Chapter Four: Secret Unveiled
(edited version)

Tania's eyes fluttered open. It didn't take her long to figure out that she was lying stomach-down on what felt like the earth. All she could see was utter darkness. It was probably because her entire face was buried on the ground. Her face was itchy: she could feel particles of dirt on her skin. She could also feel her long hair curtain her entire head, completely shielding her face from view.

For some reason, she did not move or speak or make even the slightest noise. She was aware of mutters and sobs in the background, but she ignored them all. She just lay there. She lay there as memories flooded her.

She remembered everything. She remembered the two masked men, her unconscious mother, and the face of her father.

And she remembered being stabbed in the heart by a razor-sharp knife. She remembered how much burning pain she felt. But all that pain was gone.

Completely gone.

One thing that she couldn't remember was what happened after she fell into complete darkness.

Why am I alive? I should be dead, she thought. She felt as if she had just woken up from a good and restful sleep.

"I don't believe this," she heard someone mutter. "I can't believe they are dead...Sir James, Lady Evelyn, Lady Tania…"

Dead? I think not! What madness!

"I am not dead!" Tania cried out indignantly. With this, she whirled around and glared at the person who had spoken. It turned out to be a middle-aged man dressed in uniform: a guard.

The reaction of the people around her was incredible. Every servant, every outsider, and every guard gasped and turned pale at the same time. Some screamed. Some fainted. Some screamed and fainted.

Tania stood up and brushed the dirt off her blood-stained dress. She looked up and realized that she had quite an audience. At first, she was amused at the reactions of the people around her, but the amusement vanished instantly when she remembered something: her parents.

She turned. Her eyes widened with horror at the sight. Her parents lay next to each other on the ground, cold and dead. Their eyes were shut and their elegant clothes were filled with blood.

"No," she whispered. Forgetting about those around her, she ran towards them and fell on her knees next to their bodies. Tears poured down her cheeks as she stared at their ashen faces. Even their lips lost all colour.

She covered her face in her hands and sobbed loudly, not caring for all the people around her. All the others could do was watch her.

"No, no, no," she whimpered, "they can't be dead. They can't be dead. They can't be…"

Her body trembled almost uncontrollably. She felt coldness run through her blood.

They were dead. They were gone.

Then, amidst her tears and sobs, a strange gust of wind formed. It was like the wild breeze of an early spring. It strengthened and grew colder as each second passed. It seemed as if it was angry at something, but it also had a sense of sadness…

It howled and it raged. Tania's wavy hair blew wildly in all directions, but she didn't bother to tame it. She didn't care.

Leaves of different shades of green flew and rustled, men held on to their hats, and women held on to their skirts. They shivered as goose bumps crawled on their arms.

Suddenly, there was a shout from the crowd. "Stop this witchcraft!"

The order was directed to Tania.

Tania felt a rough hand pull her away. She was dragged in front of all the outsiders, all the servants, and all the five guards. Everyone looked at her with mixed emotions. Tania felt like she was reliving that cart incident at the marketplace.

Then a familiar voice shouted. "She isn't a witch!"

It was Kylee. She pushed her way through the massive crowd and ran to Tania.

"Tania!" she cried. Not caring for those who were watching her, she gave her best friend a bone-crushing hug. "I thought you were dead! You stupid, stupid, heartless girl! Don't do that again! I though you were dead!" she sobbed.

"It's all right, Kylee." Tania said it very softly, but Kylee still heard it, despite the howling, bitter wind. "I'm not dead."

"Kylee, get away from her!" Both girls turned and saw that it was Sandra. Her green eyes were blazing with anger. "She's a witch!"

There were loud murmurs from the crowd. Everyone began to talk all at once, but their voices were like echoes in an empty cave. The wind kept on screaming.

Then, all of a sudden, about six or seven people started to chant. "Witch, witch, witch, witch…"

Tania started. "W-what?" she said in disbelief. "I-I am not…" Her voice left her. She could not speak.

Soon, the others began to follow suit, and the chanting became louder and more menacing. "Witch! Witch! Witch! Witch!"

Kylee screamed angrily at them. "She is not a witch!"

But to no avail. Her voice was drowned by the voices from the crowd and by the vicious wind.

"Witch! Witch! Witch! Witch!" the people chanted. "Witch! Witch! Witch! Witch!"

The chant grew louder. "WITCH! WITCH! WITCH!"

