Prologue

The faint smell of Lily and Tarragon surround the Faery. She turns her head to point her Elven descent ears towards the wind.

Autumn colored hair-golden from the part, fading to crisp leaves in the fringes that fall just below the shoulders. Almond shaped, golden eyes, with almost a natural eyeliner bringing attention to them. A miniature red dragon sits atop her pale shoulder.

These red dragons of the East are very wise and courageous leaders, but there is a dark side to them. They are jealous and egotistical, sometimes to the point of hate. While not all of them are like that, it is most common. They represent fear, war, and passion, both good and bad. This red dragon is a Cancer and its color changes when it’s mood changes. Its owner, who is wearing a single large pearl drop around her neck, summons control over this dragon by the pearl. Given Larkspur though, and the red dragon won’t command to the pearl.

She rises from the toadstool she’s been lounging on, and turns her head towards her dragon, petting its backside gently with naturally pale crimson nails.

“Say goodbye to all this Rupert.” She whispers, beckoning all around her to the tall trees and brush circling around the single toadstool. Rupert glances through black slits at her and stretches his neck upwards towards the full moon that had just been an eclipse.

Her bare feet crunch leaves on the ground as she slowly takes a few steps from the toadstool. Some gremlins peek out behind branches to look at her. They wave goodbye to the two, feeling that this is the last time the will see their friends-here at least.

“They were always bothersome anyways Rose. This is the right thing to do.” The red dragon remarks to her. Rose nods her head, brushing a few strands of hair from her face.

“Perhaps.” She murmurs, quieter than before. Keeping one eye on her dragon, she turns her other eye to the attention of bursts of autumn colors sprouting from her back and unfurling into delicate graceful wings-like a butterfly’s wings.

Her dragon slowly drops from her shoulder to the ground while eyeing sprites and nymphs and gremlins and caterpillars and insects. As soon as his claws touch the ground, he disappears. Only a tricky eye could have seen the dragon transform into the sleek black cat sitting in the place of where the dragon would be. A scaly, leather red collar surrounds his neck, with a silver oval that has the name ‘Rupert’ engraved in it. The faery looks down at him, a sly grin on her pale face.

“You’d rather be a cat sooner than later?” She questions as she picks him up. Rupert glances at her and yowls a complaint. His dark fur clashes with the pale orange, red, and yellow tunic that covers her.

“I’d rather act like a cat sooner than later Rose. Tis a good idea you change now before a prying eye sees you.”

“Rupert,” She begins, “Not a prying eye will see thee, for I am cleverer than them.” Taking a deep breath, she turns and looks at the creatures that she has known all her life until this morning. They are saddened that she is leaving them, but they know it’s for her own good.

She closes her eyes, and the wings disappear. The sharp northern winds blow around her, and when they are gone, she opens her eyes again. The creatures are gone, extinct in her human vision. The full moon appears darker than what she is used to, and she looks around her towards a road that has now suddenly appeared.

A car passes by on the road, and it frightens her. She has heard of these cars before, but has never been near one, nor seen its distinct lights. As she walks towards the road, her tender bare feet cut into the sharp rocks now entwined with the dirt and weeds of the forest path.

She walks along the road, getting used to the cars, until she finds herself on a long stretch of neon lights and the strange houses she has only heard of before.

Suddenly little creatures in masks and costumes zoom past her towards a house, shouting and laughing. They run up to the front door and ring a bell. The faery girl watches in interest and fear. What’s inside of those houses? Giant dormice? She knew a dormouse once, but she was a friendly old thing. Other dormice she had heard of weren’t so friendly, what with their cannibalistic ways.

The door opens and the creatures shout ‘trick or treat’ to a dark looking human with sprigs of confetti in her hair and a bunch of bracelets tangled around her wrists. The human throws something into bags that they hold out, and shuts the door quickly. The creatures giggle in delight and run off to another house.

“Rupert…” The faery girl begins curiously. “What do you suppose those things are?” The cat looks up at her from the ground, still half busy getting burrs out of his fur.

“I suspect you’d like to try that now, wouldn’t you?” He retorts in a bored manner. “I really wish you wouldn’t Rose, but…well, whatever you want tonight. Today can’t get much worse.” He finishes and jumps up on her shoulder again, waiting for her to move. She stays frozen to the spot for a few minutes, but eventually starts for the house those little creatures tried to take over.

Walking right up to the door, she stares meekly at a button on the wall next to the door. Rupert sighs in his catlike manner.

“Push it you twit.” He hisses unkindly. Rose gets the idea and grins as she pushes the button in. A bell tolls loudly and the she would normally cover her ears from such racket, but the car horns and such have gotten her used to it.

The human who opened up the door before opens the door to Rose and looks at her strangely. Rupert digs his claws at Rose’s shoulder until she remembers the words she heard before.

“Oh-uh…trick or treat!” She cries happily. The woman continues to stare at her, but her stare turns into an admiring stare.

“What a lovely costume!” The human declares. Rose cringes at her accent. Compared to hers, Rose’s accent is very thick and ‘European’. “Did you make it or buy it?” The human asks her as she sticks her hand into a bowl full of little things wrapped in plastic. Rose looks down at her tunic.

