by Laura Mae
Raoul disappeared, and she imagined he slept most of the day like a cat. Soon, he joined her through the open window and sat on the opposite chair.
“It’s really peaceful here,” Raoul said as he warmed his body in the sun.
Sydona closed her book and looked down at him glowing in the light. “It is.”
“I wonder how much longer we should stay.”
“I wonder too. I miss home.”
Sydona took another look around the quiet woods. It seemed almost like she was trapped in a dream. At any moment she could discover the doctor’s death and wake up. As long as she didn’t know, she would be teetering on the edge of a cliff. She stared down at Raoul who drifted off to sleep in the lawn chair and her gut began to twist. They had been bonding more lately, and maybe it was the right time to confess what she knew about the doctor. It was never really the right time, but the longer she kept it a secret, the worse it would get.[SD57]
Her lip shook nervously. “Raoul. I--”
“Oh thank goodness we found you!” A pink-winged fairy barged in between her words.
Sydona stood up in shock. “Lilly?”
“Xander! Over here!” Lilly yelled out with an extremely high-pitched voice.
Raoul flew up at the sound of yelling and the sight of his relatives. Soon, another fairy with green wings buzzed over with a heaving chest.
“Lilly? Xander? What are you doing here?” Raoul asked, still unable to process their presence.
The smaller pink-winged fairy spoke up. “It’s so good to see you two!”
“We’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Xander said with a slightly lower pitched tone.
Everyone quickly hugged before getting back to the rundown of what was happening.[SD58]
“Is everything alright? How did you find us?” Sydona asked.
“Something’s happened,” Xander said and flicked his lime green wings. “The NFA came by the house.”
“What?” Sydona and Raoul exchanged a terrified look.
“A few days ago. They… they…” Lilly shook her head and burst out crying.
Xander comforted her and whispered as low as he could. “They burned our tree down.”
Another wail from Lilly screeched in everyone’s ears.
Sydona’s heart stopped like a freight train derailing. The worst possible thing had happened, and it was all her fault. Her mouth went dry, and she drew a blank on what to say next. Raoul looked as if a ghost passed through him. Seeing him speechless was like seeing a unicorn.
Xander spoke with a heavy heart. “Jubilee… I know she was like a sister to you, Raoul.”
“What about her?” Raoul said on the verge of tears.
“She, uh, she was captured. It happened so fast. None of us could stop them.”
Raoul’s eyes flooded. He constantly complained about Jubilee and how much of a pest she was. But she admired Raoul like a role model. Sydona knew deep down he really cared about her. His face said it all. What hurt the most about the news was that Jubilee just learned to fly only a few months ago. The last time they saw her was at her Vila Prah Ceremony, and she was so happy.
“We want you to come back home,” Lilly choked.
Sydona wondered how much more the NFA would take from her. They took her parents, killed her mom, and now they had ransacked her home and killed innocent fairies. She didn’t plan on making it to the Sparrows meeting the next day. It was a time for family, not revenge.
“Let me get the car keys from Silas,” Sydona said. Raoul nodded at her as he cleaned off his face.
“Keys?” Lilly asked. “Driving will take too long. We need to fly.”
Sydona clenched her jaw. “I--can’t.” And she wouldn’t fly even if she could. It was too dangerous.
“What do you mean you can’t?” Xander asked.
“It was stolen from me at Eagle Lake,” Sydona whispered, still ashamed to admit it.
“Oh. Well maybe Shaman Faro can help. Like a V.I.P ceremony!” Lilly exclaimed, her high-pitched voice returning.
Sydona shook her head with uncertainty. “I don’t think it will work with me. And I couldn’t ask him to do that after what just happened…”
“Poppycock!” Xander stood up straight. “What’s the harm in trying if you’ll be there anyway, right? Come on.”
The afternoon sun had dipped behind the trees and fireflies danced beneath the branches.
“Alright. We should go now, though. Let me tell the others,” Sydona said and walked back inside.
