Chapter 7 Bloom

Emerging from the Forests Sal still couldn't stop himself from admiring the enormity of the Fey Land's beauty.

The purple sky, the clean breeze, the grass that felt like padded foam through his boots, the amazing creatures that Sal never thought existed, butterflies with wings made of leaves and bees with bodies like jelly beans.

And yet there was something wrong about it, counterfeit, that prevented Sal from being enchanted by it's beauty, only leaving his admiration as an admiration and nothing more.

"I am assuming you've never been to the Fey" said Bloom.

Sal looked beside him to see that he had somehow ended up in front of the rest with Bloom.

She looked up at him with curious eyes, not missing a beat as they walked.

"Yes actually, this is my first time seeing such a beautiful and dangerous place" said Sal.

"Oh really?" said Bloom.

"Yes, though you are most beautiful among beauties and most dangerous among dangers fair one"

Bloom looked at him and quirked an eyebrow, smirking as she plucked a purple flower from the field.

"Impressive, you indeed talk as the Fey, your words are like honey, sweet" she said as she admired the flower like a cat might admire it's owners, with superior fascination, " but we are not liars, and that you cannot forge nor feign"

"I speak no lie fair one" Sal said, not knowing where his words came from, "what would be the gain of speaking false truths"

"Oh please Salome" said Bloom, tossing the flower to the ground, it sank immediately and began to grow again.

"I speak sincerely" he said. "I know false things, I have lived a false life after all, I know it does no good at all to lie nor to be lied to"

She gave him a knowing smile.

"I have no doubt that you do, just as I have no doubt that there are others you consider just as beautiful and dangerous as me, if not more" said Bloom, she tilted her head in the direction of the twins who were deep in discussion behind them.

"I assure you I do not consider any of them in that way" said Sal.

"Are you certain Salome?, not even the girl?"

Sal looked back at Katarina before he answered, she was smiling at something Casmir had said, she looked up and their eyes met, she was shocked for a brief second until the shock transformed into a warm smile.

Sal heard Bloom chuckle beside him.

"The heart always desires the things it finds most difficult to have" said Bloom.

They reached the large expanse of water and stopped in front of the vast sea of crystal clear liquid.

Bloom waved her hand and a bridge of vines emerged from the ground, stretching over the water and braiding themselves together as though the air was earth.

"Besides", said Bloom, her fingers curling and shimmering green, "you need not flatter me to get what you want, you can simply request"

"Which may land me in the middle of a bargain if I'm not mistaken" Sal said.

Bloom smiled and winked.

"You're already in the middle of one, you just can't see it."

Before Sal could say anything else, she was already on the bridge, her body sauntering forward with purpose.

"Well she seems nice" said Katarina as she fell into step beside him.

"Honestly she's not that bad" said Sal, the unfamiliar accent vanishing completely as they emerged on the bridge. "Sure she's kind of daring but she's okay"

"She seems to know a lot, doesn't she?" said Katarina.

Sal watched Bloom looking over the bridge, the vines forming beneath her feet just as she stepped her foot down.

"Yeah, it's a little threatening" he said.

"I wonder where she's taking us"

"Probably a hotel", chimed Casmir, "or a nice warm brothel"

A vine from the bridge whipped Casmir's arm and he yelped in pain.

Sal couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of him, trust Casmir to anger a bridge.

He turned to look at Katarina who was already looking at him, smiling.

Sal had noticed her always watching him, observing him, whether she was being wary or was simply amused Sal didn't know, but he couldn't say he didn't like it either.

"Why are you always studying me?, it's as if there's a giant pimple on my nose just begging to be popped" said Sal.

Katarina laughed but didn't take her eyes off him.

"I don't know, you're not like anyone I've ever known before, you're...." she groped for words, "... strange"

"Strange" he repeated. "That's a new one"

Katarina swore, it sounded cute.

"I'm sorry that didn't come out right" said Katarina.

