\nWhen the otherworldly visitors arrived, I had my hands full with their unusual needs: no salt, everything baked or boiled until it was pure\u2013what did that mean?\u2013and only cream to drink. While the rest of the castle whispered about their motives and admired every nuance of their behavior, I rushed about the kitchen, commander of an army of cooks and cutlery. I was as curious as the next person, but I had a job to do.\n<\/p>\n
\nAfter a welcome feast of venison curry and roast peacock, I slumped in my chair by the servant\u2019s courtyard and wished I could make myself move. Sticky summer air pressed down on my body, settling into the same places the heat of cook fires had blasted earlier. I thought about stripping, but it was too much effort to reach the ties.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAre you all right, Verel?\u201d a raspy baritone asked. \u201cI heard bloodcurdling screams from the direction of the kitchen.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nI sat up sharply, feeling hot in a third, not entirely unpleasant way. Delin stood in the stone archway, outlined by the moonlight\u2013lean, perfectly proportioned, a face like rock. We had been friends for years, and when I first realized I was attracted to him, I had stared at that face, hoping to remind myself of our friendship in the familiarity of hazel eyes. Then I discovered I enjoyed staring too much.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIf you wish to know if there was blood in the red velvet cake,\u201d I said, \u201cthe answer is yes. How else do you think I achieved that color?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nDelin laughed. \u201cThat will put me off my dinner.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cTell me about the feast,\u201d I said.\n<\/p>\n
\nHe dropped on the well-trod dirt of the courtyard, absently fingering a hoof print. \u201cThe best of the known world\u2013especially from the kitchen,\u201d he added with a nod to me. \u201cBut all the guests were tense, trying to be better than their natures.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAnd…?\u201d I prodded.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOur visitors are beautiful, but not in the way of anything human,\u201d he said. The excitement came off him in waves. I basked in it as I listened. \u201cTheir speech is\u2013sometimes I cannot be sure it is words at all, and we choose to hear the familiar. The king tried to get them to agree to an alliance,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut they said we were primitive and crude, with our iron weapons and our deafness to the natural world.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThat was rude of them,\u201d I said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNo\u2013they\u2019re right.\u201d Delin sighed. \u201cBut there\u2019s hope. They want to take a few people with them, to live in their cities, learn their ways, and bring that wisdom back.\u201d He fidgeted as if he could hardly hold the thought in. \u201cI want to be one of them.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nMy heart took a step off the castle parapet. \u201cBut people abducted in the past were gone for decades,\u201d I said. \u201cThey left and returned only when their friends had become old and grey-\u201d when I was old and grey, I wanted to shout, \u201c-and the world they knew had crumbled to dust.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBut young,\u201d Delin countered. \u201cAnd still with all the possibilities in the world to pursue. And the chance to see their home realm!\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou\u2019re needed here,\u201d I said. I wasn\u2019t sure who perturbed me more: Delin or these mysterious visitors. The question of the unknown and the imagined\u2013cities of glass, places where everyone flew on gossamer wings; powers that could cure any sickness\u2013was as heady as the king\u2019s anniversary wine… but I was sobered by the idea of how much one would leave behind. Delin, apparently, had no such concerns.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNeeded?\u201d He shook his head. \u201cI\u2019m the junior healer, and there are plenty of young faces waiting to replace me. Anyhow, it\u2019s not assured. They want to pick from a group of candidates.\u201d He slid forward, catching my hands. \u201cI want you to come stand with me, Verel. For support, and maybe…\u201d He hesitated.\n<\/p>\n
\nIt was foolish, but the little catch in his voice turned everything the other way around. He wanted me with him, and a journey into the unknown with a good friend\u2013never mind more\u2013was less daunting, even conceivable. As long as they let me cook, and who knew what arcane ingredients and obscure techniques the visitors might use for their food?\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOf course I will,\u201d I said. Meanwhile, a portion of my brain wondered how long I could hold onto him before he noticed. I waited until the last to free my hands.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThank you,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll feel better with someone I can trust at my side. Not so inclined to run away, maybe.\u201d His smile was sheepish.\n<\/p>\n