Could the Shaman really make her fly again? The thought sent tingles through her pale skin. It might be her only chance to feel whole again, and she couldn’t pass it up. Sydona grabbed the keys and an empty suitcase. They were finally on their way back home.
Chapter Three
Several emotions spun in her head. Though she wanted to smile to see her old home again, it felt bittersweet given the recent circumstances. She still couldn’t process why they would burn homes of innocent fairies who had nothing to do with anything. Picturing what her home might look like, she twisted her hands tightly around the steering wheel. Tears wanted to surface, but she swallowed and shook her head. She had to stay strong even though she wanted to scream.[SD59][LM60][SD61]
“Syd, why are your eyes not lilac?” Lilly spoke up only minutes after leaving the cabin.
“Uh… it’s a long story,” she answered.
“Is that why you can’t fly?” Xander added.
“Basically.”
“Is everyone else okay?” Raoul asked.
“Um, well, we did lose some others. Erid, Banjo, Quinsley and Vera[SD62][LM63]. Jubilee was the only one captured…”
Lilly muffled her cries with a piece of cloth she found in the back seat.
“Why did they come to the house?” Raoul spoke softly as if he was mostly asking himself.
“We don’t know. They kinda just showed up. Most of us think they were looking for you, Syd.”
Once Lilly stopped crying, Sydona could feel all three fairies looking up at her. She glanced back and forth between them and the road with a perplexed look.
“Well, I don’t know why either,” Sydona said.
They stayed quiet.
“I guess maybe it’s because I’m half human?”
“You are?!” Xander and Lilly said in unison.
Sydona breathed out of her nose. [LM64][SD65]“It’s a long story, too. You guys missed a lot while we were gone.”
“If the doctor is dead, why would they still be looking for you?” Raoul asked.
Her fingers tapped the steering wheel nervously. “I wonder if it was Harold.”
Lilly immediately asked, “Who’s Harold?”
“I thought Willow killed him,” Raoul said.
“No. She didn’t really say, honestly.”
Xander chimed in next. “Who’s Willow?”
Raoul continued to press[SD66]. “But what happened to him? We looked everywhere.”
“I don’t know. I was in the hospital the whole time.”
“You were in the hospital? What happened?!” Lilly shuttered.
“Why didn’t Willow kill him? She’s always had it out for him,” Raoul asked with a raised brow.
“Your guesses are as good as mine. But I guarantee, that’s who stopped by,” Sydona said loud enough to cease the conversation.
Raoul took a minute to digest the information, but eventually nodded his head in agreement. A wave of relief passed through her, and they didn’t speak of it again the rest of the way.
After a couple hours of driving, the edge of the woods faded, and her great blue house stood proudly in the field. From a distance, everything looked just as she left it. The fairy tree, however, was exactly as the fairies described. Its branches were barren, and its trunk was burnt to a crisp[SD67]. Even with the windows up in the car, smoke enveloped the inside. It was so strong Sydona had to cover her mouth. Blackness rose from the tree, and as she got closer, she saw embers still cracklin
g from the inside. Everything grew quiet as Sydona turned off the car, except for Lilly’s sniffling. [SD68]Bittersweet indeed.
Sydona pulled into the long driveway and walked up to the porch. With the green tote around her body and Raoul on her shoulder, she stared at the tattered front door with a half smile.[SD69][LM70][SD71]
Finally, she thought to herself.
But something wasn’t right. The locks no longer worked. Her smile faded quickly as she realized the door had been kicked in. She cracked the door open with her dagger and witnessed a peculiar site. She tried to remember the state she left her home in. Sydona had never been known to be tidy or to dust a piece of furniture in her life. But she didn’t remember leaving it in its current condition. She dropped the knife to the floor in pure amazement at her living room and dining room. It was spotlessly clean. And hundreds of fairies filled the empty spaces.
Mouth agape, she could barely form words. “What is this?”
Lilly replied, “We hope you don’t mind. Our home is gone. We needed somewhere to stay.”
