The False Vampire

We walked inside like that, with me partially in Jae’s arms. I wondered if he returned my feelings, but didn’t let the thoughts distract me for too long as I scented what I assumed to be dinner. I checked my phone for missed calls, but none were displayed, and assumed my mum had gotten my message about eating at the Purswell’s.

I remembered that I was still dressed in my training outfit, yoga pants and all. If my nose was correct – which is hardly was, I could smell roasted beef marinated in garlic and cracked pepper. Yum, my favourite. Walking into the kitchen was something that seemed normal, completely and utterly. Perhaps if I knew any other family than the Purswells, it may have been.

To my veritable surprise, I walked in whilst witnessing a bowl of gravy mixing on its own, with Anita sitting nearby, crushing what I assumed to be herbs. However, I did ponder where she would have gotten them – they shouldn’t have reached the prime time for harvesting for a few months. My curiosity was soon overtaken with a slight fear, or perhaps paranoia. All that dashed through my mind is that the gravy bowl is mixing on its own!

By my side, forgotten, Jae cleared his throat, startling Anita and causing her concentration to break. The spoon mixing the gravy bowl clattered to the floor, leaving a streak of the brown mixture. Anita looked at Jae and scowled.

“You keep that up young man and I’ll take away your tanning bed privileges!” He tensed, mouth-popping open in surprise.

“That’s not fair mum!”

“Yes it is – it just means you’ll have to find your dose of UV ray elsewhere, which means spending less time watching a certain someone” his eyes narrowed at his mothers words. I felt the urge to interrupt their conversation.

“Sorry Mrs Purswell! It was mostly my fault” I bit the corner of my lip, the already tender flesh complained.

“Don’t worry dear! Nothing’s your fault, you’re already family! Call me Mum” she winked slowly at me, her eyes staying on Jae.

“Mum!” it was my opinion that this reaction was actually what she was looking for. Anita laughed at Jae, causing his eyes to narrow further.

“You don’t need to reaffirm your ‘mum’ privilege Jae! You’ve been calling me that since you were four hours old!” The statement drew my attention.

“Don’t the children spend any time with their biological parents?”

“Nice save Adrienne, I would’ve gone off at you if you had said parents. To answer your question, no, they don’t. Folk children are taken as soon as they are born. I don’t believe any Folk mother has ever seen her own children, but generally, they do get a child – but they are always a different race.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure. The Folk Council tends to be a paranoid lot. We’ve all made up our own excuse. You know the saying ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’?” though I knew the question was rhetorical, I still nodded my head in agreement “well, this way, the saying doesn’t apply. The children don’t inherit the bad qualities of the parents, and they’re given a chance to get away from reputation”

“Then what happens to the people that are considered to be ‘bad’?”

“Adrienne, you ask too many questions.” It seemed that without anyone noticing, Elisa had been standing at the door, listening to our conversation. She seemed shuttered, an expression that I had rarely seen on her face before.

“It’s alright Elisa, she’s just curious” Anita smiled at her daughter, her voice soft and inviting. I looked to Jae, sensing comfort in his even stare.

“Anita, we need to wash the old baby blankets. You know Samuel and Jae’s old ones? I’m donating them” John Purswell, an intimating man when a stranger, strode into the room as if he owned it – which, he did. Anita gave her husband a puzzled look.

“Why?”

“Because the couple I’m giving them to are going to need them more than we do. They’re just sitting there!”

“But we were going to give them to our grandchildren John”

“I know we were. Listen to me, it’ll work out for the better Anita. This lot isn’t going to need them any time soon”

“Okay” Anita dragged out the word, still unsure of what her husband was up to. She swung around in her chair, giggling like a little child, betraying her aged appearance and slightly greying hair. I sent a confused impression to the Purswell children, and though they each had a contemplative look plastered to their features. I coughed lightly, grabbing Samuels’s attention. When he noticed the question on my face, he rushed to answer it.

