The guards led Nyx and Liam to a room, giving them clothes for the party that day.
"The king says he needs you to help some souls pass before you come to the party tonight." The guard said, handing the clothes to Liam, then closing the door.
Lima looked at the clothes as Nyx took the blind fold off, shaking her head, then opening her eyes to see the beautiful room before her. Everything was covered in nature or built from it. She went to the window looking at the frame, seeing that it had every flower known to man around it. She smiled, turning to Liam, who was stuck looking at the clothes.
"Everything alright?" She asked, walking towards him.
"Yes, I'll be back." He said, taking off his armor and daggers and placing them on the bed, only keeping his sword.
"These are your clothes." He said, handing Nyx part of the clothes the guard gave him.
"What about you?" She asked, seeing he had only one piece of clothing.
"I'll explain when I come back, just don't go out of the room." He said, walking out the door, leaving Nyx alone.
Nyx sat on the bed, still admiring the fae's decoration. She peeked out of the window, which was covered in vines and flowers. The balcony was carved from wood and overlooked the whole community. Nyx peeked out of the window a little more, seeing Liam following a male fae. Suddenly, she was disturbed by a knock on the door. Quickly, she went away from the window, running behind a wall next to the door. The door opened, and a woman flew in her wings like a dragonfly. Nyx stayed hidden behind the wall, making sure the woman didn't see her.
"I know you're here, angel." She said, taunting, landing on the floor without a sound.
She walked to the middle of the room. "I just want to talk. You won't need your blindfold either."
It was Annie, she recognized her voice. She did see her before they entered Fae territory, and she didn't say anything to the king about her eyes.
"How can I trust you?" Nyx yelled from her corner, making Annie turn her head quickly, looking in Nyx's direction.
Annie began walking towards the corner. "You'll just have to trust me."
Without thinking anymore, Nyx jumped around the corner, meeting Annie face to face. Annie stared for a moment at her eyes, amazed by their color.
"I came to help you." Annie finally said, turning around and walking beside the bed.
"Help with what?" Nyx asked, coming out of the corner and walking to the middle of the room.
"To prepare you for the party." Annie then picked up the clothes. Liam handed Nyx.
"You don't know the customs here, and I'm here to tell you." Annie said, laying the dress nicely down.
"What customs?" Nyx said curiously.
Annie looked up with a smile, walking up to Nyx with a pretty dainty walk. "First, you need to know, in the human world, the party is like a giant bonfire, but here it's a festival or fire." Annie said, throwing her hands in the air.
"I thought you would hate fire?" Nyx said, confused.
"What? Just because we are all about nature doesn't mean we don't like having a little bit of destruction or craziness." Annie said as a smirk formed across her face. "Everything beautiful has a dark side. We Fae's just happen to like having crazy parties." She said, circling Nyx.
Nyx followed her around, not taking her eyes off of her, confused why she said that so ominously.
"Liam asked me to help explain things before the party." She said, grabbing a brush from the vanity. "Get you all dolled up and learn to control those eyes."
"My eyes? How would you know?" Nyx questioned.
"I am the knowledge keeper here among the Fae's, I am supposed to tell all the information to the king." Annie said, making Nyx's heart sink.
"That doesn't mean I tell him everything, angel." Annie said, seeing Nyx relax, she laughed.
"I've known the king too long to know how much he hungers for power." She said, walking behind Nyx to brush her hair.
Nyx didn't say anything and just trusted the process and let Annie get her ready. She brushed her hair, which made her hair a little wavy. Next, she helped Nyx into the dress. The dress showed off Nyx's stomach and was low cut, the top of the dress was, it also showed part of her back. The markings on her arms were once visible, Annie covered it with makeup powder so the king wouldn't see. The dress reached down to Nyx's knees, so Nyx put shorts underneath for comfort. The colors were different from anything Nyx had ever worn, green, pink, light blue, and purple. The last touch was a light glitter gloss that Annie made very clear was the big trend among the women Fae's.
Annie covered Nyx's eyes, placing her in front of a mirror.
"Ready!" Annie squealed, removing her hands from Nyx's eyes.
Nyx didn't recognize herself. She touched the dress, then her hair, and lasted her arms. Nyx looked at Annie.
"Thank you." She said, as her golden eyes gleamed.
"Now it's time for you to learn to control those eyes." Annie said, flying above Nyx.
"I don't get it. What's the big deal about my eyes?" She asked, putting up her hands in question.
Annie giggled. "He really needs to have better communication. Look, golden eyes mean celestial being, or angel." She said, sitting down on the bed.
"But Liam is an angel." Nyx said.
"Yes, an angel of death, he keeps part of his more human side when he is in human form. It's to help those who are scared become more at ease, with gentle blue eyes." She said, throwing her arms in a proper way.
"Form?" Nyx questioned.
Annie looked at her, worried about what to say next. "Uh, er. Look, that's something you have to take up with Liam. He doesn't talk much about that form.. For good reason." She said, whispering the last part.
Nyx brushed it off, noting in her mind to ask Liam about it later. He wasn't going to escape this question.
"But I don't even remember how I came to be." Nyx protested.
"Exactly." Annie said calmly, throwing Nyx for a loop.
"Now close your eyes, and find energy around yourself. It can look like anything you wish." Annie said. Nyx complied, closing her eyes, looking for energy to use.
"Now, once you find that energy, take it and use it." Annie said, standing in front of Nyx, giving her a moment. "Now open your eyes."
Nyx opened her eyes, looking at Annie in front of her. She had a giant smile. "Blue, subtle, I love it." Annie said with excitement.
