Midnight Cove

Chapter Seven: Tattle Tale Heart

In my living room, sat the most beautiful creature that ever lived. That is exactly what he was too; a creature. A true faerie, or fatum as he liked to be called, sat across from me on my overstuffed, baby yellow couch. Cove told me how he belonged to an ancient and secret race of people known as the Fae.

The Fae had once ruled a majority of the old world, primarily Europe, but had long since gone into hiding. The Fae were extremely wise but never warlike. His peaceful people refused to develop weaponry. They had weapons of their own, they were magick. With the rise of Christianity, many faeries were persecuted. They were perceived as pagan demigods, or demons because of their angelic faces and magical abilities. In order to avoid annihilation, they went into hiding.

Cove told me about some of the different classifications of Fae, as well. The Nymphs are something like tree spirits and completely unsocial. They prefer nature and hardly speak, even to each other, unless they absolutely have to. Then, there are the Daemons, or Dark Faeries, which weren't actually demons but were where the term had originated from. The Selkies were selfish tricksters that could shape-shift into certain animals. Most Selkies were Dark Faeries anyhow and they enjoyed spying on the humans and meddling in our affairs whenever they were bored.

"They are the reason to worry. They can be quite a pain, as it is never pleasant to deal with a Dark Faerie." Cove waved off the topic as though was an annoyance just to mention them.

Then, there were the Fata, or the Fates. A faerie belonging to the Fata was known as a fatum. The word fatum was Latin, meaning fate, lot, or destiny. Cove was a fatum because he helped to bring about a person's destiny. His kind worked the closest with humans and could pass between realms the easiest. I had tried to get more information about the other realms but to no avail. He was very evasive whenever I asked a question and would often distract me by asking another question about me or my life, or some thing he saw lying around in my apartment.

It was such a mind trip, I studied him with all my newfound information. I literally watched Destiny enjoy a cup of Earl Grey while perusing through my record collection. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. I kept telling myself not to stare, but how could I not? There was a piece of living folklore walking around my apartment.

"You have quite a plethora of music styles here," Cove said, as he flipped through the vinyl in my carry box.

"Yeah, some belonged to Terry, others I picked up around town." I had to acknowledge the validity of his statement. My music collection varied, everywhere from country music by Elvis to underground rap, old timey blues and everything in between.

With Cove still scanning through the music, I went to the kitchen to grab the tea kettle and refill my cup. I began dripping another spoonful of my favorite local honey into the steaming brew and I heard the sound of a record being played. It was Otis Redding's Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, one of my absolute favorites. Instantly, Cove was behind me, his cool breath on my neck as his hands snaked around me, finding their way to my hips.

Gently swaying to the melody, he turned me around, his other hand securely placed high on my waist. All at once, we were dancing around my kitchen. I couldn't stop the laughter as he spun me from one turn to the next. I was suddenly grateful for the time I spent two summers ago learning to dance as we flitted around. "You're very light on your feet." His voice a soft whisper against my ear. I knew we were floating but I hadn't wanted to look down. I was too afraid I'd lose my step and we'd come crashing down, or heaven forbid Cove would shrink us again. I laughed lightly as he twirled again, my feet narrowly escaping the coffee pot on my counter.

As the song ended, Cove drew me back into a dip as we sank, letting our feet touch the floor. I was sure he was going to kiss me again as he had in the garden. I closed my eyes anticipating the pleasant sensation of his lips against mine, instead I heard Cove make a noise, like a soft moan in the back of his throat, before standing me back upright. My eyes fluttered open, and a feeling both mildly surprised and a little disappointed washed over me.