Shattered Fae

The Magic Awaits

I pull back and stop. “Wait - what do you mean real family? My family is back home , well if I could consider them family.”

The small boy says “All of your questions will be answered in due time.”

I think to myself “In due time, what the hell??”

The boy interrupting my thoughts says “We must make haste, the King is very anxious to meet you.”

I am confused “Wait, I’m sorry did you say king? Are we in London or something? No, because they have a queen, not a king. Hey! I’m talking to you! Where am I?”

The boy runs off and giggles, I start to chase after him. Next thing I know, I wake up in a hospital.

What the f**k is going on with me? I can’t even keep track of my thoughts straight. How did I even end up in the hospital? I see a clock, it says 12:15 pm. Okay... So where is my mom at? I am a minor still, shouldn’t she have been called? Times like this I wish my dad were here. Too bad I never got a chance to know him. God, what the hell, where is my mom? What the f**k is going on?

A doctor opens the door to my hospital room. She says “Oh good you’re awake. We thought you might slip into a coma. You got a pretty bad beating a couple of nights ago.”

I replied “Beating? What beating?”

Then my brain started flooding in the scent of my coppery blood, every kick, every hit, and every drop of spit I felt that all over again. I shuddered. I thought I was dead that night.

I asked the doctor, “How long have I been here?”

“I believe around four days.”

“Four days?! Have you contacted my mother?”

“Yeah we have, son, she hasn’t answered and she hasn’t returned any calls to us. We have left voicemails as well. I don’t understand why she isn’t here.” Said the doctor, a little puzzled.

“When can I leave?” I asked her.

“When we determine whether or not your vitals are steady and if you’re strong enough to go home.” Said the doctor.

“Well when is that?! I want to know why the f**k no one is here for me. I need to go!” I said in a fury of rage. I couldn’t fathom why my mom wasn’t here.

I let a tear escape, the doctor left. Probably because I scared her. I felt bad now, I didn’t even know her name and I just yelled at her for something that is completely not her fault. I look around the room and see the stupid flower pattern on the wall, the ice cold tile floors, a single window as a picture frame for another gloomy day in Portland Oregon.

Ugh whatever, I guess I am going to accept the fact that my family cares nothing for me. My mom is too wrapped up in her stupid problems to see that I am in dire need of a mom. Jonathon, well he’s Jonathon, screw him. Josie - well I have been beginning to feel that she is never coming back and I will never see my sister again. Wow how depressing, and I have pretty much no actual friends. My best friend Henry is not even here, then again every single time I need him he is never there. Mine and Henry’s relationship has always been a give and take one. I give - he takes, not vice versa.

I lay my head back down on my pillow and allow my mind to drift off into a deep slumber.

Only I am not asleep, I am at the Oak Tree again. The colors are muted, that little boy is standing next to that strong tree. I notice this time that there is not a sun, but it is daylight, there are no clouds as well. A warm breeze hugs my skin, I am in my hospital gown. The boy shouts “Come over here Ash!”

I yell back “My name is not Ash! It’s Timothy, what are you doing out here all alone anyways.”

The little boy says “Stop asking so many questions Ash, just come on.” He waves his arm to call me over.

I figure why not? It’s only a dream. I walk over towards him, I feel the cool cobble beneath my feet, this ground is familiar, but the last time I had this dream I was wearing shoes. With every step I take the cobble stone seems to move and mold to the contours and steps of my feet. It’s all so real, but it’s a dream, I know it is.

I finally reach the little boy, I ask him “What is your name kid?”

He laughed at me “I am no child Ash, I am older than you!”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “You are like nine years old kid, no way you’re older than me. Anyways, what is your name again?”

“Again? I never told you in the first place, and my Name is Puck. I am a part of the Great King Oberon’s Court.”

“Who the hell is Oberon? That is a dumb name.”

Puck stopped abruptly and said “Do not disrespect the king of the Summer Court, he is your father. You should be thanking him for giving you life.”

