The Game of Temptation: The Rise of the Moon

Chapter Two: Moonlight Rendezvous

    I hear Arthur's heavy panting as he follows me into the trees. Black tree limbs reach like clawed hands, scratching my skin and catching at my hair, slowing me down.
"Come back here, you little thief!" Arthur yells.
"Get away from me!" I yell back as I tear blindly through the trees, dodging wicked-looking shadows left and right. As I risk a glance behind me, my foot catches on an overgrown root and I stumble into a tree, nearly falling.
"Ow!" I gasp. Arthur catches up not a moment later, snorting like a bull, looming over me with an awful sneer.
"There you are, little whore–" He says, one arm grabbing my neck while the other raises his knife.
"No!" I scream. Before Arthur can make another move, the canopy over our heads seems to explode.
"Wha–" I gasp. It happens too fast for me to react. I hear the crash of splintering branches, then I'm knocked to the ground. A maelstrom of black feathers and shining claws tears past me, slamming straight into Arthur and he lets out a pained series of screams. Trembling, I look up to see Arthur on the ground, writhing in pain as blood seeps from deep slashes across his stomach. Standing over him is a monstrous creature unlike any I've seen... and yet, the moment its cruel eyes meet mine, I know exactly what it is.
"The winged beast...it's real?!" I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand as I stagger back. The winged creature lets out a low growl and Arthur frantically swipes at the creature with his knife, which only enrages it further. Seizing my chance while the creature is distracted, I turn away from the terrible scene and start running as fast as I can. Arthur's screams and those of the beast echo chaotically through the trees, slowly fading as I tear my way through the dark forest.