Suddenly, a thunderous roar burst throughout. "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

It certainly was enough to scare the bemused mob and the wind. The chanting stopped and the wind died down.

Silence prevailed. Complete, utter silence.

Everyone's heads turned to the direction where that voice came from. Tania felt her heart soar as she stared at the one who yelled that out…

Darrin. It was Darrin. From afar, she could see the fire in his eyes as he glared threateningly at the crowd.

"She isn't a witch!" he shouted at them.

"Are you crazy, lad?" a fuming man said. "She was dead a minute ago!"

"Yes, she was," Darrin agreed, "but, like I said before, she isn't a witch."

"You are mad!" another shouted. "She's a damn witch! Do you think you know better than us?"

"Actually, I do," Darrin said, with a strangely amused voice. "You are all forgetting one thing."

"Then will you grace us with your wisdom and tell us?" someone jeered.

"Thank you, I will," Darrin jeered back. He stared the people from the crowd down and said, "Witches are part of the human race. They are humans who practise sorcery, witchcraft, or whatever you want to call it."

"We all know that," a shrill woman said impatiently. "Do you have a point?"

Darrin rolled his eyes. "You people are slow. Don't you see? If witches are humans, a mortal weapon can kill them. If Tania here is a witch, then she wouldn't have been able to come back from the dead."

A deafening silence followed. It was so deafening that Tania could have sworn that if someone dropped a needle on the soft grass, she would have been able to hear it.

He continued, almost arrogantly. "There is only one race that cannot be killed by a mortal weapon. There is only one race of immortal beings."

Tania held her breath as Darrin eyed her with a firm gaze. Her heart pounded heavily at a rough rhythm. There was something about that gaze of his that brought strong shivers down her spine. She wished that he would stop looking at her. It seemed as if he could read her very mind and very soul.

Finally, after the heavy moment between the two, he turned away and stared back at the crowd.

And he said the announcement that would forever linger in everyone's minds: "She's a fairy."

Tania gasped. It wasn't just herself who did that, but she didn't notice. She was a fairy? She was a fairy?

SHE WAS A FAIRY?

But it made perfect sense, even if she was unwilling to admit it. All those bizarre incidents that had centered on her…

Fairy blood…

They fit! As much as she hated to confess it, the puzzles fit perfectly. Besides, if she wasn't a fairy, how was she able to not die from the dagger—a weapon made for a mortal death?

It took her a while to become aware of the prevailing silence and the people who gaped at her. When she did, she frowned and shrugged at them.

"I guess I'm a fairy." She could have said "I guess it's going to rain tomorrow" and there wouldn't have been a difference in the tone.

The mortals from all around eyed her from head to toe. The strange thing was that she saw respect in them.

She wanted nothing of it. Silently, she left her spot and walked back to her parents, ignoring the fixed orbs that followed her every move.

She stared distractedly at her parents' bodies. But she didn't cry. Her recent discovery had overwhelmed her too much.

"Please," she whispered hoarsely, "take them away."

No one moved. Everyone was still in shock.

She cleared her throat loudly, and everyone jumped. They snapped out of their thoughts when they realized that she was now the mistress of the manor. Three menservants from the mass stepped forward. Two carried Sir James, while one carried Lady Evelyn. They took the lifeless bodies inside the manor.

The silent, piercing eyes were still on her. Tania closed her eyes and heaved the deepest sigh.

"Please leave now," she whispered. "Return to where you were."

After a short pause, the servants, people from outside the manor, and the few guards left the scene reluctantly. They scattered off to many directions, muttering to themselves along the way.

Soon, there were only three people left in the garden.

"Tania?" Kylee approached her friend slowly and cautiously.

Tania turned and gave a quivering smile.

"I…I'm sorry about your parents," Kylee said softly. "They were really important to you. I know that you feel terrible right now."

Tania shrugged.

Kylee continued bravely. "I'm glad you're still here. For a moment there, I thought that my best friend was lost forever."

This time, Tania managed a very small smile. This encouraged Kylee.

"I'll always be here for you. Remember that," she said. "You know that I'm always ready to talk and listen."

Tania nodded. "Thank you." She forced another smile, then hugged her friend, feeling grateful for her support. Afterwards, she turned her head to meet the eyes of the third member.

"Uh…Kylee, can you give us a minute?" she asked.

