208: Delayed Heartache With A Dash Of Betrayal -Melissa-

A pain blossomed deep in my heart as I became self aware once again. I slowly felt my energy returning; building till it could reconstruct my body again. Heartache stung as memories I'd never had before came flooding back as though they'd always been there, hidden behind a thick veil of false assumptions and hidden connections.

Qaliphus couldn't be dead. The first connection I made as my mind formed itself again was that his name had never been evoked. A fairy could only be destroyed by having their name evoked at the time of their destruction. Something that had never happened that horrible moment several years ago when my heart was torn to pieces and I'd lost everything.

Now I had to endure the same painful horror as the few good years of my life were colored black with sinister deception. The love that I'd felt from him never was. The feelings of safety, those last few moments that we'd had before he'd put his plan into action.

As my eyes formed, so did the tears. They fell directly to the floor because my cheeks had yet to reform themselves. I remembered his face as I looked at him dead, but I also remember him pushing the child in front of the car maliciously. Two memories clashing for dominance in the battleground of my mind; one laced with betrayal and the other grief. He looked at me with a soldier's eyes and told me that I would only get in the way. He told me I wasn't a true fairy. His magic seared my memories away and replaced them with lies. I felt him melding my mind so I wouldn't go looking for answers, so I wouldn't realize the inconsistencies inside my own past.

I fell to my newly formed knees as the image of him brutally murdering that child, our friends, with a smile on his face. To him he was working for the rest of our kind and I was a liability. I told him that I was happy there. I told him that these humans were our new family and he realized that I wouldn't help him with his plans.

How long had he been planning it?

I stood and glanced back at my wings as they formed, stretching out from my back purple and ending with light blue tips. I was haunted all at once by the face of people I'd killed, because I thought it was the parents' fault that the child had died. My hand flew to my mouth when Carl came to mind.

I loved Carl like a son, but discarded him when he tried to tell me what I had neglected to see. I sought out a pliant slave, but what I'd needed was exactly what Carl had given me. Qaliphus' deception caused so many people so much pain, and now he was planning something much worse. We were the last fairies alive, so there was only one option. He needed to bring the rest of our kind back to life.

I gasped. More heartbreak. This had been his plan the entire time, since we were forced to come into this world from our own. We could have hidden. We could have stayed there and never bother with this place, but this was the home to one of the most powerful artifacts known to man. Excalibur.

A weapon forged for a king long since fallen. Filled with fairy power and able to unleash devastating magic, it was the only thing that had enough power to reform all the fairies we'd lost in battle. He knew it was here, and that's why we ran to this realm. He's still fighting the Gods and now he's going to bring all the fairies here, to a world filled with beings I'd come to love. This war would tear the realm to shreds.

Ben and Carl. I needed their help. I leaped into the air and looked around. I had reformed inches away from a blonde girl wearing a black and white hoodie, with ears staring at a small object that kept flashing images across the front. An I-pad, I believe.

"I was waiting for you to reform. It's been almost a week." I knew that voice and was taken by surprise.

"You're that blonde bitch!", I went to fly off, but then realized something, "Wait. You can help me."

Her eyes never left the screen, "With what?"

"We have to warn Ben. Qaliphus is bringing my kind here, he's going to restart the war."

She was silent for what seemed like forever. I stared at her face as the light from her I-pad flashed across her face.

"Well?", I asked after twenty minutes had past. "Am I on my own?"

"YES!" She jumped to her feet, a large smile on her face, "Finally reached level 15 and got the ring of +7 fire resist!"

I was so surprised I fell back on my ass, "Wh-what? Are you okay?"

She looked at me finally and I could see the anger in her eyes, "Fine. Let's go warn him, but we need to be fast. I only have about 2 more hours of battery and if this shuts off, I lose everything that I've gained in the last hour. Oh, and one more thing."

She was like a different person.

"What?"

"My name is Christina. Don't call me a Blonde Bitch or I'll cut your wings off."

Some things don't change I guess.

196: Not Dead -Carl-

"Melissa isn't dead, Carl. She's out there somewhere causing more mayhem, and we have to stop her before she goes too far." The small fairy flew up and gave me a fierce gaze.

I had been in my hotel room for only 10 minutes alone when I had heard the tapping on the window. I was surprised to find a male fairy floating outside waiting to get in.

"I'm not going anywhere. My friend just died, I have to be here for the people that need me."

"I wish it was different, Carl, but this is more important than that. She's been planning something for a very long time and it's all coming together slowly. The pact, Joshua, your curse being broken; all of it a part of her plan, everything working together toward a single, horrible goal. One that we cannot allow to come to fruition."

"Who are you?" I hadn't had a chance to ask him his name before he'd started ranting about going after Melissa.

