Fairy-Struck

by Amy Sumida

  “You're being an idiot,” I accused my reflection. “You can change your clothes and change your body but that doesn't change who you are.”

  I nodded curtly, making a pact with myself to remember this moment. Not as a turning point but as a touching stone, a place I could return to and remember that I was not this body. The true me wasn't altered so easily. I unsheathed my sword with a decisive swish and flicked my wrist to twist it into a familiar arch. The movement was comforting, empowering. I swung it again and smiled at the dark metal before I replaced it in its sheath. I could put these items away, hide them from sight, but they would remain with me. The feel of a hilt in my hand would always be natural, no matter how long I went without it.

  Then I recalled that my weapons weren't the only anti-fey items I had on me and I dug my hand through my pockets to pull out the charms. A withered four leaf clover, a little plastic bag of oatmeal, a lump of dried St. John's wort, and a little cross made of rowan wood. I piled them next to the iron blades and stared down at them thoughtfully. What did I do with them now? Should I keep them or throw them in the fireplace? It probably went against some kind of fairy etiquette to carry them around. I sighed and stared down the long counter, putting off the decision.

  There were two gold sinks set in the alabaster counter like sacred vessels on an altar. Beside each of them was a small gold dish with an offering of handmade soap set within. Above each sink was an oval mirror in a gold frame; reflective eyes staring out of violet walls. Little gold stars were painted over the walls, gleaming in the light from a chandelier above. I spared them a glance as I padded across the cool stone barefooted, down the length of the rectangular room to where it ended in a floor-to-ceiling window. The window curved outward, panes of glass set into gold frames so that a grid was formed over the amazing view of the Twilight Forest.

  Set into the curve of the window was a bench. Cloud-like cushions on top and spindly gold legs beneath. It looked too fragile to sit on and too clean for my dirty self. It didn't matter, I wasn't there to sit and enjoy the view, I just wanted to close the curtains so I didn't have to worry about any peeping pixies.

  As I reached for the curtains, the sun set and the sky started to take on a lavender hue. Magic rushed through my limbs and I fell forward onto that pristine bench, staining it horribly. My heart began to pound faster, I could hear my blood pulsing through it, and with it, my magic. I pushed myself upright and stared down at my extended hands. Lavender light, a perfect match to the sky outside, sparkled around my fingertips.

  “So what do I do with this?” I held up my hands and watched as the light began to condense. It drifted down to my feet as I began to levitate, forming little clouds beneath me. “No, no, no,” I forced myself back down and started waving wildly at the clouds, trying to disperse them like they were simply smoke. “Go away, I don't know what you can do yet. Go away!”

  The clouds burst apart with a tinkling of tiny bells and I stood up, heaving a sigh of relief. Then I realized that I was probably going to have to deal with this everyday... twice a day if it happened at dawn too. So far, I'd slept through dawn, so I really didn't know if I turned into a fairy fog machine right before the sun rose. Wonderful. I guess I should look on the bright side... literally. If I ever wanted to check out a rave, I'd probably be a big hit. Now I just needed to learn how to do those silly hand moves. Or is it called hand dancing? Hand jiving? Handing? Fingering? Fisting? Whoa, that went bad really fast. It was definitely not the last two.

  I shook my head at my own ridiculously rambling thoughts and pulled the long, amethyst, silk curtains closed over the darkening view. All raving jokes aside, I needed to get a handle on my magic. I stretched my hands, trying to flex out the remnants of energy I could feel tingling in my fingers, then went back past the little toilet nook and over to the amazing bathtub.

  It was set into the floor, in the shape of a star, because fairies evidently liked their themes. Five points spanned out from a deep, round center, all of it lined in shining, white stone that went halfway up the points. There the stone stopped, sloping down towards the center of the tub, and the rest of the points were triangular panels of gold. Within each of these gold points was a votive candle set down into a niche. The candles were already lit, warming the gold and making the bath look like some kind of Pagan ritual. I stood at the star's base, in between the two bottom points, which had steps leading down their slopes. The top point, directly across from me, had a gold faucet rising up right in front of its candle in a graceful arch, and knobs set into the gold panel to either side of it.

