by Lainy Lane
“Regardless, I’d rather you put on a jacket or something at least.” Jarreth breaks her from her thoughts.
“Does that mean you’ll take me?” She suddenly lights up as she pieces together the words he doesn’t actually say.
Jarreth nods simply and looks away from her. “I still don’t think it’s a good idea, mind you, but if it makes you quit whining, then yes I’ll take you.” His voice sounds defeated and guarded somehow.
Calandra smiles, traces of victory in her voice. “In that case, I will go change my shirt.” She heads up the narrow stairs disguised as a cupboard feeling quite proud of herself. Upon exploring the little tree house she had discovered a nice selection of clothes and jewelry left in the room from her mother, as well as a few random hygiene products and some personal items as well. It was convenient and sentimental, which made it a win-win situation.
The third time is apparently the charm when it comes to convincing Jarreth to do something your way. She can’t remember exactly what her tactics had been the other two times she had tried to convince him to take her into town, but she has now vowed to remember to try the guilt trip from the start if she ever needs to talk him into something again. Something in her gut tells her she probably will. She pulls a dark blue, short sleeve shirt on over the pink spaghetti strap shirt she’s been wearing. She looks in the mirror and decides to put a tad of makeup on to bring some color to her face. Stress must be making her look even paler than usual.
She takes a final glance at herself before she leaves the room. Calandra realizes this is the first time since she arrived and received the mark on her shoulder that she’s covered it up. To her surprise, she has managed to grow rather fond of her dragonfly warrior, as she has decided to start calling it. Now that she can’t look over and see it there on her shoulder, as it proudly watches over her, she feels a twinge of fear and uncertainty. Calandra shakes her head free of the emotions that threaten to take over her good mood, takes a deep breath, and heads back out to the living room. Jarreth still sits on the couch, in the same position he was in when she left.
“Not changing your mind are you?” Calandra asks from behind the couch. She expected to startle him since he hadn’t acknowledged her return to the room, but as usual, Jarreth is completely unaffected.
“No, dear, just still thinking it’s not the best of ideas.” He turns to face her. “I can feel your emotions coming into the room, so yes, I know you’re here even if I don’t see you.” His smile turns slightly mischievous.
Jarreth has an uncanny way of somehow knowing what she’s thinking even though he says feeling emotions is the only thing he does. Calandra sometimes has to wonder if he’s also hiding a mind reading affinity as well. She walks around to the front of the couch and realizes that while she was getting ready, he got the pink liquid out. He has been spending enough time at the tree house that he brought a bottle over to have around, just in case. Calandra is actually starting to feel that he may be spending too much time here. Regardless of her now daring self, she’s yet to be able to bring that subject up to him.
“So, are you going to tell me what that stuff is one day?” she asks as she guards her voice from the curiosity she feels about the shots he takes.
“It’s nothing to concern yourself with,” Jarreth says simply as he downs another shot and closes the bottle back up tightly. “Ready to go?”
Calandra nods and the anticipation grows inside of her. Her mind travels back to her first trip through the town of Faerie. She was walking with someone she didn’t know, wondering if she was being willingly kidnapped. The entire town was staring at the new mark on her shoulder and talking once she walked past. She still finds herself wondering what they were saying. She is sure Drake has been saying things around town, so she has no clue what to expect this time around. Regardless of what she may see, she knows she needs to get to know this world and the heart of it is the town. She takes a deep breath as she readies herself for whatever may come from this escapade. You asked for it, she reminds herself.
An electric current runs through her and shoots all of her anxiety down in an instant when Jarreth puts his arm around her. “Come on, I’m right here with you.” He smiles and leads her out the door.
“And will you actually answer my questions this time?” she asks as they begin their walk into town, Jarreth doesn’t release his embrace on her.
“Have I quit answering your questions yet?” he retorts, his voice laced with concern.
“No.”
“I just wanted to get things out in the open, in private, the first day, Calandra. I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you. I just figured a private location was more appropriate for what we had to discuss at that point.”
Calandra sighs.
“I want you to trust me,” Jarreth continues, “I need for you to trust me, Calandra. There is … something more, another aspect to you balancing the world here. I’m not sure if you’re ready to hear it yet or not, but I think it’s something you need to know before you delve too far into our world.”
Calandra feels her heart drop down to the ground. In the last few days, she has come a long way in accepting where she is and what they are asking of her. She still isn’t anywhere close to making a commitment to anything, but she’s starting to come to terms to what may lay ahead of her if she does. At least she has begun to relax, to accept it, and to allow herself to trust her own instincts. Much to her surprise, she’s begun to find herself enjoying where she is and she has even somewhat been enjoying Jarreth’s company. Now the question is, does she actually want to hear something that might possibly undo all of that?
