DreamCrafter | ONC 2023 | DISCONTINUED

Chapter 10 ~ Break Outs

Everywhere I go, I hear talk about Madame losing her powers. A few approach me to ask about it, but I was told to not say a word. News spreads fast when magic and Façonneur Magique are involved.

As I walk, there are more people staring at me than usual. It makes me uncomfortable. Something about the surge of power happening when I blacked out after Aventurine doesn't feel right. Maybe Aventurine was telling the truth and it wasn't a mate bond snapping. I'm lost in thought, and find myself on the way to my apartment.

Waiting in my apartment for me, is Stella. No one has seen her since the execution. I'm not sure how she got in, but I get the feeling asking isn't the right thing to say.

"What's happened to Madame Iridessa?" She asks, wrapping her arms around herself. Since I last saw her, she has chopped her hair to her chin. It suits her.

"I'm not supposed to tell." I answer, sitting on the couch and patting the other side of it. Stella sits and nestles herself in the corner, hugging her legs.

"Madame was like a mother to me, when my birth one had no time for me." Stella murmurs, and now I realize why she's so shaken up. Losing people that raised you must be hard.

"She's just lost her power, that's all. She'll be fine." The words slip from my mouth without me realizing. Stella brightens for a second, then sinks back into the couch.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask gently. Pressuring her to talk would be horrid. Everyone else is trying to do that, and I don't want to be everyone else.

"I don't think I can. Lapis can, but he was never close to mother. Not like I was." Stella says, and tears slowly start to fall.

I want to move closer, to comfort her, but something stops me. Why would Stella come here, to me, when she has many more friends that could comfort her better? Something about this whole day is feeling off.

I'm waiting for it to click, when Stella stops crying. Her mouth slowly moves into a sharp grin, and suddenly, it isn't Stella sitting on my couch.

"Very impressive, DreamCrafter." It's a male faerie, with dark hair and the swirling spiral tattoos of the Unseelie.

"How'd you make it past the patrols and magical barriers?" I ask, jumping off the couch.

"How do you think?" He gestures at his body, which reshapes itself into a typical Summer Court faerie. If you look closely, you can see the tattoos under the false skin.

"What do you want from me?" I ask, slowly inching toward the door. The intruder smiles, baring his teeth. They're sharpened into fangs.

"Your magic." He says, and leaps towards me. As he flies through the air, his body shifts into the Unseelie male, then to something else entirely.

I move, slamming the door shut behind me.

"What's wrong?" Lapis asks. I don't wonder why he was waiting outside my door.

"Unseelie. Or something entirely different." I reply, and Lapis charges inside, sword drawn, without a second thought.

The male is still there, but this time he's in a completely new form. He looks normal. His ears aren't pointed, and they have metal hoops hung from them.

"Heir," He bows to Lapis and puts his hands in the air. "I suppose you wonder where I came from. Have you ever thought of exploring off your map?"

"That's enough." Lapis puts fingers in his mouth and whistles. Guards come in from every possible entry. They swarm the place and make it seem so small.

"The magic surrounding the isles is weakening, my lord." A smaller guard steps forward. He doesn't carry a sword, and is dressed in a red uniform. A fire element.

"Indeed. Vermin from Vavir are now creeping in," Lapis says. "Take this thing to my father."

What's Vavir, and why is there magic surrounding the isles? I want to ask, but Lapis turns to me and places a hand on my shoulder.

"We'll call all the Façonneur Magique to the palace, for safekeeping." He gestures for me to leave, and in a slight state of shock, I leave.

"What about my things?" I ask, my voice barely working. My brain is still running at full speed, questions flying through my head faster than I can say them.

"Someone will collect them." A random guard assures me, and pushes past me slightly to walk ahead.

Anyone we pass stares. Lapis is walking behind me, and the royal guard surrounds us. I feel so awkward.

We reach the palace, and a few of the Façonneur Magique are waiting in the Grand Hall. Madame Iridessa is with them, sitting in her seat. As the head Façonneur Magique in the Summer Court, she has a seat at the High Lord's side.

"What happened, Amethyst?" She asks, standing when she sees all the guards.

Lapis steps forward, gesturing for the chained male to follow.

"She was attacked by a drifter in her own home, presumably for her power. We're calling you all here to keep you safe." Lapis says, his voice sounding more regal than ever. I get the feeling that he likes to be the saviour.

The High Lord enters the Hall, his own guards following. He studies the small crowd that's gathered.

"What is the meaning of this? I only called for Madame Iridessa, not the entire party." He asks, studying his son. From where he's standing, he can't see the drifter.

"A drifter has found a way through our defenses. It attacked your DreamCrafter in her home," Lapis says, dragging the prisoner forward. "We believe it was after her powers."

"Put him in the hold. He can be sent to the Unseelie to be dealt with. So explain why all the Façonneur Magique are gathering in my Grand Hall." The High Lord asks, starting to sound frustrated.

"To keep them safe. There are rooms built just for this purpose." Lapis answers, dragging the drifter away. He disappears, and the High Lord just shakes his head.

"Take the Façonneur Magique to the South-East wing. Bring any others that show up there as well." The High Lord orders the remainder of Lapis's guards.

They start walking, and the small group of us starts following, except Madame Iridessa. The High Lord gestures for her to follow him, and she does.

"I heard he wants Madame to marry him to his mistress." Someone whispers. A few gasps are heard through the group.

Their words echo through my head, in time with my heartbeat.