It was a whole different world here.
Sunlight dappled through the water like the reaching arms of starlight, and the dazzling blue and turquoise of the basin sparkled on my pale skin. I looked up in wonder toward the surface; my vivid red hair swirled around my face, stroking my skin gently.
After a few seconds of waiting, my underwater sky exploded in bubbles as Apollo dove in. I felt my heart skip a beat as my eyes focussed on his lovely, grinning face. Exactly a year later, he was still breathtakingly perfect. Apollo's rich, dark hair swirled around his remarkable face; although his looks were youthful his strong jaw was one of a mature man, and the chiselled muscles of his chest rippled beneath his ivory marble skin as he swam down toward me.
I held out my hands to him, and he promptly took them. His smiling lips were open as if he was laughing, but of course no sound reached my ears. I smiled back at him, and he shot off the rocky bottom, propelling us to the surface.
The sun was blinding when we broke the surface. The warm air rang with his whooping shouts, and my laughter joined after I caught my breath. The waterfall roared to my left, and its spray misted over my exposed skin.
"Let's go again?" Apollo looked at me eagerly, his brilliant green eyes even more dazzling in the summer sun.
I pretended to think it over, a look of deep concentration on my face as we treaded the surface. "Hmm..."
"Please?" He pouted, his lower lip sticking out.
I shot him a scathing look. "What did I say about using the puppy dog face?"
"Don't use it." He replied automatically, raising a hand to push the sopping water out of his face. "But it doesn't change the fact that it's extremely effective."
He laughed jubilantly at the look on my face, and I opened my mouth to protest. Before I could, he gripped my face firmly and planted a deep kiss on my lips. My angry protests were forgotten, and my hands tangled in his dripping hair. Apollo's hand drifted down to hook behind me knee and pull it around his waist, and I forgot about the roaring waterfall, the turquoise jewelled water, the dazzling sunlight -
My eyes snapped open, and I jumped involuntarily.
I felt Apollo stir beside me, and I looked over to see him prop himself up on one elbow. His hair was mussed up with sleep, and although the digital clock behind him said it was well passed sunrise, the room was still dark; the thick curtains mercilessly kept the sun from creeping into the room.
"Falling dream?" He asked me, his musical voice throaty. I looked at his green eyes; even in the dark they were bright, but they were drooping with sleepiness.
"Did I wake you up?" My own voice was hoarse, and I cringed at the thought of what my hair looked like.
"Not at all." His arms curled around my waist, and his face nuzzled into my throat. "I was awake for awhile, actually. You were chuckling in your sleep, and I was trying to make you talk."
"Really?"
"Mhmm." Apollo pressed his blazing lips against my skin. "Must have been some dream."
I was quiet for a couple minutes, thinking it over. "We were swimming."
Apollo laughed softly. "Well that's not very interesting - "
"It was sunny."
"Ahh." He raised his head so he could see my eyes. "Was I disintegrating in the water?"
"No - "
He laughed again. "So it wasn't very interesting."
"I suppose."
Apollo kissed my jaw gently before rolling away and sitting up. "I'm going to go see if Myrnah prepared anything for breakfast, I'm ravenous."
"Alright." I watched his tall form move silently through the shadows and out the door; even in the hallway it was dark - it was all to make sure the man I was in love with didn't crack and shatter from the innocent rays of sunlight lurking outside.
I laid very still for several more minutes, taking in the cool silence of the room and the blue tinged darkness floating in the air. I exhaled heavily and rolled over, wrapping myself more securely in the warm cocoon of the blanket.
I'd been having the same dreams for a while now.
They weren't all of us swimming in the sun; others were of us driving down an empty road toward a blood red horizon, or of us looking up in awe at the sun from the peak of a mountain that was higher than the clouds. All of these dreams were beautiful and practically dripping with happiness and laughter, but I always woke up distressed and perturbed. After weeks of pondering these brilliant dreams, I finally drew a conclusion.
I was different from Apollo. At first I thought the dreams were telling me that it was him that was different from me - which I already knew, of course - but as time went on I realized the thing that was bothering me was the extent of how perfect he was. He was a marble statue that could shatter in the sun, and here I was, a human - I could survive in sunlight, but I was biodegradable, with an expiration date on my heart.
The thing that scared me about my dreams was the subtle message they were sending; if I didn't become immortal somehow, the idyll fantasyland I lived in with Apollo Ambrosia would come to an end. The idea scared the hell out of me! There was no way I wanted him - or his twin sister Astera - to turn me into a vampire; the prospect of pain sent my breathing into a hitched run. I couldn't become a shifter either - as far as I could tell, they were born, not created.
I am going to die one day, and leave Apollo to live on by himself for centuries and centuries to come. The thought filled me with pain, and not for myself.
"Lilah?"
I rolled over and looked at the door. Jannosh's huge frame filled up the doorway, and even in the darkness his ashy blonde hair shone like silver. His violet eyes were dimmed in the shadows, but his lovely smile made up for it. "Time to wake up, my sleeping beauty. You and Sir Apollo have some visitors."
"Visitors? Who is it?" I sat up, running my hands through my hair. I winced as my fingers managed to find all the knots.
"It's a surprise." Jannosh chuckled, his heavily accented voice reverberating through the room.
"I'm not really a fan of surprises." I grumbled, stumbling out of bed. I glanced in the mirror on the wall and groaned at the rat's nest on my head.
"Trust me, my love, you'll like this surprise." Jannosh glanced fleetingly at my monstrous hair. "I'll tell them you'll be down in several minutes."