  The two points bracketing this top one, had stone ledges set into them instead of stairs. These points had cream colored cushions laid across the space before their candles, so I could sit back on a ledge and rest my head. In a semi-circle around the three top points was a low, gold shelf boasting large bottles of colorful bath products(I assumed) and around the outside of this shelf, purple silk curtains draped down from the ceiling for no apparent reason other than adornment.

  I stripped, casting aside the black combat clothing into a careless pile, and then stepped down through one of the points and into the deep center of the tub. A turn of the knobs and water started pouring from the tap. Excellent, now all I had to do was figure out which liquid went on my hair and which on my body. It probably didn't even matter.

  As the tub filled, I smelled each of the concoctions set out on the ledges and finally picked what I thought was a shampoo, a conditioner, and a body wash. I set to work scrubbing myself while the tub was only half full, which worked out well. When the water level was higher, I dropped my head back into the water to wet my hair and shampoo it. When I was done scrubbing and then soaking myself (I couldn't resist a long soak, the silly star tub was so damn comfortable), I climbed out and dried off.

  On my way out of the bathroom, I scooped up the anti-fey charms. I hesitated between the fireplace and the dressing table and at the last moment, turned toward the dresser. I opened one of the little drawers that ran down each side and threw the charms in. Best not to risk burning them, who knew what that would do in Fairy.

  When I padded across the room and into the closet, which was its own room, the puka woke up and followed me. She sat patiently on the thick rug and watched as I rifled through drawers and pushed golden hanger after golden hanger aside to frown at amazing gowns which I couldn't even begin to understand the mechanics of. I have three words for you; too many straps.

  After fifteen minutes, all I had on was a pair of white silk panties and a lacey, white bra. At least I think it was a bra, it was in the shape of a small vest, with triangles of lace which fastened together in the front with gold hooks. After I got it on, the lace tightened like magical spandex, lifting my breasts and making them look even larger than they were.

  “Great, now everything I put on will look obscene,” I huffed and sat on a little bench in the center of the large room.

  I caught a glimpse of myself in the full length, three sided mirror at the end of the room, and sighed deeper. I looked like a stripper. Pushed up cleavage, tiny panty, and that damn purple stripe in my damp hair. I even had a stripper name; Twilight Princess. All I needed was a pole. I searched the room thoughtfully but there were no vertical poles to be found, all of them were horizontal.

  One of the horizontal gold poles was directly in front of me and held a whole lot of gowns. Beneath the gowns were two shelves of shoes, some were sturdy boots but most were delicate things made of soft leather with spindly heels and sparkly bits all over them like some rabid jeweler had got a hold of them. I rolled my eyes, at least I knew where Aideen got her shoe inspiration from.

  Further down, there were drawers set into the walls and above those were glass cabinets filled with amazing pieces of jewelry set out on display like it was a museum. There were even little spotlights above them... and how did the fairies power all of these lights anyway? I looked around again, realizing there weren't even light switches. Must be some kind
of motion sensor... or magic... or magic motion sensors. I shrugged. Who was I to question it? I moved stuff around with my mind.

  On the other wall were more drawers and two lengths of gold rods, one set a few feet above the other. The top one was appropriately hung with assorted tops while the bottom was full of bottoms. Very efficient but I had no idea what to pair with what. My usual outfit consisted of jeans and a T-shirt. If I wanted to get really creative, I wore a T-shirt with a funny saying written across it. I could really use one of those now. How great would it be to walk into a fairy feast wearing a T-shirt which read: Totally Un-Fey-zed, perhaps with a picture of Tinkerbell meditating?

  “Maybe we should address the issue of your name first,” I said to the puka and she perked up to look at me intensely. “You want a name, huh? I guess I would too. I'd hate for people to just call me Hey You or Girl. Hmmm, let's see. How about Shadow?”

