Slave of the Fae: Chapter 7

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Please note, I am the original author of this story. It was posted originally over on TG Storytime under the pen name A. Kent, I'm now attempting to finish it here. While I appreciate emails saying someone has stolen my work, in this case everything is kosher.

I clung to Calandri's hand as we walked back to the center of the ball room. Every step she took caused a gust of hot wind to erupt in a circle around us, pushing the dust back, leaving a gleaming floor of red and blue marble. At the center of the room we stopped and she swept her ivory dress in a circle, sending the dust spiraling into the air. She looked up and blew a kiss, the dust began to glow like a soft blue like a million stars circling us.

“Now my sweet Anthony, we must begin to train you. But what shall you learn?” she asked, circling me.

I didn't know what to say, so I waited as she looked down at me. I was ready to learn anything she would teach me. Anything that would get me a few words of praise, anything that might make me stronger.

“Why do you carry that sword?”

“I gave it to myself,” I said, hoping that made sense.

She shook her head, “Who gave it to you doesn't matter. Why do you carry it?”

“I want to get stronger,” I told her.

She knelt down, stroking my cheek with her hot hand. “Why?”

I struggled to think of how to explain it to her. “I was brought here because I was too slow. Since I've come here, people have been doing things to me, and I can't stop them.”

Her red lips turned into a pout, “You don't want to be here?”

“I'm sorry, but I want to go home,” I answered, tears welling up in my eyes.

“Well Anthony, I will make you a deal. If you learn well, and dance for my liege and my lady, impressing them with your skill, I'll let you go home.” She placed her hand on my lips as I almost shouted in delight. “Nothing is done here for free, this is a bargain. If you don't try your hardest, you shall never go home. Are we agreed?”

I didn't resist, my arms went around her neck, “Yes, I agree!”

Calandri gently pushed me back. “Very well, let us begin.” Her hand rose, a yellow flame formed in her palm. She brought it to her lips, kissing it. It leaped from her palm, growing larger, shifting as it flew. It landed and stood up. It was me, but a me made of fire, sparks flew as it moved, a crackling sound filled the hall, smoke drifted from it's white eyes. It had it's own sword, but where Crier was dark black, it's sword blazed like the sun.

“Watch the doppelganger, Anthony. Watch it's steps and movements, then watch it again and copy it. If you fail, it will make you follow it, and I don't want to see that,” Calandri instructed me.

The doppelganger raised it's sword, bowed and twirled on it's toe. I copied it, with only the slightest wobble. My body was more graceful than I could have possibly imagined. We did it a second time, faster. If it was all like this, it would be easy.

The flaming creature spun, slashed with the sword, crouched down and jumped upwards, landing on one foot. I frowned, that was going to be hard to copy. Taking a deep breath I copied it, but as I landed, my leg wobbled and I had to put my other foot down as well.

It watched me somehow frowning without a face. It went through the motions again, slower this time. I copied it, but this time I crouched too low, my knee brushing the marble floor. It jerked it's sword at me, the fire flaring up around it. I turned to look at Calandri, hoping for support, she wasn't there.

I tried a third time, actually falling as I landed. My nerves were starting to act up, I couldn't get enough air. The flame circled me, touching my wrists, elbows, shoulders, waist, knees and ankles, instead of feeling heat, it was bitterly cold, I began to shiver. It went back to it's position.

As it repeated the steps, I felt my body following it. I stared at my limbs in amazement as I performed as beautifully as the flaming doppelganger. We did it five more times, each time I felt as if I had no control over my own body. Then it stopped and pointed at me.

I managed to copy it perfectly. The thing smiled at me, immediately before swinging its sword in a complicated pattern, of figure eights, slashes, throws and lunges. My body copied every motion. Three times we did it and again it stood back to let me try it on my own.

Then Crier fell from my hand on the second slash, landing with a clatter on the marble floor.

Flaming strings flew between the doppelganger and myself. Where it had touched me was now looped in warm flame. We performed again, and again, Then it was my turn once more. I stumbled and nearly impaled myself on Crier on the first throw. The flames became warm.

The lesson continued.

**

Time ceased to have any meaning, All I could focus on was the flame. When I did well the heat lessened, when I failed it got hotter. My red skin was charred black, my clothes ragged and glowing as the fire slowly melted them.

