by Rachel Angel
“Oh, no you don’t,” he cried out as he lunged for her and threw her to the hard stone floor, knocking her chin solidly on the unforgiving surface.
It was her turn to be temporarily dazed as the pain traveled up her jaw to her ears.
Desperate as Oldman climbed on top of her and jacked up her skirt, she once again tried to connect with someone… anyone.
Tears filled her eyes as she struck him, but nothing stopped him. He clumsily grabbed at her breasts then yanked her panties down.
This can’t be happening, Harley thought. I can’t let him do this to me.
But, while holding her in place with one hand, he unbuckled his belt, an ugly grin on his face.
Closing her eyes, Harley prayed for some kind of help. Then the walls to the cell suddenly shook. Her eyes shot open and she looked to the source of the thunderous sound that had shook the cell.
There was a large gaping hole in the wall where there’d previously been only a small window. Oldman was suddenly off her and without bothering to investigate, the coward ran out of the cell.
Harley sat up and looked at the hole as the dust slowly settled. The unexpected bright sunlight partially blinded her as she tried to see what had happened. Unsure what to expect, she backed up into the corner, afraid of what could have caused such destruction.
Footsteps sounded on the crushed stones and dust. Her back to the wall, Harley slowly got to her feet, ready for another battle
.
A small head topped with brightly colored hair suddenly appeared in the hold.
“April?” Harley said. Still on her guard, she questioned whether it was really her friend or just an illusion, a glamouring.”
“Hey there, old friend,” April said with a mischievous smile.
“Wait a minute,” Harley said as she approached April. “How is it that you’re here? How is it that you can come here to the Faery Realms? And did you just do all this?”
April giggled as she brushed the dust off her shoulders. “Harley, my silly little friend. I’m from here.”
Frowning, Harley looked at her. “You’re from the Faery Realm?”
“How quickly they forget,” April said. “I’m a fae, remember?”
“Well, yes. Of course, I remember. It’s just that… well, I thought you were a fae from the Academy.”
“I guess I never made it clear, but I am from the Faery Realms.”
“Well, in any case, I’m so happy to see you, April,” Harley said. “Everything is in shambles. The war. This prison. The guys are all over the place, probably killing each other as we speak. I don’t know what to do.”
Harley stopped suddenly and looked at April. “And what brought you here anyway?”
“I hate to add to your troubles, but things at the Academy aren’t much better.”
“What do you mean?”
“The dean is missing, as well as all four of the Fallen Fae guys. There are also a handful of other students that are missing.”
“I know, April. They’re here. Well, at least the guys.”
“You don’t understand,” April said. “With the dean gone, the Academy can’t operate. Without the dean the glamour is gone, which means they’ve postponed the fall semester.”
“No,” Harley said. “They can’t do that.”
“They don’t have a choice, Harley. Don’t you see the glamour is gone.”
“I’m sorry, April, but what does that mean exactly?”
“It means that Fallen Fae Academy no long exists,” April said, looking pointedly at Harley. “On the other side of that forest, you’ll emerge to find only more trees, more desert and a whole lot of nothing. No buildings. No campus. No soccer field. Nothing.”
“What do we have to do to get it back?”
“We need the dean,” April said. “And you.”
“Me? What do I have to do with the Academy?”
“Everything, Harley,” April said, taking her hand and leading her out of the dungeon. “You have to come back.”
Chapter 4
“Come,” April said. “Come and see for yourself.”
“All right,” Harley said. “I don’t know what I can do to help, but…”
She followed April. For a long time, they walked through the forest, going out of their way to avoid the battlegrounds. But no matter what path they took, the sounds of the dying followed them everywhere.
They climbed higher and higher. After fields of wildflowers and tall grasses, they entered a dense forest with tall trees that pierced the sky.
“Where are you taking me?” Harley said.
“To the Academy.”
“But this isn’t the way.” She didn’t want to argue, but she was certain this wasn’t the way back to the Academy.
“Trust me.” April continued walking up the mountain.
The tall trees gave way to small brush and bush until they faded to nothing, leaving the way for only rocks and only the hardiest of resilient plants.
The path became treacherous and when they came to a narrow ledge with a dramatic drop, Harley hesitated.
“Not that I doubt you, April, but are you sure this is the right way. I mean, I know I’m not from around here, but the few times I’ve come out here, I’ve never passed by here.”
“Difficult times call for desperate measures, my friend.”
They finally reached the perfectly flat mountaintop with a sharp drop off on the backside of the mountain.
