Away with the Faeries

Chapter Six

 "Are you children quite done whacking one another with sticks," Mrs. Benett scolded as we sauntered back into the warm house.

The welcoming sounds of crackling grease filled my ears as I slipped out of muddied boots. Warmth from the hearth placed welcome kisses upon my frost-bitten skin.

"For the time being," Marcel retorted leaning our swords against the wall and stripping himself of his snow-covered cloak.

Following his lead, I began ridding myself of my heavy velvet cloak. As the fabric slipped from my shoulders a tiny glowing bundle rammed into my face. Stumbling backward the cloak fell to the floor in a pool of shimmering emerald.

"The hell," I mumbled through squished lips as small hands cupped my face. My eyes fell to the worried ones of my pixie; "You," I growled.

"Damn straight it's me," she said sternly, a slight underlying sense of worry in her voice. Her small hands squeezed my cheeks, pinching; "Do you realize how serious the situation you are in is," she stressed her dark coils bouncing with each word.

Pinching the back of her small gown I plucked her off from my face. Mrs. Benett gasped from beside us, Marcel lightly chuckling as they watched our interaction.

"The Nuea Folk are sacred people and should not be treated with such disrespect," Mrs. Benett cried.

The pixies wings dropped as I held her, lips falling into a mock frown; "Thank you, Mrs.-," her brows twisted, words falling short as she searched for a name, "Faery Lady," the pixie finished slowly, face cringing at the lame attempt.

Mrs. Benett raised a brow; "Of course Lady Nuea." Was all she said before turning back to her cooking.

Shaking my head I turned back to the pixie. We had much to discuss, glancing back and forth between Marcel and his mother I realized that this was not the best place to do that.

"You're coming with me," I grumbled as I walked with her back to the room I had woken up in, softly clicking the door shut behind us.

"Will you release me now?"

Dropping my hold on her dress the pixie caught herself mid-fall with her tiny fluttering wings. I felt like I was going insane, I needed answers. People don't randomly fall asleep and wake up in make-believe worlds with pixies and Faeries. Yes, I may have had quite a vivid imagination but never could I have fabricated something so real and far-fetched. And I was still pissed I never got to take my damn bath!

"Who are you?"

The pixie cocked her head to the side, sending her smooth coils flying. She placed both hands on her hips, "A figment of your imagination," she said, "remember?"

I was going to kill her. Squash her like a fly. Balling my hands into fists I slowed my breathing. Relax. "Now's not the time to mess around," I said, "don't make me ask again."

With a 'hmph' she crossed her arms over her chest; "I am Lana Venera, daughter of Elijah and Fleur Venera. I belong to the Nuea Clan of the Erde Kingdom but have been working under the watchful eye of the Anima Kingdom for about two decades now," she pinched her lips throwing her eyes to the side, avoiding my gaze. "With instruction to watch you."

I laughed dryly. Some foreign kingdom had sent a pixie to watch me. To say I was horrified would be an understatement. A shiver gripped my spine shaking me to the core. Who were these people? What did they want? Lana had been working for them for two decades. My mouth fell agape as my eyes widened in horror. I was twenty-five years old.

I stumbled away from the pixie; "Who are you? Really this time," I breathed petrified, "And what do you want with me?"

"I told you who I am, just a Nuea doing her job. And I don't want anything with you," she said before adding under her breath, "Can't say the same about the Anima council, they're a crazy lot."

My head was spinning; I didn't know where I was, and I didn't know why I was here. For the love of cheese whiz, I didn't even know where here was! Now I had to worry about the fact that there was an entire royal council after me, who according to Lana were unhinged. Stressfully threading my fingers through my hair, I sat down on the wearing hay bed.

"What is this place," I waved my hand around the small room. "Where am I?"

"A cottage in the woods babe," Lana replied flying over to the rotting window sill. Pushing back the curtain she gazed out at the surrounding woodland.

"I hadn't noticed," I mumbled sourly rubbing my temple.

"Seeing as we're in the middle of nowhere," Lana said releasing the curtain and fluttering back towards me, "And the only other people here are Fae. That gives me a reason to believe we're in the Erde Kingdom."

Thank the holy heavens for high school Latin class; "What is an Earth Kingdom?"

"Erde," she corrected, "It's the realm of all things belonging to the Earth."

"Right," I rolled my eyes, "And why am I here?"

Lana shrugged her small shoulders. "A part of you always has been. Maybe you weren't happy with your life before so you left."

"I didn't leave, I woke up here."

"I don't know," she stressed, " Do I look like a witch to you," Lana placed her hands on her hips. Pinching my lips I held back some choice words. "Let me ask you one thing Rayne," she continued, "Do you want to go back?"