Cassie awoke on a bed of silk and moss. She saw trees above her head hanging with the most delicious looking apples she had ever seen. There were beautiful plants all around with vibrant flowers in every color imaginable, everything smelled like Earth and rain. Cassie glanced down to see that she was no longer in her clothes from the party, but in an elaborate gown of almost transparent white and silver fabric.
She touched her head to find a scar where she had been assaulted but also a crown of flowers and thorns in her hair. As she tried to pick out the thorns she heard soft laughter and looked behind a tree to find three strange looking children. They had pointed ear's and solid black eyes that were like slick oil spill's. One was a small girl with sapphire skin and hair the color of snow, there was a little boy with deep mahogany skin the color of tree bark and he had moss in place of hair, the last child looked the most human, all pale gold hair and icy skin. Cassie had to admit that there was something beautiful about them underneath their gruesome, inhuman features. She finally managed to pick the thorns out of her hair and threw the crown in their direction, one of them hissed. Cassie's stomach growled and she realized how hungry she was. She looked up at the glistening apple's hanging above her head and reached up to pick one, this had to be a dream after all so what harm could it do?
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." a voice called. Cassie lowered her head and saw that boy, the one who saved her. He was so beautiful it made her breath catch in her throat. His ebony hair shifted colour in the light and he had the most striking eye's, grey, the colour of the sky before a thunderstorm. " If you eat faerie food that's all you'll ever want to eat." He continued " Everything else will taste like dirt in comparison".
"I see." Cassie replied, her mind was racing, why had this boy saved her?, Where was she if she wasn't dreaming?, And faerie? As far as she knew faeries didn't even exist outside of storybooks. Faeries were used to tell cautionary tales about talking to charming strangers and wandering off into the woods.
"Why have you been stalking me?" Cassie said in a steely tone
The boy laughed but not unkindly
" You ought to be thankful, I saved you from that heathen mortal child."
"I never said I wasn't." She snapped
He ignored her comment. "I was Stalking you, as you put it, because I was under orders to observe you. " "You're a human girl who can see through glamour, which is a very rare ability." Cassie's head started to spin with complete and utter confusion and a sinking feeling in her stomach as she thought about all of the times she had seen strange things but brushed them off, assuming it was just because of her creativity.
Cassie opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it. Her captor gave her a calculating look, like he was making up his mind about something. He stood up abruptly and turned away from her "The queen wishes to seek an audience with you."
" I don't even know who that is!" Cassie yelled in frustration after him.
The boy turned around and looked at her, he seemed to sense her confusion and anger. " I promise I will answer all of your questions as soon as I am able, but for now I would ask that you trust me and accompany me to the palace." His voice was soft. Cassie liked to think that she was a good judge of character so when he offered his hand to help her up, she took it.
