by Maggie Joan
When nothing happened and I realised we were in fact back on earth, I let my breath out and looked around me, shocked. The portal had been a direct gateway to home. What I'd seen with the sky and the stars was exactly how the world was at the moment. I guesstimated it must be around three of four a.m.
The huge oak tree loomed next to Calico and it was at that moment I realised he and Aeden weren’t fairy sized. They were human sized.
I gasped. “What? How did...how...what...?”
Calico grinned. “I asked Isidora for a little booster.”
“But you...but...why?”
His eyes softened and he squeezed my hand. “Let’s talk about it later.”
Aeden dropped my hand like a hot potato and wandered off, gazing all around him like this was a place he’d never visited before.
“Such beauty and serenity,” he said, looking up into the night sky and sighing. “And peace. Such peace. But then in a matter of hours, madness and chaos will rain upon this place like nothing, and then fade into this amazingness once more. It’s a circle, a stunning circle of dysfunctionality.”
I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Calico. “What the...?” I whispered.
Calico smirked. “My brother always fancied himself as quote the poet, sometimes with a dash of philosophical wonderings.”
“Oh,” I said, trying not think of how painful the next few hours could be. “What are we doing first?” I asked. “Getting the flowers or Tristan? The home isn’t open for visitors until after breakfast so Gran will be the last stop.”
“Well, considering we’re going to have to go past your house to get to the original site, we may as well grab Tristan whilst we’re here. May stop the poor animal fretting once he sees a friendly face.”
I nodded. Then noticing Aeden stroking a nearby tree, I said, “Would you like to grab your brother so we can actually get this all done?”
Calico rolled his eyes. “Cotopia has it’s perks,” he said, mumbling. “I hope you see that now.”
I giggled but didn’t agree with him. As happy and poetic as Aeden was, and I could see it being rather irritating, why should he have to deny his true nature? If he wanted to see the good in everything, so what? Who was he hurting? He could be the complete opposite and want to kill everything. I know which version I'd rather have.
Calico stomped over to his brother, wordlessly grabbed his forearm, and dragged him back over to me. Aeden didn’t protest once, his attention still on the beauty of the world around him. I kind of envied him in a way that he could see things with such purity and hope. Despite his standard of living in Cotopia, he still possessed the ability to see things with optimism.
We walked briskly over the dew-soaked grass to my house. Not a single light was on which had my insides trembling with nerves. There was always at least one light on in the house at nights. My heart began to race as the fear of taking Tristan from Dad’s office became a stark reality.
“That’s a lovely house,” Calico said, giving me a reassuring smile.
“Thanks,” I said, my voice coming out all shaky. “I think you should wait outside whilst I go and fetch Tristan. I don’t think Aeden’s awe over the beauty of my house will be very appreciated at this time of morning.”
Calico grinned. “I’ll let him marvel over the grass whilst you get Tristan.”
I giggled. Very quietly, I opened the back door, my heart pounding against my ribs. I listened for a few seconds, heard nothing, and crept inside. I pushed the door to, not clicking the lock into the latch. Grabbing my phone out of the boot I'd slipped it into before I left, I pressed the power button to see the time—03.12.
No missed calls but I did have a bundle messages which I knew without a doubt would be from Macie. I stuffed it into my bra as these pants had no pockets whatsoever. I slipped the boots off and tiptoed across the kitchen floor, holding my breath. Waiting for a brief second, I then proceeded across the hallway floor and to Dad’s office.
As I half expected, the door was unlocked. I think he’d given up trying to keep me out at this point. Carefully pushing the door open, I looked at his desk. My heart stopped. Tristan wasn’t there.
Panic consumed me in an instant. I ran in, not caring about noise, and searched frantically for the glass dome but it was nowhere to be found. I checked all the drawers to his desk, all the shelves, even under the desk, but Tristan had vanished.
Frustration and horror took control of my body. My mind raced with what the hell we were supposed to do now. As my ideals of a happy ending for everyone crashed and burned right in front of me, I couldn’t do anything but collapse onto the floor into a heap of tears.
This had all been for nothing. Dad had broken his word, which in all honesty, I wasn’t shocked about. The question now remained of what to do next. We could collect the flowers, sure, but without Tristan to dispense the dust, we were at a loss.
“Faye?”
Calico's voice sounded through the house. I knew Dad wasn’t here. Wherever he was, Tristan was with him.
“In here,” I replied, between sobs.
I could hear Aeden behind him, the odd “Ooo,” “Ahh,” and even a “Wow” coming from him. Calico's boots stomped against the wooden flooring and it brought me some satisfaction to know that Dad would absolutely hate that if he was here.
Calico appeared in the doorway, his eyes full of softness. “Faye,” he breathed. “Whatever is wrong?”
“He’s gone,” I cried. “Dad has taken him somewhere. It's all going to fail. I knew it was too good to be true.”
He came over and sat down next to me. Very gently, he took one of my hands in his and then covered it with his other hand. “Everything is going to be fine.”
“How is it?” I said, my cheeks burning from the hot tears cascading down them.
