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Becoming The Creature

A Fae, The Creature, and a Little Black Book

By LykaPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
1

The snowfall melted into our skin with a golden shimmer.

I threw a worried glance at the horde behind me. Everyone stared at their skin, captivated by the color. They flashed greedy grins and frenzied eyes as they rubbed the snowflakes between their fingers. They didn't notice that it was eating their flesh away, little by little.

The brutes were clueless. The gold snowfall meant that The Creature sensed their presence. It was a warning; and a painful one at that.

Instantly, I raised my bell and let out a shrill chime, piercing through their trance and turning their grins into scowls.

"It's close!" I screamed over the ringing.

Darius, their commander with goliathan strength and wildfire hair, furiously approached me.

"Fae, we made a deal. You promised to take us through the safest route to the beast, but this snow is melting us to the bone and we smell like burning flesh -"

I stopped dead in my tracks. I threw the bell at his face and put a hand to my hip.

"First of all, Darius, it's The Creature, not the beast. A beast with little to no intellect can not summon a flesh-eating, cursed storm. You’ve survived the last hundred moons, but if you plan to keep your men alive, I suggest you follow my lead."

Although he could've caught the bell, he let it hit his face. He softened ever so slightly.

"So, what now, Fae? My men are weak. The gold is restoring their hope, and yet you tell me it's a curse."

I snapped back, "That's why I rang the bell. If you ignore the allure, the snowflakes won't melt your flesh. It's a fool's game. Focus on what's ahead."

He let out an irritated sigh and ran back to his horde. The ones who heard my chime had their eyes fixed in front of them. The snow ate away those who didn’t.

As I continued forward, I heard Darius spread the news.

“Ignore the gold and keep marching! We’re approaching the beast!”

Chants filled the air like animals riled up for a hunt; wired for survival and insatiable desire. And I was merely escorting them to their destiny.

The morning air was thick with trepidation and excitement. If successful, they would meet The Creature. If victorious, they would live to tell the tale.

Folklore depicted a fantastical beast of superior intelligence, unbound by time, amassing treasures throughout history, both past and future. The Creature was rumored to rest between periods of time in locations only the Fae could track down.

Thanks to folklore, humans also discovered our secret. Our bodies, lined from head to toe with Fae symbols, glow like silver tattoos under moonlight. Each Fae is born with a unique set. Otherwise, we look human.

As a Fae, I spent most of my life luring countless armies to The Creature. The story was always the same. I would be captured by a human searching for vainglory and forced to help them find the Creature. The group I was currently leading would suffer the same fate as the rest of them.

Behind me, the glittering snowfall covered both the men who marched and the bodies of those left behind. I felt no sympathy. Beneath the bright gold were harsh metals and hearts as cold as ice.

Darius stood tall and unwavering, eyes searching the horizon. Suddenly, we locked eyes. I instantly snapped forward.

But it was too late. The memories started flooding in.

Darius.

What a mistake it was to fall in love.

On our wedding day, his royal family and highest-esteemed men gathered together. I remember feeling as if I could leave my Fae life behind and live in peace with humankind. I managed to stay well hidden by making up a fake, rare disease, one in which my skin couldn’t be directly exposed to the air. No one questioned me over fear of offending Darius, and I was always covered from head to toe in silks thanks to my invention. Tonight, I planned to expose myself and pray for acceptance.

At the celebration, waves of foreign guests arrived by ship bringing rare treasures from their homeland. One guest in particular caught my attention. He came alone on a boat dressed in golden scales. He held a little black notebook and a heavy look on his face. He felt oddly familiar.

When I reached forward to accept his gift, he brushed past my shoulder and melted into the crowd. I turned around to chase after him, but I was distracted by a cold sensation on my shoulder. Golden flakes melted into the silk where he bumped into me. Annoyed, I shook it off and searched for Darius.

He was distracted. He flitted from guest to guest shaking hands and thanking them for their visit; so diplomatic, so sure of himself. But something was off. Something only a Fae could pick up on.

It was sunset when the music signaled for our ceremony to start. Arm in arm with Darius’ Father, my heart raced with anxiety. When I glanced at his face, his grin reached from ear to ear. In fact, everyone was smiling except for one guest. He was in the front row, furiously scribbling in his little black notebook with a tense look on his face - his eyebrows pinched together as if he was drawing out the scene in front of him with pinpoint accuracy.

Again, that strange feeling.

I shook it off once I reached the altar. Darius smiled at me and I smiled back, but in that moment, his eyes gave off an insidious glow. Suddenly, a pair of massive hands grabbed my arms from behind.

I thrashed around, loosening my silks and begging Darius for help.

Within seconds, another pair of hands secured anklets around me.

All I could do was desperately call out his name, but he averted his gaze to the people before him.

“As promised, I have caught the elusive Fae of folklore.”

