Beware the Violet

by Maria Vermisoglou

  “Because now you know the truth,” she said simply and then scowled. “Don’t change the subject. What happened?”

  I stayed silent, and she shook her head. “Fine. We’ll go for a walk and you’ll tell me everything.”

  “No more walks,” I begged in a tiny voice and she looked at me. “Did I say that aloud?”

  “You really have some explanations to give, young lady.” She picked a photo off a table. “Your grandmother?”

  “Yes, she passed away a few years ago, leaving me with this.” I held up my violet necklace.

  “Well, she left you something precious.”

  “So are you checking up on me?” Even though her timing was a bit off. The battle occurred days ago, so why show up on my doorstep now?

  “No, I wanted to ask you how you were holding up. I was going to come earlier, but we’re trying to get things working again after the darkness fell,” she said and I was surprised. All these days I thought she had abandoned me but maybe she had just been busy. “It seems I showed up at just the right moment.”

  My stomach growled, and I blushed. “Do you want to stay?” Thinking better of it, I added, “Do you eat?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Of course I eat. Every living creature eats and even the dead feed on something.”

  “Right.” I attempted to thwart the image of undead creatures out of my mind as it was really disturbing. I liked the fact that she came to check on me and maybe she could help me. Grinning, I thought that she could definitely help me since she was a supernatural creature and a girl. It seemed I had a new friend even if she was a fairy.

  “Violet—” Diane stopped in her tracks. “Hey, you’re the girl from yesterday. How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine, thank you.”

  “Kristy is going to join us for lunch,” I informed Diane, wondering if she could see the pink cloud around Kristy.

  “Perfect! I can ask you all about your costume, and I’m pretty sure fairies would be jealous of you.”

  “They’re not real!” I butted in to keep up the pretenses.

  “Can you believe her? Even if a real witch was standing in front of her, she wouldn’t understand the difference,” Diane said annoyed.

  “I’m sure she would.” Kristy bit her lip, trying not to smile, but after moments of fighting, she gave up. Both of us laughed at the inside joke.

  “Yes, well…” I heard Diane talking to Kristy while guiding her to the kitchen.

  I lingered near the table looking at Grandma’s photo. “Thank you for giving me a normal life. I just wish you had told me about this world, and your life there.” Swallowing my anger, I sighed. “I know you did it to protect me, but you could have told me. I don’t know where I’m standing now and I’m alone,” I said the last words in a whisper. Tears had gathered in my eyes so I wiped them and inhaled a few times. I rubbed the purple stone of my necklace. “I’ll try my best to make you proud, Grandma.”

  The very next moment, something even more astonishing than even the events of last night happened. Letters started appearing in the picture and when I read them, I smiled. Violet, I am proud of you. I will always be with you.

  “Hmm…I guess you knew I would come here. Makes sense, I guess. Thank you, Grandma. I will make you proud,” I promised and happiness poured inside me as I knew I wasn’t completely alone. Even if she was not here anymore, my grandmother was watching over me somehow.

  “Violet!” Mom called from the kitchen.

  “I’m coming!” I yelled and looking back at the picture, I saw the letters had disappeared. I headed to the kitchen, wondering if my grandmother had left other gifts to me as well.

  During lunch, Mom and Diane asked Kristy lots of questions and she answered without missing a beat, making up a believable story. At first, I paid attention, but then my mind wandered to other places…or persons. When I caught myself going back to that incident, I struggled to focus, but it was hard. Especially since the conversation circled around Halloween. Finally, lunch was over and my mom suggested we go to the living room for tea.

  Casting an odd look at her, I wondered if Kristy had done something to her because this was not like her—letting us out of helping with the housework like that. I helped prepare the tea with spices and after it was served, another endless conversation about Halloween started. I wanted to bang my head against the table from desperation. I would rather do housework instead of hearing about these things that weren’t even real while the real things were scarier than anyone could ever imagine.

  Did you do something to her? I mouthed and slightly tilted my head in my mother’s direction when both my mom and Diane sipped their tea and we had a moment of silence.

