Destiny

Chapter Three:

Watching from the window, I saw Sarah get in her car and drive away. That would be the last I would see of her. Darting around, I grabbed the book that had fallen out of my pocket onto the floor, and emerged from my room. I heard voices in the kitchen, so I traipsed in there, my hands shaking, my heart fluttering. Sweat trickled down my back and my mouth was dry.

Inside the kitchen, Mary and Rob were leaning against a black marble top that spread the width of the kitchen. It was underneath a large window that dominated the whole of the wall. At this moment, the blinds were drawn, but I knew that the view outside would be of the garden. The tiled floor gleamed in the light that was being emitted from the two bulbs in the ceiling. To the right of me, there was a blank white wall, and to the left of me there was a small, round table with four plastic, white chairs around it. A silver fridge that hummed with energy was set into the far-right hand side of the wall. Besides that, there were a few cabinets, and then a silver sink that sparkled with cleanness.

Besides that, there was a shining white oven and more cabinets. I flung the letter down on the table, and sat down on one of the chairs. Rob and Mary exchanged a glance before coming to sit down on the table, too. "What is this?" I asked, nodding towards the letter. Robert picked up the letter and together, him and Mary scanned the writing. After a few minutes, Rob set the letter down and there was silence. "Well?" I demanded.

"It's true," Mary whispered. She took a deep breath. "Like the letter said, you have no reason to believe any of this, but we are all Fae. You, me, Rob and Nathan. Humans can't see us because we've cast a spell on ourselves so that our wings are concealed from their sight. Right now, you can't see our wings - or your own - because your father fed you a liquor that would prevent you from seeing them."

I remembered, once again, the fairy at Christmas and a sickening feeling of dread seeped through my body and the weight of everything that I was struggling to cope with burned my shoulders. "The effects should wear off within the hour, now that you know the truth," Rob spoke.

***

When Sam arrived, it was Nathan who opened the door to him. "Who are you?" he asked in a rather malicious tone.

"Sam!" I shouted, as soon as I saw him. I pushed past Nathan and fell into Sam's arms. Turning back to look at Nathan, I said: "I'm going to the forest with Sam. I'll be back soon." Then, without waiting for a reply, I dragged Sam with me to the forest. We went in until we couldn't see the house anymore. Tall pine trees encased us in a bubble of our own imagination. The floor was cluttered with dead leaves of all different shapes and sizes. Some were brown, some orange and some green, but they all crunched as we sat down.

I had given Sam the letter and he was reading it as I observed the forest. A few snow-white rabbits leaped past us, seemingly not bothered - or aware - of our presence. "This is some sort of joke, right?" Sam asked.

I shook my head. "Sadly not. I can show you, if you'd like." Sam looked wary and I didn't blame him, but I couldn't keep this from him. It would destroy me if I had to lie to the only person left that I cared for. Rob and Mary had tried to persuade me against telling Sam, but I had put my foot down, and they'd reluctantly agreed to show me how to cast the spell on Sam that would allow him to see the wings of the Fae.

My sight had been returning, and I could faintly make out the outlines of the Esmonds' family wings, but not what colour they were or the design of them. Sam's brown hair fell into his eyes, and he blew it away. He looked scared, and I had to stop myself from going over to him and embracing him... I had to make sure he was okay with me, first. He hadn't changed from last night, and he still wore his pyjamas. I concentrated on what I wanted to happen and moved my hands in the air, like there was some invisible fire that I was making patterns with. It hurt my head to cast a spell, and when I opened my eyes, I was dizzy and disorientated.

Sam gasped. "Beautiful..." he whispered. I felt something flutter behind me, and I turned around. Then, upon realising that what I could feel were my wings, I scolded myself. I would have to get used to controlling my wings. They were powerful things. Sam rubbed his eyes vehemently. "This is crazy," he murmured.

I nodded my head. "I know. I know, and Sam, God I'm so sorry. I am, but I had to tell you, and now you have a choice." My voice broke as I said the words. My palms were sticky, and a flicker of fear sparked in my chest, and it quickly grew into an inferno as Sam looked at me with wide eyes.

"A choice?" he echoed, still watching my wings.

