Between Two Worlds

Chapter 18 The Cottage

Neve POV

I am sitting cross-legged across from Delilah on her hearth, with my eyes closed. The fire crackles beside me as the warmth emanating from it are soothing. Delilah’s hands are hovering on either side of my face as she speaks softly to me. She asks me to imagine there is a magical forcefield around me, almost like a cage separating me from my true self. I do as she asks, imagining shimmering gold bars crisscrossing like a dome overhead, almost like a giant canary cage.

“Good,” Delilah says encouragingly like she can see the imaginary cage in my mind. “Now I would like you to imagine another cage next to you. Inside that cage is your fairy.”

“My what?” I exclaim.

“Keep your eyes closed!” Delilah commands. “Focus on what I have asked you to imagine.”

I nod my head, keeping my eyes closed imagining an identical cage next to me with what I thought a fairy me would look like.

“Excellent Princess Neve,” Delilah says proudly. “Now imagine those two cages melding into one, and the two parts of yourself becoming one entity.”

I furrow my brows at how difficult this visualisation was, it was like there was an invisible barrier inside my brain refusing to allow me to combine the two cages.

“Concentrate!” Delilah urges me.

“I am!” I reply, grunting with exertion. After a few moments, I am able to meld the two and my entire body begins tingling. My eyes fly open as I look down at my hands in shock. My olive skin is now glittering like bronze, my hair that is hanging over my shoulders seems longer and thicker, it too has a shimmering quality to it. I quickly jump up from the hearth and run to the mirror near Delilah’s front door, my facial features look slightly sharper- my cheekbones are higher, my nose pointier with a slight upturn at the tip, my lips were fuller with a peaked cupid’s bow on my upper lip, I turned my head from side to side looking at my ears. They weren’t pointed like a fae’s ears.

“You are only part fae, so you will not have all fae features” Delilah states simply.

“Oh,” I go to turn away from the mirror and gasp when I notice two iridescent purple wings unfurl behind me as my eyes momentarily flash purple. My eyes quickly return to their hazel colour and so too do my wings disappear. I look at Delilah questioningly, wordlessly her eyes change from their dark brown to a golden glow and golden wings unfurl. As her eyes return to their normal brown, her wings also disappear.

“They only appear when you summon your magic,” she explains. “Your magic is emotional and visual. So the more emotion you feel, the stronger your magic.”

I sigh, sitting in the armchair next to the fire, looking around Delilah’s quaint cottage. She had a small sitting area beside the fire- two cosy armchairs and two foot stools and a large round Turkish style rug. Firewood was neatly stacked to the left of the hearth. Her kitchen was tiny but functional- the cupboards were a pretty periwinkle colour and the benchtops were live-edged timber. In the middle of the kitchen was a small wooden dining table for two. There were three doors directly off the living space- the middle door lead to a bathroom and on either side were two bedrooms. The floors throughout the cottage were wide wooden plank floorboards. It was small but comfortable, it made me feel cosy.

“Would you like to practice some magic?” Delilah asked, sitting on the footstool in front of me. I nodded in agreeance.

“Ok, I am going to teach you how to harness your energy,” Delilah begins. “This energy force will help you in battle.”

Delilah had me hold out my hands, palms up. She told me to visuals my inner strength. I decided to focus on my wolf form. Once I had my focus, Delilah told me to visuals this strength as a giant glowing ball deep within me and let it burn, increasing in intensity. When I felt this glowing ball was large enough, I was to imagine it coursing through my body, coming through my arms and into my palms.

“Good!” Delilah said encouragingly. “Now imagine that glowing ball is held within your palms.”

I nodded and did what Delilah asked.

“Open your eyes, Princess!” Delilah whispered. I gasped as I saw a rather large round orb hovering in my hands, the outer perimeter of the orb was a golden glow, with a hot white core. “Let us move outside…. Maintain your concentration on your energy force.”

Delilah carefully walked backwards in front of me. She opened the door and we walked into the woods. “I want you to focus your mind and aim the energy force at that large tree over there near the boulder.”

I took a deep breath to steady myself. I was nervous and unsure if I could do this. Focus, my wolf urged me. I narrowed my eyes at the tree and pushed the energy force forward with my hands. The glowing orb moved quickly and within less than a second, the tree exploded, disintegrating into glittery dust.

“wow!” was all I could say as Delilah clapped her hands in delight.

“you are a natural, Princess Neve!”

*

Delilah and I were sitting at her kitchen table after dinner. We both had steaming mugs of a special tea she had created out of wildflowers, dried fruit and tree bark. Delilah claimed it had rejuvenating properties that helped strengthen your magic whilst you slept. I didn’t really buy into the herbal tea malarkey, but either way, it had a pleasantly earthy, sweet taste. We were discussing the reign of my family. I already knew that the Winter Realm was one whole pack, rather than being divided into territories. It was tough terrain to live in, so no other packs had bothered to challenge the Johannessen family for centuries.

“I find it so strange that my last name is Johannessen,” I say, wrapping my hands around my mug of tea.

Delilah looks at me oddly. “That has always been your name, why does it seem strange?”

“Because up until today, I thought my surname was Parker. But I guess that was just a false name given to me by my aunt and uncle.”

“Ahhh, to keep you safe,” Delilah nods her understanding.

“So the fae kingdom is also in the Winter Realm?” I ask Delilah.

“Oh no,” she shakes her head. “The Fairy Realm exists on a different plane to the seasons realms of werewolves. Fairies just lived here as your father was both the Alpha of the Winter Realm and the King of the Fairy Realm. He could reign over the fairy realm from anywhere, but he could only be Alpha to the Winter Realm in the Winter Realm. Your paternal grandfather was the Alpha of the Winter Realm and your grandmother was the ruling monarch of the fairy realm when they both fell in love.”

Delilah sighed wistfully, gazing out the kitchen window lost in her memories. “They were so happy together.”

“Delilah?”

“huh?” Delilah pulls her gaze away from the window. “Sorry, Princess Neve. I sometimes get lost in happy memories. I have been hidden in these woods for so long without my family, it is rather lonely.”

Her eyes fill with tears.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

“Oh no,” she sniffles. “I think it is time we retire to bed, Princess. Tomorrow we have a lot to get started. You may take that bedroom to sleep.” She indicates to the larger of the two rooms on the right.

“Sleep well, Princess Neve. We have lots to discuss tomorrow” Delilah bowed slightly as she closed her bedroom door behind her.