Shannon: Hey guys! I've just finished reading and re-reading the Iron Fey series and I couldn't stop thinking about the Call of the Forgotten spin off series. *jumps around in joy*
Puck: Obviously because I'm in all of them! *puts hand over heart*
Ash: Unlikely Goodfellow. *sneers at Puck*
Puck: And who asked you Ice-boy?
Ash: I can't believe you're so full of yourself!b
Puck: I can't believe Meghan-
Shannon: Knock it off! *slams hand down on invisible table* Now! Puck, I like the series because it's got a dramatic flare to it. Yes I do love your character because it reminds me of myself-
Puck: Ha! *raises eyebrows at Ash*
Shannon: -but that's not the reason why I can't stop thinking about the series!
Ash: Ha! *smirks at Puck*
Shannon: You two just grow up for goodness sakes!
Walking to the bus stop seems like an everyday thing, right? Well not for me. I can see fey all day everyday and as much as that seems cool, it's a living nightmare. Ok, I have to admit that being 1 of the only 100 people in the world to be gifted with the Sight is amazing. Fey are faerie creatures from the Nevernever that have pointed ears, impressively good looks and they're invisible. There are many different kinds fey: Sidhe, Nymphs, Trolls, Beansidhe, Witches etcetera. The only reason I can see them is because I have the Sight which means that I can see them at their natural state, even when they use glamour to hide themselves or make themselves look human. I don't know how I got it though. They cause trouble and if any of them knew I could see them, they'd make my life as hard as hell.
That's why I have rules. Rule 1: Don't attract their attention. In other words don't do anything I wouldn't do if I couldn't see them. Rule 2: Don't let them know you see them. In other words I wouldn't go around telling people I see the Fae. Rule 3: Ignore them. If they happened to come up to me and sniff my hair, pull on my clothes or talk to me, don't let them know you acknowledge them doing so. And rule 4: Keep conversation to a minimal. If they did speak to me and they were in a human disguise and visible, answer them. If I suddenly turned on my heels and left, they would know that I could see their true nature because I wouldn't treat a human like that.
I'm not talking about little creatures with wings and that aren't any bigger than the palm of your hand, I'm talking about wingless, life size fey. Some fey look like hideous beasts that seem only real in nightmares, but most of them look like your everyday humans apart from the pointed ears or animal like features: horns, tails, wings, manes, hooves or fangs. They're massive giveaways though some have none of the above apart from the pointed ears. Their height usually varies from 4 - 6 feet tall except for the Gremlins who are 3 feet tall and the Giants who are 11 feet tall. All the others pretty much fall in between.
There are 2 types of fey - well 3 technically. The first is Seelie. These fey are ruled by Queen Titania and King Oberon. They're also known as Summer Fey and can use Summer glamour. The second kind of fey is Unseelie. They are ruled by Queen Mab. These fey are also known as Winter Fey and can use Winter glamour. The 3rd kind of fey are Outlaws. These fey are the ones who have been banished from the Nevernever for committing serious crimes. They're a mixture of Seelie and Unseelie fey but they wander around the mortal realm, aka Earth. How do I know this? Well, I can hear their conversations when they walk past me and I've pieced together the information.
I was on my way to the bus stop when I bumped into Kimberly.
"Sorry Talia, I didn't see you there - I was busy talking to Finn." She said as she pointed to a boy next to her.
"That's ok, I didn't see you either. I was looking at the floor." Enjoying my lame birthday. I added silently as I looked up at Finn and for a moment, I thought I saw some horns poking out from the mass of black hair on his head. I rubbed my eyes and this time I could see pointed ears as well. Definitely fey. "Who's Finn?" I asked with concern.
"My new boyfriend silly." She stated and kissed him on the cheek. My stomach flipped. He was using glamour to disguise himself as a human and no doubt to win Kim's affection as well. But which type of glamour? I needed to know. Apparently, it's the Winter fey you need to look out for because tales have told that they are the mean spirited type and the Summer fey are the ones to sing, dance and laugh in the sun. There's only one way to tell.
"Nice to meet you Finn." I said and held out my hand. If he was Unseelie, his hand would be colder than mine and I might have to panic over whether he was going to hurt or use Kimberly. But if he was Seelie, then his hand would be warm to the touch and I wouldn't have to worry. I was so scared for Kimberly that my hands were shaking a lot as I was waiting for him to answer and I had to put all of my energy into my hand to stop it from shaking.
"Nice to meet you too Talia." He answered back almost immediately and took my hand. Uh oh. His hand was definitely colder and for some reason, that just seemed to increase the energy level in my hand. For a moment, Finn had a confused look as he looked down at his hands. Where I had touched his hand, a thin sheet of ice had formed over but he used glamour to melt it when he swiped his other hand over it. He looked at me with his mouth open for a second. "How did you?...But your not even...How?" He started and I got panicked for a whole different reason. I didn't do that, did I? Surely not. Maybe? My mind was all over the place trying to place the puzzle pieces that were my life together.