“Dad’s an oracle” An oracle? In my mind was a niggling feeling. I glanced at John, taking in his imposing figure. A week ago, no, mere days ago, I wouldn’t have believed such things as oracles existed outside of faerie tales. Well, not only did faerie tales exist but so did every type of nightmare I supposedly had as a child. And they were called the folk. Honestly, couldn’t they think of a better name for themselves?
My gaze swung to Jae, sensing his contemplative look on my face. He slyly pointed outside, indicating that he wanted me to leave the room with him. I watched his back as he stood up and left. Lately, it seemed right to be in his presence. Like it was natural to both of us, even though just days ago we were mostly ignoring each other, or wanting to claw at each other’s throats. My stomach clenched with that thought, no, I never wanted to claw at his throat, more like other parts of his anatomy.

Blushing furiously, I ducked beneath the curtain of my hair, avoiding Elisa’s curious gaze. With a mumbled thank you, I raced out after him, leaving my best friend stranded with the rest of her family. Outside, I saw Jae standing between two trees. His back was to me, and if I looked close enough, I could see the slight shimmer of light surrounding him. I wondered how I had never noticed it before, that glow that seemed to encompass him. He seemed to become aware of my presence fairly quickly, reaching his tanned hand out to me and clasping my small pale palm in his, weaving his fingers between mine.

I stood next to him, quiet at his urging between the two trees. I felt the air around us shimmer, and suddenly, we were compressed so suddenly I lost my breath, the area around us exploding into thousands of tiny particles of light. The dancing particles, seemingly like confetti danced around us, sweeping around our skin before being sucked behind us, leaving us in the dark. A wind picked up, whipping my hair in my face and snapping at my clothes. I peered into the distance. A disc of spinning colours was approaching us, faster and faster, synchronise with the wind until a light pressure built on my chest, cutting off my breathing supply. The swirling disc of colours slammed into us, taking the wind
and returning the oxygen supply.

I dropped to my knees, gasping and shuddering. I felt disoriented, like someone had just blindfolded me and asked me to pin the tail on the donkey.

Where was I?

The floor beneath my feet was wooden, and around me was a small stone room, with only a single door that lead outside. Jae at his feet beside me waited, seemingly unaffected my what we had just gone through. Between gasping breaths, I found the strength to talk.

“Where are we?”

“We are in The Other. If you haven’t guessed by now, the Folk aren’t generally very creative. At all. I don’t know, maybe they have names for it in other tongues but in English, we don’t have anything else.”

I glanced around the small stone hut before striding the few steps to the haphazard door, pulling it open to reveal something that I would have never imagined possible.

The sky was a shade of lime green, brilliantly bright, and yet, though its two suns were lowering to dust, there was no sunlight. In front of me was a bustling market, filled with creatures of all types. Disfigured, hunching old women with long scraggly hair made of crystal and hooked teeth. Males walking in a crawl, elbows used as feet with hands hooked behind their knees, feet raised to their ears and naked. I wondered silently how it was possible. Right next to the man in question was a beautiful woman, though she had gills for ears and no hair, her face was painted with disgust, the only thing on her body was a large ornate mirror hanging from her neck. To my surprise, Jae came and wrapped his arms around my stomach

“This is the mid world. Or Asethia. Light and dark can come here in peace, or relative peace. You see the two suns? There used to be three until a dark sorcerer decided that we could do without. Now, it’s the faeries jobs to light the place. But it’s dangerous here, they’re more likely to capture you and trap you in your true form, sticking you in a floating glass box” he rested his chin on my shoulder, even though I was drastically shorted than him. His breath tickled the back of my ear, even as panic shot through me.

“Are you sure you want to be here then? You’re a faerie!” he shushed me gently.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m not a full fledged faerie yet. When I turn of age is when I have to be careful. At the moment, because I live in a safe house, I’m not allowed to be touched unless the people responsible want to be brought to the attention of the Other Imperial Council.” I knew he could feel the tension drain from my body when he chuckled. He grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out the door, into the streets between all the varying creatures.

