A/N: This is my debut on this site. I've been brewing this story for quite some time. I hope you all enjoy it. Reviews are always welcome.
Prologue
"You must run!"
Flames licked the castle walls while fearful screams echoed in the dead of night. A once peaceful kingdom was now under attack from a race of creatures that were just as mindless as they were vicious, the undead. Once thought to be a myth were now a reality and closing in from all sides. Queen Olenna held a crying baby close to her chest as she instructed her people to run through the forest surrounding the castle walls.
"My Queen, what about the King?" A man asked.
"He stays with the army to fight. We must save who we can to ensure our people survive.
The sound of howling surrounded them, revealing hell hounds at every exit point. Their mangled black fur and glowing red eyes were a sure indication of what they were dealing with. The underworld was unveiling itself to the living world. The Queen clenched a little tighter on the child in her arms.
Two guards stood before and two stood behind her. "Abigail!" Queen Olenna shouted in desperation. A woman quickly came to her queen's side. She had long ebony colored hair and hazel colored eyes. Her ears had a subtle point to them, for she was of Fae blood.
"Yes, my Queen?"
"Take the princess and run as far from here as you can. Protect her. She must never fall into the underworld's grasp, do you understand?"
"But...my Queen...what about you?"
The Queen stood with ethereal beauty like no other. Her long chestnut brown hair was braided while her luminescent blue eyes held a glow of power none could ever imagine. She was about do what she could to save her daughter's life.
Looking down at the infant in her arms, she smiled brightly as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'll always love you, little one. One day we will be reunited again." Her lips pressed against the small forehead before being passed off to Abigail.
With a wave of her arms, a rift was created. A portal to another world emerged before them. Abigail looked back at her queen one last time before running through it to the unknown that lay beyond the fabric of the veil. The rift closed just as quickly and they were alone inside the passageway towards the new world.
"Here we go, little one. It's time find a safe place for you."
The fear of the unknown was overwhelming and all she could think about was the Queen fighting alone against a large army of underworld creatures hell bent on ridding the world of the last Earthly Fae. Years ago, there had been a prophecy that one day a child with the power to control all Earth energies, which included the four elements. The child was meant to rule the earthly realm and keep the barrier to the underworld forever bound.
It seemed that every time a child was born, the underworld would scour and kill the child before growing up to an adult. Queen Olenna was not taking any chances on her own daughter. The war would end once the creatures of the underworld realized that she was no longer there; but it wouldn't keep the Princess safe forever and Abigail knew it.
Stepping out of the passageway, the world before them was nothing like home. It was dark, yet light at the same time. Tall buildings surrounded them, with items that were extremely foreign to her. She began to wonder why her queen had chosen this place to run to, though it really didn't matter as long as they were safe.
18 Years Later….
"You walk out that door, Shae, you will be dead to me!" A woman's voice shouted, echoing inside the mind of the person she aimed the hurtful words at.
Shae, turned back around to see her mother standing with an emotionless expression on her face. Her dark brown hair layered with teal swung around to cover over her chest. The pain in her luminescent blue eyes etched with glassy tears brought a whole new meaning to the word alone.
This hadn't been anything knew. Her mother was never really a mother to her, in fact she never actually had given birth to her at all. She was adopted and thankfully so. Shae never felt like she belonged there and when she got accepted into a college across the country, she had her way out.
"I'm not going to sacrifice my dreams just for the sake of you keeping me imprisoned here!"
Without another word, Shae opened the front door and slammed it shut behind her. Angry tears rolled down her cheeks as she pulled open the driver's side door of her car, the only thing she really could call hers. Starting the ignition was a welcoming sound. It was the start of her future moving forward.
Looking up at the rear-view mirror, she could see all her belongings in the backseat and with a small smile, she continued on her way to the start of her new life away from the chaos she had always known for as long as she could remember.
"Everything will be okay." She told herself.
Chapter 1:
Authentic Reaction
One year Later….
"Shae!, Wait up!"
Stopping in the middle of the pathway, she let out an amused sigh, Shae finally turned around to see her best friend approach her in a odd sprint. The bounce of her ebony curls against her back, flowing in every which direction before finally settling across her shoulders.
It was a weird feeling for her to have someone considered a friend in her life; but honestly, Shae had no idea what she'd do without Abby Farah looking out for her. "What are you doing? Don't you have a class to be at right now?" She asked placing a hand on her hip nonchalantly.
