Disclaimer: I own nothing but my computer and my cat, and I think the cat owns herself
Stillness reigned in the old white house as a grandfather clock chimed in the witching hour. Outside a storm raged, torrential rain blocking all sight but the lightening splitting the sky like a tear in the world. Linda woke with a start as a great crash of thunder exploded directly over head. Her open eyes met only blackness. From across the hall she heard a crash. Lightening briefly illuminated her path as she hurried to the baby's room. She hit the light switch. Of course it did nothing. Cautiously she blindly started forward only to freeze in shock as another flash lit the small room.
There was a man standing by the baby's crib.
Though she only saw him for an instant his image was burned into her memory. Knee-high black boots and charcoal grey leggings visible under a voluminous cape the color of the night sky, shimmering between deepest indigo and black sparkling like a universe of stars. His hair was wild as the wind in platinum shades of moonlight surrounding a flawless pale face too beautiful for a mortal man. His wing browed eyes should not have been visible in the harsh shadows but somehow she had seen his mismatched irises, one the grey-blue of an overcast sky and the other the indigo of a clear dark night. Linda was not generally a superstitious sort but her Irish ancestors had taught her well, she knew a Fae when she saw it.
A soft glow permeated the inky darkness, originating from a clear sphere he held aloft in his gloved hand. His perfect features set in thought as he woven the ball between his hands, the smooth hypnotic motion casually defying the laws of physics, never taking his eyes off the sleeping child. Suddenly he stopped, grasping the orb with the very tips of his leather encased fingers and offering it to the infant. Her drowsy dark eyes slid open to stare at the gift in mute fascination. Slowly she reached for it with both chubby hands, smiling as she cuddled it to a pillow creased cheek and immediately falling back asleep. The Fae's face softened in a small smile before he addressed the captivated woman frozen in the doorway. His eyes remained on the child.
"No one will believe you, you know."
His voice broke her stasis. "I know." She cleared her throat. "What…what do you want with her?"
"Are you asking my intentions?" His arrogant brow rose in mocking distain as his lips curled cruelly.
"Please don't take her. She's just a baby."
"If I meant to take her this night we would already be gone." His emphasis on 'this night' did not go unnoticed.
"Please she's the only thing I love."
"Even that will not be enough to keep you here." His eyes turned sad as he stroked the child's wispy dark hair with an elegant gloved finger.
Linda felt the truth in his statement, already restlessness pulled at her, subdued only by her weakening maternal instinct. She stared at his feet as she asked again, "What do you want with her?"
"Everything" came his simple answer.
"Will you wait for her to grow up?"
"Yes"
"Will you make her your queen?"
"Yes"
"Will you love her?"
"Forever" sincerity blazed in his mismatched eyes as he finally met her gaze.
She nodded once in acceptance. Silently she crossed the hall, rejoining her sleeping husband in their cold bed. As she drifted off to sleep she heard an inhumanly beautiful voice murmur softly to her young child.
"Everything I do will be for you. But I move the stars for no one."
Ten years later, on another stormy night, Linda left her small suitcase by the front door and crept upstairs to drop off one last letter. She walked into her daughter's room and stopped dead. A feeling of déjà vu crashed over her with a flash of lightening. The man from her dream, faded from memory but unmistakable, leaned against the far wall, elegantly casual in his dark archaic costume. He looked unsurprised but disappointed as his prediction came true.
Linda felt suddenly awkward in her outdoor gear.
In his hand he held the gift left on his long ago visit. He turned the crystal and suddenly it was a book, covered in red leather with gilt lettering that shone in the dim light. Reaching over he snatched the letter from Linda's slack grip and placed it in the front cover. He laid the book beside the young girl, his hand lingering to tuck a lock of dark hair behind her pale ear. He straightened into his usual regal posture and disappeared in a cascade of sparkles. Linda approached the bed, unconsciously imitating the Fae's touch on the child's brow.
"Live your dreams, Sarah, and never settle for less."
Linda blinked back silent tears as she walked out into the night, never to return.