Of Fae And Fire [#Wattys2016] √

(|] 2: taking [|)

The sunlight slips into my room through the curtains and gives me a soft kiss on the cheek, waking me up. I throw the sheets back and stretch my arms, swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

I get changed into a sea green cardigan and shiny jeans and braid my brown hair while slipping into my favorite knee-high black boots. When I tromp down the stairs, I see Mom reading the newspaper. Dad's still not home.

"Morning, Mom," I say casually, pulling open the fridge door and surveying the contents. Half a gallon of orange juice, a bottle of iced tea, and a container of yogurt. I grab it and a spoon and sit across from Mom at the table.

"Morning, hon," she says with a yawn. The red under her eyes has faded to blue from lack of sleep. "What are you planning on doing today?"

"Well, I don't have anything planned...but today's one of those days when we can watch a movie at the theater for a dollar, if you want to do that."

She shrugs. "What movie?"

"I don't know. Life's an adventure, huh?"

She laughs, then lowers the newspaper to look at me, her face solemn. "Honey, you've been really good about this business with your father. If you have any questions or anything you want to talk about, just tell me, alright?" I nod, not saying anything else and taking a spoonful of vanilla yogurt.

The doorbell rings and I automatically jump out of my seat. "I'll get it," I assure my mom. She goes back to reading the paper. I head down the hall, boots clacking against the tile with every step, and pull open the door.

Farland stands there with a girl next to him. She has the same platinum hair and piercing silver eyes, but her hair goes all the way down to her waist and is tied back in a sort of Rapunzel-esque style. They both smile when they see me.

"Meree, this is my sister, Ferin," Farland says. Ferin lifts her hand in a slight wave. "If you could just come with us for a moment..."

"Oh...sure, I guess. Mom!" I call behind me, "I'm going out for a bit!" Then I close the door and step down onto the porch. "What did you need?"

They each take one of my elbows and drag me off the porch steps and down the driveway. I struggle out of their grip, but their arms are like iron and I can't break through. Once we reach the grass of my yard, they hold me down and start to mutter something under their breath. Suddenly, I can't feel any of my limbs and when I try to open my mouth to scream, nothing comes out. Fuzzy black dots appear in the corners of my eyes, and they soon spread to fill my vision. Everything goes dark.

(|][|)

When I come to, I'm in a room that is dark and empty except for a small cot that I'm lying on. Someone claps their hands, and light appears...well, light in the form of a fire burning in the fireplace.

Two people step up to me, and I recognize them as Farland and Ferin. Their eyes glint in the firelight and I am awed for a moment by the sight. Then I remember that these are the people who kidnapped me, and I cross my arms and glare at them.

"Meree, we are truly sorry about the method we were forced to use to take you," Ferin says, putting up her hands and slowly approaching me, "but it was the only way we could bring a human down with us. We hope we did not hurt you...?"

"You didn't, but...what the heck is going on?" I demand. They share a glance, and I raise an eyebrow. Farland sits beside me and puts a strong arm around me. I shrink into him partially against my will, even though my head is telling me not to.

"It's going to take a while to explain." I nod, anxious for an explanation. He sighs. "Well, I'm no good at storytelling. Ferin will have to do it."

Ferin grins and sits on the floor in front of the fire. She's wearing a grey dress with little silver bits that flash in the light. She clears her throat and begins her story.

"A long time ago, there was a woman named Destry. Destry was a fae, the first of a race of fairies. When she was young, she was driven mad, but nobody knows why. But when she was sixteen years old, she met a man named Inferno. Inferno was also a fae, the only other one in the world. When they met, they fell in love, even though Destry was insane. Inferno was very kind, and he overlooked that. When they got older, they had many kids, and a race of fae was started. They made their homes underground, and everything was peaceful. Then, Inferno decided that the spark between him and Destry had faded, but she got upset by that. So a war was started. The fae who favored their mother joined her side. She was called the Queen of Chaos, and her fae were called the Chaos Fae. Those who favored their father, the King of Fire, became Fire Fae. And then those fae had children, and so on. Some were born into fire, others into chaos. And that war is still going on today."

Once her story finishes and the information has sunken in, I point to them. "So...you two are...fae?" They nod. That explains a lot: how their eyes become silver, how they brought me here, and how they made the fire. Fire... "Are you Fire Fae?" They nod again. I put my feet up on the cot, pulling me knees to me chest. "So...what am I doing here? Why am I important?"

They exchange another glance, and I roll my eyes slightly. "Are you two twins or something?"

Farland laughs and Ferin nods. Then Ferin decides to answer my question. "You, my friend-" I raise my eyebrow in question at the word friend "-are here because you are special. See, there's a prophecy that the Psychic Fae told -she's not involved in the war- that a teenage human could stop the war. To be exact, it's:

As war rages on here underground,
The Golden One will come.
As soon as she is found,
The Golden One will come.
A young woman from the world above,
With keen eye and heart filled with love,
Will put an end to this endless pound,
The Golden One will come."

"Wow," I say, brows shooting up. "That's supposed to be me?" Ferin smiles, and I take it as a yes. "So how exactly do I stop this war?"

They both shrug. "Nobody knows. But we'll help you figure it out," Ferin assures. "But for now, you should get some rest. We used magic on you, and that can be exhausting for humans. We'll leave you to sleep for a while."

As the twins get up and leave the room, and the flames die in the fireplace, I realize how tired I really am. Leaning back against the pillows and wrapping the blanket around me, I fall asleep.