All my attention was on the doppelganger, watching it's every move, copying it, anticipating what it would try next. Anything that would make the flames die down a little. We raced around the ballroom, slashing, tumbling, jumping, kicking and many more moves I didn't have the words for. It was all about the movement.

The doppelganger suddenly vanished in smoke. My flaming strings were cut, and I collapsed whimpering as my flesh slowly cooled. Calandri was there by my side. She soothed my burns with a cloth that smelled of oranges. Where the cloth touched the blisters, cooked meat, and scorched skin healed. The memory of the pain faded to a distant memory. I hugged her, thanked her for stopping the pain.

“You did well my little dancer. Now return to the human section. Eat and rest, regain your strength for tomorrow,” she said.

I kissed her cheek and left.

**

I walked out of the ballroom back to the hallway, and stopped dead. It looked different now, instead of a boring hallway I was outside. Barren rocks and gravel surrounded me, and there was a small foot path winding its ways between the grey stones and puddles of muddy water. Looking back the ballroom wasn't there, a boulder as large as a house had taken its place. A cold wind blew constantly drying out my skin, the sun shone in the bitter blue sky, it seemed to suck the heat from the air.

Wrapping my arms around me, I hunched over trying to save whatever warmth was left in my body. There didn't seem to be any point in staying and freezing to death, I started walking down the path.

It didn't feel real, everything that had happened since I'd walked with Ryan into the woods seemed like a dream. Nothing made sense. I'd killed Paula and the other me, but I was having trouble remembering why I'd done it. The first time I stood before the Lord and Lady seemed like seconds ago. I remembered fighting Calandri, her claws ripping into my stomach, gutting me like a fish. I saw myself with glittering gold skin dancing for a creature that looked like a faun. I was starving at a banquet all the food that touched my lips or tongue turned to sand, laughter surrounded me. I was a boy again, walking on a leash performing tricks for a dog that walked like a man. My skin was peeled from my flesh, revealing a crying baby with eyes like a cat.

The path went through an eternity.

There were pretty lights ahead of me, they looked like the northern lights, waves of colour shifting, changing, never still, never the same. They danced in the air, whispering for me to follow them.

I danced with them, tasting the happiness of colours, seeing the bitter tears of sweetness, hearing the cursing of the cold sun. I laughed, it tasted like roses.

The northern lights stopped moving. They squealed with joy and flew into the sky chittering to themselves. I tried to follow them, cursing my lead feet that held me down. I was holding Crier, I would cut off my feet to follow them, my legs could go to, my body, my head. Who needed a body when you could fly like an angel?

A large hand grabbed my arm, forcing Crier back into it's sheath.

I howled. I needed to fly. If I flew I could go home. There was nothing here for me. I needed to fly.

Why couldn't I fly?

My eyes saw Sam's face.

A scream ripped it's way out of my lungs. He was snarling at me, eyes of writhing maggots dripped onto my face, crawling into my mouth, my nose, chewing on my eyes. I was chocking, drowning on their slimy, pulsating bodies.

He changed again, a dark faced angel of mercy. Cradling my head and shoulders, whispering things I couldn't understand. He looked so sad, so caring. I didn't know what was happening, even when my head jerked and there was a sharp snap, I barely felt any pain.

We started kissing. I felt something in me I'd never felt before. He was older, so was I. Our hands twined together, I never wanted it to end, our hair was grey, children laughed around us.

Crier was at his stomach, his metal clad hands circled my throat. We watched each other, hatred overflowing, betrayal raged in my heart. One of us was going to die.

“Anthony, come back to me,” Sam said patting my frozen cheek. “Concentrate on the now. Listen to me, those things you're seeing aren't you. They aren't happening.”

“What?” I whispered.

He smiled, “Ok, good you're back. Hold onto me, I'll get you back to your room.”

“Ok,” I said, not really understanding anything. I fell asleep dreaming of pretty lights as bugs ate my eyes.

**

The blankets were warm, I didn't want to leave them. It was so quiet and comfortable, like a bug in a rug. Best of all it was dark, I liked the darkness I couldn't see anything in it. I didn't want to see anything.

Some cruel person pulled the blankets back. I groaned, and tried to cover my eyes from the blinding lights. A large hand kept my hands on my stomach. I smelled something good. Keeping my eyes closed I tried to lean towards the smell. The hand stopped me again.

“What's your name?” Sam asked.

“I'm Anthony,” I said.

“Where are you?”

