by Natalie Erin
Von closed his mouth and swallowed. “You’re not going to eat me are you?”
She smiled, and Von noticed small fangs appearing in her mouth. “That was the plan.”
Carmilla leapt forward, grabbing his shoulders with her hands and going in to bite his neck. Von screamed and at an instant Carmilla was frozen in place, unable to move. “What...what are you doing to me?” she said, confused.
Von pushed her away and started laughing, shaking his head. “You’re an idiot. Do you really think I’d be out here alone if I didn’t have a way to protect myself?”
She narrowed her eyes. “It can’t be. Somebody like you could never...”
“Have the Strength?” Von laughed, tucking his hands behind his head. “The power to control the mind of everyone I see? Why not?”
“Because you’re weak!” Carmilla snarled. “Only powerful fairies have the Strength!”
“Well I guess you’ve got to consider me powerful, then,” he chuckled. “I’m powerful enough to tell you what to do.”
“If you have the Strength why didn’t you use it on your family before you ran away?” Carmilla questioned.
“It doesn’t work on people who are related to you,” Von said sullenly. “Otherwise they’d all be my slaves by now.”
“How useful can it be if you can’t even use it on the people who annoy you the most?” Carmilla asked. She began walking away from him, but Von hurried to her side, following her.
“What?” she asked him impatiently.
“I ran away, you ran away…” he began. “Why don’t we just stick together from now on? We could help each other out with many things.” His smile grew.
“What kind of things?” she said fiercely.
“Oh, you know, just...things,” he said casually.
“I don’t know if I trust you,” she said, stopping to put her hands on her hips. “You can mind control me to do anything you want.”
“Come on, you trust me enough to tell me you’re an Ortusan,” he told her. “So why can’t you trust me now?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you as much as it’s the fact that I want you to be afraid of me,” Carmilla replied. “And it seems to be backfiring.”
Von tossed back his head and laughed. “Come on, we could be partners in crime! Don’t you want to get revenge against your family?”
She paused. “I can handle being partners in crime. I live for crime.” She smiled. “And I suppose that having a fairy around with the Strength has its perks. As long as you don’t ever use your powers on me ever again. Then I can’t promise I won’t slaughter you in your sleep.”
“Shake on it.” Von stuck out his right hand and, slowly, she placed hers into it. They shook hands and his smile broadened.
“What are you smiling about?” she snapped.
“You’re holding my hand,” he beamed, his face turning pink. She pulled her hand away and slapped him across the face. Von went reeling away into the snow.
“Ouch! What was that for?” he asked.
“For being weird,” she said. “And no mind control!’ she snapped as he began staring at her in the same strange way he had when she had tried to eat him. “You promised.”
They trekked through the forest, Von’s stomach rumbling loudly. He looked around for something to eat, but he knew he wasn’t a good enough hunter to actually catch something. He looked towards his companion, however, and got an idea. “Question for you, Carmilla,” he said lightly.
“Answer for you, Von,” Carmilla said sarcastically, not even turning to face him.
“Will you make me like you?” Von asked. “I mean, an Ortusan. You can do that, right? Without eating me?”
“I can, but I will not bite you.” She stopped and turned to face him. “Having a fairy with the Strength around has its benefits, but I refuse to be stuck with you for that long.I can handle you until your stupid fairy life span kills you, but not any longer than that.”
“What do you mean, you can’t live with me for that long?” Von asked, raising his voice slightly.
“You are the most annoying little pest I’ve ever had to deal with!” she yelled back. “You’re always asking questions that are none of your business, you keep tripping, and you don’t know how to shut up. Shall I go on or do you get the point?”
“That is very hurtful to me, Carmilla. I don’t think I could be your partner anymore,” Von pouted, crossing his arms.
“That’s wonderful! You turn around and go the other way, and I’ll go this way!” Carmilla said, smiling broadly.
“I was only kidding,” Von said. “What, did you think I was serious?”
