Still levitating, I tried to heal my wound but to no avail and decided to let Kristy handle it. Fighting for so long with the adrenaline pumping in my veins, I didn’t realize I was so weak which resulted in my fall from the sky. Closing my eyes, I waited to collide with the hard earth, but instead, a pair of warm arms caught me.
“Violet,” Jacques’ voice called me and struggling against the weakness, I opened my eyes. “You are going to be fine.” He lowered me down on the soil and Kristy bent to heal my wound. She tried for a long time, confirming what I already knew.
“What is it?” Jacques whistled through his teeth.
“I don’t know,” she said in a brittle voice, but she clearly knew. “I can’t heal her,” she whispered and tears pooled in her eyes.
“What do you mean you can’t?” Anger flashed as his arms shook. He positioned me better on his lap and held me. “Try again!”
“It’s okay.” My weak voice was barely heard as I took a sharp breath. “I already know.” A red butterfly landed on my shoulder along with the rest. There were five butterflies now.
A flash of ruby light radiated and the Lady of Fate appeared. As I observed her, she seemed different, not so scary anymore and certainly more appealing than the first time I saw her. “It is done. Thank you, Violet and I’m sorry I scared you.” Gazing at my wound, her eyes emitted pain. “It was the only way.” She held her hand and disappeared, leaving behind her colorful leaves.
The sun was illuminating the entire sky now that the Darkness had left the premises. A slight breeze blew on my face and I noticed the plant life danced to greet its friend. My smile wavered as I thought it was mocking me. After such a day one should take a stroll downtown, admiring nature’s beauty, not laying here dying.
“How do you know the Lady of Fate?” Jacques said, clasping my hand with such force, it hurt.
“She told me what I had to do to bring the Light back to the Blessed Realm. When I completed the tasks, butterflies…” A cough overwhelmed me and it took some moments until it would subside. It hurt, but ignoring it, I continued, “the butterflies appeared.”
“You knew.” Biting his lips, he said, “Why didn’t you tell me? Why—?”
I had never seen him so out of control. Maybe that’s how I felt when he sacrificed himself for me. “Because you would have stopped me.”
“Of course, I would! This was madness!”
“The Light is more important than any of us,” I whispered and he shook his head while turning. “It’s not for me.”
“Jacques, Kristy,” I whispered, feeling my strength quickly abandoning me. “Be well…”
“Violet!” Kristy was silent all this time with tears running down her face, but now her strident voice betrayed her anguish. “No, no, no!” She held me by the arm as she whispered, “I never had a friend. Everyone thinks I’m silly, but you listened to me. Please, don’t go.”
“You’re going to find another one. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I just…”
“You played hero, and you did it so well.” She cried and my hurt grew not from the physical pain but of my soul. I wanted to live and be a better friend for her than I had been. “It’s not fair…” The rest of her words were drowned in the pool of tears that overpowered her.
I looked at Jacques but he had turned his gaze away, like this was extremely painful for him. Squeezing his hand didn’t draw his attention, so I said, “I’m sorry. I did what I did because I couldn’t afford for anyone else to get hurt or for any world to be destroyed. The silver fairy in the Moon Realm showed me how it would be if the Evilship ever took control of the worlds and I didn’t want for that to happen.”
“So human, yet so selfish,” Jacques whispered. “In the Blessed Realm, we have always valued the Light and did everything we could to protect the human world. It’s our belief that if anything ever happened that would threaten to destroy the balance, we would think of the world first and now comes a human with no knowledge of our realm whatsoever to sacrifice herself to save us.” He turned, and I saw for the first time, tears sprinkled across his face. “You shouldn’t be sorry. It is us who should be because we didn’t protect you like we should.” Cupping my cheek, he took a shaky breath. “Don’t leave me.”
