Damien and I met when we were both young. We were both lost in the forest for two very different reasons.
I'd packed up a backpack, ready to go on an adventure like my favorite heroine on TV.
Damien had been left behind in the human world for his safety. It was a last ditch effort to protect him as his Royal bodyguards fought off an attack. It was part of a coup to overthrow his uncle who was abusing power.
I'd found Damien in the night, rolled up, hugging his knees under a tree. He thought that I was a fae as well since I'd emerged from the thick woods soaked in mud and rain. I couldn't understand what he was saying but I understood it was urgent. He'd grabbed my hand and pulled me to the ground next to him, placing his finger to my lips before I could let out a scream of protest.
He then pointed to something in front of me. I squinted but I found a glint of metal in the moonlight.
Armor.
Impossibly ancient armor that looked as old as the earth itself.
I wasn't sure how I hadn't seen them before but the two men were looking for something in the darkness.
Damien held tightly to me. His hand pushed my shoulder down to the ground as if willing for the earth to swallow me whole.
We both stayed very still, but, somehow, they found us.
The long silver-haired one pointed to where we were and he and his partner charged for us.
We ran as fast as we could, Damien holding so tight to my hand that I thought he'd pull my fingers right off. I heard their footsteps closer still.
That's when Damien pushed me away and ran in a different direction, away from me.
His small legs didn't compare to the men running after him and in two strides, they caught up to him, one grabbing him by the shirt and holding him up to his face.
I spit the dirt and leaves from my mouth and pushed my hair away from my face. I watched in horror as the two grown men terrorized the small child.
The two men spoke amongst themselves then to the boy who saved my life.
Running on adrenaline, I stood and tossed my small Hello Kitty backpack at them. Then rocks. Then dirt. "Let him go!"
One of the men turned, annoyed, then charged at me with his large, ancient sword.
Not knowing what to do, I shut my eyes tightly, standing frozen in place.
But he never came.
When I opened my eyes again the man that had been coming at me at full speed now lay at my feet.
I still remember the blood on the leaves. The smell of it made my stomach turn.
I was scooped up from the ground and taken to a different location.
It was Damien's father that saved us from the two men. He had cut them down where they stood. He scooped us up from the ground, and took us somewhere safe.
The night I met Damien haunted me for years. Damien's father let us become friends afterwards since I bravely attempted to 'fight' Damien's would-be assassins.
Damien and I had been inseparable ever since.
Damien is the heir of a long standing royal family in power for thousands of years. He and his people are part of an ancient race that has lived alongside humans for centuries in the realm of the Underworld.
Most people thought of faeries as benevolent, small thumb-sized spirits of good.
But not Damien's race. They were mischievous and cunning.
Damien wasn't the exception. I was.
Damien was kind. But he was my friend because I saved his life as a boy.
Friendships with humans were discouraged if not ridiculed.
Humans were good to use up and nothing more.
They thought very little of us.
Some of the fae lived in the human world. The others stayed in their own realm separated by a thin veil that only faeries could cross.
And they were gorgeous, if they looked anything like Damien, at least.
While I spent most days in a hoodie, unable to run a brush through my dry split ends, Damien was always dressed to the nines in all black. All the clothes he wore seemed to be tailor made for him and, lately, outlining his perfect physique.
I'd always felt inferior standing next to him. I was average even by human standards and never bothered to follow the latest fashions. I had split ends, acne as a teenager, and just-too-skinny arms. I had black plastic glasses too large for my face, which I kept in books for most of my teenage years.
Where Damien was adventurous and extroverted, I was shy and bookish.
Damien learned everything he needed from private tutors to one day rule an entire realm. He trained and fought with the Underworld Army to earn their love and respect.
I kept to myself and was mercilessly picked on in high school.
I learned when I was very young that my best friend was the prince of the Underworld destined to one day rule a race of immortal creatures most thought didn't exist. I never put much thought behind it–he was just my best friend with some secrets I couldn't say unless I wanted to lose my tongue.
When he said 'queen', I laughed.
Heartily.
"Why are you laughing, Em?"
I wiped the tear from the corner of my eye. "Why don't you get a girlfriend first and then work up to marriage?"
For a moment, it was quiet. When I turned to him again, I saw his gaze turned to look outside the window. I watched the shadows as they danced across his handsome face. I hadn't seen him look so serious before.
His voice was soft. "I don't have any time." He shook his head as if he were ridding himself of a bad thought. "I need to find her before the next Blood Moon."
"And when's that?"
He stretched his legs out under the dashboard, his tall stature didn't suit the seat well. "Three months."
I looked back at the road. I gripped the steering wheel tightly. I smiled, looking back at him. "Maybe we should set you up like the Bachelor?"
He didn't like my attempt to lighten the mood.
"Okay," I laughed. "I thought you couldn't marry humans?"
He sighed, picking at something on his pant leg. "We don't. There has to be someone else in your school with ties to the Underworld."
I scoffed. "Yeah, and I would know how?"
"You wouldn't know, I would. We can sense each other's aura when we're in close proximity. Introduce me to someone. I will be able to tell."
I turned on my turning signal and made a left, pulling into the ice cream parlor parking lot.
Damien had been fascinated with the milkshakes from the first moment he drank one. It was late enough that the after-dinner crowd was gone but not so late that the college students had gone back to campus.
