I didn't want to get up. If I got up I would have to go to work or school, neither of which were appealing options. I was having a thrilling dream anyway. Well, sort of. The first part wasn't fun, full of cold and insanity and scary monsters, but then some dude with wings showed up and we flew. Like actually flew. It had all felt so real. With a deep sigh I cracked open an eye to check the time; I did not want to be late. Again.
Violet eyes stared at me. I shrieked. Crouching beside my bed, face level with mine, was someone who was definitely not my mother.
"Oh good, you're awake."The violet eyes crooned as the person stood. I sat bolt upright and saw a dark haired man turn and walk out the door. "Dress yourself and head downstairs. Then we can talk."He called from the hallway.
What. The. Heckity. Heck. I was still dreaming. This isn't real. I was in a small but finely furnished room. I lay in a small single bed opposite an oak door. A rich blue rug woven with golden thread in the shape of stars lay to the right of my bed, on the left there was a mahogany dresser with clothes laid out on it already. A cream, porcelain washbasin clung to a papered cyan wall. Definitely not the chaos of my room. Panic rose in my chest. With rough hands I shoved it down. Focus. Silk sheets caressed my skin as I twisted in the bed to look out the window. A city sprawled across the landscape, outlined by the glowing rays of the mid-afternoon sun. Where on earth was I? And who was that creepy bloke who was watching me sleep? Well, there was only one way to find out. To my horror, I stepped from the bed to find myself washed and in clean nightclothes. Blush crept into my cheeks, someone had... Never mind.
With lightning speed I dressed in dark leggings and a thick wool jumper. I splashed some water on my haggard face, but could do nothing for the dark bags under my eyes. What did it matter anyway, I was either dreaming or had finally lost it. Running a brush through my thick hair, I crept toward the door and listened into the corridor. I couldn't hear anyone, but then again I didn't know what I was listening for. Hands shaking slightly, I opened the door.
A brightly lit corridor greeted me. The thick carpet threatened to swallow my boots as I tentatively made my way along towards the wooden stairs, making a careful note of the three closed doors I passed as I went. Hushed voices could be heard from downstairs but they were too quiet to make out any words from up here. I lingered at the top of the stairs, unsure of what I would find at the bottom.
"Can I help you?"The small female voice came from behind me. I whipped my head round to find the most beautiful woman I had ever seen standing in the doorway of one of the rooms. Slightly older than me, she had an ethereal beauty, seeming not quite human. Long chestnut hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders, glinting with gold streaks. Her large eyes were pools of blue that appeared to see everything. Though her gaze was soft, it ripped right through me. The hem of her dusky pink dress floated around her ankles on an invisible breeze. She held herself with a quiet confidence, like she was sure of herself and didn't need anyone's approval. Dirt covered her otherwise perfectly manicured hands. She saw me looking and subtly hid them in the folds of her skirt.
"Sorry...I didn't know where..."I trailed off. She studied me with a sympathetic stare.
"Downstairs and on the right. Don't let them scare you, they're nice really."She reached down and picked up a covered basket that was resting by her feet. Her voice was like honey. "I'm Elain. If you need me, this is my room here."She emphasised the point by shutting the oak door gently before brushing past me and wafting down the stairs with a level of elegance I didn't even know was possible.
I plodded after her, my boots thumping on the wood floor of the stairs. The sound of it made me wince but when I tried to quieten my steps I almost fell from not concentrating on actually walking. I gave that up and continued to crash my way through the house. When we reached the bottom of the stairs I looked up.
Two faces turned round to face me. There was the violet eyed man from earlier and another woman who looked similar to Elain. I turned round to see the latter's rose skirts brush round the corner and along a corridor. Leaving me alone with the two new strangers.
No one spoke. I could feel their stares on me and I wanted to cry. I wanted to demand where I was, who they were, and if there was a phone. I wanted to break down and sob on the plush floor. I wanted to make a break for the door and rush out into the city screaming for help. I wanted to do all those things and more, but instead I forced myself to raise my eyes from a particularly interesting section of floor and look at them closely.
