"H-hey there." I call out to the hooded figure in a hesitantly friendly tone, I figured that I should try and establish myself as a harmless individual as soon as I could, "Nice weather we're having huh?"
Although I may have just displayed my idiocy instead.
Ignoring my attempts to socialize, the figure shuffled close and stared at me for a second before holding their hands in front. A warm green glow emitted from their palms, similar to effect produced by the green fairy, though this one was warm enough to make me sweat, bright enough that I had to squint, and very effective in stopping the pain.
The hands that cast the glow were normal, slender hands that would have belonged to a young woman if we were back on Earth, but from the few glimpses I caught underneath the hood, I swear I could see shifting, convulsing flesh.
I was beginning to understand why the fairies referred to her as "the abomination". It was a she right?
I lay there for what must have been minutes, basking in the hot but comforting glow, stewing in my thoughts.
Am I.... going to live?
I.... am right?
"Stand?" the voice was high, like a bell and quite unexpected, cutting through my contemplation.
"Huh? Oh uh..." I attempted to rise, a mistake as my legs screamed at the exertion, "Ow ow ow."
Understanding my plight, the girl/creature gingerly wrapped her arms around my waist and hoisted me over her shoulder.
"Oof."
"Pain?" she asked.
"Yeah, but nowhere near as bad before, thanks for that."
"We leave. Endure."
"Ah, okay."
Standing up gently, she carried me into one of the tunnels in the fair entrance with movements that were quick but smooth so I wouldn't get hurt, and I was grateful for it.
"Thanks for being considerate."
No response.
"Mind if I ask for your name?"
A moment passed before she responded: "Cecily."
"Ah!" I cried out, "Weren't you the one at the alter place this morning? You really saved me back there."
No response, looks like she wasn't exactly in the mood for small talk.
The ride to the guest room was quiet, save for the heavy footsteps of Cecily. I was stuck staring at the floor most of the time, and somewhere along the way it turned from dirt into wood, but I was a bit too drowsy to pinpoint the location. It occurred to me about twenty minutes into the ride that Cecily must be extraordinarily strong to have carried me for so long.
"Arrival." A door creaked open, and she sat me down on a familiar cradle-like bed, carrying me down with the same amount of consideration as she gave before. She shut the door with her foot while reaching into one of the cupboards, pulling out a small cup filled with foul smelling red liquid and some green packets on a wooden platter. I gazed uneasily at the cup, whose scent filled me with nausea.
"If you wanted to kill me, you don't need to go through the trouble of poisoning me. I'm pretty sure the fairies were already going to do that."
Silence... or maybe not, I swear I heard a small giggle from underneath the hood, but it went away as soon as I concentrated on it.
"Medicine." she insisted, raising the items towards me with both hands.
Though the red liquid filled me with suspicion, I figured there wasn't much more harm they could do to me at this point, so I moved my hand towards the packets, before being promptly grabbed by the wrist.
"Ordering." and she pointed to the red liquid.
"Right, right sorry ab-" I did a double take and my eyes widened. She was holding the tray with two hands, pointing to the liquid one hand, and grabbing my wrist with another hand.
One, two, three, four.... I was almost certain that four is not the correct number of arms to have. She quickly noticed my surprise and retracted her arms violently.
"O-Ordering." she said, with much less conviction than before.
"Wait wait, I don't mind the arms! Really!" I spoke hastily trying to make her feel better. She helped me quite a bit and I was extremely thankful, I wanted more than anything to express my gratitude, "I actually think they are quite useful, imagine all the different things you can do with extra arms. You could play basketball super well or any type of sports really, you can also do the work of two people at any job, and you would probably be the highlight at any party you attended! Not to mention..."
A soft giggle stopped my rambling short. I was wondering if I said something wrong before she shoved the medicine in my face once more.
"Consume." she ordered, although her voice seemed a bit lighter this time around.
"Right, right." I picked up the drink and attempted to chug it down in one fell swoop, but as soon as the liquid entered my esophagus, I could feel a painful spike as it slowly inched its way down my throat, almost like swallowing a sea urchin. I coughed violently and dropped the cup, fortunately Cecily had the finesse to promptly catch the cup with the wooden platter without spilling a drop, which was a remarkable display of agility really.
I would clap if I wasn't busy swallowing the aqueous embodiment of flaming needles.
After I was done writhing in agony, I gazed upon the cup, which was still about three fourths full, with not a small amount of distress.
"I don't suppose there is any way to get out of drinking that horrendous mixture is there?"
Cecily shook her head; the sideways movement of the green hood sank my hopes of a painless experience.
"Consume." she uttered.
I considered the little girl holding a tray in front of me, weighing in my head the repercussions of just running out of there, but my wounded leg dashed any hopes of that option.
I emitted a long sigh before resolving myself.
"Right right, let's get this over with."
The cup in my hand felt heavy, in more ways than one, but I raised it to my lips and swallowed. The same painful sensation filled my throat, but I keep drinking, determined to get over this ordeal. As I finished the drink my vision went hazy and I could feel myself clawing at my throat, probably not the best thing to do when you're injured but I needed to distract myself.
My wrists were restrained, however, by a pair of soft, but unbelievably strong hands that might have well been concrete blocks with how little I could move them.
"Let go!" I gurgled, red liquid threatening to overflow from my frothing mouth.
"Endure." she said, before a ball of cloth was shoved into my mouth.
Easier said than done. I bit down hard and did my best to envision sunshine and rainbows with rather poor results.
After a few minutes of torment, the brunt of the suffering had past, and only mild stinging remained. Regaining my sense of reason, I thanked the dutiful girl.
I spit out the cloth, "Ah, I'm good now thanks."
Hearing the relative calm in my voice she released me and picked up the tray she had set aside and held it in front of me.
"Consume."
Realizing my anguish was not yet over I recoiled at the sight, but after gathering my courage I swallowed the green packets.
To my great delight, they were rather tasty. A leafy exterior contained a refreshing sweet taste with a tang of sour, like an orange flavored mint.
"Hey, this is pretty good." I commented, munching on the packets.
Cecily, with her job done, put the tray away and prepared to leave.
"Wounded." she said as she pointed at my leg, "Rest."
"Okay got it." I nodded, "Ah, but before you leave would it be rude of me to see your face? I'd like to know what my savior looks like, if it isn't too much to ask."
She stopped, considering my request. I figured it was rather unreasonable to ask for something when she's helped me so much, but I wanted to pay her back if I ever saw her again.
The other, beetle looking girl too, but I feel like she didn't want to save me; I swear her smile didn't reach her eyes.
After mulling it over she hesitantly uncovered her hood.
...
I stared at her.
The first day of snow.
That was the impression I got when I first gazed upon her.
Brilliantly white hair that reached her shoulders, coupled with the palest skin I've ever seen left me to believe that she was a princess straight out of a fairytale. Only the eyes had any hints of color at all. They emitted a faint purple hue that complimented her features...
All three of them, ah four now as another one just opened on her left cheek.
Noticing my intense stare, the two extra eyes closed as if they weren't ever there, and she quickly pulled her hood over her face.
A clicking noise signaled her departure and I was left wondering if normalcy would ever return to my life.
That and if she would like cookies or not.