  Kristy shook her head and raised her shoulder, but she couldn’t explain further so I waited, thinking of any possible ways to escape my mother and Diane’s notice. Unfortunately, the chance never presented itself as my father came in from the garage where he typically spent all his Saturdays and I introduced him to Kristy.

  “So, have you girls finished with cleaning up?” he asked and my mom blinked as if waking up from some kind of spell.

  “Oh dear, I had forgotten we didn’t clean everything. I was so focused on our guest.” She laughed and rose from her seat. “Come, Diane, there aren’t many left,” she said and took Diane who complained all the way down the hallway.

  Seeing the look my father gave me, I hastily added, “I should go and help, too.” I hated that I didn’t have the chance to tell Kristy anything at all.

  Jumping from her seat, Kristy said cheerfully, “Don’t worry, I have to be going, too. My mother probably needs my help.” She winked, and I escorted her to the door. Just when I thought she would leave without a word, she quickly uttered two words and I barely had time to catch them before grasping their meaning. “Window, midnight.” My father’s approaching footsteps shushed any attempts of further questioning. “It was fun, Violet! Thank you for the invitation. I’ll see you at school.” Then, she turned to my father. “Goodbye, Mr. Webb.” She took the road, and I watched her while her strange sentences swirled on an incessant loop in my head. Window, midnight, school? What did that mean?

  “Your new friend is interesting,” my father said nodding, I headed to the living room to get this Halloween purge over with.

  Before going to bed, I set my phone’s alarm a quarter before midnight and put it on silent. Laying down, I closed my eyes, but all I saw was Jacques’ eyes and his arms encircling me. Rolling over with a huff, I commanded myself to forget all about it.

  “It’s so sad.” I heard Diane’s voice sighing from the bed across from me. “Halloween is such a great time of year. Why is it over?”

  Really? She still hasn’t gotten over it yet? “There’s always next year,” I reminded her even though Halloween had taken a new turn for me.

  “Next year can’t come soon enough,” she mumbled and drowning a yawn murmured, “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight,” I said and heard her breathing slow down as she fell asleep. I wished I could fall asleep so peacefully.

  A quarter before midnight, I woke up by a strange sound and bleary-eyed, I placed the source to being next to me. Taking the phone in my hands, I wondered why on earth I would set my alarm for such an ungodly hour. I was about to push off when it hit me. Kristy! Dragging my feet, I tried to make the least amount of noise as possible, but Diane’s snores reassured me she didn’t hear anything. Not even bombs could wake her up once asleep.

  I looked out of the window and jumped back. Under the bright moon, I saw a pair of giant wings outside the window. Cautiously, I peered outside and determined they belonged to a fairy I knew well enough. I opened the window and Kristy was smiling as she fluttered high enough so we were on the same level.

  “Kristy!” I whispered. “You scared me, and why are we meeting at such an ungodly hour?”

  She held her arms and leaning on the windowsill, I grabbed her. Without an effort, she carried me to the ground and then
went back to shut the window.

  “Because we can talk undisturbed and there will be a time where you will go out at midnight and like it. There are so many parties and tons of fun to be had!”

  The last thing I had on my mind right now was attending parties. “Why do you look so energized? Don’t fairies sleep?” I complained as we walked, taking the road that led to the park.

  “Being ready means being alive at any hour, and we do sleep. I am just curious about what you will unload. I can see there is some news!” she said, and I sighed.

  News was an understatement. We entered the park and sat on a bench and for the first time, I saw that what I thought were fireflies all these years, actually turned out to be lilliputian creatures with glowing wings. They seemed like the fairy version humans had in mind. I stared at them and a feeling of peace filled my insides.

  “Glow fairies,” Kristy said when she saw me watching them. “Although humans call them fireflies and they think they’re bugs. Humans are rather short-sighted when it comes to supernatural beings. They don’t know what miracles they’re missing.” She smiled. “But now that you know the truth, you can see all the miracles…along with the horrors.” She lowered her head and silence spread at the peaceful scene looming across from us. Clearing her throat, she looked at me right in the eyes. “Now, tell me, how are you holding up?” As if expecting my answer, she added, “And don’t say that you’re fine.”