“Giving me life? Haha sorry to tell you but my father is dead, and he never cared to know me anyways.”

“Your father is a great, fierce and mighty Fae. If he could have met you before now he, would have. He desperately wanted to know you. Your wretched human mother forbade him from doing so. She said that it would confuse you and she didn’t want you to know you were an abomination. An abomination!! Foolish. Of course you are not an abomination! You are of Faery descent, you are of the highest Royal Court with the Great Summer King’s genes pulsating within your heart and soul. His strong blood flowing through your veins. You my dear Ash are a Prince of The Summer Court and the furthest thing from an abomination.”

“Okay whoa there, now you lost me. Haha a King? Summer Court? FAERIES?? Oh yeah I am so sure, let me just wake up now. Hello! I want to wake up now!”

I was confused, a million questions racing through my head, a million different thoughts bouncing around my brain. I want to go home now. I realize that this entire time we have been walking through this forest, I hadn’t even noticed that I had been walking. Wait, no I haven’t taken a step. I look around myself and I see these brilliant vibrant greens and violets. I feel something just a little magical around me. I look down and see the ground is moving beneath me, and I am floating just slightly off of the ground.

“Puck? Is it? Well what is going on? Why am I moving, and where the hell are we going?”

“I thought you were a bit brighter than this Ash, I figured you would have already deduced that we are going to your father’s court. The Summer Palace is our destination. There you will meet your true family and peers.”

“If I am a faery, no matter how ludicrous the thought is, wouldn’t I have known. Like wings or something along those lines?”

“True fae gain their wings when they are fully matured. Around the age of 20 is usually when full faeries gain their wings. Adding on to that, not every species of fae is equipped with wings. Creatures such as brownies and, and gnomes never gain wings, you see?” He said pointedly.

“So where are yours then? Aren't you a faery with wings? If you aren’t a kid and really ARE older than me?” I replied skeptically.

“Hahaha oh Gods, yes I am older than you. And I am a part of the royal Fae court… but I am a jester and a trusted advisor. No wings for me!”

“Okay, wings or no wings - why am I here, wherever I am. What is this like Never Never Land?”

“Never Never Land? I have not heard of such a place Ash? When your sixteenth birthday came around — your fae blood started to become more dominant than your human blood. Now that you are seventeen you are only a few months —in human years — from becoming eighteen. Upon your eighteenth birthday you will have to decide between the two worlds that birthed you. The King ordered me to fetch you because it would not have been fair for the fae world to be cut off from you when you didn’t even know it existed. So we are giving you a couple of days in the fae world because in your universe it is the equivalent to around a year. On the eve of your eighteenth birthday we will open the portal and you will decide your fate. For now do not eat the faery food.”

“Okay, slow down, this is way too much for me to wrap my head around this. What the hell are you talking about? Two worlds that birthed me??This dream is getting out of hand.”

“Ugh! You are so frustrating! What has the human world made you? Yes, born of two works, the human and the fae! Which also reminds me.. your father has a queen, her name is Titania and she is not too fond of you due to your fathers choices.. just don’t take it personally because she is our queen.”

I give Puck a confused look.. Just then I look up and I see this beautiful structure in front of my face with a giant beast standing in front of it.

“Um what is that?” I ask, completely forgetting and disregarding the words that just spewed out of that kids mouth. It was all bull s**t.

“So many questions, he is Pyratimus, our Palace guard. He is an Ogre. Do not anger him though. Ogres are hard to train and even harder to keep calmed down. Aggravating one is not in your best interest.”

I don’t even respond to that, this entire dream is preposterous. I close my eyes and shake my head, then open them and look up. I hear this loud honking and see these bright lights coming straight for me. I jump to my left and barely miss getting hit. I am standing in the middle of downtown Portland in my hospital gown, it is freezing. I am so confused - there are people buzzing around me, they are pointing and talking about me, people in cars are yelling at me. What the f**k. I was dreaming, how am I here. Did I sleepwalk?

