The Little Fairy
Chapter 7

By the time I made it back to the house, Axel and his rental car were gone. Sarah and Don were lounging on the front porch with Coon laying at their feet. "Have a good walk?" Don perked up when he saw me.

"It was alright." My eyes still felt red and sore from crying. I was hugging myself tightly, the chill of the evening starting to linger in the air.

Neither of them pestered me any longer. It was only around 2 by now, but I could feel my body longing for the comfort of the bed.

"You look like you should hit the hay." Don wrapped his flannel jacket around my shoulders and helped me up onto the porch.

I looked at him confused. "Why would I hit the hay?"

Sarah and Don looked at each other and laughed loudly. "It's an idiom, meaning go to bed." Sarah piped in.

"Oh, well then yes I would like to.. hit the hay?" I pulled Don's flannel tighter around me and made my way inside and climbing the stairs slowly so I didn't fall over. I could hear the bed beckoning and begging me to come to it and fall into its sweet embrace.

"Kreya!" Tyber enveloped me in a hug. I looked around me, the village lit up by soft candlelight.

"Tyber, what's going on? Where's Don and Sarah?" I gently pushed him away from me, and his smell of freshly cut grass lingered in my nostrils.

"Who? Have you been walking too close to the red mushrooms again?" He held me at arms-length, examining my features.

"How did I get back home?" We were standing outside our house, the smell of mom's cooking wafting out of the kitchen windows.

He put the back of his hand on my forehead. "You were just going for a walk, Kreya. Are you sure you didn't go near the mushrooms?" Worry painted his face.

"I shouldn't be here. I- My wings died and fell off before The Ceremony and I got cast out." My back still ached from where they were supposed to be.

"The Ceremony isn't for another month, Kreya. C'mon, let's get you inside for mother to care for you." He started to lead me to the house.

"No!" I yanked my arm out of his grip. "You're not listening to me Tyber, I'm not supposed to be here!"

This time his eyes narrowed and a smile played across his lips. "You're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for."

The environment around us melted into a black slate, leaving me and Tyber the only one in the darkness. "What are you talking about?" I tried to walk around, but my feet were cemented to whatever ground there was.

Tyber's face cracked and melded into the face of one of the Elders of Magic. The noise was excruciating. The figure shook off whatever was left of Tyber, looming tall before me. "You're a very powerful fairy, Kreya, too bad you had to go and ruin that." the figure circled me, studying every inch of me, dragging a ragged nail across the scars from my wings.

"Who are you?" I continued to try and set my feet free from whatever prison was holding them down.

"Doesn't matter now." They stopped in front of me, bending down to meet my eyes.

"What did you do to my family?" My arms were now glued to my sides.

"They're safe, at least your parents are. We're still interrogating your brother since he was the one who accompanied you on your... adventures." Their eyes scanned my body mischievously, making my skin crawl.

"He did everything he could to keep me from going past the border, when he realized he couldn't stop me, he made sure I didn't get myself killed."

"Oh, we know. He told us as much. I just never get to go out, so I figured I take a peek into your mind; see what you were doing."

"Why? I'm not in the village anymore." My eyes never left his, I had to match his energy, watch and make sure he didn't try anything.

"Have to make sure you're not going to try and weasel your way back in." His grin came back, his breath now hot on the back of my neck. He inhaled my scent, letting my hair fall back down onto my shoulders. "After you left your mark on the oak, I was able to make a connection with you." He leaned himself closer to me.

"And do what, torture me?" I squirmed, trying to get away from him which only made him laugh.

"Not yet. I just wanted to see what the fuss was about." He took one more deep inhale and vanished.

I lurched up out of bed, taking a large breath like I had been holding it this whole time. Don's coat, along with anything I was laying on now drenched in sweat. I looked around the room, making sure this wasn't another dream. I bounced my hands over my torso, wiggling my feet, making sure I was able to move again.

I made my way to the bathroom, sulking to the sink to splash my face with cold water. I looked at myself in the mirror, my eyes had sunken and darkened. I turned the shower on, inhaling the steam, hoping it would wake me up some more.

After removing my drenched clothes, I stepped in the shower, letting the almost boiling water beat down my back as I stared at the floor through the wet strands of hair that had fallen in front of my face.

There was a soft knock at the door, followed by a harmonious voice. "Kreya? You okay sweetie? I heard you groaning in your sleep but I heard you shouldn't wake someone having a night terror." I could tell she was genuinely concerned by her tone.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, just need to wash it off. I'll be out in a minute." My eyes never left the rough stickers that Don had put on the bathtub to prevent someone from slipping.

"Do you need anything?"I could feel her battling with whether or not she wanted to open the door.

"Some hot cider actually sounds really nice." I finally lifted my gaze to reach for the array of soaps.

"Okay, just come down when you're ready." I could hear her soft footsteps departing down the stairs, which somehow brought me a lot of comfort.