A/N: *squeal*!!! Sorry it took so long to update, but I looked through my "cheat Sheet" and saw that I'm almost done!!! Eight more scenes to go!!! I'm SOO excited!!! But then, that also means that I'd have to leave Leo and Aglaia for a while. oooo, *hint hint* SPINOFF!!! Technically the same characters, but focuses on a certain *cough cough* young cinder girl... oooo, cant wait!!!
Chapter Twenty-Three
Alessia turned to her side, snuggling under the covers. It was only four days ago when they found her in the forest, but she was feeling much better than they expected. Oddly enough, her leg didn't hurt as much as the town healer expected that they thought she wasn't telling them the truth whenever she denied excruciating pain. She turned and lied on her back, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully.
What happened to Charites? Is she even alive? Alessia closed her eyes and hoped that Charites was alive and well. She was the closest to a sister that she ever had, Catarina had never treated her the way Charites did.
A door opened downstairs and Alessia could hear voices—Mama's surprised voice and a familiar one as well. Alessia closed her eyes and thought nothing of it. The voices grew louder and there were muted thumps as the owners of the voices walked up the stairs. Her bedroom door opened and Alessia opened her eyes to see who it was.
Mama came in first, a worried look on her face, and she was looking at the person behind her. Charites came in after her—Alessia almost didn't recognize her, for she was wearing a magnificent dress fit for a queen. It was a dark blue gown with diamonds sewn on it, and it reminded Alessia of the nights she used to spend outdoors, looking at the stars twinkling in the velvet sky. Charites' hair was braided and pinned up and there were tiny diamonds placed on her hair as well.
"Charites?" Alessia couldn't believe it.
Charites walked towards her and sat down on the chair beside her bed. She took her hand between hers, looking extremely perplexed.
"What is it?" Alessia frowned, seeing the expression on her friend's face.
"I..." Charites frowned and looked away, thinking of what to say. "There's something about me that you need to know. I must ask you not to tell Mario and Catarina or anyone else."
Mama nodded anxiously and looked at Alessia, who nodded as well.
Charites pursed her lips and took a deep breath. "I'm—I'm a fairy."
Alessia's eyes widened. All that time with Charites, and she never knew. She could see that Mama was surprised too, neither of them were expecting to hear this. Fairies had long since destroyed contact with humans. Why did Charites live with them?
Nobody talked for a while, and Charites, assuming that they didn't believe her, sighed. "Look, my real name is Aglaia, and I ran away from home because... because I needed to. But right now, that isn't important. What I need is your consent. I mean, I can probably still do it even without your consent, but it would be easier if you agreed. The trap that you stepped on is made by fairies." Charites waved her hand at Alessia's leg.
When nobody showed any sign of understanding, Charites started to explain. "Fairy-made traps have spells cast on it, so that when a creature steps on it, it does not feel pain. The trap lessens pain and quickens the death. It only takes a few days to kill whoever steps on it. When did this happen?" Charites gestured her hand on Alessia's leg.
"Around four days ago. I don't understand. How did you know? How long do I have? Is there a cure?" A deluge of questions went through Alessia's mind.
"I don't know how long you have, exactly, but it's not a long time."
When the meaning of the trap finally sank in, Mama started wringing her hands together and stepped closer to the bed. "Is there any cure for it?"
Charites took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "There is, but I have never done it before. My mother knew how to do it, but we never thought that I would need it. I...I don't know how to do it."
Everyone was quiet for a long time, processing the information. Finally, it was Alessia who solved the problem.
"Can't you...talk to her? Is there a spell for that?"
Charites slapped her forehead lightly with her hand. "Why didn't I think about that?" She remembered the day she escaped from Akakios, how her mother helped her. She had taught her the spell to summon her spirit. Her mother never told her if she could talk to her through the spell, she only told her to use it when danger was imminent. Well, Alessia was dying. She had to help her. Charites stood up and whispered the words for the spell.
A faint light suddenly appeared, growing brighter with each passing second. Suddenly a woman was in its place, glowing and floating before all of them. She had thick copper curls like Aglaia and beautiful jade eyes.
"Mama." Charites whispered.
Thalia smiled and stretched out her hand to her daughter as if to play with her curls, but her hand only went through. Taking no notice of this, Charites took a step forward.
"Mama, I need your help. My friend has stepped on a trap." Charites gestured to Alessia on the bed.