"No it's fine, I mean I've been called a multitude of things, I've been called weird, psychotic, freaky but strange?"

"I didn't mean it like that, I just..."

"I know how you meant it" Sal said sincerely. "I mean, you're just being plain honest about how you see me, and there's nothing wrong with that"

"I assume it's been tough, you know hair and eyes and all, without the Shade hiding you" Katarina said. "A lot of people must have given you a hard time"

"The bullies?, no they don't get to me, their words hurt sometimes yeah, but it's the people that try to sugarcoat it or ignore it completely, that get to me" Sal said. "The social workers back at the orphanage, they'd pile us all up, the dyslectic, the autistic, the disabled, and those of us with "peculiar features", and collectively they'd call us "special" "

Sal scoffed.

"They called us that everyday but I never felt that way, not once, the word only made me feel wrong somehow, like I was less..... human"

Katarina scoffed as well, not unkindly.

"Well I mean look around you" she said, "you're in fucking Fey Land"

She laughed and Sal laughed with her, their bodies inched unconsciously closer as they walked, their shoulders nearly brushed each other.

"You're not human, you never have been", she wrapped her arms around herself, and she whispered so that it was only he that heard, "but you are special, in more ways than one"

She smirked, and he smiled and that moment felt just as it had on the front porch, like it was just the both of them over the clear waters of the Fey walking side by side on a bridge of vines.

It felt right.

"You guys, come look at this" called Casmir.

The two of them broke eye contact and moved to see what Casmir was looking at.

They looked over the edge of the bridge and saw dozens of human like creatures swimming in the water like schools of fish. Their top half was human and bare and their bottom half was a long fish tail, each of them had a unique colour combination of scales that glistened like stars under water, they all waved at Sal, their mouths open as they sang a song.

"Woah, mer-people" said Sal.

"These are sirens Salome" said Bloom as she looked back, "mer-people live in the mortal plane though I have no idea why, Fey waters are much cleaner"

Sal looked back at the water and saw that the sirens looked offended and began to swim away.

"Did I do something wrong?" asked Sal.

Bloom smiled knowingly and shook her head.

"No, sirens always cause some sort of reaction when they sing their song, they're offended because none of you reacted, which I personally find very interesting" said Bloom.

"What does that mean?" asked Casmir.

Bloom smirked and continued walking.

"It means each of you already holds someone dear to their heart", said Bloom, "I wonder how that will turn out".

Sal shook his head and turned to look at Kat and Casmir who had moved away from the bridge, looking at each other, their faces white.

"I'm sure she's just messing around" he said.

They both looked at him, the expressions on their faces were so identical it was like they were feeling the same thing.

"Sure" they both said and then they walked forward.

They walked the rest of the way in silence until the bridge of vines touched down on the other side.

As Sal's feet touched the ground he expected to feel grass but instead his boot clicked on cool, solid stone.

Sal looked up as they advanced forward into the city.

It was large, like setting foot in another New York. The buildings were tall, several stories in the air but made of what looked like crystals, some coloured, some transparent just like the wands in Katarina's armory. The streets were paved with stone and jewels and the city was bustling with Fey of different kinds; elves with their majestic beauty and pointed ears, dwarves with their petite bodies and scruffy beards, nixies and pixies, like little sparks of light, wood nymphs and water nymphs moved about chattering with each other, wind spirits and fire spirits drifting around in freedom, the fairies with their majestic wings and the few sirens on land with scales on their arms and legs.

Sal had never seen anything like it.

"Welcome to the Fey Capital", said Bloom, "the Fey was a gift from Mother Gaea but it was Uncle Poseidon who provided the Capital, it's built entirely from treasures of the sea"

"Incredible" said Sal.

"Uncle?" said Casmir.

Bloom looked at Casmir and gave him a wary look.

"Yes bloodsucker, all Fey are related to the gods because we are the closest thing to living, breathing nature" said Bloom.

"Bloodsucker?" said Katarina annoyed.

Bloom gave her a sincerely apologetic look.

