AN: This, I assure you, is completely different from the original third chapter. If you haven't read the previous two, I suggest you do, they've been thoroughly re-written as well. Chapter four is in progress, but I'd prefer to have a beta read it over before I post it. As always, reviews are encouraged (I'm here to improve, after all), and thanks for reading!

Blood
chapter III

“Absolutely not!”

“Why not? You yourself said it would be hard to find someone new, and this way you can keep an eye on her, it’s a win win situation.”

Jonathan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why must you always be logical?”

Daniel grinned, knowing he’d won. “Because you’re rarely logical, and I’m the only one willing to cover for you.”

“I don’t trust her, though.”

“All the better to keep her close then. Besides, since she already knows, you won’t have to make excuses for the monthly disappearance.”

“We don’t even know her name, Daniel, all we know is she’s got Faery lineage, which can only mean trouble.”

“Well, I still think you should hire her.”

“And if she says no, then what?”

“Then we find someone else.”

The two men continued their walk back to the tavern in silence. It wasn’t until Jonathan had unlocked the back door that he finally spoke.

“Fine, we’ll ask her, but one slip up on her part, and she’s gone.”

Daniel smiled smugly, walking past Jonathan and into the building, heading straight for one of the booths, and then fell gracefully into the seat. Jonathan followed, closing the door behind himself, and moved to stand in front of his friend. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Daniel glanced around briefly. “Sitting?”

“Well stop it, we’ve work to do.”

--

About an hour later, Jonathan sat alone upstairs at his desk. He had sent Daniel to out to the market to pick up something for supper. Using this moment of privacy, he began his letter to Elizabeth, which he intended to send off later that evening. Before long, the letter was finished and there was a knock at his door before Daniel walked into the flat, vegetables, what looked like a rabbit in hand, and a bucket of water precariously hanging from his arm.

“I figured I’d make a stew, if that’s all right with you?” he said, placing the items on the counter in the kitchen.

Jonathan nodded, eyes glancing up at Daniel briefly before returning to his letter, rereading his messy scrawl to be sure he’d said everything he’d meant to.

“That for Lizzie?” Daniel asked, beginning his search for the large pot he knew Jonathan had in one of the cupboards.

“Yep,” he replied, eyes still scanning the page.”

“I’ve one for her as well, so if you’re going to find Reid of Lilian, let me know.”

Folding the paper in three, Jonathan tucked it into his pocket, then walked over to where Daniel was currently preparing their supper. “Do you need some help?”

“Nope, don’t worry about it. Why don’t you get a bottle of wine from downstairs?”

“I figured I’d send the letters out first, I’ll grab it on my way back in.”

“All right, um... here,” Daniel said, producing a slightly crumpled letter from his pocket. “Don’t take too long.”

Jonathan nodded, taking the letter form Daniel, and headed downstairs and out the the forest.

--

“Looking for me?” a youthful voice said from behind Jonathan. Jonathan turned and found himself face to face with a short boy with silver green hair, pointed tips of pale ears sticking through, and pale gold eyes laughing up at him. Of course, appearances can be deceiving. By this, it is simply understood that those that look like nine-year-old boys, may, in fact, be Elves around the age of fifty.

“Reid.”

“The one and only. Have you been waiting long?”

Jonathan shook his head and tried to hand Reid the letters.

“All business, as always,” the Elf replied, refusing the letters. “And I figured you’d want to chat for a bit.”

“Reid, if you’ve got information, just spill. I haven’t time for your antics. If I’m too long, Daniel will start to wonder,” Jonathan replied, carefully minding his temper. Reid had the ability to really annoy Jonathan, more so than most people.

“Well, it’s about that Terran girl. But before I tell you what I know, let’s hear what you know.”

Jonathan took a deep breath and counted silently to ten. “She’s a Faery.”

Reid starting giggling, “Boy, oh boy, that’s all? Hah, you really let her out of your sight with only that piece of information.”

Jonathan glared at the Elf. “Explain.”

“She’s running from them! The Fae want to get rid of her because she’s not full blood and will never get her wings. She’s hiding out in the village until they decide she’s not worth the trouble anymore.” Reid was still giggling like a child when a loud shout was heard coming from the direction of the tavern.

“We’ll talk more some time later. For now, just make sure Elizabeth gets these,” he said handing Reid the letters again.

The Elf nodded, accepting the letters this time, his laughter dissipating. “Don’t worry, she’ll get them. But be careful around the Fae girl, she could be dangerous. Lili and I will look more into it if you’d like,” Reid said seriously.

Jonathan nodded, mumbled his thanks to the Elf and headed back to the cottage.

--

“Daniel, what happened?” Jonathan asked the moment he’d run up and opened the door. Daniel was cleaning up what was left of a glass from the now broken window.

“Pixies,” Daniel said.

“Pixies? Here? I knew she lied about them avoiding the village.”

“Relax, I’m fine, nothing broken except the window. Did you find Reid?”

“Yes, the little brat says we need to watch out for her, said he’d report back with some information.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, that ‘little brat’ is nearly twice your age,” Daniel pointed out. He got along fairly well with the cheeky Elf, and never understood Jonathan’s aversion to him. “And the wine?”

“Oh... I’ll be right back.... and then we need to talk about her.”

--

Terran looked up from her book when she heard a soft knocking at the door. Cautiously she called, “Who is it?”

“It’s Lilian,” came a musical voice in response.