“Is it bad?” she finally manages to ask.
“Not really bad, it’s just something you should know before you get too far into any decision making.” Jarreth tightens his grip on her shoulder as he says it and the electricity intensifies through her.
“So it’s not going to send me running for the hills?” she asks with heat rising to her cheeks.
“Well I certainly hope not!” However, there is fear in his voice as he says it.
Calandra takes a steadying breath and looks around. They are walking through the small path in the woods that leads from the town to Jarreth’s house. Calandra knows they will arrive into town shortly, which means it is do or die time.
“Okay, shoot,” she says finally, and relishes in the feel of Jarreth’s touch to take the edge off of her anxiety.
“There are things that tie into magic and power to make it more powerful. Love is the greatest power in the world, whether it be mortal or Fae. Tie love and magic together and you create an unstoppable force.” Jarreth continues to walk without taking his embrace from her, but his explanation is apparently over.
Calandra stops and stares at him, pushing for more. “What does that tell me?” she scoffs. “Really, Jarreth, the riddles do get old after a while.”
“I told you, they aren’t riddles. I’m trying to entice you to figure it out for yourself. Just put the pieces together, Cal.” He smiles wickedly.
“I’ve had a tough day, come on!” she whines.
“Oh no.” Jarreth laughs and taps her nose playfully. “You’ve already pulled that excuse once and I caved, it’s not gonna happen again. I’ve given you all the information you need.”
“So love somehow effects whether I can actually fix things here or not?” She is frustrated, but concludes that she isn’t going to get anything else out of him, so she doesn’t waste her breath pushing it further.
He nods. “It could possibly have everything to do with it.”
Calandra begins to walk again and Jarreth follows suit.
“You think that’s all there is to it? Simple as that?” Jarreth finally asks as they break through the woods and find the town in front of them.
Bewildered, Calandra looks at him. “There’s more?”
Jarreth chuckles. “Oh, you have so much to learn about Faerie.” His smile lingers and touches every crevice on his fa
ce. It is an amazing sight to see, and Calandra can’t help but to smile back.
Jarreth walks her into a small bar with old saloon style doors. Calandra stops to admire the mixture of centuries that make up this town. Some things look like they are from an old western movie, some Victorian, some modern, it’s a more than fascinating combination.
“What is this place?” she asks as Jarreth leads her to a small booth in the back corner.
“Just a little bar.” He shrugs it off.
“Um—” Calandra bites her lip and leaves the rest of her sentence hanging.
Jarreth stares at her and waits for her to say something more. “Trying out one of my riddles are we?” He chuckles as he snaps his fingers at the blonde behind the bar counter.
“It’s just that … I’m not actually old enough to drink.” She finally finishes her sentence and ends it with her face crimson red. She decides not to mention that she doesn’t want to drink regardless of her age. She has an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach being in a place like this.
Jarreth laughs. “There’s not exactly a legal age in Faerie.”
The bar tender arrives at the table and looks inquisitively at Calandra. “What can I do you for today, Jare?” she finally asks, but her eyes don’t leave Calandra.
“One of my usuals, surprise me,” he says, then looks to Calandra. “And for you?”
Calandra stares blankly at him, unsure of what she’s supposed to say or do. She knows she doesn’t want to drink, but she doesn’t want to come off as being quite so innocent either.
Jarreth chuckles at her as she stares blankly around and endeavors to decide what to say. Finally, he decides to save her and looks up at Glyda. “She’ll have a strawberry tea,” he says and waves his hand at her to shoo her off.
Calandra blushes with embarrassment. “So …” She decides to change the subject in hopes of not discussing it. “I take it you come here often?”
“What gave you that impression?”
“Well, she has a nickname for you, and you have multiple usuals.”
“So you can put things together for yourself!” Jarreth smiles. “You wanna try again for what we were talking about on the way here in that case?” He stares intently at her and the bartender returns with their drinks. Jarreth’s is a shot glass with a dark green liquid in it.
“Oh, right.” She thinks back to the conversation from the walk into town and takes a sip of her tea. It’s sweet but tart and it warms her throat as it slides down.
Jarreth continues to stare intently at her, to pressure her to figure it out and also to make it clear he isn’t going to help her in any way.
She takes another sip of her drink. “So you’re really gonna be no help at all?” She decides to try a pout again. After all, it did work to get her into town, maybe it’ll help her out again.
“I don’t think so, Cal!” Jarreth takes his shot and holds the glass in the air to signal the bartender to get him another one. “You only get to make me cave so many times, and you’ve reached your limit for the day!” A wicked smile crosses his face as Glyda returns with a new shot; this one is a baby blue liquid.
