Chapter 3
Themyscira. There was nowhere like it in the world. The warrior women and the captain were on shore, ready to invite the performers on their island.
"Welcome. The queen is expecting you," the captain said calmly.
"Thank you. We will begin to set up in an hour," Evander replied with a low bow. Adeline and the others slowly walked out behind their leader and Adeline heard a splash behind her. Now glancing over, she gasped as she saw Tide looking at her.
"Come here," he mouthed to her.
"No! Go away!" She said in fear. He gave her the 'really' kind of look and began waving and splashing his tail to get her attention. The constant splashing was getting the attention of the others as well and soon he decided to give up and come back later. Once they made eye contact, he arched an eyebrow at her.
"I'm coming back later," he mouthed to her again, now diving headfirst into the waves. Adeline shuddered; merpeople, besides her mermaid friends Shell and Marina, still gave her the creeps. As she was thinking, Marina walked past her. She looked absolutely terrible.
"Marina?" Adeline asked. Her friend looked at her and then shook her head.
"Don't worry about it." Marina said, now quickly walking ahead of her. Adeline was about to follow, but Evander gently caught her arm.
"Cove." He said lowly.
"What?" She asked in confusion.
"Kai Cove. Part of the Cove royal family. Kai was known for loving many mermaids from near and far; it's sad that Marina fell for someone like him," Evander said, now looking out into the sea.
"But she did love him! Hard! And now he's engaged to another girl!" Adeline said sadly. "How can men be so unfeeling?!"
"Excuse me?" Evander asked, now looking at her in confusion. "What do you mean how can 'men' be unfeeling?"
"You guys are too stubborn for your own good! Sometimes you can't notice when someone is trying to help you or when someone is in love with you!" Adeline said. Evander arched an eyebrow and turned to face her.
"We are not unfeeling. We may be stubborn at times, but not unfeeling. We rise to the occasion when we need to and many times, we give our lives for you females more than you will ever know," he replied, now turning and walking away.
"Hey!" She said, now walking after him! "I'm not done!"
"Well, I am finished with awkward conversation; we have a show to rehearse," he said, now seeing the moon slowly climbing into the sky once more. His eyes slowly began to glow red and he began chuckling darkly as he let the moon beams fall onto his chest!
"Yes…let every fiber pulse through my veins," he chuckled, now kneeling and digging his claws into the ground! Colossus ran into the area and paused in panic!
"Adeline…don't move…," Colossus said, now sounding very serious. Adeline nodded, too scared to talk or move. With a second, Evander turned to her and slowly approached her, making her squeak in fear.
"Don't move!" Colosuss begged. "He won't do anything if you stay very, very still!"
"O-O-O-O-Okay!" She stuttered out, now feeling Evander wrap his arms around her waist and sniff her neck.
"You humans have such a sweet smell; it makes me hungry," he whispered in her ear and now gently biting her neck, making her eyes pop open in fear.
"Adeline! Remember what I said!" Colossus said, now getting terrified himself. But at that very moment, a cloud covered the moon. Evander's eyes turned back to white and green and he shook his head. He then looked down and saw Adeline looking at him in pure shock and horror.
"What is wrong?" He asked. Colossus came into the clear and Evander turned to him.
"Evander…she needs to know. Now." Colossus said. "This was a very close call."
Evander's eyes widened and he noticed the slight bite marks on her neck. He then grabbed her hand and turned to Colossus. "Emergency meeting. On the shore. Now."
Colossus nodded and gathered all of the performers. It was time for Adeline to know what was happening among her circus family.
Within a few minutes, Adeline was sitting in front of Evander and surrounded by all of the members of their team.
"Adeline. I apologize it has taken me this long to explain, but I didn't want to frighten you," he said. "But Colossus is right. You need to know now."
With a deep breath, Evander pointed to the sky. "Adeline. This is the year of the Golden Night. The Golden Night is when the moon turns to pure gold and it has a tremendous impact on all mythical beings' powers. But the ones it affects most are fairies and enchanters. I, along with Oberon and his realm, get a significant increase in power. But it comes with a cost. The power becomes so great to where we become temporarily mad when the moon beams strike on us. It doesn't last long, but long enough to frighten those around us. In our periods of madness, we do not remember or know what we are doing. We are so busy soaking up energy that our minds are elsewhere."
"So when the moon beams touch you, they make you almost crazy?" Adeline asked.
