Breena (Fifteen)

Fifteen

            I watched her green, knee-high boots hit hard against the floor as Rayne paced.   She did not even glance in my direction as she bit and pulled at her nails.  A few mutterings escaped her lips every so often but nothing coherent.  The wooden boards under her feet would shake and as she moved closer to the middle of the floor they would bow under her weight.  The small house smelled of burnt coals and sour milk.  The sporadic crack of the fire would startle me and cause Warren to jump to his feet.  That movement caused Rayne to unsheathe a sword from her waist and point it towards the door.   Saying we were a little on edge was a large understatement. 

          After about an hour of sitting in the same attitude, I stood and attempted to stretch.  The pain from the previous night’s horrors rocked my body and my vision started to go a little dark.  I swayed from side to side and Warren was at my side trying to steady me. 

I pushed him away from me and his face dropped.  “I’m sorry, Warren.  I just haven’t exactly showered in a few days and I know I smell.  I don’t think now’s a really good time for you to be subjected to that kind of torture.”

          Warren smiled.  “Torture?  I’m not sure you know the proper meaning of the word.”

          “What are you talking about?”

          He stepped into the space I made between us and cupped his hands around my face.  This small gesture made my toes curl against the wooden floor.  A current of pure adrenaline ran through every part of my body, making the tips of my fingers go numb.

            “The only torture I know is going days without seeing your beautiful face.  The thought of anyone hurting you is a torment.”  His hands dropped and lightly wrapped around my sore wrists.  “Thinking, if even for a moment, that I was too late and you would forever be gone from the world is true agony.”

            The words he spoke came soft and wrapped around me like a soothing, warm blanket.  I smiled even though it made me sad to think of Warren in such pain.  I slowly rose on my toes to kiss him lightly on the cheek.  I heard him sigh in a calming relief.

            In a short distance I heard a scoff from a forgotten audience. 

            Rayne said, “I guess I’ll leave you two alone.  I should do a perimeter check anyway.”

            “Are you sure that’s wise?” Warren asked.

            Rayne made no effort to respond before she left us to our privacy.

            Warren and I took this time to get washed up.  He filled a bucket that he found under the sink with water.  Who knew such a place even had indoor plumbing?  He brought it over to the cot and gave me a cloth to clean myself with.  At first it hurt to rub at my injuries but after a while I got over the pain.  It felt relaxing to get the dirt and dried blood out of the cuts and welts around my wrists and knees.  After replacing the dirty and bloody water with fresh water, I took it outside to wash my hair.

            At first, I wasn’t quite sure how to do it without getting entirely drenched.  But then I thought about my mother and how every month she’d buy a box of hair dye and spend about an hour in the kitchen sink rinsing it out.  I flipped my hair over my head and bent at the waist.  My hair tickled the ground as I slowly poured the water over my head.

Thinking about my mother made me wonder what she was doing at that moment.  I’d been gone for a few days and I’m sure she noticed my absence.  What about Fawn?  How were they coping with my kidnapping?  My heart began to pace and my stomach wretched.

“What is it, my queen?”  Rayne was at my side in an instant.  I did not even notice her presence.

“What?”  I twisted my hair to wring out the water and then flipped it onto my back.

“You’re heart.  I heard it racing.  Is everything alright?”  She touched my arm.  This small gesture of sympathy surprised me for Rayne had been so cold and inhuman before. 

Warren burst out of the house.  “I felt it too.  What is the matter?”

I looked at both Rayne and Warren wondering why they could hear my heart.  “I was thinking about my mother and sister.  I’m sure they’ve called the police and they’re searching for me.”

Rayne sighed in relief.  “Do not worry, my queen.  They cannot find you here.  Only fairies know of Breena’s location.”

“I’m not worried about them finding me,” I snapped.  “I’m worried about what will happen when they don’t.”

Warren wrapped is arm around my shoulders but I shrugged it off.  I was in no mood to be coddled.  “We will deal with that when we return to your home.  And we will return.”

I shook my head.  “How can you be so certain?  There is probably a battle going on right now that determines if I live or die.”

“You’re being awfully dramatic, Fay.”

“No I’m not.  If we lose this battle, the rebellion is going to come after me.  I may be powerless right now but I am still considered a threat to them.  Only if we win and take down this resistance, can my safety be ensured.”

He looked deep into my eyes and let out a deep breath.  “You’re starting to sound like a queen.”

I don’t know why, but this news made me smile.  I had felt it too.  A sense of empowerment washed over my entire body and I knew what I had to do.

“Warren, I need you to teach me how to be a fairy.”

*

            It took some convincing, but Warren finally agreed to give me a quick lesson on how to access my fairy side.  Before we started, I wished there was a copy of “How to be a Fairy for Dummies” on hand.  It may have been easier to learn from.

            Rayne and Warren took turns giving me lessons.  Whoever wasn’t teaching, was watching our surroundings for any sign of intruders.  Warren suspected that someone was lurking in the shadows for we had been undisturbed for so long while such chaos was happening by the castle.

            Rayne went first.  She told me that the house we were occupying was a camp for warriors so there were many hidden weapons.  She tried teaching me how to hold a sword and even use it, but it was heavy and awkward to hold and the leverage on it made it hard to swing with any force.  She then tried a mace, which hurt me more than it would any enemy.  There were a few long staffs with a large pointed blade at the tip, but Rayne decided against those since the outcome would have been the same as the mace and sword.

            Rayne was about to give up on weapons when I picked up a long wooden bow.  I held it in my hands and wrapped a finger around the fine string and plucked it.  It rang with a low flat tone but that note touched my heart.

            “This,” I said proudly.  “This will be my weapon.”

            After what felt like an hour of countless misfires, I finally got the hang of the bow.  I was shooting with artful precision.  It felt seamlessly natural.

