Chatoyant College, Book 1: New Student Orientation

Chapter 44: The Court

They were in a clearing, surrounded by a circle of straight-trunked oak trees, with holly bushes and small white ground-hugging flowers filling in the spaces between the trees. Dawn barely had to glance at it to see that it wasn't a natural growth structure. It couldn't be called man-made, either. Not once she saw what was in the middle of the clearing.

Her eyes were first drawn to the humans. There were five of them, and they were seated variously on rocks, tree trunks, and the ground itself, all grouped together to Dawn's right. They were obviously the source of the music: each held a different instrument, and were more or less absorbed in playing. There was a woman with very long blonde hair, dressed in a high-necked, floor-length white gown and playing a harp; a fair-skinned, dark-haired man wearing tight black pants and a loose black shirt, leaning intensely into his violin; a middle-aged, thin woman with a turtleneck and jeans, a bored expression on her face, and a flute; a man with long, braided hair and a fringed leather outfit, eyes closed, his head bent over a set of hand drums; and last of all Annie, in a wrinkled white T-shirt and black skirt, with what Dawn guessed was a clarinet in her hands and a profoundly unhappy expression on her face. She jumped a little when Dawn, Corrie, and Edie entered the clearing, her eyes widening, but the music didn't falter.

Dawn nodded at Annie, trying to give her a little hope, then tore her eyes from the human musicians to stare at the faeries who were obviously there to enjoy the music. They made her uneasy, but she couldn't avoid them. One, the most human-looking and obviously the leader, wore a black Victorian gown, beautifully framing her white skin and flame-red hair. She sat regally on a rough-hewn wooden chair and was smiling faintly at them. The creature Dawn had followed here was crouched behind her chair, grinning.

Next to her, lounging on a bench, were a pair of relatively human-looking courtiers: one was a skeletally thin, bald woman with a boneless grace, draped over the bench. She opened her mouth slightly, revealing eerily fang-like teeth. Her companion, a man, had a pointed face, short-cropped red hair, and what was quite clearly a fox's tail swishing in the dirt behind him. He raised a glass of blood-red wine mockingly to her.

Behind them, standing about in groups, were creatures that ranged from suggestive of humans to not human-like at all. There was a grey-skinned creature with a flat face and narrow eyes, seeming to snicker at them. There was a very thin creature with green and blue skin, antlers growing from its bald scalp, and long, pointed ears. There was one that had a lizard's face and arms, but a man's torso and legs. It stared at her unblinkingly. There was a short, fat, bulbous one with yellow skin and thin wings that somehow held it in the air. There was one that seemed to be nothing but a face, a broad smile, pointed ears, and beady eyes. There was a potbellied one with a goat's face that nodded and smiled at her. There was one that looked like a tiny, grinning child, wearing a half-rotted apple as a hat. There were more, seemingly infinitely more behind them, but she couldn't look.

What could she do? Grab Annie and run? That didn't seem like it would work--besides, there were too many of them. Even if they hadn't been obviously supernatural beings, they would have overpowered the three girls easily. Should she speak to the leader?

Her dilemma was solved when the black-garbed woman spoke. "So what have we here? Three dear girls? Why don't you come and sit with me?" She gestured in the direction of her feet. Her voice was musical and commanding, at once soft and powerful. It almost made Dawn want to do what she said. But she stood her ground and shook her head.

Unfortunately, her friends were not so strong-willed. They both stepped forward, strange smiles on their faces. She reacted without thinking and reached out to grab their arms. "What are you doing?"

They turned to her with identical frowns. "Going to sit with her," said Corrie.

"You heard what she said," Edie said. "Let's go and sit with her."

"Don't you see what she is?" Dawn asked incredulously. She was certainly the most human-looking of the group, but still, just looking at her made it obvious that human was not what she was.

"Come," said the woman, "sit with me. It is so good to have more company. Let my musicians entertain you. Share my food. I am sure you will find it to your liking."

They started forward again. Dawn tightened her grip on their arms. "Stop! I know you read stories! Never eat faerie food!"

Edie laughed. "It's not faerie food, silly. It's perfectly normal. And we missed breakfast."

"That does look really good," said Corrie. "Especially those grapes."

Dawn followed their gazes to a low table she hadn't noticed before. She couldn't help but admit to herself that she was hungry, too. But she lost her appetite when she saw what was piled on the table. Shriveled, moldy grapes; dried leaves piled on a cracked plate; fat brown mushrooms; and what looked like water from a stagnant pond in a large bowl. "What are you talking about?" she said, embarrassed to hear her voice squeak. Were they really considering eating that food?

"I like those cupcakes," Edie said. "Are they chocolate?"

The woman laughed. "Whatever you like, my dear."

Dawn quickly turned her head and glared at her. "What are you doing to them?"

"Why, nothing," she said lightly. Then she sat up suddenly and her gaze hardened. "What do you see?"