\nHe was trying to make a joke, but he was anxious. \u201cI will be there for you,\u201d I said firmly. \u201cEven if you run.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nHe laughed. \u201cWith a show of confidence like that, Verel,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat could go wrong?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nThe next morning, after a hectic breakfast, I hurried into the royal gardens. It was the pride of the kingdom, waterfalls of blossoming vines tumbling into lush beds. I hid myself behind a clump of rosebushes as the queen took the visitors on a tour. Clad in a velvet gown and with a silver circlet perched upon her brow, she carried herself with an air of majesty that paled next to the visitors.\n<\/p>\n
\nTheir skin was pale and soft, their forms\u2013while human in shape\u2013as thin and delicate as crystal. Their voices rang like bells and echoed inside my head. I wondered if they were speaking or somehow projecting their thoughts. They wore sleek white robes, but the whispers I heard among the servants indicated this was not the fashion of their kind. Perhaps they typically wore nothing.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe five visitors glided along in the queen\u2019s wake. One seemed to be in charge; when he spoke or gestured, the others halted. I strained to overhear, but the only dialogue I caught was about the perfume of the flowers.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe smallest visitor turned her head in my direction. I jerked backwards into the bushes, cursing as my hand scraped on a thorn. I felt childish\u2013but these beings seemed so ancient, how could one not be a child? To play at their feet seemed natural.\n<\/p>\n
\nI withdrew, sucking at the line of blood on my hand. For as long as I could remember, we had seen signs of them: dancing lights on the horizon, intricate circles left in field and forest. Their only contact had been occasional abductions of our people. Now that they had shown themselves, there were more questions than answers\u2013questions as basic as whether their kind had women and men. By appearance, they were neither, or perhaps I didn\u2019t know what to look for.\n<\/p>\n
\nAs I approached the whiteblossom trellises at the garden gate, I saw Delin leaning against them. He huffed out a sigh. \u201cMorning, Verel.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cEverything all right?\u201d I asked.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cGuard had a training accident this morning\u2013patched up now. Messy, though.\u201d He looked at me and smirked. \u201cYou\u2019re bleeding. Your cooks are supposed to supply dye for the cake, not you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019ve got tastier blood.\u201d He was too close; his slightly rapid breaths sent a shiver through me. To distract myself, I continued, \u201cAre you sure you want to volunteer to go with the visitors? We know nothing about their intentions. They could mean to feast on us like cattle.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cSeems a lot of trouble for a meal,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNo trouble too great,\u201d I retorted.\n<\/p>\n
\nDelin laughed. \u201cI understand you: we have only their word they mean to help us. But there is no such thing as a one-way journey, Verel. Wherever they take us, we can return.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nI knew I should point out he was wrong, how many actions could not be undone, but I wanted to believe him. His face was luminous, inspired. I wobbled on the first step of my own one-way journey. A few fierce words would tell him how I felt.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe risks held me back. To lose a friend, to chance he would want nothing more to do with me and he would insist on making his journey alone… I couldn\u2019t bear the thought.\n<\/p>\n
\nI might not have a choice. Who was to say the visitors would want a cook, much less this one? We could be separated forever.\n<\/p>\n
\nWould I tell him if those were the last words we would share? Would that make it easier or harder?\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cVerel?\u201d He tilted his head inquisitively. \u201cYou look concerned.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNo salt,\u201d I said. \u201cI can\u2019t work with bacon or most kinds of cured ham.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou could use me,\u201d he offered. \u201cI\u2019m a ham.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nDid the man know what he was saying? I took an obscure comfort in the fact that if he had any clue of my feelings, he wouldn\u2019t have bantered.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBut not cured,\u201d I said. \u201cHealers can\u2019t cure themselves.\u201d I paused. \u201cIf you change your mind about the visitors…\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI won\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cI was meant to do this. It\u2019s destiny.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n
