The next day I woke up to Dylan whispering my name, "Nixie, wake up. We have to go to meet the head of this camp. They brought us some clothes and food." I gnarled and turned around to face him. He looked fresh and clean, although his eyes were underlined with bags. "Seems like you haven't slept much!" I said.
"Yes, well, good morning to you too. Come on, get up. We have half an hour left."
"Okay, I'll be ready soon." He looked at me with a look he throws to me every time he thinks I am hopeless and then he walked out of the tent. I quickly climbed out of the bunk and picked up the clothes they gave me: tight black jeans with high boots. The top was a small half dress. It was night sky blue with a big belt from under the bosom till the belly and the dress spread out under it. I was aslo given a black hood with careful silver details around the edges. I put everything on and ate something. When I wanted to walk out, I noticed a mirror and when I looked at myself, I thought I had escaped a movie. I turned back to the door and walked out of my tent.
The camp was beautiful. It was as if the sun made it different, because I didn't notice the beauty of it at nighy. Every tent was decorated with silver or gold decorations and the fire was burning blue, something I had never seen before. I also noticed that everyone was dressed as I was, as if from a movie or a book.
"Don't want to be late," I hear Kiana say behind me. I turn around and saw her smiling.
"I don't even know where I need to be." I said.
"Don't worry. I was asked to escort you and luckily, you didn't go far from your tent. Your brother was harder to find."
"Where would I go if I didn't know where to go to?"
"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."
"Lewis Carroll. Apparently you are not a medieval society after all."
"And who are you to say that. You barely know us."
"You win."
"I thought so. Oh, I almost forgot, we have to get to Finn." She barely said it and I was rushing behind her, trying to catch up with her. After crossing the camp, we stood in front of the most beautiful tent I have seen. It was decorated with roses around the roof and gold and silver mixed on the wood forming beautiful figures. The wood itself was African walnut, a beautiful reddish shade and very dark. Kiana opened the door and I stepped inside. Inside, it was decorated with maps and all kinds of weapons and, to my surprise, a lot of technology. There were tablets, hologram screens, and a moving map. I noticed my mouth had opened and I quickly shut it.
"Ah, there you are. Thank you Kiana, but you can leave now. Now, you must be Nixie, quite a powerful name you have. I am Finn; it is a pleasure to meet you. Do you want some tea?" Finn chattered on and, I noticed, he had an Australian accent, which made it hard to follow.
"No thank you," I said, "I just had some."
"Ah, that is quite a shame. Now, I hear you were running from black folk. I first must know if you know anything about your parents."
"Nixie and I were alone when it happened. Mom and dad were working. The last time we saw them was in the morning," Dylan answered.
"And do you know where they work."
At that, Dylan looked to me with big eyes. I knew he thought the same. Mom and dad never told us. They always said it wasn't important and we would know when we were adults.
"No, we don't, but it would make sense if it had to do something with your folk."
"Ah, I see. It is your folk too, if you are still in doubt. You soon will turn 16 and that means you will officially be one of the fey. Your powers and abilities will then come and you will start training with the others at the academy. But first we need to know where your parents are, so they know about you."
"What if our parents didn't want us to go to the academy?" I asked.
"Your parents can only ask you not to go. I believe, one of us would have come to your house in a week to ask you if you want to go. Now that you have been chased, you have no choice anymore. If the black ones laid an eye on you, they won't stop. Even now, some of us are disappearing. We keep chased ones like you safe until you finish the academy."
"I wonder why we were never allowed to know about this." I said.
"It is a rule. If someone splits up from the fey to live in the human world, they have to swear to never talk about it, not even to their children. The children only learn about it a month before the academy. If one refuses he needs to swear the same as his parents did."
"Are there any normal people who know about all this?"
"Yes, but those are the ones who can look through the magic covering us. Usually they are asked to go to the academy to train along with the Fey. About the academy, I think you will go there tomorrow. We have a few others who are leaving because they will be 16 in the next 6 months. You will be expected to be here at noon. Kiana will help you get ready. Now, I believe you want to see more of the camp instead of sitting in this boring tent. Come on." With that, he stood up and walked us to the door. After we left the tent, we did not know where to go next so we started walking around. Apparently, a camp is like a very small village. We passed a baker, a butcher, a small supermarket-like shop, and even a clothes shop. I decided to look there since the clothes I got were not exactly my type. The shop was very pretty. There were flowers everywhere and fairy lights were hung across the ceiling. However, what really took my attention were the wings. Across one side of the shop were wings in all sizes and colors. I didn't notice people who were wearing them, but I might not have paid enough attention.
"Can I help you?" I am startled by a voice behind me. I turn around and see a girl. She seemed in her twenties. "Hey, those are Luna's clothes. She is my sister. Yesterday we got a call of newcomers and Luna had your size so she gave some of it to you. Oh, by the way, I am Intina," she said. She had golden eyes with light hair and a tanned skin and was a bit taller than I was.
"Yes, thank you for the clothes, although they are not exactly my type. I am Nixie, if you must know."
