Disclaimer: This story is completely original. All characters, settings, and events are spawned from my own mixed up little mind and may not be used, copied, or adapted without my express written permission. Do not steal my story!!!
13.
The moment Toby stepped into the school on Monday morning, complete with invisible tiara on her forehead and invisible fairy prince on her shoulder, she was the center of attention. As if on cue, everyone turned to look at her, a hush settling over the crowded hallway. She swallowed hard, steeling herself for yet another round of mocking, even as her stomach clench into a panicky knot.
"Why didn't you tell us that you were an actress?"
"Dude, can I be an extra on the set? That'd be so cool!"
"How did you make the fire disappear? That was so real, your special effects budget must be huge!"
"Does that one blue-haired guy really turn into a dragon?"
"When is it coming out?"
Toby stared, dumbfounded, at the babbling sea of faces surrounding her, feeling herself shrink back against the doorway. They kept talking, and she could feel panic welling up inside of her. She didn't know what they were talking about, much less how to deal with all of this... -good- attention. Almost as if sensing her panic, there was a sudden lightness on her shoulder as Fiz presumably took to wing. Great, just what she needed, an over-compensating fairy poking some kid's eye out.
"Hey, guys, give her some space." Dominic's voice cut through the cacophony around her, her eyes immediately -- and gratefully -- seeking his welcome face. He stepped through the crowd, glancing around at the gaggle of students. "They pulled a publicity stunt so obviously they want to build hype, but I doubt they'll let her talk about it. Okay? So leave her alone."
Toby tried to bore gratefulness through his back, watching as he effectively dispersed the crowd that had formed around her. She felt Fiz settle onto her shoulder again, breathing a quiet sigh of relief.
"Thanks," she said to Dominic. "You told them the mall was a publicity stunt?"
"Yeah. Just tell anyone who asks you can't talk because of your contract. It'll buy you some time at least," Dominic replied, without looking over at her. She frowned.
"Why are you being weird? Are you mad at me?"
Those brilliant blue eyes of his snapped to her, but not to meet her eyes. Instead, he stared at her forehead, as if willing the tiara that hid there to reveal itself.
"I'm not the one being weird."
Toby watched in stunned disbelief as he turned on his heel, weaving into the crowd of students. As she was standing there, staring, the bell rang and the students began making their way towards their lockers. A light hand touched her cheek, Fiz's voice barely audible over the noise. "Princess?"
She mentally shook her head, inhaling. Today was going to stink. "I'm fine. Let's get to class. Well," she paused, smiling faintly. "I'm going to get to class. You stay quiet and try not to get me into trouble."
"Why Princess, I'd never--" he started, interrupted by her chuckle as she headed to class.
By the time lunch came around, however, she was sick of the stares and the constant questions. It seemed recently she'd been unable to escape the spotlight, first as the school mockery, and now as the school overnight celebrity. She didn't like either. She liked her anonymity. It was quieter and far less stressful. So when the lunch bell rang, the cafeteria was the last place she wanted to be. Instead she headed to the one place she knew no one would ever think to look for her -- the indoor pool.
Letting the door fall shut behind her, she dropped her bag on the bench next to the door, flopping to a seat. Fiz fluttered into view in front of him, tilting his head in an absolutely adorable fashion. It made her think of a kitten cocking its head.
"Are you all right Princess? Perhaps we should go home."
"No," Toby said with a sigh, leaning back against the wall. "You remember what Verum said. The trolls know there's a Princess here somewhere. They'll be looking for anyone who suddenly breaks their routine, disappears, or goes into hiding. The best thing for me to do is act completely.. normal." Toby nearly laughed at the word.
Fiz 'hmph'ed, sticking his tiny fists on his tiny hips. "Don't worry, Princess! Those trolls don't stand a chance against the Fairy Court's strongest warrior!"
Toby couldn't help it; she laughed. The crestfallen expression on Fiz's face, however, immediately made her regret her outburst. "Sorry. I do trust you, honest. It's just that.. well..."
