The Fae Prince

Chapter 2: Winter Wonderland

Katie McGrath as Cathy

Haley

I nod my head at Cathy's conclusion and grip her hands tighter when she tries to pull them away from me.

"Listen, Cathy, before you start to panic I need you to understand something," I grit my teeth, "Fuck, as hard as this is to believe, I think we may have eaten some of their food. That means we've been exposed to their magic. We're already started to see weird shit, but we're going to have to act like we don't, okay? If we act out because of it, we're definitely going to get committed into a mental hospital."

Cathy's already freely sobbing, but I continue anyway. She isn't meant for this, and it's showing. But then again, who is?

"This also means, according to folklore, that we may turn into faeries ourselves," I speak as gently as I can as to not cause Cathy to panic, but it doesn't work.

"What?" She screams as she clambers up to her feet, still tangled up in my blankets, "What do you mean 'we may turn into faeries'? I don't wanna be a faerie! Please, don't let me turn into a faerie, Haley. Please."

"It's better than the alternative, Cathy. Trust me," I stare at her with pleading eyes, hoping she has enough sense to believe me.

But do I believe me?

The last thing my mother ever told me was to stay away from faeries no matter what.

She stops her blind panic long enough to become concerned, "What's the alternative?"

"From what I was told, you lose your mind," I say, "Some human minds aren't capable of perceiving and understanding the world of Fae magic because they have no affinity for it, so they go mad."

A noise I can only describe as utter despair gargles past Cathy's lips as she crumples to her knees and lays her head on my thighs, unable to speak. Her arms snake around my waist and she sobs into my lap. I try my best not to seem terrified by her sobbing, so I awkwardly pat her head.

"Kit-kat, you gotta get up," I whisper gently.

She sobs even harder and wraps her arms around me even tighter. Well, then.

"Fine, if you're going to stay there, then stay there, but I need to tell you the rules that my mom taught me if we really are dealing with the fae," I mutter as I continue to awkwardly pat her head in a weak attempt at comfort, "Don't ever, and I mean ever, say thank you to a faerie or become indebted to them. They use this as a way to torture and humiliate humans. Also, don't ever give them your real name. This will give them power over you, I don't exactly know how it works, I just know that they can influence you to make certain decisions and do certain things if they have your name."

"What should I say my name is then?" She asks through her sniffling, her head still buried in my lap so that her words come out muffled.

"Just say your name is Cat," I shrug my shoulders, "I typically introduce myself as Ley before I give someone my real name."

Cathy looks up and gives me a weird look.

"My mom filled me with these stories and rules as a child, you can't blame me. My childhood left me paranoid," I wince, slightly embarrassed.

She shakes her head and sits up, wiping away her tears, "Is there any way we can protect ourselves from them?"

"Actually," I stand up and walk over to my kitchen to turn off the boiling milk, patting my back pocket to feel for the small vial afterward, "Iron and salt are apparently two things the fae seem to detest. Maybe if we fashion some iron into jewelry or weapons then we can protect ourselves better."