Fiodora swung her feet over the edge of a cliff, her dangling bark woven boots swayed below her, child-like. She was playing with her a strand of her auburn hair when she noted the footsteps of an approaching presence. She did not seem impressed though and continued to stare off into the distance; this world had many things her own did not. Much of the green she had become accustomed to was missing from these lands and instead shambles of broken and thorny bushes reign as the supreme fauna. She didn't like the desert landscape at all, but she wasn't there on a nature trek, she was there to help Julian escape his dark past.
The presence at Fiodora's side finally spoke, his voice was like an echo in the background, hissing in ominous tones. " You're wasting your time on that boy. He will never regain his memory, and you and your kind will be erased from this world and the world of faeries." Though his words fell on deaf ears; Fiodora stopped swinging her feet and smiled sweetly, something that gave the presence a real kick in the ass. "He'll remember. I've given up any chance of going back to my own world, but I will make sure my efforts don't go in vain; I πΈπͺππ guide him." She looked back, but whatever had been there a few moments ago was long gone, leaving her to her thoughts.
She stood up from her slumping over the cliff after taking in the words the presence had spoken; determined to see her mission through. Her resolve spiked, and she nodded to herself while standing there, overlooking the vast desert shrubbery ahead. "I will definitely be there for him. After all, he did for our kind, it's the least I can do to repay our debt to him."
Julian was laughing at a joke Millie had cracked at his expense; their bellies filled with the free breakfast. Then noticed it was getting a bit late; any later and they'd miss class for sure. Julian promptly advised Millie to get ready to go to their studies, they both rushed out of the restaurant, after assuring their gratitude to Mr. Charlie. They rushed towards the apartment complex to get their study material when Julian heard a sharp whistle. It was loud. He turned towards the sound and his eyes went wide. Fiodora stood by a light fixture across the street with her arms crossed. Her gaze was fixed on Millie, and it seemed to him like she was glaring with great effort. Millie looked at Julian. "That a friend of yours?" She asked.
"No, this..." He paused, not really knowing what to say. "I encountered her in the store the other day...She said something about--" A pounding of his head forced him to pause, and he held on to it to try to fight it off, but he could not and would not. Julian collapsed on the ground while Millie rushed to catch him. She succeeded but not before letting Julian's whip-like motion get him a head injury, a small one.
Millie glared at Fiodora, and felt a surge of anger rush over her body, but she didn't act on it. Instead, she hooked Julian's arm around her neck and carried him to the apartments where she'd fix his head as best she could.
Julian awoke with a shattering headache, he lurched forward and sat on his bed. Millie had carried him all the way inside and laid him down all by herself? The thought carried some but then disappeared as Millie's silhouette appeared in the door's frame. He fixed his hair back and waited for her to come in and greet him, but she never did. A sigh was the only thing he uttered and he fell back on to the bed. By then it had been night time. "Shit..." He missed a class. Mrs. Helewin was going to have his neck. Closing his eyes, he started imagining all the screaming and shouting his teacher was going to let loose on him; all a figment of his imagination of course.
Before he knew it his eyelids begun to close, it seemed he hadn't fully recovered just yet. 'SKUUUSH!' Julian sat upright, with haste, and got up off the bed to look over the window. A giant cloud had made its way over the mountains and was descending into the town. His skin crawled when he saw the unsavory mist bare a resemblance to his dream. For the first time in his life, Julian Chanter was genuinely scared for his life. He anticipated what was about to happen and walked out of his room. Millie bumped into him as she left her own room, she looked at him with surprise. "You heard it too, right?" She asked. Julian nodded, keeping his finger up against his lips in a hushing motion. Millie nodded and followed him outside.
'Kuuuuurhhh!' The earth parted as they made it outside. From the ground, a leviathan structure threw itself into the heavens. It was the same hideous thing he had dreamt about last night; his skin crawled, and the goosebumps made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight. Instinctively, he grabbed on to Millie's hand, but remembered the knife, he remembered the stab. He hesitated and let go of her hand, but Millie was already launching herself from where she stood with a knife in her hand.
Fiodora stepped in front of Julian and waved her hand. The magic from her fae body enthralled the knife, pushed it away from Millie's grasp, and made sure it was meters away from both of them. Fiodora grinned and crossed her arms. "Looks like my dream walk did work after all." She said.
Millie grinned and stood straighter, crossing her arms over her chest. "So what now little faerie? You can protect him all you want from me, but who's going to protect him from reality?" Fiodora turned to Julian, watched him as he stared at Millie with disbelief. He'd known her since they were children, how was this possible? Who was she really and why was he the recipient of such confusion. He shook his head and stood up, running straight towards the mist and the monster that lead to it, unintentionally.