"Alright, give me a few minutes, I'll get ready." Annie flew out of the room and into the bathroom, quickly changing.
While Annie was changing, Nyx decided to hide Liams stuff. She looked around, not seeing many options. Finally, she saw a wooden piece with an opening. She pulled it away from the wall, folding and placing Liams stuff inside. She then pushed back against the wall, looking from all directions, making sure no one would see it.
Not too long after, Annie came flying out in a bright purple dress, her strawberry hair curled over her shoulders. "Ready!" She said announces, throwing her hands in the air.
"What about Liam?" Nyx asked.
"Don't worry, he will meet us there." Annie said, flying down and grabbing Nyx's arm, pulling her out the door.
Liam began to walk to the bonfire party, dressed in the slacks they gave him, and no shirt. It was how they did things, the women would wear beautiful, colorful, revealing dresses, while the men were well, shirtless. He arrived with a couple of other male Fae's who enjoyed his company. He began looking for Nyx. After about five minutes of not being able to find her, he decided to sit down on a log, taking a break. Until he looked around at the dancers in the middle, and saw her in the dancing circle of course next to Annie, but she didn't look nervous and was dancing really well. She was smiling and having fun, and it made Liam smile.
The dance was made up of three circles of men and women. They would make the circle smaller than bigger, then find a partner to dance a little and then repeat.
"Go dance with your woman!" A Male Fae said, patting Liam on the back.
"Yea might want to be quick. Other guys are going for her." Another said, nodding his head in approval.
Liam rolled his eyes, already irritated he had to wear just pants. He looked back at Nyx, who had just finished the dance and was being dragged by Annie, of course. Liam got up and made his way over as the group of guys behind began to act like children.
Annie had a grip on Nyx. She wasn't going to lie she was having so much fun. Although the focus to keep the eyes was a little tiring. Nyx began to look around, trying to find Liam as a male fae approached Nyx, asking her to sit with him.
"No thanks, I have-erm-um waiting for someone, and besides, I shouldn't leave my friend." She stuttered out, wanting to smack her forehead, nudging Annie, who wasn't paying any attention to the situation.
"I don't see anyone with you." The man said, touching Nyx's cheek. She quickly pulled away, about to slap the man before feeling a strong chest behind her.
"That would be me." Liam said, wrapping his arms around Nyx's chest.
Nyx's face turned bright red when she realized Liam had no shirt on. At that moment, she wanted her blindfold, and she turned bright red. The male fae quickly walked the other way, leaving Nyx and Liam. Nyx turned around, turning more red, his body was ripped and looked amazing, his shoulders were broad and muscular, and his height just added more to love. They quickly looked away from each other, both blushing.
Liam saw Nyx in the dress, not realizing when she was dancing, how low cut the chest area was, and how exposed her stomach was. He then looked at her lips with the beautiful gloss on it. He ran his fingers through his hair, while Nyx held one arm across her chest and one on her forehead.
"Would you like to sit?" Liam asked Nyx, looking at her, trying not to let his eyes wonder.
"Yes." Nyx said quickly.
Without another word, Liam grabbed her hand, leading her to a log that didn't have very many fae's. They both sat down, sitting in silence for a while, glancing at each other once a while. Soon, Nyx forgot about the embarrassment, swaying her body and legs with the music. Liam looked at her and smiled, noticing her eyes.
"I see Annie helped you with the eyes." He said, staring at her.
"She did. She is very nice. She helped me a lot today." Nyx said, not noticing Liam staring.
Liam chuckled, then causing Nyx to look at him with a big smile. They looked at each other for a while.
"Are you thirsty?" He asked, pointing to the drinks ahead, Nyx nodded. Liam got up, walking towards the drink area to get drinks for them both.
Suddenly, as Nyx was enjoying the music and life at the party, she heard a whisper. She looked around confused, seeing if it was anyone around her. She heard it again, but right behind her. Her head flew around, looking behind her seeing nothing but a dark forest. The Fae's next to her looked at her weird, getting up and walking to a different area, Nyx gave a nervous smile, giving them an apologetic wave.
Nyx got up looking towards the forest, hearing the voices get louder, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She stepped over the log listening to the voices, and they were calling her. She began to walk towards the forest, seeing shadows walking in and out of it. Her focus was now gone, her eyes turned purple, following the forest. Until she felt a bear hug around her, it was Liam.
"What are you doing?" He asked, concerned pulling her close, keeping her from getting any closer.
"I hear them." She said, as if in a trance. "Don't you hear them?" She asked, trying to walk forward.
Liam looked at the forest and understood. "Yes. I hear them." He said, holding Nyx closer.
"Why is there so much pain? I can hear their screaming." Nyx continued as a tear fell down her cheek.
Liam turned her around to face him, seeing her cry. He lifted her chin so her eyes could meet his, but they still trailed away. "They are the dead." He said.
"They hurt people and other creatures, didn't they?" She said as another tear fell.
"Yes." He said.
Suddenly, as if she finally came back to her senses, her eyes shot straight to Liam's eyes. She began to cry more, and she held her chest.
"It won't stop. Make it stop, Liam. Please. Help me." She started pleading.
Liam felt so bad that he held her cheeks and placed his forehead on her hers. "Forgive me." He said. "Sleep." he whispered, and in an instant, Nyx's body went limp, and Liam caught her, holding her close to him.
He then fixed her body, holding her in a bridal style, and carried her back to the king's castle. He laid her down in the bed, cleaning her arms of the makeup, then covering her body with the covers to keep her warm. He looked at her for a moment, realizing how much he wanted to keep her safe and how much Annie was right about him.