The moment Darius uttered the word “Fae”, I tuned out.

How?

I was so careful.

“We are grateful for your gifts. To all those who have made alliances with our kingdom, thank you! We will make sure to pay you back tenfold! The beast will be ours and with it, wealth and power immeasurable!”

Then came a deafening roar of applause and cheering.

As the pieces came together, I felt grief grip my body. The gifts were never mine. They were investments - tokens of faith - and the wedding was a cover to show off his prized possession. But his prize wasn’t me. It was the fact I was a Fae.

He responded to questions from the crowd, nodding and laughing - glowing and brilliant.

And I fell silent – numb and drooping.

“How can we be certain she is a Fae?” Somebody in the crowd inquired.

Darius smirked. “If you doubt, leave. The faithful will stay ‘till nightfall. You will find your answer then.”

The festivities continued as I was put on display before the altar for their gawking eyes and careless whispers.

The moon finally made its visit, and with it, the grand finale. Betrayed by moonlight, gasps filled the air...

I snapped to my senses and angrily wiped a tear off my face as it rolled down my cheek. I couldn’t stop now. I was about to get even.

Ahead of us, farther than the human eye could see, I spotted the cave.

The home of The Creature.

I immediately shot over my shoulder, “Get ready for battle! You're about to meet your destiny!”

Darius lifted his sword in the air, eyes gleaming with verve and vigor. His men roared with excitement, beating their shields with barbaric force. Looking at him now, I could understand why so many people trusted him. It was hard not to fall for his resolve.

I approached him as we were about to cross The Creature's territory.

“This is where I stop. So, hold up your end of the deal. How did you find out I was a Fae?”

Darius gave his signature smirk.

“A deal’s a deal.” He paused as he let his face turn serious.

“I had my suspicions from day one. You were covered from head to toe and I never bought your excuse about a rare skin condition.

So, I had a witch enchant the silk I gave you to expose any symbols tattooed on your skin. After you wore it for the first time, I took it back to the witch and she used a golden flame to reveal the symbols imprinted on the silk.”

“Shocking.” I rolled my eyes. Another dirty witch trading secrets for favor.

He removed a silver key from his boot, freeing me from the anklets that interrupted my powers and tied me to him (which were likely enchanted by the same pathetic witch), and didn’t look at me again.

Rather than fluttering away like I usually do, I immediately blended into my surroundings and flew ahead of them. Normally, I don’t care what happens, and I always leave before the battle even starts, but this one time I wanted to see them meet their destiny. I deserved that much after all of this.

As quickly as it began, it ended. Business as usual. No matter how great the leader, The Creature would come out of his hiding place and leave the battlefield with scorched grass and zero traces of life.

Even my dear Darius, who started off with so much promise and fiery charisma, soon lost all luster after coming face-to-face with The Creature. His flame was snuffed. In an instant, he became nothing more than another tale for the Faerybooks.

After the creature played around and ventured back to its cave, I noticed something on its back.

A man dressed in golden scales with a little black notebook.

Like a speck of glitter, he rode upon The Creature’s back, safely nestled between its wings. Suddenly, he spoke.

“Follow me, Fae. I know you’re watching.”

I froze.

How was he able to sense me?

Dread draped over my body. If I didn’t follow him, The Creature could easily execute me on the spot. I didn’t want to die like Darius.

I followed them in.

He jumped off The Creature with a timid smile on his face.

“Hello, Fae. I’ve been expecting you.” He approached me at the mouth of the cave where the moonlight was brightest.

I watched him open the little black notebook and flip over to a drawing of me - staring at him - with a notebook - in the presence of The Creature.

What?

He nodded as if he understood my confusion, and guided me to a small chest deep within the hoard. Upon opening it, he beckoned me to reach inside.

I ran my fingers over a stack of thin, green, rectangular pieces of paper marked with numbers. He opened another page in his notebook and pointed at a symbol and number: $20,000.

Under it was a drawing of us in a place I have never seen before with tall structures made of metal and glass that scraped the sky, and people in metal boxes with wheels. Even the symbols on my arm were drawn in stunning detail.

“Destiny brought us together, Fae,” he pointed at the matching symbols lining my arm and then to the Creature behind him.

“The Creature you know is merely my guardian. The one who ‘amasses treasures throughout history, both past and future’ is me.”

He peered into my eyes, searching for some kind of understanding.

“I am a time traveler.

I am The Creature.”

The strange feeling...again.

Like I’ve met him before…

He opened up another page with the two of us standing in front of the chest.

“Our adventure is about to begin. You, me, and this little black book.”

A Fae like me?

He nodded his head as if he read my mind. “It’s your turn, Fae, to become The Creature.”

fantasy
1

About the Creator

Lyka

I write to adventure.

But my hero trait is that I’m a geek.

When I’m not writing fiction I’m writing for businesses at Lykability.com

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