Finding Fae

The walk down memory lane with Gloria, while it didn’t seem like it took long, actually took nearly six hours. I felt like a newborn pony as I tried to walk, but Gloria helped keep me steady as we went down the stairs and back to the kitchen.

“I have it from here,” Maria said as Gloria helped me into a chair at the table.

Maria handed Gloria a box that I assumed was full of food, judging by how the younger woman licked her lips before leaving. I ended up with a sandwich and some potato chips in front of me with a glass of juice.

“Recovery is always the hardest part of the whole experience,” she smiled as she stirred a big pot of something on the stove. “Normally, it doesn’t take as long, but that’s to be expected, I suppose. Did you find anything useful?”

“What can you tell me about the Elite Guard?” I asked.

“Well, they’re some of the best,” she said. “Trackers, hunters, warriors, healers. They work exclusively for the noble families and, aside from being bodyguards, they’re extra fees cost quite a large sum.”

“So, if I wanted to hire them to look for a missing child?” I asked.

“Is that who’s after you?” she asked.

“I think they were, but there’s no telling now,” I said and told her about the night Ricca died.

“Goodness,” she shook her head. “To think whoever paid them to find you continued paying them for years. That had to have been a fortune for every year.”

“So whoever my parents are, they were wealthy, right?” I couldn’t help but feel a little bit excited.

“At least they were,” she held up a finger. “Paying the fees for the Elite Guard for so many years could very easily drain even the deepest pockets. It’s unlikely they were able to continue funding the search for eighteen years.”

I sighed and felt my shoulders fall as the bit of hope was dashed against the wall.

“But, you have more information than you did,” she said cheerfully. “You were taken hours after you were born, so you have a time line of sorts. You know that, at one point, the Elite Guard had been tracking you.”

“Putting it like that, it sound like more than it is,” I said.

“Perspective, dear,” she smiled.

“Mama!” I heard Nando call out as the front door closed. “Tito and Luis are fighting in the yard again.”

“Just let them figure it out,” Maria rolled her eyes as Nando came into the kitchen, sniffing around the pot.

“Smells good, Mama,” he smiled and pulled a few bottles off the spice rack. “That will make it better.”

She tutted and playfully smacked his arm until he backed up, smiling at his mother.

“So, how was the reading?” Nando asked.

“My head feels like it was to explode,” I smiled. “There wasn’t much, but there was something, I guess.”

“It would seem that Fae is somehow tied to the noble families,” Maria supplied.

“Really?” he said stealing my chips from my plate. “That’s something. It narrows things down, right? Not by much, but it’s better then combing through the whole world. It also means that, more than likely, you were born in the Sidhe.”

“I still don’t know what that even is,” I said, sipping on the juice.

“Well, you two better get going because in about five minutes, you won’t be able to hear each other,” Maria said and handed Nando a box like the one she gave Gloria and kissed his cheek.

Nando lead me through the house to his car outside. Once we were on the road back to my place, he reached over and opened the box with a smile.

“Mama always gives a meal when someone comes over,” he said as the smell of food filled the space around us. “It may not be fancy, but it’s good and fills the stomach.”

“I think it’s wonderful,” I said as I swatted his hand away from the food and closed the box. “You can wait. Plates and utensils and passable manners, Nando.”

He laughed and put his hand back on the steering wheel.

“So, the Sidhe,” he said. “It’s the land of the fae, pretty much. The origin of our kind. It used to be easy to go from earth to the Sidhe, but men evolved and a lot of things here now are toxic or painful for the other fae.”

“So it’s like another dimension?” I guessed.

“Um... I guess?” he scrunched his face in thought. “Like looking at the other side of a coin. You know both sides are there, but you only see the one.”

“Until you flip it,” I said.

“Until you flip it,” he nodded. “Another dimension, and alternate reality, parallel world, who cares? It’s all the same coin.”

“And me possibly being born in the Sidhe means what?” I asked.

“Well, it means there are thing here that can harm you, and whatever you are, your “magic” will be a bit stronger, if not limited.”

“Limited how?” I asked.

“Well, the Sidhe has cleaner energies than earth,” he said. “I’m not old enough, yet, but when we start using our innate talents, like Ben and his tricks, it need energy. Most of the time, we supply the energy, but we aren’t endless. Once the battery is empty, it needs to be recharged. It takes time and, because pollution is so strong here, it takes a lot longer than it would in the Sidhe.”

“I don’t understand,” I frowned.

“You need power to turn on your radio, right? Well, think of earth as batteries and the Sidhe is an outlet,” he tried again. “You can only use the radio for so long before you need new batteries, but in the Sidhe, it’s basically unlimited.”

“Until you get the electric bill,” I smiled.

“The Sidhe is a very complicated topic for someone who doesn’t know any thing about the fae,” he shrugged. “Hell, I don’t get half the stuff I’ve been taught about it.”

“So an earth bound fae was born here?”

“They’re a little weaker, but are more hearty and can withstand the toxins and pollutants better than the Sidhe born,” he nodded. “Harder limits, too, even if we did go to the Sidhe.”

