Birdie

Unfortunately, I break our gaze first, too shy to stare at him any longer. I turn my face from the faery, hoping he doesn't catch the blush that has been set ablaze on my cheeks. Somehow, without even looking at him, I can tell he has noticed- but when I look at him once again, there's no sign or recognition that he'd even noticed me in the first place. I feel as if I should be angry or even a bit saddened by this, but I decide I have no place to be and turn to my Uncle.

The older man smiles, holding out an arm toward the faery and rolling his wrist as some sort of grand gesture. "Skye, meet my new apprentice, Pierre." The boy with ash colored hair slowly gets to his feet, his eyes drifting over me to take in my appearance. Curious, I take the opportunity to do the same. Surprisingly, he isn't wearing the type of outfit that I'd seen Anastas wearing last night. He wears a pair of tight black trousers with black polished shoes. He also wears a white button down shirt that's been carefully tucked into the waistline of his pants. A light gray and white checkered suit vest has carefully been put on him, making him seem -the perfect amount of- sophisticated.

"It's nice to m-meet you," I stutter, cringing as I get the words out, hoping I didn't come off as desperate or too attracted to him. Too late, I realize. By now my cheeks must be the color of crimson while he depicts absolutely no color except that chalk-whiteness of the fey. He takes my hand, lifting it to his lips and kisses it. His lips are icy but they still send a line of fire through my body.

"The pleasure is all mine," he mutters, a little less happily than I care for. How can one boy be so interested in another for one minute and then want nothing to do with her in the next? I have half a mind to scowl at him, maybe even say something un-lady-like and rude, but I bite my tongue. Instead, I just nod in his direction and return my gaze back to my Uncle.

"Pierre is one of the top blacksmiths back in the Fey Kingdom. He's agreed to help me out here, getting supplies and even helping to make some of the parts I'll need! Isn't that just terrific?" The tone in my Uncle's voice conveyed much excitement so I can't help but be happy for him. Though one thing does cross my mind. Blacksmiths make weapons and make quite a bit of money for doing so. Inventors, on the other hand, spend a lot of money on their supplies in hopes of making a great invention that will sell nicely. This rarely happens, though.

Why would someone want to make less money than before?

"That is rather kind of him," I remark, trying not to look at him.

"Not only that but he's working for room and board, also education. He will get a percent of the profit when I finish but until then, I just-" My Uncle would have probably rambled on, but Pierre steps forward and cuts him off.

"That won't be necessary. I just want a place to stay and an education- nothing more. I'm more than happy to work for you without pay." For the first time I actually can see how tall the faery is. He's not quite as tall as Anastas or some of the others of his kind I've seen, but he's a good six and a half feet. His facial features are angular and sharp. His hair looks like little flakes of ash as he walks, ready to jump free from his scalp but much to my surprise they stay in their place.

"Skye, this is also the boy I told you about at dinner last night. The one that will be attending your new school. So, I do want you to get to know each other a little so you can look out for each other." Pierre glances in my direction, his lips -soft, icy lips- fall into a slight frown. This hurts my feelings a little but I just take a deep breath and hold in my frustration. The boy has hardly said three words to me yet, but he's already got me on my last nerve.

"Will do, Uncle," I pause, searching for something else to say or a way to escape this conversation. "Oh, but I must tell you that I did promise Anastas that I'd let him show me your library today, so-" I'm silenced by my Uncle's confusion.

"Who?"

"Anastas. He's one of your servants. I met him before going to bed last night. He said he'd show me the library today." He thinks this over for a moment, his eyes flickering all over the place.

"That is fine, but come dinner time, Pierre and I shall introduce you to my latest work of art." I think of what it might possibly be. Some sort of device that will make village life easier? Perhaps a device that could make slave work much easier. I leave myself to ponder it, not asking because I know he wants it to be a surprise. I curtsy to both of the men before exiting the room. Stepping out of the room and into the foyer, I again search for my new friend. Alas, I have no luck and am forced to ask another servant where he might be. She tells me he can be found outside, tending to the garden.

I find the thought of Anastas gardening a little odd, but then again, faeries are good with nature. Casually, I walk over to the big front doors and push them open. I smile as a gust of wind hits me and starts to blow my hair around along with my dress. I didn't even realized how stuffy it had gotten in the house, but I am happy to be in the cool air now. Finding the garden takes a lot longer than I expected. It isn't in the front yard, so I check the backyard. Oddly enough there is nothing to find. Just a large open space and the surrounding tree line. "Anastas?" I call out, hoping my voice will reach his ears.

"Over here!" My ears perk up to his voice, trying to find his location. I succeed. In the far right corner of the backyard is a large doorway that has been built into the tree line. I make my way toward the large doorway, only to realize that it's more of a hallway that's shaped like an arch. As I'm walking I look up at the trees. At first I barely notice it, but the hallway is covered in a very stainless grass. When I emerge on the other side, I'm speechless. The giant green house area is in a dome shape; all covered with the crystal clear glass. The shape of the place is spectacular, but the plants are even better. There's a row of tall vine like plants that just twist themselves around their stems, squeezing bloomed flowers off it's top. The flower slowly floats to the ground where it evaporates in the form of mist. There's also a row of flowers that just lay on the ground but jump into the air, floating back down as it changes it's color.

