ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Shut Eye
" Sad hello's and mad high lows "
" Now, I know not nobody knows "
✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧
୨⎯ NOEL'S POV ⎯୧
The mansion was bigger than I'd imagined when reading the book, and I guessed that my friends thought the same thing too, due to how wide their mouths were opened when staring.
Unlike Alis, the manservant that was assigned to me was quite talkative, asking me many questions about what it was like living over the wall. He didn't realize that I was Half Fae. I was hesitant, but didn't struggle as he cleaned me. I found it useless because I was too weak to resist. They didn't ask about the scars, but they were surprised by how many they were.
His name was Asher, he had strawberry blond hair and blue eyes that always sparkled whenever I answered his questions. He was on his seventh or eighth one as he combed my hair.
"How come your eye color is different than the other? It's so pretty! Oh! And we match too."
He was kind, it's just that I wasn't used to this type of energy from strangers I've met. When I asked him why he was named 'Asher', his response was:
"Let's just say that my parents didn't like me when I was born, so that's how I was named." He made sure not to go into detail, but I could see how uncomfortable he was by saying those words.
"Well...your name sounds cool, it's like you could fight any battle and still win, since ash wood is bad for faeries." I encouraged, and his face lit up.
"If only faeries had a human heart like yours," he smiled. Placing one final touch to my hair, a small black bow to tie my hair, he patted my shoulder, "We're good to go!"
As Asher led me to the dining hall, I've heard from the maids and manservant (that were assigned to my friends) who walked past us that they were hard to deal with, especially Luisa. She had struggled so hard she bit one of them as she was being dragged to the bathing room, but stopped immediately once she was dumped in the water.
I even covered my mouth to muffle my laugh when I saw how angry Luisa was as she sat there, forced to wear a dress.
We all decided to keep quiet while Feyre, Tamlin and the newcomer, Lucien, had their chat while eating dinner together. I sat next to Sergei, while Maya sat next to Luisa across from us. That way, whenever Luisa tried to comment on what the adults said, Maya would be in charge of stopping her.
By that we mean kicking her legs from under the table.
I was enjoying how Luisa resisted from attacking Maya, when a question popped up in my head. "Goddess Hayat?"
"Yes?" I was surprised at how fast she responded, so she kept true to her word when she said she would be there to help. "You can call me Hayat, goddess is a little too formal and it doesn't go very well with my name."
"Right- okay, Hayat." I nodded to myself, "I've been meaning to ask something..."
"Your wondering why I'm allowing all of this, correct?"
"How did you know?"
"I can feel your confusion, little one. And I will answer as best as I could."
I waited for her to continue as I examined my meal. It was all too fancy, and I didn't eat too much of it, because I wasn't not used to eating so much dinner.
I wished I ate what Rhysand and his inner circle were eating in the second book.
Finally, Hayat said carefully, "I've always noticed, that when humans watch shows, movies, play games, or read books, some have always wished that they lived in that world rather than there. Some begged everyday to get out of the original world, so they could be free from all the trauma or life experiences that was handed to them."
"To the point where they commit, but some are too scared that they'll face judgment and be sent to hell for doing that, so they endure everything. I want to give a chance to them, to the 'lost children' of the world, whether being dreams or after death, suicide or accident."
When I kept silent, she continued.
"I also want them to grasp the feeling of saving someone they have cared deeply about through screens and pages, to changing fates that were set in stone for those said characters. I want to see how they would handle those situations with determination, or see them enjoy their live where they feel at home, where they are lost no more."
I blinked slowly. If I've known this opportunity existed sooner, I would've committed.
But I couldn't at the time.
I had to wait for someone.
"Thank you, Hayat." I responded, and I could imagine the smile on her face.
"Your welcome little one. Now, focus on your surroundings for a little while."
Doing what she said, I glanced at my four friends. Luisa was glaring at Maya, and I was able to stiffle a laugh from how funny it looked.
Sergei was playing with his fork, probably waiting to be dismissed already, when we all heard Tamlin ask Feyre, "Who are they to you then?"
He gestured to us, making us all stiffen. I took a quick glance at Feyre, who flashed Tamlin rather thoughtful look, then answered, "They are simply under my care."
I felt myself relax, but went rigid once again when I noticed Lucien's smile, and Tamlin kept staring.
"Awe~" he cooed, "they're so cute. What are all of your names?"
We all didn't answer, looking at each other, practically voting on who should speak for us first. We know his character, yes, but I just can't speak to any of them in the room, it felt sort of embarrassing.
"Bi-"
Luisa was cut off when she yelped, gaining confused glances from the adults.
Sergei cleared his throat and pointed at each one of us while saying our names, "Maya, Luisa, Noel," then he pointed at himself, "Sergei."
