Author's note: Hey, everyone. Sorry it took much longer than usual for this chapter. I promise this wasn't some ruse to draw out Fayette's identity. It just came at a really inconvenient time, because apparently I'm going to need a new laptop. Before I published chapter 16, I'd written up to chapter 34 (towards the end of this fanfic) and had saved up to chapter 30 to this site. I don't know when or if I'm getting my laptop back, soo it may still be a while before I publish another chapter, and I may need to rewrite a lot of the last few chapters up until the end. I hope you continue to read and enjoy the story though, because I've put a lot into it and have tried to make it an interesting read. All right, I've said enough. Again, thank you all, and feedback is always appreciated. :)
"You've been stalling for like, ten minutes," Benny pointed out, walking beside Fayette on a sidewalk through town.
"No, I've been leading you somewhere. In silence."
"Silence and I aren't exactly friends. So let's try talking just a little? I'll go first. So today, I found out the girl I like can turn invisible, and likes to demonstrate this in the middle of my high school hallway. How was your day?" he said sarcastically.
"Well, today I was visited by my evil ex-boyfriend and threatened, so the only way I could protect the guy I like was by trying to disappear. When that didn't work out, he made me feel bad about myself as I tried to take him to my house." Benny closed his mouth, looking ashamed. "That shut you up."
"I'm sorry," he finally confessed to his outburst. "I'm just a smidge confused."
"Yes, well, that smidge is about to become oodles," Fayette sighed, digging her hands into her pockets and frowning.
Benny glanced over at her, feeling bad about getting angry, but curious about one thing she had said. "So, you like me back?" he asked, averting his eyes away from her.
Fayette made a noise of disbelief. "Naturally, that would be the only part of that speech that you would focus on."
They were quiet for another few minutes before Benny finally whispered, "Would you rather walk in silence or kick Benny?"
"Kick Benny. BUT that's only because I can't stand walking without talking to you anymore. It's not because I'm mad at you. I'm sorry, too, for scaring you earlier."
"Don't worry about it. I just thought...when you weren't in class...that..."
"That, what?"
Benny's cheeks flushed, embarrassed to continue. "That something had happened."
Fayette's mouth turned up at the sides. Realizing this made Benny uncomfortable, she decided to change the subject. "Would you rather be Dumbledore or Gandalf?"
"Are you kidding? Gandalf! No competition. However, Dumbledore did have some mad wizard skills."
"So says the SpellMaster. I would've chosen Dumbledore regardless," she said smiling. "But anyway, we're here now."
Fayette gestured to a massive, two-story Victorian house in front of them, that looked more like a castle than a house nestled in the woods. Painted a light blue with white shutters, it had one turret on the second story with a spire coming to a dangerous point. The stairs leading up to the front door wrapped around to the front porch, where two rocking chairs and a hammock sat.
Benny looked up to see a balcony wrap around the second story where it met the turret, with pots of daisies hanging from the edge of the white balcony. The house was about ten yards away from the vast forest and a huge garden in the backyard. No matter where anyone went near this house, they wouldn't be able to escape plants, he noticed.
Walking through the front door, Benny was engulfed by the scent of flowers that he'd come to associate with Fayette. The interior was just as magnificent as the outside, decorated to the tee with colorful, expensive furniture and decor.
Fayette led him to a spiral wooden staircase, trudging upwards to the second story. There, it seemed to be another world entirely from the rest of the house. The walls had been covered in bright, multi-colored quotes and white outlines of flowers. The door at the end of the hallway was painted lavender, with a doorknob shaped like a daisy.
She opened the door, and Benny was stunned to find out that this room belonged to Fayette. It didn't look like a typical girl's room. The ceiling had been made to resemble the night sky, with tiny little lights to simulate the stars. The walls gleamed silver and a deep blue, pasted with black and white pictures from cities all over the world. A four poster bed sat in the very center of the room, draped with sheer, silver fabric over the top and sides of the posts. A desk sat in the corner by the door, while a nook by the window held a cupboard full of books. The window opened out to the balcony Benny had spotted earlier.
Fayette's closet door was open, revealing tons of dresses and even more books. She didn't have a television, or any pictures of herself. A mess simply didn't exist in any corner of her room. But the thing that Benny found most surprising, was that he expected her room to be full of color and vibrance, much like herself.
