by Sasha Satori
The Enchantress huffs, "That’s rich coming from a dark royal fae princess. I'll have you know I saved the heart from my chicken dinner last week, as for all the other ingredients they were sourced organically and humanely. I love animals. If my lifestyle permitted, I would probably be an animal hoarder. Now hush and think happy thoughts…like staying alive. You have healing magic; I can barely sense it but if you spend some time developing it you will be quite good at it." She finishes lighting the candles that surround my body then drops it into the bowl which catches on fire. "Avium plumae complures in fugam dat ei vitam. Phoenix vivent corda fracta cinere." Feathers of birds give flight to life. Phoenix revive from the ashes of broken hearts. At least that’s what I translated it to mean, I understand Latin more than speak it. Times like this it pays to be a book nerd. What a poetic poem, making a cruel truth of life the nucleus to this magic. The Enchantress takes a deep stuttering breath as she slashes her palm with a sharp dagger, her blood dripping into the flaming bowl. Thick purple smoke begins rising in a uniformed straight line into the air. "Voluntas viderunt!" My will see it done. She finishes in a passionate determined voice. I mentally chant and will my magic to heal me. The flame in the bowl suddenly extinguishes by itself. The Enchantress quickly picks it up, "Drink it," she orders me as she helps lift my head up. I don’t voice my concerns on the poor hygienic practice of me drinking a dead chicken heart and her blood, I obediently gulp down the extremely hot and bitter tasting concoction. It burns my tongue as I quickly chug it down, all the while I force myself not to gag and vomit it all up. She tips the bowl over to ensure I drink every drop, then gently lets my head recline back down sideways. "This is going to hurt." She says as she grips the sharp shrapnel and pulls it out from where it protrudes at my back and peaks out underneath my left rib cage. My broken guttural scream resonates loudly in her small cottage. The enchantress index finger touches in between my eyes as she whispers, "Somnum" Sleep.
Valentina
Blinking my eyes open, I woozily look down to see I've been dressed in an above the knee baby blue shift dress and am currently lying on the Enchantress' white velvet couch. My hands immediately reach down to touch my mortally wounded upper abdomen, no protruding metal, pain or blood. Praise my fairy godmother. I’ve lived to ‘die another day’. It's not James Bond, It's Jane Bond, fool. I giggle out loud at my mental musings as I slowly sit up. My head feels slightly woozy. I spot Charlie, Oliver, Shawn and the Enchantress sitting at her circular horizontally cut tree slab kitchen table. They each have a large bowl in front of them, a delicious aroma wafts to my nostrils. My stomach growls loudly. When they see me their faces light up with smiles. Aww, I'm totally adopting these kids. Charlie leaves his soup at the table as he comes to sit by me on the couch, "You slept a solid four hours. How do you feel?' He asks with his eyebrows pinched in concern. "Ravishing, darling." I joke as I playfully nudge Charlie with my shoulder. Charlie laughs, "I bet. You were moaning in your sleep. Who's Axel?" Say what! "I did no such thing! And if I did…It was moans of anger and frustration. That’s it. No hanky panky dreams." I say guilty as fuck. I don't remember dreaming of Axel and even if I did. Deny. Deny. Deny. My new life mantra. I do have a strong suspicion of what Axel and I would be doing to cause me to moan though. The Enchantress laughs heartily, her laugh still sounding like soft harmonious bell, "Don’t be embarrassed Valentina, your mate is a juicy peach. His muscles make my ovaries chant ‘gimme, gimme, gimme'. Don’t get jelly though, I’ve never sampled his sugared plums and lolly. He's too mercurial for my liking." My mouth drops open, like literally. And damn it to hell, I do feel jelly that she so casually talks about Axel being a 'juicy peach' and his 'muscles making her ovaries chant'. "How exactly do you know Axel, Enchantress?" I say forcing my jaw to unclench. She giggles, "He is my favorite customer to price gauge. I raise my prices 600%, and the filthy rich dope pays every time. It's extra for occupational hazard of having to see his grouchy scowl. I also find his injured mortally wounded wolf growls and hissing at everything immensely annoying. It totally induces premature PMS in me. Also, while I am most definitely quite enchanting…charming, beautiful, lovable, magnetic, charismatic…whoops, I digress, you can call me Creusa."
