Beware the Violet

by Maria Vermisoglou

  “As am I, mademoiselle.”

  I blinked and along with Kristy, we turned to witness an amazing sight. Jacques was sitting on the trunk of a tree with the orange knife in his hands, smiling sarcastically. He seemed unchanged, but the haunted look he possessed before was gone and his posture was relaxed, he looked like a regular teenage boy on a regular day basking under a violet sky.

  “Jacques!” I cried at the same time as Kristy and she ran to embrace him tightly. I cast a look at them and smiled, I was entirely relieved he was alive. I didn’t care how, it only mattered that he was among us again. A sigh escaped my lips as I felt a huge burden leave my shoulders. Watching the shapeshifter with his neat look, I took small breaths as I stared at him. I’ve been blaming myself for his death even because he sacrificed himself for me, an unknown, but I decided to let go of the blame as it was part of the past now.

  Seeing Kristy and Jacques arguing as he tried to free himself from her tight embrace, a pang of jealousy hit me. Shaking my head, I tried to focus. I never had any friends, and these two seemed so at ease with each other. Whatever will happen when this adventure would come to an end?

  Hearing spluttering sounds, I turned to the presence of the Dark Master. “You again?” I said frustrated. “I thought you would be gone by now! Don’t you have other things to do?”

  The dark creature smiled wickedly and a stream of words came out of his mouth, but I couldn’t make out anything as his distorted face altered his speech. I was certain though that he was showering me with words that were best to remain unknown.

  “How about we zhow him ze way out, mademoiselle?” Jacques said, suddenly a few inches away from me.

  I scowled to mask my discomfort and nodded. For a reason I couldn’t fathom, when he was close, strange vibes coursed through me. He slapped the knife on his hand that grew in size and he stood ready to face the creature.

  “I might have been caught off guard before, but zat’s not goin’ to happen again. En garde!” he cried and attacked the creature with all his force, slashing and cutting with speed and I was certain the Evil Master was done for but when Jacques pulled back to admire his work, the creature was still there. “What?” Jacques cried, his face turning red. “How is that possible?”

  “The song! We must all join forces,” Kristy exclaimed. She waved her hands and now flowers decorated the creature’s head. Not only that, but a flower necklace adorned his neck as well. If I didn’t know better, I would think it was a reaper in a spring mood.

  “How sweet, my dear. This must be one of your finest works,” the witch said, casting a spell that hit the Evil Master right in the face.

  A cold breeze passed through me and out of the few of us, I pinpointed the cause to be the ghost who summoned a glowing orb that hit right through the Evil Master. He howled and his cry traveled, surrounding us, but I refused to let him overwhelm me again.

  I focused hard, remembering the most powerful moments of my life. The concentration of happy memories created violet balls of fire which I blasted to the creature’s face. One by one, the rest of the creatures attacked using their powers, and it seemed to be working. The creature couldn’t withstand our combined powers and deteriorated into ashes.

  “Ugh!” The vampire spat. “I shall never, ever drink from such evil creatures again!” he spat. “Their blood is so bitter.”

  “Imagine that,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “Eternity is a long time,” Kristy smiled playfully.

  “It’s an expression,” the vampire growled and rolled his eyes.

  “I’m just teasing.”

  The witch cleared her throat and silence descended over the group. “If you two have finished, I believe a cleanup is essential here,” the witch said, and I smirked. Everyone complained but did as instructed.

  Chapter 6: Halloween

  Cleaning and restoring the forest went a lot faster with supernatural powers.

  Before long, the forest was restored to its former magical glory, as was the rest of the realm. Looking at the Realm now, I could admire its true beauty. Valleys with colorful flowers, the greenest trees I had ever seen caught my sight immediately, but I also felt a kind of magic that surrounded the entire place, making it unique. Of course, Kristy didn’t miss adding her personal touch everywhere—flowers adorned each garden now. Even in the chimneys.