The sound of one of the doors being opened immediately drew both of their attentions, and Fiz blinked into invisibility, leaving Toby peering at the young woman who stepped through the door. She wasn't a highschool student, she seemed too old. College student, maybe? She was tall and willowy, with long, grey-black hair and huge aqua-blue eyes. There was a strange sort of awkwardness to how she moved, however, like someone compensating for new shoes.
Her big blue eyes locked on Toby's hazel ones. "Am I interupting?" her voice bubbled up, as rhythmic as waves rippling on the shore.
"Uh... no. I was just... uh... talking to myself."
"I see," the woman said, approaching Toby. She suddenly dropped to her knees in front of the younger girl, reaching out with one finger and lightly touching the center of Toby's forehead. Toby inhaled sharply when she felt -- rather than saw -- the tiara appear on her brow. The young woman didn't seem to notice the fright flooding onto Toby's face, instead staring at the crystal sparkling in the dim flourescent light.
"So it's true. You are a Princess."
"Who are you?! Get away from my Princess!" Fiz suddenly flared into life, zipping between the kneeling woman and Toby.
The woman laughed, holding up a hand to fend off the tiny, irate little man. "Peace, Fairy Lord. I am one of your people. My name is Abbie."
Fiz paused, tilting his head at her scrutinizingly. "Oh?"
She nodded, then rose from her knees to sit down on the bench next to Toby. Those big blue eyes, rippling like the moon's reflecting in a pool, stared at Toby's tiara for a moment, a longing in her eyes so intense that it made Toby's heart ache for Abbie. "Yes. Though a cruel and foolish mortal has doomed me to walk these lands for a very, very long time."
"Selkie!" Fiz gasped suddenly. "He stole your skin?"
Abbie's eyes were so full of sadness Toby had to resist the urge to hug her. "I made the mistake a long time ago of falling in love with a mortal man. I used to watch him from the waters as he worked by the shore, mending his nets, casting them out. I drove the fish into them, just to see the happiness on his face. Finally, one day, I worked up my nerve. I slipped from the waters, shed my skin, and approached him."
She lowered her gaze to her hands, a ripple of that thick, dark-grey hair cascading over her shoulder. It was seal-grey, Toby realized, and her eyes were sea-green. Selkies, Toby remembered, the knowledge coming from.. somewhere. Seal-people who could shed their skin to take a humanoid form. They only lived in the deepest, coldest waters, far in the north. She must have been wandering for so long... "It was my mistake. When I awoke the next morning, he had hidden my skin, stranding me on land forever. No matter how much I begged, how much I pleaded, he wouldn't tell me where it was. When he died, taking the secret with him, I knew there was only one way I could return to my home. I had to find a Princess."
Toby swallowed as suddenly the woman was staring at her again. "But by the time I journeyed from that cold, distant shore, the Princesses had gone into hiding. I traveled to the Fairy Court, to Avalon, to make my plea, but the Fairy Queen would not grant my request for an audience. Then, Rosalinde was gone, and so was my last hope."
The Selkie suddenly grabbed Toby's hand, clenching it in hers almost desperately. "Please, Princess. I have been on land, separated from my home, my heart, for nearly three hundred years. Please, I know that using your power is dangerous, but I am so desperate. You are my only hope to finally return home. Will you help me?"
Toby dropped her gaze, feeling shame and guilt flush her cheeks. "I... I don't know how... I'm.. I'm a new Princess. I have no magic."
"Yes you do," Abbie said, her voice full of quiet urgency. "Kiss me."
Toby jerked her hand back. "What?"
"You are a Princess! There isn't anything your Kiss can't cure! Please, just a peck..."
Toby glanced between Fiz and Abbie, wildly. "You can't be serious...!"
"She's right, Princess," Fiz said, helpfully. "The Kiss of a Princess can break any curse. It's Old Magic, deeper and greater than anything any magical creature or magical user can conjure."