His tone lacked enthusiasm, and he didn't seem to care if he was offending them by how he looked at the two High Fae. Lucien simply chuckled.
"They act just like their big sister."
Feyre turned to glare at him, and I looked away. I could tell how confused Sergei was to why he was compared to her.
I want to go to bed already.
✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧
We had to go back to our rooms to change to our nightgowns, then head to a bedroom we'd all decide we sleep in.
Luisa lied to Asher when he came to fetch me, saying we couldn't stay in separate rooms because we always stuck together. That was true, but the real reason was so we could keep an eye on each other.
"We become sooo anxious when we're separated," Luisa explained quickly as she was already pushing all of us to her room. "To the point where we would be paralyzed in place."
Maya was helping me write down everything important that's gonna happen in the first book, the scenes that we should be causious of. As we sat at the desk, Sergei was already on the bed the moment we entered, while Luisa was trying to kick him out of it.
"Get off you oaf! My bed!"
"Where are we supposes to sleep?"
"On the floor of course!"
I felt myself dozing off despite the argument, the nightgown was way too comfy. Maya placed a hand on my back, rubbing lightly, "You can sleep if your tired, maybe we'll finish the rest tomorrow."
Without bothering to walk to the bed, or lay on the floor, I already rested my head on the desk and closed my eyes, falling into a deep slumber.
✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧
"Promise me!"
I was walking beside my brother back home from school. It was so hot that we had to share an umbrella, since we only owned one in the house. My headphones hung around my neck as I paused the music to listen to my brother, Van, who kept talking non stop.
We were only one year different, him being the oldest, but we were in the same grade. It had it's perks staying together during classes.
"No, why should we live together?" Van looked at me, confusion shown on his face. We were talking about what we would do once we were old enough to leave the house on our own.
"Because I can't stay alone! You know I get scared." I grumbled, biting onto my Popsicle, enjoying how cold it was, the chocolate flavour melting in my mouth. Whenever I was home alone, I would always get a feeling that something might happen, that someone was watching me.
"Then stay with Valerie or Fraga," he suggested, he placed his hand out, stopped me to wait for a car to pass, before we crossed the road.
"I can't stand them, your the only one that understands me," when he didn't look convinced, I offered him my Popsicle, "I'll be in charge of the dishes, deal?"
We stopped outside a shop, and he took the popsicle, taking a bite of it while passing his bag to me. He humming in response at how good it tasted.
"...Deal."
Even though he mumbled, I heard it loud and clear. I smiled when he entered the shop, holding onto his school bag tight.
"Wait a minute! I didn't say you could take the whole- oh never mind." I grumbled, giving up. I put his bag on the floor and placed my headphones on. But what I heard wasn't music.
.
.
.
Y̧̬̬͇̖̳̏͌͞o͙͙̙̘̙ͤͫ͞ụ̴̴̾̀͟͡ k̼̼̞̦̞̼̔n̫̫̘̗͕̲̲̎ͥo͙͙̙̘̙ͤͫ͞w̡̻̻̣͚̒̀ͅ h̨͚͚͖ͯ̒̄͗͞ḛ̡̰̳͓̥ͬ͋ͪͧ's̨̞̞̰͎͎̪̩͕̈́̀ͯ̍ͧͅ g̬̬̱ͩ͋͟͟o͙͙̙̘̙ͤͫ͞n̫̫̘̗͕̲̲̎ͥḛ̡̰̳͓̥ͬ͋ͪͧ ṛ̣̬̫̍͌ͩ͟i̧̻̻͉̜͑ͪ̾͟g̬̬̱ͩ͋͟͟h̨͚͚͖ͯ̒̄͗͞t͖͖̠̬͛?
✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧
I woke up drooling on the table, someone shaking me awake.
Looking disoriented, I looked around the room. I was now lying on the floor by Maya and Sergei, half of the blanket on me, and Luisa was standing my side. Her foot was on my shoulder, while her hand held a small flame that flickered in the dark.
The flame lit up the whole bedroom, and it calmed me down. I didnt want to wake up in complete darkness.
Afraid and alone.
Alͥonͣeͫ
"Guys! It's time!"
"Time for what?" Sergei groaned, he was sat up while looking at her dumbfounded. Without waiting for an answer, he lied back down, "Go back to sleep."
He tried placing the blanket over his head, but the entire blanket got removed by Maya, earning a glare. Maya also looked eager to go back to sleep, but was slowly being brought back to reality.
Luisa rolled her eyes and turned to me.
"Remember what we said we'd do once we came here to the Spring Court?"