The man looked in his early twenties however his eyes seemed infinitely old. They were bright violet and shone like molten starlight. His dark hair, threaded with strands of blue-black, was pushed back across his head like he had been recently running his hands through it. He was dressed in exquisite but plain black trousers, shirt and jacket which gave him an aura of casual majesty. Power thrummed from him, like the guy from my dream (if it was a dream) but with more intensity. The last thing I noticed was the ears. Long, pointed, and definitely not human. He was, without question, not a man.
I turned to the woman. Female. Her ears too were elongated. She had Elain's chestnut hair but it was pulled back in a loose braid that wrapped around her head. Eyes of icy grey regarded me steadily but without any hint of malicious intent. Her face was hard and beautiful, as if she'd survived a thousand horrors and come out on top. She did not move her eyes from my face. I shifted uncomfortably under the weight of their stares.
"You can put that down, you know."The male finally drawled. At my look of confusion, he lazily gestured to the ornate hairbrush I still brandished in my left hand. Red coloured my cheeks, I had forgot I was holding that. Trying not to fall over, I walked to a nearby surface-dresser-thing and set the hairbrush down with a thunk. My hands were shaking so badly that I knocked the hairbrush off as I turned back around to face them. Tears almost welled in my eyes. Almost but not quite. I still had a small shred of dignity.
"Do you know where you are?"The female asked with a sharp Look at the male before once again settling her gaze on me. He gave her a smirk and a shrug as a silent apology. Her voice was soft, caring though by no means patronising. Keeping my eyes fixed on hers so I wouldn't break I offered a simple yet effective,
"No."
"My friend told me that your name is Lexis. Lexis Atherton. Is that correct?"Her tone did not change. Friend. So the winged dude did exist.
"Yes. My name is Lexis and I want to know where the hell I am." The words gushed from me like a dam had suddenly burst. "Who are you?" I demanded. "Where is this place? Why has your friend got big ass wings? And, mostly importantly, why were you," I pointed a now deadly still hand at the male, ", watching me sleep?" I let my stare burn into him. A small smile tugged on his lips as he turned his head to his lady companion, who was watching him with a hand on her hip and a cheeky grin of mock outrage on her face.
"Feyre, darling, it's not what you think-", he began.
"Save it for later." She smiled, her voice laced with the innuendo. He grinned wolfishly, giving her yet another silent reply.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your extremely important eye sex but I seem to be very, very lost and you haven't answered my questions." The boldness of my words was unexpected, as was the sarcasm that accompanied them. The two un-humans- elves? - exchanged a glance. Smirking they turned to face me.
"Apologies." The male chuckled. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, as do we." He continued. "My name is Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court and this is my devilish mate Feyre, High Lady." He paused for what I thought was dramatic effect.
"High Lord and Lady of where now?"
"The Night Court, the northernmost territory in Prythian." His tone became serious though his face remained gentle. "How did you get here? It is a long way from the wall, and you would have had to cross the whole of Prythian to reach Illyria."
"Look Mr High Lord, I don't know how I got here. I don't know what Prythian is. You look like a magical fairy, so I would appreciate it if you could use some magic to send me home." Wow. I really was worked up. No trace of the terrified girl remained in me, or if she did she had shut the hell up. Survival-mode had kicked in and she wasn't pretty.
"You really don't know where you are?" The High Lady, Feyre, asked.
"No. No, I don't. Thank you for not killing me but the joke isn't funny anymore. I want to go home."
"And where, exactly, is your home?" Rhysand urged.
"London. England. Earth." The High Lord glanced at his mate, expression unreadable.
"I...We have never heard of...Earth." He said it in a way that sounded foreign on his tongue.
If this wasn't Earth then where in the frickle frackin universe was I?