Pearl of the Stars

“You know, little lady... Cam is not me.”

Violet looked up, curled strands of dark hair plastered to her face with the spray of foul ocean water. Leo watched them from the shore, his boots abandoned on the porch of Cam's home. His father's home... a father that had only recently died. Violet could see that the news affected the strange-skinned man, though not as much as one would expect. She assumed Cam and his father were not close.

The boat rocked as she hastily turned to look at him. His hands were full of netting, yet another round, and still no fish. “Pardon?” she said, not quite sure she had heard him correctly over the gentle crash of waves and wind.

“Cam is not me,” he repeated, quickly avoiding her eyes. “You must know... my real name is Matthew. Cam is... a creature. Not me. The creatures of the pine forest, you do not see them. I see them, though. They take advantage of this.”

Violet's eyes watched him as she took in his strange words, not understanding in the slightest what he was talking about. Was he double-minded, with another personality perhaps? It didn't make sense to her at all. “I do not understand.”

He sighed, his eyes turned to look at Leo who was still watching them closely. Violet waved daintily to him, flashing an assuring smile. Leo had been almost too worried about her desire to sail on the tiny fishing boat. She supposed a smile would be enough to comfort him that the fishing was harmless. Violet had gathered that Leo was quite fearful of the water for reasons unknown. She turned back to Cam, eyes asking for more explanation.

He set down the nets for a few brief moments, clasping his hands together as if in prayer. “Do not think me a mad man, Violet,” he whispered, his accent suddenly vanishing as his voice took a regal and pleading tone, edged with something husky and desperate. It surprised her. She nodded slowly, certain that nothing could disturb her now.

“When I was a young boy, I lived happily with my mother and father in this village. I was a training fisherman, spent nearly all my time on the water. I did not venture towards the forest, for mother told me tales that frightened me away from its looming darkness. Soon, I learned to deem these stories as fake. I wandered into the trees late one night. It was a grave mistake, for when I returned the next morning, I was not the same little boy I had once been. I was blinded by something inside me, the things I had seen in the shadows that had noticed my eyes... noticed that I saw them for who they were. They possessed me,” he swallowed thickly, turning away from her as if to hide his tears.

“I murdered my own mother in cold blood. They called me a traitor, one who dealed with the darkness. My father hated me from that moment on, and I began to harbor a crushing curse. He hit me, hurt me until I ran away... right into the clutches of the very things that had done this to me. I hated them, but they cherished me. They told me everything I wanted to know in exchange for...” he paused, smiling nervously despite the darkening discussion. “In exchange for my soul, to put it one way. But it wasn't a choice... I had no choice.

“In time I learned to cherish them as well. They spoke to me about the lake, told me I needed to find you. They told me that you would save us from our fear, as if I were one of them. For a time I believed I was, I think, but now I know that I only shared compassion with their suffering, their need to hide,” he paused, his fingers curling around his chin to stroke it in thought. “I think that I was chosen to have the Sight for a reason.”

He looked away from her questioning stare yet again, clearly not wanting or knowing how to share this reason with her. Violet had already heard enough. Her blood boiled with raw anger for these... things that had done this to them. How could he not hate them? “Don't worry, Ca– Matthew. We shall destroy these demons that have haunted you.”

He turned to face her quite suddenly, his dark eyes gleaming with fury. “No! They are not demons, child. They are simply creatures, sacred animals. Some might call them... faeries.”

She almost laughed. “Really, fae?

His dark gaze told her that he was not meaning to make a joke. Violet coughed, suddenly shameful. She felt too young in his presence at times, the way his bulging eyes spoke of fears and longings, the way his sharp face and matted long hair proved to her his adaptation to the wild. She reached out a tender hand, brushing aside the thick bangs that covered his entire forehead. Matthew froze under her touch, and she quickly pulled away. “I-I am sorry, I was only trying to comfort you, Matt.”

He shook his head, smiling at the nickname. It had been so long... only his mother had ever called him by that name.

“Where did Cam come from, then?” she questioned curiously.

Matthew threw the nets back into the water on the opposite side of the boat. “Cam was... he was the one with no wings. He was the creature – the faerie – who had betrayed his kind by feeling fear. That was why they stole his wings. The fae do not feel fear, they do not associate themselves with the darkness. Cam was afraid, though, afraid of being unseen... he wanted someone to understand him. So he became close to me, thriving off my shaky fears. I, too, thought we could understand each other. But we only managed to drive one another farther into our fears, farther into ourselves. I think it was then that I wanted to forget who I was. What other name to take than the one who understood me?”

Violet nodded, moving her legs so that she faced the opposite side of the boat yet again. She had finally gotten rid of that cursed nightgown, now clothed in a pair of Leo's extra breeches and tunic. Though they were much too large, she thought them to be quite comfortable.

She would not think too much about the words Matthew had told her. It was still difficult to understand, to imagine. She only hoped that the whole thing was an eerie dream, but she knew her hope was unreasonable. Perhaps there were still goblins and faeries left in The Land of Night after all.

Slowly, the time ticked by until the net was pulled up once more. Two large fish lay in its clutches, just barely enough. But they would have to do. Matthew hoisted them aboard, picking up the oars and rowing them back to the safety of the shore where Leo had fallen asleep with his golden hair mussed against the sand. She splashed through the last length of shallow water after jumping from the boat, making her way over to him. She reached down to shake him from his stupor, but once she saw the way his lashes fanned his face in utter peace, the way his cheeks blushed with the faint tint of innocence, and the way his mouth was opened just slightly... it forced her arm back. No one deserved to be awakened from such peace.

If only her dreams were rid of those haunting nightmares, dreams filled with sharp daggers and Bartha's screams. Perhaps she could feel such an innocent peace as this again.

“What's wrong, Violet?” The murmur drifted up to her. Her eyes flashed back to Leo's face, noticing that he had been awakened after all. She sighed, leaning against the palm tree that rested above them. Matthew came over to join them, sitting himself on the other side of Violet.

She looked at Leo with a weary smile, answering his question. “It is nothing, I assure you. It is just... I miss her.”

Leo lifted a hand to gently touch her shoulder at the same time that Matthew reached out to stroke the back of her fingers. She smiled at both of them, thankful for the temporary moment of understanding.

Her heart sang with joy from the two very different touches, but she wasn't quite sure which one she preferred.

Time ticked by as they roasted their fish over on open fire on the dreary beach. The night was misted with a light fog and the faint smell of decay that came from the dark waters. It was lonely, the village quiet with slumber, but Violet had not felt so calm in such a long time. She licked her lips dry, gazing into the flickers of fire. For a brief moment she thought she saw a face amidst the flames, but it must have only been an apparition. Her eyes drooped with sleep, and soon they closed altogether.

She did not notice when the sound of horses beat across the horizon.