Some stores were lit by brightly glowing boxes that either floated or hung above the tables, as Jae had previously mentioned. Generally, the storeowners were hideous in the sense that they emanated the vibe of being evil.

I totally figured that one out for myself.

I stopped at a store covered in coloured garments, marvelling at the patterns and textures of what I eventually figured out were some kind of toga. The storeowner, to my surprise, was a little girl with long black hair and steel eyes, and appeared no older than eight. However, her voice was strong, and she too was dressed in a toga.

Glancing around the stall, my eyes were drawn to a length of one in a colour that was a mix of green and blue, painted with swirls that changed colours in different lights. It captured my interest for long moments as I admired the silk like cloth.

“That is colour Keppel, go very nicely with red hair” the storeowners voice was heavily accented, close to that I imagined a Carpathian would possess. “The silk is from Erelalle, and eighty bronze talents”

“Are you sure it’s from Erelalle?” Jae behind me took the cloth from my hands, studying the fabric.

“I buy myself. You call Francesca liar?” The storekeeper – Francesca – went red in the cheeks with anger. Jae seemed to backpedal, before talking to her in a language that seemed unlike Carpathian, but perhaps something a tribe in the middle of the amazon would use.

Before long, Francesca seemed much happier, nodding contently as she pulled the cloth off the hanger. Jae pulled out a small pouch before handing over eight bronze coins, dinted and misshapen. Francesca popped them into a pocket.

“Adrienne, come” Francesca gestured to a small tent at the back of her stall, seemingly acting as a changing room. Upon entering, it was much larger than it appeared outside. Was there a spell like that one in Harry Potter?

“Strip”

“Strip? Why?”

“You ask too many questions. Now strip” I rolled my eyes, I had been told that many times today. I took off my clothes leaving me in just a bra and underwear, and my runners. Francesca eyed them like they were a filthy animal, before taking them from me too. “You wear sun repel, why?” I placed a hand on my sunburst.

“Why?”

“Only faeries wear sun medallions”

“I need it. I’m allergic to sun” Her steel eyes brighten, and she reveals a big smile, indicating two long incisors that make me slightly nervous.

“You like me then? Child of Lilith. Sun medallion not last too much longer”

“Lilith? No! No I’m not a vampire”

“You are strange. Come, I dress you” Even though she was small, she wrapped the cloth around me quickly, creating a Greek chiton. At the shoulders the cloth was secured with two silver pins, ornate discs, and cinched at the waist with hemp cord. The dress flowed down to my knees at the front, and slightly longer in the back. Francesca didn’t return my runners to me, but instead returned with silver sandals that laced around the calves, leaving my toes bare. Francesca grunted in a very un-childlike way, betraying what my instincts knew and what I could see once more.

“You done. Go with husband” She began pushing at me, standing me next to Jae before stashing my clothing in a cloth bag. Jae seemed to be speechless; his heated gaze roaming my body forced a blush from my very centre.

“Wait! He isn’t my husband… he’s my…friend” with a sideways glanced, I noted the brief hurt expression that crossed his features.

“He your amanchara no? He give you gift of night, you wife, he husband” she stormed off, intent on ignoring all further arguments otherwise. I turned my wide-eyed gaze to Jae, who was still staring at me.

“Wife?” I hissed the words at him, not knowing what else to do.

“I told her that so that she didn’t decide she wanted to eat you. Vampires aren’t known for their control. If I told her I was your husband, you would automatically be protected by the Imperial Court of Erellale” I rolled my eyes, accepting his explanation.

“What are they?”

“The light court. Known as Seelie to most mortals. But they’re not all faeries. They’re all types of creatures. Glirelleian creatures aren’t allowed to touch Erellaleians”

“And Glirelleian are dark court? Unseelie?”

“Yes. However, remember, just because they are dark doesn’t mean they are evil, and just because they are light, don’t assume they’re good”

“Well, whom do you belong to?”