"Forgive me, it's what my parents call vampires, they've had bad history with them" said Bloom.

Derogatory, Sal mouthed to Casmir.

Casmir gave him the middle finger.

"Is that where you're taking us fair one?, to your parents?" Sal asked after rolling his eyes.

"Yes Salome, I need to let them know I'm leaving and there are things I must take with me on my journey" said Bloom. "It's not everyday the princess has to leave home for a hunt"

Sal stopped in his tracks and so did Katarina and Casmir.

"Princess?" inquired Sal.

Bloom turned, her expression innocent and without pride, like she was wondering why they were so surprised.

"Of course, I'm Princess of Fey Land, and my parents are the King and Queen"

***

Casmir was really not liking this Bloom girl.

First she'd led them into a trap, then she'd threatened Katarina, though she let them live, she'd taken them over a very aggressive bridge of vines.

Then there was the whole bloodsucker business which annoyed Casmir the most.

And now this.

The Princess of Fey Land.

Fuck you your majesty.

"So do I start calling you Princess Bloom?" asked Sal.

"No!, no, dear Zeus no", said Bloom as she continued to walk forward, "you may address me however you like just not by my full name"

Casmir had many things he wanted to call her but he didn't say them out loud, instead he followed the rest as they proceeded in silence, passing by large buildings and whispering Fey.

Soon they were in front of the Crystal Palace, it's spire piercing the purple sky, both beautiful and somehow intimidating.

They walked through the large gates that were made from milky pearls and had golden vines snaking over and across it. There were guards on either side of the gate, tall and domineering elves with spears and shields in each hand. Bloom nodded at them and then walked, beckoning the rest of them to follow without fear.

They passed through the pearly gates and emerged on a path of cobbled stone. On either side of them stood plant and wild life unlike anything Casmir had ever seen, the trees were rich and ripe with gleaming fruit, leaves so green they looked like they would remain that way forever, the grass was crawling with insects, like golden specks in the green, and hanging on the trees were snake like creatures either perched on extended branches or curling on the grass. Little birds flew and sang, their wings exploding with different colours as they settled on a tree branch or on a rose bush or on the pathway itself.

Casmir watched as one of the snake like creatures crawled on the stone path towards Sal, it slithered it's way to him and began to climb up his leg.

Sal smiled down at the creature, nothing but kindness in the curve of his lips, he bent to stroke the creature and it hissed in agreement, crawling up his arm and settling on it, it's bright red scales shining.

"It seems to like you" said Bloom.

"You think?" asked Sal, Casmir swore he could here expectation in Sal's voice, like a child who'd just been told he would finally get a puppy.

"Yes" answered Bloom. "But I doubt his mother would appreciate you kidnapping her dragonling"

Sal frowned and looked down at the dragonling as it slithered down his body and back into the green.

"You scared it off Bloom" complained Sal.

Bloom simply shook her head and walked forward, Sal's mouth was wide open and Casmir couldn't help laughing, he turned to look at Katarina but she was lost in her own world, walking with her hands wrapped around herself.

Casmir knew her well enough to know something was bothering her, she'd been awfully quiet since the bridge, and Casmir was worried about her.

He fell in step beside her and nudged her gently with his shoulders.

"Hey what's going on?" he asked.

She looked up at him, shook her head and then looked away.

"Nothing" she said.

She didn't sound convincing but she didn't seem too open to conversation either so Casmir let her be, he'd done enough hurt to his sister, he didn't want to repeat the same mistake again.

"Okay, just checking" said Casmir.

She smiled at him gratefully and when they focused forward again they were met by crystal steps and large doors made of polished wood, long dark green vines snaked around the knob and on the door.

Bloom stopped abruptly and turned around.

"Okay, a little bit of warning, my parents are very....extra, I advice Salome does all the talking as he is the most Fey amongst you" said Bloom.

"I wonder if that's a compliment" whispered Casmir.

Katarina chuckled but Bloom glared at him.