“I wish I…” I inhaled deeply as another wave of pain overwhelmed me. When it subsided, I noticed he had a similar expression of hurt as I had in mine. “Take care,” I said weakly. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I never do, Mademoiselle.” His words came out rough. “Violet!” he yelled with his eyes blazing and I reached out to him and placed my hand on his cheek. Feeling his wet face saddened me and I watched as a single tear landed on my necklace.
A silver light kindled the necklace and awed, I watched as the light grew to a ball of silver. The light was blinding me so I closed my eyes and a series of pictures flew in front of me while a ocean of feelings invaded my head. I watched myself as Jacques in rabbit form followed me before I knew anything about the human world. He was annoyed, yet he found it amusing that I hated Halloween. The scene changed to when he was alone with me in the Enchanted Forest and when he talked, I felt his emotions warm up to me, and he considered I might be somewhat cute. Our kiss in the woods was not his intention, but this brought his world upside down as his feelings exploded. When he pulled away, I watched as he turned into a rabbit and disappeared, leaving my past self hurt. Following him, I watched him turning back into a human. His hopeless expression and a couple shapeshiftings later made me realize that it was then that it had first started.
When Khalid showed up and when the game between them started, Jacques felt hurt and jealous as he felt that he lost his chance with me. The scene shifted to the dark moment in my house where I had yelled at him and even if Jacques had told me it was nothing, I saw now that it had shattered his heart into pieces. Jumping from memory to memory, I saw how much love he had for me and how stupid I was to not have seen it or ignore it. Arriving at my house the moment of my birthday party, I witnessed our kiss through another perspective, but this time my heart was about to explode for his feelings were pouring in waves.
I was pulled away from Jacques’s memory lane and landed back inside my present body that no longer hurt. Instead, my strength was back, and I felt more alive than ever.
“Violet?” Jacques said disbelievingly, shaking my shoulder.
“I’m fine.” I rose from his lap and smiled.
“You’re alive.” Relief spread as he wrapped his arms around me and I felt his warmth. Why had I not seen this?
“I didn’t know,” I whispered and tears ran down my face.
Swallowing, he nodded. “I didn’t know either.” He turned his gaze away from me. “How much I hurt you.”
“I—” I stopped. Confused, I wondered if he had taken a trip back in my memory lane, too. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Pressing his hands on mine, he gave me a sad smile. “I was lost and when I found myself, it was too late.” His face was very close to mine and grinning, he tried to close the distance.
“So, anyone know what on the fairy happened here?” Kristy’s voice sounded like a bell and we violently drew apart, looking guiltily away.
“It was the necklace,” Jacques said, brushing the dirt from his hands and raising from the ground, stood a few feet away, putting his hands in his pockets. “It said it contained some special powers, but I can’t tell you more. I wasn’t there when they analyzed it.” He laughed to cover his embarrassment.
All of a sudden, flames rose from the ground and as we watched, mystified, they opened like a curtain to reveal a worn out woman.
“The witch!” we all cried out and Madelena gave us a tired smile.
Chapter 15: Leopard Woman
After the witch had recovered from her imprisonment in-between the realms, the Blessed Realm was restored to its former glory.
We all worked together to achieve the impossible and for once, I cherished the fact I could use my powers for s
omething other than fighting. The Blessed Realm had been almost been eradicated, but in some parts, the land had been corrupted by Darkness that we had to remove from existence. It was hard work, but we managed to create our Blessed Realm from the beginning and the result was satisfying. Seeing it now, I thought I liked its new look better because I knew we did it. Together.
All the creatures were healed and my heart glowed at the sight of them running free again. I loved gazing at the vast valleys, full of flowers and life spreading as far as the eyes went. Kristy, of course, took care of the Enchanted Forest and for once, her father didn’t complain about her doing silly things. He was rather proud.
After the recent events, we made some new additions and alterations to improve the safety in the Blessed Realm with the help of our expert. Jacques had insisted on placing shields and new spells at all the borders and when we were done, not even a fly could enter without permission.