I slid my hand over my face, recovering from the memory I experienced in my sleep, and seeing a wide grin on Luisa's face made all of us remember.
"Oh-"
"That's right! Race time!"
The next thing I knew, all of us were stumbing over each other, heading for the door.
"Okay! The rules are simple,"
After we calmed down, we stood in the hallway by Luisa's bedroom door. It was dimly lit by the moonlight, but we could tell that dawn was coming. I adjusted to the darkness, making sure to remember not to knock things over while running. I kept my voice low as I whispered.
"We only have about... five to ten minutes to search for the kitchen," I explained, "We'll be in teams of two, me with Maya, Luisa with Sergei. Whoever wins gets to pick what the rest of us can eat, or make."
"Why is it five to ten though?" Maya asked as she arched her back. They were all already stretching to get ready for the race. Maya was quite flexible, but usually got a friendly teasing about it.
"Because Tamlin and the others might sense our magic if we use it." Seeing all their eyes widen, I smiled, "That's right, we get to use our powers as boosts."
"Aren't we gonna get in trouble?" Sergei frowned.
"Of course we are!" All of us turned to Luisa, and she simply shrugged, "Food is on the line here, and I am so craving a sandwich right now."
I started addressing everyone as we fell in line, "Ready..."
"Set...
"Go!"
Maya was already in the lead as I followed closely behind, she was one of the fastest runner in our group. We were all heading towards the stairs, it would make us slower when running down it.
Maya signalled for me to take her hand and I obeyed. But when we reached the edge of the stairs, she suddenly jumped, bringing me down with her.
I felt my soul left my body as I squeezed my eyes shut, but then I landed on something cold. I opened one eye to find out that we were sliding on ice.
I fell in shock and brought Maya down with me, landing on our butts. I looked behind us to see both Luisa and Sergei standing at the top of the stairs, not moving.
I would've been wooping in joy, but that would cause too much noise, so me and Maya giggled silently. But we soon saw something zoom past us, flames trailing behind.
Sergei was carrying Luisa on his back, while she was using her magic to shoot fire out of her hands as a boost. She even stuck her tongue out when they both looked back at us.
When we reached downstairs, Maya didn't stop using her ice magic. Sergei was able to stop themselves from slamming into the wall, the shadows in the corners grabbing them to slow down, thanks to his darkness manipulation.
But when me and Maya slid until the end of the hall, she didn't know how to stop, so I hugged her, protecting her from the impact.
I groaned and Maya helped me up, "God, it's gonna hurt like hell later on." I mumbled.
We held ourselves against the wall. Luisa used her flames to melt the ice as Sergei was already searching for the kitchen.
"I found it." Sergei called out, poking his head into a room. We all rushed in, our eyes widening at the sight.
"Jackpot!"
The kitchen was like a treasure trove. It had gleaming silver pots and pans hanging on the walls. The shelves were filled with jars of spices and stacked plates and cups. In one corner, there was a massive fireplace.
"So, what do we make?"
"Since Sergei found it first, we get to choose," Luisa reminded us, standing beside Sergei, "Let's make a cake, shall we?"
Once Luisa lit up the lanterns in the room, in no time, we got to work. Luisa, Sergei and me were searching for ingredients while Maya was placing each of them in the bowl.
While Maya was beating the chocolate batter, she noticed my stare and giggled, "Do you want to do it instead, or do you want to eat some of it?"
"Both please." Gesturing me to come forward, I went to Maya's side. She went to open one of the cupboards to take out three small cups, walking back to me.
"Why do you guys like to eat the batter?" Sergei asked, he was using a cloth to clean the flour that was spilled on the counter.
"Because it tastes good Sergei," Luisa answered simply, examining the fireplace. Not getting the proper answer he wanted, he rolled his eyes and continued cleaning the counter.
The three of us hummed in delight when we tasted the batter. I've always been told by my mother that it would give me stomach pain, but when I tried it nothing happened, so I continued to steal some when others weren't looking.
Maya went to spread butter around the tin that would be used for the cake, and I was done beating the batter. While I searched through the cupboards for the baking powder. I realized that I didn't know how it looked like in this timeline.
"Hayat? Do you know how baking powder looks like at this timeline?"
No answer.
Weird.
"Hayat?"
"Uhm...Apologies, I'm just surprised," she must've noticed how confused I felt because she quickly explained, "I have only been gone for a moment. It's just that, I know you don't like being alone, so wasn't your friends supposed to be in the kitchen with you right now?"
"Huh?" I didn't realize how quiet it was. I turned around to see no one there, just the lanterns lighting up the room, and the fire warming up in the fireplace.
"Mom?" I called out, my voice cracked. I continued to call when I heard nothing back, "Luisa? Sergei?"
