This was a project I did for my English class.
Disclaimer time:
All characters (c) Holly Black
Plot Line/ Idea for this chapter ONLY (c) Lyss
Kaye stared at the ceiling of her bedroom, contemplating the events that had happened during the stay in her grandmother's home. Her translucent wings were spread out, enjoying the freedom that was there for the time being.
"Janet, Gristle, and Spike are dead, Roiben is the new king of the Unseelie Court, and I was switched with a human who is now in the Seelie Court. Great, just fuckin' great." Kaye told the white ceiling, getting no reply in return. Kaye gave off a frustrated grunt, and turned to look around the old room. Dust covered some of the furniture placed within the light pink-covered walls of the room. The ends to the bed were leaning against one wall, the mattress itself on the floor with sheets displayed in different ways from Kaye sleeping in their warm embrace the night before.
Kaye sighed, and tried to move on from the events plaguing her. Moving from the bed to a nearby window, she opened the window to bring fresh air into the room. The salty air of the ocean hit her senses, along with a mix of car exhaust, garbage, dirt, and other smells that made up society. Kaye rolled her eyes, and grabbed a sweatshirt, and a backpack. She ran down the stairs, where she saw her mother sprawled on the couch, clutching her head from a hangover. Kaye put a quick glamour on herself before approaching the adult.
"Mom, I'm going out for a bit," was all Kaye said as she walked briskly out the door. All she heard her mother say was, "Okay," before she turned down the driveway and ran towards the abandoned shops lining the oceanfront.
As Kaye ran down the streets, breathing heavily, she heard a familiar voice yell out, "Need a lift?"
"Sure, Cornelius," Kaye yelled back as she stopped to wait for the car, catching her breath. She pulled her sleeve down as the car pulled over, and opened the door to sit down. The smell of iron and cigarettes hit her as she strapped herself into the car and closed the car door. The odor made her gag for a second.
Iron. The very metal itself was a death sentence to all faeries within human civilization. The same metal that Kaye used to kill Nephamel the night she had gone to save Corny from the ex-king of the Unseelie Court. The reminiscence of that night gave Kaye chills down her spine as she remembered what happened exactly that night.
Kaye watched as Nephamel gagged and choked on his drink, the metal burning his throat as it made its course. Then, Roiben obscured her vision, dagger in hand, as he followed the orders set by Nephamel before he died. Kaye commanded Roiben to stop, but not before she was stabbed in the shoulder. Flying upwards to get away from the Unseelie Court, Kaye watched as the Seelie Court stormed the room, and enclosed upon the thrashing King of the Unseelies. With a last intake of air, Nephamel stopped moving.
Kaye drifted back down, and watched as Corny moved cautiously towards the corpse, and staring at the lifeless eyes. With a sudden swoop, Corny was holding the knife Roiben had. Kaye shouted, and then stared as Corny stabbed the corpse repeatedly, laughing, as it was a game. After the Seelie Queen, Silarial, appeared, and Kaye told her theory about the pendant around the Queen's neck, Roiben declared himself the King of the Unseelie Court.
Kaye was brought back to reality as Corny shook her shoulders. "We're here." Kaye looked out her opened window as she saw the distant waves crashing onto the shoreline. Kaye unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.
"Thanks for the ride," Kaye said through the open window as Corny nodded, then drove off back to the gas station where he worked. Kaye walked towards the abandoned merry go round, looking around to see if anybody followed her. She guided her feet through the pieces of broken glass, trying not to obtain any shards into her sneakers. When Kaye got to the inside, she was greeted with the smell of wood and old beer. Among the dust and debris, old bottles and cans from parties and hangouts littered the floor. Kaye waded her way through the litter over to the skate ramp, where she caught a glimpse of something shining in the sunlight. She picked up the object, and examined it.
The object itself was a nail polish bottle filled with a steel blue liquid, and adorned with glitter. The object was Janet's nail polish. Kaye wiped a tear rolling down her face, and pocketed the bottle.