“So, today’s the final day of your examination, huh?” Jacques said while we walked hand in hand to my house. When the Blessed Realm was cared for and the creatures healed, Madelena resumed training me, but now, she dwelled in harder tactics and lessons.
Jacques always walked me home and Kristy came with me from school to the gate. I wasn’t sure, but I thought my fairy friend was giving me some time with him since she made me tell her everything. She was so overjoyed when she heard her dreams of seeing us together had come true that she kept repeating it every single time.
“Yeah.” Smiling, I felt finally free of examinations and everything seemed brighter. Even the gray clouds hanging above us couldn’t overshadow my joy. “Finally free,” I said and loved the sound of the words.
Jacques laughed, and I loved hearing that sound even more. “So, what’s your plan for today? Studying?”
“Y…Hey! That was not funny!” I slapped his arm, and he laughed even harder and pulled me in for a kiss. My insides melted as he showered me with his wild kisses.
The days following the Confrontation of the EvilShip of the Darkness, we were hanging out a lot, mostly getting to know each other and in the end, without the need of words, we had become one. I couldn’t picture anyone else besides me, other than him and the care and protectiveness was something I hadn’t known much from people apart from my family. Human or non-human.
Pulling away, he grinned. “So, what’s your plan for tonight?”
“I’m going to relax and take a walk in the city. I like the view at night and the smells are magnificent. The day might have a lot to see but the night has a brilliance all its own.”
“Do you want company? It’s dangerous at night.”
I rolled my eyes. “I think I can take them out if need be, but you’re welcome to hang out if you want.” His smile made my heart jump in delight.
Walking me to the door, he said, “Then, I’ll wait in the woods.”
“I don’t think it’s forbidden to pick me up.” I laughed, and he sighed.
“I’m sure you can find your way on your own and you might need some time for yourself.”
My parents hadn’t reacted badly to his presence and showed him the love he had missed from his. After they quizzed him about where he came from and a thousand questions about his background. Surprisingly, Jacques had thought of everything and he answered the questions with exact details without a doubt. He would have made a great actor if he lived in the human world.
“How considerate,” I said, and he winked. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and he left, stepping on the paved stones. I stood there watching him until the point that the road forked. Since I knew it, I always positioned myself so I could see him shift into a rabbit, wave his little paw at me and hop away.
◆◆◆
“How are things going?” Kristy said when we were hanging out in the Blessed Realm. The weather was amazing, and we had laid down the picnic blanket and ate fairy sweets. As amazing human sweets were, fairy sweets were ten times better.
“Well, you know…I’ve sent some applications to universities, but other than that, I was trying to catch up on all the things I didn’t have time for before. Reading, movies, friends, that kind of stuff.”
Slapping my leg, Kristy shook her head. “Not that! I mean, I’m glad you’re doing all of this but I meant you and Jacques.” A cunning smile decorated her face as her eyes glowed. When I shot her a look, she shrugged. “I’m just being a good friend.”
“You’re being a gossip friend,” I corrected, and she giggled. “Well, he’s nice.” I blushed. “I like him.”
“You like him, yeah right. Your aura tells an entirely different story, Believer,” she teased, and I blushed harder.
“Okay, fine. I more than like him, but he’s amazing and protective and…”
“—and a hot shapeshifter,” she whispered.
“Shut up!” I cast a worried glance around, but there was no one at close range to hear us. I didn’t want everyone to know we were dating. As beautiful as the Blessed Realm was, it was also small and resembled most human villages. Everyone knew everything about the other residents. It’s not that I wanted to hide it, but I liked to keep my personal details to myself and my friends. “Okay, that, too.” I confessed and Kristy winked.
A loud sound disturbed the peaceful sound of the valley and troubled, we rose up and tried to locate the source. Dust covered the land and coughing, we covered our eyes. After some time, I pinpointed it to the sound of a motorbike but I was doubtful. This was a human invention, and the Eulogimenoi had no need of such things as they used their powers to get to one place to another a lot faster than any of these human constructions.
