by S L Mason
You can’t dig a tunnel from Texas to Ireland. You’d run into the mantle or the core and then melt yourself in two thousand million degrees, or Kelvin, however hot it was down there.
They took us down here somehow using music. Everything they did was a song, laced with a nursery rhythm.
But I can’t sing.
I froze with my hand halfway to my mouth. The grape I held between my fingers was damp and cool to the touch.
I’d never tried to sing. One of those things you didn’t think about until you do. Everybody sings in the shower and in the car driving alone. Sometimes you sing with your best friend although Arty wasn’t much into singing around people.
My throat tightened. Arty couldn’t sing at all. He was so off-key that it was hysterical. I think a dog started howling once. An idea formed. Arty and I, we could get out of here. But only together.
I mused about all these things and slid deeper under the covers. Before I knew it, my eyes grew heavy and I fell asleep.
CHAPTER 10
I peeled my eyes back. A bright light shone through the window. For a minute, I thought it was the sun. “Waky, waky, eggs and baky.”
God, their rhyming grates on my nerves.
“I’m awake.”
“Good morning, Sarah. How did you sleep?” The voice wasn’t familiar. This Fae had green hair. What was with the weird colored hair? Don’t they have normal hair? They were supposed to be creatures of nature, but they didn’t look it. From what I’d learned in the last week, they were nothing like any of the stories.
“Good morning, I guess.” I allowed the sarcasm to color my voice; it was the best I could do before coffee.
“I’m here to dress and prepare you to meet His Grace. I hope you’ll be compliant.” Her lips curved back into a smile. All the while, her eyes never wavered from mine.
I gave her my fake smile with mocking bright eyes.
“Oh yes, I’ll be very compliant.”
Her eyelashes fluttered open and closed with every move. Her eyes grew wider with wonder and happiness. It was an act. No one could get that happy over compliance. I hate fairies.
“I’m glad. I can’t wait. It’s going to be very exciting. He’ll introduce you to the entire court.” She clasped her hands together.
Apparently, fairies were unaware of sarcasm when I said I was ready and I’d be compliant. What I really meant was, “Go fuck yourself!” Reminds me of a joke I heard once.
Three rich ladies were all having tea and talking about their lives. The first one says when I got married, my husband bought me a brand-new house and a brand-new car.
The other ladies said, “That’s nice.”
The second lady said, “When my husband and I got married, he took me on a European tour to go see the world and he bought me a new car and a new house.”
The other ladies all said, “That’s nice.”
The last lady takes her turn. “When my husband and I got married, he sent me to a finishing school to learn how to say ‘that’s nice’ instead of bullshit.”
Every time I heard that joke in my mind, I laughed. I say “that’s nice” at those times when you can’t say “bullshit.”
The fairy twittered on for a couple of minutes about something, I wasn’t listening. I didn’t really care. I was to be introduced to the whole court. Yeah, my new path. How exciting. They’d whisper things like how plain she is, look at how human she is. Everybody wants to be paraded in front of a bunch of freaky fairies. For all I knew they were going to make me wear see-through clothes. How lovely. Let’s allow everybody to see my altogether. I’m all for that, what about you?
“Haven’t you been listening? I need you to sit down in the tub so I can wash your hair.” Her brows were drawn together in frustration. She waved her arm to the bathroom door.
“Why do you need to wash my hair again? It was just washed last night. I haven’t been anywhere or done anything. I haven’t even touched it. It isn’t possible to get dirty in bed, is it?”
The sarcasm flew over her head, or she ignored it.
“Fae prize beauty above all else, and part of being beautiful is being clean. If you’re not clean, you’ll be viewed as an animal or beast. Do you want to be treated like a beast? I can show you how we treat our beasts.” And just like that, she went from fluffy, cotton candy to bitch in two seconds. Unbelievable.
Her entire countenance darkened. Her eyes went from being the light kelly green to hot pink, almost fuchsia, dead and flat. How did fairies do that? One minute be sweet, kind, and helpful, but the next minute a raging lunatic?