Suddenly, all the light in the lanterns around the kitchen went out, including the one in the fireplace. Breathing heavily, I tried to navigate myself to the corner.
"Calm down Noel, it's okay." Hayat spoke to me softly, but I couldn't hear her properly, my ears ringing, how my heart beated wildly. I hated the dark. I'd always think that something or someone would pop out to hurt me, kill me.
I know I've been wanting to die, but not in situations like these. I felt my back press against the wall and instinctively sat down, placing my arms over my head.
Alͥonͣeͫ
Alone
I then felt arms wrap around me, and for a moment, it felt warm. Just like that same feeling of when I died in that car crash. In the original world.
"It's okay, little one. I'm always here with you."
I cling onto her, savouring the moment I've never had before. I was being lifted, but I noticed that the body I was held against wasn't a female body.
"I'm apologize for scaring you."
Only when I opened my eyes to see we were out of the kitchen, did I realize that Tamlin was carrying me.
I tried to wriggle out of his grasp. Noticing this, he set me down. In an instant, someone's hand rested on my shoulder, making me turn around to see Feyre.
"Noel, are you alright?" She asked, then used her hands to wipe my cheeks, "Your crying."
I didn't realize I was until she pointed it out. I nodded and let her wipe all my tears away. I leaned to the side to look behind Feyre.
Luisa was looking down, clenching her jaw, her brows furrowed. Sergei looked more dissapointed than angry, and he was holding Maya, who could barely stand and her eyes were red and puffy too.
I glanced at Tamlin, who caught my gaze. Even though he had a serious face, I could tell by his eyes that he was sorry for me. Feyre took my hand and went to stand in front of my three friends.
"Alright, care to explain why all of you were up this early?"
It took a while for Luisa to mumble "We just wanted something to eat..."
"Then Tampon just came out of nowhere and snatched all of us!" She turned to Tamlin, her voice raised, and I've realized how angry she was. "He made Maya and Noel cry!"
"I thought there was an intruder, considering all the mess you made while heading for the kitchen." Tamlin explained, annoyed by the nickname, while gesturing to the floor. It was wet and slippery with water, from Luisa melting Maya's ice, plus a few vases have fallen.
Luisa faltered when she saw it, "But-"
"No need, Luisa." Feyre interuppted her, already leading us upstairs carefully. "Let's just head back to our rooms."
I looked back. Luisa was glaring at Tamlin, not bothering to apologize, she turned around with a huff, catching up to us.
Once we arrived outside of Luisa's room, Feyre looked serious when she turned back to us, which made me shrink back from her gaze, but then her expression suddenly softened.
"I'm surprised, of how confident you all can be on the first day of staying at a High Fae's territory."
"Your not mad anymore?" Luisa asked, puzzled. Feyre simply placed her hand on each of our heads, not forgetting to ruffle our hair, "Of course I'm still mad. But, you know, if you guys are hungry, me and Luisa can try to get food for the rest of you in secret."
"Just like we used to...?" Maya whispered, and Feyre nodded with a smile. "Just like we used to, if you all promise that you won't do this kind of thing again."
Luisa beamed, happy that we weren't getting a long lecture that adults usually do, "We promise!"
"Good," Feyre nodded, ushering us all in the room, "You should all rest for a bit after what happened."
When Feyre closed the door behind her, Sergei sighed, "I told you it was a bad idea."
"Sorry." I apologized while I hugged Maya, who hugged me back.
She must've cried because of Tamlin too, I thought. I was glad that Luisa wasn't shouted at for what I suggested, because I was the one who made that idea.
If she did get the blame, I wouldn't bear it. "I sometimes forget that my ideas aren't good, and we got nothing out of it."
"Did we now?" Luisa asked with a smirk on her face, me and Sergei looked at her with confusion, and she took something out from behind her back.
"I may or may not have stolen a bag of cookies while I was done lighting up the fireplace." She boasted while throwing the bag of cookies in the air, landing right back in her hand "They were too busy talking that they didn't notice Maya hiding the bag behind her back, and passing it to me while climbing the stairs."
"Surprise." Maya muffled while hugging me, resting her head on my shoulder. I patted her back, guiding her to sit on the floor with Luisa and Sergei, forming a circle.
"Thank god, I really need something to eat." Sergei smiled as Luisa passed some cookies to each of us.
"And these cookies are chocolate chip!"
"I was trying not to laugh when you called Tamlin Tampon."
"It's even funnier that he doesn't know what it means!"
I smiled to myself as we joked and laughed together. I was glad that this group didn't change one bit after dying.
If only Van was here, to realize that there were worlds that could accept us for who we were.
✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧
Art: (by me)