The Sea of Change

by Tina Engel

  Adam came down the steps just after us, and said quietly, but sternly, “It may be a good idea to put your human glamour back on,” as he pointed to his cabin, where Jordan was busy working out the next day’s job duties.

  Suddenly everyone was in their human form, except me. I seemed to be having trouble getting mine on. Brett touched my arm gently with an irritated look on his face, assuming I was being stubborn. The look on my face must have been enough for him to realize that I couldn’t cover myself.

  “What is it Emilee?” Brett asked. “Why aren’t you veiled?”

  I replied, “I don’t really want to. I tried but something inside of me doesn’t want to change. I can’t seem to fight it.”

  We entered my room in haste, not wanting to arouse Jordan’s curiosity with the ruckus that was out in the hall.

  Adam suggested we all turn in, and hopefully I would be able to put my human glamour on in the morning. Otherwise, I would be staying in my cabin the rest of the trip.

  I didn’t like that idea very much so tried again, but there was something inside, stopping me. It wasn’t a negative presence but it was very insistent that I stay in my original form.

  Brett looked at me and I knew he was in my head again. “Still can’t change?” He asked. “I feel that strange energy too Emilee, but can’t see what it is.”

  Rose was pacing the floor looking quite agitated and Lily started to meow this horrific sound. I went over, and opening the cage, let her out. Rose stopped her pacing and gasped at what I had just done.

  Lily turned into her more human looking, fey body, and said in a motherly way, “Don’t fight it Princess. It is a part of you.” She then said, in a scolding tone, “There is no need for you all to be concern. Let her be. She needs your support and positive energy around her. Do I have to be the one to keep you all in line?”

  Lily turned back into a cat, went into her cage, and with her paw, she closed the door. She laid down then and proceeded to clean herself.

  Adam started to chuckle, as everyone was standing there with stunned looks on their faces. Well, Brett had a look of irritation but with Adam’s laughter, we all relaxed.

  Adam said, “Well this cat sure has a way of shutting us all up, now doesn’t she. I do believe she’s correct.”

  Rose opened her mouth to speak, but Lily let out that horrible sound again, looking right at Rose. Rose closed her mouth, thinking it best not to say anything. I felt a bit sorry for her.

  Trevor had been very quiet, standing close to the door, but be broke the silence by saying, “I think I will turn in. This is all just a bit too much for me.”

  He chuckled, then came over to me and taking my hand in his, leaned down, placing his forehead to my hand, in the fey’s way of greeting or parting. “Goodnight Princess. I’ll see you in the morning, hopefully out in the sunshine.” And he left the room.

  Adam left also, but Brett seemed unsure if he should or not. I kissed him on the cheek. Should I have, I didn’t really care, and told him I was fine and just needed sleep. Brett left then, and Rose, Lily and I were alone.

  Chapter nine

  Do not keep me in the dark.

  I might make assumptions

  That are wrong.

  Share with me what you know

  And I will share with you.

  I woke with the sun shining in my eyes. The sun was coming up over the horizon, and the boat was turned perfectly so it could shine in the porthole. I turned over on my back and stayed there for a few minutes, remembering the events of last night; meeting Queen Widow, and my swim in the lake with Andean, the water fey, in the fey’s dimension. I felt better than I had in a long time. I felt strong and energetic. What a wonderful feeling.

  I remembered then, my inability to cover myself in my human form. I sat up, and looking around the room, saw that it was just as it was the day before; nothing out of the ordinary. Rose was not in her bed or anywhere in the room, but Lily was still lying quietly in her cage.

  I smiled at Lily, and she gave me a timid meow, as if she was still slightly frightened by last night’s events, with Queen Widow. I chucked a little as I threw the blankets off of me, and turned my legs out of bed.

  My toes were still webbed. I bent down to open the door of Lily’s little prison, and was startled by the sight of my hands. My fingers had a slight, thin webbing between them. Not a great change but it was there nevertheless. I sat down on the floor next to the cage and examined my hands more closely. It was a very thin layer of skin that created the webbed look. It was my skin, and hurt when I pinched it. (Hey, I had to see if it was a dream or not!)

