The Stairs

I stared out the window at the lush garden below, full of full bloomed flowers, fragrant emerald colored grass and fountains filled with the clearest crystalline water I had ever seen. The ancient book lay next to me on the plush sofa, discarded as my mind wandered, it's yellowed pages lifting as a cool breeze drifted in from the window. How long had I been here? The days drifted together, but I was certain it had been at least a month. A month since my entire life had changed and I wasn't thinking it was for the better.
I had been on a hiking trip by myself. A stupid thing to do, yes, but I had few friends and fewer still that enjoyed hiking. After a few hours of meandering about the same trails I had been on numerous times before, I decided to be adventurous and go off the trail to follow a game trail. I followed the small winding path for a few hours before I began to notice that the forest seemed strangely silent. I looked around and couldn't find hide nor hair of anything besides myself. Glancing behind me, I realized I had traveled far from the original trail, much farther then I had meant to. I was lost. I pulled out my cell phone, hoping to use my GPS or be able to call the local ranger, but I had no service. I gave a sigh and turned back the way I came, trying to find my way back to the main trail.
I had no luck and ended up searching until nightfall when I decided to make camp and look again in the morning. I set up my little one person pop out tent, built up a small fire in my little carry along fire pit and went to sleep. Sometime around the middle of the night, I was awoken by the sound of foot steps around my camp. I tore out of my sleeping bag, thinking I had been found by another person who could help me find a way out. I grabbed my flashlight and scrambled out of my tent. I saw a figure walking away from my camp, standing just beyond the reach of the glowing embers of my fire. He was heading back into the woods.
“Exucse me!” I cried, chasing after him. He stopped, but didn't turn around.
“Thank god,” I exclaimed, moving towards him, standing a few feet away. “I'm lost. Do you know the way back to the main trail?” He didn't say anything. I fumbled for the flashlight, turning it on and aiming it at his middle. As I illuminated the mans back, I could see he was dressed plainly in jeans and a wind breaker with a small pack on his back. It struck me as odd that his pack was so small, but I brushed the thought aside, thinking he must like staying as natural as possible while he was out. He had still said nothing to me, only standing there, the only sound coming from him was his breathing. As I watched him, something seemed off about him, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was.
“Excuse me, sir,” I tried again. “Can you please help me? I'm lost. Do you know the way back to the main trail?” He started to turn around and I quickly dropped the light to the middle of his chest so I didn't blind him. Still he remained silent. I stared at him for a moment longer, wandering what it was that was so off about this man. As I continued to stare at him, I realized what it was. His breathing wasn't natural. It seemed exaggerated, like someone who had never taken a breath in their life trying to imitate the action.
“Sir?” I called, leaning towards him. “Are you alright?”
I heard the sound of muffled speech and took a step back.
“Are you hurt?” I asked. “I have some supplies at my camp.” I slowly lifted my light, scared to see his face. If his voice was muffled, I could only imagine the horrid mess of his mouth. Maybe he had broken his jaw in a fall or something equally horrible. My flashlight hit his neck and I bit back a scream as the residual light brought is face into focus. He had no face. It was as if an artist had yet to draw in the eyes, nose and mouth.
I stumbled back, staring at him in utter terror, my back hitting a tree behind me. He leaned forward and grinned at me...with his neck. Just under his neck, the skin split and opened like some horrible mouth, going from one corner of his jaw to the other and curving in a macabre facsimile of a smile.
I screamed and spun around, taking off in a dead run in the opposite direction. I heard the leaves behind me crunching as he gave chase. Tears sprung to my eyes as I tore through the forest, screaming for help. I pushed tree branches out of my way, jumped over bushes, dodged around tree trunks, all in an effort to escape the thing behind me.
