beyond that, there was very little about him that seemed human. He was beautiful, but that beauty made something in Tom shudder. Every feature was just slightly too sharp, too symmetrical to belong to anything that lived, breathed, and died. His skin seemed to glow from within rather than reflect the moonlight. And Tom would not be surprised if other boy’s tunic was in fact woven from actual stars.
The knife fell limply from his fingers as Tom’s brain finally caught up to who, or rather what, was standing in front of him. Apparently, there had been more truth to those stories about the forest than he’d ever thought. Funny how these things turned out.
“I thought you humans knew better than to venture into the forest at night. Especially when the moon is full. And to leave the path. And certainly better than to assault a fairy circle,” the other boy– fae, Tom corrected, made a tsking sound, “That’s not a very smart thing to do. Why are you here?”
It took Tom a minute to find any words at all, his brain still trying to process that fae existed outside of stories. And, almost more distressingly, that every time he’d snuck into the forest to forage, he’d run the risk of meeting them.
“I was hungry,” he managed finally, painfully inadequate as it feels. He was hungry. But he was also upset that his parents were arguing and hurt that they cared more about hurting each other than they did about him sitting forgotten and hungry in the corner of their small home. He just wasn’t sure how to explain that in any way that didn’t sound pathetic. And even if he’d never believed in the stories before, he knew enough to be wary of showing weakness to a fae.
“You were hungry? You were going to destroy a fairy circle with cold iron on a dancing night because you were hungry? Of course you were.”
The fae sighed, possibly needing a minute to come to terms with the fact that yes, Tom really could make that many mistakes all at once. And it was becoming clear to Tom, that he’d already made several tonight. It was certainly a talent of his. One his father was always quite quick to point out. It turned out the old man had been right after all, there really would be consequences for his carelessness one day.
“Well, hurry up then. Pick up your knife and put it away before someone sees you. You’ve managed to get yourself into quite a mess, but if we’re lucky it’s not too late to get you out of it.”
Tom bent down slowly to grab the knife, his body oddly numb. “You’re not mad?” He asked after he had straightened up. It was maybe not the most pressing of all the questions he could have asked, but it seemed suddenly quite important. Because the fae was clearly offering Tom help, and the stories were full of warnings about what happened to those who provoked their anger. And that they were often willing to wait on revenge to make it particularly gruesome.
“No, I’m not, but I’m likely to be one of the very few people in this entire forest who isn’t. So we really need to hurry up and get you somewhere you can hide until the sun rises and you can leave. Tonight is a dancing night and you certainly do not want to run into any of the other Dancers.”
Tom shivered, although he’d never heard of Dancers in his life, it was clear from the other boy’s tone that they couldn’t mean anything good. Still, accepting anything from a fae could be dangerous. Even Tom knew that much. So rather than stepping forward to take the hand offered to him, Tom asked one more question.
“But why are you helping me? I can’t really offer you anything.” And it was true, his family wasn’t well off to start with, and Tom had left home with literally nothing but the clothes on his back.
The other boy grinned and although Tom didn’t know why, he had to look away. Something about the sharp glint of the other’s teeth, the brown of his eyes physically hurt. And all Tom could think, was that human eyes were not meant to look at beings like this.
“Would you believe me if I said that I had once been like you?” the fae asked pulling Tom’s attention back.
“Like me? Lost and alone in the forest at night?” Tom was having a hard time imagining the glowing fae across from him anything but in control of his surroundings.
“Yes. That too. Now come on, we’ve wasted enough time here as it is. You’ve already left the path and the protection that would have offered, so it is more than time that we leave this place. If it reassures you, I will state it plainly: my goal is to see you safely out of the forest by dawn tomorrow.”
Tom nodded still slightly shaky and finally reached for the other boy’s hand. He could do this. And really in the grand scheme of all the apparently terrible decisions he had already made tonight, this one probably couldn’t be any worse. Probably. After all, fae weren’t supposed to be able to lie and while Tom was sure there might be some way to twist the desire to see him safely out of the forest by dawn, Tom couldn’t see it.