"What's the matter babe?" Kimberly cut him off and gave him a worried glance.
"N-nothing Kim, I'm fine." He stammered still looking at me wearily.
I looked at the floor once again not liking the attention I was getting. I was breaking rule number 1: Don't attract their attention, and I'm pretty sure all attention from him was on me. "Maybe it's the sudden temperature drop." I said and nodded towards Finn ever so slightly. He gave me another confused look and then as he realised I knew what he was, his eyes widened. But in all the same, he nodded back and let out a silent breath of air. Suddenly, the temperature actually had dropped. I could feel a cold winters breeze swirl around me and Kim. We both shivered but for some reason, it wasn't as cold as I expected it to be. Either Kim was over exaggerating or I was getting colder from the inside. Either way, it caught me by surprise and I coughed.
"Y-y-yeah. M-maybe it's the-the-that." She stuttered, rubbing her arms with her hands.
"Here." Finn said as he took his fur-lined leather jacket off and draped it around her shoulders. That's odd. I've never heard of a Winter Fey being kind before.
"Thanks." She said and at that, Finn winced. I knew why.
Fey are bound to there promises and vows and take them very seriously so that's rule number 5: Don't ever make promises with the fey and always make sure you have a loophole in your promise and be very specific. If you say thank you to a fey, that can mean that they have done something for you and now you have to do something in return.
"But won't you need it?" She asked and placed the back of her hand down on his arm. "Jesus Finn, you're freezing!" She took her hand back and tried to put it under the jacket but instead it fell to the floor.
Finn went to pick it up but I waved him off. Instead i picked it up. I genuinely felt sorry for her for having to be so cold when I wasn't and that she had a fey boyfriend. Who knows what he'd do to her when he's invisible again? I felt a sudden burst of warmth travel through me from head to toe.
"Thanks Talia." She said and this time me and Finn both flinched. I put it back around her shoulder and by accident, my fingers brushed over her skin. "Oh my God! Talia, you're so warm. Honestly, I swear, you feel like the sun." She stated and gripped hold of my hand to ease her warmth. I didn't think it would work but almost immediately, she stopped shivering and handed back Finns jacket.
"I do?" "She does?" Me and Finn both said at the same time and looked at each other in confusion. I pulled my hand away.
"Yeah, feel for yourself." Kimberly insisted and he reached out for my arm. Panic overtook me and coldness spread through me once again.
When he felt my arm an even more confused look was placed on his face. "No she doesn't. She feels the same as she did before." He said with a glance towards Kim, then to me.
"But I thought..." She reached out and touched me once again. It was really beginning to grate my nerves with all this touching. The next person who touches me after Kim gets a slap, I thought to myself. "Oh well. Maybe it's because I was colder than you so when I touched you, you felt like a radiator." She said with a shrug but I knew that it wasn't that. I felt that warmth travelling through me and maybe for a moment, I felt as hot as Kim said I did. Before that, my hand was cold enough to leave a sheet of ice on Finns hand, what was happening to me? A second later, I felt the coldness go and felt normal again.
"Look, I'd love to stay and chat but I have to get the bus." I had had enough of this conversation and I was breaking rule 4.
"Ok see you soon." Kim said with a wave.
I was beginning to turn on my heel when Finn spoke. "Wait."
I turned around to face him and put on a fake smile. "Yes?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"Why don't you meet us in the library after school? From what Kim's told me, you're an expert when it comes to Calculus and we could use some notes for the test tomorrow."
"Yeah, why not? I can't afford to fail another test, my parents would ground me 'till I graduate." Kim added.
The look I was sending Finn suggested that I wanted to repeatedly smash his head against an iron wall till his head exploded.
"I can't really, it's my birthday and I have to get home back to my family." It was the best excuse I could come up with so far. Well, it wasn't really an excuse, it was the truth. For some reason in the past week, I haven't been able to lie. I've tried but I just ended up edging my way around it other than lying.
"Just for half an hour then, please?" She said with her hands together like she was saying a prayer. She knew that she wouldn't fail if she got my notes and it sounded as if she needed my help. But on the other hand, I would be spending more time with the faerie. When I didn't answer she started up agin. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?" She added batting her eyelashes at me and giving me the puppy dog eyes.
I glanced down at my watch and realised I had 5 minutes to get to the bus stop. I could make it if I ran but I'd have to start now. "Fine but don't think that adding food on top of pleases will change my mind in the future." In all honesty, I was just agreeing so I could go to the bus stop so adding food in the future to pleases was definitely not going to change my mind unless I was in a hurry. "Bye." I said with a simple wave and ran down the street to the bus stop.
I arrived 10 seconds before the bus came into view from down the road. I stood at the end of the pavement and waved the bus down. When it stopped for me I got on and flashed my bus pass to the driver. It was Tom - my favourite one.