“I…made it?” She finally manages, her voice trying to match this woman’s accent.

“It’s so gorgeous! It looks like silk!” She shoves a hand full of plastic things Rose’s way, and Rose looks at it, unsure of what to do.

“Uh…oh, um…may I have all that?” Rose asks. The woman looks at her again, and it registers in her head.

“Oh, you don’t have a bag! Come in for a second and let me get you one!” She grabs Rose by the wrist and pulls her inside the house. It smells warm and inviting, like fresh sugar cookies. Rose stands in the middle of a big room, frozen on the spot. She waits while the woman disappears.

“What am I supposed to do!?” She squeaks to Rupert in a panic. Rupert stretches lazily on her shoulder.

“Whatever she tells you to I suppose. How should I know? I’ve been in this world, but not for many centuries. It’s all changed too much.” He stops speaking abruptly when the woman returns with a plastic bag and Rose guesses that an animal speaking clearly isn’t normal to these humans.

“Here’s a bag and I’ll put your candy in it!” The woman chirps while Rose stands there, a smile slapped across her face. She can hardly see in the blinding light the bright torches that are inside the house. As soon as the woman is finished, she hands the half full bag to Rose.

“There! Now you get on your way and tell your mother that your costume is so adorable!” Rose nods her head and walks towards the door-but doesn’t quite make it out before Rupert nearly claws her, reminding her to mind her manners.

“Th-thank you!” Rose stutters, and finally gets out the door, walking down the house’s path.

“Have a happy Halloween now!” The woman says after them. Rose turns around and waves at her. Then she turns around and glances at Rupert.

“Halloween? What’s Halloween Rupert!?” Rupert doesn’t move, but looks around them.

“Well, clearly it’s a holiday where little humans dress up and get sweets by raiding people’s homes. Back in my days when I roamed the earth freely, Halloween wasn’t like this. It was a much more sacred day. I guess times really do change quickly here.”

Rose nods, but only half hears him. Her attention has been caught by a young man walking down the street alone. His shaggy brown hair looks unkempt, and his green eyes are making her attention span grow shorter by the minute. Light green streaks are running down his face from under his eyes, and his dirty covered skin looks rough. His bare chest bores four triangles together on each shoulder, and the same pattern covers his left bicep. Anything below his chest doesn’t seem to matter to Rose now. She’s caught a glint of green wings shivering behind him.

Rose shivers in spite of herself, causing Rupert to fall off her shoulder. He lands gracefully but irritably. Looking up at her and following her gaze to the young man, Rupert howls his annoyance.

“Wh-what do you think you’re doing Rose?!” He hisses. “Don’t get all romantic here! Obviously he’s making fun of your heritage in that ugly costume of his. Now get a move-on! We must seek shelter at the moment.”

“Uh-oh…too late Rupert.” Rose whispers nervously as the young man heads towards them. He’s seen them, and he’s grinning at them. Rose takes this as a sign that he knows exactly who she is, and waves of this morning’s disaster run through her head.

“That’s a nice costume.” He says to Rose, standing just inches from her, his warmth radiating into her cold skin. She detects what was once a thick accent in his voice, but pays no attention. She shivers in delight, but fear is slowly creeping up her spine.

“Did you make it?” He asks, as if he just walks up to anyone and talks to them. “Or did someone give it to you? Somebody gave me this costume. Funny though, I only wear it tonight of all nights. People say I look like I would always look good in this though. And you know what’s weird? This green on my face? I put it on one day and it never came off. My name’s Rook by the way.” He continues on, and quite frankly it scares Rose. She honestly thinks he’s come to take her back to the faery realm.

Rupert senses her fear and covers for her as she bolts past Rook. As Rook turns to try and stop Rose, Rupert jumps onto Rook and claws at him viciously. Rook almost falls trying to get Rupert off him, and when he succeeds, his calves and forearms are scratched and bleeding.

He turns and his eye spies the figures of a cat and a girl running down the street.

Rose doesn’t know where she’s going, but she hopes wherever she ends up, she’ll be okay.

“Do you ever listen to me?!” Rupert gasps as he catches up to her. “I’d rather go back there and chew him to pieces, but no! You flee!”

“I’m sorry, it was all I could think to do! He must have wanted to take me back home! Why else would he talk to me?” Rose complains as they slow down and Rupert leads the way into some bramble. The branches snatch and catch on Rose, but she doesn’t mind at the moment.

“Rose, you’re supposedly a human now. He’s a young man. Young men are absolutely crazy over young human women! They’ll chat one up any day! And they most certainly will do it to one that fancies them the most!” Rose stops in the brush and looks back at the road coyly.

“You mean…he likes me?” She asks, her heart skipping lightly. Rupert would roll his eyes if he could, but he looks at her instead.

“Never mind about that now. Our number one priority is to find a shelter! This bramble looks pretty nice for the first night or so, but we’ll have to find something better soon. And surely we’ll have to enroll you into one of these schools the humans want you all in.” Rupert continues on, and Rose is still only half listening. She’s become high on one simple fact. A boy thinks she’s pretty? To Rose this is new, because she was never as pretty as the other faeries back home.