Moon Kissed (Currently Editing)

Chapter 4

Lissa's POV
As Layla braided my hair in preparation for the carnival, I told her about the cart incident and how Nolen saved me. She'd been busy all day yesterday and today as well so I'd hardly seen her long enough to give an account of what occurred at the market.
She'd been brushing my hair when she finally noticed I had not stopped smiling.
"Lissa, are those stars I see in those beautiful blue eyes of yours?"
Blushing, I mumbled "Maybe. It was really heroic but strange. I shouldn't be unharmed. He should not have gotten to my side in time. And when I'm around him, I get these..... Chills. Its like icicles of magic poking at my back."
"Lissa, maybe he was standing next to you. Some things are better left unknown. Ah. You're ready." She smiled softly as I gazed at my reflection.
My gown was made of draping blue silk that felt cool on my skin and glittered in the light. It had sleeves that hung loosely on my shoulders and a dark blue sash that went around my waist. My hair was beautifully braided and decorated with little jeweled hair pins that shone like stars. To complete the look, I donned a royal blue cloak and blue heels.
Layla escorted me downstairs where I met a lovely surprise awaiting my arrival.
"Lis, its been a while." He said with his signature grin that was just as cute as ever.
"Ron!" I squealed, rushing to hug him.
Ron was the only other close childhood friend I had - besides Alexa and Eric. He was part of the exchange program with Peruto and I hadn't seen him since all the candidates returned.
"Is it just me or have you grown taller?" He teased as I let him go.
"You're still quite the joker, I see. Of course I have. As tall as an average person can get in a year." I replied hitting his shoulder playfully.
He smiled warmly and was about to say something when a frosty tone stopped him.
"Oh. It's you." Arielle said approaching us.
"Ari - "
"Don't call me that. Ever." She scolded distainfully.
Ron lost his cheerful look and cleared his throat.
"Right. We should probably get going. Don't want to keep Alexa waiting."
***
The lights were simply amazing. I drew in a deep, happy breath as Alexa, Ron and I got out of the carriage and stepped into the village. Colorful lanterns were hung everywhere, joyful music coming from every direction and happy town folks danced about.
This was a typical Etrigan carnival.
"I'm hungry. Oh! Cookies!" Alexa squeaked excitedly, pulling us to a mile long table - covered with food - that went through the market.
We picked a few treats and talked animatedly, walking around. Ron looked as good as ever, maybe even cuter.
He dated Arielle for a while. They made a really beautiful couple. Suddenly, she called it off and it ended. I don't know if Ron ever got over it, but there's a look he has whenever he's around her that makes me feel sorry for him.
When we got tired of socializing, we found a place to sit and continued the task of filling our mouths with delicious snacks, laughing happily.... And then, I saw him - my savior - walking towards us, along with the rest of his family.
They all looked.... Breathtakingly beautiful.
A few nods of acknowledgement were given to us before they sat at a table next to ours. All of them - except Nolen, who walked alone to an empty table directly across ours.
"Now that's something you don't see everyday. I wonder why he didn't sit with the rest of them." Alexa wondered out loud.
As if he'd heard her, Nolen slowly met my gaze, lifted a hand and beckoned me to come over.
"Did he just -" Ron started but I cut him off with a nod.
"I'll be back later. Have fun without me." I mumbled, rising to my feet.
As I walked over to Nolen's table, I could feel the heat of glares and stares but I did my best to ignore them, soon arriving at my destination.
"Good evening, my lord." I greeted with a curtsy and sat down.
He gave me a puzzled look with a small smirk.
"You can just call me Nolen, my lady."
"Let's make a deal. First name basis. Please."
He was silent at first, then he agreed.
"Alright. Good evening Lissa." He laughed.
"I like your laugh. When we first met, I didn't think you could laugh. You should do it more often, so as not to mislead innocent minds like myself." I blurted out.
He smiled softly, making his beautiful eyes shine.
"So.... You obviously don't believe I was standing right beside you."
"Obviously." I agreed.
"And I'm sure you know saving you from where I stood seems somewhat..... Impossible."
"Impossible."
"Do you have any theories as to what I am or what I did to make the impossible possible?"
Then I was speechless.
Did I have any theories? Yes. Were they stupid to the point? Yes, they were.
"Yes... Yes, I do." I replied casually.
He cautiously raised an eyebrow, "Care to share?"
Not really, no.
"Bitten by a blue mushrooms elf?" I tried.
He snorted, "Well! That's not very creative. Anything else?"
He wasn't wrong. Stories had been going around about blue mushroom elves - really rare supernatural creatures - going about biting people and giving them magical powers. To be honest, their bites were known to cause some sort of magical effect on people but I've never really seen or read of a reported case. After about a month the story became a folktale for little children.