  Lily meowed a little more forcefully and that brought my attention back to her. I opened the cage door and she came out timidly and into my lap. I picked her up and cuddle her in my arms. She put her front paws up around my neck and nuzzled her face under my hair, against my neck. I stood and walked to the bathroom.

  I said more to myself, than to Lily, “Let’s go see what other changes have occurred since last night’s little adventure. I wonder if I can put on my human veil yet.”

  I went into the bathroom and stood in front of the small mirror. My face didn’t seem to be any different. The pearl earrings that created a thin shield across my cheeks and down my neck, just above my shoulders, was still the same. My eyes were still oval shaped tilted upward at the ends. My ears still had slight points on the tops. I felt somewhat relieved to see that I looked the same.

  You see, I was a bit worried that maybe my fey body had no ears at all, and my eyes were perfectly round, like a fish. I must confess that I didn’t think that would be very attractive. Hey, what can I say, I was still a female, and we do care about our looks, don’t we?

  So I said to Lily, “I can live with webbed fingers and toes, but I sure don’t want to have a fish face.”

  She removed her face from under my hair and looked me straight in the eyes and I swear she winked at me, and then scurried out of my arms, onto the floor and out the door. I followed her into the room as she went to the door of the cabin, wanting out.

  “Now Lily” I said, “how can I let you out alone after your disappearing act last night? You caused way too much trouble.”

  Lily then started to grow and changed into her fey self. “Princess, I did what I felt I must. Secrets will not help you, or these so called friends of yours. There are no more secrets, aboard this floating contraption, that you need to know of right now, so I will behave for the now.

  “I do prefer to relieve myself in private, if you don’t mind, and I am quite hungry. There’s a juicy looking, large rat down below and I really would like to find it.”

  I wrinkled my nose at that statement, curious about the “no secrets that I need to know of, right now”, as Lily turned back into her cat form. She really was a beautiful cat, all shiny black except for the round spot of white over her one eye. She was a very attractive fey also. I wanted to spend more time with her, but it was up to Lily to make that happen.

  I walked over to the door and opened it. She ran out, and as she did so, I hollered after her, “Behave, or Brett will feed you to the fish!”

  I shut the door, laughing quietly, letting that odd statement drift away, and proceeded to get dressed. I went back into the bathroom, and looking at myself in the mirror, I again wondered if I could put my human veil on. I was a bit apprehensive about trying. What if I couldn’t do it? I would have to wait until Rose came back to the room before I could tell anyone. I couldn’t, after all, go out of the room looking like this.

  I thought of my human disguise and there she was, looking back at me in the mirror. I looked down at my hands but they were still webbed. Interesting, I thought. I tried to cloak them but it was no use. I was just going to have to keep my fingers closed when I was around the crew.

  I quickly headed to the kitchen to see if it was too late to help Trevor fix breakfast. I assumed that it was, and was feeling badly for sleeping in.

  Trevor was clearing the tabl
e, as Brett and Adam were drinking what I assumed was coffee. I sat down next to Brett and he handed me a cup of coffee that was next to his own. I smiled, knowing he sensed me coming and knew that I would be want it. I do so love my morning coffee!

  Adam asked me how I slept and I let them both know that I slept like the dead. Adam laughed at this statement, but Brett only scowled. He didn’t see the humor in it, but I did. I held out my hands, for them to see the slight webbing between my fingers. They were both taken aback by this sight.

  Brett said, “Emilee, I’m relieved you can put your human veil on, but you need to put it on completely.”

  “I tried, but my hands and feet won’t change.” I said. “What’s the big deal anyway? Everyone on board is a fey of one kind or another, except for Jordan. Or is he?” I asked, as I looked at Adam.