\nThe day of the visitors\u2019 departure arrived more quickly than I had expected. Delin barged in on me wearing a frilly yellow court shirt, asked how he looked, and vanished before I could tell him the only possible description was bridal. I shook my head, changed into my second-best tunic\u2013crimson with wide sleeves\u2013and went out to catch him.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThey\u2019ll choose you because they want to choose you\u2013not because you look good,\u201d I said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHow do you know?\u201d he asked.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBecause they\u2019re not fools,\u201d I answered. \u201cIf we\u2019ve figured that much out, enlightened beings from the otherworld certainly have.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nDelin laughed. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Verel. I\u2019m being a clodpate about this.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nI clapped his shoulder. \u201cCourage.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nWe descended into the courtyard, where thirty-some people gathered to await the selection. Some were at the height of their field, honored warriors and the finest master of horse-flesh in six kingdoms. The royal party stood on a raised dais. By the king\u2019s expression, he was not pleased by the potential for losing these paragons, but to object would risk offending his guests and the unknown bounty they might bestow.\n<\/p>\n
\nEveryone tried to speak quietly, but voices echoed off the stone as if an entire city crammed into the courtyard. Softer whispers still pierced like the cries of hunted birds.\n<\/p>\n
\nDelin craned his neck towards the archway into the great hall, the rust-dappled main gate winched up out of sight. \u201cCan you see them?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cStand still,\u201d I said.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe clock in the center tower of the castle chimed the hour. The scarlet-clad herald stepped forward and announced the visitors. Until that moment, I had not noticed they had no names\u2013or none that they shared.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe five figures glided into view, their too-large eyes tranquil and impenetrable. They halted a few paces from the front of the crowd. Delin gripped my arm.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe king stepped forward on the dais. \u201cThese are the ones who dream of accompanying you to your other world,\u201d he said. \u201cEach choice will serve you in good stead.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe visitors separated and moved through the crowd, sometimes close enough to touch but never speaking\u2013their glances among each other as fluid as water and concealing thought like ocean depths. I felt as if I were drowning under a tide I could not even perceive. What were they thinking? Were they judging us? A prickle of indignation surged through me. By what right?\n<\/p>\n
\nDelin gasped. \u201cVerel…\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe little one stood in front of us. She\u2013she? I might as well assume\u2013was shorter than I had realized; I found myself looking down as her eyes turned up. I could have lost myself in that gaze, but I was also aware of Delin: quick, shallow breaths, the tension of excitement, the beating of his heart. I was in time with my old friend, waiting.\n<\/p>\n
\nShe lowered her gaze and walked away.\n<\/p>\n
\nI stayed silent, not wanting to break the moment. He did, finally, puffing out a breath. \u201cWhat just happened?\u201d he asked.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI have no idea,\u201d I said.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe visitors converged in front of the crowd. Their leader spoke first, and it vibrated in my bones. \u201cThe older man on the end, with the crooked shoulder. You.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nStartled, then with a gap-toothed grin, the horse-master stepped forward. The king scowled, then schooled his expression.\n<\/p>\n
\nAnother visitor I arbitrarily thought of as female said, \u201cThe short young woman with the gold curls.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nOne for each, then. Delin gripped my arm harder. I stepped on his foot. \u201cCalm.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe others chose in quick succession. Three stood there, then four.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe little one scanned the crowd\u2013then looked again. She seemed to have trouble deciding.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe math dawned on me. If Delin went, he went alone. Part of me wanted to whirl and beg him not to accept if he was chosen\u2013but what kind of friend would do that? Nor would a beloved try to keep him from going.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe woman in the red tunic.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n
