Birdie

I lost everything that ever meant anything to me. I lost everything that was close to my heart and even as I travel down that rickety old road, I don't look back. Not once, not at all. Unaware that my thoughts are processing in my mind, a voice from my past calls out to me. "Home is the safest place for girls to be. All you need is at home, the hugs from your father and the kisses from your mother. Remember that always, Skye." I smile at the words of my grandmother and turn my attention forward.

The carriage I sit in is small and not very comfortable. The seats are made of wood and do not even have an ounce of linen to pad them. There isn't even a ceiling to cover my or my driver, Jackson's, head. We are lucky it isn't raining. I can tell he's thinking the same thing because as he looks back me, we share a similar grin. He's a tall boy with sun kissed skin and ruffled blond hair. Jackson used to be a slave on our farm, despite all the work being manageable enough for my father to do alone if he really had tried. He was paid handsomely, but the fact that he lived with us, ate with us, and worked for us meant that he was our slave. Jackson had always loved the work, though.

"Aye, Miss Deerly?" He asks in his adorable, thick, southern accent. I nod at him to continue. "Are you alright? I know everythin' that's happened and all, but you seem a little off today."

"I am quite alright, Jackson. I just have a lot on my mind these days." He nods, turning his head as if he'd offended me in some manner, which is not the case. Jackson is a sweet boy, always has been. Suddenly, something occurs to me. Something I'm responsible for. "Jackson?"

"Yes, Miss Deerly?" His voice is cool and calm, but I now realize that he's just like me- he's lost everything he's ever known.

"What are you going to do now?" I ask, trying to not to sound grim. When a child becomes orphaned, they are sent to their next of kin. If you have no living relatives, they send you off to work in the diamond mines until you turn eighteen. However, being seventeen and having a financially stable relative to take care of me, I was given the option to pay a small amount of money on my parent's house each month until I turn eighteen, when I can legally buy it and live on my family's land. But, I'm smart and decided to sell the house, sending the money to a trust fund. When I'm of age I'll use that money, plus whatever other money I can get and buy the house back. Unfortunately, selling our land and house put Jackson out of a house, job, and family.

"My momma has a small home in Fey Country," he smiles. Our world is different than what it once was. Long ago, before the Revelation of the Fey and Warlocks, this entire mass of land had been called the United States of America- but those days are long forgotten. Once the Fey and Warlocks were discovered, the nation was torn. Determined to keep these creatures secret, we cut off all ties with other countries and continents, destroyed things that were known as computers and telephones, and even killed those who tried to flee our land. After all of this, the United States split into the three kingdoms, the Warlocks on the East Coast, the Fey on the West Coast, and us humans in the middle. We're not even sure if there are even people outside of where we live anymore. For all we know, our three kingdoms could be the only places that have any life whatsoever. "She says there's a small ranch there that needs a new stable hand."

"You're going to work for faeries?" I ask, surprised when there's a hint of disgust in my voice. While Warlocks are very independent, the Fey really aren't. It's rumored that a faery's need to have beauty and cleanliness compels them to clean. Their own homes are very clean, so they turn to us humans for jobs as servants and maids. We are not as independent as the Warlocks, but it's a rare occasion if we turn to faeries for jobs. Then again, some faeries aren't good with their animals.

He simply nods, his face showing that even he is ashamed to be working for faeries. He turns his attention to the reigns in his hands, pulling them to the side as the horses turn on the rickety old gravel road. In the distance, I can see the edge of Everstile, the capitol of our kingdom. My stomach rises to my chest and bile rushes to my throat. As a child, my parents taught me that the city, any form of new technology, was a terrible thing and they were right. They died from it and now it just makes me sick. I push the bile down though, trying to get a grip on reality. This is my new home now.