Only once they started moving, did he realize how far into the forest they had gotten. Tom could have sworn that he’d just taken a couple of steps off the path, but it was now nowhere in sight. And the only light left under the thick branches over their heads came from the strange boy next to him. The boy who had, Tom realized, not made any move to release Tom’s hand. In fact, the grip on his hand only seemed to grow tighter as they continued on, nearly running through the dim undergrowth.
It was hard for Tom to say how long they had been running. With only the very dim light, it took his full attention not to trip over any roots, branches, or stones that suddenly came into his field of view. It could have been minutes or hours by the time they finally started to slow down.
“I think it should be safe to stay here at least for a little while,” the other boy said, breaking the silence for the first time since they had begun their flight through the forest. “There are some things we should discuss and here is about as good of a place as any.”
Tom nodded. Here it turned out, was underneath a pine tree wedged between two larger boulders. As far as hiding places went, he couldn’t identify anything that made this particular one special. But then again, he’d already proven himself to be no expert on anything about this forest enough times tonight that he’d just have to be willing to accept it at face value.
“What do you know about the fae?” his companion asked, sitting cross-legged on one of the large tree roots.
Tom thought a moment before answering, trying to remember anything useful he’d heard around the village. “Names have power?” He began hesitantly, “never eat anything they offer you, the fae cannot lie, be careful about making any deals, and if you run into a fae throw a pinch of salt over your shoulder and run away. The fae will have to count all the grains so you should have time to get away.” The last one was probably the most useful tip he could think of. Or it would have been if he had thought to bring any salt with him.
“We have to count the grains?” the other boy made an odd noise, which after a moment Tom realized must be laughter, “That’s a good one. Why would we have to count the grains? I don’t think I’ve heard that one before. You’re not entirely wrong, salt does have power. But why would we have to count the grains?”
Tom shrugged. He’d never quite understood that part either. But it made about as much sense to him as the myths about iron. And, from the other boy’s earlier reaction, that one appeared to actually be true.
“Well, no, we don’t have to count the grains, but everything else is mostly true,” growing suddenly serious, the other boy continued, “If you remember only one thing: never give your name to a fae. Never. Your name is a link to your soul, to everything that makes you the person you are. If you give up your name, you give up your very self and whoever owns it can shape you into whatever they want you to be. Do you understand? Protect your name with your life because if you give it up, the you I am talking to will no longer exist.”
Tom nodded, feeling a shiver go down his back. Names had power. The lesson had been repeated often enough in the village, but listening to the other boy speak, he truly believed it for the first time. Just one careless introduction and everything Tom was could be wiped away. But still, he needed some way to refer to his rescuer.
“You can call me Human easily enough because I’m the only human in the woods right now,” Tom pointed out, “But what can I call you. Calling you Fae won’t really narrow anything down here, would it?”
The other boy looked thoughtful for a moment before looking down at his tunic, “Call me Orion. The hunter shines brightly tonight and it is better, I think for us to be the hunter rather than the hunted.”
Tom nodded again, “Alright, so no real names. What else do I need to be aware of to get out of here alive? Please.” He added, belatedly remembering his manners.
“The fae cannot tell a lie, that is true and they can only trap you if you agree. They may not play fair, they may use spells to distract you, but they can only bind you if they have your name or if you agree to be bound. Or if they catch you in a lie. Humans can lie, but doing so will destroy what protection our rules of conduct offer.”
“Okay, no names, no lies, and no agreements. That sounds manageable.” Tom tried for smile, but even he could tell it came across as a bit weak.
“Take heart, Human, you will get through this night, I am almost certain. You are stronger than you think.”
Orion froze for a moment, his features going so still that Tom would have believed him to be a statue, before he jumped from the root. “Come, we’d best be moving. Tonight is a dancing night and they will be missing me soon.”
This time, Tom was a bit more prepared and Orion’s grip on his hand stayed comfortingly firm, rather than painfully tight. Even not tripping over the ground or – his own two feet – was proving easier now that Tom had some idea of what to expect. And in the silence – which Tom was desperately trying to convince himself was companionable and not tense – Tom had time to consider how much worse this evening could have gone if Orion had not decided to help him.
