Of Glass and Light

Chapter 4: Pixie...

"Daddy you can't make me!"

"Oh yes I can! Now stop arguing! You will marry him! And that's not about to change!"

Rachel burst into tears at her father's words and slammed the door to her room in her father's face.

He can't make me do it! she thought as slumped to the ground while leaned up against the door to her room, even if he could make me do it I won't! I've go to make it so he can't force me to marry that sad excuse of a pixie, but how? What can I, a girl all on my own do? I could not show up... I'd be hunted done by my father and the groom. I could kill him (the groom to be not my father)... too violent and I'm not sure how I would do that. I could elope with someone else and then I couldn't get married to him... but there is no guarantee I'll like the man I elope with.

Sighing with defeat at her lack of workable ideas, Rachel started looking around her small room for a spark of inspiration. She was quite lucky to have a room to herself. Most of the people she knew had to share a room with their siblings, some even slept outside preferring to be with others and socialize. Not her family though. Her father was a famous musician and as such had to show off his position with his house to keep up appearances.

Returning to the matter at hand Rachel glanced over her small bed in the corner with vibrantly colored flower woven sheets... no ideas there. She also had her chest of draws in the opposite corner of her bed. It was tall and made of ebony wood. Still nothing useful came to mind. Then she looked over at her chest of memories to see if it could give her any thoughts. She stood up and walked over to the small piece of intricately carved wood and tried not to look at her mirror as she passed. She didn't want to see her grotesque face and be reminded of the mistake that was her existence.

It all started years ago as her father, a dashing up and coming musician, was traveling between forests for a performance. Being young and lazy he forgot to set up protective enchantments for the night before falling asleep. In the morning he woke up to the sight of an iron cage and goblin teeth. The goblins kept him trapped for months without letting the barest hint of letting him go.

A goblin, by the name of Urga who was a slave of war to the goblin chief, was tasked with the job of bringing him food. One night as all the goblins were dancing around the fire in a strange ritual, my father realized that no one was coming to save him, and so decided to save himself. So instead of his stony silence that he had given all the goblins, when Urga came to give him his food for the night, he thanked her and asked her for her name.

Those few words started a shaky friends ship between the two. After a few months, what had started as an attempt to escape, became one of the most unbreakable of friendships. During the night, Urga would sneak out of her masters hut and go talk to my father. They would discuss all kinds of things. It was during one of these nights that she came with a key that she had smuggled off the chief. She told my father that she was finally breaking out and couldn't bare to see my father stuck there too.

After they broke out, instead of returning to the forest and his people, my father went with Urga to her people and remained there for many years. It was there that he fell in love with my mother and Urga's sister.

Even though they loved each other dearly, promised each other to never have kids because of how they would be rejected by society.

My mother died in childbirth and my father, being stricken with grief, left with me in his arms.

I'm an abomination. Half pixie, half goblin. I was and am a mistake.

A thought came to me a possible solution to my marriage predicament. I could run away, just was my father and aunt had done. I would do it tonight while my father was away at a performance. I would feign sickness and stay home. Then I'd be gone in the morning.

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My father had bought the act.

I jumped out of my bed and looked underneath it for my backpack. In it I had all my essentials packed. Water, blankets, a way to start a fire, etc. I even had a few nonessentials. Such as my mother's iron earrings that my father had brought with him after she died. Unlike other fae, the iron didn't burn me. It just tingled a little when I put it on, however I didn't want to be noticed so I just put them in the bag.

I walked to the entrance of what had been my home for my entire life. Not a single doubt crossed my mind that I shouldn't go and do this. My father would understand in time, and maybe after a few years I could come home and visit.