The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente [57]
“It’s because I ate the food,” sniffed September miserably, hiding her face in the Wyverary’s chest. A-Through-L lay on the leafy ground like a Sphinx, nuzzling her hair with his nose. He stopped that right quick, though as more of it broke off and sailed away into the night.
“Don’t be silly,” he said. “We ate it too!”
“What’s happening to me?” September wept.
Her hair shone, bright red, curling up at the edges in pretty shapes. She had already lost much of it. The spriggans looked discomfited, but tried to be cheery.
“I think it’s rather nice!” chirped Doctor Fallow. “An improvement, I declare!”
“You do match me, now,” said Ell, trying to be helpful and optimistic.
September rolled back the sleeve of the green smoking jacket, which was terribly chagrined and tried to keep covering her, to protect her, but in the end, she wrestled the sleeve up to her elbow and waved her hand for the Doctor to see. The skin, once the same warm brown as her father’s, had gone hoary and rough, tinged with grey and green, like bark.
“Is this an improvement?” she cried.
“Well, this sort of thing happens. We must be adaptable. Autumn is the kingdom where everything changes. When you leave, it’ll be alright, probably. If you haven’t put down roots yet.”
“Still, about my syllabus…” insisted Rubedo. Citrinitas elbowed him roughly.
September rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands--which had begun to grow a healthy bit of silver moss. “Fine,” she said shortly. “Fine. I shall go now, then, to the wood, and get this awful business over with before I turn into an elm.”
“I think you’re a bit more birch-y,” said Doctor Fallow contemplatively.
“Not helping!” snapped Ell. “You could help, if you had some medicine for her in all your weird, ugly tower.”
“Medicine’s not our business,” said Citrinitas helplessly. “And besides…change is the blessing of Autumn. She should feel lucky.”
Ell, as September had never seen him do before, spat a lick of fire at her. Not enough to scorch, but enough to singe her hair. Citrinitas yelped and leapt back, batting at her curls. The Wyverary curled closer around September.
“Well, you can’t go with her, so you might as well stop smothering,” huffed Doctor Fallow. “This is strictly a lone-knight situation.”
“Then she isn’t going! I shan’t let her go anywhere without something large and fire-breathing and double-smart behind her! Since I don’t see a flaming burp between the three of you, I suggest you leave us alone!”
“Ell, if that’s how it’s done, you can’t bellow it into doing it differently,” sighed September. She stood up and disentangled herself from her friend. Blazing curls of her hair fluttered to the ground.
“I can try!” Ell insisted.
“No, I shall go alone. I always thought I would be going alone. I shall be back presently, I promise. Say you’ll wait for me, you and Saturday, that you won’t go anywhere without me, that when I come out of that wood I shall see a red face and a blue one smiling!”
Ell’s eyes filled with panicked turquoise tears. He promised, his wings jangling his chains fretfully.
Saturday did not say anything. He bent and tore the cuff from one leg of his trousers. The cuff was blue and ragged and not a bit muddy with velocipede-grease. The Marid tied it around September’s arm. His fingers trembled a bit. The green jacket introduced itself politely, but coolly, to the cuff. Just so long as the cuff knew who came first.
“What is this?” said September, confused.
“It’s…a favor,” answered Saturday. “My favor. In battle…knights oughtn’t be without one.”
September reached up to touch his face, gently, to thank him. Her fingers grazed his cheek. They had shriveled into thin, bare, dry branches, bundled together at the wrist.
As September walked through the starry, misty night, trying not to look at her ruined hand, she realized that she had not traveled alone in days. She missed Ell immediately, who would tell her all sorts of things to keep her from being afraid, and Saturday, who would be quiet and steadfast and dear at her side.
She shivered,