Terran placed her book down on the table and went to open the door, unsure of her landlady’s whereabouts. She opened the door to see a girl whom appeared to be about seventeen, pointed ears poking through short silver green hair. Lilian, though her hair and youthful appearance were that of a typical Elf, was certainly not like most Elves. Unlike the usual ethereal white complexion and pale gold eyes of most Elves, her skin was like creamy chocolate, brown and flawless, and her eyes a dark hazel flecked through with gold. “What brings you here?”

“We need to talk. Reid talked to Jonathan today,” she said. “He told Jonathan more about you.”

Terran sighed and sat at her kitchen table, gesturing for Lilian to do the same. “Well, he would have found out eventually anyway, so I suppose it’s not all bad.”

Lilian sat adjacent to her friend and responded, “Terran, I’m not sure you’re grasping this. Jonathan is far less likely to trust you now that he’s discovered the truth without you revealing it yourself. He’ll be suspicious as to why you came here even more so than before.”

“Well, you tell Reid or Jonathan or whoever that they merely hate me because I was born. That and the fact that I’m almost their equal, minus the fact that I'll never have wings. Which is sort of an advantage, I suppose, seeing as it makes it less complicated for me to blend in with the humans…”

“Just… be careful, okay?” Lilian said, sighing slightly.

“Yeah.”

--

“We’ll clean this up later, yeah?” Daniel said as he and Jonathan were finishing up their supper.

Jonathan nodded. “Tomorrow, let’s just get through tonight. Tomorrow we’ll clean, and get Terran here.”

“So I have to do the server thing again?”

“One more night won’t kill you, mate.”

--

“Jonathan, can I take a break?”

Jonathan looked over at his friend and laughed. Daniel’s normally pristine appearance had been replaced with mussed hair and a shirt tail half hanging out of his trousers.

“Oh, shut it, I’m not meant for this sort of job.”

Jonathan walked over and gently pecked Daniel on the lips, blocking the gesture from the patrons at the bar with his own body. “Sorry, mate, you can head upstairs for a bit, clean yourself up.”

Daniel sighed and headed toward the back door. Jonathan’s eyes followed the younger man’s exit, chuckling to himself.

“Oi! Barkeep?” a patron called out, breaking Jonathan from his reverie.

“Coming!”

--

“Elizabeth?”

The young woman in question glanced up from the knife she was sharpening to see Reid heading toward her, waving to letters excitedly. She brushed a stray strand of dark red hair out her face and ticked it behind her ear, the rest of it pulled back out of her face, red curls cascading down her back. Dark blue eyes met pale gold, and the two smiled at each other. Elizabeth stood from her seat on a fallen log, brushing her trousers off.

“Hello, Reid, safe journey here?”

The youthful Elf nodded. “Oh, indeed. You really ought to tell that brother of yours to be more polite to me. It’s never “How are you?” it’s always “Any news?” or “Here, for Elizabeth.” Honestly, I don’t understand how you two can be related.”

Elizabeth laughed, knowing full well the curt ways of her brother. “He can’t help himself. Is he well, at least?”

“I suppose so, he’s never been one for small talk. There’s a new girl in town, though, a Faery, I warned him about her arrival, but Lilian wants to help the girl.”

“A Faery? What kind?”

“She’s half human, blends in well, no wings, so her glamour must be simple to keep up.”

“Should I be worried?”

“Nope,” Reid replied, “I’ll keep an eye out, though. I need to go, I’ll drop by tomorrow possible.”

“Nice seeing--” Elizabeth stopped mid-sentence, noticing Reid was no longer in sight. “Well, fine then,” she muttered to herself, sitting down on the fallen log again. She quickly opened the letter from Jonathan first, and read.

Dear Elizabeth,

Hope this finds you well. It would be nice if you came home for a while, let Daniel and I meet this lovely lady you speak so highly off. Plus, we miss you. And I can even offer you a proper job, seeing as Natasha quit on us. Daniel wants me to hire this new girl in town, but I do not think I can. She figured out Daniel and I in a moment, and I do not trust her.

And before you tell me I should give her a chance, think on this: she is a Faery. I worry for not only our safety, but for that of the village. The people here may be prejudiced, but they do not deserve an invasion of dangerous creatures.

As for Daniel, he has more faith in her than I. Of course, he always was more trusting, despite everything. And I took your advice, if you can call it that. I think we are getting somewhere further than friendship. I am still not sure it is the right decision. If I lose him, Liz, I just cannot imagine what I would do. So you better be right about this, or I will come out there myself and drag you home to fix things.

One last thing: stop worrying about me! I am fine, as you have even pointed out, Daniel looks out for my well being. Be careful, and come visit soon.

Yours with love,
Jonathan

--

“Elf!”

Reid turned at the clear, commanding voice, finding himself face to face with an unfamiliar man. The mans eyes were a dull ruby colour, glinting softly in the half-light of the moon. His hair was a pale, almost white, blond, pulled back loosely into a ponytail, stray strands shifting in the slight breeze. His skin was unearthly pale, but it didn’t have the same glow of magic that Reid or his kinsmen’s did.

“Yes?” the Elf asked hesitantly, wary of this strange man’s silent appearance. Reid had exceptional hearing for an Elf and he had not heard a sound until the man had spoken.

“You are from the colony of this forest?” the man ask, voice smooth as velvet.

Reid nodded, “Yes, and you are?”

The man’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Oh, you know exactly who I am.”

--