Revenland

II

It was just a few weeks into summer and Fiona and I were already wishing the days wouldn't fly by so quickly. Fiona was always eager for the next adventure with Peter and what we would do next—so much so that she often woke me up before the sun.

The blackness that I had seen surround Peter had made me wary of him, but as the time went by, I realized it was almost impossible not to trust and enjoy his company.

Every day, whether it was rain or shine, he would stop by Nan's. I noticed that it was always in time for breakfast, but I would never mention it, and would only smile as I grabbed an extra placemat for the table.

"Your mom must be worried." I said one day as he was leaving late.

"Oh, I live with my aunt," He said looking down before he muttered, "She won't be worried."

That was the only time I saw him frown.

The morning when it all began, we decided to take a walk through the small wood behind the neighborhood. The trees were lush with green leaves and the flowers were in full bloom. Fiona went off giggling to a small creek while Peter and I shared a glance before following.

Fiona slipped her shoes off hastily and played in the stream as Peter occasionally splashed her, causing her to shriek before falling into a fit of giggles. I watched them, laughing softly to myself as I drew in my small etching book trying to depict the two of them on the coarse paper.

Later on, Peter found a frog and tried to persuade a nose-scrunching Fiona to kiss it for a prince. With a sly smile that I had not failed to miss, he quickly shoved the poor slimy frog in my face.

"What about you Blair Bear? Waiting for Prince Charming?"

I rolled my eyes at his nickname. Ever since he had heard Fiona call me that he hadn't been able to stop teasing me.

"I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to handle another big ego such as yours." I gently pushed his hand and the frog away from my face with the end of my pencil.

After chasing Fiona around for a long time he finally stopped and sat beside me. His complexion was paler than usual and he seemed more exhausted than he should have been from just a short jog.

"You okay?" I asked gently.

He only nodded as I studied his face, the blackness suddenly began to emerge from his chest swirling around his throat and caressing his cheek with its wispy cloud-like ends. He felt me staring and turned to meet my gaze, which I quickly withdrew.

"What about you? You look as if you saw a monster."

"Sorry." I tried to play cool as I brushed my fingers over the blades of grass. "That's just the affect of looking at your face.

Peter scoffed and bumped my shoulder playfully as I laughed under my breath.

"What do you think she's doing?" Peter whispered as he motioned with his chin toward Fiona.

She was sitting beside the stream and talking in a hush tone to something cupped in her hand.

"Probably talking to Nyx."

"Who?"

I gasped dramatically, "You haven't met her?"

"Apparently not." Peter said as he playfully rolled his eyes. "Imaginary friend?"

"Sort Of." I said shrugging. "She's her imaginary Faery. Nan thinks she's real and talks to Fiona because she likes her blonde hair. I had to stop her from dying it one night, you know."