Wishes and Wings by Kathleen Duey Page A

thirty of them, a gift from a human farmer’s wife long ago.
    Alida fidgeted, watching her sister peer into one of the carts, checking her harp.

    All the faerie instruments had been wrapped in soft quilts, then packed very carefully.
    Alida wished they could play music as they traveled.
    It had always lifted everyone’s heart.
    But she knew it wouldn’t be safe.
    Someone might hear the music—and they had to stay hidden.
    Alida’s mother had explained it to everyone the night before.
    If Lord Dunraven was looking for them, he would almost certainly expect them to go deeper into the woods to hide.
    He might think they would go as far as Lord Ermaedith’s lands or even farther.
    The
last
place he would expect them to go was the meadow he knew about—the one faeries had lived in for thousands of years.
    That meadow was barely a two-day walk from the village of Ash Grove.
    And Ash Grove was only a three day journey from Dunraven’s castle.
    Thinking about it like that made Alida feel cold and shaky.
    Then she heard her mother’s voice, clear and strong.
    â€œParents will carry their babies,” her mother was saying. “Anyone who needs help will get it. The elder faeries can take turns riding in the cart with benches. Our oldest children will be leading the milk cows. We have brought flasks of rainwater. Use it sparingly, and we might not have to drink from streams.”
    When she finished, there were many questions. Once she had answered them, she looked at Alida’s father.
    He stepped forward. “Anyone who needs anything can ask me. I will walk last in line, to make sure no one gets lost or left behind.”
    Alida saw everyone nodding, getting used to the idea that they would be
walking
.
    They all could have flown, of course.
    They could have carried everything through the air, including the elders and the babies—even the goats and cows. But Lord Dunraven and his guards were always prowling, watching the roads and the sky. So the faeries would use mostly the narrow, hidden paths the deer and the wolves used.
    The cows and goats could graze along the way. The faeries would be able to pick wildflowers to eat and her mother had brought cheese for Gavin.
    He had offered to walk ahead of them where they were most likely to see humans. Alida watched him. He was smiling, nodding at something someone had said. The faeries had been scared of him at first. Some of them had never seen a human. Now they understood why he was Alida’s best friend.
    His grandmother lived in Ash Grove with her oldest friend, Ruth Oakes. They were both kind and brave, and without them Alida might never have found her family.
    â€œAre you all ready to begin our journey?” Alida’s mother called out.
    â€œYes!” the faeries shouted.
    Most of them, anyway.
    Now that the time had come, the ones who weren’t sure were grumbling. One of Alida’s oldest uncles was frowning. But when Alida’s mother began to walk, everyone followed.

Chapter
2
    A t first Alida’s mother walked at a slow, steady pace, glancing back again and again.
    Once everyone was moving steadily through the trees, Alida went to walk beside her.
    â€œAre you all right?” her mother asked.
    â€œI’m a little scared,” Alida said. “Why would old Lord Dunraven make such a terrible law?”
    Her mother shrugged. “Your aunt Clare always says he thought daydreaming about magic and storytelling wasted time that would be better spent working. But humans and faeries are alike when it comes to that. Without stories and a little magic, we aren’t happy.”
    Alida nodded. “The day I walked through AshGrove, I tied my shawl tight over my wings. I was trying so hard to look like a human girl. At first I thought someone might ask if I needed help. But no one did. They all looked tired and angry.”
    â€œThe human farmers always had to give part of their crops to the