"... you're a girl," Toby finally pointed out. The Selkie blushed faintly.
"I know, I'm sorry. If there were any Princes left, I'd ask them, but they disappeared along with the Princesses... But please, Princess. Think of how you would feel, forever being so close but never being allowed to return home, ignorant of whether your family is still alive, what hardships they've faced, what joys they've celebrated..."
Toby bit her lower lip, thinking of her mother, of Dominic, of her house and her pansies. The thought of enduring what the Selkie had for hundreds of years... Toby couldn't imagine it. She sighed. "All right. Fine. But just a peck."
The smile that Abbie gave her was so full of relief and happiness that Toby couldn't regret agreeing to it. She closed her eyes, holding still, and Toby eyed her for a moment before sighing. Leaning forward, she pressed a quick, light kiss to the woman's lips before she could chicken out, then sat back, expecting nothing to happen.
Boy was she wrong.
The woman's hair whipped in a breeze that Toby could not feel nor make sense of. Her edges began to sparkle, like light glinting off of freshly fallen snow, but in myriad rainbow colors. Her skin began to darken, her nose flattening, face becoming less like a human's and more like a seal's. She stood, her clothes melting into her body, which streamlined, and as she walked to the pool her hands became paddles, her legs fusing together. As her feet disappeared into flippers she lowered her head and slipped seamlessly into the pool.
She was the most beautiful seal Toby had ever seen, her skin the color of dark, molten silver, her eyes two huge, blue pools. The cry of delight that barked from her throat was at once alien and completely familiar, and she raced through the depths of the pool, twisting and flipping, leaping out of the water only to splash back in. Toby was sure she'd never seen anyone so completely and utterly happy as the Selkie was in that moment.
Abbie stilled, her head emerging from the water as she turned to look at Toby and Fiz. Thank you, Princess. Her voice blossomed in Toby's mind much the way Theodore's had, but instead of reminding her of horns and trumpets it reminded her of the tinkle of seashells, the soft whisper of water lapping at rocks. It was gentle and joyous.
"Er... You're... You're welcome."
"Go awaken your people," Fiz said from over her shoulder, his voice brimming with confidence. "We have a Princess again! It's time for them to wake up, time for everyone to wake up!"
The Selkie let out a chitter of delight, turning a slow circle on her stomach. Water beaded on her whiskers, glinting as they quivered in a sealish laugh.
Oh. I will tell everyone. This is a joyous day, and not just for myself.
Toby cleared her throat, nervously. "Um... not to be a raincloud, but... i how /i are you going to get home? You're in a pool..." She gestured at the four walls and floor of the pool. It couldn't have been more than ten feet deep at the deepest place. Certainly not fit for a seal, even a magical one.
Princess, you have much to learn, Abbie laughed in her head. She ducked until the water, waving her flippers in the air before sliding to the bottom of the pool. She gazed up at Toby through the layers of water, eyes shining. For a child of the Sea, all waters lead home.
"What..." Toby began, but cut off when the seal began to swim circles near the base of the pool. The water began to swirl, following the Selkie's motion, the center of the forming vortex darkening. The seal spun faster; so did the water, until a deep, almost black apex was formed. Abbie's head broke the water and she gazed up at Toby.
Farewell, Princess. I will see you again!
She flipped over and dove into the center of the vortex, the flash of a deep grey tail like one last goodbye wave. Toby leaped to her feet, crossing to the pool and gazing down at the water as slowly it began to calm, the bottom of the pool appearing. There was nothing left, no trace of the magical seal, or sign that anything out of the ordinary had happened. Toby leaned over, peering at the bottom of the pool, a faint smile sliding to her lips. It was the first thing that had happened to her as a Princess that had actually been pretty cool...
"Oh. My. God."
Toby's head snapped up and over to see Julie standing in the doorway, staring at her. The blonde took a step forward, pointing at Toby, then at the pool, then at her.
"Oh. My. God!!"