  I continued, “Maybe it’s time you both tell me a little bit about the crew, who they are, what they are, and fill me in on everything that you both know. I believe that you, Adam, are like Brett. The crew are Pixies, like Rose, and I now know, after last night, what Trevor looks like. He reminds me of a leprechaun. Oh, and if I know that the crew are pixies, then do they know we are all fey?”

  Brett and Adam looked at each other and then back to me. Adam said, as he looked back at Brett, “Why don’t you start and I will jump in if I feel the need to add anything.”

  Brett gave Adam a look of acceptance, then turned back to me and asked, “What exactly can you see, Emilee? This will help me to fill in the blanks for you.”

  I thought about this for a moment as I took a sip of the hot coffee and then explained, “Well, as I said before, I believe Adam is from your race of fey. He resembles you and me. He has the same shape ears and eyes, and occasionally I can see his eyes change colors. If I focus hard at his mouth when he talks, I think I see fangs.”

  Adam smirked at this last statement, then opened his mouth, and sure enough, there were fangs as he dropped his human veil just for a moment so I could see his true form. I was a bit shocked, but composed myself, smiled and continued as he put his human covering back on. By the way, he was quite handsome, I must say, but Brett was still more handsome in my book.

  “As for the crew, they seem smaller and more petite, like Rose, and the other pixies that I’ve seen, even though their human covering, is that of a tall, muscular sailor.

  “Trevor was a mystery to me until last night. I thought it funny that he uncloaked himself right there in the hall not far from where Jordan was.”

  I paused for a moment as I looked into the kitchen, watching Trevor at work. He looked at me and winked, as if knowing that I was talking about him, and then he continued with his work.

  “I’ve been able to see the water fey from the start of our journey, but when we were in the water last night, I could see my surroundings differently. Everything was more exaggerated, more colorful and alive. I don’t quite know how else to explain. Brett, you and Andean changed in appearance. You both looked fey, but with a more fluid movement, and your skin had a glistening glow. I believe I changed this way, also. When I looked at my hands and arms, and as I looked down at my body, I was glowing and felt more fluid in movement.

  “The sounds down in the water were different. Everything was talking, the water fey, fish, plants, even the smallest specks of sand, all had something to say. At times it sounded like gibberish and at others it was like a song. It wasn’t the English language, or any language that I have known in my human existence, but I could understand it all. They were all happy to see me and welcomed me home. Does any of this make sense, or did I dream it all up?”

  Brett and Adam sat there quietly while I told them what I had been seeing and hearing, and then Brett asked, “Anything else?”

  “Well yes, I did see Queen Widow, didn’t I? She showed her true fey self to me and she is down below in the room that is locked, isn’t she?”

  Brett smiled and then filled me in, leaving nothing out, I hoped.

  “Princess, and it is okay for me to call you that in front of Adam, he knows who you are, and you are correct about his heritage. Adam is from my family of fey. He comes from a different part of the world than I do though. We had never met before this journey, but I had heard many good things about him.”

  Adam interrupted then, “I had heard of Brett too, but can’t say it was good at all. He has been a trouble maker most of his life. Why the council gave him the job of protecting you is beyond me!” Adam gave a large smile and laughed after he said this, and then quieted down for Brett to continue.

  Brett gave Adam a scowled look, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that let us know he wasn’t offended by what Adam had just said.

  “Sometimes the trouble makers make the best heroes, and I don’t think he is all that handsome!” Brett said, and then continued without skipping a beat, but there was just a little smirk on his face. I sat there blushing and felt a bit irritated that he was in my thoughts.

  “The five crew members are indeed pixies, and travel with Adam everywhere. They provide the nourishment he needs, as well as being a hard working crew for his fishing business. Yes, the crew knows that Rose and I are fey as well as Lily. Fey can see each other as we really are, through the human veil. They, however, can’t tell that you are fey at this time, we assume, because you have not completed your transformation yet. They just know that I am taking a human to New York, and they ask no questions. They trust Adam and his decisions.