Creusa, that’s a pretty name seeped in ancient Greek mythology. "Pleasure to meet you, Creusa. Thank you for saving my life. I have to admit I was expecting the wicked witch of the west, not a bubbly cutie pie witch," I tell her as I finish with a big yawn. Creusa brings her bowl to her large apron sink, "And that’s how I want to keep it, don't go messing up my reputation. Unfortunately, unless people think I'm an evil craggily hag will they fear me. If they would know I'm a delicious peachy delight, they wouldn’t fear me and force me to whoop their ass. Usually when customers come, they see just that, with my glamour. Come my sweet baby cakes and eat some of my scrumptious hare stew." My stomach growls again on queue. I smile slightly embarrassed and walk to the table where she is setting down a steamy hot bowl of soup for me. "Thank you, Creusa. And I am going to try my best to get you some dragon nail trimmings. I do have a couple tricks up my sleeve." I say as I take small tentative sips of the piping hot stew. "I'm sure you do have quite a few tricks. But don’t go in guns blazing, just mentally call your familiar to you. You two communicate telepathically. Dragons are smart and know almost all mainstream and ancient languages. I have a feeling you don’t truly comprehend what you are." Is her crazy transferring to me that I’m actually thinking of going out in the street and mentally chant 'here, here lil dragon, dragon', "You would be right about that, my mom and dad were not my biological parents. They didn’t even know I had magic, only until my eighteenth birthday did my magic slowly begin to show. Why do you think I’m a dark fae princess?" I ask while holding my breath, having a fragile hope that she can shed some light on my heritage. She is the only magical person I’ve ever talked to, besides Axel. And that broody jerk isn't all that forthcoming. In hindsight, I remember he said I behaved 'in an unbecoming way for a royal fae' I thought that was a figure of speech, not literally. The kids are all paying rapt attention on our conversation but remain perfectly silent to presumably not disturb what they would accurately deem a very important conversation for me. Creusa sits next to me with a hot cut of tea with a muslin cloth satchel filled with herbs soaking in her steamy cup, "I'm gifted with sight. You my dear, are the fabled love child of a night fae king and spring fae queen, a hybrid fae that should have been impossible to physically conceive… unless they were mates. Your mom put some serious glamour on you to last so long. Sui tuo verum est verum. Undo tuo improbi." To thy own self be true. Undo thy glamour. What's that supposed to mean? "Where do they live? Are they still alive? And what 'glamour' are you talking about?" I blurt the three most pressing questions I want to know. "Your existence has only been whispered in the most select grape vines, no one believes you actually exist. Your mother… I'm sorry to say, has passed to the willowy ether. Your father the king of night, is alive and well, and is actively looking for you. As for the glamour, here darling, look at your ears, their pointed just like mine and all fae. Your mother glamoured them to appear human."
I quickly grab the small compact Creusa hands me and feel my sharply pointed ear tips while I stare in complete disbelief at the mirror. Holy guacamole, I'm a fae. The next thought as I place the compact on the kitchen table is that my mother is dead. A sharp pang of sorrow has my solar plexus aching, hurting for the women who birthed me, that I never met, or will ever meet. Whom in the middle of the night was scared and alone, leaving her newborn baby with human strangers. "When did she die?" I ask in a dejected whisper, fearing the answer. Creusa whispers empathetically, "Twenty-three years ago. She was the spring realm queen, her marriage was an arranged one, the spring king wasn't her mate. In fact, it was rumored the spring king was unkind to her, and besides their wedding night the marriage remained un-copulated. On a visit to the spring realm, it is fabled the night realm king was struck dumb by her beauty, some say they were fated mates. Your
mother ran away roughly nine months later into our mortal realm. She was later found murdered. The night king went mad, he barged into the spring realm, murdered the spring king, his entire court and almost all his army in an insatiable rage. To this day, he lives in seclusion and is rarely seen. His realm has morphed into what many named the nightmare realm, monstrous evil creatures roam in abundance and thick salty tears frequently rain from their skies. The realm being in tune to its ruler has grown into a living nightmare filled with bone deep sadness and misery that stiffens the air. The night king heard the rumors of a possible child being born, and has dedicated his life and his resources into finding you. While I'm all for a happy family reunion, your father is not just the night realm fae anymore, he is a nightmare." Hot tears stream down my cheeks. A feeling of knowing overcomes me, the truth that my mother died the same night she left me with my parents’ doorstep. I wasn't just an unwanted and abandoned baby, I was loved. She must have been running for her life that fateful night. "Where are the fae realms?" Creusa gives me a sad smile, "For a fae, a droplet of blood and a will to go home is all that is needed to open the fae portal. Only fae can open a portal into the fae realms." Creusa snaps her fingers and mutters, "Loquor, loqui, ut surdis auribus cecinerim." May I speak on deaf ears. "I feel compelled to share a secret about me with you, one I rather not share with the boys. You mustn’t share it with anyone, that includes your sugar daddy, Axel. Can I trust you, Valentina?" Surprise must show plainly on my face, "As long as it doesn’t harm my friends or I, I will keep your secret Creusa. You can trust me." She smiles, "I could totally get used to having a girl