  I shrugged. “Trying to survive I guess.” I paused and then decided to tell her. “I have these nightmares, but they’re so real that I can’t go back to sleep.” Voicing my fears aloud made me even more scared than when I tried to pretend they were just nightmares.

  Kristy took my hand. “When did they start? What do you see?”

  “Some days after the…incident. They’re mostly about when we fought, and I was about to lose my faith. Alternative paths if you like.”

  Kristy relaxed and I couldn’t understand why she would be alarmed. These were just dreams, right?

  “I thought you had inherited some of your grandmother’s power, but fortunately that’s not the case.” I raised my eyebrows, and she nodded. “Your grandmother could see things that would become real. It was a dangerous power since it resulted in her being injured sometimes. These are just dreams of your recent experience. They’ll go away eventually, but you can think of fairies and the nightmare will dissipate.”

  I stared at her. “I don’t think we can do anything for nightmares to go away,” I said, puzzled.

  “Well, as I told you before, fairies spread love and kindness and that means we can chase away the nightmares, too. Just think of fairies and the thought is enough to make them disappear off your mind,” Kristy said, and in any other case I would have laughed at the notion, but she was serious and I was desperate. It couldn’t hurt to try. Not anymore than it did already anyway.

  “I’ll try it, thank you.”

  Nodding, Kristy looked at the glow fairies for a moment and then turned to me. “Now, tell me why are you so…excited? Puzzled? Uncertain? I can’t tell your mood. It’s constantly changing.” Kristy squinted her eyes, but shook her head. I wondered what she saw in my aura to make her so uncertain or needing to know more.

  I hesitated. What if she told someone anything? What if Jacques heard it? I wasn’t sure what our situation was, but I didn’t want to make matters worse.

  “I won’t say anything. I will always keep your secret Violet, as I’m your friend. You can trust me,” Kristy said as if she had read my mind.

  “What if you know that someone?” I said, still hesitant to spill my secrets.

  “I will keep them even then. Friends keep secrets.” Sincerity coated her voice and taking a leap of faith, I decided to trust her. “Unless of course, you’re in danger.” She stared at me and I shook my head.

  “I’m not in danger. If you betray my secret, I’ll never talk to you again,” I said and Kristy nodded seriously. ” Here goes nothing. “So, this morning, like the past several mornings, I woke up from a nightmare and went for a walk. When I was in the woods, I saw Jacques—”

  Kristy’s eyes betrayed her surprise. “Jacques? That is strange. He has never stepped foot in the human world.”

  I drew in a deep breath. If she interrupted every few seconds, I might not finish the story before the sunrise.

  “Sorry. I won’t interrupt again,” Kristy promised, and I was grateful.

  I narrated the story slowly, trying to stay in the present and not get carried away in my train of thoughts. Throughout the story, Kristy remained focused and in some instances, she would raise her eyebrows but didn’t interrupt. When I finished, she was silent but her mouth had fallen open. She didn’t move or talk and I really wanted her support so I prompted in a tiny voice, “Kristy?”

  She inhaled and exhaled several times until she yelled, “What on the fairy’s wing happened?! Is he out of his shifter mind? What was he thinking?” She flapped her wings with so much force that wind whipped up and slapped me in the face.

  I grabbed her hands, suddenly afraid someone might hear us. “Shh!! Not so loud!”

  She nodded and held her tongue, but her face turned various shades of pink and red, making her violet eyes glow. “Idiot! Stupid!” She threw her arms out and gestured wildly.

  It surprised me to see her so upset. “Ehh…okay. I think you made your opinion about him clear. Now, can you help me?”

  “I’m sorry, of course. But what he did was not nice. He can’t just disappear without a word and leave you hanging!” She punched the bench’s wood and then wonder glossed her delicate features. “But it was so romantic!”