"Also, you might want to Shade yourself bloodsucker, my parents will not hesitate to kill you otherwise"

Casmir was about to protest but Sal's firm hand on his shoulder silenced him.

He sighed and began to cast a Shade over himself, altering what others saw and drawing a curtain over his natural appearance.

"Good" said Bloom with a smile.

Then she walked up the steps, clapped her hands and walked in as the wooden doors opened up at her command.

Sal nodded at them and they followed Bloom.

The doors led to a large entryway, with a spiral staircase on their right and a hallway that led to two large doors on their left. The floor was gleaming marble and the walls were clear crystal with purple light passing straight through it, there were no windows that Casmir could see but the palace didn't seem to need it, there was a calm, subtle breeze that flowed as if the air from outside passed through the walls as well.

Casmir saw Bloom walking through the hallway towards the doors and motioned for Sal and Katarina to follow him, they walked, and then, with another clap from Bloom, passed through the opening doors.

They were met with another hallway, this one lined with beautiful tapestries.

Casmir, being an artist, couldn't help stopping and staring.

Every illustration was laid out in tremendous detail, past wars between the Fey and other Shaded beings, visitations from the gods, big time events like the first union of the Summer and Winter Courts and the last Civil war between the Gentry Fey and the Wild Fey, a war popularly known as the Incursion.

Casmir placed a hand on the tapestry and wondered what blessed hands had woven them, whose skilled fingers had used strings of thread to create this beautiful piece of artwork.

"These are beautiful" Sal said beside him.

Casmir turned to Sal, watching the fascination dance in his eyes.

"I agree" he said.

"Boys" called Bloom.

Sal tore his gaze away from the tapestries and Casmir tore his gaze away from Sal. They both jogged to catch up as Bloom and Katarina walked ahead.

They got to a doorway, the only form of obstruction was a curtain of braided vines with little white flower buds growing out of them.

Bloom frowned and pushed away the curtain. Casmir could make out shadows as she did, some large, some small, some with indefinite shapes.

She motioned for them to wait, and as soon as she walked through there was a chorus of greetings, followed by some talking, then shuffling of feet and after some time the curtain of vines parted on their own and they took this as their cue to walk in.

The Throne Room of the Fey was a large circular space, and unlike the rest of the palace it's walls were not crystal, they were sheets of water running down like a waterfall, two thrones were raised on a platform in front of the room and they were both occupied.

The first was entirely black, wood and cushion as dark as night, and had shards of diamonds in the throne like shining stars on a dark night sky, it was occupied by a woman, her hair was silver, and placed like a halo on her head was a golden crown. Her skin was as black as the throne and her eyes were like golden rings, her ears sharply pointed. She wore a black dress of crow's feathers that covered her entire body save her hands which had metallic nails like talons, she sat with her back straight and her head high, looking down at them with unhidden wickedness and evil, a sinister smile playing across her beautiful face.

Casmir had the sudden urge to go down on his knees and beg for mercy even if he knew he'd committed no crime but he kept his feet planted firmly on the ground, fully aware of Sal at his side who was looking directly at the queen and showing no sign of fear.

The other throne was occupied by a man, the throne itself was made of glass but shone as if it contained sunlight. Casmir could feel it, the dull ache that came when he was in the same room with pure, blessed energy, the everlasting power of light over darkness. The Fey that sat on it wasn't smiling, he had a stony expression on his face that only softened when he laid his unusual pink eyes on Bloom. His hair was the same colour as his eyes and a golden crown rested on his head as well. He had scaly skin like a sirens and was bare chested revealing tattoos like waves across his skin that seemed to shine with the same light as the throne, from his waist down was silver chainmail armor stopping at his ankles. He was as beautiful as the queen that sat beside him, but instead of radiating fear and evil, he gave off the feeling of justice and good, of passion and loyalty.