Her mother understood quickly. She stepped closer to Charites and held out her hand. Charites held out hers and brought it close to her mother's, until they was nothing inbetween them. Even though she didn't feel the gentle pressure of her mother's fingertips on hers, she felt...something. Eyes widening in wonder, she stretched out her other hand in unison with her mother and mimicked what their pair was doing.
It was as if they were one person. She knew what her mother was thinking, feeling, everything. The bond between them grew stronger with each passing minute, when her mother pulled her hands away. Charites didn't know if she wanted to wilt with relief or sigh from the interruption.
Now you know what to do. Even if her lips didn't move, Charites knew that it was her mother who spoke. And she was right. In that moment that their fingertips "touched" she thought what her mother was thinking—the spell. She knew how to cure Alessia.
~~~
Alessia still couldn't believe it. She had trouble processing everything that happened since Charites, rather, Aglaia came—the name, being a fairy(A fairy! Can you believe it?), almost dying. Alessia shuddered at the thought. She kept thinking every morning that maybe everything that happened was just a dream that she just woke up from. But then Aglaia would come in her room and Alessia would know.
After Aglaia cured her, her mother disappeared in a burst of white and papa came running, asking what the commotion was all about. He had stopped short when he saw Aglaia, asking curtly who she was, clearly not recognizing her. When mama told him about Aglaia(leaving out the fact that she was a fairy and just saved Alessia's life), papa blanched. He turned white as a sheet and started accusing her of how she escaped on her own, and how he didn't force her to go to the beast, and how she shouldn't take him to the monster. After mama reassured papa that Aglaia wasn't there to take him to the monster, papa resumed his haughty air and walked out of the room.
It was three days since that happened, and in the past few days Alessia had been trying to talk to Aglaia alone so they could talk about being a fairy and her mother. When everything had settled down, mama had started asking Aglaia about the castle and how the beast was. Although Catarina always pretended not to be interested, Alessia knew that she was listening to every word.
Finally Alessia escaped with Aglaia to the meadow, near the trees where they always picked their apples. They were lying down on the grass looking at the sky, enjoying the peace and quiet. Alessia brought herself up on her elbows, looking at Aglaia. Funny how she never realized how Aglaia loved nature and how she seemed to fit right into the surroundings. All these hints that pointed to Aglaia being a fairy kept popping into her mind now that she knew that she was a fairy. The strange love of nature, the almost ethereal glow about her, the weird unfamiliarity with soap.
The fairy kingdom. Fairies. They intrigued her and Alessia almost broke the blessed silence to ask more questions about it. Alessia looked up at the sky. This was, by far, the most exciting week of her life.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Alessia turned to her side, snuggling under the covers. It was only four days ago when they found her in the forest, but she was feeling much better than they expected. Oddly enough, her leg didn't hurt as much as the town healer expected that they thought she wasn't telling them the truth whenever she denied excruciating pain. She turned and lied on her back, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully.
What happened to Charites? Is she even alive? Alessia closed her eyes and hoped that Charites was alive and well. She was the closest to a sister that she ever had, Catarina had never treated her the way Charites did.
A door opened downstairs and Alessia could hear voices—Mama's surprised voice and a familiar one as well. Alessia closed her eyes and thought nothing of it. The voices grew louder and there were muted thumps as the owners of the voices walked up the stairs. Her bedroom door opened and Alessia opened her eyes to see who it was.
Mama came in first, a worried look on her face, and she was looking at the person behind her. Charites came in after her—Alessia almost didn't recognize her, for she was wearing a magnificent dress fit for a queen. It was a dark blue gown with diamonds sewn on it, and it reminded Alessia of the nights she used to spend outdoors, looking at the stars twinkling in the velvet sky. Charites' hair was braided and pinned up and there were tiny diamonds placed on her hair as well.
"Charites?" Alessia couldn't believe it.
Charites walked towards her and sat down on the chair beside her bed. She took her hand between hers, looking extremely perplexed.
"What is it?" Alessia frowned, seeing the expression on her friend's face.
"I..." Charites frowned and looked away, thinking of what to say. "There's something about me that you need to know. I must ask you not to tell Mario and Catarina or anyone else."
Mama nodded anxiously and looked at Alessia, who nodded as well.
Charites pursed her lips and took a deep breath. "I'm—I'm a fairy."
Alessia's eyes widened. All that time with Charites, and she never knew. She could see that Mama was surprised too, neither of them were expecting to hear this. Fairies had long since destroyed contact with humans. Why did Charites live with them?
