9: Fat Lip

I stayed in bed the remainder of the day and was thankfully spared from more visions. Occasionally Nelo would peek her head in and check if I needed anything. She would apologize for Vasileios’s cruelty.  I listened and would nod my head, but the exertion of the previous few days, my journey here, my grief, it all found itself here in this bed- unwilling my body to move from it. A tray of food sat untouched near the fireplace, a small fly buzzing around the hunk of cheese nestled between piles of bread and smoked meats. I didn’t want to eat. I didn’t want to fall into the arms of another cruel creature. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to disappear. The numbness was inviting. I knew it couldn’t last forever, though. I couldn’t hide permanently.

After a few hours of simply breathing face down into those soft blue silk sheets, I gathered my nerve and rose from the bed. I still checked my reflection in the full-length mirror in the dress Nelo had given me this morning. I didn’t look as fresh as before, my face puffy, my eyes tired, and my posture defeated. I licked my finger and swiped under my eyes, pushing the small crusts from crying away, slightly bringing the blood back to my face. I needed to walk, and I needed fresh air. Straightening the bodice of my dress, I sent my reflection a nod of acknowledgment. I decided to explore this estate a bit on my own. I said a silent prayer that I could do it without a vision, that I could avoid Vasileios, the King, and even Penelope. I just wanted space. If I had 30 days here, I didn’t want to constantly be minded like a child.

Fortunately, the stairwell and foyer were both empty. As my foot hit the final step in the stairs, I thought of Vasileios’s cruel words to me. Like I had any choice in my current situation. The thought of having the king fuck me to get over his great lost love disgusted me. Although Orthus wasn’t a burden to look at, I had my fill of being used. Caleb’s face flashed in my mind’s eye. I was worried that it signaled another vision of my past for a second. I clutched the railing and dropped to my knees to avoid the fall. Much easier to not hurt yourself if you’re already on the ground, right? I clenched my eyes shut and waited for the magic to make itself known- luckily, nothing happened.

Great, just a regular old memory of that asshole. I thought to myself. I looked over at a scoffing sound and beheld a group of four pixies passing from their work, all with looks of disgust.

“I get it; you all hate me. Just keep your mouths shut about it.” One of the pixies opened his teeth filled maw to say something nasty, but suddenly his lips were tightly shut. He struggled to open his mouth, and his eyes widened towards me, staring at my clenched hand. A small piece of fabric from my skirt snagged on my fingernail, the glowing fiber vibrating slightly between my fingertips. Had I just magicked his mouth shut?

“I’m sorry!” I said, trying desperately to do whatever I had done before. I looked down at my hand and pulled a bit at the fiber from the dress, glowing with a golden light. I focused on the pixie’s mouth. “Speak! Tell me whatever you want to!” The thread crackled slightly, and the glowing ceased. The pixie’s mouth opened with a gasp.

“You tricky human bitch!” He said before furiously flying, maybe even fleeing, from me. Well, that’s new. I thought. Nelo had told me there was some small protection magic woven into this dress, but I wasn’t sure that I, the lowly human idiot I am, should be able to use it. I hoped I hadn’t pissed off the pixies too severely, maybe just enough to where they would keep their venomous comments to themselves. The remaining three pixies dropped their eyes and continued to wipe the dust from one of the marble busts, the sculpture of some fae judging from the ears. I hoped they would just leave me alone.

I rose to my feet and made my way to the doors opening the rose garden. I went slowly, hoping not to draw any attention to myself. I creaked open that glass door and turned the opposite way Nelo and I had walked before. I hugged the building’s edge and gazed at all the colorful and breathing plant life that surrounded the building. I finally hit a bench near what I assumed was some door to where the kitchen was; buckets of food scraps and stacked firewood surrounded it. The door swung open, confirming my suspicions, the green-skinned cook grabbed a few logs for her fire, and a small female fae I hadn’t seen before followed. Sweat rolled down the fae’s forehead; she clutched her white apron and dabbed at it, obviously out of breath.

“I’m going to rest out here for a moment; it’s an oven in there!” The green-skinned cook nodded and let the door swing behind her. The fae took a deep breath and sat on a low stack of wood. She put her head in her hands and just breathed deeply. I knew that feeling, that feeling of hard work. When your muscles were sore from the heat of manual labor. I bet it felt amazing to sit in the perfectly mild air of Summer. I kept my distance, not wanting to intrude on any small comfort she might have found during her break. I sat, behind a rose bush, not visible from the area she sat. I just watched the details on the pink roses as they grew and shrank. Somehow this tiny detail seemed like the weirdest part of this whole world. While waiting for her to return to the kitchen, I heard heavy boots approaching.

