Wicked Lovely belongs to Melissa Marr.

Listening to: Beautiful Things by Andain


DREAM

Chapter Seven

The rain hit hard against her, cold and unforgiving; rods of lightning flashing in the far distance before her and the following boom of thunder made her heart race and tremble in her chest. Despite this, she felt oddly at peace with herself for the first time in weeks.

Aislinn wasn't sure how long she had been walking, though she didn't think the sun had risen yet, not that she'd be able to tell anyway - the clouds were black and heavy, covering the whole expanse of the sky and the heavy torrent of rain only made it darker. Even with her improved eyesight she was still having a hard time seeing the buildings around her. It didn't matter much, she didn't really want to see what she was leaving behind anyway.

The storm has driven everyone off the streets, not a person or car in sight, and she was glad for it. Not that they would be able to see her anyway, but she didn't want to chance running into any familiar faces; she might waver in her decision and she didn't need any doubts.

What she did need was to leave this city.

So she kept on walking.


The rain had stopped sometime during the early morning, the storm clouds dispersing enough to let slivers of light blanket the wet earth.

She had paused to rest at a gas stop, seating herself on one of those outside ice boxes and watching traffic slowly start to pick up as people began their days. She had never really people watched before, but she found it somehow relaxing to watch and wonder what other people were thinking and what they had to do for the day. The random thought of I wonder where he/she is going passing through her mind more than once.

She stayed there for a little over two hours, invisible to the world, before deciding that it was time to move on again. She hitched a ride on a truck, climbing up onto the roof and lying flat on her stomach so she wouldn't go flying off from the wind pressure. The truck started to move, merging onto the freeway and then she was well on her way to leaving her home behind.

Maybe one day she'd come back, but only after she figured out what she wanted in life now. What she was going to do now that she could no longer be who she once was.

She sighed, letting her mind blank and staring out at the cars in front of her; all of them speeding along the freeway, all of them having someplace to go, something to do, an agenda, a life. An odd mix of curiosity and envy welled up in her, the corners of her mouth turning down and she closed her eyes, resigned.

"No one ever said life was fair..." she murmured to herself sadly, folding her arms and pillowing her head on them, allowing herself to drift off to sleep.

She didn't want to think anymore.


The next time she opened her eyes, it was to the bright afternoon sun. The warm rays of light hit her and she allowed herself to bask in their energy, feeling lethargic and dreamy from the soothing touch of her element, the blood in her veins signing delightfully. It took her another moment or two to wake up fully, shifting and realizing that the truck had paused at a rest stop. Sitting up, she looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, wondering how far they had gone in the five or so hours she had been sleeping. She guestimated that they must have gone pretty far.

Stretching, she yawned and climbed down, her stomach growling once her feet touched solid ground. She let her hand rest on her stomach and realized that she hadn't eaten anything in quite a while. Looking around herself, she found that the parking lot was pretty much empty, with only two or three other cars parked in random places and with no people in sight.

She smiled slightly to herself and let her glamour slip, shivering as the tingling whispers of magic danced off her skin and made her visible to the human eye once more.

Straightening out her clothes and hair, which had dried flat and wrinkly from the rain, she made sure she didn't look too messy and made her way towards the small rest stop building. Her choices being rather limited, she walked up to one of the stands - some generic burger place - and managed a weak smile for the woman behind the counter.

It seemed her rumpled appearance didn't matter much, because the cashier still looked dazed and slightly dumbstruck when she looked at her, an effect from her immortal beauty as a fairy. Aislinn's smile became a bit more strained.

"A number two, please," she said and the girl nodded dumbly, blinking herself from her stupor long enough to punch in her order.

"Uhm, $12.42 is your total," the girl responded and Aislinn was quick to give her the money, waiting almost impatiently for her change and then for her order.

There were four other people at the stop and they had quickly taken note of her and she could hear them murmuring excitedly to themselves, marveling at how attractive she was. Feeling awkward and irritated, she muttered a thank you to the girl and took her bag, quickly escaping the staring eyes of the bedazzled people.

Finding some relief now that she was in the parking lot, she heaved a sigh and let herself sink down to sit on the walkway, staring at her bag of greasy food. She had suddenly lost her appetite.

Still, she reached in and grabbed her burger, unwrapping it and making herself eat it. She no longer felt like eating, but knew that her body needed some sort of sustenance; she didn't think that being immortal would spare her from starving.

Eating the burger, picking at the fries and taking a few sips of her soda, she eventually decided that she had dillydallied for too long and stood, dumping the rest of her food into a nearby trashcan and walking out into the main part of lot once more.

It was completely empty. The truck she had been hitching a ride on was also gone. It didn't really bother her, she'd just continue on by foot.

Slipping her glamour back on, she began to walk; making her way towards the freeway, keeping to the side so she wouldn't get run over by a car.

She walked and walked, watching the vehicles fly by her with a whoosh that rumpled her clothes and swept up her hair. Briefly she wondered why she hadn't seen any other fairies around - she knew that Keenan's court and Donia's court couldn't be the only fairy kingdoms around. Then she wondered if most fairies were too weak to wander too far from their homes and rulers.

She supposed that meant she wouldn't be running into too many fey then. Then she wondered... besides fairies, were there other types of mystical creatures roaming around? and if so, would she run into them?

She was fairly sure she would - she had forever to live, after all. Eventually she'd have to run into something.

Eyes forward, she kept on walking.


Besides a few close encounters with the cars on the freeway, she eventually made it to a town in one piece.

It was evening - the sun just starting to disappear beneath the horizon. She had vanished her glamour once more, feeling the sudden need for people to see her, to be part of the population instead of just walking through it. She could handle the awed murmurs and whispers for a little while if it meant not feeling so lonely.

Feeling tired, she eventually wandered into a small cafe, taking a seat at a booth and ordering a cup of tea so the waitress wouldn't kick her out for loitering. Looking out the window, nursing her tea, she had to admit that the little town was very quiet. There didn't seem to be a lot of people or much activity - a very sleepy place.

She knew very well that she couldn't keep on wandering for long, eventually she'd have to stop, find some work to earn some cash. She didn't have to eat very often, but eating was only one of her problems and all monetary issues aside, she knew that if she continued being a vagabond for long... she'd go insane from the loneliness.

She had never been a social butterfly, but she had still needed interaction and socialization. It wasn't any different now that she was a fairy.

She still felt too close though. She was miles and miles away from her home, but she still felt too close. She'd continue on further into the mountains and then she'd settle down for a while.

But for now she was content to drink her tea and to sit and watch humanity and time flow past her.


Unedited chapter. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes.