The Library

For the first time since he'd been brought to the library, Carter was having fun. He looked down at Skull's finger with an unimpressed, but amused grin.

"Good luck with that, Mr. Cranium," Carter whispered back. "But can you really be mad at me? I got us inside. We can figure out a way to talk to her and see where we are and what's going on when we're clean. Calm down and quit being such a baby."

I knew he was trying to taunt me, but I didn't get the jab. I was sure "Mr. Cranium" was supposed to be a reference to something. What it was, I didn't care - at least, I pretended like I didn't.

"You're the baby," I said. "I'm five times your age - even if I don't look it."

I had been good about not drawing attention to the whole "ghost come back to life" thing, but I had finally had enough. I wouldn't be able to prove it. But it wasn't like Natty boy and Asmira had believed me, either, so what harm was there in it now? I was stuffed into a bathroom with a man I met in a magical library and a fairy. If Carter didn't believe me, he was the idiot.

"And you could have just said we were sharing a flat," I added, keeping my voice quiet. "As friends."

In retrospect, it was easier to play the lover card instead of the friend card - but only because I hated Carter. Lovers was easy. I knew how to act like that. Friends, on the other hand? That was an entirely different situation, and I couldn't pretend to like Carter that much.

Five times his age, huh? Carter didn't know what world Skull came from, but they must've aged incredibly slowly, or were otherwise granted eternal youth. Huh. There was a sting of envy, but not enough for Carter to pay attention to. Besides, there were other more pressing issues.

"Well, in all fairness, old man, it's not nearly as fun that way," Carter whispered in a sing-song voice. He found the zipper on his jacket, and it took him a second to figure out how to use it, but when he pulled it opened very quickly, all the way down.

Fascinating.

There was a plain shirt underneath, but it was damp like the rest of his clothes from rain.

"Also, I was really only running with what Amy was already giving me," Carter said, still keeping his voice low. "It's easier to appeal to what other people already assume. But nevermind that - we're in this together now, whether you like it or not. So let's figure out how to at least make it look like we're clean, changed, and a thankful couple. Clear?"

Queenie was having a much better day now that she was without the wannabe-goth-prince and lumberjack. The fairy had been pretty inoffensive, but her not being around was probably a good thing too. Wierd like that was too much like the sort of thing Briar would cook up in that freaky little lab of hers. It was only a matter of time before she pulled a Frankenstein and figured out the trick to creating life without having to interact with another human being.

The, well, Queenie wasn't quite sure what it was. It resembled a harem more than anything. A group of beautiful girls who all practically worshiped a single guy. Jay.

Queenie couldn't blame them, really. He was charming, pretty, said the right things and could be so gentle. The rebellious prince charming of most girls' dreams. If he was anyone else, she'd be skeptical. Hell, she'd killed guys like him before. At least half a dozen prince charming's blood stained her hands and really, she quite liked the color. Now, though, it felt a little different.

She couldn't explain why, but she believed him when he said his sweet little things. She actually liked it when he touched her.

It was easier to talk to him than...anyone. Not that she told him much. A load of pretty, depressing, half-truths and outright lies that fit together like a lovely little puzzle. It was good work, really. Respectably believable, not as tangled as an amateur web.

It was nice to have someone worth lying to, for once. Someone who would live to remember her work.

It was late in the evening that she considered this, her mind stringing together her pretend life every time she closed her eyes. It was familiar, the fixation. She couldn't tear her mind away from the puzzle, the game. Every time her mind was at rest it was there, passively playing behind her eyelids, demanding some part of her attention to detangle. Relaxing, in a stressful kind of way.

Eventually, though, she did manage to fall asleep.



Queenie shot up, reaching for a weapon that wasn't there. Her heart pounded as she got her bearings. Stones dotted the grass. Carved stones. Names...graves. Graveyard. She was in a graveyard. She couldn't help snickering at that. Nice to see you again, irony.

She dragged herself to her feet, cracking her neck, and looked around. She'd been laying right next to a grave, six feet lower and she would have been cuddled up with the coffin, with a name on it. A familiar name.

Well, that's unfortnate.

She wished the cause of death was listed on Esther's grave. Queenie really wanted to know if she was it.

What was there were the dates and...

She swore under her breath. So she was sometime after the 80s then. That would explain the...stripes. The purple was so bright it practically burned her eyes. A long-sleeved undershirt of bright neon purple striped thin strips of dark, sensible purple under a - you guessed it - purple, flannel buttoned about halfway up with the sleeves sadistically cropped into quarter sleeves. Her jeans, of course, were high-waisted and looked like they'd been washed with bleach instead of laundry detergent.

She was very glad not to know what her hair looked like.

Shaking her head, she turned around, and blinked. Jay?

No, it wasn't him. Still, the resemblance was strong. A relative, for sure. Brother? No, it was the 80s. She certainly hoped Jay didn't have a brother that age. Son? Most likely. It wasn't like such a person wasn't bound to exist at this point in time. It would be completely unbelievable if Jay didn't have at least a few mini-versions of himself running about.

