The Fairy Self

Chapter 9

After resting in the inn for the night, we went downstairs for breakfast. We sat down.

"After breakfast, I'll go to look for my sisters. You can go check on your husband, since you know where he is already, and give him the medicine."

Azalea frowned for a minute, as if confused to what I meant, then nodded, her expression brightening. "Of course! Then after lunch, I can teach you a bit about how to control your magic–"

"Wait a minute. What do you mean?"

Azalea frowned for a moment. "What's wrong?"

"'Teach you a bit about how to control your magic.' What do you mean about that? How do you know about how to control magic?"

"...oh. That." Azalea's face earnt a guilty expression. I carefully placed down my fork.

"Is there something you're not telling me, Azalea?"

Azalea sighed, placing down her fork as well. "I...I'm...I'm a witch."

I gaped at her, then laughed. "Hehe. That's funny." Azalea didn't respond. I frowned. "What? It's a nice joke."

"No...I'm really a witch."

"What do you mean by that?" I frowned harder. "How can you be a witch?"

"The same way that you're a Faerie, except...I knew, all along."

"Are you being serious?" I stared hard at Azalea. She looked down. "You mean, you really were a witch, all along? That you lied to me about everything? That all along, you were on the Coven's side? That you tried to kill me?"

"Not the Coven, the SU," Azalea began. I didn't let her finish.

"And you never even told me? So much makes sense now." I growled. "You knowing so much about witches. You knowing about the SU and the Coven. You knowing how to trick the witches. You knowing how to counter the undead. You knowing about the Acere Twins. What really happened in the flashes? Was that actually magic all along?"

Azalea grimaced and nodded.

"You lied to me all along!" I shouted. "I thought I was helping you, but you were tricking me all along!" People began to depart, alarmed, wanting no part of the argument. Startled looks, scared flinches, disgusted glares, I received all of them, but I ignored them. The inn owner gave me a disapproving glance and began to move towards me, but I ignored him.

"Did you know I was a Faerie all along?" I whisper, the truth of it bitter in my mouth. Azalea nodded again. I gritted my teeth.

"Why?"

Azalea glanced down more. "Because, the witches and Faeries are at war. And you're a Faerie."

"And so you followed me, hoping to what, kill me? Capture me? Question me?" I growled. 

"Faeries normally never venture into the human zones, staying instead in their army camps. So I was interested as to what Faerie would venture out into a human civilian area, and what he intended to do...after all, I thought I was once human, too."

"What?" I asked, confused at her revelation.

"I...everything I told you was true. My village really was attacked by undead, and my parents really were turned into undead. I indeed was at a friend's house at the time, but the witches never leave a job half done, and undead were sent after me. The only reason they didn't attack and kill me, was because I was a witch. Even so, they still captured me and trained me, but I managed to escape. For a few years, I drifted around, looking for places to stay and hiding my identity as a witch, killing undead on the way and constantly trying to find ways that I could rescue my family with.. Eventually, I met my husband, and he funded me. We're good friends truly, and I never lied to him about my research, which he funded, although to this day, I still don't know why he chose to do it."