When Reg was directing two Belgians towards the town, Ayrshire, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over, and saw a sickly thin man running through the meadow. His hair was long, and of the dullest strawberry blond. Blowing in the wind, he could easily be mistaken for a young girl. As Reg directed the horses towards the fork in the road, he dared another look. The man was still running, barefoot none the less. It was a wonder that his feet weren’t bleeding. Reg realized that the man had not seen him, a surprising fact. The horses had not been shod in a while, and the shoes were loose and clattering. As he stared across the meadow, the man suddenly disappeared from his view, just ike he fell into a hole. All of a sudden, he smelled an alluring fragrance, not unlike all the world’s desserts mixed together in a sweet concoction of sorts. Reg heard a sound, turned, and saw the same man sitting right next to him. He yelped, stopped the horses, and shoved the man off of the carriage. Shockingly, the man hovered above the ground and sneered at him. His teeth were bluish-white. “Wha-what do you wa-want from me?!” Reg shrieked in a less than manly way.
“Oh, you know. The usual. Your heart. Your jewelery,” The man responded, and pushed his face into Reg’s. “Your life.” He finished, with a terrible grin.
Reg just stared at him, and as he did, he started to notice things about the man’s face. His eyes were angled with the outer corners upward and the inner corner down. His smooth, unnaturally milky complexion with just a tinge of green. The slight sharpness of the teeth, along with the eerie blueness. But the thing that bothered Reg the most was the man’s eyes. They were completely black, no whites. Just black.
“I’m just kidding, you know.”
Reg stared at him in horror. “what are you?”
“There’s many names for it. Puck, elf,” He sneered again. “Fae.”
“Oh no. No,no,no,no,no. Crazy’s more like it.” Reg said, glaring at the strange man.
“So you say,” The man sighed, settling down onto the bench. “But I have my opinion. I call it eccentric.”
“Eccentric is the old man in town who thinks we are aliens.”
“Eccentric is being strange, so I ‘spose he is. But I am the eccentric of all of you mortals. Oh, and my name is Slei.”
“Slei, huh? Well, Slei, you are a messed up person.” Reg pointed out.
“Its Fae, mortal. Get it straight.” Slei had a sharp tone in his voice.
“The name’s Reg.”
Slei nodded. “Sounds ‘bout right.”
“What is that supposed to mean?!” Reg exclaimed.
“Oh, nothing” Slei responded with a small smirk, like he was trying to keep a laugh at bay.
“Sooooo,” Reg said slowly, “How exactly did you just appear on the carriage? The horses were’nt panicking or anything.”
Slei smiled smoothly. “It’s about time you asked.”
Slei snapped his fingers, and suddenly floated up into the air. Reg gasped, blinked a few times, and gasped again. “I love that reaction,” Slei said, grinning. “It’s just hilarious.” This time, the horses noticed. They started to grow anxious, neighing softly and pawing at the ground. Reg could hear the noise of their teeth chomping on the bit, and the sound of the harnesses shifting on their bodies. “Slei, stop. The horses are growing nervous, and they might bolt. NOT good.” Slei lowered himself quietly, and settled again onto the bench. “Do you know anything about the one who can see death?” He asked Reg, in a hushed tone. Reg stiffened, then replied.
“Yeah. She’s my sister.”