Kylee nodded. "All right, I'll see you later."

She hugged Tania one last time and walked off.

Darrin watched the beautiful, raven-haired girl pensively as she walk away. "She is very kind," he commented.

Tania stared closely at him first before replying. "She is."

His focussed, azure eyes met her purplish ones. "Walk with me."

Tania, suddenly unable to talk, just nodded and followed him out of the garden.

The night was unchanged. Despite the incident, the crescent moon still shone as brightly as before. It sickened Tania for some reason.

They walked on the field behind the manor in complete silence. Darkness enveloped them.

Tania didn't feel like talking. She preferred to be alone. Later on, with the silence unbroken, she was already thinking of excuses to say to him, not caring whether they were lame or not. She just wanted to leave.

Darrin, however, was determined to say something. He cleared his throat nervously, which was odd since he was never nervous. "I am really sorry."

Tania just gave a short nod.

"How do you feel?"

Tania didn't even know how to respond to that. "Peachy," she said afterwards. Her voice was sour and full of sarcasm. She would have continued to be so, but she began to wonder about something. She paused and looked at Darrin. "How long have I been…uh…dead?" It felt odd to say that.

He shot her a quizzical look. "Don't you know anything about fairies?"

Tania did not respond, for realization suddenly came to her. Her mother had been her tutor since she was very little. It had been her mother who guided her through her studies of literature, math, history, languages, and many more.

And never once did she mention anything about fairies. She taught about elves, dragons, centaurs, and ogres, but not once did she talk about those immortal beings.

She avoided it, Tania thought.

"Well…?" Darrin said.

She shot him a bemused look. "No," she said dryly.

"Oh." He frowned. "Well, when fairies die from a mortal weapon, they stay dead for five minutes in order to give time for the body to heal. The body uses these five minutes for clearing away the wounds, broken bones, and all that. The spirit, however, is unaffected by the death. After the fairy 'dies', it merely goes to a restful sleep until the fairy reawakens.

"A fairy dies when the spirit leaves the body. Fairies can die from strong magic, like spells and enchantment. They can also die from any emotional pain."

Tania stayed quiet as she tried to sink all these in. It was odd to think that she could not die from falling off a cliff or from a disease.

"What about if they burn to ashes?" she asked.

"Simple. The ashes will reform into their bodies."

Tania stared. "How do you know so much about fairies?"

Darrin gave a wry smile. "This may seem hard to believe, but I am an educated person. I used to work for a nobleman who treated me like a son. He taught me everything he knew. He died only two months ago."

"And after that, you found yourself being hired as a bodyguard."

"That's right."

Tania paused suddenly as he father's face just before her death flashed before her eyes.

"My parents knew about all this," she said quietly. "They knew about me being…well, a fairy." After seeing Darrin's probing look, she sighed and said, "Just before I was stabbed, I saw a small look of triumph on my father's face. He knew that I wasn't going to die."

She took a deep breath. "But what I don't understand is: why were they suddenly afraid of my safety after all these years? Before I turned sixteen, they weren't really that protective. It's as if this wretched age did something to…" Tania trailed off and didn't bother to continue. Talking about her "parents" still hurt her.

All of a sudden, another image flashed before her eyes: Emerlin Forest.

"Adelle Lovrin," she whispered. She heard Darrin hold a sharp breath.

"What?" he said hoarsely.

Tania didn't answer. She gathered up her skirts and ran off at her fastest speed.

It took Darrin only a split second to react. The moment she took off, he followed. He ran after her, and being a faster runner, caught up. He grabbed her wrist, forcing her to stop.

"Let me go!" Tania screamed, struggling to free herself. "I have to do something!" She needn't say what she needed to. Darrin had already figured it out.

"You are not going to Emerlin Forest," he ordered. "It's too risky."

Tania glared. Then, without even thinking, she held up her free hand parallel to the ground. The action just came to her. She didn't take a single moment to ponder about it.

She felt something surge within her. It was a strange feeling. She felt short of breath and slightly nauseous, but those symptoms were severely conquered by this…this…power she felt.

Darrin went flying off, as if he was the stone from a slingshot. He landed on the grass about fifteen feet away.

Tania didn't waste time. Another action came. One that she, again, didn't think about.

She bent her knees, jumped…

…and flew off.

Ignoring Darrin's shouts, she welcomed the dark expanse that stretched out before her.