She gave the boy a friendly wave.

I decide to leave the bathroom before the conversation between Skull and Carter can possibly turn ugly. My wings are still wet, but they've dried enough for me to walk. And walking will dry them faster.

"I think I'm going to explore the house," I tell the boys. "Could you open the door a sliver for me?"

Spoiler

just realized Iris can't get out of the bathroom by herself! LOL.

Carter, still looking at Skull, put his hand on the handle and propped it up just a crack - just big enough for Iris, but not enough to draw a ton of attention.

"Lay low," he instructed her under his breath.

It had been difficult to wake up that morning. Adam had driven up to Portland from Los Angeles the day before, and had insisted to Mary that he go alone. They'd had a fight and while he never liked to leave his wife on bad terms, it was the furthest thing from his mind right now.

He had no idea how a whole year had passed without her. How he'd stopped her and she'd literally said it's too late for me and still he had let her go. There were so many things he could have done differently. He only wished Esther would have talked to him. He'd been suicidal when he was her age. He'd been beat to a pulp by his classmates the fall after the summer that everything happened.

He held the flowers limply in his hand. It had been a year and she was buried in the ground and it was still hard to sink in the fact that she was gone and would never come back.

He saw young blonde girl sitting there, eyeing her surroundings.

"Excuse me?" He said. His eyes were red, but he didn't care. "Mind telling me why you're lying on my sister's grave?"

--

When Esther woke in the morning, Elizabeth was gone. The girls didn't seem to be too concerned about it, and when Jay rose from his tent he simply told them that she had probably moved on.

He didn't acknowledge Esther, and she didn't know whether that was a good or a bad thing. All she knew was she was alone. Even if she was with the others, she didn't belong in this time. She knew where they were headed.

But she had no idea how to get back to her time, and no way of knowing where the others were. She stared at Alex. Her visible pregnancy made her wonder how much time she really had here.

Jay then ordered Alex and Esther to go find breakfast in town. At least she could think about it then, and spend time with her mother. Ask her everything she could think to ask. Once they reached the van, Esther offered to drive so Alex could rest.

Queenie blinked at the guy. It took her a second to process what he said, which probably would have been a good way to segway into a 'got drunk in a graveyard' cover story. Not many people got to use that one twice.

She brushed a lock of hair over her shoulder, revealing, in a process, that it was fixed in a ponytail right up at the top of her head. I'm wearing a fucking scrunchie, aren't I? She shook her head, but the swinging of her ponytail just brought that thought right back to mind.

"Long story," she said with a huff, "I'm Queenie." She remembered only afterward that she was using an alias for this...whatever it was. It was about as far from a job as it got. She wanted to ask how Esther died, but she could do that later. Starting the introductions with 'hello, how'd your sister die?' wouldn't bode well for her.

"Thank you," I reply. "Meet you two later?"

And I slide out and start walking. The ground is wood and slightly slippery, probably water dripping from our clothes. I'm not sure what to look for, but I know there must be something that'll link us to Esther. Somehow.

The living room feels very far away, but I eventually tiptoe there. The door is ajar so I take in a quick peek. Amy and Scott aren't there. I suppose there're preparing the guest bedroom for Carter and Skull.

I stifle a laugh. I really don't know how Carter and Skull could get themselves into this, well, couple situation. It's surely convenient because it explains why they're together, but I can only imagine it'd be so awkward. For once, I'm glad I'm too small to be noticed. I hate the idea of pretending not to exist, but I also don't want to bother coming up with layers and layers of stories to explain my presence. Though likely the fact that I'm a fairy will distract people from, well, other things.

I step inside and run along the wall to the couch. My wings are starting to dry, so I flutter them tentatively. Still too wet to fly. The fireplace is disappointingly empty, but I wander over to it anyway. There's some framed paintings and other enormous trinkets on the mantelpiece far above.

Curiosity grabs me by the throat (I'm not always that nosy, I swear. I need to figure this whole mess out.) I walk back over to the couch and manage to jump and grab ahold of the fabric. Then I slowly pull myself over to the seat. Then the arm. I keep beating my wings in the meantime, hoping that the wind will dry it up.

I jump off and attempt to fly toward the mantelpiece. At first, I think I'm doing fine, but at the last minute, the weight of my wings drags. My hands catch onto the mantelpiece and slip on the wood. For a terrifying moment, I wonder if I'm going to drop and fall.

I brace my feet against the side of the fireplace and drag myself up. I sit on the mantelpiece for a moment, panting. Then I gather myself and look around. I see some framed portraits: Amy and Scott holding hands, Amy and Scott sitting on a bench and leaning to each other. There's Scott with his family, and there's Amy with...

My breath snags. Claire. One of the girls in Jay's group. Good heavens. Claire.