How could I answer that one? I had no idea. “Hell?”

“Good enough. How old are you?”

I tried to work some spit into my mouth, I was so dry. Finally I managed to answer. “Sixteen, I'll be seventeen in October.”

The hands finally let me up. “Alright, you're back in the right time. Are you hungry?”

I sat up and opened my eyes a crack. Sam was there with a tray, there were the usual strange leaves and sticks to eat, along with a steaming bowl of soup. My stomach growled and I almost lunged for the food, shoving a handful of leaves into my mouth.

“What happened?” I asked after my stomach stopped threatening to eat me.

Sam frowned, “You went somewhere you shouldn't have. You were in the outer part of the steading, where things stop making sense.”

I cocked my head in confusion, momentarily forgetting the spoon in my mouth.

“You know how I said humans keep the steading stable?” I nodded. “Well around the outer parts it isn't. Times and places mingle, becoming one and the same. You can never know what is going to happen or when something is going to happen. It just does without any rhyme or reason.”

Memories came to me in a confusing mess. Shaking my head I tried to clear my mind. “So the things I saw, what I did weren't real?”

“They were real. Just some of them haven't happened yet. Some of them happened to a different you. Some of them happened in the past, but you saw yourself in it's place,” Sam tried to explain.

“I saw you dead.”

He should have seemed surprised, upset, scared, at least upset. He didn't, he just nodded. “You killed me right?”

I nodded, unable to look him in the eyes.

“What else did you see?” he asked gently.

“We were kissing. Fighting. Calandri stabbed me in the stomach. I was starving. I was a pet. You killed me. It didn't make sense,” I sobbed.

“I had to pass through areas like that when I was with the wandering fair folk. The first few times, especially when you're scared or confused is hell, like what you had happen. The surer you are, the more confident you are, the easier it becomes.”

“What did you see?” I asked.

“Many things,” he answered looking at the far wall. “I don't remember much of it. I saw your face quite a few times.”

I wanted to ask him what we were doing, but from the look on his face I wasn't sure I should risk it. It was a confusing mix of happiness and fear. I looked down at the empty bowl of soup. I couldn't remember eating it, or even what it tasted like. “I killed Paula and me.”

His head snapped up, “In the outer area?”

I shook my my head. “Before that, in the hallway just to the right. I killed her and myself, before I started training with Calandri.”

“You killed yourself?”

“Yeah,” I said in a whisper. “I was blue and was acting like a slave to Paula. They were insulting me, and I got so angry. Then they were kicking me, and I somehow drew Crier and I-I killed them.”

His eyes lit up for a second as if he was remembering something. Then the light left them, and his wide shoulders sank a little. “Don't worry. If she had you with her, then it wasn't 'our' Paula. You'll be ok.”

“Our Paula?”

He ran his hand through his short hair. “It's confusing, just remember that everything you see may be real, but even the real stuff may not be in your reality. So you did kill her, which I would love to see, but you'll still see Paula wandering around, being a bitch here.”

I wasn't sure how to feel about that. Now that I was able to think again, I was having trouble keeping the sight of the blood and the feel of the blade cutting into them from my mind. I still wanted to throw up. If it wasn't her, did that make me a killer? But if I was a killer, I'd rather not have to deal with the woman I killed everyday.

My mind started circling around that. Could I be a killer if the person wasn't dead? I looked at my skin, it was so close to the colour of blood. Crier had said I was a fighter, I'd killed people. The blue me, she'd been ready to beat me to death just for spitting at Paula. Was I destined to killed people. I wasn't sure I'd want to live if that was the case.

“Hey Anthony,” Sam said, snapping his fingers to get my attention. “How about I show you around the human section a little more. You haven't really seen much yet, there's a lot more to see.”

Standing up, I realized I was wearing my nightgown. My cheeks turned red as I thought about Sam changing me. “Just let me get dressed, please,” I squeaked in embarrassment.

“Ok, don't be long,” Sam said taking the tray and leaving the room.

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Still Here!

terrynaut's picture

I must be Fae, or at least part Fae. Everything makes a certain kind of sense to me. It's not confusing at all. I don't know if I should be proud or scared.

I can't wait to see more of the human section. I hope Anthony meets some more relatively sane humans, and perhaps some fairly kind Fae.

Thanks and kudos (number 12).

- Terry

I'm impressed,

Domoviye's picture

I've confused myself a few times while writing this.