Stay (7 page)

The one thing that I did not expect was to be
able to see as clearly in the dark as I did now. There were no
lights or lanterns in this tunnel, the same as before. Only now, I
could make out the piles of jagged rocks that were strewn about the
floor, and I could see to avoid the sharp edged stones sticking out
from the wall. Perhaps spending a week underground with no natural
light had caused my eyes to be able to see more clearly in the
dark. I had no idea how else to explain it.

I followed the tunnel for a good while
through the darkened underbelly of the earth. I had ran for so long
in the city that I knew that I would have to rest soon. My legs
were starting to ache and I was very winded.

I could barely make out that the tunnel
branched off a few yards ahead of me. I made my way to the
intersection and stood there contemplating which way to go. I was
deep in thought and feeling sorry for myself when I suddenly heard
what I thought sounded like music coming from one of the two
corridors.

I followed the sound of the music down the
corridor to my right. I knew that I had made the correct choice
because the sound became louder and louder as I approached. I made
my way around a sharp curve and to my amazement, I found that there
was another large cavern, almost as large as the one that contained
Petrona.

The cavern was filled with the warm glow of
fire light, and the scent of a delicious meal cooking on a fire.
There were small wooden shacks scattered about, and several people
were gathered around a large fire in the center of the village.
Some of them danced while others played a little tune with flutes
and piccolos.

The music came to a sudden stop. I looked
around to see what was happening. I could see that one of the flute
players had spotted me and dropped down on one knee into a bow,
then gestured for the others to follow suit. They all kneeled and
bowed their heads to the ground in the same manner as the first and
I just froze where I stood.

“Hello?” I said after a few moments
passed.

“My lady.” The flute player said as he
started to stand.

He looked like he was maybe a few years older
than me. He was tall and thick with very powerful looking muscles.
He had dark brown hair and a broad smile that filled the room as he
beamed at me. He wore snug fitting blue jeans and an old I love NY
t-shirt that was just tight enough to really show off his huge
biceps.

“Hi, I am sorry to interrupt,” I started to
say.

“No, my lady. You did not interrupt.” He
said. “We were just having a little fun after a long day of work.
What brings you down here, if I may ask?”

“It is actually kind of a long story. I was
trying to get away from the city and I found this tunnel.” I
gestured toward the passage behind me. “I really do not mean to
intrude.”

“You could never intrude, my lady.” He
replied.

Wow, what was with all of this “my lady”
business? No one is supposed to know that I was even here, but this
guy is certainly treating me as if I were royalty.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked.

“Oh yes, Princess. I know exactly who you
are.” He said with a smile.

How could he know me? What if these were the
guards that killed my parents? I slowly started to back my way
toward the passageway. I needed to get out of there before it was
too late.

“We have been waiting for you to return for
many years, Princess Calliope.” He said as he stepped forward.
“When your parents made the decision to leave Petrona for your
safety, it was my father and a few others that helped them to
escape. My father taught them how to use their glamour to keep
themselves hidden away from the humans.”

“Glamour?” I asked puzzled.

“Have they not taught you anything of our
people since you have been back?” He asked, looking troubled.

“Do not tell me that you are going to start
spouting off about fairies too!” I said. “I have heard all that I
need to hear about fairies from that jerk, Brokk!”

“Brokk?” He looked startled. “They have
introduced you to Brokk?”

“Brokk is who they sent to kidnap me from my
home! Brokk is the one that dragged me down here to this awful
place! Brokk is the reason that my parents are dead!” I yelled
before I could stop myself.

“The King and Queen are dead? No!” He was
clearly shaken. The others that were still gathered around him were
obviously upset as well. Their whispers increased in intensity and
some of them began to weep.

“How could this happen?” He asked.

I explained to him how Brokk had taken me
from my home and brought me to the queen. I explained how the queen
had locked me away. I told him all of the things that she planned
to use me for. I then had to explain the heartbreaking story that
Brokk had told me earlier that day. I told him about how Brokk had
found my parents, and about how I ran away and ended up back in the
tunnels. I was thoroughly worn out by the time that I was through.
I buried my face in my hands and sobbed until I cried out all of my
pent up tears.

“Princess,” he said gravely. “You must be
exhausted. Come, sit and have dinner with us. We will explain the
ways of our people to you, while some of the others go and prepare
a place for you to rest.”

He led me to a group of chairs that were
arranged close to the fire. He had me sit and he propped my feet up
on an old wooden box while some of the other villagers finished
preparing the meal.

“Thank you.” I said. “You are being so kind
to me and I do not even know your name.”

“You do not need to thank me Princess, you
are always welcome here. I apologize for not introducing myself
sooner. I am Kailen, and this place is called Drake.” He swooped
his arm out across the cavern. “The village of the outcasts.”

“Outcasts?” I asked.

“Princess, we choose to follow only the true
King and the true Queen.” He explained. “Lilith is an imposter. We
could never live under the rule of a fraud and tyrant such as
Lilith. So, when your family left so did we, and most of us settled
here, in Drake.”

Obviously, I was a little too hasty when I
thought that these men might have been among those that killed my
parents. They were still very loyal to my family after all of these
years.

“Kailen, please call me Callie. I only
learned of my parent’s true identity a little over a week ago, and
I have never thought of myself as a princess.” I asked.

“As you wish, Callie.” He smiled. “Now tell
me, what have you been told about our people?”

I thought for a moment. “Only that we
are fairies, and that we were forced to go underground when we
started to fear the humans.” I said. “Oh, and Brokk kept calling me
the
Chosen One
. He mentioned
something about a prophecy.”