I felt like I had been running forever, but the man never faltered in his chase. I could feel him just behind me, though I dared not take the chance of turning to look. The tree's tore at my flannel sleep pants and t-shirt as I ran, the twigs and rocks on the forest floor cutting into the bottom of my feet. Every part of me radiated pain, but I couldn't stop. My lungs burned, my legs felt numb, but still I ran.
Finally I spied a set of stairs in the pitch black forest. I couldn't see the house, but I knew it was only because of the darkness. I ran towards them, hoping the house wasn't locked or the occupants were still awake. My feet pounded up the clean wood structure, my hand tightly gripping the railing as my numb legs threatened to give out. I got to the top step, hands reaching out even as my legs kept moving. I took one giant step up and over the last step, and fell into nothingness. There was no house. The stairs had stood alone in the woods. I tumbled off the top, screaming and curling myself into a ball, bracing myself for impact. I knew I was dead. If the fall didn't kill me, the faceless man would surely catch me. I waited, listening for approaching footsteps, but heard nothing besides the cheerful chirp of birds. I peaked open my eyes and gazed around me. The stairs were gone. It was no longer night. I lay on a soft bed of leaves in the middle of a bright forest. The forest seemed different to me. The leaves, the grass and the bushes were all a vibrant green, the trees were older looking, their trunks so large it would take two or three people linked arm in arm to circle their rich brown trunks. I stood and looked around some more, trying to spy a road, a trail or a house. I saw nothing but endless forest.
I wandered for days, hoping to stumble across some sign of people. I found a stream and followed it, eating the berries that grew along the banks. They were sweet and tart and so sticky in my mouth I had to take great gulps of water to wash them down. I slept on piles of leaves when night fell, staying close to the stream and awakening at any sound I heard.
One night, I awoke with a start, my heart pounding my chest. I had dreamed of the faceless ma, chasing me through unending forest. I felt a gentle lick on my cheek and turned to find a does nestled against my back. She looked at me with gentle eyes, then rested her head on my shoulder. I smiled and reached out a tentative hand to pet the bridge of her nose. She mad a content sound and urged me to lay back down. I did, curling into her great warm body and fell into the first peaceful sleep I had had in days.
The next morning, I awoke and found her drinking from the stream. I knelt beside her and cupped my hands in the cool water, taking a drink myself. When I was done I stood and reached over, petting her flank.
“I don't suppose you could lead me out of the forest,” I said to her. She lifted her head, her mouth wet with water and nosed my breast. I laughed and hugged her carefully.
“Will you be my friend, then?” I asked. “I am so scared and lost.” She tilted her head and gave my cheek a lick before pulling away and walking a short distance. She stopped and turned to look at me, her head tilted as if to say,
“Come on then! This way!” I smiled and followed her. When she saw me trekking after her, she continued on, pausing now and again to make sure I followed. We walked for hours, stopping only to get a drink or food. When I first tried to eat, she bit into my shirt and tried to pull me away. I looked at her strangely.
“I'm hungry,” I said, placing a berry in my mouth. She made a distressed sound, then seemed to wilt, nuzzling into my breast as if to comfort me or seek comfort herself. I petted her, offering her some of the fruit. She didn't take it. Instead she went and retrieved an apple for me. It was sweet and so juicy that it's juices dripped down my chin. I thanked her, burying my face in her neck and inhaling her musky wild smell.
We walked for a bit longer, taking a slower pace. I kept my hand on her flank as the sun began to set, worried she'd leave me. We stopped as we heard what sounded like horses. We stood there, watching the treeline and waiting as the sound got closer. I tried to peer around the dense tree's and brush. As I moved closer, a man burst out atop a large russet horse. I yelped and stumbled back, falling on my rump. The horse reared up, making a distressed noise and almost unseating the rider.
“Wooooah, girl!” the rider cried in a deep baritone. The horse settled on all fours, the rider stroking her neck. The man was tall, with long black hair and amber colored eyes. He was incrediably handsome. He looked at me in surprise, his eyes trailing over my scruffy appearance. He held out his hand to me, his amber eyes locked with mine. I stepped towards him then stopped, looking back at the doe. She stared at me, her head cocked to the side.