  The puka lowered her head to the floor and whined.

  “Yeah, that's obvious and too similar to Tiernan's name,” I rolled my eyes. “He has a big enough ego as it is, I wouldn't want him to think I like him or something.” The puka lifted a brow, I swear she did, and stared hard at me. “What the hell, dog? You don't know how complicated my feelings are right now. I do not need to add a relationship with some hot fairy who thinks he's my hot fey guardian. No matter how hot he is. I said hot too many times, didn't I?”

  The puka gave a big huff, so heavy, she moved some of the long, silky fur around her neck.

  “So anyway,” I grimaced at her. “Back to your name. I could call you... Alice. I really like Alice in Wonderland, my Mom used to read... wait, do you think it's inappropriate to name you after my mother? Is that weird?”

  The puka perked up again.

  “The really funny thing is her name was Catriona so we could shorten it and call you Cat,” I giggled and the puka yipped happily. “That's funny, isn't it? A dog named Cat? What do you say? You want to be called Catriona after my Mom?”

  Another yip and I found myself hugging her, a bittersweet shiver running through my heart. Cat nestled her face against mine, her soft fur tickling my nose, and I leaned into the solid weight of her. She really was a muscular animal and her wide jaws held a set of impressive teeth. Keir was right, Cat could probably do a damn fine job of protecting me.

  A knock interrupted our hug so I stood up and frantically searched the room for some kind of robe to throw on. Finally, I found a long, blue, silk robe and swung it on as I raced to the bedroom door. I had just fastened it when I pulled the door open to find a little woman, standing maybe four feet high, with nut brown skin, bright gold hair, and gentle eyes the color of hot chocolate. Those eyes were almost completely round and took up half of her face.

  “Your Highness,” she bobbed a curtsy. “I'm Mairte. I've been sent to help you dress.”

  “Oh thank the baby Jesus!” I cried and grabbed her around her shoulders so I could yank her into the room. She stared at me with eyes gone even wider as I babbled. “I'm totally lost here, there's so many pieces of clothing that I have no idea what to do with.”

  “I will gladly help you, Princess,” she smiled and closed the door behind her. “Let's just take a look a what the King has chosen for you.”

  “The King picked all of my clothes?” I stopped and gaped at her.

  “Oh yes,” she nodded as she went past me into the closet, which I guess wasn't really a closet but a dressing room. “His Majesty has been eagerly anticipating your arrival since the day of your birth. When you reached womanhood, he had this room prepared for you and has slowly been filling it with things he's personally chosen.”

  “That's... that's... wow,” I blinked as I thought about Keir picking out every piece of clothing. If he hadn't been my father, I would have called him a crazy stalker.

  “Yes, His Majesty loves you very much,” she nodded as she flicked her hand at the gowns before her. They began to move as if someone were sifting through them. “We're all so excited to see him happy at last.”

  “Yes, happy,” I frowned, wondering if I'd live long enough to keep him that way.

  “Oh, this is lovely,” she crooked her finger and a gold hanger lifted off the closet rod and slid forward to reveal a shimmering silver dress. It twirled in the air before her. “It will enhance your eyes. Shall we try it?”

  “Um, okay,” I took off the robe and her eyes widened again.

  “My, you will have the men falling at your feet,” she giggled when I self-consciously covered my cleavage with my hands. “No, don't be embarrassed. We fey are never ashamed of our bodies and yours especially is something to be proud of.”

  “Excuse me?” I blinked at her. “I've seen the women here, they're like super models; gorgeous and thin... and tall. Sheesh, I can't compete with that.”

  “You're talking about the sidhe women,” she said with a little smirk. “All of us are not so tall or thin,” she ran a hand over her plump figure.

  “Right,” I stammered, “I didn't mean to be insulting.”