“We’ll find Tristan. There's only so many places your Dad could have gone.”
I snorted. “You don’t know my dad. He could have skipped the country for all we know.”
“I don’t think a miniature talking Pegasus would have gotten through your security measures.”
I laughed. He had a point.
“Plus,” he said. “With your gran being so poorly, he’s not likely to go anywhere that will mean he’s too far away from her.”
That struck a chord in me. He was right. I perked up instantly, wiped the tears from my face, and stood up, regretfully letting go of Calico’s hand. “You’re right. I know exactly where he is.”
“Fantastic,” Calico replied, standing up. “Where?”
“My gran’s house. It's an old farm out on the other side of town, near where we need to be for the flowers.”
“How long will it take to walk?”
I laughed. “We’re not walking. I'm driving.”
“As in a car?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “You’re going to drive a car?”
I frowned. “Well, yes. That is kind of what you do with cars, drive them.”
“I’m not sure I feel overly confident about your driving abilities. Not after seeing your riding.”
My jaw dropped. “You said I was a good rider!”
“Yes, you are, and also one that loves to race, and win.”
I burst out laughing. “Ah, I see what’s going on here. Your male pride is still damaged by the fact that you got beat by a girl, and not just any girl, a human girl.”
He smirked. “That has absolutely nothing to do with me fearing for my safety.”
Grinning stupidly, I pointed to his chest, which of course was still topless, and said, “The only thing you need to fear is Macie if she meets you.”
He glanced down at his chest and said, “You’re not joking, are you?”
“Your choice, I drive, or I ring Macie.”
Scowling he grabbed Aeden’s arm and said, “Where’s the car?”
Chapter 19
After Aeden marvelled at the creation of something as amazing as a motor vehicle for ten minutes, we finally got in the car and headed
towards my gran’s old home. Her land backed onto the woods down the Williamson Trail so we could kill two birds with one stone whilst out here.
“Imagine all the beauty you could see in a day just by being in one of these,” Aeden said, almost breathless. “Such a unique creation.”
I glanced over at Calico who had nabbed the passenger seat after stuffing Aeden in the back. He rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. I tried my best to keep a straight face.
We reached my gran’s old home within about fifteen minutes; it wasn’t a long drive. As I predicted, my dad’s Porsche sat in the driveway and the living room light was switched on. I flicked the headlights off on the car and eased down the dirt drive, trying to keep the dust down to a minimum.
The entire time, I never took my eyes off the window, expecting him to appear any second and then make a run for it. Luck appeared to be on my side, however, when I managed to park the car without disturbing him.
“Such isolated beauty must be treasured by the soul,” Aeden said. “One could live their whole life out here and never need society again.”
I'd figured out by now that most of his comments he didn’t actually expect a response to, so I gratefully obliged by sniggering to myself as I got out of the car.
“What are you doing?” I asked Calico, frowning.
He stared at me over the roof of the car and frowned back at me. “Getting out of the car.”
“Why?”
“To come inside with you.”
I feared that would be his response. I shook my head. “Nah-ah. Not happening.”
“Why? Your father is clearly not of a stable condition right now or he wouldn’t have fled the house with my horse.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Which means seeing a half-naked fairy man with his daughter isn’t going to be very welcomed.”
Calico’s entire expression lightened as my point gave him a dawning realisation. “I’ll sit back in the car.”
I grinned. “You do that.”
Refraining myself from looking at the scowl on his handsome face which I knew would be making an appearance anytime soon, I pushed the car door closed quietly, and crept over the dirt towards the front door.
Grandad had built this gorgeous ranch style house with his own hands. Made from a wide variety of different wood, it had a unique mis-matched colour style to it like no other. In their younger days, my grandparents had bred and competed Arab horses. It always made me sad when I visited here and saw the acres of pasture going to waste, empty of life and the joy of horses.
I carefully gripped the black iron door handle and pushed it down, waiting for the resistance of the lock, but there was none. Inch by inch, I pushed the door open, poking my head through the gap as soon as it could fit. I stopped and listened for a second.
Silence.
I tip toed my way inside, pushing the door to but not closing it properly. The long hallway stared back at me, empty, silent, shadows from the wall lamps and picture frames cast onto the once shiny wooden flooring, now dulled by months of neglect.
“I expected you before now.”
I froze as Dad’s voice sounded down the hallway. It sounded like he was in one of the rear bedrooms. My heart jumped and somersaulted before settling into a gallop, sending adrenaline and nerves coursing all through me.
“Dad, what are you doing? You’ve jeopardised everything!”
I rushed down the hall towards the back-left bedroom, Dad’s room from his childhood. The oak door was already open, leading me straight into the familiar magnolia walled room I'd spent many nights in. The double bed had felt massive to me as a child.
“Where have you been?” he said.
He sat with his back to me, on the far side of the bed, gazing out of the window over the darkness that covered his mother’s land.
I hesitated. Was he calling my bluff? Asking because he knew I hadn’t been with Macie, or was he genuinely asking?