Kailen laughed. “Yes, some do believe in a
prophecy. An old fortuneteller spoke of your birth, and your
eventual rule here. That is in fact why your mother insisted that
she take you away from here to protect you. You are destined to be
a very powerful woman, Callie. That news made a few people quite
nervous.”

“Why? Why would anyone want to stay if I am
destined to lead us out of here and back into the world above?” I
asked.

“There are many reasons that people would
want to stay here.” He explained. “Power and greed are a strong
force. Someone like Lilith would want to keep you from taking your
rightful place as the queen. She is quite comfortable ruling here,
and she has gained quite a few followers. Others prefer to avoid
conflict, no matter what the expense. Those Fae fear an uprising.
They would rather stay here than to have to fight.”

“This is all starting to sound a lot
like some boring made for TV movie.” I groaned. “I never even
wanted to be a queen or your
Chosen
One
. I just want my normal life back, but I guess that
can never happen now.”

“Unfortunately, that part of your life is
pretty much over, Callie.” He said. “It may be for the best if you
started to embrace who you are and learn all that you can about our
people and our way of life.”

Maybe he was right. I could never go back
home. There was nothing left for me there. I definitely did not
want to go back to Petrona and I had no idea how long Kailen and
the people of Drake would let me stay here. Queen Lilith had
probably already sent her guards out to search for me. If they
found me here, I was sure that there would be trouble.

“Okay, where do I start?” I asked as a
pleasantly pudgy woman with curly dark hair brought me a bowl of
stew.

“I think the first thing that you need to do
is to learn to control your glamour.” He explained. “What color are
my wings?”

I started to giggle. “Is this some sort of
trick? You do not have wings.”

“Hmm, that is quite odd. I do indeed have
wings, Callie. As do you and I am not using glamour.” He said.

This news had me turning around in my seat.
“Kailen, I do not have wings. I think that I would know it if I had
wings.” I strained my neck trying to get a good look at my
back.

“It is all a part of the magic, Callie.” He
explained. “I am afraid that your parents have cast glamour over
your eyes as well as your wings. Try this, close your eyes and
concentrate. Now envision the glamour dropping away from you, as if
it were a curtain. Now open your eyes. Tell me what you see.”

“Oh my gosh! Kailen! It is true! Your wings
are beautiful!” They were beautiful; they were like the wings of an
exotic butterfly. They shimmered in bold shades of green and blue.
I looked around and I noticed several more pairs of elaborately
decorated wings. My mouth hung open in amazement.

“Callie, look at your wings.” Kailen send in
awe.

I turned so that I could look toward my back.
My wings were glorious. They were a shimmering gold with elaborate
designs scrolled in a darker shade from the top to the bottom. I
could hardly believe that they were real.

“Can I fly?” I asked, a little
breathless.

“Oh yes, you can do anything you want. All
that you have to do is think about it.” He said with a grin.

I envisioned myself flying across the cavern
and landing near the passageway. Before I could say a word I was
soaring through the air, I got a little nervous so I imagined
myself landing gently onto my feet, and so I did. “This is
amazing!” I yelled as I clapped my hands together and did a little
bounce.

After I played a little longer, I sat back
down next to Kailen. He went on to tell me the rest of the things
that he thought I need to know about being a fairy.

I learned that once we reach adulthood, we
barely age. We were nearly immortal, the only thing that could
really hurt us was iron. That must have been what the guards used
to destroy my parents. Anger began to boil in my veins whenever I
thought about their deaths. I would have to do something to make
them proud. To show that their deaths were not in vain. But what? I
would have to work on that in the days to come.

Kailen and the other villagers had me
practice using my glamour. Once I got the hang of it, I could make
my wings disappear and then reappear within seconds. They also
showed me how to tuck them against my back so that they would not
get in my way when I was not using them. They were a bit cumbersome
now that I knew that they were there.

All too soon I noticed that some of the
villagers were starting to retire for the night. I felt a little
awkward being there. I started to think that maybe I should make my
way back into the tunnel. I really did not want to be a burden.

“Callie, you must stay. We have prepared a
place for you to sleep for the night. I insist.” Kailen said as he
directed me toward one of the wooden shacks.

I could not argue. I really had nowhere else
to go and the thought of having to sleep in the cold damp tunnel
with the bugs and rats was not very appealing. So, reluctantly I
followed him and settled in for the night.

Chapter 7

I slept fairly well in the room that Kailen
had made up for me. It was not much. Just a small room in his
little wooden shack. There was a sturdy bed and he made sure that I
had plenty of blankets and a comfortable pillow. It made me sad to
think of Lilith in that huge house with all of those posh bedrooms
while Kailen and his friends had to live out here like this.

The people of Drake had a few guys that would
sneak into Petrona to get supplies from time to time. They were
there when I came. That is why the door was unlocked. Apparently,
they had connections in the city and were allowed to come in when
they needed to.

I woke pretty early and I could hear
shuffling around in the village, probably some of the women
preparing the morning meal. Kailen must have still been asleep
because his home remained pretty quiet. Except for his soft snore
that I could hear drifting from his bedroom.

The main living area of his little shack was
sparsely decorated with a few pieces of furniture. There was a
small bathroom where I was able to shower. All of the cooking was
communal and done outside, so there was no kitchen.

A few trinkets were scattered about on
shelves and small handmade tables. They looked like things that he
must have collected from the human world. There was a gold pocket
watch and a compass proudly display on a shelf on one wall. In
addition, another shelf was lined with a collection of books.
Mostly classics and do-it-yourself manuals.

There were candles of various sizes and
colors scattered about because there was no electricity here in
Drake. I lit one of the candles and settled into his small sofa to
think. I needed to figure out where I was going to go from
here.