Authors: Theresa M. Jones
When I woke to the suns warmth across my face and its bright light piercing my eyes, I again remembered my dream. I had dreamt of the time a girl from school had bullied me. I was always being bullied, ever since I could remember, but when I got to middle school things got worse.
I was short and kinda weird looking, so that was enough motivation for the other kids to hate me. It was only a month into starting eighth grade and I was swapping out my books in my locker. The day was actually pretty good up to that point. I was wearing a new pink ribbon in my hair, and I had my new earrings in, dangling down. They were unicorns, bright blue ones that sparkled.
But Allison, the most popular girl in the school, had walked into me. It was definitely not my fault, but she made it known that she felt it was my fault, due to the fact that I dared to be alive.
She said, “Why are you even here? What are you? Are you even real?” And though, now looking back at it, those words aren’t necessarily mean, at the time it was exactly what I feared. That I was strange, different.
“Like, who has orange eyes? You’re just a
freak
!” She had shouted the last sentence, spitting out the last word like it was a disease.
The blond girl next to her, I don’t even remember her name now, added her two cents as well. “Seriously. A freak. You should go live in the Fairy tales, because the only place you would fit in is with the Seven Dwarfs. You could be Freaky.” And then they all laughed hysterically.
I didn’t laugh. But I didn’t cry in front of them either. I didn’t say one word. I turned away and walked to the nurses’ station, feinting a stomach bug. She sent me home, thankfully, and it wasn’t until I saw my mother’s face that I cried.
I told her the whole thing, and she held me and told me everything was going to get better. She said, “I know it’s hard right now, but it will get easier. This I swear to you.”
I guess it was Alec’s words the night before that brought that memory to life in my dreams. But seeing my mother again like that made it real again in my mind. That was the first time that I realized it didn’t matter what other people thought of me. It didn’t matter that I was different, or that I had bleach white hair, orange eyes, and was super short. None of it mattered because my parents still loved me.
But I didn’t have them anymore.
My resolve at finding the murderers was reinforced. I’d like to say it was for justice, but I would only be kidding myself. I wanted them to pay for hurting my parents and leaving me alone. I got up and dressed quickly before leaving to search for Alec.
When I left the room and went into the kitchen I saw only Nona. She was wearing brown shorts that went right to her knees, and a dark green blouse. Her hair was pulled into a tight braid that hung below her shoulder blades.
“Do you know where Alec is?” I asked her. She turned and smiled at me before turning back around and working on whatever it was she was working on.
With her back to me she said, “Good morning, Lily. I hope you slept well.”
Though I couldn’t see myself, I would bet my face turned at least two shades of red. “Umm. Yes ma’am I did. Thank you again for your accommodations and hospitality. I hope you also had a nice night and feel well this morning.” I’m pretty sure nicer is better when it comes to the person feeding you and allowing you to sleep in their home.
“Yes I did. I slept better last night than I have in many years.” Then she turned back around to face me and motioned for me to sit at the table. She brought over a bowl of something that was green and blue. It looked kinda like Jell-O.
She dipped herself a bowl, and then one for me, and then sat directly in front of me. She just looked at me. She didn’t touch her food, so I didn’t touch mine. Plus I had no idea what it was.
“How did you convince him to come back to us?” she asked me after a good four minutes of totally awkward silence.
“I’m sorry?”
“Alec. I was fairly certain he would never come back to us. How did you change his mind?” She looked sincere. Truly curious and not at all angry or malicious. But it was more than that. She looked…thankful. Happy.
“Alec is helping me to find someone,” I told her. I didn’t know what all I should share with her. I didn’t want to tell her too much and then put her in danger. Plus, I didn’t know what all was going on between Alec and these people.
Her eyebrows crinkled together just slightly in confusion before she said, “Oh.” Then she picked up her spoon and started eating.
I dipped my spoon into the green and blue blob. It slipped through easily; easier than if it had been Jell-O. I only kept a little bit on the spoon, so that if it tasted gross I wouldn’t have a huge amount in my mouth. When I tasted it, it felt like my tongue was both on fire and icy at the same time. The flavor was lost in the many sensations I felt. I swallowed it because I didn’t want to be rude and spit it out, even though that’s what I really wanted to do.
Even after it was no longer in my mouth, the tingling sensation remained. I touched the tip of my finger to my tongue and it was cold to the touch. So then I placed my finger in the bowl, and the blue and green stuff was also cold, as cold as ice cream and just as smooth.