"Umm..... Will you quit staring at me? I'm out of ideas." I said and threw my hands up in the air.
He grinned suddenly, looking unnaturally attractive, more so than usual.
"Out of ideas already? Or were you just going to call me a red leprechaun?"
"Yellow, actually. Why won't you just tell me? You promised you would."
"And I will. Eventually. What I can do now is be honest. You were right. I was on the other side of the street. I got to you in time because I'm inhumanly fast. And strong."
"I'm guessing you're not human. Not anymore at least."
"What do you - how did you know?"
I could see it in his aura. Faeries are the balance that exist between humans and supernaturals. We can see past the glamour - a kind of shield supernatural use to look like normal humans - and we can't be controlled by any form of magic.
I noticed Nolen and his family had a form of inhuman beauty. Its like a permanent glamour that can only be removed after death. Which means they don't age. And there are very few supernaturals with that ability.
Before I could think of an explanation to give, a serving maid came to our table.
"Is there anything I can get you?" She offered, smiling sweetly.
"Lissa?"
Oh fudge.
"Oh.... I'm okay but some water would be nice." I quietly said.
"You need to eat something.... Some candied apples and sweet cider." Nolen instructed with a smile.
"Coming right up." She nodded excitedly and turned away.
"Cider? I've been here for two hours. I said water would be fine."
"And I didn't listen. How do you know I was once human?"
"It's pretty obvious to me because I'm only half a human."
"Ah. So that's why... I knew there was something off about you. What's your other half?"
"Nice try. You first, pretty boy."
He seemed taken aback by my sass and grinned slowly.
"I have an idea. Come with me."
And that's how we ended up in the woods a few minutes later. Luckily, it was a full moon night so we could see where we were going. I should have probably felt scared but for some odd reason, I trusted him.
"So what -" I started but suddenly stopped as I tripped over a rope.
Woods + Rope = Trap.
Fudge.
I saw the HUGE log of wood heading for me and suddenly I was lifted like a weightless doll and taken out of harms way in a flash, as the log collided with a tree.
"Ten minutes. Can you walk on solid ground for ten minutes without being in danger?" He teased, half serious.
"I'm starting to think you're attracting the danger." I huffed under my breath.
"I heard that."
Blushing madly, I asked him to put me down. He wordlessly complied, carefully releasing me.
"You've seen my ability to move like lightening. Now show me one of your abilities."
"What makes you think I have any?" I inquired in surprise.
"One of my specialities is the ability to read minds. For some reason, I can't seem to seem to use that ability on you and to block out a mind reader, one needs a massive source of power - which you seem to posses. Anyone that powerful has to have some abilities." He shrugged.
That actually made sense....
Hang on.... Has he been trying to read my mind this entire time?
"Fine. Watch."
I pulled him to a small patch of wild daisies. I went down on my knees and closed my eyes, breathing in deeply as I imagined a blood red rose growing in the midst of the daisies as I dug my fingers deeply into the soil.
I opened my eyes and a red rose stood just like I imagined, dripping red faerie dust.
"Whoa.... What are you?" He asked.
"You first." I tossed back, standing straight.
He went quiet for a while before saying.
"Its getting late. We should probably head back to the village."
I nodded and as he turned around, I carefully broke the rose at the stem and put it in my satchel.
We walked silently, the tension making me wonder if I'd offended him. At the entrance of the village, he stopped suddenly, clenching and unclenching his fists.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I keep being mean to you." He muttered quietly.
I snorted, startling him.
"So you say. I think you're remorseful, but you're not sorry. If you were, you'd stop shutting people out and trust someone. It doesn't have to be me. You've been through a lot - I can see it in your eyes - but people are different now. Not everyone you meet wants to hurt you. You can't find out the truth by shutting the world out. My advice, let someone in. Not everyone hates you. Here, I want you to have this." I said, giving him the rose.
He'd begun to protest but I simply kissed his cheek and took of in a run.
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Hello beautiful people😁
How are we doing on this lovely day? I hope all is well. In case you're wondering, I'm just fine, thank you.
First off, dedications. This chapter goes to my dad-like pal, Emeka. You are one of those people who make me a better person and give me a reason to be the very best I can be. Thank you for everything. I may not say this often but I really do love you, papa.
My birthday's coming up!!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎂🎂🎂🎁🎁🎁🎊
It's on the 17th of this month, so I'm gonna give y'all a heads up. I won't be posting a chapter that week. Instead, I'll post two this week so after this one, expect two more on Sunday.
Thank you all for reading and voting. I'm not perfect and this story is being edited even though its completed. So please, comment for suggestions, questions and pointers so I'll know what to do to make this story better. Share and vote please.
Have an amazing week😘😘😘😘😘