"Yes. It does not last long, but it does make us go 'crazy', as you put it, because it is overloading our bodies with power. However, after a few nights, the madness of the Enchanters wears off. Fairies, however, are another story." Evander replied.
"E-Evander…you told me something during your madness stage. You told me that you were hungry; were you gonna eat me?" She squeaked out. Evander hung his head and ran a hand through his hair.
"Adeline, there are good and bad of each species. Evil enchanters have fed off of human energy in the past. When the golden night came, they fed off of humans' energy because it was easy to access. I, however, have never done such a thing," Evander replied.
But Adeline was somewhat scared. What if Evander didn't remember her and he did try to harness her energy during his 'mad' stage? Was Evander someone deep down that she needed to fear?
"Yeeeeessssss….you do need to fear him." A deep voice cooed in her ears, now making her cover them. Evander saw her and his eyes narrowed. His eyes glowed white and he let out a low growl; he was reading her mind and he could tell Oberon was speaking to her.
"G-Go away!" She snarled angrily.
"Oh, I will leave, my dear. But you will want to leave that group of fools too once you know what Evander can do! He will come for you in the night, like his Enchanter group, and he will use you as a food source!" Oberon laughed as he ran through her mind!
"G-GET AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed, now hugging her ears and head.
"GET OUT OF HERE, OBERON!" Evander thundered, now speaking telepathically as well.
"Oh Evander? Are you in here too, young Enchanter? You will lose this battle, Evander! For you see, Adeline will eventually need my protection due to your dangerous tendencies!" Oberon laughed, now disappearing and vanishing into thin air.
Once Adeline opened her eyes, the entire circus troupe was around her, trying to see what happened. But Colossus quickly dismissed their concerns, trying to avoid anymore issues. He then helped to keep them back and quickly helped Adeline to her feet.
"Adeline…I know you're scared, but you don't need to fear Evander…he wouldn't harm you on purpose. Not ever!" Colossus said seriously.
"B-But why am I still scared?" She asked, tears filling her eyes as she quickly walked past him and into her dressing room. Evander watched her walk to her room and then looked at Colossus.
"I told you that she would be fearful. Any human would be; this is a serious moment," Evander replied, now somewhat agitated.
"But she needed to know, Evander. She is one of us," Colossus said calmly.
Evander nodded, but remembered the look of terror in Adeline's eyes. She would need time to cope; the Golden Night was a serious time. A time that she may not be ready for. For a moment, Evander hung his head and then turned to Colossus.
"Colossus. She needs to go back to Earth. Just for a little bit," Evander replied.
"WHAT?!" Colossus said in surprise.
"Yes, until this passes. I will have her placed somewhere safe on Earth where she cannot be harmed," Evander replied, now turning and walking out.
"Evander, wait! You can't make her leave! She would be heartbroken," Colossus said, but he stopped as Evander turned and locked eyes with him.
"Colossus…I heard Oberon in her head. He was frightening her even more than you know. How could she perform in our shows feeling terrified of the Golden Night, of me, and of Oberon?" Evander said, now getting frustrated.
"Evander! She doesn't fear you!" Colossus said, his voice raising.
"Yes, she does! To her…I am becoming….a monster," Evander said softly, making Colossus stop in his tracks. Evander then looked at him with a harder expression. "When we are finished here, we will make a short stop on Earth before Atlantis."
"Evander…please…," Colossus tried.
"I have made my decision…," Evander replied, now turning and walking away.
"But…what about Adeline's decision?" Colossus asked softly. He then ran a hand through his hair; the team was going through a hard time. They needed time to recuperate and fast! "I've gotta get to Adeline."
Colossus quickly ran to Adeline's changing tent and called to her.
"Adeline?"
"Yes?" Came the soft voice.
"It's Colosuss. Can I come in?" He asked.
"Sure." Came the gentle reply. Once he entered, he saw Adeline changing for the show, but it was obvious she was nervous.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Y-yeah, I'll be fine," she said. Colossus saw her face and he hung his head.
"Maybe Evander is right." He said lowly. Adeline turned to look at him, hearing the mumbled statement.
"What?" She asked.
"Evander knows you're scared, Adeline. After the show on this island, he said he's gonna take you back to Earth for you to stay until the Golden Night ends," Colossus said. Adeline's eyes widened in shock; sure she was scared, but not scared enough to abandon her friends and family.
"WHAT?! No! I'm not going anywhere!" She said strongly. "I'm staying!"
