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DISCLAIMER: IDONTOWNEITHERSTORIESORANYOFTHECHARACTERSUSEDGOSH
"Puck, is that you? Is that really you?" A soft voice from not too far away asked.
We whirled around to find a girl standing there with what seemed to be an old Great Dane. She was dressed in all black with an umbrella to match, staring at Puck with big, wet eyes. She couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen, with wavy brown hair that cascaded down her shoulders. She was quite cute, but had such a broken look in her eyes it made my heart hurt. Was this the other girl? I turned to face him. He looked back at the her with a melancholy smile.
"Hey, marshmallow," he said to the girl. His voice nearly broke, and he looked on the verge of tears. I was in shock. I've seen so many of Puck's expressions, always sly and mischievous, or happy and fun. But the looks I had seen him give today...he was almost a different person.
"Puck, you came back," she said through her sobs, "I knew you'd come back someday, I knew it." The girl was full on crying now. Puck quickly strode over to her and held onto her as she cried. She clenched onto him and cried even harder. This was getting stranger by the second. Puck, the prankster king, comforting a little girl? Puck pulled back and looked at her face.
"You've grown since the last time I saw you, Daphne. You've lost the pig tails, huh? But...aren't you supposed to be, you know...in your twenties?"
The girl, apparently named Daphne, laughed a bit, drying her face on her sleeve.
"Well, I'm an Everafter now, remember? It seems to have slowed my aging quite a bit, but hasn't completely stopped it. It may just be due to my magic use; Baba Yaga trained me a little after I joined the Coven. And yeah, I did drop the pig tails. It makes me feel older." She sniffed a bit and took a deep breath, trying to control her emotional outburst. She looked down at her dog and smiled.
"Remember Puck, Elvis? We haven't seen him in a while," grinned Daphne.
"Elvis!" Puck said enthusiastically as he bent down to pet the dog. Elvis licked the fey's hand and wagged his tail. Puck seemed like he wanted to ask about the dog, but decided not to.
"Slobbery as ever, I see," he commented as he shook his hand free of the slime. That was when Daphne seemed to notice me for the first time. The first look I got was one of surprise, then question, then...hurt? I wasn't quite sure, but she didn't seem to like me very much.
"Puck...who is that?" Daphne asked quietly. He turned, suddenly remembering I was there. Another strange look passed over his face. But I had seen this one before; whenever I heard the name Ariella. It was guilt. It left as quick as it came, but I knew it had been there.
"Oh, right, introductions. Daphne, this is Megan, she's a half human daughter of Oberon. I'm in charge of looking after her. Megan, this is Daphne, my...old friend."
"Nice to meet you," I smiled. I felt a bit hurt, for some reason, but I wasn't rude. On the other hand…
"Is she why you left? Puck...she looks so much like her…" Daphne trailed off, hurt and betrayal written all over her face. Her eyes were wet again, but she refused to cry. The tear streaks down her cheeks had already dried. It made the girl look almost sadder, in a way. Puck just stared at the ground. Daphne wiped her eyes again and walked over to face me, holding out her hand.
"I'm sorry, forgive me. I don't usually act like this. Today has been...hard. It's nice to meet you too, Megan," she smiled genuinely, showing her dimples. I smiled again and shook her hand. Daphne took a deep breath and turned to the red head.
"I'm guessing you want to know what happened," she said, obviously trying hard to keep her cool. Puck raised his head, looking distraught. After a moment, he nodded. Daphne closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Let's take this inside," she said as she motioned towards the house.
"Finally," said Puck as he turned towards the building, "I'm going home."
Really short chapter, more of a fill in. This fic isn't really long in general I guess...
Please review so I know what's up! Should I continue? How? Anyone you want to see in particular? Any fics you want me to write in the future? What did you eat for breakfast? What's your opinion on hedgehogs? Is anyone actually reading this? PLEASE REVIEW!
