A/N: Ugh, sorry it took so long to update! I had waaaaaaay to much homework :3
Buuuuuut, there should be another one within the next week/week & a half, cause it's nearly Easter break & I'll have tons of time to write :)
Enjoy!
I moved hesitantly across the clearing and my sisters sighed.
"We don't bite Julie. Jeez," Abie said, cocking her head and placing her hand on her hip. I ducked my head. This was so freaking embarrassing. I sat on the log, tucking my leg under me.
"Finally," Puck mumbled, flicking a shitty look at me. I flipped him off, not in the mood for his attitude.
Lila stepped over the log and sat down next to me, Abie doing the same on the other side.
"Where to begin…" Lila mused.
"Uh, how's the beginning sound?" I hedged, wanting this over already.
Well, as Puck said, you are a faery princess. Your father is Lord Oberon, King of the Seelie Court and you mother is Titania, the Queen. We are two of your four sisters. I'm the eldest, Lila, and I was born three centuries before you, so I'm…. Pfft, around four hundred mortal years old, I guess. You're actually around 116 years old, and Abie here is about…"
"One hundred and fifty, I think" Abie filled, smiling at me.
"Right, and Issy – Isaboe – is about two hundred and thirty, and Celia is three hundred and… eighteen. And Pucky," she said, smirking at him, "Is too old for us to be able to remember."
I nodded slowly, taking in the weirdness of all of this.
"Um, okay. Well, there's a tradition in the Seelie Court, where when the royal children reach the age of one hundred, they spend sixteen years in the mortal world, growing up as mortal children. Their memories of the Never Never – which is the Fey realm, by the way, are removed, and our father uses Glamour to make them replace a human child. It's kinda like being a Changeling, but not really, cause we don't steal the children, just suspend them in Between and Glamour them to the right age. So, the child that you replaced will be returned to the family when we take you home. They wont be able to tell the difference. When you get back into the Never Never, you'll probably have a heap of memories bombarding you at once, cause the Glamour Father used to keep them from you will weaken," Abie explained enthusiastically, bouncing on the log.
"I think it's weakening already," Puck noted from the tree he was leaning against, "She seems to be quite used to your… liveliness, Abs."
Abie huffed, looking at Puck like he had irrevocably hurt her and flounced off into the trees.
"Oh Puck, now look what you've done. I swear, you're worse than a phouka," Lila hissed, "Go apologise while I finish up with Julie. And if you upset her again, I will ensure Mother turns you into a toadstool."
Puck saluted Lila mockingly and sauntered after Abie. Lila turned back to me and shook her head lightly.
"Those two fight like cat and dog, seriously. Where were we?"
"Um, Abie was saying something about the Glamour weakening?" I recalled, frowning softly, "This is gonna sound really stupid, but, uh, what is Glamour?"
"It's not stupid, I couldn't remember for quite a while after I got back to the Never Never. Glamour is the 'magic' that humans often associate with the fey. It's basically the energy from human emotions or energy from the seasons, which we bend to our will. Seelie fey have control over the Summer Glamour and the Unseelie fey have control over the Winter Glamour. We can use it to make ourselves invisible, which Puck has a lot of fun with, and we use it to shield our emotions from other fey…. I should probably teach you to do that again before we head home, otherwise someone could use them against you." Lila clarified, twirling her hair around her fingers.
Abie blew back through the trees with Puck on her heels. They both looked frazzled, and started talking over each other.
"Lila, I told you we were talking too long!"
Damn it, I'm gonna get it this time. If you two hadn't interrupted me, this wouldn't be happening!"
"HEY! What's the matter?" Lila shouted over them.
They took a deep breath, looked at each other and Abie said,
"Father's coming. Like, right now. And he's infuriated."
"Oh dear God. We haven't taken that long, have we?" Lila asked, looking panicky.
"You have taken far too long," A voice boomed from the trees, causing everyone to jump. Puck skittered to my side and tugged me to my feet, glancing over his shoulder warily, as a tall, regal looking man fey. He smiled gently at Abie and Lila, then turned to Puck and gave him the freakiest glare I had ever seen anyone wear.
"Robin Goodfellow, I thought I told you to make this quick?" He questioned, folding his arms and raising his eyebrows.
Puck mumbled something, hanging his head and rubbing the back of his neck like he did when he was nervous.
"I thought so," Oberon – Father? – said smugly, "Now, girls, how much have you told you sister?"
"Erm, Abie told her about the tradition and I explained Glamour to her. Puck says she vaguely remembers us, but he could be wrong." Lila said sweetly, flashing a pearly smile at our Father. God, that sounds weird. He turned to me, looking at me for the first time.
"Ugh, mortal clothes," he said with a shudder, studying me carefully, "Does she not look like your mother, girls?"