He turned and left just as quietly as Apollo, and I sighed at my dim reflection. If Jannosh noticed my crazy hair, then that means I actually had to fix it. I grumbled again to myself as I searched for a comb; these "visitors" better be worth it.
---
It had been a full ten minutes after I'd first been introduced to them, but I couldn't stop staring at them.
Isidre and Ildor had to be two of the most perfect creatures I'd ever laid eyes on - besides Apollo and Astera, of course. They were both exquisitely perfect with white blonde, almost silvery, hair that seemed to float. Ildor, the beautiful male one, had hair down to his shoulders, and Isidre had hair that fell passed her hips. They were both delicately thin and just as pale as Apollo, however Ildor had a wiry kind of build that hinted at surprising power, and Isidre moved agilely and confidently. They both had silvery blue eyes and perfect cheekbones.
Ildor met my eyes as Myrnah busied herself around the coffee table pouring tea, and I looked away hastily. His resulting chuckle was amused and beautiful.
"Apollo."
Beside me, Apollo looked up as Ildor spoke his name.
Ildor's eyes were still on me. "I believe you have neglected in telling you're lovely human what we are."
I could feel my cheeks burning. Beside Ildor, Isidre tossed her beautiful hair over her slim shoulders. Like Ildor she was watching me with amusement, but there was something almost calculating about it. The lovely woman was watching me carefully, and I had no idea why.
"It seems I have." I looked over at Apollo's voice. He offered me his hand and I took it; the resulting squeeze he gave my fingers was reassuring. "Lilah, Ildor and Isidre are elves. That's why they are so unique."
Ildor laughed. His blue eyes were friendly, and they continued to watch me in amusement. He lifted a hand to pull back his silvery hair, and I stared in amazement at his long, pointed ears. They looked exactly like the ears depicted on elves in fairytales, except these two were much more lovely and ethereal than any cartoonist could have captured on paper.
There was an awkward silence, and I realized that they were all waiting for me to make a reply.
"Wow." I said shortly, my voice higher pitched than usual.
Everyone laughed at my sentiment, as if it was the most charming thing in the world. I felt like I was in junior high again; struggling desperately to get the amazing high school kids to like me. But then again, this was way cooler than trying to impress a bunch of small town teenagers.
"She's absolutely lovely, Apollo." Isidre spoke for the first time, her voice like the lilting notes of a wind chime.
"Thank you." Apollo said politely, and I caught a look that passed between them. It was only a moment, but I saw it. Isidre had a look that was almost challenging, and Apollo looked positively irritated. After a second it was gone though; they both composed themselves simultaneously. Before I could ponder the strange exchange, Apollo spoke again.
"So Ildor, what brings you and your cousin so far from Newfoundland? I was under the impression that elves don't usually leave their drens."
"You are correct, dear Apollo." Ildor sipped contently at his tea. The cup in front of Isidre remained untouched. "When was the last time I saw you? When you were still in Greece?"
"A very long time ago." Apollo smiled with his voice.
Ildor laughed. "Accurately described. Yes, you are right, we only leave our drens when something stirs up the Dark World enough."
"And what has stirred up the Dark World?" Apollo asked curiously.
The two elves glanced at each other.
"It's the faeries." Isidre said simply.
"What about them?"
Ildor looked at Apollo sombrely. "Someone is slaying their women and children."
Apollo was very still. "Who."
It wasn't a question; it was a statement. When I looked at him his face was still composed, but his eyes looked stony. I hadn't known faeries had existed before, but they were extremely real from the restrained anger Apollo was exhibiting.
Isidre shrugged; the movement made her hair shimmer like a waterfall. "No one knows. At first they blamed the vampires - "
Apollo stiffened, and his hold on my hand became almost painful.
" - however, the bodies aren't missing any blood. What vampires do you know of that simply tear apart their prey, instead of devouring it?"
"None." Apollo replied quietly.
"Exactly. Plus, no faerie has been touched by a Blood Drinker for over a thousand years, not since the Varaii Agreements. The Weres swear they didn't do it, and the mongools haven't bothered responding, as is their custom."
"The goblins? The witches? How about the dwarves? And the klaae?" Apollo's voice was demanding.
"They all deny it." Ildor told Apollo firmly but gently. "Obviously the merpeople have no part of this, and the solstae saw nothing because the trees obstructed their view."
Apollo was quiet as he contemplated this, his face still composed. I looked between him and the elves in complete confusion; before today, I hadn't even contemplated the existence of other folk creatures besides vampires and shifters. Now, my head was ready to explode with the thought of witches and merpeople and whoever the heck the klaae were.
Damn, I need some Advil.
"So what action are the faeries taking?" Apollo finally asked.
Ildor cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, that's why we came to see you. The Dark World is holding a council to decide what to do, before the faeries do something rash."
Apollo's eyes were narrowed. "What are you keeping from me, Ildor?"
The beautiful elf couldn't meet Apollo's eyes. "Apollo, listen now - "
"The solstae have reported seeing the faerie folk preparing battlements." Isidre's clear blue eyes held Apollo's almost coldly. "If we do not do something fast, the faeries will declare war on all magical parties. You and I both know their numbers are great enough to demolish us."
The following silence seemed to roar. No one seemed to want to interrupt it; Ildor stared morosely into his teacup as if it contained the answers to life, and Isidre was still staring coldly at Apollo. He was staring back at her with his face absolutely devoid of any emotion. The expression chilled me to the bone even though the sunlight drifted across my lap from the window; it reminded me of a nightmare I once had of Apollo drinking my blood.
"So,"Apollo said softly into the dead air, "this could mean the end of us."
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