Ellie and the Prince (Faraway Castle #1)(46)

“You are coming?” The deep voice sounded surprised.

“Oh. Yes. I forgot to send you a message, didn’t I?” Ellie’s uneasiness increased. “I remembered to tell Madame but not you. I’m so sorry! Ulrica said she and Ulfr would go to the refuge if I came too. Do you . . . May I still come along?”

“You may.” He stood there on her walkway, and she sensed that he was tentatively pleased. His uncertainty increased her courage. A little.

Ellie picked up a few cages and stepped outside. “I’ll wait to load them until you show me where they go.” She bravely walked past him and approached the wagon. It was hitched to strange creatures she could neither name nor fully perceive, creatures that seemed to gaze at her with luminous yellow eyes. Thinking back, she could not recall ever noticing any creatures hitched to the Gamekeeper’s wagon. Yet always she had known it was a wagon, not a car or truck.

Not until the sprites in the cages she held began to crackle did Ellie realize she was shaking. Immediately she took a deep breath and spoke soothingly. “The Gamekeeper is good to all creatures, little ones. You needn’t be afraid. I am traveling with you this time, and once we arrive, you will meet many more sprites and live in comfort for always.”

The sprites yawned and squeaked sleepily. For once, her comforting words had calmed her own heart as well, and by the time the Gamekeeper approached she was able to speak to him normally.

“You have two sprites in a back room,” he said. “Are they coming or staying?”

“They’re coming with me,” Ellie said. “I’ll bring them.”

Somehow, having those two little sprites along for the ride was a comforting idea. Their single cage was easy to carry, so Ellie picked up her backpack on her way out the door. Sparki and Frosti squeaked questions as she walked back to the vehicle. “We’re going for a ride, little ones,” she said softly, “to visit friends. And if you like it there, you can stay.”

As she approached the wagon, her feet stopped moving. Sprite cages filled its bed, though she had no memory of the Gamekeeper carrying or loading any. She could not recall loading the first two she’d carried out. And now Frosti and Sparki peered at her from their cage directly behind the seat, next to her backpack. Her hands were empty.

So . . . the Gamekeeper truly did not enter her house when he collected sprite cages. Somehow this evidence of his truthfulness and respect for her privacy gave her courage to climb up on the seat beside him for the short ride to the stables. Again, he seemed mildly pleased but made no attempt to engage her in conversation.

Ellie tried not to notice the shadowy creatures pulling the van, and she almost succeeded. Part of her thought she might wake up any minute now and laugh at the bizarre dream she’d been having.

When they arrived at the stables, the Gamekeeper climbed down and walked to the back of the wagon . . . only now it was a van. Sprite cages filled a flatbed area behind the seat, but the rest of the vehicle was enclosed. The Gamekeeper opened the van, lowered its ramp, and instructed Ellie how to close it once the unicorns were inside. She followed his instructions, now nearly certain she was dreaming this entire adventure. Everything about it felt surreal.

“I will keep my distance from the unicorns until Ulrica is used to the idea of me,” the Gamekeeper said humbly. “Once we are at the reserve, the other unicorns will ease her remaining fears.”

So Ellie entered the maternity barn alone. Miria and Howurl greeted her at the door, their mournful faces even longer than usual. “The unicorns are ready to go,” Miria said, “but how we shall miss them!”

Even Howurl mumbled something about sadness and lonely. Ellie smiled, sensing his genuine affection for the lovely creatures. The brownies seemed real enough, and the stable smells were familiar and comforting. Maybe she was awake, after all?

The stall door was wide open, yet Ulrica and Ulfr waited at its threshold, their bodies and horns gleaming like starlight. Ulrica’s glow dimmed briefly as she asked where the Gamekeeper was.

“He said he will keep his distance until you are used to him,” Ellie explained. “I think he will allow the other unicorns to convince you of his goodness.”

Ulrica bobbed her head up and down, waving that sharp horn about like a sword. Ellie clearly understood that Ulrica did not fear for herself, only for Ulfr. “I believe the Gamekeeper understands your feelings as well as I do,” Ellie told the devoted mother.

She stood aside as Miria and Howurl made their farewells to the unicorns, speaking in a language she couldn’t find words to describe. Then she led the unicorns to the van and explained how it would close up around them, leaving space above the ramp for air to flow. “You will be able to see the stars as we travel.”

Ulrica paused, gazing toward the front of the vehicle, then led her son up the ramp and settled down on the bed of fresh straw in the spacious interior. She told Ellie that the pookas assured her of the Gamekeeper’s goodness, so Ellie should not worry. Ulfr obediently lay down beside his mother, but his wide eyes sparkled with excitement.

Pookas, Ellie thought. Pookas pulled the van. How very strange. Still moving in this dream-world of reality, she climbed up on the wagon seat and found the Gamekeeper already there. He seemed nearly as shadowy as the pookas.

Ellie reached back with one hand to touch the sprite cages and took comfort from a duet of quiet squeaks and puffs. Lately it seemed that instead of her giving comfort to cinder sprites, they more often soothed her.