In hindsight, I should have realized. Amy does look like Claire, and Jay too, and I close my eyes, thinking. I can see some similarities between her and Esther too. Oh good gracious. It can't be. My wind whirs. Does Amy know Esther? There's a deep web of relationships and history here that I can't seem to untangle. They're not the famous fairy nobles. They're ordinary people as far as I can tell and there's no books telling what's going to happen, what we're supposed to do.

A door creaks, jolting me out of my trance. I jump and duck behind a frame just as Amy wanders into the living room. Please please don't pick up and frames and look at the portraits, I pray.

I glared at Carter.

"Fine," I said. "I'll play along. But only because I want to get this over with."

I sat down on the cover of the toilet. I just wished I was home - not home home, but the world that I had been traveling on lately. I'd take being stuck with Natty boy over being stuck with Carter any day. I'd never tell him - or Asmira - that, of course, but I was definitely going to be a little more appreciative of my company when I got out of this mess.

"You take the first shower," I said. "I'll take one after you. If we do it quick enough, they'll think we took it together."

Carter actually didn’t mind Skull’s plan, but there was one problem. He peeked behind the curtain. He had no idea what all of this was.

“Okay...” he said, before leaning back. “One problem. Where I’m from, there aren’t showers like these.” Frankly, the only showers he knew of were rain and when someone threw water on you. “I’m going to need your help.”

I moved past Carter, pretending that I knew exactly how a shower worked - and that I was very annoyed that Carter didn't. I didn't question how he didn't know what a shower was, though. Asmira didn't know what one was, either.

I technically had never taken a shower myself, but it couldn't be that hard. I had seen Cubbins use a tub before during that...experiment.

(I still shuddered at the thought of it.)

"It's easy," I said. "All you do is turn this thing to change the temperature, and pull up to get the water going-"

The entire time I had been explaining how it worked, I had been leaning into the shower and messing with its parts. Just as I finished my explanation, I made the mistake of pulling.

It was only when my head and shoulders got drenched a second later that I realized showers worked far faster than I thought I did.

Carter had to bite back laughter when the water came from the spout overhead and watched as it sprayed him like a summer’s rain. He’d slipped off his jacket and thew it on top if the lidded chair along with his socks and shoes while Skull had fiddled with the knobs, but paused in undressing when it became clear that Skull didn’t know how the “shower” worked either.

He pulled Skull’s dripping sweater from behind, yanking him out of the water’s reach, out from behind the curtain. His subdued laughter still escaped in quiet snickers.

“That was a wonderful demonstration, Skull,” he said, stripping off his shirt with one arm, hand-over-head. The water was still running. Whatever Skull did, it worked to some degree. Carter would figure out the rest on his own.

He tossed his shirt onto his pile of dirty clothes. He stuck his hand behind the curtain, reaching into the spray of water. The water was coming down surprisingly hard, and was a little cold. Just like rain, except without the smell of it.

“It’s a wonder you even managed it.”

As Amy and Scott got the bed ready, she heard the water turn on and off, and she wanted to make sure their guests were able to figure it out. Maybe they were too nervous to ask for help. Since they were gay, it wouldn't be weird if she went in and helped them.

She knocked, and showed them how it worked. "What's the matter, never seen a shower before?"

The guys looked back at her blankly. "By the way, my mom's coming tomorrow at like 10am, and um, we're going on a roadtrip back to LA for the holidays. So, Scott and I still have to pack and I hope the building can come early tomorrow."

She came back when she saw Scott frozen in fear, his lower lip quivering.

"Amy..." He began. "What is that?"

He was pointing to a fairy, looking at all the photos. Amy knelt down to meet her. She looked just like a tiny woman, but one with wings.

"Hi," Amy said.

**

The girl stared back at Adam with a blank expression, and he concluded that she was here by accident. He'd been wild when he was a teenager, so he got it. He didn't want to or didn't need to know the details, but maybe he could help her.

"Listen," he said. "Is there anyone you can call?"

Our host's question was almost right, seeing that Carter hadn't and I had from afar, but I didn't get a chance to laugh it off or explain my inability to use it right - she got distracted by her boyfriend saying something out of the shower.

I was still fully dressed, so there wasn't any harm in me peeking my head out to see what the problem was.

I was too far away to really see what had been discovered, but I could just barely make a little figure near a bunch of photos.

I got a sinking feeling in my gut.

I was definitely dripping water all over the ground, but I didn't really care about the mess. I cared more about Iris just being discovered. And while Amy and Scott had definitely been nice so far, and Amy was greeting her, I wasn't exactly sure how Scott would handle this whole thing. He was staring at Iris in fear.

And you never knew how someone would react when their entire world came crashing down around them.

I went over and grabbed Iris off the mantle - making sure to hold her gently so her wings wouldn't get damaged.

"So that's where Carter put you," I affectionately said. "I knew he had put our little good luck charm down somewhere, but I never guessed it would be on the mantle."

I gave a smile that I didn't really feel, hoping that Iris would follow my lead and not move at all.