"My name is Qaliphus. I was with Melissa when she came to this world. Soon after I realized her intentions and had to fake my own death so that I could find a way to stop her. It saddens me to say that several innocents lost their lives so that I could get away, but they were needed sacrifices for the greater good."

I was getting angry. This fairy was dancing around the subject, not getting to his point. It was almost as though he was ashamed. I walked to the mini-bar and poured myself a drink.

"What's she planning?"

The fairy smiled, "We lost the war between us and the Gods. Melissa and I had escaped with the intentions of settling down and hiding. I wanted nothing more than to live out the rest of my life, but Melissa had other intentions. While I was growing attached to humans, she was becoming less sympathetic for their kind. The only humans she had any feelings for were the children. She saw them as completely innocent and untouched by the evil of age."

I was growing impatient as I took another gulp of my drink. I walked to the bed and sat on it, thinking about everything Melissa had done.

"She told me of her plans one night and I was horrified. Carl, she plans on bringing all the fairies back."

I stared at the small fairy, his eyes were honest and his face stern.

"Why are you against that? You're a fairy yourself."

He sighed and sat at the edge of the bed, "I'm a traitor, Carl. I never told Melissa, but I told the Gods our battle plans in the final battle." He shook his head, "My people are a cruel and heartless race. We know nothing of mercy and strive to control everything we can. Even our magics used to belong to another race that we wiped out. We tortured humans for fun, murdering them when we got bored. As I grew up I began to feel sorry for the humans, and when I had the chance to save them, I took it."

I raised a brow, "You wiped out your entire race to save mine? That's bold. Very, very bold."

I had to admit, I was impressed. Qaliphus had went against everything he was raised to believe to stop the torture of another race. I could see that it was difficult for him, but I could also tell that he was set on keeping humans safe at all costs.

"So," I put my glass down, "what makes you think she's not dead?"

"Fairies are notoriously hard to kill. If her name isn't used to kill her then she's not dead. You need to understand that she's planned so far ahead and if she succeeds, then the human race will be wiped out in seconds."

"How did the Gods even have any chance of winning against your race if they didn't know your names?" I knew her name was powerful but I didn't know it was required to kill her. No wonder it was the only thing that could control her.

I had already decided that I would go with him. I reached over to grab a shirt, and a sword that I'd snatched from the museum in the turmoil. As I stood he flew up to the door.

"They didn't, not until I gave them all the fairies names." I saw his strong demeanor falter slightly. I saw a deep sadness.

Could I kill my entire race to save another?

175: Flashback; New Found Purpose -Melissa- (by Crystal Ferguson)

My sweet, sweet Qaliphus was now dead, and all because he felt the need to save this child. A child who had no business being outside. A child who knew better than to be in the road. A child who should have been in the house, under the supervision of his parents--

The parents.

If they were more attentive, their child would not be dead. More importantly, if not for their neglect, Qaliphus would still be alive. My dream would have become a blossoming reality instead of this shattered mess before me.

I clenched my fists in anger, tears streaming down my cheeks. Filthy humans. Weren't the adults suppose to be more responsible than this? What was the point of them existing if they did not protect their younglings?

All I knew in that instant is that they should pay for their ignorance; they didn't deserve to live.

I turned my back to the freshly deceased and zipped my way up and in to the home. The parents were laughing as the remaining two children played mind-numbing video games. How infuriating.

While they distracted themselves with mindless laughter, I took the liberty of pulling out skewers from a nearby open drawer. They were a tad heavy for my size, but I managed to carry them over to the table, letting them drop with a clatter. The couple looked but quickly shrugged it off, and continued with their conversation.

I picked one skewer up and with all my might, I thrust the sharpened end in and through the adult male’s neck. The female screamed in horror as her husband collapsed, gasping for air. She bent over him, her face stricken in panic. I swooped up the second skewer and shoved it downward, repeating the process for the adult female. She too fell over, noises of helplessness gushing out from her lungs. Both husband and wife flailed from the sudden impacts. After a few minutes passed, both became silent and unmoving.

Feeling justified in my act, I immediately left the bodies behind. As I flew away from the house, I heard the cries of their children as they found the dead parents. Some day they would thank me for freeing them from such negligence. They deserved better parents than that.

As I dashed through the outside world, a boy caught my attention. I came to a stop and hid behind a nearby leaf. An adult male was yelling at him, beating him down with his own fists.

“You worthless sack of shit!“, another fist hit the child, “When in the Hell are you going to man up, boy?! Huh, Carl?!”

The man shoved him, spitting at the ground afterward. He grunted and turned to leave him there. The boy just sat there, his head hanging low.

