The Beauty and The Fey

by Charlene Taylor

  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Audrielle looked at him, surprised. “What do I have to lose?”

  Admani looked away. His fist clenched in his lap. They traveled in silence after that, until the boat reached the dock. He helped her out of the boat, then left her on the dock as he hurried to reach the thrones before Willa came looking for him. Audrielle wandered to the dance but didn’t join the scripted dance. No partner approached her, and she didn’t understand the dance anyway. She lingered on the opposite side of the pavilion for two songs.

  When a hand clasped her shoulder she nearly screamed.

  She turned to see Admani standing behind her.

  “What are you doing?” she hissed.

  He held out his hand. “Just one dance. Minuet is distracting Willa, she won’t see us.”

  Audrielle took his hand, truly baffled. “Why are you taking the risk?” she asked as he led her onto the dancefloor.

  “You will have your third secret tonight. There is no need for you to press for more,” Admani said.

  Audrielle didn’t know the dance, but Admani moved fast enough for her clumsiness to not disrupt the other dancers as he spun her around.

  “I’m not pressing for more secrets,” she said. “I need a lie.”

  Admani frowned. Audrielle scowled. That wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted his smile, a simple expression that would cost him nothing.

  “Human,” Admani began.

  The music stopped.

  Admani froze as the crowd surged around them.

  “GO!” he shouted.

  Audrielle gathered her dress and ran as quickly as she could to keep pace with the crowd. She pushed through the sea of panicking fey and made her way around the pavilion, careful to keep to the shadows.

  “My Love,” Willa said, her voice echoing through the trees.

  There was a pause, then Willa spoke again. “I merely wish to see the fey who finally turned your head. You haven’t danced since the last Pandora died.”

  Audrielle hesitated as she approached the thrones. It wasn’t any of her business if she used affectionate nicknames to refer to Admani, and the implication that Admani may have been fond of the last Pandora, laughable considering his disdain for humans, wasn’t her concern. Yet, the implications hurt. The flirtation cut her as painfully as any knife, yet there was no reason for her pain. She reached the thrones and snuck behind Willa’s. she waited until Willa and Admani finished speaking, although the argument should have given her enough cover, she wanted to wait until the agreed upon time.

  The lupine men dragged another girl to the center of the dancefloor. Unlike the previous girl, this teen had died black hair and work grungy black clothing that sent a clear message. I am goth and moody!

  Audrielle waited until Willa walked toward them. Admani moved to protect the girl, and one of the lupine men grabbed him and held him back.

  Audrielle grabbed the box off the throne. The scale man and fur girl saw her do it, but as Admani promised, they said nothing.

  Audrielle took her knife out of the folds of her gown, and set the box on the ground. She tore the lid off the box. Nestled on a velvet cushion was a glowing red rock. Without hesitation, she stabbed her knife down into the box. As it struck the stone, the blade shattered, and the rock cracked.

  Audrielle scowled. She took the rock out of the box and pounded it on the ground.

  “Stop!” Willa screamed.

  Audrielle quickly stood up and put her foot on the stone.

  “Enough Willa!” Admani yelled.

  “Get away from the stone!”

  Audrielle locked eyes with the cruel woman and stomped on the stone with the heel of her shoe. The stone cracked and red light burst from the stone fragments, the light enveloped Audrielle in an intense heat that surprised her, then shot off into the sky.

  Willa screamed and plunged her knife into Admani, then vanished into wisps of black smoke.

  “Admani!” Audrielle screamed. She ran toward him.

  “Get me back,” he whispered as she wrapped her arm around him, to help support his weight. He still stood, but the knife was hilt deep into his stomach.

  “My King!” one of the fey shouted.

  “Go home, all of you, this is minor,” Admani said. His voice was weak, yet the word echoed through the pavilion.

  “Don’t use magic, save your strength,” Audrielle whispered.

  “Take me home,” he said.

