Birthplace

“This is madness!"

The fae continued to lean back against the tree, watching his queen pace back and forth, oblivious to the fact that the hem of her white skirt was now covered in mud.

They called her the Bastard Beauty in this small, godforsaken town and they were right—she was indeed beautiful with her curly chestnut brown hair, bright green eyes, and dark skin. Her beauty was not of this world—he knew that and it was high time she had accepted it too.

“I do believe that is the ninth time you have said that word in the last hour.”

She stopped in her marching to turn and glare at the dark man before her—his skin was as pale as the moonlight and his hair as dark as the night.

“What did you say your name was, again?”

He just smiled at her ferocity. She was indeed the lost queen—no one else could speak to him in such a way and live to tell the tale. “Korzaeleous.”

“Odd name,” she muttered under her breath.

“Not where I’m from,” he declared as he pushed away from the tree and sauntered over to stand before the girl.

She eyed him suspiciously as she took a step back. “And where is that exactly?”

A lazy smile appeared on his perfectly handsome face… a smile that sent a shiver up her spine. “The same place that you came from…” His voice trailed off as he held his hand out to her. “Would you like to see?”

There was something about him. How she wanted to trust him, but every inch of her body told her to pick up her skirts and flee—get as far away from him as she could… for there was something wrong with him.

“Evelyn.”

The sound of her name on his lips made her take another step back, her eyes wide in fright. “How do you—“

“I know much more than just your name, my lady.” He bowed his head ever so slightly, his eyes begging her to take his hand and listen to what he had to say.

She did not doubt his words. She had caught glimpses of him throughout her life—always hidden in the shadows, always present, always unchanging.

As she thought back to his face throughout her life, she shivered, remembering her less than happy childhood. It had been filled with snide remarks, glares, rumors, and sadness. She was the Bastard Beauty. But that had been the kind name for her. In the darkness of the night, she would hear her father utter the cursed word “changeling.” And from the fear she spotted in the other villager’s eyes, that was what they really thought of her—not a bastard child but a monster from another world.

Another world.

Ever so slowly, she placed her hand in his and waited until his fingers wrapped tightly around hers. His smile widened as he turned to lead her deeper into the forest.

“Where exactly are we going?” she wondered curiously after a few minutes of silence.

“The place of your birth,” he said simply without turning around to look at her as if it was the most
obvious answer. He continued on before she could ask another question, “I was sent here eighteen years ago to watch over you and make sure that nothing happened to you.”

She bit her tongue. She had grown so tired of fighting with everyone in her life—she was no changeling; faeries were nothing more than old stories from a time before reason and logic. But the things this Korzaeleous knew about her, the fact that she knew she had seen him time and time again throughout her life, made her think that maybe—just maybe—there was some truth to the stories of the Old Ways.

Korzaeleous stopped in his determined march at the edge of a small clearing. The sun shone through the canopy of the forest, illuminating the grass of the forest floor. Evelyn gasped at the sight. At the center of the pool of sunlight was a perfect circle of mushrooms.

Tales from her childhood came back to her in an instant. “A faerie ring.”

Korzaeleous smiled at her.

Taking a step forward, he pulled her along behind him. “Are you ready?”

She wasn’t entirely sure what it was she was ready for, but looking back and forth between the fae and the ring, she slowly nodded her head.

Ushering her with his hand on the small of her back, he whispered smoothly, his eyes still locked on her face as if he was waiting for her to turn and run, “Ladies first.”

All her life she had been told to stay away from the rings—they were dangerous, portals to another world… the World of the Fae. But for the first time in her life, she did not fear the ring of mushrooms.

Looking back to the man one final time, she took a breath and stepped forward.

“Stop!”

Evelyn stumbled, caught around the waist by a man dressed all in white, a hood hiding his face.

“Let go of me!” she screamed, kicking her legs wildly like an animal caught in a trap.

As she looked around, she could see the forms of six other men dressed in white and Korzaeleous donned in black in the middle of the hoard.

With a swing of the sword tied to his waist, two of the men were down on the ground—their white garb suddenly covered in crimson blood. And within the blinking of her eyes, Evelyn was free of the man’s grip and running behind Korzaeleous through the forest, traveling deeper and deeper into the darkness.

“Who were those men?” she screamed out, her mind catching up with the moment and suddenly entering into a panic.

“Men from the Darren,” Korzaeleous growled as he paused to find his way. “They work for the Church and hunt down and destroy anything that has to do with our world.”

“What do you mean?” Evelyn was thankful for the chance to catch her breath.

Glancing over his shoulder, he looked down at her. “Magic.”

Evelyn lowered her eyes.

This morning she had been Evelyn Osmond. A normal girl living in a normal world, preparing to wed her normal fiancé. But the moment Korzaeleous kicked in her bedroom door and dragged her out to the forest, she realized that her life was now anything but normal. She knew that. He knew that. And it looked like these men—the Darren—knew it too.

Korzaeleous sighed, his hand still holding tightly to Evelyn’s in fear of losing her. “This might be a bit trickier than I thought.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Today's writing prompt was "place of birth." I've found that I've been drawing a lot more than writing here on this blog so I wanted to force myself to write something today (after all, there's only 43 days until NaNoWriMo!!).

This is a story that has been hidden in my head for about two years now. A young girl from the turn of the 20th century. A young fae who is ordered to protect her. A secret order whose only purpose is to destroy magic. Meet Evelyn and Korzaeleous.

I'm hoping to one day write this story out and explain why we no longer believe in magic in today's day and age. But for now, here is their first encounter with one another, the truth of Evelyn's identity, and the mysterious Darren.

a.r.w.