"Every inch of this house is blinding with color," Benny observed. "I walked through your living room thinking I'd need sunglasses. The door leading to your room is even purple! But I come in here, and the only color I find are the covers of your books and your dresses."
Fayette sat on the edge of her bed, her feet dangling over the carpet. "When I come in here, I feel calm. Like the whole house is just screaming with color, but I come in here, and look at the fake night sky, curl into a book, and just relax."
Seeing Benny stand in her doorway awkwardly, she patted the spot beside her on the bed. "You can either sit here or at my desk. Either way, I'm not gonna disappear again."
Though he kind of wanted to take a spin in her desk chair, Benny decided to sit next to Fayette instead. Her bed was soft and comfy, and he nearly sank in.
"I know what you are," Benny said.
"You didn't say who," Fayette noted.
"You're an angel."
She couldn't help but laugh, until she saw how serious Benny looked. "Oh, goodness. You're serious." Putting her hand around the bedpost, she swivelled herself until she faced him. "No, oh, gosh. I'm not an angel." Fayette had to cover her mouth from another giggle. "It's not funny, I'm sorry."
"You keep laughing."
"Just because I can't believe you thought I was...good enough to be an angel. Benny, please tell me why you thought that."
"When you dropped your books around Ethan, he accidentally touched your hand and got a vision-"
"Wait, he got a vision?" she cut in.
"Yeah, Ethan's a Seer."
"You weren't kidding when you said this town is full of weird. Continue, please."
"Well, he said you had wings. And then I jumped to my own conclusions about you saving me, and calling yourself my guardian angel, and putting your number in my phone as the one to Heaven."
"Benny, I thought you knew by now not to take me too seriously. That whole angel business, I was just kidding. I mean, I was trying to flirt, really. Not trying to drop clues."
"So you don't have wings?"
Fayette sucked in some air, her green eyes searching his. "I'm not an angel, but I do have wings."
"How?"
Scooting closer to Benny until they weren't but a few inches apart, Fayette bunched up some of her blankets in her hand. "Honestly, I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you, but we've come this far..."
"Your secret is safe with me."
"That's the problem, though. Nothing about you is safe with me. Rowan could find a way to get to you." Benny's hand nearly touched hers, and she gazed over at it.
His face had gotten closer to hers. They'd found themselves right back in the position they were in the bookstore a few nights ago. Their faces edging nearer, about to kiss. Benny placed his hand on the back of Fayette's neck, and she suddenly spoke. "I can't kiss you."
"Why not?"
"I should explain first."
"I should probably move my face away from yours now, huh?"
"That might help with my concentration, because right now I'm a little foggy."
Benny went back to his spot on the bed, while Fayette inched herself back towards the opposite bedpost. They both sighed at the same time, not daring to look at the other.
"All right. Let me explain," she said, sounding a little out of breath. "Give me a minute."
"Have I taken your breath away?" Benny smirked, still not looking at her.
Fayette shoved him in the arm playfully. "Whatever, I thought your heart was about to pound out of your chest like a cartoon. But in all seriousness... All right. Let me tell you about Rowan first." Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Rowan Hawthorn comes from a long line of royalty. His parents, King Oren and Queen Alona, are the rulers of the Treefolk."
"You're a tree?" Benny practically shouted.
"Gosh, no. Quit jumping the gun. It's a good thing I'm not though, or I'd be offended. Anyway, as I was saying, Rowan and his parents are royalty in the Treefolk community. The forest behind my house is full of Treefolk that can't leave. Only the most powerful can completely uproot and take human form, without having to stay too close to the forest. That would be Rowan and his family. Treefolk generally grow in the center of a fairy ring, so it's a standing tradition that the first son of the Treefolk marries the first daughter of the pixies. Generally, the remaining children can choose to marry someone else, and be rulers of their respective kingdoms. That way, the two are always harmoniously linked, but still have rulers of their own. Now, the rulers of the pixies, King Elwin and Queen Cliona, had set up for their daughter to marry Rowan. That was before finding out he was malevolent and cruel, only looking to become ruler to set the Treefolk free. Since the initial High Rulers of the Treefolk and the pixies had passed on, the two kingdoms were heavily relying on Rowan and the princess to be married, to unite the kingdoms once more. Now that the princess has seen Rowan unfit to marry, the two are at war. Either the princess caves in, causing mayhem between the supernatural and the human worlds, or Rowan is defeated and the two kingdoms will no longer depend on each other. Benny, that pixie princess is me."