Chapter 4 AFTER-MATCH

The air was marginally filled with a stench of blood mixed with the pungent smell of the silk from my little bed. As I opened my eyes, I could not see anything out of the ordinary, just the vague imagery of my bedroom and the moonlight casting on the creaky floor through the opaque window. I tried to pull myself up out of bed, but out came a familiar voice that broke the dead silence in the room.

"Please, lie down, you must rest after that tiresome exercise"

"Athelia is that you? What is going on here? And how do you mean by exercise?" trying my best to remember what had happened prior to my slumber. Although, I attempted to lift my head to see my darling Athelia, I could not see her in the shadows of night.

She hesitated slightly before speaking:

"No, it's me, Zarina, do you remember?"

I was, honestly, disappointed as I was hoping for a friend who has not made any contact since last month which was indeed strange of her. My mind was racing everywhere, looking for the smallest detail on this mysterious young woman, this Zarina. In spite of my best efforts, it was in vain.

"I have no memories about you whatsoever, so please step into the moonlight for me to see you, hopefully, I can recognise your face" I asked in an imperious manner.

The shy lady complied relentlessly, and sit herself next to me. I moved my hand upwards to remove a few strands of her hair out of my view of her face. Subsequently, I discovered a left black eye which was obviously recent.

"What on earth happened to a lovely girl like yourself" I inquired, pretending to be shocked by her conditions.

"Nothing to worry about, it's just a bruise from a misunderstanding I've had today, no biggie"

"I am glad it is only that, now do you mind telling me what the DEUCE you are doing in my house" I demanded,

"I was suppose to contact you for assistance in getting out of Phony, but we had an argument which led to a brawl which, by the way, nearly killed you, so I think some manners would be very welcomed" she hissed sourly, looking upset.

I thought about it once more, and yes, she WAS suppose to come here and we did have a fight, but over what? It seemed absolutely incomprehensible at that time. Then, I remember some jingling noises, not really assured about them I asked Zarina who was looking at the window:

"I remember now,...what about the jingles do you recall them or is it just me?"

"They came from me, actually" she answered cheerfully, dispersing the negative atmosphere in which we were, making it into a rather ridiculous one.

"From...you, I'm sorry did you swallow a bloody bell? Because I am sure that before you want to be smuggled out of the country you swallow a bloody bell for good luck, I believe" I uttered in an at most annoyed accent,

"I was going to wait for a while to gain your trust before I revealed this to you but apparently your impetuosity has forced me to speed up my initial plan" she said earnestly,

I starred at her for a moment, while contemplating the significance of the situation, I was so fascinated by what this girl has to say that I was not even bothered with her calling me impetuous. If she needed to gain my trust for this revelation, it must be vital, it could be from the others. Nevertheless, to be rational on this topic, she could be an infiltrator wanting to exploit my knowledge of the Smuggler's Trail. Even if she was a spy and even if she had probably set up siege on my home, she was the one giving information not me. It was futile to escape, I was already trapped, caught, caged but it shan't hurt anyone to hear her wicked lies, I have been stuffed with so much of them that I was often curious by what new propaganda they had to plague the minds of civilians. Therefore, having motioned her to carry on, she continued:

"What I am about to say is highly confidential..."

"Great!" I interrupted,

"It is not to be known by anyone, especially the government..."

"Your secret's safe with me" I said sarcastically, while crossing my heart with my finger.

"And I will need your faith and trust, I do not require your words, on the contrary I think it's best that you don't speak..."

"If you are an interrogator, you need a new job"

"Please concentrate and be serious"

I nodded dully.

She turned away, cupping her face with her hands while taking deep breaths, the she turned and stated:

"OK, here it goes, I...AM...A...FAIRY"