Dragonfly

Chapter Five

An hour had passed and the lecture continued at such a pace, I was certain a snail could have completed a triathlon before the lecture would be over. I sat there, noting down all I needed to know until my hand cramped and even so, I forced myself to continue.

I reached for my drink and felt an unusual chill to the plastic. Ignoring it, I lifted the bottle from the floor and unscrewed the cap before lifting it to my parched lips. Suddenly, the unbearable warmth that had clouded the classroom, seemed to vanish as my breath became visible in front of my face. I glanced down to my bottle and saw the blackcurrant juice had turned into an ice pop.

My eyes widened with shock as my gaze shot around the room to see my fellow students putting their coats on and shivering from the cold.

“I’m sorry about this, something must be wrong with the heating today,” said the lecturer, whose name I had never cared enough to remember. Without thinking, I began packing my things, threw on my coat and grabbed my bag,

“I’ve just remembered that I have an appointment and have to go, I’ll see you later,” I blurted quickly before fleeing from the room, my heart pounding in my chest. I entered the lift and pressed the button for the bottom floor, only to see the frost spread from my fingertip, crawling along the metal like long, dangerous claws. I gulped as the lift doors closed and the frost continued to spread at a rapid pace.

Holy crab balls! My mind screamed as I watched the frost in both awe and fear. The lift doors couldn’t have opened fast enough as I leapt out of the freezing metal block and fled the white university building as quickly as my legs would carry me.

After that, my body seemed to go on autopilot as I fled to the nearest wooded area and hid amongst the large shadows cast by the trees, feeling the safety and security they brought me, engulf me into a tight warm bubble. But even there, the ice and frost continued to spread from within me, coating the trees and the freshly fallen leaves in a blanket of frost.

Hours passed as I sat beneath a large, old oak tree and I sighed as I watched the ice before, finally it seemed to have ended.

It was in the shadows where I remained until University would have ended for me on a usual day and I reluctantly headed home, thoughts swirling my mind in an endless storm.

Maybe I should ring that crazy guy, maybe he’s not as crazy as he seemed… I mean, after what has been happening lately… well you can’t get much crazier than that! First I was an elf and now it seems like I’m turning into Jack fricking Frost! What next?!

As I returned home to see Lewis stood in my kitchen, with a bunch of flowers in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other. Though I was far from in the mood for such a lovely surprise, I forced a smile to form on my lips as the happiness he brought me, seemed to melt the ice that had formed on my heart, tainting my emotions so that they were dark. I pushed the memory of what had happened to the back of my mind. Clearly Lewis had planned this and I wasn’t going to be the one to throw it back in his face. Thunder jumped around with excitement when Lewis spoke,

“Shush! Thunder! You’re ruining the surprise!” Lewis whispered quietly. Thunder merely looked at him with a large grin on his face and barked yet again.

“Some how, I don’t think Thunder really cares that he’s ruining your surprise,” I said though I silently feared what happened in my lecture would happen again at home.

Is it possible that I caused that? It can’t be… I must be losing my mind… that sort of thing just doesn’t happen outside of stories… I thought and again, I pushed the memory aside, not wanting to think about it.

“Damn you Thunder!” Muttered Lewis.

“So, what’s all this?”

“I thought that I would surprise you with something nice. After everything that has happened, you deserve it,”

“Thank you,” I said as butterflies began to flutter inside of me. No longer was my heart coated in ice and it couldn’t be for as long as he was present.

He was the sweetest guy I could have ever asked for and I’d have bet any money that if there had been a prize for best boyfriend of the year, he would have got it every time, that is if we were in a relationship. Without hesitation, I ran towards him and wrapped my arms around his neck before stepping onto the very tips of my toes to kiss his lips. “You sir, are the sweetest,”

Though I knew it was an act of kindness from the very bottom of his heart, I knew all of the reasons as to why he thought I deserved it, and though there was no part of me that could thank him enough for all the support he had given me, I would never believe that I deserved it. Not after all that had happened...

“I could be sweeter,”

“No, no you couldn’t be,”

“Hey, I could have scattered rose petals all over the floor, or something like that,” replied Lewis with a smile and a small chuckle.

“Stop picking at your own work! I love it how it is!” I said, jokingly before I kissed him a second time. My heart fluttered in my chest and my lips tingled under his touch, sensations only he could have caused to stir in my body. His touch always helped, he always made me feel so much better. Don’t ask me how he did it, but he vanquished the internal pain I had felt for so long, every time he was around me.

He took my hand in his before he led me into the front room where dinner was already waiting and the TV had been turned on and put onto the film channel.

I sat down and began to eat the homemade chicken korma when the TV channel changed of its own accord. I glanced over to Lewis, and he shrugged, clearly not knowing as to what was happening. He lifted the remote and attempted to change the channel but every station had the same programme aired.

The News.

“We are Fae, a race of beings evolutionarily more advanced than humans,” said a male on the TV. Along the bottom, his name had been written in clear, bold writing upon a blood red border that caused it to appear almost threatening in a way.

‘Nial Jackson,’

“We have lived amongst you since the beginning of time, we suffered through the witch trials and we have decided to come forward. To be known for who and what we are,” Nial continued as the camera showed footage of unusual beings unlike anything I had ever seen before.

“What the?” I began and Lewis finished my sentence on my behalf,

“Hell,”

I hadn’t even eaten half of my dinner when I set the plate to one side for Thunder to finish and I ran up the stairs, grabbing my phone and the once blank card. I sat there, in my room playing with it between my fingers, my mind lost in a tornado of thoughts.

What the hell is going on? Was it a Fae that caused what happened today, to happen? My mind paused for a moment as I stared at my own reflection, another much larger streak of white had appeared since I had woken up that morning. Is a Fae doing this to me? Again, my mind paused before I quietly laughed to myself, I’m being ridiculous! I doubt they are magical and stuff like you hear in the stories… this is all just messed up… its stress… that is all that is going on in my life… stress!

Swiftly, I slipped my phone into my pocket along with the card and sighed as I listened to Lewis run up the stairs.

“You won’t believe this,” Lewis blurted as he turned the corner and stood beside the door.

“What?” I muttered.

“They showed a demonstration of one type of Fae’s power. It was impossible, Riley. I’m telling you now, it was impossible,”

“This can’t be real, it has to be some sort of prank or lie,” I muttered.

After that, I can’t really remember much of that evening, not enough to tell you anyway. What I do remember is laying in bed, watching time slowly tick by as I became lost in my thoughts until I could barely stand it anymore. I needed to get out of the house, I needed to think so that I could make some form of logical sense as to what was happening. I grabbed my coat and threw it over my nightgown before slipping my feet into a pair of black dolly shoes and walking towards the local park.