“Elisa and I belong to Erellale, Samuel belongs to Glirelle. Dad belongs to Asethia and Mum belongs to Earth”

“Wait, oracles are the in between? And Anita is a witch isn’t she?”

“Oracles are to belong to neither light or dark, or balance would be tipped. Mum is half witch, half human. Therefore, she is automatically stripped of all Folk alliances. But, because she is married to Dad, the Asethia Court protects her, but she has no rights and her allegiance is Earth. All Halflings are the same.”

“That’s…slightly confusing Jae” he chuckled and kissed the top of my head

“I know. Why don’t we continue shopping?”

“But I don’t want to use all your money!” I whined like a little girl, stomping my foot for full effect of the façade, causing Jae to laugh once more.

“But honey, you’re my wife” Jae winked slyly “and what is mine is yours. And vice versa.” I huffed silently, before continuing my walk down the corridor of shops. I picked up small things along the way, things that were easy to carry mostly, and Jae seemed to have an endless supply of money on him.

I was in heaven. I knew I was overindulging, but I couldn’t help it. I picked up hair baubles, satin hair ribbons, soft cavern gnome skin slippers (that Jae assured me was similar to leather), bracelets and necklaces. And finally, books. Old manuscripts that detailed languages and ancient mystical battles.

There was also one that claimed to be a copy of a book named the Book of Res, which contained small, but incomplete passages of every creature that existed.

“Loa-du-toc” reading from the book, I said it in the most nasal voice I could. Beside me, Jae was shaking from laughter.

“Nice! You’ll be speaking klept gnome in now time!”

“Klept gnome?”

“You can tell them apart by their diamond hair”

“Oh. Hey! What’s that stall?” Swamped in colourful fabrics that resembled my chiton, I rushed him towards.

“That’s an oracle. Be careful, they can give news that you really don’t want to hear” I nodded, showing Jae that I had heard his advice and swept aside the heavy fabrics. We didn’t need to take more than one step in before the oracle stepped forward. It was a male, with long brown hair that was tied back by a leather thong and dressed in nothing but flowing white pants. Behind me, Jae let off a burst of light, before splaying his hand across my stomach and pulling me back into his body.

The oracle observed us with a gentle knowingness. Like he knew everything that lay in store for us and I didn’t particularly know if I liked what I saw. He smiled brightly, before gesturing at us to sit on the ornate cushions on the floor.

“Hello Adrienne, Jae. Jae, you brought a human here? How daring! Your amanchara nonetheless!” I looked at Jae, noting his weary expression. “Whom am I reading?” he clapped his hands together and rubbed them. It wasn’t long that I realised that his rubbing of his hands together served a purpose, and soon little electric bolts were flying from his fingertips before sizzling out in mid-air.

“I know, I’ll read the stoic one first. Jae, sit. Lay. Whatever feels comfortable.” I was suddenly hit with a question – where was the crystal ball? He rubbed his hands over Jae’s face, lingering on his chin and the tip of his ears.

“Hmm, yes. Your life will change eight cycles of the moon from now, on the day when the moon is at it’s fullest. You’ll also be called in the Imperial Court of Erellale for questioning, be prepared for the ceremony” He seemed to finish quickly letting Jae rise and indicating I took his place.

“What are you doing? Do I ask a question of something?”

“No. Now, tell me, have you yet had the dreams”

“The dreams of what?” The oracle rolled his eyes and leaned close to my ear, whispering.

“The dreams of whispering and fog, of a pleasure so intense it makes you tired when you wake” I blushed nodding. The oracle nodded his head, before pressing against the sides of my breasts, straight into my ribcage. I let out a sharp yelp. “Just as I thought. Remember the numbers one, three and eight. Repeat them to me”

“One, three and eight”

“Good. Don’t forget that, or you’ll come crying to me about it, and I’m not taking responsibility of that. Now also remember this, beware of the dreamers” I nodded, knowing it was for me and not Jae, even though that was who his gaze was focused on. I wetted my lips, and gave him a thank you, leaving him confused, even more so than I was before.