  She tried to help him walk as they made their way to the boat. The fact that he could walk reassured her, although all hopes that he would truly be fine vanished when he collapsed into the boat as the knife moved just enough to let blood stream over him and pool onto the floor of the boat.

  “Admani?” she knelt next to him, although there wasn’t quite enough room for both of them.

  “Take the rose and burn it in your home hearth. My death and the fire will free you from the last strings of the curse.” He whispered.

  “You’re not dying,” Audrielle said as tears fell into the feathers of her mask.

  “Better…” he trailed off and Audrielle frantically pushed her skirt around the knife. If she could stop the blood, then maybe he had a chance.

  “Audiee,” he mumbled. His eyes fluttered open.

  “Please don’t leave,” she cried.

  He studied her, then grimaced. He pushed the side of the boat, which should have done nothing, but the jerk must have used magic because the boat capsized.

  Audrielle fell into the water and felt hands wrap around her. She couldn’t see anything, but she felt the water push against her as she and her rescuer surged though the water.

  In seconds, her rescuer pushed her onto the dock in the dungeons. Audrielle didn’t look back or try to thank her rescuer, instead she curled up on the dock and sobbed. If Admani was truly dying, there was no way he would have survived falling into the water. Eventually, she realized not even his body would be tossed onto the dock, and she slowly climbed to her feet.

  She trudged up the stairs and walked to the dining room. She snatched the rose out of the vase and tossed it into the fireplace.

  The fire turned purple, then Audrielle felt the feathers of her mask burn her skin. She tried to take the mask off, but a careful exploration with her fingers revealed she no longer wore a mask, instead, feathers grew out of her skin around her eyes and into her hairline. She tried to pull one out, but the pain stopped her.

  Audrielle sat at the table, then rested her head on her arms. It wasn’t her intention to fall asleep, and she was startled awake by the sound of hooves on stone.

  “Deleta,” Audrielle said as she stood to face the Pegasus. Seeing her, brought the tears back and Audrielle collapsed back into the chair, sobbing.

  What is it?

  “Admani,” she said, but the name cut through her mouth like a knife and she couldn’t continue.

  Slowly, Deleta coaxed the story from Audrielle.

  Let’s go to the lake. Deleta said.

  Audrielle nodded, understanding Deleta’s desire be near her brother in some small way.

  Together they walked out to the lake, and Audrielle sat near the shore and watched as the sun slowly rose above the distant mountains.

  Oh.

  Audrielle turned to Deleta. Deleta stared up at the sky. Curious, Audrielle looked up in time to see a long, serpentine dragon of gold and silver spiral through the clouds, then slowly approach them.

  “Should we run?” Audrielle asked.

  No, we are perfectly safe. Deleta’s tone was subdued.

  “It’s a dragon.”

  It’s the spirit animal of a Fey. Deleta corrected. He…He won’t harm us.

  Audrielle watched as the dragon landed in the shallow water in front of her. She climbed to her feet. If this was a friend of Admani’s, he probably wanted to know what had happened. Selfishly, Audrielle wondered if Deleta could talk to him. She clenched her jaw. As painful as it was to tell the story of Admani�
��s death, it would have been far harder for Deleta.

  “Hello,” Audrielle said hesitantly. “My name is Audrielle.”

  Audrielle. The name was soft, a caress that both thrilled her, and scared her with the intimacy of it.

  You revealed the lie.

  “I..” Audrielle stammered.

  Deleta let out a shriek and Audrielle turned around. Fur fell from Deleta, then she shook her mane and a woman stood in her place with rough hair and a torn dress.

  “Um… How did you do that?” Audrielle asked. “Admani said you were trapped.”

  “I was,” Deleta’s human voice was deeper, coarser than the voice Audrielle heard in her head.

  “Was that the lie?”

  Deleta glared at the dragon. “What did you do with your rose, Audrielle?”

  “Burned it,”

  “In a fey hearth?” Deleta asked.

  Audrielle turned back to the dragon. As interesting as Deleta’s transformation was, she didn’t want to ignore the giant, fanged, animal next to her.