"Mother, Father", Bloom said, "these are Salome, Karim and Katarina, they are the ones Hermes told me about, the ones that would need my help for a hunt"

The King and Queen both considered the group, their expressions unswerving.

"Do you smell that Titania?" asked the King. "It smells like blood....and fangs"

"I don't know Gaddiel, there is definitely something wrong with the scent in this room but I can't quite place it" said the Queen.

Casmir almost panicked and then Sal walked forward and he panicked more.

"I apologize your majesties, my comrades and I had to slaughter a few bloodsuckers on our way here, dreadful creatures I must add" said Sal.

Casmir didn't fail to notice the slight tick in Sal's jaw when he spoke, the strain in his voice when he'd said "bloodsucker". He knew Sal didn't mean it but it hurt nonetheless.

"Yes their scent does stick on you once they die" said Gaddiel, the King, he sounded ready to strike up a conversation.

Bloom cut in before they could talk more on the death of vampires.

"Guys", she said, "these are my parents, Titania, the Queen of the Winter Court, and Gaddiel, King of the Summer Court"

Sal went down on one knee and the rest of them followed.

"The stories and poems about your beauty plead true, though the words of mortal writers are not enough to describe your magnificence" said Sal.

Casmir raised an eyebrow in Kat's direction, she too looked surprised but she bent her head as if nothing happened..

"I like this one" said Titania, her voice heavy with lust, "he would make a wonderful puppet"

"I agree" said Gaddiel thoughtfully, clearly considering the possibility.

Casmir felt like tearing their throats and drinking their blood.

"Mother, Father, you know what happened the last time" said Bloom.

Gaddiel scoffed.

"That demigod was hardly harmed in any way, if anything I think he enjoyed it" said Gaddiel.

"Well his father, who happened to be Zeus, didn't, you both cannot make another mistake like that again" said Bloom.

Titania glared at Bloom and Casmir worried she would go into some sort of tantrum, but she simply smirked and faced Sal once again, her eyes roaming his body hungrily.

"You wish for my daughter's aid?" inquired the Queen.

"Only if your majesties please" replied Sal.

"Then we propose a bargain" said Titania.

Casmir gulped.

They couldn't do a bargain with the Fey, they were unpredictable, and cunning, they could trap them all in this realm and none of them would realize it.

Until it was too late.

Casmir was about to protest when Sal lifted his head, his eyes and mark were burning blue as he looked at Titania who was struggling to hide the caution behind her smile.

"You don't want a bargain" Sal said.

The power in his voice was so raw Casmir himself was compelled to repeat the words as well.

The Queen's smile faded into a confused frown, and then with dazed eyes she spoke.

"I don't want a bargain" she said.

And then she gasped and covered her mouth, the daze gone from her eyes as though she'd woken from a dream.

Casmir saw Bloom's eyes widen with surprise. Katarina was still kneeling, her expression unreadable.

Sal turned to Gaddiel who was also in a state of shock.

"And what about you?, you don't wish for a bargain, do you?"

Gaddiel's eyes met Sal's and his composure returned. He smiled down at Sal and began to speak, the tension that had built in the room was too plane to ignore.

"I never wanted a bargain ju chi but you have compelled one of the Fey to speak an untruth, an act that goes against our nature, and the Lex, therefore..."

"She spoke no lie your majesty" Sal said. "The Queen simply said what she believed was true and I am absolutely certain that does not go against your nature, does it?"

Gaddiel clenched his jaw and the tattoos and throne shone with a brighter light that made Casmir flinch, but Sal didn't move an inch.

"Bloomera" Gaddiel boomed.

Bloom winced.

"You may go with them, the one with silver hair has proven himself, I believe he speaks for the rest of them"

Bloom looked surprised but she nodded and turned to the rest of them, a smile on her face.

"Yes Father" she said.

"Good, now get them out of my sight"

Bloom winked at them before motioning to follow her back out the curtain they'd come in.

As they exited the throne room Casmir heard Titania whisper, her voice brimming with fear.

