Here I am. 

Wiser than every old man you will ever meet. Older than time itself. With the beauty of a hundred goddesses combined into one, witt transcending natures laws. 

I am a feary, but not just any, the Westbury faery. Right now, spotlighted by the World Faery Society. I could not contain myself, so I bit the young boy who hit me with the branch. Tell me, what kind of guy is throwing branches around a cemetery in a small town during nighttime? Like honestly, who does something like this and expects nothing to happen. I might me old, elegant and smart, but even I make mistakes. Haven't thought of the camera they had, and days later, the footage was uploaded to youtube. 

Oh, what an uproar. As mighty as a lions roar when he wins a battle to death. The internet found a new topic to spin around, the WFS enough evidence to start an amazingly gigantic search for me. 

And the boy said, it did't hurt. I giggled, when I saw the bite and his face while he told the lie. Of course this hurts. Let me tell you a story of how snakes in australia gained the venom and poison they now have. Faerys existed way before any other living beings, having magical creatures as company. And of course, wars. The only possibility to defend our fragile bodies were sharp teeth and a dangerous venom. Oh, and we used this. With amusement. 

To see all those giants, trolls and dragons fall to our tiny teeth, ripping their skin open and piercing to the veins - it was the most fun we ever had. We made the big ones fall, and only tiny creatures remained. Unseen, unheard. 

Nature is a beautiful, intelligent thing, and built animals with some characteristics of ours. Snakes. For example. With an urge to kill. Well, at least some of those have this urge. 

As we became older,  more animals came to exist on earth, we grew tired of wars and fighting, and just lived peacefully beside the gentle giants and fluffy creatures, birds and fish. We became wiser, our days of youth passed by. Until humans came. 

Good god, why. Why did you have to make those. 

Dirty, stupid, annoying, boring, and with short lives. To be honest, we tried to befriend them at first. We really did. Could have been a nice attraction, nice new friends with funny ideas. They had an interesting culture, and due to our different live spans, they built empires up in no time. Only to overthrow each other, kill, and terrorize everything and everyone. They used everything and everyone they could get their fingers on, squeezing every last drop out of the victim. How should we have known that they tried to dominate the entire earth and all species. 

They did not come to kill, oh no. They came to destroy, our world, our mind, our culture, our hearts. We fought in wars, but our enemies were killed with only little pain of the venom. We were then able to coexist. But humans cannot. I am sure of it. I saw them. Milking our venom to kill their foes, taking our wings, our dust. Breaking and snapping our bodies in two, ripping the flesh from bones, enjoying it. 

Not all. Of course, not all. There were exceptions, but we learned to never trust humans again. Oh no, never. 

Until one day. One bloody day. How I hate this day. 

Tears of fear and pure, motherly pain streamed down her warm face, her hair tangled. She did not even try to wipe her face clean anymore, just like she gave up on him, she gave up on herself. Her husband, sitting next to her, cried too. Holding a small boys hand. Maybe five years old. Brown hair, a mole on his face. I could not leave them there. The memories of dying comrades were flashing through my mind, and my heart was moved. My old heart, moved my a human woman. I should have known where something like this would lead to. 

"Hi. I... erm... Can maybe help you.", I stuttered, while flying down slowly into the room trough the window. Do not ask me why. 

The woman stared at me in awe, before she whispered: "A faery!"

I nodded. Yes. 

And so the drama began. My first, big mistake. Contact with humans. And yes, I did it again. In Westbury. Stupid me. 

A bit of faery dust, and the boy was good as new. Saw me. Called me Grace, because of my beauty. And wanted to see me again. 

"I am not sure, Phillip. Maybe."

And the maybe transformed magically to a yes. He loved me with all his heart. He loved everything I did, how I talked, what I said, how I've been. We developed a relationship. In a way. And he was mine, what I saved, what I created. He was, what I had done. Everything I had. Oh, how much it meant to me when he listened to my words. Oh, how much I liked it. A big sister, a mother, and someone special deeply bound to his mind, body and soul. And I was bound to him.

He grew up so fast, so quick. Lord, he got handsome. And I stayed by his side. It was a short amount of time, for me, but many long years for him. One evening, we sat in the salon, drinking tea, when some rumors occurred outside the house. I heard somebody screaming, then the door broke open and men stormed in. Two. And took me in. Kyle and Riley Moran. They apparently heard rumors, and wanted me for their shop. It was the human way.  They knocked Phil down, took me with them. I knew, this had to be my end. Pain flushed through my fragile body when they broke a leg, an arm. I screeched, and cried. But they didn't care at all. They held me hostage only using their hands, and I felt so weak. So left alone. So close to death. Luckily, Phillip got up quickly, and followed the brothers. But they had already taken a lot of venom and dust from me.