"He doesn't think you should. He feels that you…that you fear him too much and…and…." Colossus started, but he stopped.
"What else, Colossus?" She asked, now concerned. "What did Evander say?"
"I shouldn't say it. He wouldn't want me to. I need to go get ready," he said, now turning to go.
"Wait! Come back here!" Adeline said, now running in front of him. "Not so fast! You're not leaving my tent until you talk to me!"
"I shouldn't!" Colossus said.
"Yes, you should! We are all family and I need to know what's happening!" Adeline said, now gently holding his hand. "Please. Please tell me."
Colossus let out a deep sigh and then looked down at his friend. "Evander feels like you believe he is a monster," he said sadly.
Adeline's jaw dropped in pure horror! She didn't mean for Evander to take it that way!
"W-What?! No! I didn't mean it like that! He's my friend! I would never see him as a monster!" she said, now almost crying.
"But he feels he scared you that much," Colossus said. Adeline then got a strong look of determination and even though part of her was still scared, she gently squeezed Colossus' hand.
"I won't let him believe that! We will continue the show and I will talk to him after, but I may need your assistance if he is going to be stubborn." She winked. Colossus only gave her a big smile; he felt better knowing Adeline wanted to clear the air with Evander. But that would have to wait…the show was going to begin in less than four hours!
Later that night…
"Now let the ring of fire begin!" Evander's voice boomed, now creating blue fire rings around Adeline and Marina! Both were a bit nervous because the fire was never this hot, but both took deep breaths.
"Evander's got us. He won't let us get hurt," Adeline whispered. Marina nodded, still somewhat scared. But Adeline saw that even though his magic was much stronger, Evander was in complete control. He was able to manipulate the fire over and over without letting them get burned.
He then got on his knees and created a large fireball and Marina created a large ball of water! The two elements began twirling each other and Adeline was supposed to jump through them! But she noticed that as Evander created his ring, he stood up and walked behind her, ensuring that she would be alright when she jumped through the ring.
"Evander…do not worry," she whispered. He didn't even make eye contact; he simply nodded to her. Her eyes softened in sadness; she could tell he wasn't saying anything due to her previous fear of him. But she was going to fix it! She was going to fix her relationship with him right after the show!
As Adeline braced herself, she jumped through the large rings and even though she could feel the fire and boiling water, she made it! Everyone cheered due to the rings varying with width and heat intensity! It was a dangerous trick, but she did it!
"I-I did it," she said, now smiling as she saw the audience applaud. Evander then walked up beside them and told both she and Marina to take a bow! As they did, she saw the centaurs come and begin to parade around the arena, signaling that they could walk off for a moment. As they did, Adeline rushed to catch up to Evander, who was walking far ahead.
"Evander! Wait! Wait a second!" She called, now running in front of him and cutting him off. He only looked at her soberly, not moving an inch.
"Yes?" He asked.
"We need to talk." She soothed.
"Let me guess…Colossus spoke to you, did he?" Evander replied in somewhat agitation.
"Yes. And…,"
"And nothing. My word is final. You are to leave right after this show," he said, now brushing past her and going to his tent. Adeline was in shock! Evander was dead serious about taking her back to Earth!
"Evander! Evander, come back here!" Adeline called out, now chasing after him. She saw him zip his tent closed. Now agitated, she looked for another way in. "Evander!"
"Leave me. I have to prepare for the next performance," he said, now sounding emotionless.
"Oh we'll see about that!" She said, now turning and walking over to Colossus. "Colossus, Evander and I need to talk now! I thought we could wait til after the show, but it can't. Please…cover for him for the rest of the night."
"Huh?!" Colossus said in shock.
"Please! I need to talk to him; this can't wait," she pleaded.
Colossus nodded, hearing the severity in her voice. Once the two friends hugged, Adeline smirked as she spotted a hole at the bottom of the tent. As she poked her head through, she saw Evander sitting in a nearby chair, seemingly sweating hard.
"Evander? Evander, are you alright?" she asked. Evander looked over at her and grunted as he tried to head towards his bed.
"I'm fine." He replied. Adeline sighed and then her voice took on a sterner note.
"No, you're not fine. And you're not gonna avoid me; you're my friend and we're gonna talk tonight. Alone." She said, a smile in her voice. Evander turned to her and arched an eyebrow.
"You are going to be leaving no matter what we talk about," he replied without emotion. Adeline pouted and tried to squeeze herself through the hole. But halfway, she got stuck.
