Sybil Deceived
Sybil Deceived
Catherine Banks
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Thank you for Reading
More From Catherine Banks
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Sybil Deceived by Catherine Banks
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 Catherine Banks
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Crimson Phoenix Creations.
Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of the book.
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Chapter 1
A trumpet blared, startling me from my sleep and causing me to fall out of bed. I stood up, brushing off my bum and wings, and stretched. The sun barely peeked its head over the horizon, which meant that most were still asleep. I slipped on one of my cotton dresses and opened my balcony doors. Others were walking out too, and I waved to them before flapping my wings and jumping off of the balcony. I made a wide circle, spiraling slowly down to the bottom where a crowd was already gathered.
“Sybil!” a female called from behind me.
I turned around to face the green-skinned pixie who was my best friend. “What’s going on, Audrey?”
“New arrival,” she said with a bright smile.
I turned away from her and pushed my way through the crowd to get to the front where the Queen of the Fairies, Amelia, stood over a flower bud still tightly closed. Queen Amelia was tall, elegant, and beautiful. Her auburn hair shined like living fire in the early morning sunrays and cast an ethereal halo around her. Her white skin gleamed and the crown of ivy made her look like the queen she was.
She turned to me and smiled. “Princess Sybil, come.”
I walked to her and sat beside the flower bud, folding my legs beneath me like a lady was supposed to when wearing a dress. “How long?” I asked.
“Just a few moments. I’d like you to open it this time.”
I looked up at her in shock. “Me? You want me to open the bud? I’ve never done that before.”
“There is always a first time, and today is the first time for you to open the bud and welcome our new member.”
My palms started sweating and my wings flitted nervously behind me. “Okay.” I’d watched her do it many times before, but for some reason I felt like I didn’t know what to do.
She squatted down beside me and smiled reassuringly. “You are Princess, you can do this. When you see the bud start to shake, slip your fingers between the petals and gently pry them apart. Then, you will see the new child and their eyes will open. You know what to say.”
I nodded my head in understanding and wiped my hands on my dress. The crowd was silent in anticipation and I turned, looking for Audrey. She smiled reassuringly at me and gave me two thumbs up. I was about to turn back around when I caught Gerard smiling at me. Gerard was the most handsome fairy in our kingdom and our bravest warrior. His blue skin, and silver hair and eyes were among the most unique of our Troupe and earned him many female admirers. I had never before caught him looking at me and it made me happy. I turned away from him, fighting to hide the blush on my cheeks, and focused again on the bud.
It seemed as though an hour passed before the bud started to shake. I waited until it was steadily shaking and then slipped my fingers in between the petals, and slowly and carefully, pried them apart. The flower opened and a beautiful baby girl lay in the center, covered in a blanket of pollen. Her eyelids fluttered, revealing startling pink eyes and she stared straight into my eyes with no fear. “Welcome, little one. I’m Princess Sybil.” I bent down and scooped her up into my arms. She wriggled a moment, but then snuggled up against my chest as I stood and turned to the crowd. “Fairies of the Northern Troupe, I present to you our newest member, Coral.”
Queen Amelia took the little girl from me and smiled. “Well done, daughter.”
I beamed from her praise and stepped back from her to join the others. Audrey wrapped her arms around me in a hug. “She’s so cute.”
We waited as the queen walked by each member of the Troupe and then we dispersed to our daily activities. Since I had finished all of my chores yesterday, that meant I had free time. I flew slowly out of the gathering area and to the meadow in the west, and landed in the soft grass, lying down on my stomach and putting my head down on my folded arms.
The sun rose and started warming everything. I was almost asleep when a shadow fell over me. “Hello, Princess.”
I sat up and flexed my wings tightly to keep them from flitting nervously as I faced Gerard. “Hello, Gerard.”
He sat down in front of me cross-legged and adjusted his sword so he was comfortable. “You did well today.”
“Thank you.”
He plucked a flower from the ground and twirled it around once before holding it out to me. “A flower for the beautiful Princess as a token of my admiration.”
I took the flower and tucked it behind my left ear as protocol demanded. “It’s beautiful, but my beauty surely cannot compare to that of a flower, which is much more deserving of your admiration.”
“A flower’s beauty is commendable, but the beauty of a strong and independent woman is worth the admiration of every fairy that sees her.”
“You surely have me confused for my mother or a fairy that is gifted.”
He laughed and stood up. I took his offered hand and rose, feeling petite next to his warrior’s body. “Your humility is as splendid as your beauty. I must return to the training grounds. May I call upon you for supper later?”