            “Why am I so good at this?”  I ask, a sense of cockiness in my tone.

            Warren laughed.  “To each her own.”

            “You shoot well but that will not be very useful in hand-to-hand combat.”

            Warren gave her a stern look.  “Let’s hope it never has to come to that.”

            Rayne shrugged.  “Here,” she tossed a long piece of metal towards me.  It fell to the ground at my feet with a thud.  “It’s not as long or heavy as a sword and will not do any good against an enemy’s sword.  However, it may just save your life.”

            I picked it up.  It looked like a sword except it was about a foot shorter.  There were carvings in the blade and handle.  It looked a lot like Celtic knots.  The design curved into each other and made a pattern that was impossible to follow.

            “It’s a short sword.  You can tie it in a holster around your waist like a real sword, just in case you run out of arrows.”

            “Thank you, Rayne.  Your help means so much to me.”

            She bowed.  “You have a fight in you that I admire, my queen.  Our efforts will not be in vain.”

            She backed away and I knew that it was time for Warren to teach me a thing or two about becoming a fairy. 

            “So, if we have all these mystical powers, why do I need to learn how to handle weapons?”

            Warren sighed.  “You’ve seen Star Wars, right?”

            I laughed, “Sadly, yes.  But what does that have to do with anything?”

            “Okay, well think of our powers as the force.”

            I laughed again.

            “Seriously.  You don’t see the Jedi walking around mind controlling and throwing people around in order to get what they want, do you?”

            “They kind of do, actually.  Like how Obi-wan Kenobi waves his hands and says “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for” to the storm troopers in episode four.  And just about every battle, someone’s being flung in the air or things are falling on top of you.  Like during the fight scene with Yoda and Count Dooku.”

            Warren stared at me in awe.  His mouth was wide open and his eyes looked as if there were about to fall out of his skull.  “Huh, even in an entire realm full of fairies, you are still kind of a dork.”

            “Hey!” I exclaimed and playfully slapped him on the arm.  “You were the one that came up with the Star Wars reference.”

            He laughed and pulled me in for a hug.  With his lips to my ear he whispered, “I think it’s cute.” 

            “Regardless, I still need to learn how to control elements like, three days ago.  I feel like it will be impossible.”

            Warren reassuringly smiled.  “You don’t need to know every single thing there is to know about fairies tonight.  That is impossible.  That would take nearly a lifetime to learn.  You just have to know enough to prove to these fairies that you are one of them.”

            “I need to turn off my glamour.”

*

            It took a long time to even feel a spark of my own magic course through my veins.  Warren told me every step he takes to turn off and on his glamour but when I tried to follow his lead, nothing happened.  Even Rayne tried to help, but it changed nothing.  Warren said that in order to learn the basics of my powers, I have to first turn off my glamour and it seemed like that would never happen.

            “Maybe if I show you my true self you will believe in yourself a little more.”

            I shrugged.  “I believe in who I am.  To the bottom of my heart I know it is true.  Maybe it just takes time.”

            Rayne laughed.  “Time is something we really do not have right now.”

            Warren sat me down in front of him and we both crossed our legs.  “First I just breathe.”

            We both breathed simultaneously.

            “Then I picture myself wiping off this exterior.”

            “Like taking off a mask?” I asked.

            He nodded.  “Then I will it to be and it is.”

            I did a backwards crab walk away from him as he began to change.  I fell in love with the tan and handsome dark haired boy that sat in front of me in Psychology.  However, that boy was no longer the one sitting in front of me.  Instead of his flawless tanned skin, his hands, arms, face, everything was so pale it was translucent.  It looked paper thin as if just a simple scrub could pull it off.  His hair, no longer brown, was a sparkling silver.  Everything about him changed except his eyes.  His eyes were still the same pale blue and that was something I clung onto as I took in his transformation.  I had to keep repeating to myself that he is the same person.

            I sat speechless for a while as he searched my face.  I could see the worry form in his expression as he took in my fear and confusion. 

            “Please say something,” he whispered.

            “I…I think I c…can do it now.”

            Warren’s worried expression faded as he finally smiled.  “Remember to picture it and will it to be.”

            I nodded and closed my eyes.  I couldn’t exactly picture it because I didn’t know what I looked like as a fairy.  Warren had gotten a glimpse of it at the lake when we shared powers but he had told me that it would be entirely different.  Instead, I pictured Kodama and myself and some of the similarities we might have.  My hair would look nice as a red auburn.  And some shimmers in my skin wouldn’t hurt.  The tanned skin seems a bit strange but it’s actually in fashion these days so I could get used to it. 

            There. Perfect.

            Just will it to be, I repeated to myself.  Over and over.  Just will it to be.

            I didn’t ask if anything happened.  I didn’t open my eyes with a sigh of exhaustion.  I sat there, unmoving, believing that I can change into my true self.  I am what they say I am.  I am a fairy.  I am their fairy queen. I am the Queen of Breena.  I am Queen Fayette!

            “Holy sh-!”

            I opened my eyes.  I saw Warren staring at me with the biggest smile of accomplishment on his face.  Rayne was off in the distance but had been the one I heard speak.  They both stared, which at first worried me as if it were ugly.  But then, that had not been what I pictured.  A queen shouldn’t look ugly to her subjects.

            I looked around at my realm.  The leaves that were paces from us seemed as clear to me as if I were looking at them closely.  The lines on the tree bark were fine and sharp.  Each shimmer in Warren’s cheeks danced in my gaze.  The tattoos that covered Rayne’s had shimmered as well, something I’d never seen before.  They both had an aura around their bodies that matched the element they protected.  Warren’s was a translucent white that flowed in the breeze.  Rayne’s was a strong and bold green that seemed unmoving.

            I finally parted my lips to break the silence.  “How do I look?”