Marked By The Unseelie

Chapter 20 Steve's Identity

Steve laughs. "How about I give you a tip on that? Red's a cue for good, and blue's a clue for evil."

"You just made that right now, didn't you? It doesn't even make sense. You can easily interchange them."

Steve guffaws. "Hey, I did not make that up. Blue is evil."

"Yeah, right. But thank you, Steve. I will keep that in mind." I sigh, looking at the madeup sky that Steve created in the dream. "I am learning fairy language, but the more that I read, the more that things are beginning to seem out of the ordinary. The things that I see and read contradict each other so much that I feel like I must be translating the fairy lore wrongly."

"You should be proud. Fairy language is not easy to learn for a human."

I scoff. "You tell me. It's—" I pause. My thoughts are dying at the back of my throat when I replay his words just now. I jolted up into a sitting position before looking back at him. "You," I whisper the words, fearing that my thoughts might be true. "Just now, you speak like you're..." I gulp. "A fairy."

Steve has his hands behind the back of his head while lying down on the snow. He closes his eyes, like he is recollecting his thoughts, before opening them again to turn to me. "I am not your enemy, Livia. I swear upon my life that I will not hurt you." He slowly gets up, hangs his head low, and looks at me with an expression that I cannot decipher.

"Are you a fairy, or are you just someone in my dream?" When Steve did not answer at first, I began to prod. "Answer me, Steve!"

"Yes," He whispers shamefully, averting his gaze and looking at the ground. "I'm a fae."

"Since when? Were you a fairy since the beginning, or did you casually replace my friend because you can?"

A small smile starts to play on his lips. "I'm happy that you consider me your friend, Livia. Truly, but..." He returns his gaze to me. "Livia, I don't...I don't have much magic yet to protect you, so I decided to appear before you to give you a warning. I know what you plan to do and who you want to confront, and I am telling you right now that it is a bad idea. Whatever you do, do not approach that person or dwell deeper into the issue of the Unseelie Prince. When I start to recover my magic, I promise you that I will send you back–" He begins to choke, like he has bitten his tongue. That reaction is something that I have seen whenever Zhier loses a bet with me.

"You lied just now, didn't you?" The gears in my mind are starting to turn. I wasn't just being silent for no reason. Every word he said just now, I have carefully analyzed, including his behavior and how he seems to dodge certain topics. "Steve, you can't send me back to the human world, can't you?"

A somber look crosses his face. "At my current state, no. I can't..."

"Are you hurt or are you sick?" Steve does not respond, which only infuriates me. I am already mad enough that he did not reveal his identity as a fairy to me, but it doesn't seem like he wants to tell me who he really is.

If that's the case, there's only one thing left for me to do—guess his identity.

"Steve, are you the Unseelie Prince Klovis?" Steve does not answer me, but the slight clenching of his jaws only confirms it. He can't answer me because the only thing that he would be saying is confirmation since he does not have the ability to lie. "I knew it!" I exclaimed, turning my body to face him.

It's the Unseelie Prince! So he's been right in front of me all along!

"Where are you!?" I demanded.

"Livia, I think that it is time for you to wake up."

"Are you sleeping somewhere? Are you kidnapped? Prince Klovis, tell me!"

A bitter look crosses his face with a hint of sadness. "Livia, please don't use formalities with me. It's Steve."

"You're probably hurt, are you? You said that you're still recovering your magic. That must be it, right?" I am just running on guesses at this point. "Tell me where you are, and I will rush to you immediately."

Steve's eyes seem to change. It begins to turn into a beautiful purple hue with golden specks around the pupils—a trait common with the fairies. He seems shocked at first, but his expression begins to lighten. "Rush to me? Aren't you afraid that I am an Unseelie?"

"I have met Seelie fairies who act more like Unseelies in the books. You are Steve, my friend, and my dream buddy. You told me that you would not hurt me, and I believe you, even without that fairy law about lying."

There's a glimmer in his eyes, as if tears were beginning to form. He turned away hastily and chuckled softly. "As expected, you're amazing, Livia. Just like you were when we first met."

"...when exactly did we meet?"

Finally, Steve returns his gaze to me. His eyes seem to portray sadness and another emotion that I am not sure I am reading right. "You're too kind and smart for this world. I don't think that I can protect you if you keep digging into my disappearance."

"I will stop digging if you tell me where you are!"

He shakes his head. "Too dangerous." He whispers. "Besides, I won't have much time left. Maybe you can ask Zhier to get you back to the human world. Tell him that I am dying."

Time seems to stop when I realize that he did not choke on his words just then. "You're dying!? Steve, I—"

"There's nothing you can do for me, Livia." He smiles sadly, leaning in to rest his forehead on mine. "Hearing you worry for me is enough, and meeting you in our dreams is what brought me joy, so don't be sad."

"Steve—"

"See you in your next dream, Livia. It's time for you to wake up."

"Steve, no, Klovis–!"
***

I wake up from my dream with tears streaming down my cheeks the moment I awaken. Dream often disappear to the back of your mind when you wake up, but somehow, I clearly remembered mine just now.

Steve—no, Klovis—is dying wherever he is. We are running out of time. I have to act quickly and ask the only other person in this palace who can lie. And he is the person who lied to Zhier about Klovis's disappearance.

The King and Queen's trusted adviser—Faragon.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~END OF CHAPTER~*~*~*~*~*~*~