Roland rinsed himself off thoroughly. Tree litter and sweat had matted his hair terribly, and he was glad to be clean of it all. He sighed gratefully, using a river stone to help scrub off some of the grime from his skin.
Still basking in the feeling of having seen a familiar face, he took a deep breath and looked all around. No one else had come to the stream, so he took the chance to check if Gabe had found the fire he laid down.
It was a risky escape. Roland had not been in favor of it, but the boy insisted he was able to make it away and get to safety. Since he couldn't babysit the child, and the stubborn boy would do it with or without his help, Roland was rendering his aid. Convincing his father to give them light and more food had been instrumental in Gabe's success. Roland convinced Duncan that well treated captives had better morale and were less desperate to convince their male relatives not to fight for Rhone.
Going behind the tree, Roland concentrated on his leaf necklace and snapped his fingers, opening the door to the Darkness.
He leaned in, preparing to squint into the inky black for signs of his young friend, when instead he was thrown back by blinding light, landing on the ground.
"What? I--" He closed his eyes against the glare. The light was almost enough to burn through his eyelids, and he covered his face with his arm.
"It's all right! that's my friend!" A little voice chirped. The light immediately dimmed, and Roland slowly lowered his arm. Emerging from the door he had just conjured were Gabriel... and a barefoot woman with freely-flowing long grey hair wearing a moss-colored gown.
"Gabe! I'm glad you're ok," Roland smiled nervously at the boy while glancing at the woman who had seemingly materialized from a blazing streak of blinding fiery light.
"Roland! This is Gwen! She said she'd come to get me, but then you opened the door and scared me." The boy explained.
"Come to get you?" Roland was concerned. Who was this strange woman?
"I'm to take him to his sister, though originally it was you she asked about," Gwen stared at him intently.
"Serafina? You came from Serafina??" Roland finally stumbled to his feet and brushed himself off. "She asked you about me?" Who was this woman??
"I am of the Fae," Gwen smiled. "Serafina and Mayra traveled weeks into the mountains to reach the peak where we might be found. Their dedication to your well-being is noble, for they nearly froze to death in the process."
Roland absorbed this information with something beyond mere concern but not quite at full panic. Nearly froze to death? Why weren't they safely in Klain?
"Klain's Provider had them exiled. They knew too much of his treachery, and befriended those he would have isolated for his own purposes. Mayra and Serafina are fine and safe now; they are resting in my meadow, awaiting my return. They had asked me to search the Darkness for you, thinking you must be prisoner if you still lived.
"However, I see that your purpose is currently here, so I will take Gabriel with me in your stead." Gwen smiled down at the boy, who grinned back up at her.
A fire lit inside him. Finn had not believed he was dead! She had risked her life searching for a way to rescue him! She must love him to do such a stupid, reckless thing. He swallowed around the lump in his throat.
"Yes, very much." Gwen nodded, and Roland blinked. The woman was answering his thoughts rather than his words. Of course, she had recently materialized from pure light, so who was he to question her mind reading abilities?
She smirked, "You're much more accepting of this than your lady love."
His ears turned red at hearing Serafina referred to that way. Gwen seemed wise, perhaps she knew more than Roland about Finn's feelings, especially since the woman seemed to be a mind reader.
"May I see Serafina?" He somehow knew the answer, but wanted to ask anyway.
Gwen shook her head. "Your place is here, for now. To remove you from it would not be in the best interest of all. If I took you to see her, it is unclear whether you would be able to return. If I brought her here, she would not leave your side willingly."
Roland nodded his understanding. That was very true. The next time he saw Serafina, he would have an impossible time letting her go again. At least he knew that she was safe with Mayra, and that Gabriel would be safe with them too. Please, keep them safe, he thought. I can do anything as long as I know they're safe.
"It is not within my hands, but their own, where their fate lies." Gwen answered.
Roland groaned aloud. Finn would never put her own safety ahead of anything. He'd better try to wrap things up quickly to prevent her from getting herself killed. At least she didn't try to get herself captured to come find him.
Gwen smiled. "I will help where I can, but my interference must be limited. It is the rules of the Fae to help those who ask it of us nobly, but we try not to act independently of specific requests for aid. Even retrieving young Gabriel is slightly outside of the original request made of me."
Though he didn't understand, Roland nodded. "Thank you, for anything you can do to help."
The enigmatic woman took Gabriel's hand as the boy smiled up at her. "All right, Gabriel, let's go see your sister! She'll be happy indeed to be with you again. She has missed you more than even she knows. You should have seen her face that night when your village burned."
Gwen's eyes clouded over, and Roland wondered just how much of the world's events the Fae had seen. Did they watch them all?
"I wish Papa could come with us to see Finn, too," Gabriel whined.
"He must forge his own path. For me to take him away would be to interfere with the war. Since you were already on your own, this is no real invasion on my part to any of the important events, which we try to avoid." Gwen patiently explained. Gabriel frowned.
"Why?" He asked.
"Most believe we do not exist. Therefore, we keep to ourselves until our aid is specifically sought out, and then we try to narrowly tailor it. We are not rulers, nor are we meant to be. We are helpers. If all people knew of us, we would get many requests for help, and the human world would fall into turmoil as no one would want to do anything for themselves. People must learn primarily to work hard to achieve their own goals instead of resting on the labors of others. You understand?"
Gabriel was not sure that he did, but he nodded.
"There's a good boy. I know you don't understand everything, but someday you will. You're very bright, but your kindness is far more important than how smart you are." Gwen ruffled the boy's hair and he huffed slightly in irritation over the affectionate gesture. She took his hand back in hers and waved at Roland.
"Ok, then, let's go. Bye Roland! I hope I'll see you again soon! I'll tell Finn you love her!" The boy said just before the two people vanished.
Roland blinked. Well, it was true, but it might make Finn feel strange to have her little brother report it to her so frankly.
There was nothing to do about it now. Roland looked around, having forgotten in the strangeness what he was doing in the first place. Right! He'd been rinsing off and was going to head back to camp after checking on Gabriel.
That had gone better than he'd expected. The boy was safe, Roland had news of Finn, and now he had a little less worry in his mind. He wouldn't tear himself up imagining Finn grieving his death, healing, moving on... She would wait for him, knowing he was alive. She'd promised.
Now he would just have to do everything in his power to prevent the war and end the conflict so he could go convince her to marry him. Part of it depended on Riley, but a lot of it depended on Roland's relationship with his father.
He hoped both would go smoothly in the coming days. He didn't know which task would be harder: ousting the treacherous Provider, or overcoming the will of the merciless Queen Titania. Riley could rely on the help of the General, if he could get back to Klain and contact him.
Roland hoped he could rely on the help of his father, who though Duncan disliked Titania, had shown no inclination that he was willing to oppose her in the total war that was going to rip apart Roland's world.