He turned around, shifting his posture slightly so I could see Tristan in his little glass dome, sat on Dad’s lap. Dad's brown eyes bored into me and I knew he knew I hadn’t been with Macie.
“It’s a long story,” I said, sighing. “But I need Tristan. I’ve come to an agreement with the fairy Queens, one that will please everybody.”
He snorted. “Of course you have. Just like that. You've managed to do the one thing that no other human could possibly do.”
The sneer in his voice cut through me like a dagger. He was mocking me and my capabilities. That stung, more than a thousand bee stings could ever sting. Hot tears sprung to my eyes and I found myself suddenly hit with a wall of emotion.
Instead of being angry at him though, I found myself trying to plead my case and make him believe me.
“I have, Dad. I've spent the last thirteen hours in their world, nearly getting eaten by anything and everything, just to keep you happy, just to give some Gran some peace before she dies.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, his lips turning up into an angry snarl. “You expect me to believe they would come to an agreement with you but not me?” He waved his hand through the air dismissively and shook his head. “Delusional. The horse goes nowhere until I see a fairy and have my demands met.”
“Dad, you’re not listening to me,” I said, walking towards the bed. “I have an arrangement with them. They're going to visit Gran, as soon as we can in the morning, and tell her she’s forgiven, that she won’t be remembered as a liar.”
He straightened himself up, his eyes lighting up like a thousand stars. “They’re going to reveal themselves?”
Seeing him brighten up, I automatically went to say yes, until my brain kicked in and I realised that actually, they’re not going to reveal themselves at all. Gran may get her peace, but because everyone will have their memories wiped of the fairy's existence, no one will remember her period, let alone as a liar.
“Well, not quite like you’re thinking.”
As quickly as he’d cheered up, he immediately darkened again, this time taking Tristan into a tighter grip between his big hands. “You knew my terms,” he said, snapping at me. “You knew what I wanted. Anything less than that is a failure and unacceptable.”
“Dad—”
“If all you’ve come to give me is news of a compromise, I'm not interested.”
My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe how difficult he was being. Sure, he was upset because his mom was dying, anyone would be, and he saw her everyday suffering and in pain, but that didn’t mean he could lash out at anyone, especially his own daughter.
“Stop it,” I said, mustering the firmest voice I could. “You’re being completely unreasonable and acting like an absolute pig right now. You've no idea what I've endured over there, just to try and find something where we can all be happy. Not everything is about you, Dad. You're not the only person on the planet with demands and you’re certainly not the only being in the universe who happens to be having a hard time right now.”
He sat, open mouthed, staring at me for several seconds. Then he stood up, placed Tristan on the windowsill, and turned to face me. “How dare you speak to me like that. I am your father and you will speak to me and treat me accordingly. I will not tolerate such disrespect.”
At the end of my tether, I couldn’t help but bite back. I had nothing to lose at this point except the faith of the very beings who’d accepted me so warmly into their world and readily agreed to my hasty proposal.
“You know what? I'm your daughter and it would be nice if sometimes you actually bothered to remember that. Both me and Harris had years of let downs, broken promises, and being neglected. Why do you think he left as soon as he could? How about you practiced what you preached and respected your children for a change? Spoke to us and treat us accordingly instead of like an irritating chore you have to deal with. I put my life on the line to try and sort out this mess, the mess that YOU got us into by the way, and this is my thanks?”
His eyes widened and he stumble
d back a step. “I...I...”
“Just forget it,” I said, waving my hand dismissively back at him. “Give me Tristan so I can finish clearing up your mess and then we’re done.”
He hesitated, seemingly unsure of what he should say or do. “Faye, I don’t know what to say...”
“I don’t want you to say anything. What I want you to do is give me the horse, Roger.”
He gasped when I addressed him by his first name. “No matter the issues between us, Faye, I can’t give the horse up. He's my only way to get what I want.”
“I think you should give her my horse.”
Calico's firm voice came from behind me, giving me a cause for a sigh of relief. Dad's eyes darted to my side as Calico stepped next to me. He stood cool, calm, and collected, but his rod straight back, squared shoulders, and chin tilted up at just the right height for defiant confidence, gave the perfect image of someone not to mess with.
Dad's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “Who the hell are you and what do you think you’re doing with my daughter?”
“I’m the one who kept her alive whilst she insisted on endangering her life to fix the problem you created.”
“How dare you—”
Calico rolled his eyes and stepped in front of me. “Save it. I'm not interested. If you want to speak of disrespect, then let’s talk about your disrespect towards my kind, my family, my horse, and your own daughter. Where would you care to begin?”
“Are you threatening me?” Dad said, staring at Calico. “Coming up in here like you own the place, all half naked warrior fairy or whatever you are. I won’t be threatened by anyone.”
“That’s good to know,” Calico replied. “Because I'm not threatening you at all. I don’t make threats, I just act.”
I sucked in a deep breath. The energy in the room seemed to be electrified, as if any little thing now would suddenly make it crackle and pop. I watched, waiting, flicking my attention between my dad and the fairy prince, wondering how the next few minutes of life was about to turn out.