When they stopped again, Orion’s features were still strained with the tension from their previous break.
“The other Dancers are coming for me. I cannot go any farther with you. But the Queen has some fondness for me. If I leave with them to her now, I think it she’ll let you leave - as long as you follow the rules and don’t leave the path.”
As Orion finished talking, Tom realised that as suddenly as the path had disappeared by the mushroom circle what felt like half a lifetime ago, it had now reappeared.
“Here,” Orion said and picked up a small flat stone and blowing on it until a hole appeared in the middle before pinching one end to form a point, “If you hold this to your eye, you will be able to see the path regardless of any illusions that have been cast on it. And if you throw it and catch it, you will always open your hand showing the direction you need to go. But take care not to leave the path, the forest dances tonight and even my magic may not be able to guide you back.”
“Thank you,” Tom said, determined not to think about the having to navigate through the forest alone. “Th-“
“Do not say that!” Orion interrupted, his tone sharp. “I haven’t helped you for a debt. You are to leave the forest and be free of it. I do not want your debt, or anything else that ties you back to this place.”
Tom glared back, “Well you have it anyway. I may only be human, but I know when I owe someone. You saved me. I’m not dumb enough not to realize that. So if there is anything I can do to repay you, I will.”
Something in Orion’s posture softened, his ire fading away to be replaced with a wry smile, “You remind me so much of a human boy I once knew. I think you could have been friends if given the chance.” Smile fading to a more thoughtful expression, Orion continued, “Alright. To repay your debt to me, you must leave the forest and you must bring that stone to a woman who lives alone on the outskirts of a village on the Thames. I’m not sure which one, but she will not have left the river. The stone will show you the way and she will know who sent you. Tell her- Tell her the child she cared for has not forgotten her.”
Tom nodded and committed the message to memory. Find a mysterious lady along the river. He wasn’t sure how he would convince his parents to allow him travel to the next village, let alone one farther away than that, but it was the least he could do after all of the help Orion had already given him.
“Now go. And whatever you see or hear, do not step off the path. There are rules of conduct and nothing may hurt you unless you leave the path.”
Tom nodded, stepping into the middle of the forest trail before turning around to say goodbye. Except where Orion had been standing was now only empty trees. And although previously, they had been standing by a patch of pine trees, now there were birch and maple.
Tom squared his shoulders and pulled out the strange stone Orion had given him. Everything was going to be okay. He could do this. It didn’t matter that the forest was moving or that everything was that much darker without the light Orion produced. It was going to be fine. He would get out. He had to.
Holding the stone up to his eye, Tom first confirmed that what looked like path in front and behind him actually was. As he had already learned tonight, you really couldn’t be too careful. Then, after a moment of worrying what would happen to the stone if he didn’t manage to catch it, he tossed it into the air. When he opened his hand, the rock pointed forward, which, if Tom as honest with himself was something of a relief. Although he had lost all sense of direction during their mad dash through the woods, it felt symbolically right that he should start the next stage of his journey going forward and not backward.
The forest felt immediately darker and emptier without Orion by his side but Tom tried to convince himself that was a good thing. Dark and empty meant no one was looking for him. And the last thing Tom wanted, was to catch anyone else’s attention. He just needed to keep putting one foot in front of the other and he’d be home in no time. Easy as that. And not leave the path. And make sure not to accidently drop the stone. And not fall asleep no matter how tired he now was. Everything was going to be fine. He could do this.
When the voices started, Tom tried hard not to notice them, hoping that if he didn’t notice them, they wouldn’t notice him. Orion had said that the path would offer him protection as long as he didn’t leave it. So maybe whoever was moving through the woods would overlook him as just one more shadow in the night forest.