\nThe Left Fork<\/em>\n<\/p>\n \nI froze, stunned – but I was the only female wearing red, and her gaze was direct. I turned to Delin in confusion.\n<\/p>\n \nHe clasped my hands. \u201cGo for both of us, Verel,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n \nThe chill of loss in his eyes burned away under complete trust. It was ridiculous, but in that fervent look I found all the encouragement I needed. His dreams sparked inside me, celestial fire.\n<\/p>\n \nThe words rushed out. \u201cI love you,\u201d I said. Common sense asserted itself: why invite rejection when it was so close to not mattering, I could not expect anything from him when we would be worlds and centuries apart…\n<\/p>\n \nDelin leaned forward and brushed my lips in a quick kiss. It tasted of sunlight. Whispered breath. Medicinal herbs, tart, tangy and cutting through the senses.\n<\/p>\n \nThen over\u2013too fast. \u201cI\u2019ll be here for you,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n \nI wanted to protest, but could not find words. The horse-master pulled at my arm, and I found myself facing the alien visitors, massive dark eyes expectant. With their pale grey skin, spindly limbs and outsized heads, they should have been ugly, and yet the tranquility\u2013and now, finally, the welcome\u2013radiated from them like warmth, and it was impossible to notice anything else.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe thank our hosts,\u201d the leader said. \u201cWe shall take our leave of you now.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe hope this will be the start of a long and profitable friendship,\u201d the king replied.\n<\/p>\n \nI pivoted and caught Delin\u2019s eye in the crowd. The wistful expression that burst into a smile when our gazes met was fuel enough for a decade.\n<\/p>\n \nThe visitors guided us to the clearing where they had left their sky-ship. It looked like nothing so much as two silver plates fused together, no sign of seam or rivet. As they approached, segments unfolded like opening hands to reveal a doorway.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe travel as if we could catch light in its speed,\u201d the little one explained. \u201cYou will not even feel the ship move.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThe gold-curled girl started to speak, then fidgeted silent. Our hosts ushered us inside. The interior of the ship was as featureless as its exterior, moonlight metal cocooning without reflection. The corridors were perfectly round, spiraling off in all directions like chambers of a honeycomb.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cYour quarters are here,\u201d the leader said, leading us to an unadorned chamber. Bunks flowed out of the walls, pillowed with what looked like silk. \u201cMake yourselves comfortable.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWhere do we-\u201d the horse-master began, but the door had closed\u2013in fact, vanished, and we could not find it again.\n<\/p>\n \nIt was the first sign that something was wrong.\n<\/p>\n \nThe bedding was not silk, rather a strange, viscous substance that shaped itself to the sleeper and gave an uncomfortable sense of drowning. The alcove on one side of the room, with only two sapphire-blue buttons to distinguish it, dispensed a bland but edible food substance. I itched to improve the taste, but there was no seasoning to hand. We had no way of counting time as it passed. I wondered anxiously how long it had been for Delin.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cMaybe they aren\u2019t used to having visitors,\u201d the gold-curled girl said.\n<\/p>\n \nWe slept, and when we awoke, the horse-master was gone. Our frantic arguments were interrupted by his piercing scream.\n<\/p>\n \nI swallowed hard as the sound was followed by another\u2013the pitch, intensity and emotion in his voice varying like a morbid symphony. If there were words, distance and agony destroyed them. It stopped, and the silence brought an absurd hope.\n<\/p>\n \nThen it started again.\n<\/p>\n \nThe third silence was longer. I couldn\u2019t look at the others\u2013to meet their eyes would be to realize it was more than a nightmare. Terror clutched me.\n<\/p>\n \nThe door irised open. Two of the visitors stood there. My fury died before it could reach my body. What way did we have to resist them?\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe require another person,\u201d one said.\n<\/p>\n \nI stepped forward before I knew I was going to. \u201cTake me,\u201d I said.\n<\/p>\n \nThe door melted into the wall. I thought about fighting back, running, but there was nowhere to go. I thought of Delin, grateful he would never know what was behind his dreams\u2013even if he waited forever.\n<\/p>\n \nI tried to distract myself from the crushing dread as we wound through the unending, spiraling corridors, walls pale as bone. It felt as if we circled forever, should have ended up where we started. \u201cWhy the charade?\u201d I wondered. \u201cWhy not just take what you want?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWhy work to steal the dregs when your best will volunteer?\u201d the other figure said. \u201cEvery kingdom in your world will be eager to participate.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWhat did you do to the horse master?\u201d I asked.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe studied his physical reactions to assorted environmental stresses,\u201d the first said. \u201cUnfortunately, his system gave out.