“April,” Harley said in dismay as she looked around her. They were at the top of the mountain with nowhere else to go. There was the war raging on one side and more mountains on the other of a fatal drop. “This is a dead end. What are we supposed to do now?”
April walked to the edge of the precipice.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, April. Don’t do that. Don’t walk so close to the edge. You’re scaring me to death.”
“No need to be frightened,” April said as she walked along the edge the way one would walk a tightrope. With a giggle, she stopped and reached out to take Harley’s hand.
“No,” Harley said, resisting April’s invitation to join her on the edge.
“Come, Harley.”
Harley inched to the edge of the cliff and was instantly dizzy as she looked way, way down.
“Ready?” April said.
“Ready? Ready for what?” Harley said with a shaky voice.
April tightened her hold on Harley’s hand.
“No,” Harley said in horror.
“Trust me.”
“No!” Harley screamed. “April, this is crazy!”
But April pulled Harley with her as she jumped off the cliff. For a moment, Harley thought she would lose consciousness as they dropped through the air. But moments later, they landed gently in soft sand surrounded by sparse sprouts of tall sawgrass.
Breathless, Harley looked around her. “We’re safe,” she muttered to herself in disbelief. “You didn’t kill us.”
“Of course, we’re safe,” April said.
“But where are we?”
“We are standing right where our dorm room used to be.”
For a stunned moment, Harley simply stared at April. It was inconceivable; the Academy was gone.
Harley looked around at the patches of grass and prickly pear cacti.
April pointed to a small flat stone. “Your bed used to be there, and mine…” She pointed to a bush. “Used to be there.”
“I can’t believe it’s all gone.” Harley walked around, looking for any sign, any trace of the university campus.
There was nothing. It was as if the university had never existed.
“I’m good at what I do,” April said softly as she came up to Harley’s side. “But this is major. This is a little beyond my scope.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Glamour like never before,” April said. “You have to do everything you can to give the appearance that Fallen Fae Academy is still here. You created amazing worlds in y
our art work, you have the ability to create large-scale glamour like the Dean, but even more importantly, like the Queen of Spring. So creating the Academy…it’s what you have the talent to do. I’ve observed you this long, and you definitely have the power to create the Academy and even more.”
Chapter 5
Harley stared at the vacant lot that was once an institution of higher education. She couldn’t find a trace of the buildings that had stood there not so long ago.
“I don’t know where to begin,” she muttered softly.
“Start slow,” April said softly.
“Slow?” Harley said. “April, this is a monumental task. The campus was huge. The dormitories were huge. Everything at the Fallen Fae Academy was huge.”
“Okay,” April said calmly. “I’ll get you started.” She closed her eyes and waved her hand to her left.
Harley smiled as an easel appeared followed by a pile of large canvases and an array of paints and paintbrushes, and a large palette.
“There,” April said with a smile. “That should keep you busy for a little while.”
Harley looked at all the paints and brushes, then looked at the pile of white canvas. She picked up a canvas and set it on the easel then picked up a brush.
For a long moment she simply stared at the big white space in front of her. She had no idea where to start.
“Close your eyes,” April said. “Remember that first time you walked into the main administrative building. Remember how impressed you were by it all.”
Nodding, Harley squeezed out some paint onto the palette; browns, white, black, a bit of red and a touch of yellow. With her brush, she pulled a bit of brown into the center of the palette, brushed in a dab of white and swirled in a touch of yellow.
Closing her eyes, she envisioned the building and brought the brush to the canvas. Working quickly, she painted the basic outline then took her time as she added details. She painted in the doors, the windows and surrounded the building with beautiful tropical trees and colorful flowers.
“Wow,” April said with a chuckle. “You’re even better than I thought.”
Harley opened her eyes to see the majestic building she’d created.
“It looks even better than it did the first time around.”
Encouraged by the outcome, Harley tossed the first canvas aside and brought a clean canvas up to the easel. Adding a little bit of red to her brush, she concentrated on the interior of the building. Again, she made it more ornate and beautiful than before.
She then moved on to the science building, the arts building and the history building. Again and again, she created a beautiful and serene atmosphere in which to work and learn.
When she started work on the dorms, she gave each room a wildly different décor. Each room had its own individual personality.
One room had crazy animal prints and heavy wooden furniture with throw rugs, tons of pillows and dramatic lighting while another had pastels over a white palette and light and airy curtains with shimmering light fixtures. One room was done in midnight blue with black furniture and another room had walls of silver with white accents.
