Beyond the Fairy Gate

Chapter 13

Nyline

Nyline rolled over and looked up at her ceiling; it was dark. She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep. Rolling from the bed, she let her feet dangle off the edge as she checked her clock, only a couple of minutes to midnight. Voices rose from the floorboards, and Nyline could only feel irritated knowing that the prince and his scouts were still in her home. She could hear their thoughts, their whispered conversations between the mates in the house. It sounded like a swarm of buzzing gnats, loud and annoying.

Glancing around, Nyline took in her room. It was set up like an average teenager's with a wooden dresser with a mirror adjacent. Then her matching bed and a closet across the room from that. Her bed was pushed up against the wall, with the window facing the side yard next to her footboard. The mirror was filled with photos of her and John on vacation or just doing things together.

All of her walls were white except for the wall that her dresser sat up against, which was a lavender color. It offsets the light grey carpeting that filled her room, all of the furniture was made out of the same dark wood, and the comforter on her bed was a dark purple with black flowers blooming from one side up to the other top corner. She loved her room. Uncle John and her had spent a few years in middle school redoing it, so it no longer looked like a child's.

The swarm of voices rose from the floorboards again, and Nyline couldn't help but scoff at the sound. She could smell the food that Uncle John was cooking below. It smelled amazing, but she didn't want to face the prince or his scouts. So instead of going to the door, she rolled to the window and pushed it open. She pulled her legs forward and sat with them, hanging out the window as she raised her face to allow a cool breeze to waft over her skin. It smelled crisp in the night with no cars running and quiet, which is precisely what she liked. In one swift movement, she pushed herself off the ledge. The ground came up quickly to meet her, and when she hit it, she rolled just like Uncle John had taught her.

Whereas uncle John had outright refused to teach Nyline how to be an actual scout, he did teach her some. Mainly the skills that could help her escape situations in an emergency. She wasn't allowed to learn any really fun skills or how to fight. She was just a fast-moving target at this point, but it didn't bother her too much. The skills that she did know, she excelled at, and the skills that she didn't know? Well, let's just say that if it came down to her needing to learn a skill, she had the memories stored away for a rainy day.

Taking a turn around the house, Nyline looked up at the large tree that took up most of her backyard. Nestled in the branches was a large wooden box that Uncle John had spent a summer and a half building. It was one of her favorite places to be, up high in the trees. Walking to the rope ladder, she pulled herself up to its rungs and hoisted herself into the hole cut in the bottom of the ample space.

Once inside, she headed towards one of the walls. Leaning against it, looking around with a smirk on her face. Pulling out her mp3 player, she plugged in her headphone and turned the music up. It was clear that Uncle John had climbed up here and stolen all of her blankets and pillows. Typically, the large space was packed with all types of pillows and blankets. Uncle John insisted on pulling them all down once a month to wash them. She guessed that today was the day.

Shrugging, she looked out the window and up at the sky; it was a clear night with almost no clouds. The moon hung wrapped in one wispy cloud looking as if it was holding the moon up. Behind the moon were the stars, or well, the ones that she could see with all the city lights.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out, looking at the screen. Uncle John had sent her a message, and before she opened it, she looked down at the back door to see his shadow for just a second before he turned and walked away. Unlocking her screen, she moved to his text stream and smiled.