It was like spicy ice cream. I took another bite, but this time much smaller and better prepared. The flavor was similar to a sweet chipotle. The spice wasn’t overpowering once I expected it. It was actually, really good.
“What is this?” I asked her.
“Have you never tasted spinach before?”
“Spinach?” I asked her. “Like the stuff that makes
Popeye
strong?” I laughed at the absurdity of it, because there was no way she would’ve ever heard of Popeye. Just as she had never tasted spinach from my home.
“Excuse me?” she asked thoroughly confused at my statement. That’s when I had to remind myself that she doesn’t know that I grew up in the Mortal Realm.
“Never mind. I’m sorry. No, I haven’t tasted spinach before. What is it?”
“It is a leaf, of course.” Her face still showed her confusion, but even more so now. As if to say,
what else would it be?
“Oh yes. Of course,” I told her. “It’s very good.” Which was true. It was just not at all what I expected. A blue and green leaf, that looked like Jell-O and tasted like honey chipotle ice cream. Who would have ever thought?
Deciding I needed to change the subject and put her mind at ease, I thought now was the best time to ask some questions. She obviously didn’t want to tell me where Alec was, that or she never even heard my original question. I mean, since she is old, I guess her hearing could be bad or something. Before I could ask her anything, her face changed to one of determination, as if she had just mentally decided something
“Where did you meet Alec?” Her steely gaze made me think twice before answering. I realized that this old, fragile looking Nymph, was probably pretty magical, and I didn’t want to say something wrong.
“He is my mentor,” I told her, as I had been instructed to.
“Yes. He introduced you as his protégé. But how did you meet?”
“We met under…tragic circumstances. He agreed to help me find someone.”
She nodded, but still kept her unyielding and determined eyes set on mine. “Right now he is in the village searching for answers to questions he wouldn’t speak to me.” Answer to question number one, check. “You do not have to tell me all of your secrets, but know that Alec is important to me and mine.” I only nodded, because I didn’t want to upset her with my voice. “So, I will ask you this only once. Are you trustworthy?”
“I thought f…” But then I caught myself. If I said,
I thought fairies couldn’t lie
, that would give everything away. She would know I’m not a fairy. Well, actually I guess I am. Man, this whole thing was so confusing. My hesitation made her eyebrows shoot up and her lips go flat. She looked positively wicked.
“Yes, I am.” I tried very hard to make my voice sound as sure as I felt. That was something I knew without a doubt about myself. I was trustworthy. I always stood up for what I believed in and fought for it too. And I would never, under any circumstances, ever betray someone.
I don’t know if it was the tightness in my eyes, or the strength of my voice, but her face relaxed after I said it.
“Now, please tell me, how does Alec know you?” I tried to sound casual in my question, but I think I might have failed at it, because she looked up from her bowl and smiled at me.
“You don’t know Alec well do you?” But then she looked down and her smile faded into a frown, “Or maybe he doesn’t speak of us anymore.”
I just sat back and kept eating. Even though it was definitely not what I would call breakfast food, I was hungry and it did taste good.
Finally, she told me about the real Alec.
“Alec spent many years here in Ardennes when he was younger. All Realm Guard are required to spend a certain amount of years in each Province. But after he visited them all, he always wanted to come back here.
“He and Kerr grew very close, along with a few other Nymph. They were all training together and so they shared many things in common.”
“Kerr is a Realm Guard?” I asked, not intentionally interrupting her.
As she answered, she shook her head. “No. He left the Guard many years ago. After what happened to Lix, he no longer wanted to serve our
honorable
King and Queen.” Her sarcasm was apparent, and I remembered how Alec had said there are rebels who fought against the King and Queen.
All of a sudden I wondered why Alec would have brought us to stay with them, if there was a risk of getting in trouble. I mean, there’s some kind of war going on, and I didn’t want to be found on the wrong side.
“So, they trained together, and fought together and laughed together. They were very close. Alec spent many nights here with us, and I grew to love him as my own. Though, this was not fully acceptable. He is Sylph, while we are Nymph. The breeds do not mix.” Then she closed her eyes, as if remembering something, or maybe mourning something.
“That was the problem. Lix created a whole mess of things.” Though the words sounded harsh, she said them with affection and a smile.
“She was everything to this family, the only female in a group of seven children. The smartest, the fastest. And she was beautiful. Her hair was long and smooth, and blacker than a raven’s feathers. Her eyes were greener than the clearest oak leaves in the middle of summer. She was the kindest, and gentlest of us, and yet could be the fiercest as well. And everyone loved her. She had many suitors vying for her hand in pledge.
