I’m careful, so careful to keep enough distance that the fairy guard won’t notice me and realize she’s being tailed. I need her to go straight home.
To where a family might be waiting.
Oh, no. I hadn't thought about that. She could have a sister, a husband, parents she lives with, a dog… Yes, some paranormal beings do have pets like humans do, but not too many. No shifters ever do, of course. They think having pets is barbaric, but I don't know. I think I might like a puppy one day, a tiny little doggie. I've been walking among humans a lot lately, and I've seen some take their dogs out for walks. The dogs all seem so very happy and excited. They love being pets, so how is it inhumane?
And that’s another thing. If the fairy does live in a treehouse, that means she lives in Roseshield Grove. The vast majority of fairies live there, so most likely that’s where we’re flying. Her flying this far alone makes me think we’re going there. And if that’s the case, then it’s going to be even harder for me because I can’t risk being seen.
This is becoming so much harder by the second.
Sure enough, we do cross into Roseshield Grove. We head to the east, all the way to the east. To the outskirts, almost the exact opposite side from Alaneo. Her treehouse is a smaller one, not as impressive as most, but it’s cozy. Most fairies don’t bother with shutters, but she has wooden ones. Each set is painted a different color, and she has tiny lights in each of the windows, making the entire treehouse glow. She whistles to herself as she touches down to the ground and opens the door.
I hesitate, doing my best to watch through the windows. Is anyone else home? I’m not close enough to be able to hear if she’s talking to someone.
Slowly, one by one, the lights go out as if the treehouse itself is going to sleep. Quietly, I fly over to one of the windows on the ground level and listen hard, but I hear nothing at all.
I close my eyes and tilt my head back so I can have the stars shine on me. The moon is growing slowly, but I need the stars’ light for this.
When I open my eyes, I can see into the treehouse as if the lights were on. The room, the kitchen, is empty.
One by one, I fly around to the windows. Each room is empty until I come to the fairy’s bedroom.
She’s in bed.
I’ve learned my lesson. I’m not going to be reckless, and I check the last few windows. She’s alone.
Perfect.
I return to her room and try to open the window, but it won’t budge, and I don’t want to risk making a sound. Swiftly, I race back to the front door. It’s locked too, but I pull out the knife from Vinca. Not to pick the lock—I don’t know how to use a blade for that. No, it’s to be prepared. For the lock, I use chlorokinesis to cause a vine to enter the lock and press on the lock mechanism to unlock the door. The vine retreats back to normal size as I ease the door open.
The stars’ light has faded, so I’m greeted by darkness, but I spy a form fly at me.
The guard.
She lashes out with vines, and I hate to do it. It physically pains me, but I instinctively bring my arms up, and the vines are cut, slashed in half by the knife. The guard visibly tries to get the vines to grow again, but they won’t. They can’t. The vines aren’t dead or dying, but her link to them is gone.
Whatever spell touched this knife, it sure is potent.
Unfortunately, I can’t use chlorokinesis on those vines either, much to my disgruntlement. Worse, she has other plants, and she’s using them against me all at once. It’s almost enough for me to be overwhelmed.
And then, it is. Despite my hacking and slashing, a vine grips my wrist so tightly and yanks it at an impossible angle, forcing my hand open. The knife clatters to the ground, and the other plants’ leaves and stems secure me into place.
The fairy flies up to me. Unlike my dark hair with purple streaks and blue and purple wings, she has brown hair with a single strand that is the same emerald green as her eyes. Her whites are tinged a faint blue. My wings are a translucent blue and purple color whereas hers are a translucent green to match her eyes. I’ve always considered my nose tiny, but hers is even tinier. Her mouth is not nearly as full as mine. Her body is a little more muscular than my own but still slender, and she has vines wrapped around her ankles. As ankle bracelets? Or because her ankles are wounded?
“Who are you?” she demands.
“I’m you,” I say calmly.
She wrinkles her super tiny nose. “You aren’t me.”
“I can be.”
“No, that’s not—What are you talking about? Why did you attack me?”
“I didn’t want to attack you.”
“No? Then what’s with the knife?” She picks it up, touches her finger to the tip of the blade, winces, and holds the tip beneath my chin. “Answer me.”
“It’s for protection.”
“Against…”
“Any who wish me harm.”
Her eyes narrow. “You broke into my treehouse—”
“The door was unlocked.”
Her eyebrows raise, and she eyes me critically.
I grin. “I’m a fairy. You know I can’t lie.”
“I always lock the door. You had to have unlocked it.”
“Maybe I did. Maybe I’m that powerful of a fairy that I can lie.” I grin.
Her face whitens some. I’m getting inside her head. Good. I hate that I’m frightening her, but the more distracted she is, the weaker her hold on the plants. Her chlorokinesis is almost weak enough for me to break free.
“You will tell me why you’re here.”
“You’re a guard at the prison, aren’t you?” I ask.
She inhales and exhales. “Momma always said…” She eyes me. “Just why are you here? What does my profession mean to you?”
“I just want to know if you are.”
“What I am isn’t your concern. I’m done answering your question. Either you answer mine, or I will…” She flinches and glowers at her finger, which has continued to drip blood onto the ground ever since she nicked it on the blade.
“I can heal that,” I say slowly.
“I can heal myself,” she snaps.
She flies over to her kitchen, grabbing spices off the wooden shelves carved into the wall. After a moment, she grins to herself and drinks from a vial.
“Didn’t work, did it?” I call.
The fairy guard scowls.