When the smoke cleared, my eyes popped as a shiny motorbike had stopped on the grass. In awe, we watched as an awfully tall woman stepped out. She gave us a glowing smile that sent shivers racing down my spine—her golden eyes looked more like a predator’s you would see out in the wild rather than a woman’s. Dressed in a red dress and black knee-high boots I thought it was the most bizarre combination I had ever seen. If that wasn’t enough, her black makeup gave the impression of an experiment gone wrong, but for some reason, she looked otherworldly beautiful.
“Hello girls,” she purred. “How nice to see you.” She swiped her tongue over her lips like a cat cornering her prey. “My name is Hannah and I’m looking for Jacques. You wouldn’t happen to know where he is by any chance?”
Staring at her, we didn’t respond. Millions of questions circled my mind as I attempted to find a logical explanation of how Jacques might know this woman. Her aura was a blinding red that skyrocketed in all directions. It felt like her aura represented her need to project herself to the world. I’ve seen many types of characters in the supernatural world and while I couldn’t say I was an expert on the subject, her behavior was strange. She almost seemed like evil personified.
“Never mind.” She waved her red-manicured hand, sweeping her tongue from her red glimmering lips. “I’ll find him myself.”
“Who are you?” Kristy got over her shock but her expression remained stunned.
“Oh, I’m his girlfriend.” The woman gave us a predatory smile, and we watched her walk on our blanket with her red stiletto boots.
As soon as she was out of sight, Kristy turned to me. “I’m sure it’s just a mistake.”
“I’m sure it is.” The question was whose. My mind kept going back to the wild woman’s appearance and the more I pushed it from my head, the more doubts came back to bite me.
She’s so strikingly beautiful. You’re never going to match her.
Ignoring the malicious voice, I said, “What do you think she was?”
“Nothing good, I can assure you. Did you see her look? For a moment I thought she was going to eat me. Whatever she is, it’s bad news.” Tossing the blanket, she added, “I wonder where he knows her from. She’s not from around here.”
Kristy’s last comment sparked more doubts in my mind and gave the evil voice inside my head incentive to start her questions again.
Did you see how gracefully she walked? Such a marvelous being. You could never be her even if you tried. She deserves to be his girlfriend more than you…
Shut up! I commanded, and blinking, I gathered my things.
“We can go someplace else,” Kristy said in a small voice.
“No, it’s fine. It’s lunchtime anyway.”
Finding her smile, she nodded. “Right, the traditional sisterly lunch. She does take care of you a lot for a younger sister. Shouldn’t you be handling things like this?” She winked, and I shrugged.
“It’s important to have a relationship with my sister and I’ll be leaving for school here soon so…”
Nodding, she cast me a careful glance, and I wondered if she could sense the internal battle waging inside me. “Have you heard back from any of them?”
“Not yet, but I suppose they won’t be long,” I said, sighing. “I did good despite the supernatural fight I had to deal with except Statistics but I always hated that subject even though I’m very grounded,” I said seriously despite Kristy’s grin.
“I’m sure you’ll pass with the wings of a fairy.”
Taking the road to the gate, we remained silent, each one lost in her own doubts and thoughts. Stepping on the blue paved stones, I observed them for the millionth time as I did ever since they laid them, but couldn’t figure out what their color was and recently, I started calling them mood stones as they seemed to depict the color of my mood every time I saw them.
“Hannah,” I heard Jacques’ familiar voice, and I smiled before realizing he had said her name. Surprised, he looked at her with a warm look. “What are you doing here?”
“Jacques!” Her lips twisted in an attempt of a loving smile, but she stopped and embraced him in a way that made you want to cover your eyes but I couldn’t. I kept staring at them, feeling every piece of my heart breaking and falling down, never to be mended again.
“Violet!” Kristy’s voice entered like warm water among shards of glass. “We have to go.” Feeling her pulling me away, I resisted.
Beware the Violet Page 22