I gulped. "I can take away your memory of me, and you can go on with your life without me, someone else will take my place, and you'd still be happy, I promise. Or... you can keep your memory of me, but you'd have to be okay with what I am, and you'd have to keep it to yourself. And I know I'm asking for such a lot, and I'd understand if you'd want to keep away from me. I also know that you'd want time to think but I can't let you-"

Sam placed one of his fingers on my lips and smiled down at me. "You're babbling," he said. "Look, it's a lot to take in, but I'm not losing you, OK? I don't want another best friend, because they wouldn't be you. Even if you are a fairy, and you have some bad-ass wings, you're still you. And I still love you, no matter what."

My chest tightened, and I threw myself into his arms. A few tears slipped out, but I was so grateful that I'd still have Sam that I didn't care. Sam's arms wrapped themselves around me and he picked me up, spinning me around.

"Come on," I said, a little out of breath, as he put me down. "Let's go inside."

Sam and I made our way back to the house, and as Nathan opened it, he stared at my wings, his mouth agape. Sam was staring at Nathan, and his mouth was agape. Nathan, rather like a robot, opened the door wider and both Sam and I entered the house. I now took the time to study Nathan and I saw what had amazed Sam. Nathan's wings were enticing. His fore wings were large and tilted upwards, with jagged edges. Near the top, they were a dark blue and as they neared the middle of his back, the colour became lighter. Black, spidery veins criss-crossed the eternity of his wings. The hind-wings were much the same, except they were smaller and pointed downwards in a rather daunting sharp point.

"Your wings..." I whispered.

"Are amazing," Sam finished.

"Have you even seen yours?" Nathan asked, ignoring the compliment.

Shaking my head, Nathan grabbed my arm and led me over to the mirror that hung on the wall of the staircase. I was blown away. My wings were in three parts. The fore wing, the hind wing, and smaller more narrower ones above the fore wings. Each wing end trailed off into a thin tail that spiralled off at the end. The colour of my wings was a shimmering green; like the colour of nature. The thin veins of them were all different colours that shone when I moved.

All of my wings were outlined in a thick black colour, with white spots in all different colours. The edges of my wings were smooth and the tails curved inwards. The very tips of my wings were as sharp as the point of a dagger and they curved outwards. The tails of the wings were a darker blue; the spirals a multitude of colours. They were majestic, magnificent, breath taking. I turned back to face Nathan and Sam, but Nathan was bowing and repeating: "Your Highness."

Sam and I exchanged a confused glance and I cleared my throat. "What are you doing?"

Nathan stood up straight and didn't look at me directly. "When mom and dad said the fairy queen's child was going to be living with us, I expected someone so different from you." I bit my tongue. For some reason the comment got to me, and I was hurt by his words. Instead of letting it show, I ignored Nathan and grabbed Sam's hand, taking him upstairs with me.

When we entered my room, I sat down on the floor and let myself go numb; it was the only relief I got nowadays. Salty tears leaked from my eyes and once again it was only Sam's comforting arms around me that kept me anchored to the ground. "What am I doing?" I whispered into his chest. "I have no idea what any of this means! What am I supposed to do, Sam?"

***

Sam had to leave a few hours later, because he had college applications to be getting ready. I'd decided, earlier that day that I wasn't going to bother. There was just no point in anything anymore. Traipsing downstairs, wearing only Sam's long grey shirt, I walked into the living room.

There was a black leather sofa pushed up against the wall by the door. A TV hung on the wall opposite the sofa. A large rectangular coffee table was centred in the middle of the room and it was full of magazines, cups and plates. The blinds were drawn on the large windows on the far wall.

Like in the hallway, the wallpaper in the living room was a ruddy brown, the carpet was a softer purple, with a large grey rug beneath the coffee table. Rob and Mary glanced at me, and then, together, they looked back at me and stared. It made me feel uncomfortable, and I hoped they didn't start bowing like Nathan had done.

Rob's wings were the same shape as Nathan's, except Rob's were orange like autumn leaves and his veins were a darker red. Mary had slighter, smaller wings, with a few jagged edges. Instead of sharp points, though, they curved around, to make them look more delicate. Her wings were a shimmering light purple, inlaid with a darker blue that glistened.

"Your wings," Mary breathed. "They're magnificent, Your High-"

I held up a hand. "Please, don't. I only came down to ask if one of you would be able to teach me how to fly."

I didn't have the energy to feel anything, and so my face was just a blank mask.

"We both have to work tomorrow, but Nathan will take you into the forest and teach you."

I clenched my jaw, Nathan had expected someone extravagant, strong and majestical; a true monarch. Not...me. Nevertheless, I nodded my head, not wanting to be rude and made my way back upstairs.