  I was delighted to discover the houses were not actually black, but painted according to the owner’s desires. Kristy’s was purple, which I found an odd choice considering some humans would have frowned upon this choice. Then again, she was no human.

  The Enchanted Forest soon filled with animals, plants, and birds as word of the Evil Master’s demise traveled as fast as the wind could travel. The rest of the fairies who had transformed or vanished during the Dark Master’s attack took their normal forms again. Now that it was restored, they returned safely to their homes. The blood moon disappeared, and an ethereal silver moon glittered in the sky. All indicated things would return to normal soon. Well, as normal as things could be in a supernatural realm.

  “That was fast,” I said, amazed, thinking humans would be grateful if that happened in their own homes as well.

  “I love being a fairy,” Kristy said, fluttering her wings.

  “Violet, you did great tonight,” the witch said, and I could swear I detected a note of pride in her voice. “Your grandmother would be proud.”

  With everything that was going on, I had forgotten to ask how they knew her. “My grandmother?”

  “She had certain powers, too.” Seeing my surprised expression, she explained, “she could see beyond the veil of the present. She was a remarkable woman.”

  “Why didn’t she tell me?” I masked my bitterness and disappointment, but I was certain she saw right through it as she cast her penetrating gaze on me. “She wanted you to have a normal life. The fact that you hated Halloween amused her very much. It was rather ironic.”

  “I guess it was,” I said and a small part of me wished she had told me. “Now, what do we do?”

  “You return home to your family and continue your life, but you must come back in order to train and strengthen your powers. This particular evil might be gone, but there is always going to be another one. As they say, evil never sleeps.” I nodded uncertain of how I felt about the new avenue opening for me. “You have a gift, and you must embrace it. Having magic doesn’t come without responsibilities, but I can teach you how to use it.”

  “I would like that.” I was scared before, trying to understand a new world, but the battle with the Dark Master taught me how brave I was. I wasn’t scared anymore—I had faith in my powers and in me.

  “And I can teach you fairy magic.” Kristy clapped.

  “I can use fairy magic? But I’m not a fairy, am I?” Confused, I tilted my head, but she laughed.

  “You’re not, but the Believer has magical powers so I can teach you some fairy magic that isn’t unlike the powers you possess, and the witch can teach you witch magic. The legend also said the Believer has her own unique magic, but we have already seen that.” She inhaled excitedly, and her purple eyes glowed. “You have so much to learn!”

  “One thing at a time, Kristy. I’m sure she will want to be with her family now.” The witch reprimanded and Kristy sighed, seeming deflated.

  “All right, I’ll get you to the door.”

  As the creatures took their separate ways, bidding me goodbye, Jacques approached. “Mademoiselle,” he said, giving me a crooked smile.

  “I hope you are going to help put the Blessed Realm in order,” I said and after giving me a long look, he nodded.

  “Of course.”

  “How are you alive?” I said and even if I’d rather forget about that traumatizing event, I was also curious.

  “Someone sang so loudly that it woke me up. Don’t you know that rabbits have extremely good hearing?” He frowned, as if he were chiding me, and suddenly a deep red warmed my cheekbones.

 
; “Well, I will remember it next time you fall asleep,” I said, annoyed, thinking I was stupid to be so sad for his passing when he treated me just like a passerby but he laughed. Or maybe he was just teasing me and I misunderstood his intentions. The sound was like a song to my ears, and confused, I shook my head.

  “Enjoy the rest of your night, mademoiselle,” Jacques said and took my hand. I froze uncertain of what it would come after and bringing it to his lips, he kissed my hand. Blushing, I pulled away and mumbled, “Thank you, you too.” At a fast pace, I walked to where Kristy was waiting as my feelings quickly flared going from one to the other in the matter of minutes.

  “Wow! You must have made an impression on him. He has never been interested in striking up a conversation or even complimented anyone before,” Kristy said fascinated and I shook my head embarrassed. “Maybe he’s got a crush on you!” she exclaimed and I waved my hand.