Carmilla groaned. He considered using the Strength on her to force her to bite him, but he knew if he did, Carmilla would abandon him the first chance she could. Instead, he bent down and picked up a good sized twig. He then reached out his arm and jabbed Carmilla’s neck with the twig. She whipped around and hissed at him, but he just shrugged and smiled. The minute she turned around he did it again. This time the hiss was more of a growl. Von did his best to look innocent and then proceeded to poke her again.
“If you poke me one more time...” Carmilla growled threateningly.
“What? Are you going to tell my mommy?” Von laughed.
Carmilla turned away from him. He jabbed her with the twig once more, laughing loudly this time as he did so. She whipped around, baring her fangs and charging at him full speed. He threw his arm up and her fangs sank deep into his flesh, sending a sharp pain through his arm.
He yanked his arm back with a triumphant sound before falling onto the ground, completely out of it. Carmilla looked at the bite mark on his arm, her Ortusan venom seeping from it. “Aw shit,” she said in aggravation before she sat on the ground beside him, watching the transformation take place.
When Keota, Lottie and Lilja finally returned, they had been gone for days. Word had gotten back to Mt.Deathern about Vera’s death. All the children sat listlessly in their rooms, unable to play or talk.
Kia had returned to normal physically, but something was now wrong with her that was irreversible. Everything about her seemed okay, except for whenever Nineva’s name was mentioned she began panicking. Whatever damage Nineva did would never be reversed.
When Ionan had finally realized Vera wasn’t coming back, he had flown off with her body and hadn’t returned. Keota knew he would eventually, but he hoped that it was soon. He wanted to return to the Verinian and normal life, as normal as it could be, as soon as possible.
A week later, Keota finally spotted Ionan in the sky. The Accompany charged outside, waving to his Changer, but Ionan didn’t seem to see him. The dragon only seemed intent on one thing, which was careening towards Ana and Maekrel, who were holding hands while walking around the volcano.
Ana and Maekrel had come out a few days ago to the group. No one had protested, as the shock of the previous week’s events had made the entire group numb. Keota watched in horror as Ionan swooped in and scooped up the golden haired man, pulling him into the sky.
“What on earth are you doing?” Maekrel cried, struggling against his brother’s tight hold.
“What I should have done as soon as this started!” Ionan hissed cruelly. He carried Maekrel as high into the sky as he could get, until the ground was no longer visible beneath the clouds.
“Ionan, stop! You’re not thinking clearly!” Maekrel cried, struggling to be released.
“Goodbye brother! May death come quickly to you!” Ionan yelled. He released his grip and Maekrel fell screaming through the clouds.
Ana’s ear splitting scream filled the air. Keota, Nicholas and Kael heard it first. They ran outside the house and the three men headed towards Ana, anticipating the worst.
Ana stood in the snow looking toward the sky. A tortured expression twisted her pretty face. She screamed out Maekrel’s name over and over again.
“What’s wrong?” Nicholas asked her. “Where is Maekrel?”
Ana po
inted up into the sky and they saw Maekrel plummeting towards the ground, with a large shadow above him that could only be Ionan.
“What are we supposed to do?” Nicholas pointed to Ana’s face. “She’s completely useless right now!”
“You two can fly,” Keota told them. “Grab him, and bring him back down!”
“I can’t,” Kael winced, watching Maekrel fall.
“What do you mean you can’t?” Nicholas looked at his brother-in-law in shock. “All fairies can fly!”
“Not me.” Kael looked down toward the ground. “I’m afraid of heights.” His voice had grown quieter as he said this.
“Well, you’re about to get over that fear.” Nicholas grabbed Kael’s hand, bringing out his wings and dragging him up into the sky. As he did so, Kael’s body began shaking. “I don’t think I can do this,” he whined.
“Make a choice Kael. Get over this and save a life, or be a coward and I’ll drop you from here,” Nicholas snarled into his ear as they got higher.
Kael took in a deep breath. He let go of Nicholas’s hand and kept himself airborne, though rather shakily. The two fairies traveled upwards until they were forced to fall back to keep up with Maekrel.
