If you somehow looked into the windows of room 201 of the School of Biological Sciences situated in central Manchester, you wouldn't suspect anything about the students. One would simply see a standard university lesson for those lucky enough to gain a place on such an intense course. One of these students was Leah Thompson; or at least that's what the computer systems said. Her real name was Leana Payne. Leah had been described by her classmates as strange and distant, which made sense as she was often caught drifting off in the strangest of times and incredibly jumpy to physical touch.
Speaking of this behaviour, that is exactly what she was doing at that very moment. The second that the smell hit her nose, her body froze and the sound around her dulled to a muffled mess. That smell. What would normally be a sweet smell of roses to oblivious senses, brought back crippling fear and torment for Leah. That smell. She could smell it on her skin, no matter how hard she scrubbed, she could smell it on her clothes no matter how many times she washed them, she could smell it in her nightmares no matter how hard she tried to forget. Her throat closed up and she became woozy as the culprit of the odour sat beside her. Concerned eyes from her left washed over the girl before a gentle hand came over her shoulder. "Leah?" A kind voice uttered with a raised brow. Leah felt as though she couldn't breath though she managed to utter perfume. Realization came upon the girl as she raised her hand to the tutor buying her friend a much-needed bathroom break due to an 'allergic reaction' which was the standard bullshit that she fed anyone who asked.
Leah stood hastily and ran from the room. The halls were closing in on her, the weakening scent made her feel like he was right there with her, chasing her. Leah fell against the bathroom door and collapsed into the room, slamming her sweaty palms on the sink, and looking into the mirror. She didn't look at herself however, her frantic gaze was scanning her surroundings in the bathroom as if she was trying to convince her own mind, blinded by that horrible smell of roses, that he wasn't there. That he could not hurt her there.
Looking back into her own leaking eyes she saw those of her fathers. Leah had never met her parents; she had only seen portraits of her father that were strewn around the palace. That strong look that his face always held had most definitely rubbed off onto his only daughter. Other qualities she had acquired from him was astounding facial structure, Nydale Payne was known throughout the Unseelie court for his charm and good looks though Leana's mother was the only one for him. You know that saying that men like to bring up when their partners are being difficult; 'you'll be the death of me'? If the poor man could speak right now he would surely say 'You have no idea'. Her mother was more of a mystery to her, she was poor and therefore had no images ever painted of her. All that Leah could deduce was that her mother had blue hair and eyes; she must have! Nydale's blood red hair and eyes were a signature of his appearance – often why many speculated that he and the queen had an affair due to her only son matching these qualities. The late queen's son. What a man. A cruel, tyrannical man. In her study of the human world, Leana had read the Shakespearean masterpiece of Macbeth and seen characters the likes of Ramsey Bolton in Game of Thrones – A widely loved television show amongst the humans. And even then, she believed that their madness and tyranny paled in comparison to that of Deploma Dondarion. She was broken from her thoughts when the girl from the classroom, whom she had come to know as Katherine, crept into the room, breaking the simple tune of Leah's shaky breathing with her sing-song voice. "Leah?" She said again, slowly edging closer. Leana bottled up her emotions and stood tall, taking one last glance in the mirror assuring herself that the daughter of Nydale Payne and the Black Knight of the Unseelie court, should not be seen to cry, before turning to the blonde girl with a false smile.
"I'm fine," she lied. "I just needed some air," That part wasn't a lie. Katherine Close was a pretty girl of 18 whom was the type of girl that women loved to hate. Whether it was her long, golden blonde locks or her ocean-like eyes, she was beautiful. Kath was a major in physical education and the result of this was that her body was perfectly toned and slender. She made Leah look out of shape with her well endowed chest and hips though she didn't mind. She would rather Kath get all the attention. So much as a mans breath made her shake like a leaf. The thought sickened her.
"Alright," Kath muttered sceptically as though she suspected a lie though she didn't call her out on it. "You ready to head back?" Leah nodded as she gulped back a lump in her throat, slowly making her way past Kath and out of the door. Kath wasn't the only human who had seen past her strange behaviour and severe 'allergy' to flowery perfume, the other two were boys. As much as they frightened her at first, she eventually became accustomed to their company. Soon, Jonathan and Sam were the only men she could bear the sight of. Sometimes, they even made her laugh.
Speaking of the boys, Jonathan Turner was waiting for them when they arrived back into the room; his eyes fixed on the door as they walked in. Jonathan was a handsome boy, suspiciously so for a human guy. His face would fit in more amongst the beautiful fey of the court. There was something about him that almost made her instantly comfortable around him, as though he was familiar in some way to her even though it was impossible. Perhaps it was the way that he respected her boundaries? The way his hair fell goofily over his face? Or the fact that he did not smell of roses. Lead by Katherine, Leah slipped into the seat between where Kath sat and Jonathan. She could feel his eyes on her and nerves ran through her again; though this time it wasn't her past flickering back into her mind that caused it. She couldn't place why he made her feel like that, the sensation was alien to her. After a long period of silence – other than the tutor going on about something or other related to plankton, riveting conversation as usual – Jonathan chirped up.
"Are you alright?" He asked with genuine concern to his voice. Leah smiled at him though she ducked into her shoulders at the same time, invalidating her gesture. He nodded to acknowledge her response but raised a brow. It wasn't his place to interfere – besides, Kath was better at the whole girl thing anyway; he just went back to his work. The lesson couldn't have gone any slower for Leah, she heard every tick on the damn clock, every syllable pronounced by her boring-ass tutor and every god-damn question from every other student five times over though, they were eventually dismissed.
