Miracle Child

My New Friend

The sound of my dagger clattering on the table next to my food was all that broke the deafening silence. It seemed to echo around the room as everyone watched the Fae warrior return to his place behind the Fae King. I knew that he’d been the only one to hear me, to realize my plan, and I could only hope he didn’t find it dangerous enough to tell his king. His eyes met mine as he resettled behind the king, crossing his arms over his chest. The wound was still bleeding, and vicious triumph pulled my mouth into a smile. His eyes merely examined me, somewhat bored.

“Well,” the king said as he looked over my figure, “look what you’ve done to your lovely dress.” His voice was somewhat offended and amused, and I looked down. The ties at my hips had nearly come undone and the fabric was barely covering me at all, my legs completely bare. Sheer luck had kept the fabric from showing my most intimate of places, but the embarrassment from the lack of covering was overshadowed by the intense pleasure of seeing red smears along the neckline of my dress. There was more blood smeared on my chest, my arms, and even some spots on the rest of my dress, the material seeming to soak it up like a dehydrated flower would soak up water.

“It seems your guard has made a mess of me,” I said in a bit of a purr as I dragged a finger through the still wet and warm blood. I didn’t taste it this time, despite the irrational instinct to do just that. Instead, I just further dirtied the dress, enjoying ruining it in front of the male who’d gifted it to me.

Repulsion was in the Fae’s face at my actions, and I glanced at my family. The youngest looked pale, if not a little green, but I was surprised at the fierce pride glowing in my parents’ eyes. Mother had an edge to her that I’d never seen before, and Father, although he seemed a little uncomfortable with the situation, gave me a nod. He understood what I was doing and approved. Vinox’s eyes were practically glowing as I looked up at him again. His pupils once again narrowed to slits at my actions, and I shivered.

“Allow me to clean my daughter up,” my mother said, her tone polite but firm as she stood and came to my side. The king eyed her, his mouth turning down as he considered.

“I had hoped your daughter would take after you,” he told my mother before turning his gaze back to me, “She is as savage as you were in your youth.”

I blinked at that, surprised and confused. I had never truly believed that the Fae had any dealings with mortals, regardless of how many times my mother slipped up in her lessons. It had been an impossibility at the time, and yet, there was confirmation. The Fae king knew my mother before she was with my father. I looked to her, questioning in my gaze, but she was staring the king down.

“And she has her father’s brilliant mind,” she practically hissed at the male, “so I would take more caution when dealing with her if I were you.”

With that, she tugged me out of my seat and practically dragged me from the room. “Vinox,” the king said, “make sure our little princess doesn’t get any bright ideas.”

I scowled at the large male the began following us, but he didn’t reach us before the door closed, and my mother pulled me to face her. Her hands on my arms were tight, painfully so, and the look in her face was frightening. “What do you think you are doing, Ryanni?” she said, her tone downright scared. She glanced at the door as if she could hear the male getting closer, “You aren’t strong enough to handle that male yet, so please, stop goading him.”

“I’m not afraid of him,” I said through clenched teeth. I knew that I couldn’t beat him, and I fully intended on losing, but Mother didn’t know that. Her eyes scanned mine before she pulled me to her so our foreheads touched.

“Befriend that male, Ryan,” she said, her tone sure as she looked at me, “and he will protect you like no other.”

I wanted to laugh at her, but she was serious. I started to ask her about a million questions, but she just pulled me along after her. The doors behind us swung open and the male stalked after us, looking bored. I sent him yet another dirty look. No way in hell would I ever be friends with that Fae, or any Fae for that matter. He merely evaluated me, my disheveled state, and met my gaze unflinchingly. He seemed kind of satisfied by what he saw. It made me tense. I could imagine what he was thinking, could imagine how amused seeing me in such a way would make him. Adding this whole interaction to the way I’d been in the woods, I could only hope that my wild, impulsivity would convince him that I wasn’t smart enough to be any real threat.

Mother pulled me to my room where she sat me down on my bed and went to my closet. Vinox took a place at my door, standing with his back against the wood, staring at me. I raised my chin and crossed my arms, “How’s your arm, Faerie?” I asked, sweetly. His eyes flashed before he turned his arm to examine the wound, but he didn’t answer.

My mother shot me a dark look as she returned with a few dresses draped over her arms. I groaned, not bothering to hide it. What was the point, now? “Ryanni,” she chastised me, “you are behaving worse than a child.” I shrugged at her, and she glowered at me.

"Must I wear another dress?” I asked as I went to my closet. My mother stopped me, her face filled with warning and disappointment. My mother would never allow me to leave this room in anything other than a dress. “Fine,” I gave in, examining her choices, “but I won’t be wearing any of those.”

I knew which dress I would wear. The now dark brown stains on my dress gave me inspiration, and I dug through the closet filled with dresses and trousers and blouses until I found it. I’d bought it on impulse during this last year, enjoying the way the material caught the light. I ran my hand down it, enjoying the way the crushed velvet reminded me of an animal’s fur. It was similar to the dress my mother wore, but the cut was different. It had a straight neck ling, pulled taut across my shoulders with the bodice corseted with boning to add shape. The skirts were straight, flaring slightly at my hips to give a nice A-line silhouette, with a higher hem in the front and a short train in the back. The part that drew me in though, was the color. It was red, not a bright red but deeper, darker. It reminded me of the color of Vinox’s fresh blood.

I pulled it out and gave my mother a challenging look before turning a glare on the male. His eyes examined the dress, and something in his eyes seemed to light. I couldn’t tell if it was disapproval or not, but I imagined he knew what I statement I was making with it. The king seemed to believe that red was an unsavory color on me, but I thought differently.

“Red’s much more my color,” I said as I pulled the dress to give him a preview of how it’d look, “wouldn’t you agree, Faerie?”

His eyes met mine, and his top lip curled a bit in distaste. He really hated me calling him that, but I just grinned at him viciously, daringly. I had already made him attack me once, and he’d provoked me into attacking him too. I would keep this violent relationship boiling with barely controlled anger and push him over the edge when I was sure he wouldn’t be able to back down. Fae were supposed to be incredibly civil, using magic to maintain their power rather than getting their own hands dirty, but there was something savage in the male in front of me. If I had to play beast to bring out his own monster, I would gladly let my animal side rule me.