“You get on the other side and we can hopefully slow his descent!” Nicholas called. Both of them grabbed onto one of Maekrel’s arms. They started to slow down, until Kael panicked and he let go. The fairy began falling, landing squarely on his back, crumpling his small wings underneath him. The weight was too much for Nicholas’s small wings and he and Maekrel crashed into the ground.
Ana ran to Maekrel and wrapped her arms tightly around him. Tears spilled from her eyes as Maekrel shook uncontrollably. He wrapped his arms gently around Ana and rubbed her back to try and calm her, his face full of shock and disbelief.
Vixen and Kia had come out of the house, and were kneeling at Kael’s side. The fairy sat up slowly. His arms and face were covered in scratches and blood ran from a large gash on the top of his head. His wings were a crumpled, torn mass. One looked as if it was barely hanging on to his back. He sat there dumbfounded.
“Is it bad?” he asked Kia.
“I don’t think you’re ever going to be able to fly again,” she said, her voice cracking.
“I can live with that,” Kael told her in a bit of relief, sighing.
“You won’t be able to hide your wings, either. They’re far too damaged. They’ll stand out and be visible unless we take them off completely,” Vixen told him, looking at the crushed mess.
“Then get rid of them. I don’t want them anymore.” Kael’s voice was calm, but his whole body shook. “I just want them to be gone.”
“You sound like you don’t care,” Kia said, shocked.
“That’s because I don’t!” Kael snapped. “Ever since I was three I’ve been afraid of heights. I just can’t handle it. I don’t want my wings anymore. Get rid of them.”His voice was blunt and emotionless. Every word he said dropped from his mouth like a stone.
“But why?” Kia questioned. She gently handled his wings in an effort to straighten them out and he winced.
“Because of Nineva.” The hatred in Kael’s voice was obvious. “When I was three she took me out to the cliff that we used to practice flying. I never was any good, but she said she would help me.” He swallowed. “Nineva told me she’d be there at the bottom and I believed her. She carried me to the top of the cliff and left me there, telling me she’d catch me if I fell. I walked to the edge and there she stood at the bottom, encouraging me to jump. I did, but I couldn’t get my wings to work. I fell and she moved out of the way. All I could see was the ground and I knew I was going to die.” He paused. “I was lucky I didn’t. And I remember Nineva standing there laughing. I’ve hated to fly, and I’ve hated her ever since that day.”
“I’m so sorry,” Kia whispered. “I had no idea she was that cruel as a child.”
“It’s not your fault. You always saw her through rose colored glasses.” Kael smiled at her half-heartedly. “Can you just get rid of the things now?”
Vixen nodded. “Come into the house. We’ll remove them immediately.”
As the three fairies headed inside, Ionan landed, spraying snow everywhere. “Why did you stop him?” he said, snarling at Nicholas. “He deserved to die!”
“Ionan! Stop!” Keota ordered. Ionan halted and Maekrel got to his feet. He began walking towards his brother but Ana held him back, saying, “Don’t go near him! He doesn’t understand!”
“You’re exactly right, Ana! I don’t understand!” the Changer screamed. “I can’t understand why everyone else can be together, even if it goes against the law,” he glanced at Keota, “or goes against nature,” he looked at Maekrel, “but me! Why does everyone else have the right to be with the love of their life, but when Vera and I can finally be together the Creator rips her out of my claws?”
“Ionan, you need to talk to your brother, and that’s an order,” Keota said. He went over to his sister and grabbed her arm. “Come with me. We need to let those two be alone right now,” he said.
“But Ionan will kill him!” Ana said, her voice a mere squeak.
“Ionan will not kill him, or harm him, or do anything like that,” Keota said, glaring at his Changer. “That’s an order, too.”
As Keota dragged his sister inside, Maekrel and Ionan were left alone. Ionan turned his back on him and Maekrel said, “I know you’re upset with what you’ve done.”
Ionan dropped his head. “Why are you here?”
“Because I’m still your brother, no matter what happens.”