Sydona tilted her head back [SD72]at her modest statement. “Mind? Of course I don’t mind…” Her eyes looked over all the tiny faces; some were happy to see her, but most were still recovering and sadder than usual. She wasn’t used to seeing so many fairies upset or gloomy. The air gave off an unfamiliar vibe, and it made her depressed as well.
Xander and Lilly said the incident only happened a couple days ago, yet the entire house was already turning into what she could only imagine the inside of the tree looked like. The walls were covered in branches and vines. Countless make-shift holes were fashioned from books, clothes or blankets draped over furniture to make a home. Sydona was touched by their resilience after the loss of their home.
Many of the fairies hugged her and welcomed back Raoul and herself. Their voices were somber and low. It was nice to be back home, but so far nothing about it felt familiar. A part of her wanted to just talk to the Shaman and get out of there. First, she wanted to see the tree and the graves of the fallen ones.
She entered the backyard, and her stomach shriveled at the close up of the fallen oak tree. Where there once lived bright colorful creatures was a log of wood covered in ash and cinders. Her hands touched the blackened bark; it was still warm.[SD73][LM74][SD75] Burnt memories crept into her nose and filled her with immense sadness. She tried to remember the sounds of the yard when they put on parties: music, laughter and beautiful singing. All that remained was old crackling embers [SD76]and birds[SD77]ongs in the far off distance. The chickadees, blue birds and cardinals were too afraid to come back.
“I should've been here…” she whispered to herself.
As she turned her red face to the right, she noticed five tiny burial spots surrounded with bouquets of flowers. Each one seemed extremely loved and cared for.
“Don’t blame yourself, Sydona.”
She turned at the sound of the deep voice behind her. “Oh. Shaman Faro.”
“You can’t blame yourself for something you have no control over.”
Sydona sniffed and stood back up. “Can you tell me how this happened?”
Shaman Faro set his large headdress down on the step and sat down. His gold and emerald wings laid flat. “They came in two cars, five people total. We’ve been keeping a lookout ever since you left, just in case they came looking for you. After so many days and weeks, we stopped, thinking the threat had passed. They came when our backs were turned. First, they broke into the house without so much as a knock, breaking things and searching for something they couldn’t find. They then went for our tree. They attempted to catch us to bring back to the lab. But when we all flew away… most of us flew away… that’s when they burned it down. Maybe they guessed some of us would come back to the tree to save it and catch us then. No one came back. Except--they did find someone. And took her.”
“Jubilee. Yeah, we heard…”
“She was so young…” He sighed heavily. “A woman referred to as Natalia took her. She had a wicked smile. Said ‘he’ would promote her for sure.”
“Was there a man with her? Indian decent, greasy black hair and a suit perhaps?”
Shaman Faro looked to the sky[SD78]. “Not that I recall. Most of them were in amateurish military wear. No suits.”
“Interesting…” she whispered under her breath.
As the two of them sat there in thought, Raoul flew over.
“What’s going on?”
Sydona didn’t look him in the eyes. “Someone named Natalia took Jubilee… I’ve never heard of her before. Have you?”
“No…” Raoul slowly balled his tiny fists, and his face flushed a rose color. “No more! This--Ugg! This can’t continue. Why--Why is this happening all at once?! It’s just too much. Too damn much!” He flew off, parting the sea of fairies listening to the drama.
Fairies weren’t known for having tempers. [SD79]The amount of anger Raoul displayed could freeze hell over. [SD80]She followed him back into the house and up the stairs. Sticks and leaves arched over the banister and covered the walls. She felt like she was walking into a real live fairy tale, and she took her time to admire the craftmanship and beauty. As she approached the top, reality took a quick turn. Raoul buzzed around her room, throwing around any little object he could pick up.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Sydona marched around him, trying to make him stop. His huffing and squalling made him sound like a puff pastry steaming and ready to pop.[SD81][LM82][SD83]
“Raoul? It’s just me here. Calm down,” Sydona said softly.