As usual, Leah tried to sneak out of the room behind Katherine and Sam Clement – the other boy who seemed to tolerate Leah's presence and did not make her nervous. He seemed far too infatuated with Katherine to ever cause her any issues. However, Jonathan was always more focused on her though she never noticed.
Before she went home, Leah would often sit in the garden planted between the buildings just to smell some fresh air. Modern technology had not yet reached Avalon and, secretly, she hoped that it never would. Because of this, the air was clean and untainted by all sorts of poisons that the humans were so okay with ingesting. Leah however, was not human. She sat in the sun and bathed in it's rays. The Unseelie court was situated on the cooler, south side of the realm meaning that she rarely saw the sun let alone felt its heat. Leah stretched out her arms and lied back on the grass, students sunbathing on this small patch of heaven was not a strange sight, no one batted an eye. The longer that she stayed in the sun, the more and more she began to relax, slipping into a state of bliss where she became unconscious to all the horrors of home.
Just as she was about to slip into this trance-like state, a man cleared his throat beside her, bringing it all back. Leah jumped so violently that Jonathan backed off, hysterically apologising. Leah stared at every inch of his face mentally assuring herself 'its not him! Its not him. Its not him…' she calmed, and Jonathan cautiously took a seat beside her on the grass, making sure to keep his distance for fear of setting her off again. "Leah…" Jonathan began. Nothing could have prepared her for what he said next. The man choked back a hitch in his breath and spat it out. "Would you like to come to Rebellion with me tonight?" He asked. "My treat of course!" He assured her with a smile. Rebellion was a tiny bar built into the side of Deansgate station where live rock music was played on a regular basis. So many thoughts ran through Leah's head. She was terrified at the idea of a date with a man! But not this man! But what about the crowds! Surrounded by passionate, loud men! The contradicting thoughts caused her to raise her hand to her head and focus on staying awake in the moment. Jonathan seemed worried but he dared not touch her! He knew that this was the worst thing that he could do. After giving her a moment, she spoke.
"I'm not really one for crowds Jonathan, you know this," Though he did not know why; he never would. The poor man looked deflated and for the first time in years, Leah realised that she cared about another man's emotions. She didn't want to turn poor Jonathan away, she really did like him – perhaps something more? It had been so long since she had experienced anything close to love. After gathering more strength than she even knew that she had, she lifted her shaky hand and placed it on his arm. The feeling of skin! The second that her hand made contact with his arm the fear flooded her. Jonathan's eyes shot to his arm where her delicate hand was almost clutching. He looked up at her in astonishment! She had never so much as stood next to even himself or Sam too close let alone actually gone to touch them. The second her body tensed, she snatched the hand away and recoiled into herself. Her gesture was noted, however.
"A meal then? Anywhere you want to go we'll go," He continued to press though what would usually have been considered terrifying to her was surprisingly welcome. For the first time since she could remember, a man actually brought a smile to her face. She blushed a little and told him truthfully that she would love to. The boys face beamed with light as his entire body jumped up with glee, the sunlight reflecting off of his emerald green eyes, accentuating just how beautiful they really were; practically inhuman. It was then when all of the dread came flooding back. It would seem that Leah had been repressing her homelife so much that she had forgotten that she was due back that very night to report back to the king what she had learnt. Leah clutched her thighs together and clenched her teeth so hard that she feared they may shatter; hoping that Jonathan would put her strange behaviour down to nerves and not her horrifically traumatic past that she fought so hard to conceal from her human companions. No; friends. Using her past experiences, she fought to place a well-executed smile on her face and looked back at the man before her.
"Tomorrow, I promise," She smiled. Was she smiling too much? Jonathan shifted also and picked up his bag triumphantly.
"Can I call on you?" He asked. Rather old fashioned for a modern boy born in 1990 but Leah didn't give his choice of language a second thought. She simply kept the smile plastered on her now aching face and nodded. It was then that she realised that she had been holding her breath and her lungs were about to explode. After Jonathan had left with a warm 'goodbye' she exhaled deeply and breathed heavily, gasping for the oxygen that she had starved herself of. Looking around, she decided that the city was becoming too much for her in the moment and therefore set off home.
Train's and trams were not an option for Leah, she tried it the once when she first arrived though she was heavily underprepared for just how many people were squashed onto those things. The smell of men, their breathing and, even worse, their skin caused her to go into shock. Safe to say that she never went on a train again.
Her accommodation whilst in the human world wasn't much but the gold from the treasury of the palace had bought a small flat for her to sleep in. The fact that she now owned the place meant that people wouldn't be constantly checking up on her meaning that she wouldn't have to hide any fey related items such as maps and weapons.
Later that night, Leah sat in a small bath in the corner of the bathroom. In her hand, a worn bath lily clutched tightly in her nails. Leah bathed every morning and every night without fail. She was always unclean – or at least she thought she was. Specks of white and red littering her body that were invisible to everyone else but her. She shakily took the lily to her calf and began to rub. Harder and harder she rubbed but the mess wouldn't go away. Harder and harder still she cleaned causing water to now splash around her and even cover the floor. A moment later, specks of red began to come through the skin as her breathing intensified. Why would she never be clean! She screamed mentally as the red began to run into the water from her now heavily irritated leg. Tears streamed down her face as she threw the now bloody lily against the mirror, leaving a red splatter on the glass. Now sitting in the incarnadine water, Leana curled into a tight ball, hugging her legs to her chest, wishing only that the water would convulse and swallow her whole.