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Thornhedge

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher




the book Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher on a bed of ivy sitting next to a small toad statue

At first, the wall of thorns was obvious and almost an invitation for knights, penniless younger sons, and princes’ curiosity. The wall of thorns grew and grew tended by the mushroom-like fairy, Toadling, and so the land around the thorns became inhospitable. Years pass and Toadling questions how people know there is a tower beyond the thorn hedge, anyone who knew of it originally should all be dead or too old to concern themselves with it, but still the wannabe heroes come. Until, one day, they do not. 


Men with axes carve around the thorn hedge, avoiding the hill on which the tower sits. Merchants and travellers use the road, a cross-section of humanity. These people change to plague doctors and zealots. Until, one day, they do not. People from far off countries with their wagons and caravans, knights carrying banners with red crosses talking about death and disease use the road, travelling folk all use the road and Toadling watches in case they venture into the brambles. 


One day a knight appears, Toadling thinks, but his curved sword and armor say he is a Saracen. She watches him from the shadows, preferring to be as a toad, but wary of him seeing her change. The knight makes a fire and cleans his horse's tack and Toadling is sure he’ll be gone in the morning. The next day as Toadling anxiously watches, the knight has the audacity to sleep in and take his horse for a nice little stroll along the thorn hedge. Toadling can tell he’s looking at the thorn hedge though. Toadling decides she will make him leave by tying his hair with elf-knots as he sleeps. Once the knight seems to be asleep that night, Toadling sneaks out and quietly creates a half knot half braid in his hair. As she congratulates herself, the knight reaches for Toadling’s wrist asking politely if she is quite done.


The knight introduces himself as Halim and asks for Toadling’s name. She gives it to him and Halim is taken aback by it, but it was the name she was given by the greenteeth when she was barely born so she has had it her whole life. Toadling insists there is nothing here for Halim so he should go, but, starved for company and conversation, Toadling also doesn’t want Halim to leave. Halim, however, has heard a story of a beautiful maiden in a tower and would like to see for himself if the story is true. This upsets Toadling, there should be no stories! Everyone should be long dead! Halim asks if Toadling is the enchanted maiden, but Toadling laughs. At first with humor then devastation, and turns into a frog in front of Halim as frogs can’t laugh and scrambles away. 


The next morning, Halim is still there. He tries to apologize for handling things badly, and again Toadling asks him to leave because there is nothing for him here. Halim explains he is there because of a story he found in an old book. As a bored poor younger son there was little for him to do than adventure. He read the story about the maiden in the tower and wanted to explore the tower himself. This devastates Toadling, the story shouldn’t be in a book, no one should remember it. Halim wonders if Toadling is the maiden and cursed, she insists she isn’t which is what someone who is cursed would say, but also what someone who isn’t cursed would say. He then asks her to leave with him, but she can’t leave. Halim’s conversation confuses Toadling who is not used to talking, and she reveals too much, that there is a tower but there is nothing inside. Again she asks him to leave. Halim says he will, but he will return. 


At a loose end after Halim leaves, and though he was only there two days, Toadling feels restless without him, so she decides to check if the maiden is still asleep in the tower, though it may be better if she were dead. Once, Toadling checked every day, but that was a long, long time ago. Shifting between forms, Toadling makes her way into the tower, feeling the river of her magic protecting it and the maiden. At the top of the tower, Toadling finds the maiden just as Toadling left her, asleep, curled up with a slight smile on her face and her golden hair fanned out. 


Long ago, humans would put talismans into babies' cribs to stop the fairies from stealing them and leaving a Changeling in their place. Toadling’s mother was bleeding out and no such care was taken with her at her birth, so within moments, Toadling was swapped. The fairies aren’t bothered what happens to the human baby, mostly they’re forgotten about, given to the flesh-smiths or eaten, but occasionally they may decide to raise a child. The greenteeth felt that maternal instinct for Toadling and so she was given her name and a slurry of fish and pondweed to eat, forever securing her place as not-human. Toadling was taught to change shape into a toad and to recite all the stories of the greenteeth. She knew every plant that grew at the river, and how to soothe a mad kelpie. Then one day the hare goddess came for her and took Toadling to Master Gourami and his school where she would get an education until her father’s house would have need of her, not that Toadling knew or cared who her father was. 


Master Gourami and his school were difficult. Toadling was not stupid, she just understood the world as the greenteeth would. Toadling was not ugly, but her standards were as a greenteeth’s were. Master Gourami’s school taught her differently though. It taught her loneliness and the truth, that Toadling was a foundling, born the daughter of a human king of a small country and that she would soon be made godmother of the changeling who took her place five human days ago. Toadling has grown up, but time moves differently for the faeries. Toadling approaches the small church where the Christening is taking place. Over the year she was with Master Gourami, they acted out different scenarios and visited different Christenings so that Toadling’s godmother gift would be successfully given. 


In the present, Halim returns to the thorn hedge with a mule loaded with supposed curse-breaking tools. He does not listen when Toadling tells him, repeatedly, she is not cursed. He is also more determined than ever to look inside the tower, a mystery he must solve. Resigned, Toadling offers to let him try to break the curse that isn’t there the next day. Halim tries holy water, candles and prayer, even gently placing a moly-salt mixture on Toadling’s face (he’s too kindhearted to throw it), and Toadling herself pricks her thumb with a blessed dagger (again, too kindhearted). Obviously nothing works, because Toadling is not cursed. He’s definitely going to try for the tower now, there may be a cure there! Toadling really doesn’t want him thinking about the tower, never mind near or in the tower! Resigned, Toadling tells him the following day he needs to bring a knife. 