"E-Evander! I'm stuck," she said. Evander looked at her and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Surely you are not being serious," he replied.
"No, I really am! Come help me," she pleaded. Evander slowly walked over and knelt down. She saw the exhaustion on his face and the sweat appearing. He then put his clawed hand out.
"Give me your hand and I will pull," he said, now looking even more exhausted. Adeline gave him her hand and he gave a mighty tug.
"EEEEEEEEEEEK!" Adeline shouted as she went flying and she landed on his chest. Evander tried to get up, but Adeline pinned him down and refused to get up. "Hey…not so fast." She giggled. "Don't I owe you something for rescuing me?"
"Adeline, you must get up," he said gently. But his eyes widened as she gently grabbed his face and leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.
"Evander…please. Listen to me. We are a team and more importantly…we're a family. I don't want to leave. And I certainly don't think of you as a monster!" She said firmly. Evander only looked at her, not saying anything. "Now, listen to me. I may be scared, but not enough to abandon you all. I never have and I never will!"
"Adeline, I must do what is best for everyone," Evander replied. "It is my job."
"But you need someone to help take care of you too, Evander; I have made that my job," Adeline said, now still pinning him down. "And I'm not letting you up until you let me stay and help you and the others through this."
"Adeline…the fairies will be stronger than ever and Oberon will be after you. He will be more determined than before," Evander replied.
"Would you ever let him take me?" She asked. But she gasped as he got close to her and his look was as grave as a heart attack.
"Never. I don't let anyone take anybody from my clan," Evander replied.
"Then I'm gonna be alright and so will you," Adeline said, now pouncing on him and hugging him around his neck.
"Adeline…," he started.
"Nope! You're stuck with me no matter what! We are a family!" Adeline said, now nuzzling into his neck and giggling. What she didn't see was the faint blush that appeared on Evander's face as the surprised ringmaster gently hugged her back. It appeared that Adeline was not taking 'no' for an answer!
"I suppose you staying should be fine, but stay near me," Evander warned as before. Adeline pulled back and nuzzled his nose, making him gently lean back.
"Evander~, c'mon…I was just showing you that you're my friend," she giggled. Now a bit surprised from all of the affection, Evander moved back a bit more.
"I...(clears throat)...believe they are waiting for us in there. We best join them," Evander said, now seeing her lean up and smile at him.
"You got it. As long as you and I are friends again, we're fine," Adeline winked, now seeing him stand and help her up. As Evander unzipped his tent, they were met by a lot of performers who were smirking at them.
"Did you all have a good 'talk', Evander?" Marina smirked.
"Yeah, you are blushing," another fairy giggled. The others chuckled as Evander gave a low growl and ran a hand through his hair.
"Everyone go practice; enough of this chatter," he said, now walking away. Adeline only giggled; she knew she hit a core in him. A core of emotion and friendship.
"Evander…it's alright. I'm always gonna be here for you," she whispered, now seeing him walk away. And she gasped as she saw him briefly pause and look at her over his shoulder. He gave her a small smirk and then continued to walk. Her heart jumped in glee; that sad cloud had passed and she convinced him of her friendship once more!
guestsurprise's words: Hope you all are enjoying this! There's plenty more adventure to come!
To guestsurprise: Oh, my. Could there be a little romance in the air? :) I think if Oberon tried anything, Evander would make him regret it big time. And no doubt Adeline would give Oberon a piece of her mind. :)
Also, Redbat wanted to apologize for her other comment and said she mispelled 'duck' by accident. Here is what she really wanted to say:
"Well, I would definitely like to see Lea and Adeline interacting with each other. Especially with Lea showing Nightlight to Adeline. And while Adeline shows Lea her tricks that she learned from Cirque Mystique, Lea shows Adeline her mad hockey skills when defending herself. Maybe during Lea's demonstration when trick-shooting a hockey puck, it manages to knock Evander's hat or nearly got his head if he didn't duck in time. And then Lea would apologize, only to see that twinkling look in Evander's eye that freaked her out and make a run for it. This is where Evander either chases her, use his telekinesis to stop her, and or use his enchantment to tickle Lea to pieces with his magic feathers and claws. Her most ticklish spot would be her feet. But her shoulder blades, armpits, and stomach tickle just as bad, too. Again, it doesn't have to be exactly like that. I'll let you have your own spin on it. I'm just not sure how and where Lea and Adeline meet."
To everyone else: Please leave guestsurprise a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418