A Fairy Captain of the Guard [Hold]

An Unwelcome Surprise

Dedicated to @DragonGirl_97 for nominating it in an award and making me realize I needed to post! 

Comments and votes appreciated! I should be posting regularly now.

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Fiona was completely covered in the sticky wet substance from the waist down, some parts already drying in the night's air and flaking off. She could smell the coppery tang in the air. It permeated her nose, reminding her of battles won and lost. Fairies luckily do not have highly sensitive noses, so she was only smelling what a normal human would.

But this, along with the fact the moon was high and the blood was going cold meant she had been out longer than she originally thought.

Thinking she had time to call the Guard herself, she tried again to stand. Her legs were numb and her feet felt as if the frost might be forming on them. She had seen it in the North when soldiers fell asleep on standby with no fire to warm them, but surely it could not be that cold in May?

Just as she gained her footing did she hear the scuffle of feet in front of her and see the dim light. A high-pitched scream seemed to visibly shatter the dark sky rang through shortly afterwards and Fiona only had time to see a figure run away, leaving a torch in their wake.

Fiona grabbed it, having gained most of her senses. She had never felt this unsteady. Fairies, even ones as callous as she, were naturally lithe and rarely stumbled. Today, right now, she did not feel like a fairy.

As soon as she grabbed the torch, Fiona knew she was in more trouble. With her senses returning, she immediately turned and walked to the body of Carson – or what was left of him.

His head seemed relatively unharmed, but large portions of his body seemed to be missing, ranging from his left leg to a section of his torso. He was naked from the waist up and she could see the Guard tattoo on his pale chest – the crest of Evanswood. All Guard received the tattoo upon graduation. Where it was located depended on the recruit. Carson was always proud of the crest that spanned his entire left pectoral, having gotten in trouble on many an occasion for trying to drunkenly show it off in the market to any who passed him.

Taking a tentative step closer till she was right next to his body, she saw the sign that made her blood turn to ice.

A purple liquid, almost glowing in the moonlight, seeped from a gash in his right ribcage. Had she been human, Fiona would have just thought it blood at first, but the color seemed to draw to her. In the absolute silence of the night and the close distance she could hear the sound of the flesh being eaten away by the magical aura that had chosen her friend. A soft sizzle as the flesh was dissolved and the pitter patter of blood as it dripped from his other major wounds, much slower now than before. 

A fairy, or someone who knew a fairy, did this.

She was frozen only a millisecond before the horns began. Fiona always loved the sound of the Guard horns. They meant battle. They meant action. Today, they would mean her death.

Fiona knew the prejudice against her kind. Regardless how much she had worked to instill faith in her, she knew the kingdom would call for blood. Carson was loved by all. He grew up in Evanswood and was a third generation Guard. His grandfather was a Captain in his life. No matter the evidence, although it all seemed to point to her, Fiona knew she would be punished. Even Brennan, his name bittersweet in her mind, could not save her.

She could fight. She could show the people with force she was not a fairy to be reckoned with anymore. With her knowledge of Evanswood and of all of the fighters the Guard had, she could win. Brennan...

The torch slipped form her hands and she began to run. Out of Evanswood. Out of the kingdom possibly. She did not know exactly where she was running as her feet, clad only in her soft leather slippers, took her on instinct through the alleys of Evanswood. Her childhood memories of running from the other children (and sometimes adults) that wanted to torment her flashed through her mind.

Fiona heard the commotion by the Gate before she saw it, her pointed fairy ears twitching at the sounds. The familiar clink and clang of armor as the Guard began to emerge from the towers next to the gate almost caused her to pause. They would have weapons. Maybe they didn't know the full extent of the trouble, she told herself as she continued to run towards the gate. She was hoping she could leap high enough to grab hold of the top and launch herself over the 10 foot wall before they reacted. She couldn't fly with the small robe she had on without ripping it apart.

"Fiona..." She felt her feet stumble when she heard her name mentioned near the Gate. Preparing to roll after the fall, she put her arms up, but felt them be grabbed from another alley.

Large hands wrapped around her arms and pulled her roughly. If she was a normal person she might have made a sound, but Fiona instead aimed her elbow up in an attempt to shatter her attacker's nose.

She met with nothing and instead was greeted with the large hands moving around her waist, pulling her roughly into a hard chest.

"Don't make a sound if you want to get out of here." A voice whispered along her neck. She felt her body shiver at his voice. It was deep and might have been attractive had she not been a Fairy.

Instead, all Fiona could focus on was the slight metallic undertone to his voice. Even with all the clamor from the Guard setting up barricades – their armor and pikes and swords and shields clanging and clattering and banging – all she could think was that she had only heard a voice like this from one group in her life. Vampire.

She tried to turn around, attempting to stomp on his foot as she did so, but the Vampire kept firm. She would have gotten free eventually had his mouth not descended on the delicate skin that met her neck and shoulder. Instantly she stopped.

"I'm guessing you know what I am. I'm not going to bite if you just listen to me, Fairy." He hissed out, the sound muffled against her skin. Fiona willed her blood to stop pumping so fast and her hands to stop sweating. Her body did not listen.

"I'm here to help. I saw what happened and want to take you to someone who can help you."

"For what price?" Her voice only a whisper as she tried to make as little movement as possible. Fiona only met a small clan of Vampires as a young teen traveling the wilderness. They let her free – but only after making her fight one of their own. It was a battle of the death and one of the few that weighed heavily on her heart even though her opponent was already technically dead. She could still hear the leader's laughing, the sound ringing in her ears like two swords scrapping together in the heat of battle. Vampires were considered worse than Fairies. A hard feat to achieve.

She felt the Vampire smirk on her shoulder, an unpleasant feeling formed in her gut. "Getting you away will be free seeing as I also need to escape." His smirk dropped and he raised his head to whisper in her ear. His breath was not warm, and felt like a breeze in the night's air. "To clear your name will require a fee."

In the distance Fiona could hear the noise from the Guard grow. They knew she was gone, but there was only one exit in Evanswood, thought the Gate. Her pause was quick.

"There's only one exit." She stated soundly, still not turning to look at the Vampire even though his hold on her body had loosened.

"That you know of." He replied, grabbing her hand and pulling her farther into the alley.