Nobody talked for a while, and Charites, assuming that they didn't believe her, sighed. "Look, my real name is Aglaia, and I ran away from home because... because I needed to. But right now, that isn't important. What I need is your consent. I mean, I can probably still do it even without your consent, but it would be easier if you agreed. The trap that you stepped on is made by fairies." Charites waved her hand at Alessia's leg.
When nobody showed any sign of understanding, Charites started to explain. "Fairy-made traps have spells cast on it, so that when a creature steps on it, it does not feel pain. The trap lessens pain and quickens the death. It only takes a few days to kill whoever steps on it. When did this happen?" Charites gestured her hand on Alessia's leg.
"Around four days ago. I don't understand. How did you know? How long do I have? Is there a cure?" A deluge of questions went through Alessia's mind.
"I don't know how long you have, exactly, but it's not a long time."
When the meaning of the trap finally sank in, Mama started wringing her hands together and stepped closer to the bed. "Is there any cure for it?"
Charites took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "There is, but I have never done it before. My mother knew how to do it, but we never thought that I would need it. I...I don't know how to do it."
Everyone was quiet for a long time, processing the information. Finally, it was Alessia who solved the problem.
"Can't you...talk to her? Is there a spell for that?"
Charites slapped her forehead lightly with her hand. "Why didn't I think about that?" She remembered the day she escaped from Akakios, how her mother helped her. She had taught her the spell to summon her spirit. Her mother never told her if she could talk to her through the spell, she only told her to use it when danger was imminent. Well, Alessia was dying. She had to help her. Charites stood up and whispered the words for the spell.
A faint light suddenly appeared, growing brighter with each passing second. Suddenly a woman was in its place, glowing and floating before all of them. She had thick copper curls like Aglaia and beautiful jade eyes.
"Mama." Charites whispered.
Thalia smiled and stretched out her hand to her daughter as if to play with her curls, but her hand only went through. Taking no notice of this, Charites took a step forward.
"Mama, I need your help. My friend has stepped on a trap." Charites gestured to Alessia on the bed.
Her mother understood quickly. She stepped closer to Charites and held out her hand. Charites held out hers and brought it close to her mother's, until they was nothing inbetween them. Even though she didn't feel the gentle pressure of her mother's fingertips on hers, she felt...something. Eyes widening in wonder, she stretched out her other hand in unison with her mother and mimicked what their pair was doing.
It was as if they were one person. She knew what her mother was thinking, feeling, everything. The bond between them grew stronger with each passing minute, when her mother pulled her hands away. Charites didn't know if she wanted to wilt with relief or sigh from the interruption.
Now you know what to do. Even if her lips didn't move, Charites knew that it was her mother who spoke. And she was right. In that moment that their fingertips "touched" she thought what her mother was thinking—the spell. She knew how to cure Alessia.
~~~
Alessia still couldn't believe it. She had trouble processing everything that happened since Charites, rather, Aglaia came—the name, being a fairy(A fairy! Can you believe it?), almost dying. Alessia shuddered at the thought. She kept thinking every morning that maybe everything that happened was just a dream that she just woke up from. But then Aglaia would come in her room and Alessia would know.
After Aglaia cured her, her mother disappeared in a burst of white and papa came running, asking what the commotion was all about. He had stopped short when he saw Aglaia, asking curtly who she was, clearly not recognizing her. When mama told him about Aglaia(leaving out the fact that she was a fairy and just saved Alessia's life), papa blanched. He turned white as a sheet and started accusing her of how she escaped on her own, and how he didn't force her to go to the beast, and how she shouldn't take him to the monster. After mama reassured papa that Aglaia wasn't there to take him to the monster, papa resumed his haughty air and walked out of the room.
It was three days since that happened, and in the past few days Alessia had been trying to talk to Aglaia alone so they could talk about being a fairy and her mother. When everything had settled down, mama had started asking Aglaia about the castle and how the beast was. Although Catarina always pretended not to be interested, Alessia knew that she was listening to every word.
Finally Alessia escaped with Aglaia to the meadow, near the trees where they always picked their apples. They were lying down on the grass looking at the sky, enjoying the peace and quiet. Alessia brought herself up on her elbows, looking at Aglaia. Funny how she never realized how Aglaia loved nature and how she seemed to fit right into the surroundings. All these hints that pointed to Aglaia being a fairy kept popping into her mind now that she knew that she was a fairy. The strange love of nature, the almost ethereal glow about her, the weird unfamiliarity with soap.
The fairy kingdom. Fairies. They intrigued her and Alessia almost broke the blessed silence to ask more questions about it. Alessia looked up at the sky. This was, by far, the most exciting week of her life.