"Uh...not today. It's Wednesday. American Literature is on Monday's and Friday's." Abby answered with a humored grin across her full pink lips.
"Ah, right. I forgot. So you ran across campus just to find me on my break?"
"Not exactly...I came because this came for you in the mail. It looked important."
Abby handed a sealed envelope across towards Shae's confused stare. The white envelope only had her name on it with no return address so she had no idea who the sender was before opening the item. Sliding her finger across the top to tear the paper open, she pulled the letter out then unfolded at the creases.
"Dearest Shae,
They are coming…."
Those three words sent chills down her spine without any other reason than a sudden fear. Behind the letter was a small postcard with an address. There was no signature, not a single inkling of who sent the letter. It didn't feel like a prank, although she knew how it would look to other people.
Shae quickly folded the paper back up and stuck it inside the cover of her textbook. "Was it important?" Abby asked curiously.
"Another letter about my student loans." She lied.
If there was one thing she could do in that moment, that was keeping Abby from knowing anything about the letter. Whether is was a prank or not wasn't relevant, she didn't need her freaking out if there was no reason to. They wordlessly started walking down the pathway to the other side of the campus.
Walking up the steps to the chapel style building, Shae's body collided with another. The force of the collision knocked everything she had been holding in her arms onto the ground, scattering across the steps. Quickly kneeling down to gather up her things, her eyes met those of someone she had never met before. His face was beautiful, flawless like he had been chiseled right from one the statues she had learned about in her World History class. He had short medium brown hair that was slightly shorter on the sides versus the top. A thin layer of dark facial hair clung to his face that looked a little rough to the touch.
"My apologies." He said in a thick Irish Accent.
"No worries." Shae answered, hoping her voice remained unfaltered.
Standing back up, he handed her the things he had picked up from the stairs. His clothing was that of something a professor would wear, though she had never seen him around before. The moment she reached for her belongings, his hand brushed against hers. The simple touch sent her mind reeling inside itself, or at least that's how it felt to her.
Flashes of things that were completely foreign to her appeared behind her eyes. It felt like she was watching a quick choppy movie. As quick as it began it ended just as quickly. The man before her remained unphased like he had seen nothing. "Are you alright?" He asked softly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"I'm...fine. Thank you for helping me."
"You're welcome. Have a nice rest of your day."
With that said, he started to walk in the opposite direction. Abby closed the distance between herself and Shae, wondering just what the hell happened. "Are you okay?" She asked with genuine concern in her voice. Once again, the same flashes appeared inside her head. Only this time, it was making her head spin and throb with pain.
Shae desperately tried to latch onto a single image, just to hold onto some sort of reality to keep her from falling into oblivion. Abby's voice was growing more distant with each passing second and soon it was gone altogether.
Abby watched as Shae's eyes rolled into the back of her head before collapsing backward, out of her reach. As it would seem, out of nowhere, the same man from before appeared to catch her before hitting the concrete stairs head-first. "You really are a terrible guardian." He stated starring a hole right through Abby.
"How the hell was I supposed to know that she was going collapse out of nowhere?"
"You knew enough. Pick up her things and lets get out of here. I can only stop time for a few minutes."
Abby hadn't realized that everything had stopped around her. Everything was frozen, not a single thing moved. Blinking a few times, she gathering Shae's things before running to catch up. "Damnit Finn, wait up!" She yelled.
Her demand was not heeded. He simply ignored her and continued on towards the dormitory where Shae shared a room with Abby. The room smelled of the girl in his arms. It was such a distinctive scent that had him confused as to what exactly she was. He gently eased her down onto her bed and returned his angry stare back at Abby, who was sitting on the edge of her own bed.
"You were supposed to keep an eye on her to make sure this didn't happen." Finn said sternly, through a clenched jaw.
"I was keeping an eye on her. I have been her entire life. Why are you even here in the first place?" Abby countered crossing her arms over her chest.
Finn raised an eyebrow at her, looking away from the sleeping Shae he crossed the room to stand before Abby. A thick red aura cloaked him, while his once blue eyes were now tinted red. She knew that he was angry with her without seeing the change within him. "They are coming, Abby. We can't falter now. We can't let the princess fall into their hands."
"I don't need reminding, I was there that day."
He could see the solemn expression wrap around her features. His hostility lessened and the aura receded. Finn knew the history. He may have not been there that day; but he knew enough to know that Abby had given everything to make sure Shae had survived. He supposed that warranted a little bit more respect from him.