Disguised In Stardust ✔

Chapter Ten

When I woke up the next morning, I was freezing. The warmth I had last night completely left me, and so did Faelin. I sat up and felt around for him, only to find there was nobody in there with me. I crawled out and hugged my coat tighter to me, coming out to a wonderful sight.

Faelin was sitting by a newly lit fire, tinkering with vials and flasks. Apparently he went searching for berries while I slept, because he had the rosy juices all over his hands. The water was in one vial, the berry juices in another.

Then, he slowly mixed them by tipping one into the other. Once the substances were fully combined, little bubbles formulated at the top of the liquid's surface. The mercury was boiling. He leaned down and wafted the substance, wincing with a nod.

“Fresh mercuric chloride. With a hint of a Faerie's alchemical secrecy.” he looked up at me deliberately when he spoke. “I held it above the fire for a bit, then ground berries with the pollen I collected that day. I also got my hands on some sodium sulfate to dissolve inside.” he explained simply. The liquid slowly formed a metallic reflection in its container.

“Nice… Oh.” I forgot. My chemistry project. I was going to get kicked out of school, that was for sure, but I was doing something far more important right now. The school would understand, if they would even believe me in the first place.

“What?” he asked, pouring the bubbling mercury into his flask, then sealing it firmly. I shook my head in dismissal, to which he huffed. I knew he hated it when I didn’t do what he wanted. Despite being a brat sometimes, he has a good heart.

“Okay. What now?” I asked. I gathered our things as he pondered for a moment.

“Let’s keep moving and it'll come to me naturally.”

While we walked, I thought about how different it would be if he were to stay on Earth. Of course, that wasn’t an option. He had to get back home to be crowned prince. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he was royalty. I noticed over the last few days that he was slowly getting used to me. Today, he didn’t insult me yet but I knew it was going to come sooner or later.

He took the lead while he threaded through the forest. We emerged from the brush to an open field, and we stopped just at the edge of the trees. I glanced at him and stepped out into the clear. “Are you suicidal? Farmers and landowners could see us!” he yelled in a whisper, yanking me back into the shade.

“Where do we go then?”

“Anywhere but out there. Vast spaces like that give me the chills.” he said the last part so nonchalantly that I barely caught it.

“Because it’s autumn.” I joked, but he wasn’t having it. I cringed at myself.

“No, because if you're not careful you can be sniped from anywhere, at any time. We take a different route through the trees.” he ordered, then turned briskly on his heel. I followed suit behind him.

“Guavas are probably at a produce stand. You have those, right?” He turned this time, catching me off guard. I clambered into him and my chest pressed flush against his. He stammered, uncomprehending, then wrapped his arms around me to catch himself.

I pulled away and rubbed my neck frantically. “Y-Yeah, yeah we do.. or we can try those fruits right there.” I pointed up the the very tip of a nearby tree, right under the bright canopy. It couldn’t be that easy, though.

They were covered in a fuzzy green case, like nuts or almonds. When he followed my gaze to the tree, he sighed in exasperation.

“I can’t climb.” he told me with a scowl. 

“Well I can’t either, but I’ll try. Don’t want you to break a wing if you fall.” I gently pushed him back and began to climb. I searched for nooks and crannies to hang onto. I wasn’t the most athletic person, and I knew I wasn’t going to become one any time soon.

I slipped a few times due to chipping, cracking bark, but I managed to crawl up into a u-shaped crevice to I could rest my muscles. I looked up to the flowered fruit, noticing little pink flecks along the bottom of it. Was that supposed to be there?

“It’s got flowers petals or something.” I told him. I climbed higher, and I was so close that I could feel it brushing my fingertips, but no matter how hard a stretched, I just couldn’t grasp it. I had to climb higher than I ever have before. Frankly, I was a little skittish of heights.

The branches were getting thinner as I made my way up. The leaves were shortening, weakening. They were brushing me gently, as a form of motivating me to move those already-sore muscles. I heard Faelin shout something from below, but through my own concentration and beating heart, I only heard a muffled gargle of his words.

I reached over to the fruit and caught it in my palm, feeling the flower adjust and adapt to my skin. I could feel as the outside layer hardened, as if shielding itself from me. I pulled a few more, just in case, and cautiously made my way back down. While I descended, I spotted a few more clusters of the same fruit high in the towering trees.

I stumbled across birds nests and holes with nuts and sap stored inside. I grunted as I slipped on an unsteady branch, it snapped below me and I tumbled down a bit, helping as I caught my balance on a sturdier branch above. I hung there with the fruits still in my hands, though a few fell and bobbed down to the forest floor.

“God I hate heights,” I muttered to myself, distraught by the scene below me. I could barely see the ground past all those twining branches and leaves. I saw a relatively safe spot a few feet from my position, but I couldn’t risk it..

I risked it.

I leapt for the thicker crevice and slipped on the side of the tree, and I was sent plummeting down through the winding boughs.

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Sorry for the shorter chapter ;-;