"Happy birthday Tal." He said and as he noticed me panting, he asked, "Woke up late?"
"Nope, just got stuck talking with Kimberly again." And I took my seat on the other side of the bus, at the front though, so I could still talk to Tom as usual. He was like a big brother to me.
"Have you heard she has a new boyfriend?" He asked me as I was sitting down. I was beginning to feel a headache coming on. Was I getting travel sick?
"Just met him today." I answered and leaned in closer to Tom so only he could hear what I was going to say next. "And guess what? He's Unseelie."
"Her new boyfriend is fey?" He said as his eyebrows raised surprisingly high. Yep, Tom has the Sight as well and he knows just as much about fey as I do.
"Yeah and he was nice to her! I've never heard of Winter Fey having manners before." I said.
"It's very unusual what did he do?" Tom asked curiously.
I leaned back against my seat and spoke a bit louder than my whisper. "He gave her his jacket when she got cold. He was acting like a gentleman." Then comes the hard part. "He knows I know." I blurted out and sighed.
Tom gasped and then added, "What did you say?"
I might as well tell him the whole story now I've started, I thought to myself. So I told Tom about noticing his horns and ears and how my hand was cold enough to form ice on his hands. I then told him how he found out I knew and when he chilled the air. He gasped again when I told him how I felt a warm burst of energy flowing through me and Kim telling me I felt as hot as the sun compared to her. I finished off by telling him that when Finn went to touch me again to confirm what Kim had said, I felt the cold spread though me and he didn't believe her. As the bus rolled into the school car park, I waited till everyone was off before I spoke again.
"Then he asked me to meet them in the library to give them my calculus notes but I think he wants to get me alone in the bookshelves and talk to me." I added with worry.
"What does this mean then? I've heard of people being colder or warmer than usual but you've always been the same temperature as us humans for as long as I can remember. The only possible solution is," he paused for a second then his eyes grew wider, "But that's impossible, it's never happened before!" He muttered almost to himself.
"What's impossible?" I asked with curiosity.
"Nothing, nothing. I'm probably wrong. I shouldn't have said anything."
"What were you going to say Tom?" I could feel the chill in my words and from the way Tom was looking at me, I could tell he could too.
"Nothing, honestly it's fine. It's probably you getting all excited for your birthday."
"Speaking of birthdays, my parents said that they only have one gift for me from the both of them and Sam's going to make his 'special' spaghetti sauce." I said with a squirm.
"Why do you keep calling your dad Sam?" He asked.
"Because he's my foster parent? I don't know to be honest - I've never felt right by calling him dad. I call him dad when he's around, same like I call Rena mum when she's around. But I don't feel connected to them or like I have a special bond with them. I mean, yeah, they've took me in when no one wanted me and I'm grateful for it. But I just feel like I don't belong." I sighed. "Anyway, I don't know what to do about this Finn problem. I don't know if I should meet them or not."
"Well, are you going to? That basically breaks all of your rules."
"Apart from rule 5 - I haven't promised or vowed him anything and I have to go. I've already told them I will I just won't let him single me out and if he hurts me, I'll use my healing magic." That's right. I have healing magic. It started when I was 4 when I was playing in the park. I was on the swings when I saw a bird trying to fly but it had broken its wing. I got off the swings and picked the bird up. I secured it in my hands and thought about how it would be able to fly. I wished with my mind that I could help it's broken wing. I imagined the bones connecting together to form a steady structure and that there would be no more pain to be felt. I then felt the bird trying to break free of my hands and I opened them. The bird flew away and I knew I could heal things. I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination of a 4 year old so when I fell over in the playground at primary school and cut a deep gash on my left leg, I placed a hand over the wound and thought about the skin coming together so there wouldn't be a gash anymore. I removed my hand and I was healed. Then I knew I didn't imagine it.
"Shh, not so loud! You never know, they might be listening to us now." He was being pretty paranoid today.
"It's a bus made mostly of iron. I doubt that they would come near it." I patted the iron holding bar twice and felt a pain searing through my hand. "Ow!" I exclaimed.
"What was that?" Tom asked looking a bit concerned.
"I don't know." I said. As I flipped my hand over to inspect the strange pain in my right hand, I gasped. My hand had been burnt! "I've burnt myself!" Surely the iron didn't do that - It was merely a coincidence, I told myself. That burn wasn't there before, Talia, a voice at the back of my mind said, and you know it. I swiped my other hand over the burn and it healed. "I've gotta get going before the bell-" I didn't get time to finish my sentence before the bell actually did ring and I let out a sigh.
"Do you want me to pick you up at half 3?" Tom asked.
"If you don't mind?" I asked back as I picked up my light purple schoolbag off the floor and swung it over my shoulder.
"No, not at all. Anyway, I want to know what happens at the library." He insisted.
"Thanks, Tom. You're the best." I gave him a quick hug and a smile. "Bye!" And I was off.