Land of the Faery

Chapter 12 - The oracle needs a facial

My grounding was officially over which meant rather than pacing back and forth in my room, taking long naps, and staring mindlessly out the window I could move on to more important things. Getting to the bottom of my mother's death. To do this I would have to consult an oracle which is a dangerous business. Making a deal with a faery is a bad idea, making a deal with an oracle is just plain dumb. Lucky for me I have absolutely no common sense which means I am going to do it anyway. Regardless of the consequences. I will just deal with the fallout later. Prince Grey was supposed to take me to an oracle later tonight and in exchange, I was to save him a dance at the winter solstice festival. He had always seemed so nice, maybe a little too nice. Of course he never outright helped me. I always gave him something in return but I couldn't help but feel that the scales were tipped in my favor. He is a major casa nova and there is no doubt about that, I was aware that I wasn't the only girl who was in his favor. Though, I was probably the only girl that didn't want it to begin with. I couldn't rid the thought from my head that there was something more to him than what meets the eye.

My hand instinctively flew to the necklace around my neck. I touch it a lot when I am nervous, it is just a comforting feeling. It was something I had been doing a lot recently since the death of my mother. I have had it for as long as I can remember. It wasn't anything special just a simple gold chain with an iridescent pendant on it. I had never taken it off not even to shower. To my surprise, the flimsy-looking piece of jewelry was actually quite durable. The shine from the chain and pendant never dulled. It never rusted broke or chipped. The funny thing is I couldn't remember how I had obtained my most prized possession. I just always remember having it with me.

It wasn't long before I heard the familiar sound of horse hooves galloping along the hard ground outside the castle gates. A large sleek black horse came into my view. I could barely make out the rider on top in the dark night but I knew those eyes anywhere. It was Grey.

"Are you gonna sit there staring all night or are you going to get on?"

I didn't respond I simply climbed up on the horse. I settled in behind him adjusting my dress around my legs. I held on tight to the saddle.

"You are awfully quiet tonight," he said.

"I don't have anything to say," and my voice came out quiet and childlike.

"What's wrong with you?"He asked.

"Noting, everything. I don't know. I just can't shake this feeling that something big is about to happen to me."

"Is it a bad feeling or a good feeling?"

"I don't know," I said it and I wasn't lying because I didn't know. "My life is on a downward spiral and no matter how hard I try I can't stop it. Things just keep happening to me. One after the next. I never have a chance to make sense of the last thing before the rug is pulled out from under me again." I was quiet for a moment and he was too. "I have this weight with me all the time and it's like I am never able to take a deep breath. It just feels like the whole world is crumbling around me." I started to laugh. It was a frantic nervous laugh. I couldn't control it.

"You are kind of scaring me," he said. He was trying to be playful. He was always playful. I don't think I had ever seen him take anything seriously.

"I'm scaring myself." I was silent for a long time and he was too.

"Marie, what happened when you left?"

"What do you mean? A lot of things happened. I became an adult and I graduated high school."

"You know what I mean." He said and I was surprised to find that his tone was serious.

"I don't want to talk or think about it," I said shutting him down.