I cringed back into my shell. I was being too forward. Not smart. Dad said to get the lay of the land before you jump in. I was jumping in and had no idea what they did to torture people here. A vision of the carnage at the church filled my mind. None of them could resist. What if they figured out some way to do that to me? Maybe my ability to resist their song was a momentary thing. What if I had a cold and that was why I couldn’t hear them properly? But then, as soon as my cold clears out and my ears clear up, I’m screwed.
Meekly, I placed one foot in front of the other, leading to the bathroom. I took my seat in the tub.
Last night, I’d been so tired that I hadn’t taken a look at the tub itself. Everything here was made out of wood. The tub had grown out of the floor, and similar to a Banyan tree the corded vines squished together to make a big, wooden bathtub held up from the roots. The faucet wasn’t metal, but it glowed like gold with a sparkling, crystal appearance. It shot rainbows and purple-colored stars. It glistened and dazzled my eyes. The edge of the tub had scrolled flowers sculpted down to the very roots. They formed the leaves and petals of morning glory flowers.
What was the deal with the morning glory? Why do elves like morning glory? She hadn’t bothered to put anything in the water, it was just regular water. There was no sense of peace or calm. The heavenly scent of last night was vacant.
The moment I submerged, I knew she hadn’t done anything to it, and the desire to linger wasn’t there. I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. I sat up, and she sang the cleansing song. I wasn’t paying attention. I should’ve been paying attention. I couldn’t focus. Having someone wash and run their fingers through tangle free hair was soothing.
“You may exit the basin and go sit at the vanity chair.” Her words weren’t unkind. Matter of fact and to the point? Yes.
Again, a tray of food appeared, though I hadn’t heard the door. Funnily enough, a bolt of clean white gauzy fabric was draped across the bed.
“Oh, lovely. I love working with spider’s silk.”
My entire body shuttered. I hated spiders. Oh god, I hated spiders. The only thing worse than spiders, was running through a spider web and getting your hair caught in it. Then the creepy feeling of their little feet crawling all over you. The hair on my body stood as a shiver ran over my flesh. “Please, I don’t want to wear a spider’s silk. Please don’t put some kind of creepy spiderweb on me. The last thing in the world I want is anything to do with spiders.” I crossed my arms over my chest and took a step back.
“You’re thinking of surface spiders. This is not the same thing. These are Fae spiders. They are much larger, and their silk is more like surface silk.” Her hands went to her hips as she cocked one hip to the side. “Anyway, they haven’t given me very much. You won’t be wearing that much of it.”
Oh, they’re larger; that makes it all better.
I shook my head, but she nodded back.
“I won’t let it touch your skin, but you need this for appearances. Fae need to see you as one of them.” Her voice had taken on the tonal quality, soothing and pacifying me.
Lay of the land, Sarah. So long as it doesn’t touch my skin, I shouldn’t freak out about it.
“The Fae aren’t worried about modesty and personal physical privacy. But I would really prefer to not have my nipples exposed if you don’t mind. When you dress me, could you give me some panties and a
bra, maybe?”
She smiled at me. It was neither evil nor was it a kind one. She was placating me.
“Do not worry. We will not be displaying all of your assets today. Today, we are simply presenting you to His Grace and his court.” She opened her arms as the display of theatrics.
“Whatever that means.” I crossed and uncrossed my arms, unsure of what I needed to do.
She ignored my smart remark and droned on about court etiquette. Something about not talking, no speaking until spoken to, and smile all the time. I translated that as to never let them see you sweat, and when you sit down, no slouching. Don’t pick your teeth, don’t pick your nose, don’t pick your ears, and as a matter of fact, don’t touch your face all, or hair. I cut in, “So in other words, stand stock-still like a statue and plaster a fake smile on my face. Is that what you need me to do?”
Her eyes brightened and grew wide as a giant smile crossed her beautiful face.
“Precisely. You have it perfectly. You need do nothing more than stand upright with good posture, keeping your shoulders back, and smile continuously. Don’t stare at anyone too long, and don’t fidget with your hands. You may keep them nicely at your side, or if that is too much for you, clasp them together in front of you as if you were holding a ball.” She demonstrated using her own hands.