bestie to share my deep dark secrets with… " In a deep manly voice she whispers, "I'm a man…" Then laughs loudly, "Okay, okay, I'm kidding! I just always wanted to say that. My hag glamour doesn’t lend me much social company. Anyway, besides having a candy heart that bleeds sugar puffs at the slightest provocation, one of the selfish reasons I used my blood essence, which is considered to be beyond sacred and creates a faint but tangible connection when shared, was not for your dragon's talon nail trimmings. Which side note, I still totally want, but I had a vision of your night and spring fae royalty heritage. While I am known as the enchantress and a powerful witch, that is not entirely accurate." She takes a deep breath as if to garner courage for what she is about to confide in me, "I'm a… night realm fae fugitive." She rushes the last part out, almost before she could change her mind. "You stole someone's chicken dinner for the chicken hearts, didn’t you?" I ask her in saccharine voice. She giggles, "You are really hung up on the chicken hearts. You just ate the chicken’s cute little bestie in my hare soup. Thy shall not be too judgey." She sing-songs the last part. I can't help but to laugh, we both break into a totally juvenile giggle. It's like our antisocial traits are totally vibing with each other. "Fine no judgey, but why share this obviously top-secret info with me?" Her smile quickly fades, her hands fiddle with each other, "Well, you see.. I may be only twenty-two years old…but…I stole an irreplaceable magical gem from the night kings treasure armory. While I have never met him, my hasty exit and almost capture led to me making grave mistakes which revealed my identity. I must have left a hair or something of myself behind for the king’s blood hounds to track. As they raided my home soon after. My protection wards were the only reason I had enough time to escape to the mortal realm. Before that happened, I had secured my loot in safe location in the dark realm. If I go back, they'll be able to track me and I have a strong feeling telling your grouchy dad, 'I'm super sorry for stealing a precious magical gem right under your nose from your notoriously burglar proof treasure armory' will not inspire his altruistic heart to magnanimously say 'no probs, your pardoned'. I will be publicly beheaded, and my remains fed to the night kings’ ugly ass ferocious blood hounds." That is seriously a lot to take in, my mind is still grappling with a twenty-two-year-old petite beauty getting one over on the dangerous night king. "You done effed up, sis. Running from a nefarious king is futile." I say commiserating with her current predicament. Creusa sighs heavily, "I know. I rather like my head attached to my body too. But I need to get back to the night realm and retrieve the priceless magical gem and my Grimoire. I hid it with a shit ton of magic, nobody but me will find it in the next couple millennia. But to get to the night fae realm you need a droplet of blood from a fae, I fear if I use my blood to sneak in the portal the king will be alerted immediately to my presence. Soo... while you have a lot to risk being found by your father, I was kind of hoping I could selfishly ask for you to risk your life and accompany me into the night realm and retrieve my gem and my cherished Grimoire?" Her big verdant green eyes look so hopeful and pleading. I let out a loud sigh, "My life would have ended several hours ago if not for you. I'll go with you." Before I even finish my sentence, she has me in a fierce hug, "Oh my goddess', thank you! Thank you, I pledge an immortal fae worth of spells for you, as long as it's not too dark of magic." Immortal fae? "Fae are immortal?" I ask in confusion. I don’t feel immortal. Creusa giggles, "I forget how clueless you are on all this fae stuff. So, on the cusp of our twenty-fourth year of life, we grow into our full magical potential and cease to age, except for the male fae they age until their thirty-seventh year but their magic comes on their twenty-first year. The fae gods are kind of petty on the details, makes no sense. But yeah basically you and I, are going to live forever, as long as we don’t get beheaded or stabbed in the heart after are twenty-fourth birthday or get killed or mortally wounded prior to our twenty-fourth year of ascension to immortality." I'm immortal, holy cheeseballs. "You think we can survive the nightmare realm as two mortal fae chicks?" I ask skeptically. Not that I would change my mind in helping her, but it’s still good to know the odds. "Yes, regardless of us not coming into our full magic potential, we both have a rare advantage with our strong magic. Even if you don’t know yet how to wield it, I sense a dark abyss of untasted magic in you. That will hopefully manifest if we're running for our lives in the dark fae realm." Gee., that's not very comforting. But a part of me is eager to see the night fae realm, my supposed home. "Okay, but I kind of have a stalker vampire king who is very motivated to keep me near him." Creusa smiles, "Honey, don’t I know. Axel has been secretly pining for his mate and little vampy ankle biters, pun intended. Unfortunately for him my wards are the only that won’t let his ginormous ego through-" We hear a loud thunderous boom outside, followed by, "Valentina! Get the fuck out here!" Creusa and I both look at each other. "Well, speak of the devil. I knew that saying had grain of truth to it." Creusa says as she snaps her fingers again. The kids are glaring out the window, "There is a bloody vampire pounding himself against your ward!" Charlie yells out in a panic. Creusa looks at me, "The time to go is now." She pulls out her dagger from her waist, runs to a closed closet door and pulls out two identical long white hooded cloaks and a large canvas backpack. I grab my harness and weapons and grab the basket of biscuits she had on her table. Off to grandmas I go. With the big bad wolf waiting to catch me.