  “Kristy!” I admonished.

  “Okay, okay. I’m a fairy and we get excited over romance and kindness. So, what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” I put my hands on my head. “I’m so confused and I don’t know him and now I can’t face him right now.” I put my legs on the bench and hugged my knees. I raised my face quickly as a thought entered my mind. “You will not say anything to anyone!”

  “Of course not!” Kristy said like I had offended her. “Don’t worry about facing him, he’s not in the Blessed Realm much. You only saw him because the witch summoned him, but otherwise, he spends his time in other realms.” She put a hand under her chin. “In fact, I think he already left. I saw him briefly before coming to meet you and he was in a rush. That would explain why he acted so weird. I went to ask him about you and before I uttered even a word, he had vanished.”

  “Ohh,” I said, slightly disappointed, but also relieved.

  “I didn’t know his story at all before you told me. It’s sad, but the fact that he chose to tell it to you…he must have been fascinated,” Kristy said and I immediately objected.

  “But he doesn’t know me. How could he be so fascinated by me? We haven’t met before!”

  Kristy shrugged. “Sometimes, it’s love at first sight, but if I don’t see it, I won’t believe it. From the moment he showed up in our realm, he was distant with everyone and even though he helps out, he’s not close to anyone. Even to his own kin. He’s a loner. And now, you come from literally nowhere and you transform him into someone completely different. It’s amazing!” Her eyes glowed, but I didn’t share her enthusiasm. “I know you’re confused, but I can talk to—”

  “No!” I cut her off before she went too far.

  “But—”

  “I said no!”

  “Fine.” Kristy scowled. “I know it’s difficult…” she started, but she couldn’t grasp what an impossible situation it was.

  “It’s not difficult, Kristy! You’ve thrown me into a world in which I don’t know the rules.” I took some calming breaths and tapped my fingers, mentally taking count of my arguments. “It’s dangerous and I have to train all the while still keeping up with my life in the real world, I have exams that will determine my future. This is pretty much the last thing I need right now!” I yelled.

  Kristy h
ugged me from the side and instantly a cloud of peace settled inside me. “I know,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I’ll always be there for you whenever you need me.”

  Her words caused me to remember something she said earlier that afternoon. I pulled away and looked at her. Rubbing my eyes, I said, “What did you say about school?”

  Kristy’s face glowed, and I had the feeling I was going to regret my question. “Oh, that! I will be attending your school so you won’t feel alone and of course, I’ll be able to keep an eye on things.”

  “How?”

  “A little fairy dust fixes everything. Your director couldn’t say no and the witch agreed to that, too.”

  A fairy at school. That was certainly going to be interesting. The prospect of seeing Kristy every day at school was undeniably amazing, but still… “How will you fit in? Children will notice and I think human children are different from adults,” I said, remembering some of the things Jacques said.

  “Indeed, but children stop seeing magic by the age of ten, so I’m good there. Plus, your class is going to give the final examinations. They’re not going to be interested much about the new girl.” She winked, but I wasn’t very certain about this venture. Children always noticed the new girl. “Don’t worry,” Kristy said, patting my leg and getting up. “It will be fine. I have been in the human world for a long time and know my way around it. Come, you must get some sleep before morning.” She helped me up and we walked back to my house, discussing the hot topic again. When we reached my house, she flew me up again, and I slipped soundlessly into my bed while she shut the window.

  I closed my eyes and bringing Kristy to my mind, I prayed the nightmares didn’t show up. They didn’t, but something entirely different did.

  “The time has come, Your Evilship, the road is open for you now. The Dark Master did his part and even though he perished, he has set the stones for you,” a rusty voice said and I shivered.

  My gaze went from wall-to-wall in panic, but I could only make out black onyx stones and in the center, an enormous black fire. The coldness of the room and the unfriendliness of the two people before me made me conscious of my surroundings. I found an elevated rock and hid behind it, hoping they wouldn’t discover me because I was close enough to hear them so one sound and I was done for.