Each room had plants, and flowers, and artwork.
“Gee, Harley,” April said as she looked at the buildings. “No one is ever going to want to leave here.”
On her last canvas, Harley concentrated on the grounds surrounding the campus. Grassy areas with benches and picnic tables, water fountains and shady trees. A pond surrounded with sculptures from various students served as an outdoor art museum.
And, of course, the sports complex. In addition to the gymnasium, she painted a superb soccer field, football field, baseball diamond, Olympic-sized pool and tennis courts.
“You forgot the cafeteria,” April said.
“Oh, right.” Harley smiled. The previous cafeteria had been stark and sterile, and she wanted to change that. She dipped her brush into some bold yellow, then some deep red, navy blue and bright orange.
The result was an eating area that felt like one was eating inside a museum of modern art, complete with beautiful works of abstract art.
April giggled. “I’ll admit when I saw you digging into the bright colors, I was a little apprehensive, but you’ve outdone yourself, Harley. It’s gorgeous.”
Harley had also painted a highly functional gourmet kitchen with extra large refrigerators, ovens and every piece of equipment imaginable.
As Harley looked around her, the sun was suddenly bright as it reflected on the new buildings. Birds sang as they went from one tropical plant to another and jackrabbits scurried about looking for a treat. Slowly, more and more students started to walk through the campus as they headed to their classes.
She turned to look at April who was beaming as she looked all around her. “How’s that?”
“I can’t believe it, Harley,” April said, her eyes wide as she tried to take it all in. “The amount of details you’ve added. The colors are all so vibrant and rich.” She looked up at Harley. “You really are the one, aren’t you?”
Harley shrugged. “That’s what Kingsley said. I didn’t really believe him. But the twins said pretty much the same thing, and… Well, I still found it hard to believe. But then again, I didn’t really know much about magic and fae and stuff.”
“Well, now you have the confirmation,” April said. “I’ve never seen such spectacular glamouring. It’s even grander than what the dean had done.”
“Yeah but admit it. She created the very first Academy. She got the basics structures set up. All I did was build on that. I added onto what she first created.”
“There you go, being too modest.” April turned to squarely face Harley. “You have to accept it, Harley. You… You are the one. You are the half-fae-half-human of faery lore. You are the one with the most powerful magic of all.”
Harley laughed at April’s assessment. “I still think I’m not the one and it’s all folklore.”
“For you to glamour the Academy even better than the Dean…and you’ve just started learning about fae magic, you’re something special. Not anyone can glamour an entire campus except those with incredible magic. Powerful magic to bring it to life, while sustaining it. The Dean is known for her powerful magic, but it’s nothing compared to yours, Harley. You’ve just started. And to think that you are my roommate,” April added.
“Roommate?” Harley said with a grin. “We’re more than just roommates, April. We’re friends. Good friends. Best of friends.”
“Well, friend,” April said as she put her hand on Harley’s shoulder. “You have just saved the day. We have a beautiful academy, the teachers are all back, and the students are all going to class. Life can now go back to normal.”
A backpack stuffed with books appeared at April’s feet. “And now, it’s time to get the semester started.”
Smiling, Harley looked at her, amazed by her enthusiasm for learning.
“Are you coming?” April said.
Harley looked at the beauty she’d created. Yes, she longed to stay. She missed sitting in class and learning something new. She longed to walk through the halls she’d built and sit in the classrooms she’d decorated, but she had more pressing things on her mind. She couldn’t ignore that.
Shaking her head, she stepped back. “I can’t concentrate on school now, April,” she said. “I have to go back to the Faery Realms.”
“Are you kidding me?” April said in astonishment. “You’d rather go back to a warzone instead of attending your classes?”
“It’s not so much a matter of what I’d rather do, but a question of what I must do,” Harley said. “How can I just sit still in a class and listen to a lesson when there’s so much death and destruction going on. I saw what was going on there, on the other side, April. I saw the dead. I smelled their blood and their rotting corpses. There’s so much confusion. I don’t think any of them even know why they’re fighting. They all think the other kingdom has done them wrong.”
April smiled. “
Well, I guess if anyone can help clear things up, it’s you.”
“As soon as all this is cleared up, I’ll come back,” Harley said. “I promise. In the meantime, can you take notes for me in class?”
“You bet.”
Chapter 6
Taking one last look at her masterpiece, Harley stepped back and took it all in. She was proud of what she’d done. Never would she have thought herself capable of such intricate and detailed work, but she’d done it, and the outcome was, indeed, spectacular.