𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 ! [ rhysand ]

𝐯𝐢. the suriel !

What would she ask the Suriel first? Many questions swam inside her mind, ranging from how did I get here? to are my friends okay? Ana truly cared more about the well-being of her friends than whether or not she had a way of getting home. Call that a fatal flaw or something, but Ana believed it to be a strength. Her family came first. Always. 

Slowly, the time passed, the sun rising until it was directly above her. Ana took a sip of water to quench her thirst and bit into an apple, finally growing hungry after waiting for so long. 

A sudden snap, whoosh, and shriek caught Ana's attention. The blonde grinned triumphantly to herself and slipped out of the tree, landing softly and silently. She sucked in a deep breath for confidence and approached the snare, spotting probably one of the most interesting creatures she'd seen in a long while.

The snare had trapped a tall, thin veiled figure in dark tattered robes. Ana could count each vertebrae along the creature's back through the robe's fabric, nauseating her slightly. Spindly, scabby gray arms clawed at the snare with yellowed, cracked fingernails. It was something that only her nightmares could come up with.

"Damn. It's a real-life dementor," Ana mumbled to herself, gripping her kindjals tightly. "Are you one of the Suriel?"

The faerie went rigid. It sniffed once. Twice. Then, it slowly turned to face her, the dark veil draped over its bald head.

A horrible face stared back at her. It looked as though it had been carved from dried, weather-worn bone, its skin either forgotten or discarded. A lipless mouth was pulled into a scowl, revealing too-long teeth held in place by blackened gums. Its nostrils reminded her of Voldemort's, and its eyes were nothing more than swirling pits of milky white. 

The creature let go of the snare. "Hafling," it said, and its voice was at once one and many, old and young, beautiful and grotesque. "Did you set this clever, wicked trap for me?"

Ana straightened her back. "Are you one of the Suriel?"

"Indeed I am." Click, click, click went its fingers against each other, one for each word. 

"Then the trap was for you," Ana said, confidence oozing from her voice.

It remained sitting, its bare, gnarled feet caught in her snares. "I have not seen a hafling woman for an age. Come close so I might look upon my captor."

Ana remained where she was. 

"Which of my brethren betrayed my secrets to you?" it asked.

"Alis and Lucien." Ana knew better than to lie to a faerie that knew all.

The Suriel clicked its fingers again. "What would a hafling woman want from the Suriel?"

The blonde mulled over her questions from before and let out a breath. She needed to use her time wisely. The woods were filled with dangerous creatures, and the more time she spent outside, the more danger she was putting herself in. No doubt someone heard the Suriel's shriek by now and was coming to investigate it. Important questions came first. "I need to know if my friends from my other world are safe."

The Suriel hummed. "A girl with many questions but chooses her friends first? Interesting."

"Are they or are they not?" Ana was not playing around. Her grip on her weapons tightened when she heard movement from the trees, only to loosen ever so slightly at the sight of a doe gently making its way through the clearing. 

The faerie nodded. "Your friends are safe and well."

"And are they aware of my absence?"

Another nod. "They search for you everyday."