Fayre

Chapter X - The Wailing Hallway

I used to think that my energy spiked whenever I see Ruen because he made me angry. But after this morning, I realized that I get sudden bursts of energy whenever Ruen is near. It's weird. The closer he gets to me, the stronger I feel. I stay energized for a short while after he's gone but then, sadly, it fizzles out.

The last time I saw him today was in the first period, and right now I'm drained and it's only the third period. I'm moving so slowly and by the time I get the papers that I forgot from the locker, the hallway is almost deserted. The bell rings as I head for chemistry lab and I would have crawled there if it could get me there faster.

Labs are mostly on the North Wing of the main building. The hallway leading to the labs is long and imposing. One side of the corridor is filled with big, arched windows. Stone head busts of various scholars decorated the other side. My footsteps echo the cavernous hallway.

A loud cawing draws my attention. A crow is perched on the windowsill outside. It looks like any other crows but its sharp, intelligent, and malicious eyes are staring right at me. Its inky black feathers gleam in the sun. It jumps from one window to the next, following me as I trudge along the silent hallway as if it's taunting me. The hair at the back of my neck rises and my spine and my fingers tingle in a warning.

"Oompphh.." I run smack into a hard and warm wall of muscle. Two hands settle on my back to steady me. My body tingles with a different kind of energy and reason. "I'm so sorry," I start to apologize. "I wasn't looking where I was...." My eyes meet with brilliant blues surrounded by thick black lashes. "...going." I straighten up and his hands fall to his side."Ruen..." I suck in a deep breath. The scent of the forest fills me. The air is thick between us. The energy flows from his body to mine and from mine to his. It's as if we're feeding off each other's energy. Our eyes locked until someone clears his throat.

Finley is standing behind him, looking amused.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," I apologize again, mainly to dispel this awkwardness and awareness between us.

Ruen steps back but keeps his eyes on me. "What were you looking at?"

"There's this crow...there." I point at the window.

"A crow?" Ruen suddenly grasps my upper arms and pulls me away from the window.

Finley's amused smile instantly vanished and he practically jumps to the window. "Where?" he asks, leaning close to the glass to look outside.

"It was standing right there on the windowsill," I tell him. The crow is no longer there. "Maybe you scared it away."

Finley mutters a string of unintelligible words under his breath. It sounds like a curse to me but I can't be sure.

Ruen keeps his firm hold on me. The warmth of his hands seeps through the fabric of my uniform and my energy surges in waves. He places his body between me and the window like he's shielding me.

The two boys look at each other as if they're communicating without words. Their expressions grim.

After a while, Ruen turns his vivid blue gaze back to me and Finley returns his watchful and wary eyes back toward the window.

Ruen's grip on my arms tightens before he says, "Fayre..."

My whole body freezes. No, no, no... This isn't right. I must still be dreaming. I try to move away. I want to run but his hold on me is firm and unbreakable. "My name is Melissa," I tell him. "My name is Melissa Crawford."

Something like pain flashed in his blue eyes and his jaw hardens. "Fayre," he firmly repeats. "Your true name is Fayre and I refuse to call you by the name given to you by the mortals."