  “Oh, not at all,” she laughed. “You'll find that here in Fairy, we have many types of beauty and everyone has their preference. The sidhe do tend to be statuesque but that is all these sidhe men get among their own,” she winked at me. “Steak is delicious but feed it to a man at every meal and he will long for something of a different flavor. Unfortunately, the sidhe scorn relations with lesser fey, so they're unable to satisfy those hungers.”

  “Damn snobs,” I huffed and she chuckled.

  “They can't help it, it's been bred into them,” she shrugged. “But you, my Princess, are a sidhe woman with very un-sidhe curves. The fairy men will love that, be they sidhe or not. Why do you think they take human lovers all the time?” She shook her head and laughed. “Because no fairy woman looks like this,” she waved a hand at my body. “Now forget this dress,” she put the silver gown back. “We need something to show those off.”

  “Do you think that's wise?” I watched her with concern. “I don't want to look slutty the first time I meet the court.”

  “Your Highness,” she laughed. “We don't use that term here. Sexuality is natural and if a fairy chooses to indulge in pleasure, that's his or her concern. We are sensual beings and all fey women dress to accentuate their best features. Trust me, if the sidhe women had those,” she waved her little fingers at my cleavage, “the fey fashion would be for much lower necklines.”

  “Alright, I guess you'd know better than I,” I sighed and went to sit on the bench again. Cat sat beside me and we watched Mairte together as dress after dress was sent magically floating through the air, directed by her adorably chubby little fingers, to be piled on the bench beside me.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  A knock came at my door just twenty minutes after Mairte left. I was still sitting in front of the dressing table, staring at my reflection in disbelief with Cat seated on the floor beside me. I got up in a daze, looking once more at the elegant fall of fat curls trailing over my left shoulder, arranged to show off the purple streak there. Mairte had pinned a diamond star over the amethyst hair to highlight it even further.

  She'd dusted silver powder on my skin, giving me an ethereal glow, and outlined my eyes in black kohl so they looked enormous. My lips were stained red and my cheeks blushed pink but it was the rest of me that really struck me silent.

  The dress she'd finally decided on was dusky lavender, which she said would be a nice tribute to my lineage as well as an enhancement to my coloring. It had a curving neckline that barely skimmed the edges of my shoulders before flowing back into a shimmering cape which cascaded to the floor. My arms were bare though the cape skimmed the top of them and the bodice fit tight to my waist, emphasizing the curve of my hips. From my waist, several layers of thin silk streamed down and swirled with every step I took.

  I shook my head at my unbelievable reflection and went to open the door. King Keir stood there looking amazing in a royal purple silk tunic with silver stars embr
oidered along the collar, and midnight leather pants beneath that. He had a sword, even more beautiful and elaborate than the one he'd worn earlier, hung on his hip and was wearing a thick silver necklace set with amethysts. His long hair was braided back cleanly, showing off the sleek lines of his face, and he was wearing a silver crown set with a huge amethyst in its center.

  “Sweet goddess,” he whispered. “You look wonderful, Seren.”

  “Thanks,” I smiled and slid out of the room. Cat followed closely behind me and I closed the door after her.

  “Your mother would be so happy to see you here like this,” he smiled sadly.

  “I'd be happy to see her too,” I whispered and he nodded in commiseration as he led us down the hallway and back to the main stairs.

  “Have you decided on a name for your puka,” he angled his head towards Cat.

  “Actually, I named her after Mom,” I gave a little grin.

  “What?” He looked shocked.

  “I'm calling her Cat,” I grinned wider.

  “You've named a puka, Cat?” He started to chuckle.

  “Yep,” I nodded and Cat gave a yip, “and she likes it.”

  “I'm sure your mother would have as well,” he smiled fondly at me.

  “So how's this going to go?” I changed the subject. “Is there anything I need to know before we go down there?”

  “You'll be sitting at the high table with me of course,” he said. “I've had Lady Aideen and Count Tiernan invited to sit with us. I thought it might make you more comfortable but if you'd prefer it to be just us, that would be fine.”