"Shouldn't you be trying not to be near any iron?" Kaye turned around swiftly as a figure emerged from the shadows.
"Nice to see you too, Rath Roiben Rye." The figure walked into the sunlight, long pewter hair flowing with the small ocean breeze that stirred up.
"How fares the Unseelie Court, Your Majesty?"
"Same old, same old. The solitary fey are still free, though they have restrictions," Roiben replied while waving his hand, meeting with Kaye up on the ramp, his breastplate glinting every so often in the sunlight.
Kaye shrugged her shoulders, and looked at him. "And what about Ethine? Do you miss her?"
Roiben looked down at his shoes for a minute and inhaled the air, then looked back at Kaye as he answered the pixie.
"I do miss her, but there's nothing I can do. She's with the Queen of the Seelie Court, and I'm leader of the Unseelie Court." Roiben's fist shook as he finished his reply. Kaye wrapped her arm around Roiben's shoulder, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She took out an apple and a switchblade, and proceeded to peel off the apple's outside skin, revealing the flesh inside. Kaye popped a piece of the fruit into her mouth.
"You know, I still have to rearrange my room," Kaye said as she chewed, trying to steer the subject away from the past.
"I might as well change the wall color from the horrible pink color from way back when," Kaye continued as she pulled out a book of color swatches and going through them one by one. Roiben looked over her shoulder as she flipped, trying to see the colors. After a while, Roiben stole the book away from the pixie.
"Hey! Give that back!" Kaye attempted to reach the book, but was unsuccessful.
"You know you can take that glamour off you," Roiben replied as he flipped a few pages back from the end of the book. Kaye Only glared as he also added, "And I like this color, if you want my input." Kaye huffed as she took off the glamour and her sweatshirt, revealing forest green tinted skin, and her translucent wings unfurling from her back. Kaye's sweatshirt was tied around her waist as she sat, still glaring at the King.
"Well, I like my glamour, thank you very much," Kaye shot back at the comment, and turned her head to see the color Roiben chose.
"'Dazzle?' It's a pretty blue, I'll admit. It'll work, I guess," Kaye told Roiben, giving him a kiss on the lips for good measure.
"I have to go now. Have to give Janet something," Kaye slid down the ramp to the bottom, bag in tow, and put back on her glamour and sweatshirt. She turned to leave, but her wrist was grabbed from behind.
"I want to come too," Roiben whispered. Kaye sighed, locked his hand into hers, and towed him towards the outside. When they emerged to the boardwalk, Kaye breathed in the salty air and looked upwards towards the heavens. The sky had turned from a brilliant cerulean to a gray sky covered with clouds. The pixie and the King of the Unseelie Court walked towards the cold water that made up the ocean.
When they got to the shoreline, Kaye took off her sneakers and rolled up her pants. She walked knee deep into the ocean, clutching the bottle of nail polish in her hand as she pulled it out of her pocket.
"Hey Janet. It's Kaye. Just wanted to say hi and see how you're doing," Kaye started to say to the endless ocean, tears starting their descent down her face.
"I'm okay, and so is my mom and family. Still haven't gotten my GED yet. Hope you know that Corny and I miss you lots. So do Doughboy and company." Kaye clutched the bottle harder, the tears mixing with the ocean spray.
"You left something, so I'm giving it back. Watch over everyone for me, Okay? Bye for now." Kaye let out a sob as she threw the bottle as far as she could out into the ocean. The bottle hit the water, and disappeared from view. Kaye and Roiben walked away from the beach, never looking back.
The sky poured out rain by the time Kaye was five blocks from her grandmother's house. Leaving Roiben by the corner, she ran the rest of the way home and into her room, where she grabbed a towel and dried her hair. Kaye walked back down the stairs, and went to consult her mother about the color change in her room.
Today, it seemed everyone was paying respects in one form or another.