Please don’t be Vasileios. He stopped right before he reached the fae from the kitchen. He leaned his arm over her, bracing himself on the wall.

“Demi, I was looking for you last night.” His face set into a cocky smile as he stared down at the top of her head. She sighed, a sigh that I probably would have given him if he ever spoke to me again—a sigh of distaste for the cocky male fae.

“Ugh, Vas.” She raised her head and gave him a weak smile. “Can we not right now? I’m tired; the preparations for this stupid solstice are killing me.” She pleaded.

“I can take the edge off of everything if you want.” He cooed back at her, reaching for the loose strand of red hair that had escaped her bun. She batted his hand away.

“Goddess, I didn’t want to have to do this….” The male fae withdrew his hand slowly, face slightly confused. “It was a mistake. You were a mistake.” Her voice was direct, her gaze unblinking towards him.

“Surely there is worse fae you could bed than a prince of summer?” He still tried to keep up his flirty tone, although I could tell the comment cut more profound than he let on.

“Don’t make me be mean.” She said, rising to her feet, placing a graceful hand on his hard chest.

“I’ll let you be as mean as you want to me.” Vasileios laughed.

“It was fun, but I’ve got more ambition than a pleasure-seeking bastard prince, okay? Let’s drop it—pretend it never happened. Sound good?” Any attempt to hide his true feelings went out the window.

“Well, at least this bastard isn’t hung up on some dead human. Right? Although I can guarantee you are not my brother’s type. The king has a new fucking human to dote on.” Vas pushed himself from the wall and allowed the red-headed fae to slide back into the kitchen—She didn’t bother responding to him but rolled her eyes on her retreat.

Orthus and Vasileios were brothers? How could that be? They were like the sun and the moon. I gathered from her comments that he likely didn’t share both of the same parents. I wondered if his piss poor attitude was partly a result of interactions like this. He kicked the gravel at his feet in frustration, the spray of pebbles hitting my face. I kept my mouth shut, even though one stone, in particular, had stung my lip. My movements, though, rustled the branches of the rose bush. He looked my way, and his face became even sourer as he saw me hiding.

“Spying on me now, human?” He said, feigning disinterest but still coming around to face me without the screen of the rose bush I had hidden behind.

“I didn’t want to interrupt your lover’s quarrel,” I snapped, letting him catch on that I had heard the whole interaction. He scoffed at me in response. The look he gave me was as though I was nothing but horse shit on his boot. I was done being nice to him, even though I knew he should still scare me. Could I trust Nelo and Orthus that he wouldn’t hurt me? He’s all hot air; they had said before that he was their friend—no, he was their family. After all, he had caught me on the steps, and the jerk could have let me fall. Vasileios didn’t have to do that, but I also didn’t have to go out of my way to be kind to him. If he wanted to be cruel, so could I. His ebony face was set in a scowl. He stomped toward me, and I reactively backed into the side of the building, my shoulders brushing the cool marble it was built from. When the fae male stopped, he craned his hulking frame down so that our heads were level. Vasileios was so close to my face that a deep breath would have brought our lips together.

“I want you to remember; you are weak. You are a weak, stupid, young, human woman—In a world ruled by fae— we are better than your fucking gods. Know your place. I might be a bastard, but I’m more than you’ll ever be here! Remember that.” He snarled, full of rage. I panicked internally, maybe I had been wrong about my safety. I didn’t have the room to swing my fist in a way that could inflict any worthwhile damage. I wasn’t sure what I could do, trapped in this position. I did know that my loathing for Vasileios had never been as all-encompassing as this. My lungs exhaled sharply, and I felt like an angry bull ready to charge. I could play dirty and take a cheap shot. Closing the small distance between our faces, I took his bottom lip between my teeth and bit hard. His fae blood filled my mouth, coppery and warm. Vas’s eyes widened in shock, and I hoped in pain. He pushed my head back—His palm thudding against my forehead. Once I was satisfied that my teeth had caused deep enough damage, I released my jaw. He pressed his hand towards his bleeding lip and looked at me incredulously. Then the fae let a slow cocky smile grow on his mouth. The bastard tongued his damaged lip and laughed.

“Don’t corner a rabid fox.” I snarled at him. I pressed my shoulder into his torso and angled my body out of his shadow. I was done being kind, and I would protect myself if I had to. I could do my father proud. My feet kicked more gravel up as my legs hauled me back to the safety of my room, leaving Vasileios in my dust. An adventure had been a bad idea-I should have just stayed in bed. I mused, spitting his sanguine fluid from my mouth as I ran. The fae male just stood there, laughing, as though I had told him the funniest joke in the world. Laughing as if I hadn’t just broken his flesh with my teeth.

Illustrations by Ana Kajaia