*
THINGS WENT MUCH faster without someone putting stumbling blocks in her way, and five minutes later, Baba emerged from the trees onto a manicured lawn that seemed to stretch for miles. Looming over it all in ethereal splendor was the royal palace, a spun-sugar and stone confection of graceful towers and arched windows, with festive banners flying from its tall spires.
Crafted an eternity ago from magic and moonlight, the castle gave the illusion of floating over the landscape while still being strong and formidable. Like so much of the Otherworld, it rarely looked the same from year to year, but its essence was always the same—pure enchantment, beauty, and power. Much like its queen, who had ruled the land for as long as anyone could remember.
Overhead, the sky resembled something much like dusk, although days here never really began nor ended, and a true sun never shone. Three moons cast a brilliant white light over the landscape, one a first quarter crescent, another the waning quarter, and in the middle, a glorious fecund round full moon tinged a slightly bloody red.
As Baba neared the palace, she passed courtiers playing croquet in evening dress, the ladies dripping with diamonds and other sparkling precious stones, wide skirts of crimson, or pale blue, or lilac continually threatening to knock over the wickets as they glided in elegant processionals from place to place. The men were almost as dazzling as the women, wearing silk tunics in bright colors over velvet tights, and silver swords much like the one that Baba bore. Many of the court had hair that swept almost to the ground, and ears that rose to delicate points. All of them were strikingly attractive in a way that humans could never hope to attain.
In among the courtiers ran smaller less gaudy creatures, most of them brown or green in tone, with attire to match, usually bearing trays laden with golden goblets or dainty snacks. They were kept scurrying, carrying this and that to the players, and to the clumps of nobles who stood around in threes and fours, watching and gossiping, and otherwise whiling away the tedious hours until the next party started, or a hunt was called.
Many of those she passed called out greetings to Baba, who had been a regular, albeit sporadic, visitor since childhood, but she only nodded at them and walked on in the direction of the castle.
When she drew closer to her goal, she stopped one of the tiny servitors, a brownie by the looks of her, and asked where she might find the queen and king. The brownie bobbed a curtsey, not spilling a drop of the nectar in the glasses she carried, and pointed down the lawn and past the building itself.
“They be in the rose garden by the pond, mistress, at tea with some of the court,” the little woman said, and ran off to bring the drinks and a pile of lacy fans to a group of haughty-looking ladies standing under the casually drooping bows of a weeping willow.
Baba strode on, rounding the edge of the castle to see the rulers of the Otherworld, along with a number of ladiesin-waiting, knights of the court, and some attendants, seated at a carved wooden table overlooking an azure blue pond the size of a small lake. The pond was dotted with notch-edged lily pads, their brilliant blossoms a vivid contrast to the crystalline waters.
Small orange frogs croaked in three-part harmony, and majestic white swans floated by decorative statues of scantily clad youths. In the middle of the pond, a fountain shot sprays of water twenty feet into the air, creating a rainbow-filled mist that arced down over the fishtailed maidens who frolicked underneath its perpetual showers.
Baba ignored most of the scenery, although its unearthly loveliness always made her heart soar for just a moment. She approached the group seated by the end of the waterline, and going directly to the queen, dropped to one knee and gave a flourishing bow.
“Your Majesties,” she said, nodding at the queen and her consort. Although the king had a title equal to hers, it was the queen who was the true power in the Otherworld. “I greet you, and bring news of the world beyond your walls. May I beg leave to speak with you in private?” Baba thought it might be best to limit the people who knew what was going on. Besides, that would reduce the number of innocent bystanders.