“I would enjoy that,” I said with a genuine smile.
He stepped closer to me and picked my left hand up in his. “Then I shall call upon you when the sun begins to set.” He kissed the back of my hand softly, bowed, and smiled at me. “Good day, Princess Sybil.”
I curtsied. “Good day, Gerard.”
He flew up into the sky and zoomed off towards the training grounds above the mountains that backed our valley. I felt like I was in a dream. Gerard had asked me out on a date!
“What did he want?” asked a soft male voice from beside me.
I turned and smiled at the fiddler fairy beside me. “Hello, Charles.”
“So, what did he want?” he asked again as he adjusted the knob on a small device he was fiddling with.
“To ask me out tonight.”
He stopped turning the knob and looked up at me in shock. “Gerard asked you out?”
“Yeah,” I said softly. “Why does that surprise you?”
“I just didn’t think you liked that kind of fairy.”
“Oh yeah, I hate strong and handsome males.”
“What did you mean then? Were you insinuating that a fairy like him wouldn’t be interested in me?”
The device in his hands started ticking and he looked down at it and then started turning the knob quickly. “No, that’s not what I meant. Stupid trinket.”
“I am not stupid!” I yelled angrily as my cheeks flushed from anger. I turned away from him and flew up into the sky.
“Sybil, wait!” he yelled as the ticking of the device became louder. I didn’t respond, just flapped my wings harder and flew towards the mountains in the east. I heard a soft explosion and turned to see Charles’ hair standing on end and a black streak up his cheek. His devices had a knack for exploding.
I knew I should help him clean up, but he had hurt my feelings, so I flew to the top of the mountains and into the forest. The trees were very old up here and very tall. I walked among them and felt as though their wisdom eased my anger and pain. I sat down and leaned back against the largest tree of all, the one my mother called Grandpa. Ever since I could remember, she had brought me to the tree and told me to speak to it as though it were my lost grandfather. Strangely, it helped me muddle through whatever problem I was having.
Today I didn’t feel like talking so I simply sat in its presence. A dark blur sped to my side and then I was being lifted into the air. “Blueberries!” I screamed.
“Sorry, Princess, but we’re running a drill here and I was afraid you’d get hurt,” Gerard said as he held me in his strong arms.
“You could have just asked me to leave,” I said with a smile as I wrapped my arms around his neck to hold on. I could have let go and flown on my own, but it wasn’t often that a male tried to hold me in his arms.
“I didn’t have time,” he said and pointed down.
I looked down and saw a fierce battle between at least fifteen warrior fairies taking place around Grandpa. “Oh.”
“I’m sorry to have startled you,” he said as he flew over the tops of the trees towards the main training grounds.
“It’s alright. I’d rather be startled by you picking me up, then by them fighting around me.”
“So, you prefer me to other warrior fairies? That’s good to hear.”
“I didn’t say that,” I said with a gasp.
He laughed. “Do not worry yourself, it will be our little secret.”
“Gerard, you are taking what I said out of context.”
“Or perhaps I am simply unraveling the true reason you are still holding on to me when we’ve landed safely on the ground,” he said with a smirk.
I looked away from his face and blushed in embarrassment as I realized we were standing at the entrance to the training grounds and other warrior fairies were looking at us with smiles. The entrance to the training grounds was a simple wooden arch with the words, “Train to live. Train to protect. Train to survive.” etched into it.
I climbed out of his arms and straightened my dress and wings. “Thank you for your assistance.”
“Would you like a tour? The Queen visits us sometimes, but we have never been graced with your presence before,” he asked sooner than I had a chance to turn away.
It was true that I’d never been to the training grounds before and I was very curious about what they held. “I would love a tour,” I said with a smile.
He started walking and I hurried to keep up with him. “As you know this arch is the entrance to our training grounds and serves to keep out any other types of fairies, so they don’t get harmed in one of our training exercises. Today was a rare exception in that we were training outside the grounds and I apologize for not advising you or the Queen about it.”
“Gerard! Why aren’t you with the rest of the group?” asked the gruff Commander of the Warriors, Giles.
“The Princess was sitting by Grandpa and I had to save her from danger. I brought her here and she asked for a tour,” Gerard said.
Giles looked at me and the anger left, replaced by pure happiness. “It’s good to see you, Sybil.”
“It’s good to see you as well, Uncle. We miss you at the palace.”
“My presence is needed here now, but I promise to visit more often.”
“That’s all I ask for,” I said with a curtsy.
“Is Gerard going to show you around?” he asked.
“Yes sir, I am,” said Gerard with a smile.
