A/N: The story does not end here, but it had to to meet the deadline of my writing class(: Don't worry, there'll be more after this, promise!
(4/16/12): Added more music to this one!
Human, by The Killers. (Ohh, the irony ;D)
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Weeks passed, and it became an unspoken tradition to sit with Meila. Each day we’d huddle under the ancient oak tree, making small talk for the most part.
My life fascinated her for some odd reason, and she had several new questions about it each day. They ranged from what my favorite color was, to my childhood and what it was like in Arizona.
I answered most of the questions the best I could, often accompanying my answers with a story or two. It occurred to me at times, that the interrogation was completely one sided. But it didn’t bother me really, because it was quite entertaining to watch her reactions to what I told her.
Most times she looked focused, eyes trained intently on my face. Other times, she’d look as if she were trying to solve something difficult, and her eyes would narrow as her nose scrunched up a little. The second reaction always confused me, but I never commented on it.
One particularly sunny spring day, we sat quietly under our tree, soaking up the rare rays of sunlight gratefully. She had asked me what classes I planned to take next term, and I began to look through my bag for my new schedule.
I took out my notebook, about to flip through it, when she gasped. I turned to her, raising my eyebrows inquisitively. Her eyes had widened and her mouth was slightly agape, the picture of shock.
“What?” I asked, confused.
As quick as lighting, her hand shot out and snatched my notebook. She carefully traced the symbols worn into the cheap, cardboard cover.
“What are you doing?” I tried again, bewildered.
“Where did you see this?” she demanded, her voice shrill with panic and disbelief.
I flinched automatically at her harsh tone.
“I didn’t see them,” I replied quietly, defensive.
“Like hell you didn’t, mortal!” she snarled, eyes as sharp and cold as icicles.
Mortal?
I looked at her evenly, anger pricking at her accusation.
“I do not see these figures,” I clarified.
“Then how?” she asked impatiently.
“I just… they just happen” I finished lamely, anger dissipating.
A few long minutes passed by in silence, before Meila spoke up again.
“So you just draw them, then?” she asked tentatively, and I could tell her anger had been replaced by both skepticism and curiosity. I nodded and explained how it usually happened, using my history class as an example. Once I finished, we both lapsed into silence again, absorbed by our own thoughts. A while back, the final bell had rung.
“So it is true,” I thought I heard Meila whisper, under her breath. To me she asked, “Walk me home, after school?”
She was uncharacteristically cheery, her expression free of anger and skepticism. But her eyes betrayed her real emotion, for they were cold and stormy with worry. I found myself nodding, agreeing to meet her out in the front yard after school.
The rest of the day passed by, my remaining classes blurred together into a string of dull monotony. I spent most of my time staring anxiously at the clock, replaying my strange encounter with Meila over and over. Finally the bell sounded and I hurried down the wood paneled halls and out onto the front lawn.
-Meila-
I scanned the crowd of mortals, analyzing each face before impatiently dismissing them. Where was he? I began to doubt myself, when a group of freshmen shifted to reveal a very lost-looking Seth. Smiling briefly, I walked purposefully towards him.
Deep down, I felt awful for having to expose him like this. But it had to be done, and I had no choice. He was the one.
He had to be.
I tapped Seth on the shoulder, and he turned around with an exasperated expression.
“How on Earth…?” he complained, looking miffed. I stifled a giggle. This was no time for laughter, and time was running short.
“Never mind that, lets walk,” I said briskly, leading him through the mass of students and down to the sidewalk.
“Seth… we need to talk…” I said after a few yards, unsure of how to say this. He looked up; his right eye reflecting confusion while the left was trained unseeingly on me. I bit my lip, trying to decide how to tell him. Further down the sidewalk, I made up my mind. I gripped his forearm near the elbow and pulled him away from the sidewalk.
He looked started but said nothing as she half dragged into the aging forest that bordered the road. After a few feet I released him, walking further into the dense collection of ash and spruce trees. He followed me into a clearing, roughly 5 yards in diameter.
I sat down on a wide, slate grey rock that was tinged with bits of moss and soil. I studied him carefully, watching as he unconsciously hid his eye with his hair. He stood looking at me, confused. Seth leaned against a tree, waiting for me to talk.
“Do you know who you’re mother is?” I asked him finally.
He shifted uncomfortably, looking down at the ground.
“What do you mean, who? She’s… she was my mom,” he replied, his voice taking on a defensive quality.
I sat up straighter on the rock, eyes fixed on him.
“Your mom did not die in that accident, Seth,” I explained carefully, trying to soften the permanent chill of my voice. I waited for a few moments to let my words sink in, before continuing. Seth lowered himself to the ground so that he was sitting in the grass, moving slowly as if the world would shatter beneath him. In a way I suppose it had.
“ Your mother was taken back to my... our realm,” I clarified. Slowly I let my glamour dissipate to reveal my true form. My fey form. Threads of frost created small webs upon the grass as the space around me grew colder.
Seth looked up at her, startled by the temperature difference. Maintaining eye contact with him, I shrugged my jacket off and let my wings unfurl.
-Seth-
Dumbfounded, I stared at the wings protruding from her back. They were translucent, like clear ice sculptures. The edges were jagged and ink black, looking sharp enough to sever limbs. Glinting dangerously in the dim light filtering through the trees, the wings quivered restlessly.
Meila’s skin seemed to be in motion, even as she sat quiet and still.
Pale ivory mixed with creamy shades of lily swirled upon the surface, creating intricate patterns that constantly shifted. It was like pale mist, swirling just underneath the flawless surface.
“We are at war with her captors,” she began again, sitting almost regally upon her rock.
“We are very close to winning, but we’re missing just one thing. It has been foretold that only one thing will tip the scales of victory into our favor. That this one thing- this one person, will return to us after approximately a decade and seven years. That we, the fey, will gain what has been stolen from us so long ago.”
Her eyes were focused on me with such intensity, that I was paralyzed. They seemed to glow with power, as she spoke. I sat transfixed in the long grass, trying to comprehend what she was saying.
“And you… are him,” she said at last, studying my reaction. Wide eyed, I protested.
“It-him...I-It can’t be me!” I cried in disbelief. “I can’t be,” gesturing to her, “all of that!”
I stuttered, losing steam in my argument as she continued to gaze at me with an unfamiliar expression. Patience, intermingled with sympathy, shone from her icy eyes.
With deliberate slowness, she got up from her rock and crossed the clearing to stand in front of me. Holding out her hand, she gave me a thin smile.
“Do you wish to rescue your mother?” she asked, her voice as soft as snow but glacially strong.
“Yes,” I replied, my doubt replaced with the desire to see my mother and figure out the truth. My head buzzed with questions, as I took her hand. Her wings fluttered anxiously as she lead me further back into the trees, away from the clearing.
“Wait,” I said, stopping after a few meters. “Where are we going?”
It had grown increasingly dark again, and shadows expanded and merged with one another.
“We are returning to the Fey Realm, Seth,” she said, almost as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.
“Now?”
“We mustn’t waste time, here,” she said. “Our people are dying, and we need not expend any more lives with idleness.”
I nodded, biting back the rush of questions I had.
“The journey will be long, but it is imperative that we return,” she said, voice hushed and urgent.
“Then let’s go,” I said, gesturing for her to lead the way. I followed Meila through the woods, letting myself be lead out of my old life and into the new one of the fey.