"Nice to meet you. Luna's clothes can indeed be questioned sometimes. If you want some new ones I can give you some."
"But I don't have any money!"
"Oh that is no problem. I can pay it for you. You will probably get a budget if you go to the academy and there you can find a job. Maybe your parents have saved some for you."
"Are you serious? You wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all. Come on, we'll find you something nice to wear."
She dragged me along the racks and I tried on so many pants, halter necks, bodices, some crop tops, and types of leather-bound corset like tops, boots, hoods and belts. In the end, we chose an outfit that was quite simple, if I must say so. It was a white blouse with a simple corset –like bodice and plain black jeans with high boots. We also got a belt that went around my left thigh, since I was left handed. She also gave me a necklace. It was a small silver mermaid with gold hair. "It matches your name," she said, "little water nymph." I looked up at her and smiled. I never really knew what the meaning was of my name. I always assumed my parents wanted to give me an unusual name, but now I realize it was a fey name.
After leaving the shop, I went back to the tent from last night. Apparently, Dylan found Kiana and they were talking about something until I entered. "Hey, I guess you found the shop," Kiana says.
"Yeah, Intina helped me. Is it okay?"
"It is perfect. Now you are truly a Fey."
"I think you can now join Mac's party," Dylan commented.
"Ha Ha. As if you know how people dress at his parties. You never left the house. You are a book nerd, just like me."
"Okay, you got me. Kiana, do I also need to wear that?"
"No, we have other clothes for boys. But if you want to have a crop top you can have one."
"Very funny, Kiana. Come sis, let's see if I can fit in." with that he took me by my arm and dragged me out of the room, through the camp until he stopped in front of the shop. We walked in and Intina greeted me, "Back so soon?"
"Yes, well my brother wanted to have some clothes too. We can pay you back if it is too much of a problem."
"Oh no, it is my duty to give your first clothes." I looked at my brother who was looking around. "I suppose there are no 'modern' clothes here," he said.
"No. we have these clothes, because they have special properties for a fey. Normal human clothes restrict us from certain abilities," Intina answered. My brother looked at the clothes and I can't describe all the faces he made during that hour. I think he still couldn't quite believe that he was going to find some clothes here. In the end, he finally agreed with an outfit Intina offered him. It was a blouse with a leather-like vest and harem pants, which, I must say, quite suited him. Luckily, he got some 'normal' shoes.
We walked back to our tent after we thanked Intina. "Do you really think this looks alright, because I feel like I am dressed like an actor in a school play," Dylan exclaims.
"Trust me, you look better than ever. At least, this fits you better than what you usually wear."
"Really?"
"Totally. And maybe you'll be noticed by some girls. I mean, it really is time for you to make an impression, although i doubt it will ever be good." At that, he smirked and turned to his own corner.
Kiana stormed into the room and said, "Finn has news on your parents!" We rushed after her, through the camp, to the big tents. We stumbled into his tent and Finn greeted us, "I hope you are having a nice stay. We just received news from your parents. They were unharmed, but they can't go here. They might bring the dark ones here. They will stay safely at your home until you have gone to the academy. They also gave me the pass to your vaults. The academy is in our biggest and most protected city. There you can get all the supplies for your studies. I see to it that you will pack tonight. You will leave early in the morning."
Before bed, we packed all the things we had received from our parents in the cases Kiana gave us. Our parents had packed everything we owned in a big trunk. The trunk would be send to the academy, but we needed to have some clothes and supplies for the road.
The next morning we stood ready at the big tent. The camp was peaceful and quiet. Smoke rose from the burned ashes in the campfires, animals were still in their cages and shops were just opening their doors. The dew was still on the grass and the leaves and the chills of the night were waking us fully. After a while, Kiana and a girl in a blue jumpsuit with high boots and a big belt around her waist joined us. She had dark hair that reached to her belly and a silver flower crown on top of it. "Hey, I am Luna. You met my sister yesterday," she said. We nodded and waited for Finn. He stepped out of the tent and led us to the stables. What I saw was so beautiful I can't describe. In the stables were magnificent pegasi with silver and golden wings and white skin. Each Pegasus had a different hair color. Luna and Kiana saddled their horses and Finn helped us saddle ours. Mine had silver wings and luminous green hair. We walked out of the stables to a field near the camp. Finn started to give us instructions, "A Pegasus is a noble creature and will only cooperate if you acknowledge that you are a team, not that he is a servant." After that, we took off. Luna and Kiana had visited the city before and led the way. We flew over the woods higher until we were above the clouds. If you have experienced the feeling of a dream in movies, this was kind of like that. It was dreamy and the sun was shining in our backs and it was still. It was very still. There was no single living soul to see except us. We rode fast while the clouds rolled under us. After what seemed days, we began our descent. Kiana and Luna led us through a gap in the clouds down. Finally, we could see land again. We did not exactly know where we were, but we were too tired to ask. As we landed, I began to panic: how do I land? I really hoped the horse would be careful. I hold my breath as we landed. I let my breath go when the Pegasus safely landed and I didn't fall off.