I notice I am at Pioneer Square, it looks exactly the same, but there is a new MAX line here. When did that happen? I decide to just go home. I was going to catch the four to St. John’s but I remembered I am in my hospital gown. I have no money. I will just get on the MAX and get off at the Convention Center and walk up to Knott. I’ll be fine.

I get to my house, and let me just say I am freezing by now. Fall in Portland is no joke especially when I am in a hospital gown and no shoes at all. I try and open the door to my apartment, it’s locked. I am not surprised at all. Jonathon locks the door always. So I knock on the door. I wait a minute or two, I knock again. No one is here I am assuming. I knock on my neighbors door. Ahh she answers thank you for neighbors!

“Sierra, is my mom home?”

“Home? Dude, your mom hasn’t lived here for like two weeks, she said she didn’t know where you were.”

“What the hell?? May I use your phone?”

“Sure.”

Sierra goes and gets her phone, she comes back and hands me her phone. I dial my mom’s number. It rings once, twice, three, four times.

click

“Hello?”

I hear a familiar voice.

“Mom?”

“Timothy?”

“Yeah, what the hell mom? You didn’t come and get me at the hospital?”

“You were at the hospital?” She said in a surprised voice.

“Yeah they said they called and left messages. You seriously didn’t try to find me?”

“No Timmy, it wasn’t like that. I have to go.”

She hung up. Wow I can’t believe she hung up on me, now what am I supposed to do?

I asked Sierra if I could use her phone again. I am going to call Henry, see if he can meet me anywhere with some clothes, maybe I could crash with him for a few days.

I dialed Henry’s number, it went straight to voicemail. Great, now what was I going to do? f**k, I am going crazy and I have no friends and no family. Yay for me.

I hand Sierra back her phone. I again feeling down and confused close my eyes and put my hand to my head.

I take a deep breath, look up again and no longer am I facing my baby puke green apartments in front of Sierra’s door on the second floor with the sounds of car slowly driving through. The sounds of kids walking with their parents and friends from the community center to their cars or the bus. Now I detect the faint smells of honey and vanilla, I hear birds chirping and feel a warm breeze. That little sparkle of magic in the air. I look up and here I am again in front of the Summer Palace. Man this was a vivid dream. I noticed Puck was just staring at me.

“Well come on Ash, what are you waiting for. Staring at the Ogre will aggravate him so knock it off. Follow me inside.”

The giant two wooden doors open up from the middle towards us. They have this extremely detailed battle scene carved into the door. An epic battle between beautiful and monstrous beasts and animals fighting for a great cause it would seem. That must have taken ages.

Puck noticed me examining the detail of the doors. He said, “That was the first dividing battle of The Summer and Winter Court’s. Queen Mab, the queen of the Winter Court Is King Oberon’s sister. She wanted to be in power, she was born of wicked ways. Always jaded behind her older brother's shadow. She got many rebels to turn from Oberon’s Court to join her in her plot to destroy her brother. The Winter Court was created, she put the Fae World in a dreary winter for over one hundred thousand years. Your sister before you destroyed Mab’s spell, you are named after her boyfriend. The prince of the Winter Court, Queen Mab’s son Prince Ash. Prince Ash had helped the Summer Court because he was tired of his mother’s cruel and wicked ways. Mab was and is a ruthless Fae. She was destroyed, well she wasn’t but her spell was. Mab had banned Prince Ash from the Winterlands, Princess Amelia, your sister was banned as well. Guilt from the King banning his most loyal daughter and her one true love - he named his son after the Faery who helped him bring back the beauty of summer and spring. Where Amelia and Ash are, no one really knows.”

“Wow, that sounds amazing.” I said completely in awe.

“Yes,” said Puck, “now come along Prince Ash. Time to meet your father and the entire Summer Court. Everyone is anxious to meet you.”