“I see you made a friend, Aureum,” the man said with a smile to the doe.
“Is she yours?” I asked.
“As much as she can be,” he replied. “She is wild, but likes to sleep in the palace stables and follow me on hunts at times.”
“She led me here,” I said. He chuckled.
“Be glad,” he said. “She likes few people. Come. Let us get you cleaned up. Do not worry, she will follow.” I moved towards Aureum and hugged her around her neck, pressing a kiss to her cheek. She relished in the attention, then nudged me towards the man. He lifted me in front of him onto his horse and wrapped his arms around me as he grabbed the reins.
“Where am I? How did I get here? I was in the woods and then...”
“Hush now,” he said gently. “I will explain everything after you are cleaned up.”
He rode back to his castle, a great glowing structure that seemed to be made of gold. I was taken to a room and drawn a hot bath and given a simple gown. When I was clean I went out into the main room to see him sitting on a couch, a book in his hand. At my entrance, he set the book aside and beckoned me to sit next to him. I did, turning to him.
“How did you get here?” he asked.
I relayed to him the entire story, from my hike in the woods until he found me with the doe. At the end of it, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You ate the food here?” he asked.
“Well, in the woods, yes,” I said. He sighed.
“I don't understand,” I said. “What's wrong?” He looked at me, reaching out and taking my hand in his.
“You're not in the human realm anymore,” he began. “You're in the fae realm. The stairs are used as a bridge between the two. When you ran up the stairs and fell over the top, you fell into our world.” My mind raced as I tried to wrap my head around what he was saying. All those stories about the Fae had been true.
“Can you take me home?” I asked. He looked at me sadly.
“No,” he told me. “Once you eat the food of the Fae world, you can't leave. To try and do so would drive you insane.” I burst into tears.
“What's going to happen to me?” I asked as he wrapped me in a comforting embrace.
“You will stay here,” he said. “As my dear friend. I will protect you. In old times, humans were made into slaves or outright killed. Magic users would drain them of their life force to do powerful magics.”
“You don't do that any more?” I sniffled, twisting my hands in his shirt.
“Some still try. We have tried to put a stop to it,” he assured me. “Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you.”
Javan, as I learned his name was, kept his word. I began living in the palace as his friend and confidant. It hadn't been easy. His father and advisers had scorned the idea, saying if anything I should be put to work, but he had brushed the idea away. In my free time, I combed the libraries, looking for some way to return to the human world. It wasn't that I didn't like Javan or enjoy his company, but my presence brought him many problems and much scorn. I was a burden and I knew it.
“You're troubled.”
I looked up to see Javan entering the room, his amber eyes on my face, his arched brows furrowed as he scowled.
“Just thinking,” I said, dismissively.
“Daviana,” he began. “Stop worrying.”
“How can I not?” I asked. “I'm glared and and whispered about and I heard what they say. I have bewitched you, I am making you soft, I am trying to steal you and the thrown and...”
“Let them have their rumors,” he said. “I know the truth.” He sat next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and leaning in to kiss my temple. He reached over and picked up the book I had been reading, thumbing through it.
“Did you find anything?” he asked. I shook my head slowly.
“Nothing,” I sighed. Javan set the book aside and stood, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet.
“Come, father requested our presence,” he said. I cringed. The last time his father had requested our presence, it had been to insist Javan make me a servant or return me to the human world. Javan had disregarded both suggestions and insisted I stay with him in the palace.
“It's our fault she's here,” he had said to his fuming father. “More precisely, it's your fault. You left the portal open and unguarded when you were chasing that creature.”
Apparently his father had lead a hunting party to try and find the faceless creature, and the portal, which should have been guarded should an unknowing human slip through, had been left unattended.
I smoothed down the skirt of my pale blue dress and took Javan's offered arm, heading for the door.