Just as we approach the city, Jackson turns the horse onto a small trail that has overgrown since anybody used it last. We follow the trail for a little bit, occasionally passing a house or two, but we don't stop until almost mid day. The carriage lurches forward as Jess, the horse, slows to a stop. I slowly climb out of the uncomfortable seat, but linger in front of the coach seat where Jackson sits, raising my arms to him. He leans down and wraps his strong, muscular arms around me, embracing me for a long time as he whispers sweetly, "You be good now, ya hear?"

"I'm so sorry I ruined everything for you." He pulls away and gives me such a beautiful smile, his green-blue eyes sparkling.

"You didn't ruin anything. Sometimes life throws you off track, pushes you down, but you know that somebody somewhere has a better plan for you. All you have to do is make the best of worst." I can't help but feel amazed that such a small town boy has such great wisdom.

"Jackson, I-" He shakes his head and cuts me off.

"I refuse to say goodbye. We'll meet again someday, Skye. If ever need anything, come find me. I will do anything for you." I nod, refusing to say goodbye as well. He flicks the reigns and he leaves me. Despite what he said, I doubt we'll ever meet again. Suddenly, I hear the soft crunch of grass beneath bare feet. A small faerie girl is approaching me, her soft white hair tucked behind her elf-like ears. She's comparatively short for a faerie with twinkly yellow eyes and pale skin. She wears a short blue sundress, her wings tucked carefully into her shoulder blades. Faeries are beautiful, fascinating creatures, I think to myself.

"I didn't want to interrupt anything." Her voice is tiny and petite.

"It's quite alright," I admit. She nods and stares at her feet like a sad abused child who's afraid I'll beat her. The fact that she's afraid of me is irritating but I just sigh and look around me. The house is actually a mansion with large white pillars holding up the balcony on the fourth floor. The windows on the side of the mansion take up almost the whole side, which must be difficult and strenuous to clean. I can see a small fence in the back of the house, but not what it contains. The forests edge isn't far from the house and something about it feels warm and inviting.

"Master Edwin is expecting you," she says, her voice barely a whisper. My only living relative, Uncle Edwin Silversmythe, had agreed to take me in. My mother hardly spoke of him for they'd been out of touch for such a long time. All I know about the man is that he is an inventor and -obviously- his inventions have been paying off exceptionally well. Not only does he have a great place to live, but he also has faery servants. The small faery slowly strides toward the wrap-around porch and opens the large double doors, using her hands to usher me inside.

Once I step inside, I'm breathless. Polished marble floors, beautifully painted walls, bookcases trimmed with gold all catch my attention. Portraits of beautiful landscapes are hanging up artfully on the walls. In the far left corner of the room is a large spiral staircase that most likely leads up to all four floors. Glancing at the bookshelf, I spot several invention books, but also a small collection of children's books. Stumped by this, I step toward it only to be lead toward two large red chairs. "Please wait here for a moment while I get Master Edwin."

I sit down in the red cushioned chair, cross my legs and wait patiently. It really only takes a moment before the faery returns, a slight smile on her face but it quickly fades. "Master Edwin will see you now," she says and leads me down a small hallway and to a little wooden door. She taps her delicate knuckles on the door and it opens to reveal a small room with no windows and is made entirely out of cement and metal. His inventions must be top secret, I realize. I scan the small room, eying the long workbenches that line up perfectly. Scattered along the benches are metal parts, paintbrushes, paints, and pictures of exotic animals and birds. Uncle Edwin sits alone at a bench, fumbling with metal parts in his hands. He's not at all what I pictured with a head of curly black hair and a soft tuft of hair in place of a beard and a little peach fuzz of a mustache. His green eyes seem different than any human I've ever seen before. There's certainly something special about them.

He lifts his eyes to see me, but then his gaze shifts to everywhere and to anything all at once. It's as if his eyes won't stay still, but after a moment or two his gaze focuses on me once more. He doesn't speak but just stares me down. At closer examination I can see his skin is as pale as mine and has the same lanky build that all the family on my mother's side has- at least that's what she told me. Finally, a warm smile spreads across his cheeks and he stands. "Oh Skye, you are all grown up!"