Such treatment sickened me. Were all adults truly this evil? What in the name of all that is human did children do to deserve such consequence? To my knowledge, children were far more innocent and harmless than that of the adults. They needed someone to protect them; not hurt them.

It was then that I vowed to stop this madness at all costs.

174: Flashback; Shattered Dreams -Melissa- (by Crystal Ferguson)

On this particular day, the children were minding themselves in the living room while the parents conversed in the kitchen. Qaliphus and I were outside the home, sitting on the freshly cut lawn. The sun was high in the sky and the small breeze here and there was uplifting. Traffic was rather light, aside from the occasional, obnoxiously loud vehicle racing by on the road. It seemed as if nothing could go wrong; all was well in the world.

I still remember when he turned to me with a smile and the utter most confidence in his eyes. He knew what he wanted to say, and knew if he looked long enough before speaking a word, that I would tense up. His lips curved more when my body responded in such a way, a nervous giggle escaping my lips.

“Melissa?”, he innocently questioned. Qaliphus knew all too well how to strike my cords with ease.

I jumped a bit, “Yes?”

“I have noticed the amount of affection you hold for me.”

The tingling feelings inside of me rose, making me feel nauseous. I gulped and kept my focus on him,

“Have you now?”

He nodded, his hands gently taking mine. I felt a burning sensation in my cheeks as he and I stared in to each other’s eyes.

His face came in closer to mine, our noses just barely touching. “I must confess that I, too, hold much affection for you.”

Within that moment I felt the greatest amount of happiness. My hands squeezed at his as a true smile broadened across my features. At the time, the youngest had made his way to outside the home. It didn't seem all too important that he was outside; I was too busy soaking in Qaliphus’ words.

“Oh, Qaliphus…”, I leaned in closer, lips practically connecting, “I've waited for so long.”

Our lips made contact, my eyes closing and my wings fluttering from the new, delighting experience. Warmth embraced my very being. Pulling back; out of the corner of my eye I saw the youngest had made his way to the road, swinging a stick side to side. Why in the world was he playing there, and with a stick no less?

What happened next seemed all too surreal.

A flash of red came rushing toward the child. With out skipping a beat, Qaliphus flew to the tiny one’s side. A child’s scream curdled. Tires screeched. And then, a thud. The child laid lifeless on the road, red liquid oozing from his skull. Qaliphus was too late. The person in the red vehicle climbed out, saw what they had hit, and in a panic climbed back in and drove off; the boy’s body being left behind like a wild animal.

I flew over with haste, gasping at the true mess it made. The worst part wasn't the boy’s death. Laying next to him, with his blood spilled beneath, was Qaliphus; unmoving and limp.

It took the longest time for my dream of having him love me back to come true.

It only took seconds for that dream to shatter.

173: Flashback; The Sweet Escape -Melissa- (by Crystal Ferguson)

We had to leave our home land behind, the Other Lands, in order to ensure our survival. Many of the Gods longed to end our existence. We were the last of our kind. Staying there would only bring inevitable death.


Qaliphus and I decided to settle in to this world; the world of humans. Here, we would be able to hide from the Gods. Here, we could bloom a whole new life together. Knowing this filled me with tingling feelings.


To share a life with Qaliphus that did not dwell around constant fighting was a pleasant thought for me.


He had great skill behind him, but he also possessed a softer side; one that didn't show too often. He was a warrior first and a friend second. We had mutual respect for one another’s power; though the feelings I had for him were overwhelming. Sadly, his feelings were not the same when it came to me. Oddly enough, I was okay with this. After all, I still had the pleasure of keeping him by my side. As long as he was there, I was perfectly content. Oh, Qaliphus…


Upon our arrival to the human world, he and I came across a seemingly loving family. There were two adults and three children. The oldest of the children was ten, the middle child to be six, and the youngest was four. All young enough to be able to see us. Of course, the parents were unable to see us. They never had contact with our world to have such privileged sight. At least they didn't question their children; the parents just thought it was their children’s imagination at work when the topic of Fay were brought up. Either way, we settled in rather smoothly with the humans.


The children took to us quickly, filled with much awe that creatures such as Qaliphus and I existed. Every now and again I would simply observe as he played with the three boys. He played hide and seek or tag, told stories of great triumph, and would some times pull a prank or two on them. They would laugh in delight from his shenanigans. It warmed my tiny body and brought a smile to my face to see such interaction. This was the side of Qaliphus that I adored the most. He might have had the will to kill in an instant, but his will to bring happiness was far more astonishing to me.


As the weeks passed, my love for Qaliphus began to grow all the more. I had never felt more happy in my entire life. Qaliphus and I were closer than ever before, or at least that’s how it felt to me.


I longed to be able to forever keep him by my side; to love him unconditionally.




Fate decided otherwise.