“But she did not want just any suitor. She wanted only one. The only one she couldn’t have.” She shook her head and then took a deep breath before continuing.
“They loved each other, you know. At first we all thought it would pass. That it was just an infatuation born from a novice lust. But it did not pass, or even fade. And as the time went on, it became apparent that they wouldn’t be able to leave each other’s side.
“Still, as I said, the breeds don’t mix. A Nymph cannot pledge to a Pixie, just as a Sylph cannot pledge to a Sprite.”
“Why?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“The magic is often extinguished between them. If they bear any young, they will probably be spoiled, magicless. That’s even worse than being human,” she said, and looked right at me, as if she knew my secret. She had to. Any Fae would already know these things.
“I am not human,” I assured her. But she only smiled and continued with her story.
“It is mandated that you cannot pledge to another breed. It wasn’t always like that, you know. Many years ago Fae could choose to pledge whomever they wanted. They just ran the risk of having magicless children, but even Fae who procreate with their own kind can bear a spoiled child. Still, when King Mastikh took the throne after the tribulation and our rightful King and Queen went missing, he made it law.
“If you are found to pledge to another breed, the female is punished. They treat it like an act of treason, assuming you are destroying your magic. Magic that should be given to the throne in taxes.” The bitterness with which she spoke almost made me sick. This story was much too close to home for it to be unbiased. Though I wondered how long it had been since she actually talked about any of it.
“They cut their heads off!” She almost screamed the words at me. I jumped in my seat and dropped the spoon onto the table. As her words sunk in, my mouth dropped open.
She put her elbows on the table and let her face fall into her hands. I stood and walked over to her and placed my hand on her back. I didn’t know how much comfort I could offer, what with my own loss, but at least I could understand.
Finally she lifted her head, wiped her cheeks, and took a deep breath.
“I’m so sorry. It’s been a long time since I talked about this.”
“Don’t worry, I understand.” I cleared my throat. “So, the King orders people who love another breed to be behea…killed?”
“Not just love. It’s not against the law to love anyone. It’s only unlawful if you make the pledge.” Alec had said that if you tell another Fae your name that you are pledged…so I guess she was talking about marriage, or something like that.
“Oh.”
“Lix wouldn’t listen to us. She believed they would be okay, that they could get away with it. They planned on leaving to go to the Mortal Realm. But before they could leave, they found her and killed her. When Alec got home that night, he found her head on his pillow. The sexist bastards allow the men one more chance. He would be beheaded if he pledged to another breed again.”
Alec? He loved a Nymph? Well, no wonder he was going crazy being back here. I’m sure he was facing so many memories. I felt so bad for all the things I said to him and how angry I had been at him.
“After that he left. He kept serving as a Realm Guard, unlike Kerr who couldn’t do it anymore. And he never came back.” She seemed so sad. She didn’t seem to hate him for getting her granddaughter killed. I mean, I guess it wasn’t his fault, not really, but they both should have known better.
“Well, until now,” she said, with a smile finally gracing her lips again. She looked fragile and sweet again, the angry, depressed, scary old lady was gone.
I smiled back, hoping she would understand everything that I couldn’t say. That I was sorry for her loss. That I was happy she was happy to see Alec. But also that I just didn’t understand.
“How can you be so happy to see him after what happened?”
“You misunderstand. It was not his fault. She sought him out. He fought off her advances for four years before he relented. And it was apparent to everyone that they were in love. Plus, I love him too. He was…is just as much my family as she was. We suffered two losses at that time. The loss of two family members. We could have consoled each other, but he wouldn’t have it. I don’t think he could bear to be around us anymore.”
I believed that. I could understand that. How could anyone want to see their dead lover’s family all the time?
“It brings me joy to see him.”
“Yes. And I can tell he is happy to see you as well.” She smiled as I said it, as if to say thank you. “How long ago did this all happen?”
“Forty years. She has been gone for forty years now.” Holy crap! I’m not even half that old.
“I recently lost someone close to me.” I couldn’t make myself tell her it was my parents. But I felt like I should let her know that I understood her pain.
She nodded. “Death is a many edged sword. When you think you have gotten past it, or won against it, it will come back to slice you yet again, over and over through the years as places and things remind you of those you’ve lost.” She placed her hand on mine and patted it. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
We sat there in silence as we both thought of those we had lost. My parents have been taken from me, and she too had someone taken from her. I realized then who she really blamed, why she didn’t fault Alec. The monarchs, the King and Queen of this Realm.
So, I guess I was eating breakfast with a rebel.