“Didn’t think so,” I say smugly.
“You poisoned me,” she guesses.
“You were the one who touched the knife. I didn’t do anything.”
“You brought it here!”
I shrug. Her chlorokinesis is so loose that the vines droop. My shrug highlights this, and she closes her good hand into a fist. The vines and stems hold me secure and tight once again.
“You better tell me how to fix this,” she hisses.
“I can’t.”
She zooms toward me, the knife in her hand, aiming straight for my chest.
“Let me loose, and I will fix everything.”
The fairy stops with the knife pressing against one of my shirt buttons.
“If you want, I’ll make a vow,” I say dryly.
She considers this and then nods. “Go ahead.”
I smile. “You need to release me.”
“Make the vow first.”
“I vow to fix everything,” I say and shiver as a chill races up my spine.
By everything, I mean Sophie. I sure hope the magic of the vow realizes that.
After a moment’s hesitation, the guard releases the hold the plants have on me.
My smile widens, and I stretch to one side and then the other before rolling my neck from side to side.
“Let’s get going,” she demands.
“Forgive me. I’m a little stressed. I don’t appreciate being attacked.”
“You entered my treehouse. I have the right to defend myself.”
“I only wanted to ask you a question.” I nod toward her kitchen, and she moves aside so I can go past her.
“What question?”
“If you’re a prison guard.”
“I am. What of it?”
I exhale. “Nothing.”
Quickly, I peruse her supplies. She’s in really good shape stock-wise, and I select several of them before asking her to fetch dragon’s breath. The fairy guard grumbles, but the plip plopping of her blood hasn’t let up any.
She leaves, and I use fairy dust to pop into Ye Ole Chestplate. Vinca’s right before me.
“Hey, I need to know how to stop the bleeding from a nick of that knife you gave me,” I say in a rush.
She blinks a few times. “Hey, Jessa, it’s good to see you.”
“Now!” I cry.
Vinca rolls her eyes. “So needy!” But she giggles and presses something into her hand. “Just a drop, that’s all you need, but be careful. I don’t think we have any more of it.”
“Thank you! I’ll pay you back somehow!”
And I’m gone, returned to the guard’s kitchen. By the breeze, I’m only there a moment before she flies in with the dragon’s breath.
“Thank you,” I say smoothly, and I finish making my potion. “All right. Now I need you to sit down.”
“Why?” she asks suspiciously.
I heave a sigh. “Because it’s powerful and potent, and I don’t want you to fall down and hurt yourself.”
“Why would that happen?”
“Because it’s powerful and potent.”
She scowls. “What if this is a trick?”
“I made a vow, didn’t I?” I ask, deflecting her question, and I smile as she instantly relaxes. She’s a bit gullible, but that’s working to my advantage.
I just hope her being gullible hasn’t caused issues inside the prison because I do not want to have to deal with any issues that could stem from it.
The guard eyes me as she lies down. “Do you have to put that on it?” she asks, eyeing the vial I’m holding.
“It’s two parts. Really potent. First, you have to drink this, and then, I have to apply this.”
“Why both?”
“Just trust me.”
Her eyes widen at my harsh tone.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” I plead.
She gasps, yanks the vial from me, and downs it. Before she can react, I quickly put one drop on the wound.
It heals instantly, and then, my potion starts to work. Her emerald eyes roll back in her head, and her body begins to tremble.
As quickly as I can, I remove her clothes and dress her in different ones that I nabbed from her closet. Then I exhale slowly and touch her temples.
“You are Dina Lightshine. You have just moved to Winternora Territory. You’ve always loved the snow and ice. You think you’ll be happy there. Your treehouse has to be bought yet, but you’ll be able to manage.”
I pause and place a necklace that had been my mom's inside her pocket. It's rather valuable, and I hate to part with it. Maybe one day, I'll be able to track it down from whatever pawnshop she sells it too. Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made, and this one just about kills me. The necklace is a beautiful, a perfect opal crescent moon on a silver chain. It glitters like no other, and I used to always beg Mom to let me wear it. When she passed, Sophie just handed me the necklace out of Mom's jewelry box without a word. I can't say why I've been so attached to it. I'm not one for material things usually.
With a cough, I blink back tears and repeat the mantra I just stated one more time. I’ll need to say it a third time for the spell to be finished, but I’m not quite done with her yet.
Her appearance has to be altered. Shouldn’t it? Yes, just in case. It can’t hurt any, I don’t think.
From nature itself, I whip up an agent to bleach her hair. Her eye color, I can’t change. Honestly, I’m not sure what else I can easily alter. Then again, she’s a part of nature, and altering nature is what fairies do best.
I lay my hands over her eyes, and I tap into her body, reaching for her irises. I increase the amount of melanin in her eyes until they a rich, dark brown. There, that should do it. Blond hair instead of brown and brown eyes instead of green. No streak of hair a different color. It makes her look like an entirely new fairy.
It makes me feel drunk with power, doing this, and also sick to my stomach. I just don't know of a better way to do this, and I have to save Sophie. At the very least, she can't suffer because of my actions.
Again, I murmur the mantra, telling the fairy guard her new name. As soon as I do, her trembling ceases, and she blinks as she sits up.
“Hi. I’m Dina Lightshine. Where am I?”
“Hi, Dina. You’re in Roseshield Grove.”
“Oh, no. That’s not right. I just moved to Winternora Territory. I need to go.”
And before I can tell her she can spend the night here and leave in the morning, she’s already flown out the door and is gone.