Page 9

Everetta

Damn, that was hectic.

I thought that a light dagger would have surely killed that shadow fae since well, their shadows. See shadow fae aren’t just made of nothing, they're fae like me, Eli, and this girl we just saved, I think her name, was Luna. I like Luna, she's nice, a bit stingy but nice. Anywho, what was I saying… right, shadows. They're fae, or at least they were fae, or are they still fae? Not really too sure on that front. Eli seems not to think so though.

He says those who've lost the light shouldn't be considered a being at all. But I don't think that's true. After all, they're just fae who've lost their light. Driven by excessive greed, and power, or maybe they've just gone mad, or at least madder and more power-hungry than any normal fae is. Oh did I not say that? Ya, so apparently from what's been documented about these creatures, as quote-unquote Eli likes to say, they're mainly fae who've lost their light and turned to the dark side.

Of course, it's not uncommon for a creature or two to turn to the 'dark side' as well. So ya they're fae. Or to be more precise they're evil fae if that makes any sense.

I groaned again as we trudged up a rather large hill. I mean come on, how many hills are there in the Winter Court? It's been fucking days. Days! For magic's sake! And finally, we've reached the borders of the Winter Court.

For a name with Wonderlands at the end, one would think it would have been much more fun than this. I sighed huffing a breath of air to move my dangling hair from my face, again.

Sigh~

"Ugh! We've literally been walking for days. How much longer till we can like, oh I don't know, REST !" I nearly exploded from exhaustion. I mean even my sweat was sweating, and that's saying something.

With a huff and roll of his eyes, Eli turned back around. Him leading our merry not so merry troupe up this damn mountain. Cause no way something so steep was a fucking hill, it's a mountain.

Fuck this shit, it's a mountain I called it!

"I won't be reminded every day about what I've lost." It was like a whisper in my ear but the potency of the venom spewed was nonetheless absent.

Frowning, I turned back trying to find the intruder. Readying myself for an attack. Cause, those words sure as hell sound like fighting ones.

Noting my sudden rise in energy Eli turned to me, brow cocked.

Shit.

Stiffening, I grimaced inwardly. Fuck, again with the voices. I've been hearing them a lot lately, unbeknownst to Eli of course. I don't want him to worry too much. That and I don't want him to think I'm mad, like the crazy kind of mad. Plus, I want to figure this out myself first before I confide in him. I know I shouldn't but, for some odd reason like a very, very, very odd reason I feel like I can't trust him.

Which is like so~ odd cause hello he's my friend. My best friend, but was that the only reason? Wait, why else should I trust him again?

....

Oh ya, cause my memories say so.

In the past, at least as much as I can remember, he's always been like so fucking helpful, like really helpful. When I had no friends he was my first friend. When I got dumped he was there for me. Then there were those countless missions we went on together, there is no way a little bonding moment wouldn’t happen with how much time we spent together. Plus, when I got… when I wasn’t appreciated as much for lack of a better term by my court he was there for me. But now, I don't know what I feel, like, now hear me out, I just feel that maybe he's keeping something from me. Weird right? Cause the Eli I knew would never do that not to me.

Would he?

Cause if you ask me it's just a little too suspicious that he hasn't ever lied to me. I mean no one's that straightforward with anyone.

Right?

I get that we're fae, and we can't lie, but we can omit things and in my memories, he's never done that. Which ya know, should make me want to trust him more but, I don't know it just seems odd.

Anyhow, where was I? Right, that mysterious creepy angry, and I don't mean the crazy mad this time, voice in my head, which might not be just in my head and could be some invisible guy sneakily following us.

You know that can happen.

At least I think so.

Can it? Hold on what was I saying oh, right right, the disembodied voice in my head. Cause, it definitely can't be anything else.

It may just be nothing.

Smiling the best smile I could give at the moment and praying that this would convince him I shook my head, “Sorry, something just spooked me.” It wasn’t a lie, I was spooked. Hearing voices is creepy ~

I'll let Eli wonder what might have spooked me. Let his imagination run wild for once.

Does the guy even have an imagination? Hmm?.

Anyway, fae can't lie. Ya, did I not mention that? Or maybe I did. We can't lie. Don't know why but we just can't. But, if we forget to mention a little detail here and there. Well, that's not really a lie, it's simply not stating the entire thing. Completely different.

Ok, I really feel like I mentioned this whole lying thing .

Recently I feel like it's getting harder to remember things. But that must just be my imagination.

Eli frowned, sighing as he walked towards me, not completely convinced of my semi-truth. Oh no, not that thingy thing he does. I don't know why but I just don't like it. You know that little spell he does to help calm me down. I just don't like how cold it always is. It's not like his other magic where it's only kinda cold. This spell he does to help soothe me was like freezing .

