disclaimer: I do not own supernatural or the characters Charlie Bradbury and Gilda the good fairy
x
x
There she was. The queen.
"My queen," Gilda whispered involuntarily, her breath taken away.
She swallowed hard. Of all the evil things she had done since entering this forest, she knew the only unforgivable sin would be to cause harm in any way to this beautiful woman. She couldn't bear it if the queen saw her in this dark, menacing get-up her master put on her.
The fairy ducked behind a tree and tried to leave, to break the spell that bound her to the sorcerer who lived in this world, and thus bound her to the world itself. Gilda thought of her home, and the power of her desire to go back pulled mightily against the spells like a prisoner struggling against physical ropes. She began to experience raw, sharp pains like claws dragging across her skin. This was an indication that she was pushing her way out of the spell. It tried to hold her, but she was fighting it.
However, her focus was off. The image of her home in the Hollow Forest was twisting playfully in her mind, and something new was entering it. The pain of trying to escape grew too great, and just before she gave up, she saw that the thing that was different in her visualisation of home was that she had imagined a girl walking there, someone not from her world, a human girl, with skin soft as white petals and hair as bold as red roses.
Gilda gasped and opened her eyes. She was weaker than ever, and against her volition she stepped out from behind the tree just as the queen turned around. The look of pure terror on her face broke Gilda's heart. She wanted to reach out to the queen, take her hand, reassure her that everything was going to be fine. Instead, Gilda was compelled at her master's bidding to abduct her. The queen threw a small red bag (a hex bag of some kind?) at Gilda and squeaked, "Dark Magic?"
Inside, Gilda giggled at how cute the human was at that moment. Then horror washed over her as she watched herself snatch up the queen, nearly smothering her in the black cloak.
x
x
Gilda draped the queen's body across the bed in the tent. Tears stood in her eyes as she stared down at the limp form. "What have I done?" Gilda whimpered quietly to herself, looking up at the ceiling of the tent. She reached up to remove the skull mask, but it wouldn't come off. In dismay and frustration, the fairy staggered around the room, raging, she tore at and even punched at her ridiculous costume.
She froze when the queen muttered and groaned a little in her sleep. Gilda straightened and looked. The queen was still unconscious, but she had rolled onto her side and looked a little more comfortable. Gilda crept quietly closer to the bed. The human's hair had fallen over her face, and Gilda delicately inched one trembling, gloved hand forward to touch the fiery locks fanned over the pillow. Gilda slipped her slim hand under the curtain of hair. The queen's lips were parted slightly, and even through the glove Gilda could feel the mortal's warm breath on the back of her hand as she carefully lifted the hair aside. She painstakingly avoided touching the human's skin as she laid the hair along her cheek, brushing it lightly with the tips of her fingers so it all lay artfully in place.
Gilda hoped the queen would not wake up while she was so close to her. She wanted to look at her face, but didn't want to scare her again. The queen squeezed her eyes tighter and shook her head a little. Gilda knew she had finally regained consciousness and would open her eyes in the next moment. In a twinkling, as the saying goes, Gilda was on the other side of the room. There was no hiding in this small tent, but at least the first thing the queen would see before she had time to orient herself wouldn't be a skull.
Gilda watched the queen stand, saw the queen catch sight of her. Gilda remained perfectly still. She suddenly realized that she was in love. It had been love at first sight, she mused, and had been growing steadily until this moment. This was the first time Gilda had ever experienced love, but it was similar enough to good magic for her to recognize it. Love was the oldest form of power, Gilda remembered, and it was unfathomably deep and burned with more energy than all the stars.
Her love was new, but maybe it would be powerful enough to break the spell. Gilda held still, waiting, feeling the power gather inside her. The queen was talking to her, and then tried to escape the tent, but of course she could not. Gilda watched her compassionately. She looked terrified again, like a cornered animal. Gilda's hands tightened into fists as every fiber of her being began to long to hold the queen, to kiss her fears away. The human said, "look, I am not really a queen. I'm just an IT girl. Standing in front of a monster... asking it not to kill her." Her voice broke, and something in Gilda snapped. The one she loved was about to cry.
She stepped forward, feeling taller with the power of love singing through her veins now. The queen was panicking, her life flashing before her eyes as she bemoaned her fate. Gilda could feel the power of the spells that held her in thrall weakening with every step she took closer to the queen. She knew she would be able to take off the disguise her master made her wear. She knew she would be able to speak freely to this woman. Maybe the power of love could even empower her enough to finally break the chains of this world.
"I just want my old life back!" the queen cried.
Gilda raised her hands and pulled the mask off easily. "That is all I want as well," she said, smiling gently, her eyes bright and serious with hope. She searched the queen's face, anxious that she had frightened her again, desperate to show that she would never hurt her.