As if I was holding a ball?
She set the food down in front of me. “You need to eat now before I put your clothes on. You will not be able to eat again until after the presentation.”
“Why would my clothes cause me to be incapable of eating?” My eyebrows pinched in confusion.
“I simply do not wish you to spoil them, and I know how messy you humans are.” She waved her hands at me, encouraging me to eat.
Humans are messy…
Everything on my tray resembled some kind of fruit or vegetable. It clearly came from a plant. If you asked me what kingdom, phylum, genus, or family, good luck with that one. I couldn’t identify these plants if it cost me my life, and in this case, it could very well. How was I supposed to know whether these plants were even safe for human consumption?
“Is this poisonous to humans?” I cocked an eyebrow as I held it up with a fork.
“If you die under my care, they will strip me naked in front of the entire court and slowly cut off every limb, inch by inch, until there’s nothing left of me and I am dead. Fairies heal quickly so they’ll take their time at it to make it hurt. You are His Grace’s prize. You die under my watch, I die. Do you still believe I would poison you?” Her words were devoid of emotion and matter of fact.
I shook my head and shuttered past the idea of having every appendage on my body cut away. It was almost as bad as the medieval drawing and quartering.
I ate my meal, and it was quite delicious. Most of it resembled a type of tropical fruit. There was a flower that tasted suspiciously like broccoli although it didn’t look anything like it. I understood that broccoli was a flower and you were supposed to eat it before blooms, but this was clearly a flower, a very large flower. It resembled an orchid with a thick broccoli-like stock. When I put it in my mouth, I wasn’t expecting some kind of normal taste like broccoli. The only thing that would’ve made the “broccoli” tastier was cheese or balsamic vinegar. I noticed that my plate was suspiciously vacant of starch of any kind. No bread, no rice, no wheat, or no potatoes—nothing. I’d heard carbohydrates make you fat. Of course, with all the blather on television these days about what’s good for you and what’s not, who knew what to believe? I wasn’t skinny, but I wasn’t fat. According to all the medical indexes, I was completely normal for my height and age. I kept saying that, which was why I couldn’t understand why I was sitting there.
As soon as I finished, she whistled, and the tray disappeared like magic.
“Good. Now stand in the center of the room on top of the square pedestal.”
I’d thought it was a footrest, but in fact, it was some form of a pedestal.
She took some kind of white cloth and wiped my face off as if I was a toddler. It was invasive. What is it with elves or fairies, whatever, having no concept of personal space?
The top of the pedestal gave me a better view of my Fae companion. She was divine, absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. She could’ve walked out of any one of the Deviant artists’ pictures that I’d seen online. Every feature on her face was perfectly sculpted, softened by a smile or made fierce by a scowl. Her eyes were almond shaped, tilting up at the sides. They were large and a beautiful kelly green kind, as gentle as the hills in Ireland. But when she’d been angry and they had turned fuchsia and flat, I shuddered to think of it.
“Are you cold?” Her green eyes perked with concern.
Why would I be cold? It isn’t like I’m standing in the middle of the room naked.
“No, I shivered for a moment but I’m not cold.” The last thing in the world I wanted was for this Fae to know she crept me out.
She picked up bolts of fabric, laying them on the bed. She spread them out and cut several sheets approximately three yards long. I did the math in my head because I was bored. Nine feet each.
I was only 5’5”. Why would she need nine feet of fabric?
Then she picked a basket up the floor and set it on the bed. She began pulling out ropes and leaves in various shades. All of it looked as if it came from the forest. I even saw a pinecone. She sang, and the fabric lifted in the air, lacing and knitting itself. It floated over to me, partially wrapping around my torso to cover one entire shoulder and both my breasts, draping diagonally down and around to my hip to the back. The second piece did the same thing, only instead of reaching to my shoulder, it only went just above my breast. It was in a line top. It wrapped around to the opposite side, draping behind and covering all the backside of my body but leaving the front side below my hips exposed. She sang a few more notes, and a smaller piece of fabric I hadn’t noticed floated out and proceeded to knit itself onto the lower half of the dress, creating flounces and ruffles. When her song stopped, I was standing there in an opalescent silk dress like I had never witnessed before. Creased and pleated to perfection.