Anastas stands off to one corner, watering some of the jumping flowers. His eyes catch my expression and his smile tells me he's pleased with himself. "You like?"

"Anastas, these are beautiful!" I look them over once more. Obviously they were plants that had been conjured by magic- but they looked so real. You can see something, feel something, eat something, but that didn't make it real did it? I always considered magic to be a way to cheat through life, but using it for something this beautiful...well I see no problem with it.

"They are the finest plants money can buy, no? They'll sell really well down in the market," he says with confidence. I have no doubt about it. Though I wonder if he meant he'd sell them in the village or directly in Everstile. Probably the village Uncle Edwin lived right outside of. Then again, that village was right outside the Capitol as well. Suddenly something occurs in my thoughts. Why do I care so much if he goes to Everstile? It's a dumb question to ask myself because I already know the answer; because my parents died there.

"You'll make a lot of money," I agree, trying to chase away my thoughts. As much as I wanted to escape them, I couldn't. I'd brought my parents to my mind and now the thought of them wouldn't leave. I'd no longer see my father smile, or hear my mother's obnoxious laugh. I take a deep breath to keep myself from crying. I refuse to be some self-pitying orphan.

Anastas nods quickly. He pushes his belly forward, making a soft noise of pleasure. I hear a soft crack, notifying me that he's just popped his back. But that's not what caught my attention. It's the small shining piece of wing that had become apparent to me. His wings -as much of them as I could see anyway- are a soft blue color and look to be made of silk. They're mesmerizing, enticing. I almost reach out and touch them, but I scold myself for even wanting to. It would be rude and un-lady like of me.

"Anyway," He waves his hands in a dramatic fashion while silently tucking his wings back into the nook of his shoulder blades. "I promised to show you the library. That's why you are here, yes?"

"Yes." He nods happily and starts walking. I follow him back into the house and up the spiral staircase, getting off at the third floor. Even as we passed by the second floor, I had the same strange feeling as I did the other night, but I shake it off. We walk down the hall and make several turns. This floor had definitely been uniquely designed, I realized, to keep his secrets hidden. We take several more turns before he opens a seemingly ordinary door. Inside there's a large room with a very high ceiling. Shelf after shelf line the walls, each reaching up and hitting the ceiling of the loft in the back of the room. Even the loft supported floor-to-ceiling shelves- each filled to the brim with novels. "This is...almost more beautiful than the garden!"

"I take it you like to read?" He asks as he runs his abnormally long fingers through his soft pink hair. I don't even bother to answer, just surge forward to the nearest shelf. Peering through the titles, I only recognize a few, but a lot of them catch my attention and my interest. So many topics, genres, and so much variety. Each are bound in beautiful leather covering, most with gold lettering. I close my eyes, running my finger across the highest shelf I can reach, walking along it. I stop and open my eyes, pulling the book that my finger landed on off the shelf. There's no title on the spine, but on the front in silver lettering it reads; The Ancient Ones. I mull over if I should read this book or not and eventually decide to give it a shot.

"No one minds if I just take one, do they? I mean, I'll put it back when I'm done." I ask, clutching the book to my chest. The faery chuckles softly.

"Take however many you like. This is your home now, too. Can I get you anything Miss Deerly?" Just as he asks that question, I feel sick to my stomach. I had thought he was showing me the library as a friend, somebody I could talk to, but no. Since I'm his Master's niece and now living here, that makes me his Master as well. That just doesn't sit right with me. I've never been okay with slavery. Sure, we had Jackson, but he was more of my brother than our worker. This, however, is slavery in action and I'm not okay with it.

"Look, Anastas," I start and I see the panic in his white eyes. "No! It's nothing bad, I promise!" He sighs in relief and I can't help but laugh a little.

"You had me worried for a second there," He tells me, his accent thick and charming.

"I just want you to know that while you are employed by Uncle, you are not my servant. I would rather have you as my friend, okay?" I ask, hoping he'll understand. He doesn't.

"Miss Deerly, it's my job, I-"

"Let's start with that. Just call me Skye, okay? I'm sure there's a way you can still get me things when I want them and still be my friend, right?" I look up at him, trying to make the distance seem small, but fail miserably. He practically laughs at me for trying to look so serious.

"I think that could be arranged." He smiles and takes a quick look around, white eyes glittering. "Shall we go?" I nod and just as we're about to leave, I notice a small section of children's books similar to the ones I'd seen on the single bookshelf in the foyer. One book was different. One book that's titled For Elena.

I gasp, but choke it down. I let Anastas lead me away from the library and as I clutch the book to my chest, I try to gather every aspect of reality. Elena? Could it possibly be the Elena I'd dreamt about? Could it be a coincidence? The dream seemed so real, there's no way this is a coincidence. Then my voice of reason broke through. Skye, just stop. There's nothing to worry about. It's a freak coincidence, nothing to concern yourself with.

Anastas checks the time as we enter the foyer and apologizes as he scurries off to finish his work. Gloomily, I make my way toward one of the big red chairs and plop myself down in it, opening my book and start to read. Such a simple activity, but it brings me so much joy just to relax for a while. No creepy dreams or slaves or crazy relatives. No shaky holds on reality, no thoughts of my parents, and no thoughts of what the future holds for me.

I've never been so happy or naïve in my life.