  “We don’t know who is working for the dark fey, or Stephan, for that matter. Adam feels confident that his crew is trustworthy, but we still don’t want to take any chances. The less they know, the safer we all are.

  “We thought it was important, to tell Trevor who you are, because we needed his help to fix the concoction you needed to eat. We were surprised that Trevor was in the loop before we even were. He knew exactly what to do.

  “As for Trevor, you’re right again, as you saw for yourself last night. He is a very rare fey; very few of his kind have survived over the years. They are a very jolly and trusting group of fey, and that has gotten them into trouble.

  “His Family of fey originated on the humans’ island of Ireland, and no, they don’t have a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, and they can’t grant wishes. Trevor’s family can’t survive living in captivity. As humans beliefs grew about the pot of gold and wishes granted, the stories about Leprechauns became exaggerated. Because they are such a trusting fey, it was easy for the humans to lure them into captivity.

  “The remaining leprechauns, as you would call them live in the high country on the island. They dwell in the mountain ranges well away from human civilization as much as possible.”

  Just then, Trevor came back in, with a plate of food for me, and I apologized for sleeping in and not helping him with the pancakes, I had promised to make for the crew.

  “Not to worry Emilee. With the evening you had last night, I figured you would sleep in. I must say though, you do radiate a certain glow this morning. I’m glad I was able to help last night, and don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

  I smiled and said, “Well, a good night sleep always helps me, and when I fell asleep last night, I slept like the dead.”

  Trevor frowned at that statement, as Brett did, and Brett gave me a little elbow in the side, as if to say, “See, it isn’t funny”.

  I told Trevor that I felt great, thanked him for the help and reassured him that I trusted his loyalty and friendship. I also asked why he was without his human veil last night, with Jordan so close.

  Trevor laughed, and said, “It can be pretty boring around here at times, and it is fun to push things just a bit. I suspected you could see that I was fey, the way you study me when you think I’m not looking. I decided I would let you see the real me, in hopes that you would trust me and let me see the real you. Hiding who we really are, gets tiring at times.”

  I felt a real bond with this fey and wished he could continue with us on our journey, af
ter we made it to New York. I knew, of course, that it wouldn’t be possible. Trevor belonged on this fishing vessel with Adam and the rest. It was hard meeting all these wonderful fey who were helping me along the way, and then have to leave them behind.

  I asked Trevor if I could still make cookies for the crew and help him with dinner.

  His smile was enormous, as he said, “Absolutely! I wasn’t sure if you still wanted to, being a princess and all. Since I know who you are, now, I wasn’t sure you wanted to keep up the charade of being human.”

  Brett piped in saying, “She still needs to wear her veil at all times, and is a human girl for now. We must all be careful and no one else on the boat must even suspect.”

  Trevor nodded his head in agreement, with a very serious look on his face. He winked at me and headed back into the kitchen. Before he disappeared around the corner, he yelled back to me, “See you later Princes Emilee.”

  Breakfast consisted of a combination of fresh fruits that had been cooked together to make a thick chunky sauce, that was poured over a very thick, dark pancake of sorts. It had the most amazing flavors and I ate it as if I hadn’t eaten in days.

  Trevor then brought me a glass of the concoction that consisted of Rose’s blood and the algae from the waters across the ocean. I must have given a disgusted look, because Trevor told me to drink it like a good little girl and patted me on the top of the head, gave a hearty chuckle, and disappeared back into the kitchen. I looked at Brett and Adam and they were both smiling.

  “A good little girl?” I said, with a look of annoyance, and they both laughed. I did what Trevor asked; drinking every drop, still amazed that it was quite tasty. Then I asked the question I had been dreading to ask.

  “What is the story with Jordan Davis? I can’t read him. I believe he’s human. He has a very dark presence, and is so disagreeable.” I looked to Adam and continued, “You trust him but I don’t quite know why. I assume I’m missing something, but the lava pebbles in my diamond don’t seem to like him either.”