Rowan and Heather

(continued)

By Eilis O'Neal

Rowan flicked the lid of the compact open to reveal the palest pink, then swept the brush through the color. Heather, she thought, as she touched the brush to the Queen's cheeks. She went slowly, selecting first one color to hold near the Queen's face and then another before deciding on one. Compassion, she chose the word as she rubbed a delicate green shadow over her eyes, and wisdom as she combed black mascara through her lashes. Understanding, she whispered to herself as she ran a thin line of black liner across her eyelids. She did not know how long it had been when she finally capped a tube of lipstick named Bewitching Berry. "I'm finished," she said quietly.

The Queen gazed at her for a moment, her face still the one that Rowan had seen from the Open Rose counter. Gracefully, she turned her head to look into the mirror.

Rowan would never remember the precise moment the Queen changed. Only that when she met the Queen's eyes in the mirror, Heather's looked back at her.

There was a clap of thunder and the world slid sideways. You bear watching, she heard the Queen's terrible voice say inside her head. Who knew that a human could possess the magic to give the Queen of Faerie a heart, if only for a moment? Long enough to merge with yours. You'll keep your soul now, but we'll be watching you.


Rowan opened her eyes to stars dancing among the tree branches. Pushing herself upwards, she realized she was lying on the hill in the park, her jeans growing damp. Heather lay near her, as if asleep, her ring once more on her finger. Before she could reach over to touch her, a voice behind them said, "A moment, if you please."

Rowan turned, scowling, to see Rhys leaning against a tree near them. "What do you want?" she said.

He quirked an eyebrow at her and crouched beside them. "Don't worry about her. She'll wake as soon as I'm gone, and will remember nothing of this."

Although suddenly filled with the intense desire to say Well, why don't you go then, Rowan asked, "What happened in there?"

"You gave the Queen a human heart for the briefest moment. How did you do that?"

"I don't know. I just thought that she needed more compassion. I always think about what the person needs. But why —" She paused, remembering. "I thought of Heather, right as I first touched her. I don't think I've ever thought someone's name while I've put makeup on them."

Rhys glanced at Heather, something passing across his face that Rowan couldn't identify. "A strong name, to give the Faerie Queen a heart. As is yours."

Rowan shook her head. "I just wanted my sister back. Haven't you ever loved someone enough to do whatever it took to save them?"

Rhys eyes flicked to Heather again for the barest of seconds before he said, "Of course not. I'm fey." He turned and spoke a word Rowan couldn't quite hear, and the hill opened.

"It must be a lonely place to live, if no one loves each other," Rowan said with a glance into the opening.

"All things change," Rhys said, echoing the Queen. "For a moment the Queen of Faerie had a soul, a bit of yours and a bit of your sister's. And those hearts are capable of love, especially hers."

At Rowan's confused look, he added, "The Queen is our center — whatever she is, we become. That heart was all of ours, for that brief moment. I see now that I have grown —" he paused, as if searching for the word "— fond of your sister, which is almost unheard of for one of my kind."

"I don't want any more games," Rowan said sharply. "You should leave her alone. You might enchant her again, or me."

Amusement flashed across Rhys' face. "I doubt that very much. Your name still protects you and her... Well, for a moment it was the same as the Queen of Faerie's. That should be enough protection for any human." He bowed. "Until next time, Rowan."

She could hear his footfalls as he walked away from them, but she did not watch. As the hill closed, Rowan reached for her sister's shoulder to wake her.