    Panic pushes me onward, even as my legs start to ache. To my terrified mind, every shadow is a crouching monster, every glint of light its terrible eyes, every gust of wind the sound of its wings. Until I notice another sound coming from somewhere ahead, something almost like... There's music! There must be people ahead! Music. Laughter. Desperately, I run toward the sound. "Is someone there? I need help! Please!" I scream. Lights come into view between the trees, the music growing louder, voices more distinct. Abruptly, I stumble into a spacious grove, cheerfully lit and filled with exquisitely dressed people lounging on silk cushions. The laughter stutters to a halt as I collapse to my knees, gasping for breath. Eerie face turns to stare at me, their bright eyes blinking in puzzlement.
"Please help me," I gasp. Too late, I notice the uncanny beauty of those faces, the heart-aching grace with which they turn their lithe bodies to me. Fear of a very different kind grips my heart as I realize these are not people. These...are Fae.
"What's this?" One asks.
"A mortal! Can it see us?" Asks another.
"I believe it can! How very odd."
There is strangeness, and magic, everywhere. Golden wine glows like sunlight in their goblets, instruments play without anyone touching them, and lights hand in the air, flameless, with no strings or chains holding them up. As I'm wondering whether to run and take my chances with the beast, a beautiful golden-eyed Fae calls out to me.
"Oh, you poor, lovely thing! What has happened to you?" I look up at the Fae with auburn hair. His face painted with golden designs to match his regal clothing.
"Th-the winged beast. It's real! It tried to–" I gasp. The Fae nods.
"Ah...we know of this monster. Come here. Nothing will harm you in this place, I swear it." Legs still shaking, I stand, finding myself drawn toward the warm, reassuring voice.
"Come, sit." The Fae says, "My name is Aeron." He gestures, and a silk cushion slides across the mossy ground, coming to rest beside him.
"But the winged beast...we have to run!" I exclaim. My heart still pounds away, but Aeron simply shakes his head, unbothered by the danger.
"Oh, there is no need." He says simply, "If the creature intended to come after you, it would be here already." Aeron then laughs, "Though, if it would make you feel safer..." He nods to one of the others, a Fae with delicate flower-petal patterns across her skin. Eyes closed in concentration, she sinks her fingers into the soft earth. The canopy above me trembles, branches weaving together like an ornate cage.
"Oh my..." I gasp.
"I should like to see that monster breakthrough now." The Fae woman says with a laugh. Looking behind me one last time, I cautiously sit on the cushion beside Aeron, who smiles and pats my hand.
"What's your name, beautiful one?" He asks.
"I'm Alora," I reply slowly, still aware of every Fae's eyes on me.
"It is a true delight to meet you, Alora," Aeron says with a smile.
"Honestly, I can't believe I'm meeting some of the Fae." I say, "Part of me always believed you were real, but to actually see you..." A few of the surrounding Fae start gathering around me, cooing over me and streaking my face, and my arms, as though I were a pet.
"What are they doing?" I ask, unsure of how to react.
"They're curious about you." Aeron replies, "A human who can see through the illusions that usually hide us from mortal eyes is quite the novelty." Several Fae leave off braiding each other's hair and scamper over to me, faces bright with excitement.
"Oh! What I would not do have such hair!" The Fae with the flower-petal skin says as she takes a piece of my hair in her hands.
"Silver!" Another Fae gasps, "You must let us play with it! You must!" Aeron laughs, shooting me a reassuring nod.
"Go on, you deserve to be pampered after the night you must have had." A male Fae with skin so dark blue it's almost black, and blinding white hair steps forward.
"Yes, let us clean you up!" He says.
"And then you can dance with us!" A more natural-looking Fae woman says.
"Won't you, please?" The Fae with flower-petal skin asks. I nod and the Fae erupt into giggles, swarming around me like colorful butterflies.
"Wonderful! Now hold still..." A Fae says. I feel myself gently tugged this way and that as the Fae weave tiny flowers into my hair. My scalp buzzes beneath their touch, little shimmers dancing in the corners of my vision.
"Are you...doing my hair with magic?" I gasp. The Fae with flower-petal skin nods.
"Just a little! You're going to adore it, I promise!" One of them gasps with delight, taking my chin in hand to examine me closer.
"Um, hello." I blink. The male Fae with blue skin so dark it's almost black smiles, his eyes flashing golden.
"Such a sweet face. Oh, I could just keep you forever!" He laughs.
"Are all mortals as lovely as you?" The more natural Fae woman asks.
"To be honest, you aren't the first to say so," I reply with a laugh. Sheepishly, I avert my eyes, but the Fae only giggle.
"Aww, look! She's shy. How delightful." They laugh. Beside me, Aeron stretches luxuriously on the silken cushions, plucking a delicate flower from a nearby tray and offering it to me.
"You must be famished after all that running. Try this." He says, holding the purple flower out to me. I take the small flower but only stare at it as Aeron watches me expectantly.
"Something the matter?" He asks, "We have other things if violets are not to your taste." I shake my head.
"It's not that. Just...is it, um...will I–" I stutter. The Fae with the flower-petal skin laughs on my other side.
"Alora wants to know if it's enchanted, Aeron. Poor dear doesn't want to wake up a rabbit or toad or what have you." She laughs.
"I don't mean to be rude!" I say quickly, "I was always told that Fae food isn't safe for us." Aeron nods, his smile growing wide.
"Well, that is certainly untrue, at least most of the time." I take a cautious bite of the flower, eyes widening in wonder as its delicate flavor melts across my tongue like candy.
"Humans are so diverting. It's been an age since we've gotten to play with a new one." The Fae with almost black skin says.
"Tell us more!" The simpler Fae says, "I love to hear what mortals think of Fae." I nod,
"I suppose there are the stories people tell at the tavern..."
"Oh, you must share!" The Fae with flower-petal skin says excitedly.
"Yes, humans spin the most delightful nonsense about our kind," Aeron adds with a laugh as other Fae draw close to me.
"Do you know the one about the Fae Queen in disguise?" I ask, "There is one I liked about a poor village girl who shared her last bite of bread with an old lady she came across in the woods. She'd never seen the old lady before but was kind of heart and selfless by nature." Fae sit down around me as I tell the story, "Unbeknownst to her, the old lady was really a Fae queen, who was greatly moved by her generosity. From that day on, the girl awoke each morning to find a gold coin beneath her pillow. She never went hungry again." The Fae around me laugh merrily, wiping crystalline tears from their eyes.
"Oh, I love the tales morals tell. So outrageous!" A Fae exclaims.
"So they...aren't true?" I ask slowly. The Fae hide their smiles behind long-fingered hands and laugh as though I've told a joke.
"There– all done!" The Fae doing my hair says. One Fae scampers away to fetch an empty dessert tray, then holds the polished surface up for me to see.
"Oh my...that's really me?" I gasp at my hair, intricately braided like a crown, adorned with small flowers.
"Oh, you look wonderful! Now come with us!" The Fae with skin so dark it's almost black says. The Fae clasp my hands and pull me to my feet. They swirl in a dizzying dance of glittering colors, ribbons, and silk flying past my eyes.
"Come on, Alora!" They say.
"Oh, I'm not really a dancer..." I reply.
The Fae with flower-petal skin grabs my hand. 
"We'll show you the steps," She says, "It's easy!"
"Perhaps something to fortify you first?" Aeron asks, "We have more than flowers to eat." He gestures at the ornate gold and silver trays spread throughout the clearing, many still piled high with exquisite pastries and candied fruits. Two of the Fae who did my hair take me abruptly by the hands and pull me, giggling, into the swirling mass of tulle and ribbon and flower petals.
"Dance with us!" They sing.
"Okay, okay!" I laugh. I'm spun this way and that, passed from one smiling, lovely face to another, gallivanting between them until I'm breathless. Music and light fill the clearing as I watch the Fae whirl around each other with wild, joyful abandon.