With the entire army finally spread out along the northern border, Hailey and Isabella prepared for the incoming onslaught. Hailey chewed on a cold wedge of cheese that was slowly freezing in her gloved hands. They should have brought a cook with them. She had once again missed dinner, and she would be paying for it by the end of the night. She had stuffed her satchel full of as much food as she could find before leaving. Isabella did not complain about the food that she was handed. She ate ravenously. It made Hailey wonder how long the woman had gone without a proper meal.

When the two mages had their fill, they stood. Cold bit at her nose and her feet were already starting to go numb. She worried that she had not prepared well enough for this battle.

Isabella dusted off the hunter green cloak that the queen had given her. It made Isabella almost disappear into the night.

“You will be in charge of maintaining the spell that will allow the soldiers to see in the darkness. If you fail, they will not be able to see at all. Even though the fairies glow, there will be other creatures who have come to battle against the humans, against us.”

Hailey watched the other woman form a spell to give her night vision, trying to mimic the movements as she watched.

Isabella closed her eyes for a moment and then one hand shot out towards Hailey.

Hailey gasped. Around her, it was as if it had gone from night to day, but if she looked into the sky, it was still black.

“It creates a false vision,” Isabella told her. “You cannot see very far, but what is close around you will be very clear.”

Hailey nodded and performed the spell on Isabella.

“Good,” said Isabella.

“What will you be doing?” Hailey asked.

“I will be fighting the fairies. There are several spells in my arsenal that will work against them.”

The two women stood in a large gap. The soldiers had given them a wide berth, which should make it easier for Isabella to cast her spells without hurting anyone.

“Will you need me to help?” Hailey asked.

“No. You are a fledgling mage. You will not be able to maintain the vision for the soldiers and battle at the same time. It is more important that you focus on one task.”

Hailey nodded, but she did not feel like a fledgling mage anymore. She had faced down a dragon and had helped wake the princess. Surely that should give her some merit, but she would not argue with Isabella. She seemed to know what she was about and now that Hailey trusted her, she was glad to have her by her side.

Hailey looked around. Aaron and a group of men stood to her left. She was relieved to see him and worried about what might happen to him. Every one of these men were at risk. Hailey and Isabella were the only ones who might not get hurt in this battle. She watched the shimmer, but it made her dizzy to stare for too long. She needed a distraction, something to keep the panic at bay.

“What do you know about the fairies?”

Isabella turned from watching the men. “The fairies are old magic. I am sure that you know that they are pure magic. They are also limited by the amount of land that they can cover. The magic in the land will allow them to have children, but not until one of them dies or until they have taken over a new area.”

“So, when they take over a human land, there will be more of them?”

Isabella nodded. “It was not a problem for them until the agreement with the fairy king was made.”

Hailey had not heard of that before. No wonders they did not like humans though. If humans limited the number of fairies that could be, then the fairies would want to destroy the humans to take on all of the nine kingdoms.

“They come from a land much older than yours, a land of ancient magic that you cannot possibly understand.”

Hailey thought about that for a moment. Maybe Isabella was talking about the land of the elves. It was on one of the old maps in the mage’s library. “Can you tell me anything about that land?”

Isabella sighed and looked back at the shimmer. “It’s a land of pain, regret and mistakes. It’s a land of loss.”

Aaron had not been in many battles, but he was already learning that he hated the part before the battle, when all there was to do was wait. His heart was in his throat. Unlike many of the men, he was certain that what Hailey had told them was true. There would be fairies flying through that shimmer at any moment now. He tried to slow his breathing, to remain calm, but fairies were every child’s nightmare for a reason.

Derrick practically glared at his officers. The torch he held was only one of the lights that had been allowed, and it would be put out soon.

The mages had promised them that they would be able to see, and Aaron hoped so. An army swinging swords around in the dark, unable to see was a terrifying thought.

“I know that you are accustomed to being in the battle, being in the thick of it, but that will not be your job tonight,” Derrick said.

Aaron expected to hear grumbling about that, but these were the officers. They were better at holding their tongues and following orders. He felt lucky to be among them.

“You will stay behind your men, and you will keep them safe. Anyone who wanders into the shimmer will be your responsibility to retrieve. Allow your men to do the work, but you keep watch. This is more than likely going to be a nasty battle. Feel free to swing at any fairies right in front of you, but keep your eyes on your men. There will be no retreat from this battle, and I will be doing what I can to help any squad that is being overrun. Any questions?”