  “That’s ridiculous! He doesn’t even know me.” My cheeks turned brighter as I wondered if she was right. Shoving the thought away as it made me uncomfortable, I followed Kristy to the gate, noticing that lots of other creatures had gathered in the streets, casting strange looks my way. “Why are they all here?”

  “Well, they want to see you. You’re a hero since you saved them from eternal darkness. They’re grateful, but we never had any human visitors, except your grandmother and that was a long time ago. You are something of a curiosity to them.” She smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, they’ll get used to you.”

  We reached the brown oak door I used when entering, and Kristy opened it. “How did you do that? I had to unlock it with my necklace when I went through the first time and fell into a deep crevice. I really thought I was going to die!”

  “Well, it’s more difficult to get in than to get out and it kind of shows off the first time.” Kristy laughed at my mystified expression and patted my arm. The door senses I’m a fairy, letting me pass with no issues. Come on, time to face the music.”

  We crossed from The Blessed Realm back to the human world and I only felt a light tingle as a small breeze went through me. Stepping out, I discovered we were at the same place I had entered but the only difference was it was darker than when I left. The only light came from the stars decorating the sky and the glow of some Halloween lanterns faraway.

  “How long was I away?” I said, scratching my head. I couldn’t have been away for hours, right?

  “It’s the same day you arrived just a couple hours later,” Kristy said, and I stared at her. “We had the whole darkness problem, but otherwise it would have been afternoon when you set foot in the realm.”

  I arched my eyebrow. “A darkness problem?”

  “One can joke when an unfortunate situation has been resolved,” she mused, and I shook my head. Darkness problem, the understatement of the century.

  Music reached our ears as well as cries of joy and I realized the party was still going on in the town. I just hoped my family hadn’t discovered my absence.

  “How long does this celebration last?”

  “You don’t know? This is a holiday about supernatural creatures, and you don’t know anything about it?” I said laughing as I found that extremely funny.

  “Halloween is a fake celebration and these humans dressing as fairies...” She waved her hand while her expression turned grim. “Totally fake. It’s an insult!”

  I couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out laughing while Kristy shot me an odd look. When I settled down, I explained, “All night, humans party dressed as vampires, witches, skeletons and I don’t know what else. The children go from house to house, and if the residents don’t give them candy, they trick them.”

  “Sounds like fun,” she said flatly, but her features were pulled into a deep scowl.

  “Hardly.”

  Someone ran towards us, but since there was little light, I couldn’t tell who it was and anxious, my hand immediately went to my grandmother’s necklace. After closer inspection, I realized it was Diane and relaxed. For a terrible moment, I thought the Dark Master had invaded the earth somehow. I chided myself for having this absurd thought and prepared for her scolding.

  “Vi, where have you been? I’ve been searching everywhere for you,” Diane said with worry etched in her voice.

  “Just around. There’s a lot of people here,” I said, hating that I had to lie to her but it was for her protection. Maybe Diane might have taken being thrown into the Blessed Realm better since she was always so fascinated with supernatural and fantasy stories, but I didn’t want her to be in danger if something ever happened again. I hoped it was only a one-time thing, but just in case, I wanted her to be safe and maybe one day, I would be able to tell her the story of my amazing adventure. I bet she would be beyond thrilled.

  “Okay, yeah. I was just worried about you.” She looked relieved and seeing Kristy next to me she said, “Who’s that?”

  “That’s…Kristy.” Fortunately, her wings were not visible, but on the other hand, it was Halloween. It wouldn’t matter even if they were.

  “Nice to meet you, I’m Diane. Cool costume!”

  “Thanks.” Kristy held her hand, and Diane shook it and then gave her a big smile. Diane was so carefree but also naïve. I wish I could live in her little safe world full of fantasies that never been proven true.

  Kristy turned to me and said, “It was nice to meet you, Violet. See you around?”