But as he continued on, the voices only got louder and more distinct and he began to recognize some of them. His brother was calling out for him and the village priest. And as he continued on, he could see the torches they had brought with them. A small part of Tom was relieved that his parents had noticed he’d gone missing and his brother had organized a search, but a larger part was gripped with terror. They must not have known either not to leave the path or about how the forest seemed to randomly shift. And what would the fae do with so many humans entering their forest. And on a Dancing night no less! Tom still didn’t know what that meant, but he knew enough now to know it couldn’t be anything good.
Someone had to warn them! There was no way Tom leave his brother and the other village volunteers trapped in the forest, even if it would make his own escape harder. But how? If he left the path, he didn’t know how he would be able to get back on. And he wasn’t even sure how he would get to them in time. Once he stepped off, would the forest shift again? And his stone could point him to where he needed to go, but Tom wasn’t sure if that only meant out of the forest. Orion had said it would lead him wear he needed to go, but other boy had also seemed very convinced that out of the forest was the only place Tom would need to go.
Trying not to panic, Tom raised the stone to his eye just to make sure that there wasn’t any chance the path really did curve in the direction of his would-be rescuers. Except, they weren’t there. Tom could still hear them calling for him – his brother’s voice growing more and more desperate – but the torchlight and the shadowy figures were gone.
Which meant, Tom realized, feeling his whole body relax, it was just an illusion. Orion had warned him about them. His brother and the rest of the village men must still be safely in the village. It was just Tom in trouble. Trying his best to tune out the voices calling out for him, Tom continued on the path. He didn’t know how far he still had to go, but he could do this. He’d come this far already, so there was certainly no giving up now.
By this point he was starting to grow tired, but he knew he needed to keep pressing on. One step and then the next. No matter how inviting the ground looked. He’d heard enough stories to know that it was Not a Good Idea to fall asleep in an enchanted forest. Even if the moss next to the path looked surprisingly like a bed. It would be soft, he thought. Very soft. And the toadstools at the end looked almost like a pillow. His head was feeling very heavy now. It would be nice to rest it. Very nice. And his legs were so weak, certainly it couldn’t hurt to let them rest for a minute. Just a minute and then he would keep going.
And his hand, it felt so… warm? No, not warm. Hot. His hand hurt! But why would his hand hurt? He was only holding the stone and the stone wouldn’t hurt him. It wanted him to be safe. Confused, Tom opened his hand and saw Orion’s stone pointing firmly away from the bed. And now that he was looking away, he noticed that his head felt somehow less heavy. He blinked and realised that not only was his head less heavy, but his arms and legs as well. The terrible sense of exhaustion was starting to fade, only to be replaced by the icy sensation of horror. In his exhaustion, Tom had somehow wandered to the very edge of the path. Even one more step would have brought him over the edge and back into the dancing forest.
Shaking himself, Tom tried to focus on Orion’s words. As long as he stayed on the path, he would be safe. He had assumed that safe meant no magic could be cast on him, but apparently not. Maybe only no harmful magic. The spell, or whatever it had been hadn’t actually hurt him. And it also hadn’t been able to directly compel him off of the path. So, it was fine. He had made it through. And now that he knew to be on the lookout for it, he would be more prepared if it happened again. Everything was going to be fine.
And if he wasn’t mistaken, the forest was starting to thin. He could swear that there was now some difference in the shades of dark between the tree branches and the sky. It wasn’t there yet, but dawn was coming. Tom just needed to keep going long enough to meet it. And stay on the path. It might not be easy, but he could do it. He’d shown that much already.
So, when a figure appeared on the path in front of him, Tom couldn’t really say that he was surprised. Scared? Definitely. But not truly surprised. If anything, some part of him had known that it wasn’t over yet. In all the stories they told in the village, trials came in threes and sevens and he could recognize that up until now he had only had two.
As he got closer, the glowing figure resolved itself into a woman. There was nothing about her features human enough for Tom to guess her age, but somehow, he knew that she must be ancient. While Tom had felt a bit unnerved looking at Orion, it physically hurt to look at the woman for longer than a glance out of the corner of his eye. For all that she was dressed plainly -- a grey robe and a green crown that smelled of peppermint -- Tom somehow instinctively knew that this was the queen that Orion had mentioned before.