“What if we’re shorter than our men?” Christian called out from the back. He was almost completely invisible on this moonlit night.

“Find something to stand on, or stand to the side. Anyone else?”

“What if we loose to many men?” That voice came from the front and it was hushed.

“Then you will have to fight. You’re the best we have. I expect you to be smart about this, and to step in if your men are too tired or all gone.”

There was silence as everyone took in this information. It was a good plan, as long as it was only fairies that they were met with. Aaron tried not to think about that. If they were met with more than fairies, they were doomed.

“Join your men and prepare for battle!” Derrick said, loud enough for the men who were not in this meeting of officers to hear.

The men turned and walked in various directions back to their squads. Someone walked up behind him. “You ready for this?”

Aaron jumped and Gillian laughed.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no.’”

He smiled ruefully. “I’ve never tried to fight fairies before.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think that any of us have. You might actually have more experience with them than the rest of us.”

He had almost forgotten that he told her about that. “Come on, one trip into the forest is not that big of a deal. Besides, it wasn’t like they were fighting me or anything.”

She gave him a level look. “A tiny bit more experience, then.” She almost whispered, “I don’t think any of use are really ready for this.”

“I agree, but we’re all the kingdom has.”

She held out a hand to him and he clasped it. Her hand was warm, but calloused. “Don’t get yourself dead,” she told him. “You make a good soldier.”

He grinned at that. He never thought that he would make a good soldier. He had always seen it as a dream, out of reach, even after he had joined the king’s army. “Be safe,” he told her, and then she was gone, disappearing into the night with the rest.

He returned to his men, who looked even more nervous than he felt. There was a wide open space where the mages stood and his squad had been the lucky ones to stand next to them. “Steady, men. My responsibility will be to keep an eye on you and make sure that none of you gets dragged into the shimmer.”

This comment was met with silence. He wished he had something to say to them to calm their nerves, but none of them really understood what they were up against. Some of the men kept looking at the mages.

He glanced at Hailey and Isabella. A mage light was on the ground in front of them, and so their faces were lit oddly, giving them a ghostly appearance.

He could not believe that Hailey was trusting Isabella. After everything the woman had put this kingdom through, how could Hailey take her side. But then, he didn’t know all of the details. She had apparently helped wake the princess and so that was something, but she had also crippled the nation, not giving them any opportunity to flee if things got too rough. All the mages they should have had were stolen away. Every opportunity for portals to another realm if the fairies won this battle were gone. Hailey alone could not evacuate even a tenth of the kingdom before the fairies would take over. If they didn’t win here…he could not allow himself to think about it.

Hailey knew what she was doing, he hoped at least. She finally noticed him looking at him and smiled. She was so beautiful, especially when she got sleep. He smiled back. If he died here, at least he would do it by her side. There was only one other battle that he had been in and she had kept him safe against the dragon. He had to trust her.

She cleared her throat and looked back at the shimmer. “I will be providing light for you tonight,” she told them. Her voice was clear and it rang out along the long line of men who were lit only by the pale glow of the shimmer. There were enough of them that he could barely see the last man standing far to the right.

“You will be able to see the fairies because they glow, but you will also be able to each other better, once the spell is cast. Do not shrink from the fight. Your country needs your protection. We can win this battle and I will do whatever I can to keep you safe. When this night is over, Taivalon will still stand. Those who oppose us will die by your swords as long as you are willing to stand with the men and women beside you. Do not let them frighten you. You are the brave soldiers of Taivalon!”

A cheer rang out among the men, but one of them, Tybalt, he thought it was. “What about the enemy right next to you?”

Hailey opened her mouth to respond but Isabella spoke first. “You may not trust me because of some of the things that I have done. Things I am very sorry for, but I am not your enemy tonight. The enemy is out there,” she pointed one long finger at the shimmer. I will fight with you this night. I will fight for Taivalon!”

Silence met Isabella’s speech. The men were still uncertain of her, but one more mage could be their victory, or it could be their doom.

There was a screeching sound coming from the shimmer, as if thousands of fairies were screaming. He could see their tiny lights now, still fuzzy and trapped inside the shimmer, but just then, the shimmer began to blink.