“Have you been there?” I asked.

“No. I’m hoping to find employment there, or at least be allowed an apprenticeship,” he shook his head.

“For what?” I asked.

“Apothecary,” he said proudly. “I just have to go through the Awakening first.”

“So, aside from making medicines, what all does an Apothecary do?” I asked.

“Some don’t do much more than what a general practice doctor does. Living in larger towns and cities means the herbs and stuff used are easily accessible by ordering,” he said. “The smaller towns and villages are different. We go and find what we need in nature. It’s not ideal, since your limited by what grows in the area, but typically the townspeople take care of their healers and apothecaries.”

“There’s a difference?” I asked as we pulled up to the house.

“Oh, yes,” he nodded and pointed to a cluster of some plant in the yard. “A healer would say that’s garbage, but an apothecary can make a weak soap with it in a pinch. Cheap crap, but a penny is a penny. Healers stitch wounds and put splints and casts on broken bones, but the apothecary makes the stuff that speeds natural healing and prevents infection and numbs pain.”

“So the same thing, just different areas of work,” I said.

He shook his head and laughed, “Close enough.”

“Internal medicine versus external,” I tried again.

“Better, but not quite,” he smiled as we went inside. “We make perfumes, soaps, herbal teas for various uses, medicines, some make potions.”

“Like love potions? How cheesy,” I said as I went to the kitchen and got some plates and forks out.

“Amour potions are not the same,” he laughed. “There is not such thing as a love potion. The closest thing is Amour. It’s temporary. Lasts a few hours, depending on how well the maker brews it. It’s basically lust in a bottle.”

“Ah. To humans, that’s called tequila,” I winked and he practically howled with laughter as I divided the contents of the box of food.

Nando was a well of information about the herbs and teas that got left in the cabinets when Gary took off. The Jasper tea was like coffee, but lasted longer and didn’t give you the jitters. There was a spice called lava flakes, which Nando immediately flushed down the toilet. That could eat a hole in my gut if I ate it and was a favorite among Demi. This herb that smelled like a dead skunk was called lover’s kiss and was supposed to be very sweet when added to a dish. It was normally used in desserts, which was odd, since Gary rarely made anything that could be considered dessert.

He told me where each plant could be found, how easy or difficult is was to cultivate, and alternative uses, if there were any. He told me that the overgrown backyard was actually full of useful things, but none of it was in the right season to be harvested.

I went to bed that night and dreamed of cartoony plants dancing around the house, leafy hands linked, as they sang Thunderstuck by AC/DC. Made no sense, but it was entertaining.

I had been asleep for a a few hours and the dancing plants were switching to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen when I felt a hand on my mouth.

“Shh. Fae! Stop trying to kick me! It’s just me!” Malachi whisper shouted.

“What the hell is your freaking problem with using the door like a normal person you freaking creep!” I yelled at him, but his hand was still over my mouth so it was just a bunch of mumbled nonsense.

“I don’t know what you said, but I can tell your mad,” he smirked.

“MO FIFH!”

“Language, Fae,” he chuckled and I flipped him off, making him laugh as he took his hand away from my mouth.

“How do you keep getting in here?” I asked. “And don’t say there’s an open window, because that’s total bull.”

“Would you believe it if I said I flew in?” he smiled.

“After the week I’ve had, I’d believe you were the freaking Tooth Fairy,” I muttered.

“No, you don’t. Those guys are evil, murderous little wretches,” he said flatly.

“Wait... you know what? I’m not even gonna be surprised anymore,” I said and sat up. “Is there a reason why you keep sneaking into my room at night? Once is once, twice is a little odd, but three times makes a pattern.”

“We’re Bonded, Fae,” he said. “Being away from you has me like a caged animal.”

“There are four others and you don’t see them sneaking in here at- what the hell, Malachi?! Four in the morning?!” I said checking his watch on his wrist. “There has to be something wired wrong in that head of yours.”

“You were on good terms with them before you made the Call,” he rolled his eyes. “You spent a lot of time with them. I’m worse for wear because we rarely interacted.”

“None of those times were in good graces,” I pointed out.

“I apologized,” he mumbled and looked away.

“I heard it, I’m just not sure if I’m going to accept it,” I said. “Your dodging the question.”

“I am not,” he said defensively. I raised an eyebrow and he sighed. “Fine. I can’t sleep.”

“So the obvious choice was to wake me up, too,” I nodded. “Makes sense. I would suggest checkers, but I apparently suck.”

“You are mean in the mornings,” he shook his head.

“I’m a barrel of freaking sunshine, but what do you expect at four in the morning?” I scoffed.

“I was here the other morning and you are not a barrel of sunshine,” he laughed.

I glared at him for a second before I hit him with my pillow.

“It’s better than your Algebra book,” he smiled.

“I hate you,” I said and got up to go find some sort of snack. “Come on, Tinkerbell. There’s a piece of pie in the fridge calling my name.”

“Why Tinkerbell?” he groaned.