Lila and Abie nodded, staring at me intently. I blushed, uncomfortable with having the attention on me. Puck sighed then, looking up.
"You tell me off for wasting time then you do it yourself? Really? Double standards much?"
Oberon stared at him for a moment, then burst into loud laughter, scaring a huge group of birds out of the nearby trees. Lila shook her head, looking at Puck like he was a total idiot and Abie just rolled her eyes.
"He's the King Puck. He can do what he wants," she said scathingly. Puck turned his head and eyed her with a look that quite clearly said girl, what your problem?
I shifted uncomfortably, catching Oberon's attention.
"Right, well, we should probably head back to the Never Never before your mother starts to worry, girls," he said, "And Goodfellow, if you and Abigail don't stop this childishness, I will have to punish you both. Let's go."
Abie and Puck stared disbelievingly after him as he disappeared into the trees and Lila snickered at them.
"That's what you get for being idiots," she muttered under her breath, grabbing my arm and leading me off in the direction that our father had taken.
We walked for what seemed to be forever, but was probably only around an hour. I could hear Abie and Puck behind us, neither of them speaking to the other. They were acting like spoiled children and it was actually quite entertaining. As we walked, Lila started telling me more about the Never Never and my old life, to prepare me for when we got there.
"So, like I said, we live in the Summer Court, Arcadia. The court is surrounded by the Hedge, which will take you anywhere within the Summer realm you wish to go, and it mostly borders right on the castle walls, but there is a large area on one side of the castle that borders on large fields that stretch to the wyldwood. Occasionally Father will allow us out of the main castle into the fields surrounding, where we ride our horses. It really is lovely, nothing like the iciness of Tir Na Nog."
"Wait, Tir Na Nog?" I questioned, the name ringing a bell.
"Tir Na Nog is another name for the Winter Court princess," Puck called from behind. I heard a soft thud then a groan. Glancing back I saw Puck holding his stomach and glaring at Abie, who was giving Puck a very pointed look, as if he wasn't meant to tell me that.
I turned back to Lila, with a very confused look on my face, and she smiled sweetly.
"He wasn't meant to tell me that, was he?" I asked suspiciously.
"Oh, uh, well – Oh look! We're at the trod!" She said, changing the subject quickly.
I frowned. I'm not going to let that one slide; I'll get it out of her sooner or later.
Oberon stood at the base of a huge tree; it would have had to be at least 100 years old.
"Come, come. We don't have all day," he said irritably.
Lila and I both stepped closer, as Abie and Puck strode through the trees a good three meters apart. Father sighed, shaking his head at their idiotic behaviour.
"Abie, Lila, take Julie's arms, once we enter the Never Never, the glamour will lift. It won't be easy on her," he rumbled, placing one hand against the tree.
Abie and Lila obeyed, grabbing one of my arms each.
Father closed his eyes and suddenly the trunk of the tree split, mist billowing out. I gasped softly, making my sisters giggle. Oberon stepped into the opening and disappeared from sight. Abie and Lila guided me forward and we followed him in, Puck nonchalantly bringing up the rear. The mist began to clear, revealing thick woods with enormous trees that blocked most of the light from above, leaving us with the dim light of dusk. Mist swirled around our feet and as it did, so did my head.
Memories began to bombard me, flashes of people and creatures that I had no name for, recollections of my family, the hatred between us and the winter court and – to my surprise - images of the mysterious boy from my dreams. Though, unlike my dreams, in these memories, I see a lot more than us kissing. No, not like that. I remember sneaking out to see him, I remember him teaching me ho you use a sword, I remember our conversations, I remember the concealment we had to use when he visited with his family so we didn't get banished. I remember my father deciding to send me away early when he found out, in hope I would forget about him. I remember being in love with the youngest winter prince. I remember Ash.
I blinked and shook my head, looking up at my Father. Wait, why was I on the ground? Ugh. I stood up carefully, brushing myself off.
"You okay, Jules?" Puck asked.
"Uh, I think so?" I said, rubbing my face.
"Oh, I remember how disorientating it is, remembering so much so fast!" Abie chirped from next to me, taking my arm again, "What did you remember"
Oh God. What do I say? They'll know I'm lying. Shit.
"Um, well, I don't really know. There were so many fey, I don't, I, um. Yeah, can we let me work that out first Abs?" I stammered awkwardly.
"Oh, of course! Sorry," she giggled.
"Shall we keep moving?" Lila asked, glancing around warily.
"Yes, we'd better," Father agreed, turning away.
Review? Please? Reviews make me want to update. If no-one reviews, I automatically think no-one likes it. Please?
And everything is welcome - ESPECIALLY criticism, cause it helps me write better.