Millie cackled and her true form slipped, a horrid demon stood in her place. It was shorter than normal humans, with pale grey skin and two small horns that curled up in themselves, like ram's horns. The strangely colored impling looked up at Fiodora and snickered. "You will fail to protect that boy, it's only a matter of time until he realizes who and what he is, and without you by his side twenty-four-seven, he'll succumb to his latter nature. " It said, familiarly, because it was the same voice that had taunted Fiodora earlier. Even lesser demons like itself could split and be in two places at the same time. Then it dawned on her. It could be in two places at the same time! Fiodora bolted, taking flight on fae wings that resembled leaves where the feathers should be. Their dark orange outline of her wings highlighted the green filaments that composed the leafy feathers.
She spotted Julian a mile away; the boy sure could run. She swooped down and landed perfectly. Her feet barely a pitter-patter on the pavement. "Leave me alone! Whatever you are, just leave me alone!" Julian screamed while rushing into danger. Fiodora stopped in front of him and extended her arms to either side of her body. "No. You have to snap out of it and run away with me if you want to survive this! Or do you have any intentions of living?" Julian felt the sting of the question, but how could he trust her if Millie - who he had been raised side by side with - was a deception. "How can I trust you?!" He shouted, having a mental meltdown. Fiodora softened and spoke gently to him. "Well...For starters, I warned you about her, twice already. She's a demon sent to destroy you." She lied. Though it was a lie she was willing to lay her life for. If he knew without context the entirety of his being there was a good chance he could be swayed to evil motivations.
"But why me? I'm a nobody. I go to school, I don't ask questions and I stay home most of the time." Julian said, raising his chin, looking at Fiodora for any sign of deception, but Fiodora had been ready for this question. "You're not who you think you are, Julian. Most of your memories have been suppressed to keep you safe from them, but now you're compromised. It's obvious we have to get your memories back if we wish to defeat whatever's bringing that to life." She pointed to the gargantuan creature floating in the heavens that was now swooping down to scoop up pedestrians into its hooked teethed jaw.
Julian wanted to hesitate but seeing the carnage gave him reassurance in the fact that he at least needed to get away from the place as fast as possible. Fiodora extended her hand towards Julian, presumably to share with him her power of flight. He grabbed on to her hand and they took off. Though he noted that a surge of energy had filled his veins, it was like an adrenaline rush made of cotton candy. His eyes changed color, matching Fiodora's wings. "What is this?" Julian asked while looking at the temporary tattoos sprawling from his arms, and shimmering brightly. "You humans have activators, even when you've been exiled from magic you still carry the possibility to inherit it. What you're seeing is my magic activating your magical ability." She informed him, quaintly.
As they flew through the clouds, they saw the destruction the massive creature had wreaked on the city. They were unable to do anything but watch, it made Julian's stomach flip. Fiodora frowned but reassured Julian by squeezing his hand slightly. She took off and it seemed like hours until they arrived in a place remote enough that no demon could find them. It was the land of the fae, only it radiated at a third of its true capacity. Looking more like a faery tale than reality. Julian looked around with bewilderment and bemusement. "I'm guessing we're not back on earth, are we?" He asked. Fiodora responded as a matter of factly, "This is earth, but it's a nether existence. It exists side by side to your reality." Fiodora dusted herself off and looked around before plucking one of her feathers to burn. Through the fire, the smoke arose and a circular mirror appeared before them. The mirror reflected not them, but someone else. They kind of looked like Fiodora, except for the wrinkles and the cut-up scars here and there. The language they spoke was foreign to his ears, but not so much that he couldn't guess at some of the words, thanks to a class he'd taken during the earlier semester on Latin.
Finally, Fiodora snapped her finger and the smoke dissipated along with the mirror. She fixed Julian with a serious look and spoke. "We have to get you home." Julian almost interrupted. "But, your home is in shambles you say, yeah, I know Julian. I meant your actual home, here in the land of the fae. Julian stared at her, with heavy disbelief. "I'm not...How could I? I don't even have wings." Fiodora smiled at his confusion. "You're a half-breed. Why do you think you can live along with the mortals without giving yourself away? We fae have a natural talent for blending in, but eventually, it wears off. For halfbreeds like you, the ability is indefinite. Which is why the demons had trouble making sure it was really you and not some human. Your faery blood saved you from that wretched Millie. Her true name is Emilie, she's a lesser demon. Now let's go, we got lots of things to catch you up on."
Julian stumbled back and fell on his ass, processing everything. He agreed after a while and stood up. "Then let's go." Though his words felt unsure in his throat as they were leaving his lips.