Once Upon a Midnight: Wanted

Chapter Seventeen

Hours. It'd been hours since Aeryn started walking. At least three. That's what it felt like to the young half-Shifter.

And somewhere during those hours, Aeryn realized she hadn't eaten in quite a few days, nor had a single drink of water.

She hadn't noticed it at first because she'd been so focused on finding Raleigh. Then her focus shifted to getting out of Jyn as fast as possible. And then Casper's betrayal.

The thought caused her chest to tighten, and she lifted a hand to squeeze at the area above her heart as if to alleviate the pain.

It was still almost impossible for her to wrap her mind around the fact that Casper had been using her this entire time. He'd acted so nice in the beginning, like he genuinely wanted to help her.

That only made it hurt worse.

Aeryn walked for only a few more minutes before sinking to the ground. Now that she was aware that she'd not eaten in a while, her stomach was alerting her as well.

She didn't think humans were supposed to be able to survive for so long without any type of substance, and she wondered if it was her Shifter half that had been sustaining her for so long.

Even still, she couldn't keep going at this point. The hunger was beginning to hurt, and she could even feel how dry her throat was from lack of water.

Aeryn rested her head against a tree, sighing heavily. She would have to find food soon if she were going to be able to continue walking.

She took a few moments to rest and then forced herself to stand, hating how weak she was feeling in such a short amount of time.

Aeryn was only able to walk a few steps before stopping to lean against another tree. Her stomach growled loudly.

"God." She groaned, her hands going to her stomach. Once again she found herself sinking to the ground, and she closed her eyes, letting out a breathe. After a while she drifted off, hunger and exhaustion finally being too much.

-----

When Aeryn woke, the first thing she noticed was that she was not in the place she'd fallen asleep in. She was in a bed, a very uncomfortable one, but very different than the ground she'd been on previously. She shifted, wincing as a dull pain greeted her back, and sat up in order to take in her surroundings.

The room she was in reminded her of her room in her settlement. It had a makeshift table at the end of the bed, and a whole in the wall that she assumed was supposed to serve as a window. Thin curtains lined it, barely blocking out the light that was coming though.

Light meant that it was day time, or at least morning, which meant Aeryn had been asleep for the remainder of the night.

Footsteps cause Aeryn to turn her head in the direction of the door.

A tall man walked into the room holding a tray of fruit, and a cup of something to drink. Aeryn could tell right away he wasn't human. His skin was almost sickly pale, though it somehow looked right on him. His hair was a platinum blonde, almost white color that hung shaggy, and he had pointed ears that poked out from beneath the hair. His footsteps were feather light and if Aeryn didn't have exceptional hearing she would not have heard him coming at all.

He stopped walking once he realized she was sitting up, and a smile crossed his lips. "Ah, you're awake."

"Where--" Aeryn stopped, her dry throat made getting words out hard.

"Here." The man walked over to her, handing her the cup which Aeryn took gratefully.

After drinking her fill she looked back up at him and asked, "Where am I?"

"Just outside Jyn. One of our scouts found you passed out outside and brought you back here. I imagine you are hungry and from the way you drank that water I'd say you are still pretty thirsty."

He moved to the table at the end of the bed, putting the tray on it and carefully moving the table so it was in front of Aeryn. "These are freshly picked so eat up."

"Um...so we're outside of Jyn?" Aeryn asked as she picked up a piece of fruit and took a bite of it. It was better than any of the fruit she'd had in her settlement, and couldn't stop herself from taking another bite.

The man nodded. "That's right."

"But you aren't human."

He nodded again.

"So why are you living out here instead of in Jyn?"

The man smiled gently now, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well I am not human, but I am not fully nonhuman either."

'He's...like me?' Aeryn thought, unable to keep the surprise off her face.

"You see," he continued. "I was born to Faery parents. But as you can see," he twisted a bit, showing her his back. "I don't have wings." He turned back to fully face her. "I can still do magic, to an extent. So they thought to overlook my "handicap"." He held a hand out and Aeryn watched as a single rose grew in the palm of his hand, the vines curling their way around his fingers and wrist. Once it fully bloomed he closed his hand and it was gone. "Being a wingless Faery didn't allow me to live a very comfortable life inside Jyn, however, so I left. Came out here where I could live in peace."

"Are there others...like..."

"Like me?" He crossed his arms again. "I am not sure if they were all born to nonhuman parents. Some of them are completely nonhuman, others are human. Still, others came here because they were wounded, either by humans or something else. This place is a welcoming place for everyone, regardless of what they were born."

Aeryn started to respond but the door opening caught her attention. A familiar smell hit her nose but before she could place it she was pounced on, and hugged around the neck.

"Aeryn!"

"R-Raleigh?"