Inching away I quickly came up with an excuse, “I‘m just tired. I‘d been using too much magic to keep us walking and prevent us from sleeping." Turning away from him I hurriedly set my things down as if to prove my point. Just a little rest and I’ll be more rested, and hopefully stop hearing those voices. Not lying, I was using my magic. After all, you can't really expect me to walk up this mountain without magic, right? I’ve been using magic to help keep us as warm as possible in this freezing tundra as well as using it to keep our feet above the seven feet of snow instead of trudging through it waist deep. Cause hey, two of us were shorties while the lucky girl was a nice five feet ten. Ok, fine maybe not completely to mine and Eli’s waist but the snow would be rather hard for us to trek through.

"I won't be reminded every day about what I've lost!” The man's voice came again, louder this time. I tried to walk it off.

Not now disembodied voice, I'm trying to convince Eli I can't hear you when I can.

Eli frowned more as I rolled my eyes, "Come on let's just settle down here ok?”

That Night…

"I won't be reminded every day about what I've lost!” The man's words played over and over, again and again in my mind as I tossed and turned in the sheets trying to shake off this memory.

Frowning I watched as the scene turned murky, then a light as bright as the Sun beamed in through a cracked door.

"I won't be reminded every day about what I've lost. I'm not going to stay here and watch over something that she left behind, a thing that nearly killed her. I just won't." The man’s words were like a sword cutting the air as he stormed out the door. But, before he could I stopped him.

One word was all it took. Inwardly, I was happy that I could at least capture his attention with that one word. Overjoyed that-that word still meant something to him. "Daddy?" I tentatively asked, but this voice, this voice was not mine, yet I knew this was my body.

Hey, did the man just grow several feet taller? And what the hell was up with my voice, why was it so squeaky, almost like a child's?

Was I a kid now?

"Daddy, your back! I knew you'd come back for me-" But the girl's words, my words were cut off.

Ya, this definitely can't be me right? I'm never that desperate.

The man turned to face me, his eyes so much like mine golden, his hair like the sun, anyone could tell he was my father, the only difference was our skin. Where he had a lightly tanned complexion mine was more fair. A pale white vs his tinted olive.

However, whatever small lingering hope I had attached to this man, my father burned and crumbled away at the utter look of hatred he turned towards me. It was like all the fluttering lights saved in these wishes, that he would return home for me, were crushed into black char. I just wanted him to love me. As I felt the cool wet streak trail down my cheeks I awoke with a startle, a cool hand pressed against my forehead.

A freezing hand.

Batting the damn thing away I glared down at the offending appendage. "I told you not to do that! You know I don't like it!” Slapping his hand away from my forehead I turned a withering glare at Eli.

"Sorry, I thought I could help a little. You seemed like you needed it. Everetta you were thrashing like some crazed loon". I rolled my eyes at his unneeded commentary.

"Then wake me up the normal way. Ugh! Whatever, now I can't sleep." Storming up from my makeshift sleeping bag, which was just a dirty old fur blanket made from the werehounds we fought, I made my way over to the edge of the cave we decided to rest in. It was better than sleeping in the snow I suppose. Scowling, I wondered why he was even sleeping so close to me in the first place. His little sleeping bag was at least five feet away last I checked. Now it was like right next to mine. Just as I was about to ask him that, another mind-boggling thumping started in my head.

"Remember the star over there. It's a Griffin, just like you, my little sweet pea." He'd told me. His burnish orange eyes turned towards me, so unlike mine. How I wished I looked more like him and the queen. His smiling gaze was warm and comforting, such a contrast to the cold unfeeling man who was my father. I wanted this man to be my father, the man that was practically my father. I mean he was married to my aunt. How could I not remember her? She saved me, rescued me from being left an orphan. If I needed to remember anyone, it was her. She was the person I should remember, she was the person I needed to remember, not some deadbeat dad.

Cold, then darkness.

Yanking my eyes open I peered up at the gray hues of my tent.

Man, why the hell do I feel like I was so not rested? I mean like wow, am I tired and cold. Fucking chilly as hell. Maybe because we were in the Winter Wonderlands, duh, it's supposed to be cold.

I laughed to myself at my stupidity. Turning I frowned at the bedraggled man before me, his prim tone the only proper thing about him as he looked like someone nearly beat him to an inch of his life. As if he's been-

Oh hell no!

"Did you go out hunting without me? Eli! Come on, that's so unfair!" Hands on my waist tried my best scowling Eli impression. Rolling his eyes, he tossed the werehound before me.

"I'm going to go take a quick nap," Ignoring my outcries Eli turned heading towards his sleeping back five feet away from mine before he passed out, so unlike him. Huh, odd, ok well fuck him he went hunting without me, no fair. I'm so going to tease the hell out of him later for his not-so-proper attitude of ignoring a lady not to mention sleeping only five feet away from me. He should’ve at least found another cave or slept way deeper in the cave, like dear old Luna.

Hold on am I a lady? Let me check.....

Pulling the elastics of my pants away from my body for a minute to check if I indeed had the necessary components to be a lady.

Yep, I'm a lady!