Finally gathering his wits, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head. Apparently, Orion had been wrong about her being willing to ignore Tom’s presence. But it was going to be fine. They were still on the path. So as long as Tom didn’t manage to offend her, queen or not, there should be nothing she could do to him. Hopefully.
“Rise human. And tell me of yourself. What do they call you?” Her voice was at once beautiful and terrible. In that moment, Tom was certain he would do anything she asked of him. How could he not? And yet a part of him noticed how different the queen’s distaste sounded to when Orion called him ‘human’ and meant it as friend.
“I am only a human boy, your majesty,” Tom said, trying to balance Orion’s dire warnings about not identifying himself with the pressing need not to offend, “and nothing in the presence of one such as yourself. I lost my way, and am just trying to go back home.”
“I heard you met one of my dancers tonight.”
It wasn’t a question, but Tom still answered, his head bowed out of politeness, but also to give him an excuse to look away from the queen’s terrible radiance. “I did, your majesty.”
“Did he make you swear yourself to him? The boy is young, sometimes he forgets himself.”
Tom determinedly kept his eyes on the ground and tried to figure out what the question meant and what a safe answer would be. Did he swear himself to Orion? Probably not? Tom had agreed to do a task for him in repayment for his rescue. That probably didn’t count. But Tom also knew that given who he was talking to, the wrong answer could be deadly.
“I am sorry, but I don’t understand, your majesty.” Tom settled on, willing to admit his ignorance and hope that it offended her less than giving the wrong answer.
“The dancer was late to his duties tonight. Surely in that time you exchanged some words with him. Did he give you anything? Accept any debt from you?”
The stone in Tom’s hand was as cold as ice and somehow, he knew that it would be dangerous to mention. Whether the danger was for himself or Orion, though, Tom didn’t know. Still, he couldn’t lie to her. Which meant he needed to be very careful how he chose his next words.
“Orion did not accept any debts from me. He was quite insistent that I not even thank him for his help, your majesty. But I suppose he did give me a gift. He helped me to believe in myself and showed me the way back to the path.”
It was the truth. Perhaps not the whole truth, but it seemed to satisfy the queen.
“I see. Consider yourself lucky then, mortal, for while you left the path, you did not break the law. But do not count on luck to keep you safe a second time. I will ignore your trespass tonight due to the long service your dancer has given me, but you would do well to remain in your own realm and far from the borders of mine. I do not make a habit of staying my hand, and should you seek Orion out again, you will learn to understand the gift I am bestowing you in doing so tonight. Do you understand?”
“Yes, your majesty,” Tom said, trying to hide the relief that coursed through his body. Orion had been right about the queen showing mercy, but it still felt like Tom had encountered a ferocious storm and by chance the lightning had not struck him.
When he looked up, the queen was gone and with her the scent of peppermint. Tom was certain he was never going to be able to eat it again without thinking of tonight, but he supposed he still had more important things to worry about. Although the sun was slowly starting to rise and he could hear the sounds of birds and insects again, he still wasn’t out of the woods yet.
But even as he walked, he could tell that something was different. For all that the birds were singing, the forest was quieter, stiller. Somehow less alive than it had been during the night. And as he wound around the next corner, the trees suddenly thinned and he could see his village again, nestled at the base of the hill.
He had done it! And somehow even as exhausted as Tom was, looking at the stone in his hand, it felt more like a beginning than an ending. He had survived illusions, compulsions, and an encounter with the fairy queen herself. While his stomach rumbled with the same hunger that had chased him into the forest, he was no longer that same scared, angry boy. After all, what were arguing parents compared to a dancing forest and all the trials within that he had overcome?
And as he walked back down the thin winding path toward the village, Tom’s thoughts were already turning towards his next task. He would find the woman Orion had told him about and pass on the message. And then? Then he’d see. If he’d learned anything tonight it was that he was stronger than he’d thought, no matter what came his way, he would keep on moving forward. And something told him that despite the Faerie Queen’s dire warning, he and Orion were not done with each other yet.