"I don't recall ever even meeting you," I say through a giggle. His big warm smile melts into a tinier one. At first I think that I have hurt his feelings but I soon realize he was remembering something. At a loss of something to say, I lean forward on the balls of my feet and smile. "May I see what you're working on?"

His special eyes light up with desire, happiness, and delight. Uncle Edwin takes my delicate wrist in his large, callused hand and leads me to whatever contraption he had been working on earlier. It's a small, stout copper pipe filled with weird gears and pulley-systems. He touches it with great care and gracefulness. He mumbles something unintelligible to himself as he stares at the pipe with admiration. Without children or a wife, metal and inventing became the only love in his life. This is what made his heart pick up pace, made his days worth living. "What is it?" I ask.

He stares at it a moment longer. "You know, I haven't the slightest idea."

I stare at it, but say nothing. I try to see the beauty in it, but I can't find it. There seems to be nothing of interest in it to me, but then again, that could just be the fact that I'm a young woman. He sets the metal down and stares at all the other metal inventions in the room, some in odd shapes and colors. It's all junk to me, but they are all treasures in his eyes. His focus -hesitantly- returns to me. "I've got some more work to attend to... What do you say to getting more acquainted at dinner?"

"I'd like that," I smile.

"I shall have Tinsley show you to your room," he says as he presses a small button on the wall. I don't know exactly what it does, but it isn't long before the same faery girl -Tinsley- is waiting in the doorway. Her yellow eyes meet mine, giving me a sense of her insecurities. Poor girl. She was probably forced into this life. "Tinsley, please show my niece to her room. You know the one."

We leave the room without another word to my new guardian and head toward the spiral staircase. We pass the second floor but come off the stairs at the third, turning left to go down a long narrow hallway that's painted a soft lavender. There's a door at the end of the hallway, a door that we open and enter. The room matches the hallway; the walls and furniture are the same lavender color. There's a medium sized desk toward one corner and a closet on the other side of the room near the canopied bed. I take notice that there are several spots on the wall that are unpainted, making it look as if butterflies were along the wall. Somebody must have stayed here before me.

"I, and some of the others, will return later to get you dressed for dinner tonight," she says and curtsies. As she's about to walk out the door and flee to some other part of this estate, my voice catches her.

"Tins-ley?" I ask slowly, hoping I pronounce her name right. She turns on her heels to face me, looking down at her petite feet again. I take a deep breath, not exactly sure on what I want to say to her, but I know that I need her to act normal around me, not like I'm going to hit her. I just want her to feel safe around me. "I promise that I'm not going to boss you around. I really want us to be friends."

I was never big on slaves. Having Jackson back home was just like having an older brother. I hardly ever thought of him as a worker. I watch as Tinsley's lips curve upward into a soft smile and she raises her face so she can see mine. Maybe she's never had a friend or maybe she's never had a nice master, but either way, it pleases me to see a smile on that pale face of hers. "Friends?"

"Friends." She nods and leaves. I find this to be just a tad rude, but I'm not particularly familiar with the customs of the fey. I make my way from the doorway over to the bed, smoothing down the back of my beige colored dress and sit down on the lavender comforter. I'm about to lie down on the bed for a moment or two when something shiny catches my eyes, a shiny glimmer that comes from the desk. Slowly, I get up and make my way toward it, getting down on my knees in front of the drawers so I can inspect where the glimmer came from. Finally I see it, a golden keyhole on the bottom drawer. The keyhole is different somehow, like it was modified specially. I don't doubt it; Uncle Edwin is an inventor.

But, the whole time I'm doing this, I can't shake this feeling. A feeling of rage and disappointment that isn't my own. A feeling of loneliness and imperfection grips me. None of these feelings are mine however. The only feeling that is mine is the unmistakable feeling that I'm being watched.