Love is the greatest power in the world, mortal or Fae, tie love and magic together and you create an unstoppable force. The words come back to her mind and she tries to dissect them as she sips on her drink and begins to feel braver with every sip she takes.
“So, what? I have to be in love?” She finally starts to bring her thoughts to words.
“You’re getting there.”
“Getting to being in love?” Maybe it’s the pressure of her surroundings, but her thoughts are starting to cloud together and they aren’t making complete sense.
“You already are, aren’t you?” Tristan’s voice makes her and Jarreth both jump.
Jarreth’s eyes flash purple momentarily and a smile crosses his face.
“Well, yeah … I mean, not that … I …” She can’t make herself manage an actual sentence. Thoughts fly through her head and make her feel a little dizzy. She does love Tristan, doesn’t she? Nothing seems to make much sense anymore and her emotions have been on overdrive ever since she came to Faerie. She frowns slightly and strives to figure out something coherent to say. “Where did you come from?”
“Nice to see you, too!” Tristan is offended and looks skeptically between Calandra and Jarreth.
Jarreth places his hand on top of hers in the middle of the table and smiles reassuringly. “Just keep going with your thinking there.”
Calandra goes back to her train of thought, somewhat thankful Jarreth doesn’t want to continue that particular conversation further, especially now that Tristan has surprised them with his presence. Love. Love and magic. Unstoppable force. Think, Calandra, think.
“Who I love …” Calandra says, shocked as it falls into place, “it matters who I love?”
Jarreth nods.
“But how? Why?”
“Because—” An unfamiliar voice answers. Jarreth’s eyes flash red and his expression turns grim. Calandra turns to see Drake standing next to her. “Two and two equals four, right?” He grins as he sits down in the booth with her and Tristan, making everyone uncomfortable.
“Drake,” Jarreth says, his voice much colder than Calandra has heard from him.
“Jarreth.” Drake returns his tone and turns his attention back to Calandra.
Calandra takes a large gulp of her drink in hopes it will help to calm her nerves. For some reason, she feels like she’s in the middle of some sort of territory marking contest. It’s a rather uncomfortable place to be, and she wishes for the comforting electricity of Jarreth’s touch suddenly.
“Yes,” she says, finally ready to break the awkward silence.
“Yes what?” Drake says.
“Yes, two and two is four. Your point being?” Calandra’s sarcasm comes more willingly than she expects it to.
“My point being, wouldn’t it make sense then that power on top of power equals more power?” Drake snaps his fingers in the air to call the bartender over to the table.
Glyda looks more than happy to oblige Drake’s request. She glides over to the table with a flirtatious grin on her face, and her eyes burn straight into Drake. Obvious much? Calandra thinks and then instantly wonders why it matters to her.
Glyda’s hand goes straight to Drake’s shoulder when she reaches the table and he puts his on top of hers. Calandra’s entire body tenses in response. Calandra looks immediately to Tristan and hopes he doesn’t notice. Luckily for her, he is too busy giving Jarreth a death stare to be paying her any attention.
“The usual please.” Drake runs his hand slowly over Glyda’s hand as he says it.
“Another for me … something stronger,” Jarreth says, his eyes still not moving from Drake.
“And me too!” Calandra looks at Glyda and gives her the best evil look she can muster. She’s never really done the whole glare at someone and make them wish they were dead thing before, but she feels confident with what she manages to come up with. Glyda squirms in response and Calandra feels proud of herself, until she sees the smile on Drake’s face and realizes she may be giving him exactly what he wants. Calandra frowns at the realization and quickly gulps down the rest of her drink as Glyda walks away for their order.
“Anyways,” Drake continues as if nothing happened, “basically, you will be a powerful person on your own, Calandra. Because of what you are, and because of this …” his finger grazes slowly across Calandra’s shoulder where the dragonfly is covered by her clothing, and Tristan jolts as straight as a board. “If you were with another powerful Faerie, say … Jarreth,” Drake scoffs and rolls his eyes as he says it. “Or me ...” His eyes gleam and his smile turns wicked. “The combination of powers on top of the power and magic from love, well … it’d be quite an extraordinary thing to see.”
“Hello?” Tristan finally breaks into the conversation. “She’s not exactly up for grabs.” He places his arm possessively around Cala
ndra’s arm and she shrinks down feeling more than a little embarrassed.
Glyda returns with the drinks. She places another strawberry tea in front of Calandra but doesn’t look at her. She puts a shot of the familiar pink swirling liquid in front of Jarreth. In front of Drake, she puts a strange silver contraption, a long silver lighter, and a brown bottle.