“You are not my brother. Look at you! You’ve completely changed and fallen for Ana. It’s wrong! Maekrel would never do that. My brother is gone.”
“You think just because my outside has changed means that I’m not the same inside?”
“Yes! I see the way you look at her. You and Ana aren’t supposed to fall in love.”
“I never thought of Ana in a romantic way when I was a Changer. I never started falling for her until I became human.”
“You’re putting us all in danger. Do you have any idea what the Council would do if they knew about this?”
“We would be put to death,” Maekrel said bluntly. “Or they would put us in the Coliseum, to face the Trials of Separation.”
“Exactly! Can you imagine what it would be like if one of you had to kill the other, to spare the other unimaginable torture? And since you are a human, we know who would lose. Do you want Ana to suffer?”
Maekrel blinked his eyes calmly. “That’s not going to happen.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Ionan. I’m not a Changer anymore. But don’t you see? I still have my same spirit and heart. I haven’t changed, just…transformed.”
Ionan looked down. “I don’t want to accept it, but I must. Love is the most powerful thing in the world, and if you can still love me after I tried to murder you...”
“I do. You’re not in your right mind right now, Ionan. I forgive you.”
“Then I can still see the dragon you once were. Have my blessing. Who am I to separate lovers? I know if you were to be apart form her, your heart would turn black and your joy would die, as has mine.”
“Vera had her flaws, but she was a beautiful creature. You were lucky to love her,” Maekrel said. Ionan pulled him into a hug with his wing and Maekrel punched him playfully in the side.
As they embraced another dragon descended from the sky. Ionan pulled away from Maekrel to see Bloodbath, gasping for air. “Ionan. I’m glad I finally found you. I heard your mate had passed away. I am so sorry.”
“Thank you, Bloodbath,” Ionan said gruffly. The dragon bowed to him in sympathy and said, “But you must come with me, to the desert of the dragons. Before your mate was taken by Wyntier she had a child. A daughter.”
“Vera had a daughter?” Ionan asked, recoiling.Bloodbath nodded, saying, “Her name is Mirabelle, and you’re her father.”
&nbs
p; Ionan sunk to the ground. “Me? A...a father?”
“Now isn’t the time for surprise, Ionan. Come,” Bloodbath said. Ionan looked towards the house but Keota was already there, ready to climb onto his back.
“Let’s go,” Keota said. “I want to meet your daughter.”
“I need her,” Ionan said. “She needs to come home, back to the Verinian to be with me.”
“No, Ionan,” Keota said sharply. “This is something I won’t allow. I forbid it.”
“What?”Ionan gasped.
Kia was walking out of the house, hands on her hips. “Keota, what is going on?” she said. “I heard something about Ionan’s daughter. Is this true?”
“Yes, but we can’t bring her back with us. I’m ordering Ionan to leave her where she is,” Keota said.
“That’s cruel,” Kia spat. “Why would you do such a thing? Separate a child from her father, after she already lost her mother?”
“We can’t bring Vera’s child back with us to the forest. It will cause all sorts of problems. Wyntier has allies and if anyone finds out that Vera had a daughter, they’ll come looking for her. Any trace left of Vera has to be eliminated from our lives forever,” Keota said.
“Why do you hate my mate so much?” Ionan whispered.
“I never hated her. I just know no good will ever come of her,” Keota said harshly, and a soft tear rolled down Ionan’s face.
“You’re only forcing him to do this because you know he’s not in his right mind right now, and won’t fight back,” Kia hissed. “I say he brings his daughter back, and that’s the end of it.”
“Kia, if you don’t want to cause a rift in our marriage you’ll leave. Now. We just managed to fix things between us,” Keota said.
Kia stared at him blankly, seemingly having her feet swept out from under her. “But...but things are fine between us,” Kia said in confusion.
“Right now,” Keota said. “Kia, for once in your life just do as I say. This is between Ionan and I, and if you want our marriage to work, you’ll stay out of it. You’ve bossed me around for the past five years. Now it’s my turn to get a say.”