“Good, he’s our best warrior and a good candidate for Princess’s guard.”
I knew I was blushing, but I straightened my spine and turned towards the first building. “What’s here?”
“This is the armory,” Gerard said as he opened the door and thankfully let me drop the topic.
I stared in shock at the axes, swords, spears, and contraptions that filled the room from bottom to top and left to right in large shelves. “Do we need this much?”
“It is better to be prepared, Princess, then to be caught off guard.”
“Is war so close to us?” I asked. Fear crept up my spine and made it seem colder in the room somehow.
“No need to be afraid, you will be protected at all costs,” he whispered from closer to me.
“I’m not only fearful for me,” I said somewhat indignantly.
“A true ruler never is.”
I wanted to ask what he meant, but the group who had been drilling in the woods had returned to put their weapons away. I stepped out of the armory and smiled dutifully at each of the warriors who each gave me a half bow as they past. A few men smiled extra brightly at me and I wondered if they would have flirted with me if Gerard hadn’t been there. I’d known since I was a child that many felt shy or as though they couldn’t talk to me since I was the only child raised in the palace and the only one born from the royal party mating, instead of from a flower bud.
“Let’s head this way, Princess,” Gerard said softly. I followed him away from the armory and to the roped off fields where different training took place. From where we were standing I couldn’t see anything because we were on top of a hill and only when you started down, could you see what was happening. “Here are the archery, sword and spear combat, and hand combat training grounds.”
“Can I see them?” I asked.
“Of course,” he said with a smile. He lifted the rope of the furthest left area for me to walk under and then yelled, “Civilian coming in,” before leading me down the hill to a valley where I could finally see the three separated areas and the men practicing in them.
“Every warrior is trained extensively in archery. Hugh is our best archer,” Gerard said as he patted the largest fairy I’d ever seen on the back.
“May I see you shoot?” I asked Hugh.
Hugh smiled and pulled an arrow from his quiver. “Of course.” He walked away from the target and then lined the arrow up on the bow. I watched his movements intently, trying to memorize them. He pulled the string taut and then released. The sound of the arrow thunking into the target made me turn to look at it. The arrow shuddered in the very center of the bulls-eye.
“Impressive,” I said seriously. Hugh beamed from my praise. “Can I try?”
“Princess?” he asked, confused.
“May I shoot one of your bows?” I gestured toward his equipment.
Hugh handed me his bow without further question and pulled an arrow from his quiver for me. “Have you ever shot a bow before?” he asked. I shook my head. “Your hands go here and here. You hold the arrow like this,” he explained as he positioned my hands accordingly.
He stepped back and I aimed at the target. I released the arrow and watched in shock and embarrassment as the arrow hit the very bottom of the target, almost touching the ground. “Don’t be upset,” Hugh said, “Many hit that exact spot their first time and later become very skilled archers after training.”
I handed him back his equipment. “Thank you.”
He bowed. “Anytime, Princess Sybil.”
“Let’s go to the next area,” Gerard sa
id. I followed him to a large square of sand where five men were. Three of the men simply stood around the edges of the sand while the other two attacked each other with swords. “Civilian!” he yelled to get their attention.
The two men who had been fighting stopped and turned towards me. They held their swords across their chests and then bowed. The others half bowed to me from their standing spots. “Swords are also key in our fighting,” Gerard said.
“May I hold one?” I asked.
Gerard looked at me curiously. “Is there a reason you are interested in our weaponry?”
“A ruler must know the weapons she has available for use by her people as well as those which may be used against her people.”
“Queen Amelia has never shown such interest,” one of the men said.
“I’m not my mother,” I said softly. “Though I hope one day to be half the Queen that she is.”
Gerard pulled his sword from the sheath on his belt and held it out to me. I took it from him and was surprised at its weight, since he made it look so light and easy to handle. I lifted the blade and twirled it slowly. It was difficult, but after a moment I could twirl it somewhat efficiently.
“Strike my blade,” one of the other men said, holding his blade up.
I swung the blade and hit his, but the jarring made me step back and wince. Gerard took his blade back.
“I’m learning that you warriors are much more valuable and talented than many know,” I said seriously.
We walked to the final area and I watched as a few men fought each other in the grass. Their ferocity in training was shocking. “Care to try this?” Gerard asked with a smirk.
“Perhaps another day, when I’m more appropriately dressed,” I said with a suspicious nod.
“You continue to surprise me,” he said as he led me back to the main buildings.
As we reached the last building I smelled something delicious. “What’s that wonderful smell?”