  The dragon’s scaled fluttered away from him like a group of seagulls taking flight. When they vanished, a man stood in the dragon’s place.

  It was impossible, and yet even without his mask she knew him instantly.

  “Admani?” she whispered.

  He finally did it. He gifted her a small, perfect smile. “You exposed the lie,” he said.

  “Stop repeating yourself,” Audrielle snapped.

  “Pay attention, Human, and I won’t need to.”

  Audrielle grinned and turned to Deleta.

  “How are we human?” Deleta asked.

  “Is that the lie?” Audrielle asked. “That you couldn’t turn back?”

  “No.” Admani clenched his jaw and looked at the castle. “Willa cursed the castle, which in turn cursed every fey in the Wild Wood. When a fey took the form of their spirit animal, they were trapped that way eternally. That was a large part of the curse. It wasn’t a lie.”

  “You are not a dragon anymore, and Deleta’s not a horse.”

  “Pegasus!”

  Admani bit his lower lip. “You threw the rose into a fire in the castle?”

  Audrielle nodded.

  “The curse that bound you to the rose broke when I became a dragon, which meant a lot of energy was in that rose. When you destroyed it, it must have broken the curse on the castle.”

  “How was you turning into a dragon a lie?” Audrielle asked.

  Deleta laughed.

  “You need that clarified?” Admani demanded.

  “Either you tell her or I do, big brother,” Deleta teased.

  Audrielle looked from him to her. “Somebody? Please?”

  “I told you before, there wasn’t a love worth me sacrificing the opportunity to Ascend.”

  Audrielle nodded.

  “I…” Admani scratched his neck and looked down. “You asked me not to leave, and I realized I couldn’t do that to you.”

  Audrielle gaped at him. He loved her?

  “Please say something.”

  “I, uh.” Audrielle clamped her mouth shut. “I have an ugly birthmark that is currently covered in feathers.”

  Admani shrugged. “I can teach you how to control your transformation, so you don’t have feathers on your face, and I like the mark, it’s interesting.”

  “I don’t know you, we met three days ago!” Audrielle snapped, although part of her was thrilled. He loved her, he liked her face! She wasn’t sure if she loved him with the same intensity he loved her, but she was attracted to him, ecstatic he lived, and eager to get to know him.

  Admani shrugged again. “I would like the chance to get to know you. That’s all I’m asking for, is the possibility.”

  Audrielle thought back to the night before, her jealousy and the fact that she mourned the possibility of never hearing Admani’s laugh.

  She still hadn’t heard his laugh, but now she could someday have that chance.

  “Anything is possible.”

  Audrielle walked next to Deleta. This was her first trip home since she became a fey. She knew her ears would give her away, as would her luminescent skin and freakishly long fingers. She hoped her family would forgive her for becoming a fey. She walked around the house, the border rose had bloomed spectacularly into vibrant rosebushes, to the garden where Chastity often studied under the apple trees.

  “Um,” Deleta said as they approached Chastity.

  Chastity was studying, seemingly unaware of the geese that honked around her and the doves that covered every branch over her head.

  “Chastity?” Audrielle said.

  Chastity looked up and grinned. Her books toppled out of her lap as she darted to Audrielle and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

  “Hey sis!” Chastity shrieked. She pulled away and took in the changes to Audrielle’s face.

  “Fey huh?” Chastity asked.

  “Yeah,” Audrielle looked at the geese who were attempting to right Chastity’s overturned book.

  “What’s with the birds?” Audrielle asked. “And why do I get the feeling your story might be weirder than mine?”

  Chastity grinned. “Well, not that it’s a contest… but tell me your story, and I’ll tell you mine.”

  Author’s comments

  Thank you for reading the short story The beauty and the Fey. If you got this far, hopefully you enjoyed it. It’s the first in the series Gods from the Red Stone. A series centered around the rebirth of Greek gods in modern times and their misadventures. For updates on new releases, upcoming projects, and my random rambles, follow me on Twitter @CharlieTwrites.