Glass Maker: A Fairy Tale

Chapter Five

The stars returned just to watch Katherine be pulled onto the dance pavilion by the fae king, shining from between whisps of clouds to cast an eerie glow. She expected him to guide her, to tug her along with the steps of the faeries' fete, but he did not. His hands hovered ghost-like in hers, and though he radiated magic, Katherine felt none of it coming from his skin.

Strangely, the faes danced a version of the galliard still, but this was slower, with fewer leaps, and Katherine recognized it as one she'd seen but once before. Oh dear.

"Tell me, glass maker, how will you build my kingdom of glass?"

Katherine was startled, as for a moment she'd forgotten the claims of her father made real in the mouth of a king. She once again fought to find the right words but settled on the wrong ones.

"I cannot make a kingdom of glass, I have no magic." The king laughed in return to this, his eyes sparkling with some hidden delight. Katherine fought to keep her face neutral, but one look at Samuel in the crowd told her she'd likely failed.

"Glass maker, you have magic, whether you mean to or not. Now, how will you use it?" He brought his arms over her head pulling her closer against him. With each breath, she smelled the scents of his forest home tangled with those of fragrant blossoms and the elderberries from before. Even the scent from his breath seemed otherworldly, telling of damp forests in forbidden mountains, and late summer lavender. He bent his head low, his hair falling to brush against her cheek, compounding the smell and the sensation.

It flicked across the skin of her cheek, leaving a burning trail, but not of pain. Her cheek flared with life not its own as if it would jump off of her body and bloom into blossoms like the tree spilling with them above them.

"Will you start with a tower? Or perhaps a marketplace like the one over there?"

He motioned to the town's market, open later than usual for the festivities and twinkling gaily, though no one shopped there currently. All still watched as if spellbound, rooted in place as if by the same magic that still vibrated through her. Perhaps they watched in horror, in fear, in disbelief, as well as that strange spell.

"I could make you a small kingdom?" Katherine replied, feeling childish as she demonstrated with her hands the size she'd be willing to complete. Her hands hovered less than a foot away from each other, hardly the right size for a king. The king laughed once more, the chuckle more like the tone of a bell than a laugh, although this one more hearty than before.

"That would be more fit for a mouse than a king, if that. Do you expect me to shrink myself to the size of a bug."

"I never said what size." Katherine didn't mention that she'd much rather be dealing with a version of him the size of a bug. Easier to squash. 

"I suppose you did not." He waved the issue away, fingers flicking in a dismissive wave.  He turned her around in the dance, bringing her past her mother in the crowd. Katherine couldn't see her face as he spun her, his fingers strong and sure as she twirled, top-like. With each moment, their ghost-like texture grew steadier and firmer. Did he become more of her world or was she becoming more of his?

"Then what shall you make me instead? A deal is a deal, little glass maker."

Katherine's jaw clenched, even as her mind whirled and tipped, unable to keep all of this straight. An indignant anger bubbled beneath her skin but she checked it before it could spill from her mouth. It boiled beneath the surface of her tone, and she felt it overtake her fear.

"I don't recall agreeing to one," she snapped. She felt bold, bolder than she should be.

"You're right, you didn't. You instead stole a gift."