  I nodded, sad to see her leave, but grinned. “See you.”

  Kristy winked and started walking away. Curious, I watched her not used to see her walking without her wings, but Diane’s loud voice meddled with my thoughts.

  Diane talked about who she met, and what happened during my absence and I paid attention for just a moment before my gaze turned back to the woods behind us but Kristy was already gone. Disappointed, I tried to hide my annoyance. I knew that I would see her the next time I traveled to the Blessed Realm, but I didn’t know when that would be. The talk about lessons of magic and learning about my powers made me excited but also terrified. Now that I knew they were real, things were going to be complicated. Of course, I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to learn anything related to my grandmother, and I wanted to study about other creatures as well. Especially how to defend myself against vampires. I wasn’t going to get caught unawares again.

  “…and then the vampire slipped and landed in the punch bowl. Can you believe that?” Diane giggled. “It was epic! I can’t believe you missed all the action. It was hilarious!”

  “What vampire?” I asked, startled and looked around in alert with raised hands. “Where?”

  “That one.” Diane pointed at a soaked man in a vampire costume. “Vi, relax. It’s just a costume. What’s gotten into you?”

  “Nothing,” I said and pretended to study the man. I wanted to cry from relief as I thought a real vampire had stepped into the human world. “What’s his name? I’m sure even vampires use names and that one doesn’t look like much of a vampire,” I said, trying to distract her from my earlier reaction.

  “You and your comments. It was funny.” Diane laughed, and I scowled.

  “That someone had an accident? These happen all the time. He must have drunk more than he should have.”

  “If these creatures were real, you would have been fascinated,” Diane said with a dreamy expression.

  Panicked, I started rubbing my necklace. “And everyone would run away screaming. Face it, these aren’t real and never will be,” I said flatly. If people knew the reality of the Blessed Realm and its residents, they would have been running screaming since yesterday. It was best for everyone if they didn’t know the truth. That meant even my own family.

  “Whatever,” Diane said and moved to dance while I sat on a bench, waiting for the time when we could leave. I watched the costumes people wore and repeated to myself that these weren’t real.

  Chapter 7: Confession

  I woke up in the early hours of the morning drenched in sweat.
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br />   Rubbing my forehead, I slowly got out of bed, pushing the nightmare out from my mind. Having powers might sound cool to an outsider, but the nightmares I’ve experienced over the course of the past five days were certainly not. Tiptoeing to the bathroom, I dressed quickly and left, careful not to wake anyone.

  The early morning run was revitalizing as the crisp wind cleared my head and blew away the dark thoughts. It was refreshing to think about nothing but the slight breeze on my face and the fallen leaves that crunched under my feet.

  As I turned to the town’s square, I smiled relieved there weren’t any decorations, reminding me of Halloween. The nightmares scared me and I even avoided the spot where the gate for the Blessed Realm was. I couldn’t deal with this right now. Peace and quiet was what I needed, but gazing on the edge of the forest I stopped abruptly and I knew that peace and quiet were not meant for me. Not today anyway.

  A white rabbit sat on a severed tree’s trunk watching me and after we stared at each other for some time, I decided to make a move. Better here than anywhere close to my home. Scowling, I crossed the street and stood near the trunk with crossed arms.

  “Well?”

  The rabbit blinked its navy blue eyes and his nose wrinkled, but nothing extraordinary happened. Annoyed, I prompted, “Jacques, whatever you want to say, just say it or stop following me.”

  The rabbit blinked and morphed into a human boy with a charming smile. “Mademoiselle, how nice to see you again.” He was neatly dressed and his navy eyes sparkled. “If I may be so bold to ask, how did you recognize me?” he inquired curiously.

  “Rabbits are afraid of humans and any sight of us will send them running,” I stated the obvious fact. “Second, you always tap your foot and that cat,” I said as I pointed to a cat that sat into a nearby bench licking her paw—“didn’t appear interested in you.”