I wondered what all those designers in Paris and Milan would’ve thought if they’d seen what I was wearing.
She walked around me, nodding. She tilted her head to the side, examining every stitch, none of which she’d done herself. She whistled something, and one of the berries from the basket rose into the air. It began to draw on the fabric, creating swirling designs in a deep purple. When it finished, I noticed that as the designs reached the floor, they gradually became darker. They went from a light lilac down through to a deep purple at the bottom. She whistled again, one of the leaves rose and slowly it drew golden colors all over the dress, mostly in the front underskirt area. Swirls and designs scrolled whimsically before curling, Finally, the leaf disappeared. Next, she whistled for the rope, only it wasn’t a rope. It had transformed into some kind of corded trim. It attached all over the bodice, and it went around to the back. The entire bodice tightened, cinching me in and pushing every breath out of my lungs. My head turned to look behind me.
“Yes, that’s much better gives you the lift your breasts need.”
What, I’m seventeen? Who has saggy breasts at seventeen?
I stood there barefoot in the exquisite creation. She strolled back around and pinched my skin before singing a few shrill notes. It looked like she sprayed me with fairy dust, and sparkles landed all over my skin, giving me that opalescent look that all the Fae have.
“Is this how you make your skin sparkle?” I scoffed at the simplicity of it.
“No, we naturally sparkle. This is so you sparkle. Fae like shiny things.”
That’s not creepy. Did she just call me a thing?
She grabbed two twigs, tossing both into the air, and whistled. Both floated toward my feet, and she lifted each leg in turn. One of the twigs wrapped around my foot, creating some kind of slipper. When I set my foot back down, there wa
s a noticeable heel; the highest I’d ever walked on. I wasn’t even sure I could walk in it. She lifted my other foot to repeat the process. When I placed my right foot back on the pedestal, I stood noticeably two to three inches taller.
“I’m never gonna be able to walk in this. I’ll fall down. I don’t wear high heels.” I let my hands extend to the side in case I needed to grab something.
“You will never fall down in these shoes. They will not allow you.” She smiled and clasped her hands together in excitement.
“Well, now there’s something that humanity could really use—a pair of high heels you can never fall down in.” Why the heck can’t the Fae share technology? I could think of five girls in my high school that would die for a pair of shoes like that… Or would’ve died for a pair of shoes like that. They’re probably all dead now.
My eyes drifted to the window.
The realization hit me hard. For a moment there, I was behaving as if everything was normal and they were all still alive. I closed my mouth and gazed off out the crystal window, breathing through my nose. My eyes burned, and the side of my nose curled up in a snarl. She reached out to touch me, and I cringed away from her.
CHAPTER 11
“You do not have to fear me. I will not hurt you. You’re far too important.” Her eyes bored into me while her fingers fidgeted with the various creases in the fabric of my dress.
“Important. Yeah, right. Like all those other humans that were so important you killed them or turn them in the mental slaves.” I locked my jaw down, clamping my teeth shut. Why was I talking like that? For all I knew, they’d kill me for being a smartass.
“You may not understand our reasoning right now, but eventually you will see that we actually saved more than we killed.” Her eyes darted away from me.
Saved more than we killed? What, by not killing them?
I didn’t understand. They killed all those people, and they didn’t give a second chance to any of them. Yet she’s trying to justify it by saying they saved more than they killed. That was like a rapist saying I only raped a few of them, but I saved the rest of you from my rapist tendencies. I looked away and tried to not cringe. I didn’t want to be a coward. I didn’t want her to think I was afraid of her, but I was afraid of her—of all of them. Clearly, there was something they wanted. Did they think I was their savior? I’m no Jesus Christ. If they were looking to be saved, they were looking to the wrong human.
