Chalcedony phased into the human realm with her two shadow guards at her side. It was 6 A.M., but it was dark outside and remnants of a crescent moon peeked about the dense canopy of evergreen trees. The smell of burger, pizza, Chinese food various other Boston restaurants mingled with exhaust fumes, decaying leaves, and rotting animals. The later smells she was used to. The smell of decay and rot were the same in both realms. But the other smells, the scent of pollution and grease, always made her stomach churn with disgust.
Because of spell cast decades ago by sorcerers, no light penetrated this section of the park. But since her coronation two months ago, her ability to see in the dark had increased ten-fold. She saw the brown dingy fur of a rat as it scurried away, the grooves in the bark of the trees around her, and most importantly the barely worn trail to lead her out of the park and into the heart of the city.
After eighteen years, the title of princess and queenling had been thrown to the side. She had finally become a full queen by fusing with the power entrusted to her family centuries ago to protect the Fey. But the best part about being queen: she could now travel between the human and fey realms without waiting for a damn portal that only appeared every few months to connect the two realms. Neither did she have to depend on someone else to bring her. She was finally completely in control of her powers. Her destiny.
The gentle knocking of swan boats on the lake was the last thing they heard before they stepped out of the small park and into the busy streets of Boston.
The city was beginning to awake. The night preadators were on their way home if they weren't already there, and the day walkers were awakening. As they walked along the city streets, humans looked past Chalcedony and her shadow guards. People wentout of the thier way to avoid them.The trio left a menacing impression on any human who saw them, and as soon as they looked away they would forget them altogether.
This time, Chalcedony was red-headed with pale skin, her true appearance. Or at least what she imagined her true self to be. She hadn't been her original self since she was ten. That was when she'd come to the human realm with her mother and met a human boy whose skin was so dark and bright that she'd changed her skin to match.
The waif slowly lifted its head as Chalcedony approached. It smiled, revealing blackened teeth and cataract ridden brown eyes. Looking past the glamour, it actually had no teeth and its eyes were stark white with no irises.
The waif masqueraded as a street vender, selling newspapers. But with the increasing popularity of the internet, paper was a dead medium, so the waif mostly sat in her chair pretending to sleep. She wore old, grey brown dirty clothes that made her appear to be homeless and crazy more than a street vendor. The same avoidance magic Chalcedony and her shadows used was doubly strong for the waif.
"Hello, my Queen." She bowed slightly.
Chalcedony smiled, despite herself. Why this loathsome creature made her feel welcome she probably would never know. "Your twin said you found someone?"
"Yes. The signal was not powerful. So the fey wielding it must have been very careful or very weak." The waif had a frail body, but its voice was strong and deep. It sounded almost like a man, despite looking more like a frail old woman.
The rogue fey they had been chasing lately have been all over the board to very weak to the ridiculously strong. It didn't take much to get caught in the human realm doing things as simple creating fire could cause a blip on the waif's radar. The hard part was getting there before the fey left the area.
"Do you know where we are going?"
"Of course, Princess... Queen Chalcedony. Here you are." The waif pulled out a map and a picture of the green grass, cows, and ... a farm house and pointed the state of Wisconsin.
"Are you sure?" Chalcedony asked.
The waif's eyes glazed over, turning black, then just as quickly they were white again. "Yes, this is it."