The bright fluorescent lights were a startling contrast compared to the campus. The campus had been dark and made me question every shadow. The standalone building of the ice cream parlor was so brightly lit, I could see the dark oil stains left behind by the cars in the asphalt parking lot.
The building was mostly empty. A handful of cars remained but only one car had a group of students lounging around it. The creamery was old and run down. It looked like it needed to be demolished if not at least have a call from the health inspector.
And yet, it was wildly popular, older than most of the other buildings in town.
Often, I wondered if Damien was the reason it was still in business.
I chose a parking spot close to the small outdoor window we would order from. "What's wrong with the women in your world?"
He sighed and I noticed it was more frustration than boredom. "I've already dated the ones I'd consider, they're really boring." He paused. "They're not all here." When I looked back at him, he tapping his chest over his heart. "They're like dolls. Most of them just want favor in the royal court. They mean nothing."
"I never thought of it that way. How lonely."
He shrugged. "It happens."
I turned off my car and unbuckled my seat belt. "Why does it have to be the Blood Moon?"
He unbuckled his own seat belt and opened his door, stepping out into the night. "I'll loose my throne otherwise."
My heart plummeted. "Wait-- what?" I scrambled to grab the keys out of the ignition and pull my purse out of the backset. By the time I had caught up to Damien, he was already at the outdoor window ordering.
He held up three fingers to the teenage girl at the window. "Two regular milkshakes. One vegan."
I watched her nod numbly, her mouth agape as she took in Damien's features.
I ran up to him and slammed my hand on the metal counter between them. The girl behind the counter jumped and snapped back to attention. She turned away from us and began to work on the order, flying to different stations behind her.
I dropped my voice so only he could hear. "What does that mean, you lose your throne?"
He turned around, placing his elbows on the metal counter I set my hand on and lounged on it casually. "There's a law I didn't know about--frankly, no one did. This has never happened before."
"What's never happened before?"
His blue eyes watched the group across the parking lot. He spoke quietly so only I could hear. "There's never been a king as young as me before. Or single. They're usually married, or a widower with heirs, like Father."
I blinked. "So you have to be married?"
He shrugged.
"In three months?"
He shrugged again. "All sorts of fae are coming out of the woodwork now, they're trying to claim the throne for themselves." He rolled his perfect blue eyes. "My cousin is the one with the best claim. He already has a Lady lined up for the role of queen if he ascends." He chuckled, looking at me. "The other queens in Faerie are trying to negotiate an alliance."
I blinked again.
He looked at me like I should know better. "You know, Autumn, Spring..."
A cheerful voice spoke next to us. "Here you go!"
When I looked at the curly haired girl, she was smiling. She had fixed her hair, put on lip gloss and color on her cheeks.
Damien hadn't noticed. His eyes were still on the group talking around the old Mustang across the parking lot. He was reaching in his coat pocket, searching for change.
Heavy coins clinked against the metal counter as he set down gold between them as payment.
The girl didn't know it was fae gold and wouldn't know it until their glamour wore off. He had enchanted them to look like regular bills.
He overpaid for the milkshakes but money was nothing to Damien.
I grabbed my styrofoam milkshake cup with the tell-tale V marked on the side and began to drink from the large red straw.
My mind was reeling.
My best friend had to get married? In three months? With someone he hadn't met yet?
He was too young to marry. He was too young to marry a stranger.
My head was spinning.
It was a recipe for disaster.
I turned back towards him and saw him laughing at something the girl said. She flipped her hair as he spoke, bit her lip.
I reached out and grabbed the lapel of his coat. "She's too young for you, Damien."
He grabbed his milkshakes in both hands and laughed as I pulled him away.
"Call me!"
I looked at the small piece of paper peeking from the pocket of his coat. I reached in, fished it out, crumpled the piece of paper with the phone number written on it and tossed it in the trash.
Damien laughed, his black hair falling over his eyes. "I told her that, Em, she didn't care!"
I shook my head as he continued laughing. He followed me to my car and stopped cold when I unlocked my car.
When I saw he didn't follow, I frowned. "What's wrong?"
I followed his line of vision and watched the group again.
A blonde girl was sitting on the hood of the Mustang, relishing in the attention that the group of men around her was giving to her. She threw her hair back as she laughed, her blonde curls bouncing over her shoulders as she did. A brunette leaned on the car with her arms crossed, talking to a man in flannel. She was talking animatedly lost in the conversation but the man in flannel couldn't stop looking at the blonde, paying more attention to her than the brunette.
Damien pointed as best as he could with the cup in his hand. "Who is she?"
"Who?" I was surprised I could speak with the amount of ice cream in my mouth.
"The blonde."
I squinted as I looked at the figure. I knew who she was immediately.
She had terrorized my teenage years often. She had been the reason I was so reserved, why my self-esteem was always at an all-time low. She'd rip my glasses off my face and toss them in the mud.
I hated her for everything she did to me. "That's Leah. Why?"
He placed the styrofoam cups on the roof of my car. "Can you introduce me to her?"
"Why?"
"I think she may be the one."
I almost threw up but managed to swallow. "No." I shook my head vehemently. "No way. She's human anyway. You can't marry her."
He shook his head, excited. "She's not. She's a dark fae. I can sense her presence from here."