As he kept buzzing around, Sydona noticed him eyeing the open bedroom door. She reached her hand out and slammed it shut, trapping him inside with her before he could fly off.[SD84]
“Leave me alone, Syd,” he said with gritted teeth.
“No. You need to talk to me.” She stood guard in front of the door with her arms crossed.
Raoul looked around for an exit. The window near her bed was shut, but his bed still sat on the sill overlooking the garden. A tainted scene. They could see much farther but only because of the absence of the great oak tree. He fluttered back over to his bed and sat down with his head low.
She allowed Raoul to calm down in silence. Looking around her room, she noticed several things missing. The fairies cleaned up a lot of it, but she remembered having more stuff, especially in the closet. She bent down to the floorboards in the closet, and her stomach sunk. She extended her hand down to an empty space where she kept her savings and money from her parents. Gone. Her knuckles knocked on the wood with annoyance. It didn’t surprise her that the NFA robbed her, but she didn’t have much left to remember her parents by.
Sydona turned her head to examine Raoul who sat like a statue in the window. Walking toward her bed, she took a seat and a deep breath.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
As if Raoul knew exactly what she was referring to, he started. “I wasn’t alone in Malik’s office…” He shuttered.
Sydona scooted closer to him with worried brows. “What do you mean?”
“...there was another fairy. He kept us both in cages but took us out when--he wanted to know who I was there with. When I refused, he started the torture…”
“Raoul… I’m--I’m so sorry… What’d he do to you?” Sydona hesitated. Hoping her questions wouldn’t upset him.
“Not me. Her… [SD85]He started by using scissors to cut off tiny pieces of her wings. When I still wouldn’t fess up, he shook her until she couldn’t produce anymore dust… He shocked her with those incessant bracelets over and over. And then... he ripped her wings off, causing her to bleed out…” Raoul stopped to compose himself. “She looked like a helpless, small human who I killed because I wouldn’t talk…”
Sydona’s hands shook as she covered her mouth. It took all she had to not cry.
“I--I don’t know what to say…”
“Once she died, he turned to me,” he continued with rage burning in his eyes. “H
e shook all the dust out of me as he screamed at me. When I ran out, he started burning the edges of my wings… he would have burned more. But someone interrupted him outside, asking about her fairy.”
Sydona sat frozen on her bed. If she had known the absolute terror and abuse he went through, maybe she would have tried harder to kill Malik. One thing she knew without a doubt was that Raoul could never find out about her uncertainty of Dr. Malik’s whereabouts. After the things he did to him, Raoul wouldn’t forgive her for keeping it a secret for so long.
“I didn’t think you were ever going to tell me what happened up there.”[SD86]
Raoul scoffed and shook his head. “I wasn’t. But… for some reason, I feel lighter.”
“Yeah,” Sydona whispered and breathed deeply to hold back tears. “Did you know her?”
“No. She was real pretty though. Golden yellow wings and teal eyes… I still think of her every day.”
It was no wonder Raoul’s attitude changed. Sydona’s heart ached. He did so much to protect her. She feared he would never fully return to the happy-go-lucky guy she had always known. She couldn’t find any words to make the moment better. She stood up and grabbed some of her own clothes to bring back.
The frame with the photo of her parents laid broken on the floor by her bed. With a heavy heart, she flipped it over to take the picture with her. To her dismay, the photo was tampered with.
A big black ‘X’ crossed her mother’s face out, while over her father’s head they wrote “1 to go”. Rage pulsed through her, but she held back from squeezing the life out of the photograph and damaging it further.[SD87]
“Who did that?” Raoul asked over her shoulder.
“I have an idea.”
“Harold’s gonna pay.” Raoul buzzed around angrily.
Sydona’s eyes lingered on her young father’s face. She wished she could see him and ensure his safety. The fateful day of his departure stung in her memory.
After the news of Sydona’s lost abilities and not being able to fly to Sparrow Island, her father approached her in the cabin.
“How you doin’, sweetheart?” Ian whispered and clasped a hand on her back.