"He has Satan's tongue that boy, I fear for whoever stands in his way, they will know what evil truly is"

Casmir gulped.

Hard.

***

Sal sighed in relief as they exited the palace gates and made their way back to the sea through the streets of the Fey Capital.

There had been a fear that things would go badly, that Bloom's parents would say no or that there would be some kind of battle in the middle of everything or that they would actually have to bargain and face the consequences of doing so.

But that fear had died, replaced by the feeling of great accomplishment.

They had Bloom on their side and now they'd be going back to the mortal plane to find the next person, each passing minute was a minute closer to Sal finishing this hunt and possibly returning to his old life, even though, at times, he felt his old life might not be worth returning to.

"Dude, where did you learn to do that?" asked Casmir, now unShaded and himself again. Sal had to admit it had been unnerving to refer to Casmir as Karim when he looked like a combination of Justin Bieber and Tom Holland.

"Do what?"

"The persuasion thing you did with the Winter queen" said Casmir.

"I don't know, I'm guessing it's one of my gifts, I've always been able to manipulate minds and emotions since I was a kid"

"So what you just tell people what to do?" said Casmir.

It wasn't that simple, he had to feel them first, read their thoughts, know their fears and desires, before he'd be able to control them.

Considering Casmir's excitement Sal didn't think he had the patience to explain so he simply nodded.

"Damn, you take bossy to a whole other level" said Casmir.

They laughed and when Sal realized Katarina's absence he turned to look at her.

Katarina was silent, her hands clenched tight at her elbows, her teeth biting down hard on her lips.

"What's wrong?" Sal asked.

"It's not funny" Katarina said. "What happened just now, that was scary"

"Oh please" said Casmir. "They were stunned, surprised even"

"You mean terrified" Katarina said.

"Kat, c'mon"

"I'm serious Cas, Sal was able to manipulate one of the Fey, the Winter queen for that matter, without repercussions, that's not something he should be able to do, that's not something anyone should be able to do" said Kat.

"Yes but he can, why are you making such a big deal out of this" said Cas.

"Cause It's too much power for one person, for anyone really"

"Okay first of all" Sal cut in, "I'm right here, and second of all, who are you to decide who gets power and who doesn't"

"I'm not deciding, I'm simply speaking based on facts, that kind of power, it has an effect on people, it makes them feel superior, like they can rule the world"

"Kat, this is Sal you're talking about"

"Yeah, and you don't even know me well enough to judge me like that"

"But don't you see what's going on, you have never known about this world up till a few days ago, suddenly you have immense knowledge, you can mimic the tongue of the Fey, you have powerful magic and you can manipulate one of the oldest Fey in history!"

"Okay so?, like you said I'm special, more ways than one, remember?" said Sal.

"Maybe, or maybe you're just some weird science experiment the gods cooked up to do their dirty work for them"

Sal scoffed, unable to make up any words to say back. He felt the shock race through his body like poison, paralyzing him to the spot, they hurt in a way that he'd never expected them to, like knives piercing his heart and soul.

Katarina covered her mouth, surprised that she'd said something like that.

"Of course, I'm the experiment" Sal managed.

"Sal, she.." started Casmir.

Sal took a step closer, his eyes fixed on Kat's, she flinched and stepped back . Casmir moved like lightning and in a second was standing in Sal's way, fangs bare and eyes red with caution.

It was then that Sal saw it, in both their eyes, he felt it emanating from their bones and minds, he heard it in the unsteady beating of their hearts and in the laboured effort of their breaths.

The fear, cold and fast, crawling underneath their skin and blinding them from the truth that stood right in front of them.

"I am not a science experiment" said Sal, he could hear his own voice choked with emotion. "And I am not a puppet"

He was about to turn when he heard Bloom called out their names.

She was running to them and someone was following close behind her, but Sal didn't stay to wait for them, he was in no mood to meet someone new, someone who would most likely be afraid of him like everyone else was.

So he did what he knew they all would do to him eventually.

He walked away.