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThe fear vised around me, driving out thought. \u201cWill you do the same to me?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cOh, no,\u201d the first said. \u201cYour tests will relate to mental and psychological stress. We\u2019re fascinated to see how much your kind can handle.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nWhatever my strengths, I knew I wouldn\u2019t make our destination. As I walked, it seemed I could feel the vastness of night beyond the ship, traveling through starlight without end.\n<\/p>\n \n \nThe Right Fork<\/em>\n<\/p>\n \nI glanced down the line and saw that, though three other men wore red as I did, there was only one woman, a wispy seamstress\u2013and I couldn\u2019t be mistaken for female.\n<\/p>\n \nThe seamstress beamed as she stepped forward. I concentrated on not feeling relieved. I didn\u2019t want Delin to sense it. The familiar kitchens for me, and I would keep my friend \u2013\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cAnd the tall man with the dark curls,\u201d the little visitor finished.\n<\/p>\n \nI stared. Could she do that? Weren\u2019t they each choosing one? But if that was the rule, the leader indulged her\u2013maybe his daughter?\u2013for there was no protest.\n<\/p>\n \nI thought Delin would leap out of his skin for happiness. He whirled, grabbing me in an exuberant bear-hug. \u201cWish me luck, Verel,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n \nNow or never, I realized. Say what I had to say or never have a chance, keep it bottled up like sour poison until it faded\u2013if it ever faded. Twice, I tried to speak.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cGood luck,\u201d I said.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cI\u2019ll be back,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you\u2019ll be the first person to hear about it.\u201d Like a dream, he was out of my grasp.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cI\u2019ll be here for you,\u201d I muttered, knowing he couldn\u2019t hear me. Coward. Fool. I branded myself and didn\u2019t even feel it burn.\n<\/p>\n \nThe fairy visitors waited expectantly as their chosen joined them. With their shining starlight skin, their ethereal frames and long tresses, they should have seemed like dolls, not people, yet a power radiated from them that was impossible to deny.\n<\/p>\n \nDelin turned on his heel and flashed me a final grin. I returned it, feeling the strain about my lips, and saw his expression flicker uncertainly.\n<\/p>\n \nToo late.\n<\/p>\n \nThe visitors departed, taking their guests to the door in the mound that led through the veil. On the other side, a world I could only imagine\u2013and might learn about someday, as an old man, hopefully with something to show for my years.\n<\/p>\n \nBut I would never again have a heart.\n<\/p>\n \nI fled to the kitchen and poured my pain into a recipe. When I emerged from my personal ruin, I had a new dessert, and it could only have one name: Fairies\u2019 Cake.\n<\/p>\n \nWhether due to inspiration or something intangible, Fairies\u2019 Cake was good to the point of being addictive. People came from all directions for a slice\u2013or a second. With success came some measure of fame: recognition, wealth, women… none of whom truly made an impression on me. In their very softness, I saw Delin and my own cowardice.\n<\/p>\n \nWhenever the will-o-wisps lights appeared on the horizon, I went out faithfully to watch them, waiting for the doorway to open. I wondered what marvels Delin had discovered in the otherworld and what wisdom he had gained, and I yearned for both in equal measure.\n<\/p>\n \nAs years became decades, I had to face the thought he might have become so enlightened\u2013like the visitors themselves\u2013that he no longer wished to come home.\n<\/p>\n \nI hoped\u2013I still hope\u2013for his return, but mostly now I think of him as a man of their world, traveling through starlight without end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When the otherworldly visitors arrived, I had my hands full with their unusual needs: no salt, everything baked or boiled until it was pure\u2013what did that mean?\u2013and only cream to drink. While the rest of the castle whispered about their motives and admired every nuance of their behavior, I rushed about the kitchen, commander of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105996,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,19864],"tags":[19863],"class_list":["post-137442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-tcl-32-summer-2019","tag-the-colored-lens-32-summer-2019","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/105996"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=137442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137443,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137442\/revisions\/137443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=137442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=137442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=137442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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