Back in the past, Toadling meets her human father and mother. Her father, the king, is greedy for the gift she brings, her human mother is close to death from the birth only a few days ago and begs Toadling not to curse her baby. The queen falls to Toadling’s feet, bleeding out, and as Toadling puts her hands on her mother she accidentally says “I’ve come to stop her doing harm…” and the magic starts to take hold. Her gift was “you will do no harm to those around you” but Toadling didn’t say it right, and now it’s too late, the gift has been given incorrectly. The baby opens its poison green colored eyes where something old, cold, and cruel lurks. Now Faerie is closed off to Toadling. 


Halim begins to hack and slash his way through the thorn hedge and Toadling, resigned, watches on. She knows it would be easier if he could turn into a frog, and they do attempt it but he is too human. As Halim curses and apologizes through his task, he asks Toadling questions. She promises she will tell him everything she can think of if they live through this. Halim is glad Toadling will go with him. 


Back in the past, Toadling is welcomed to the keep by the king who sees the gift as a good thing and claiming Toadling as their own. They name the baby Fayette, the irony of it meaning little fairy is not lost on Toadling. Toadling makes herself useful by bringing fresh fish to the cook, causing no problems, and always throwing herself in front of Fayette and her viciousness, for Fayette is a horrible child. As a baby she bit her wet nurse, and now grown, she scratches and bites, tortures little animals and cannot be left alone for fear of what she might do. The whole castle recognizes Fayette for the monster she is growing into. She is, for now, contained by Toadling who eventually begs the priest for help. Unfortunately, Toadling finds the priest dead and Fayette playing next to the body. 


One day, Toadling enters the keep to find the nurse dead at the bottom of the stairs and Fayette playing with the corpse. Fayette very much enjoyed the nurse's tumble and tried to pull her back up the stairs to do it again, but the nurse was too heavy. Instead, Fayette shows Toadling, who is standing looking in horror at the scene, that she can use magic to make the corpse move. Smothering Fayette’s magic with her own, Toadling runs out screaming for help, but she is followed by the corpse of the nurse and a delighted Fayette. 


No one blames Toadling, they all know Fayette is the monster, but they do not know what to do with her. Killing her would be the obvious choice but the king cannot do it, someone else will have to. Something triggers an idea with Toadling who decides to put Fayette to sleep. Permanently. Instructing the king and others to bring lots of water and to dig a hole to release groundwater, Toadling is able to use her magic to make Fayette sleep. The king and queen decide to lock her up so a stone mason is brought in to block her door. 


In the present, Halim has reached the tower, all the while Toadling has talked to him. As Halim gestures to the entrance with his axe Toadling says it’s getting late (it's not) and says he should wait until the next day to find out what is inside. Halim capitulates. In the meantime they will have a fire and she will tell him the rest of her story. 


Over the next five years, people would leave the keep and never return, including the king who went to tournament, and the queen by suicide. Once her body was put in the ground the last people left, leaving Toadling with the sleeping Fayette. Toadling grew the thorn hedge and the years went by. Sometimes she was a toad, sometimes she was not. Toadling asks if Halim will kill Fayette now that he knows the story, but Halim can’t do it. He’s killed in the past but that was war and he regrets each death, and killing a sleeping child is a completely different thing. 


The next morning, Halim gets out his chisel and hammer and with Toadling giving a little push with the magic in the keep, he’s able to make an entrance into the tower. Halim both expected but didn’t expect to find the maiden in the tower, especially one who is a girl around eight years old. He still wants Toadling to leave with him, telling her she has been punished long enough for her slip of the tongue all those years ago. Toadling suggests iron may help keep Fayette contained. As they discuss this plan, Fayette reaches out, grabs Halim’s wrist and snaps it. 


Devastated and terrified, Toadling draws Fayette’s attention so that Halim can escape. Fayette has grown stronger in her sleep but she still has the clumsiness of a child. Fayette wraps her hands around Toadling’s neck. Toadling was taught to hold her breath, but Fayette is persistent and pushes Toadling toward the balcony. As she does, she screams about Toadling always stopping her, that she could have brought them in, could have called them. Huh? When they reach the balcony, Toadling drops into a toad shape. As she does so she hears Halim scream, sees something bird-like fly close overhead, and then silence. Halim scoops Toadling up from the balcony, the one Fayette has just fallen over. 


On the ground is Fayette’s broken dead body. Her fingers have too many joints, her neck is too long, her teeth are too sharp. Halim said as she fell it looked almost like she could fly. To Toadling this shows the faerie changeling she truly is. Slowly they build a fire, Toadling making a medicine for Halim and tending to his wrist. While Halim sleeps, Toadling asks the ground to cover Fayette and stays with the body until ground and moss cover it. The hare goddess arrives and tells Toadling it took her long enough to fulfill her spell as the dead can harm no one. For the first time, Toadling feels rage but that is tempered when the hare goddess offers to take Toadling home.


The ride is swift, and soon Toadling is diving into the water and welcomed home by the greenteeth. Two seasons pass and Toadling still thinks about the human knight who apologizes when he swears, feeling that she should have said goodbye. The eldest greenteeth tells Toadling that she can still say goodbye to him as she will outlive the human by a thousand years and her home will always be here. Calling a kelpie, Toadling journeys back to the tower and the thorn hedge and the sleeping knight. Time moves differently for faeries, and, though she was back with her family for a long time, the moon is just setting on the night she left and Halim wakes up.


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