Sole Wolfess and Kid
© 2022 by M. Mitch Marmel and Walter Reimer

(The Sole Wolfess and Aedith ‘Sunny’ Winterbough are courtesy of E.O. Costello. Thanks!)
Thumbnail art by  tegerio, color by  marmelmm

Part Thirteen.



I was glad that Sunny saw a decent facsimile of the Wolf Queen, and I was also glad that I bought it for her. The other Wolf Queen doll vendors that we saw in the field made Aedith giggle, and made me grind my teeth because these were quite indecent.

[Note appended to manuscript: “I’m surprised your teeth haven’t been ground flat by now.”

[Note appended to manuscript: “At least I still HAVE all my teeth.”]

I reminded myself that I was likely being tested, so I swallowed my bile. Besides, Aedith was enjoying her adventure, and I didn’t want to disappoint her.

One stall advertised their dolls with the tagline ‘The Kind That Mels Like!’ and, from the extensive cantilevering fore and aft, they looked like something that would appeal to a mel’s puerile interests. A second glance, past the assertion that the dolls were anatomically correct (hah!), revealed that Arch Publications, the firm that inflicted Jane, the Lowfolk Femme on Elf-kind, had somehow managed to find Eastness before the rest of Faerie.

How do I know? Simple; the stall also had a whole line of ‘Authorized’ Saucy Jane dolls. "Press the button here at the back of her neck - and her clothes fall off!” the vendor proclaimed to several prospective buyers.

Another stall hawked Wolf Queen dolls that were also supposed to be anatomically correct, but I think that claim would be correct only if she was a stevedore with back muscles which were made of magically-enhanced silver-steel.

But I stopped at that stall, not because of the wolfess dolls, but at the array of small windup roebucks that bore a surprisingly accurate resemblance to a certain Elfhamian twit. Right down to the slightly askew antlers and the big nose.

[Note appended to manuscript: “Wolfess . . .”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Yes, Master?”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “You didn’t.”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Elves Don’t Lie. I bought a hundred of them. You wind them up, and there’s this one bit that moves up and down while they walk.”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Grr . . . .”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “They’re rather cute wandering around the Vale, even after they must have wound down by now. Powered by the ambient magicks, I suppose.”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “They’re turning up EVERYWHERE! Even in the Lowfolk country!”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Maybe I was off on the number. Could have been two hundred. Bulk discount, you know. Anyway, they do seem to get around. One would almost think they’re like the doilies at the [Sheaf of Arrows].”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Wolfess . . .”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Excuse me . . . Mommy?”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Yes, Aedith?”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Could you and Daddy please stop fighting? I want to hear the rest of the story.”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Oh . . .”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Um . . . please go on, Wolfess.”]

The sun was getting higher in the sky, and with some help from the Temple bells tolling the hour I judged that it was time to see what the State Council had to say. Paw in paw, Aedith and I left the little island.

I thought that coming back to see the flower show might be nice. There were several varieties that I didn’t recognize from anywhere else in Faerie.


***


“Look, Mommy!”

I had tried to avoid looking at it again, even to the extreme of asking Fuma – politely – if She would sort it out for me. That wasn’t to be, I realized, as Sunny let go of my paw and made a beeline for the statue of the Wolf Queen. More specifically, the one holding the late King Alastair’s severed head. She stopped and looked up at the statue while I caught up to her.

I recalled what the Master said to me that day: “You were the hero they needed, wolfess.”

I still had trouble believing him.

Aedith tugged at my cloak and I looked down as she asked, “Was he a bad fur, Mommy?”

I crouched down beside her and said, “Yes. He was a very, very Unseelie fur.”

She looked at me, her ears swiveling and tail wagging, and glanced up at the dead osprey’s face again. “It was justice,” she said quietly, and started to walk away.

I stood up and looked at the statuary group again. “Yes, it was,” I murmured, and turned to follow after Sunny as she took a seat on a nearby bench. I sat down next to her and glanced up as temple bells started to ring again.

Fourth hour of the morning, if the bells were correct.

“Sunny, Mommy needs to go talk to some people,” I said.

She jumped off the bench and said, “Okay, Mommy,” and we headed for the State Council building.

The mention of Councilor Furrow to a guard led us to a functionary, who nodded and led us to the large, open-air Council chamber and showed us to seats. It was conveniently in a sunbeam, and Aedith tipped her head back and basked in the light until Furrow signaled for us to come forward.

“Missy Sage, and Aedith Winterbough,” the functionary said as we came forward. Chairs were brought for us, along with a glass of water for Aedith.

“I bring greetings from the First of Eldest of Elfhame,” I said. Note the title; I know who wields the actual authority in the Vale. “I have come to escort a delegation from Eastness to Elfhame, to open friendly relations and trade.”

All eleven of the Councilors conferred in low tones, and Furrow asked, “How many Gates will we have to traverse to get to Elfhame?”

“A very good question,” I replied. “My first sojourn here required eight Gates and several days, while on this trip it took four days, and only five Gates.”

One bespectacled beagle blinked myopically at me. “The road is growing straighter,” he said, nodding sagely.

I thought about his statement before nodding. “It would appear so. The stele-Gate south of the city has a twin that’s only accessible if you can fly or climb.”

Another Councilor, a vixen, piped up. “Yes, we found out about that – the hard way,” she added with a chuckle. “Surveying has begun to build a platform and ramp, and we’ve already had requests from several people asking permission to settle around it, and maybe found a new village.”

I smiled. “That sounds quite nice,” I said diplomatically. “The land did look good for farming.” Since the land around the Gate had been a swamp, it was probably very fertile.

Furrow gaveled for order and said, “We’ll be putting together the delegation to Elfhame,” the mare said, “and we should be able to depart in three days.”

“That sounds – “

“Point of order, Madame Chairwoman!”

Heads turned to see an elderly donkey at the far end of the table.

Furrow sighed, with an air of resigned dread. “Yes, Albrecht?”

The donkey harrumphed, flapped his long ears and fixed his beady eyes on me. “You say you are Missy Sage, yet your daughter is surnamed Winterbough,” and he gave Furrow a glance before adding, “and we are told that she is a Wild Priestess of the Brilliant Light. She is native to Eastness, and you are not.”

“Where are her parents? Her true parents?” he asked.




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