When he saw me, as he reached the shop they had, in Kyles hand, barely breathing, he snapped. And killed Kyle. I had not been able to see how he did it, but it must have been brutal. 

All went down at this point. He flew to Ireland, and I held back, hoping he would forget me. Kyle hit his head quite hard, and he woke up only a few hours after the incident. I hid him, hoping he would wake up soon. And from then on, never showed my face again. 

His memories were vague, but he knew he had to flee. So he did. And forgot about me. 

But I never did. He was mine. 

New town, new name, new love - Lauren. Only a short span passes, but it was an eternity in his world. She was grace, but never as much as me. We faerys like to hide in the woods and trees, and thanks to the big garden, I had enough space. When I saw him with his wife and daughter, I got mad. And then I heard the daughters name. 

Grace. 

Oh god. How could he. My name. He was my possession. And I would get him back. 

So, in the middle of the night, I bit Lauren. In hope, she would die. But, to my shock, she did not. She got a little ill, and Phillip got all worked up. I hid in the mirrors of the house, trying to reach her. I bit her again and again, getting less careful. She saw my shadow in the mirror, seeing slight bits of me around the house and garden. The marks were huge and infected.

"I tell you, there was something!"

"Lauren, dear. Calm. It must have been some sort of animal.", he always said. 

But she got paranoid, always kind of ill, panicked. And then, she was confident she saw me in the trees, and burned them down. All of Graces beloved trees, so she cried, als she held her sketches. Phillip held his child, and wondered about his wife. 

"I TELL YOU; THERE IS SOMETHING!", she shrieked. 

And Phillip could not help, but move away. By ship. To canada. Oh Phillip, you had not learned a thing. She burned the trees, our homes. She held the mirror where a faery resided in, loved the man saved by the golden dust. My presence was the only thing saving you from the creatures lurking in the shadows, awaiting you. And I let them go. Let the creatures follow them, making the whole ship fall ill. Very ill. 

It must have been hell. Oh, it must have been. They have been followed, bitten, cursed. The whole ship was in fear of the unknown, wich normally leaves human beings alone. But with the cursed family, nobody was save. After half of the trip, I came back to the boat, as I did not want Phillip dead, I wanted him for myself. Grace cried. Lauren was dying slowly. A human body is not able to take much, but she was surprisingly strong.

They found a new home, somewhere in Canada I bit Lauren one time again, and she died, while stuttering: "She followed. She followed us. They all came, and now I am here."

Phillip cried. He cried, and went further away with his daughter, to Westbury, Tansania. All the way to Australia. 

I knew, he would never be mine as he had been before, but he had only Grace left. I saw myself in her, saw myself, my name, my place. But him as well. That is why I never placed my hands on the little girl. I went to protect the man from golden dust and his daughter, went far away from my home. The town was full of magic. Many faerys frequently contacted humans, but never been captured. They got close, but not too close. Not too attached, like I was. Clever beings.

Did he ever ask himself wether he could have saved Lauren? Wether he could have lived a long life with her? I do not know. Even yet this remains a mystery. But he loved his daughter as much as he could, and she grew up. He drank, to forget, suffered in silence. I knew, he did. Lauren was his world, but I took her. To a place I saved him from. 

He was at the doctors, after he nearly died again. I used some dust.  Again.

I just... I... I could not resist the urge. He was so important to me and wanted to end his life with an overdose of alcohol. Why, Phillip. Why can't you see, she was not the one for you. You are mine, I saved you again. 

The doctor tried to contact his family, but there was none. Only Grace and I. Two Graces, who stood helpless next to Phillip, losing their grip to him more and more. Grace was a stunning young woman. 

"Do you miss mom?", she asked, one day. For the first time in all those years. 

He nodded.

Next morning, we found him close to death. One of his tools was sticking out of a wound in his throat. No. Phillip. Why. 

"Grace. Lauren. Grace."

His lasts words. Grace cried over the dead body of her father. Did he know, i was there? He said Grace twice. Why did Lauren not die the first time? 

Questions over questions. 

Broken, dizzy, and lonely I went back to the shadows, trying to forget what had happened. But you all won't leave me alone. Are you satisfied now? Now that you know? I lost someone. A long time ago. But it still hurts. I have seen more than any of you, felt more. Know more. But got lost anyways. Tell me, was I wrong? Should I have left the boy to die? Would have probably caused less pain. 

I am Grace, the Westbury faery. And you will never capture me. Not again.