The Forest
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The butterfly flew from corridor to corridor, and I followed. If I could find my way back to the car park, I could hide in a car, or on the bus, and hopefully, I'd be able to get back to town. That was what I planned as I chased the butterfly down those empty corridors. There were many doors, but no indicator of what rooms they led to, and they were all frustratingly the same.

At the end of another corridor, I lost sight of the butterfly. The only way to go was left, so I went left, my bare feet slapping on the sandstone floors till I reached a dead end. With a scowl, I stopped. "Shit! I need a safe place to hide." Slamming my hands against the stone in my way, a solid thump met my impact, and I lifted my head to examine the timber doors before me.

Stepping back, I observed a forest of trees engraved upon the large doors. My mouth fell open. Only a stone wall was here a moment ago. Moving forward tentatively, I pushed on the door. It creaked open. The sounds of a tranquil forest reached me, the smells of earth and fresh air hit me.

Hurrying through the doors, I closed them behind me. Sprawling before me was a beautiful night forest. For a moment, I thought I was outside, but then the little details started to filter through the tired haze in my brain. There was light as if a moon shone into the garden, but all that stood above me was darkness.

A path lit by the not-there moonlight appeared before me. Understanding that safety lay ahead of me, not back through the doors, I followed the light into the forest. Soft grass cushioned the impact of my feet, and magnificent trees rose high above me into the darkness. Perhaps, I was outside, and the reason there was no stars or moon was the canopy of the trees blocked it out?

Studying the path ahead, the eerie light that seemed to light only the one direction, I knew that wasn't the case. The moonlight was guiding me, but I trusted whatever led me this way. The further I traveled into the forest, the more at ease I became. The fear from my earlier encounter seeped from my body with every step I took as if the ground beneath me absorbed it, and soothed me as I walked further into the garden.

The path led me to natural steps formed from the roots of trees rising from the ground, the light guided me to the base of the tree and stopped. Searching around me, I found myself surrounded by darkness. Even the path I followed to get here vanished from sight, yet, I didn't feel as if my journey was over. Unable to find anything around me on the ground, I looked up.

A smile spread across my face as I caught sight of a hammock high in the branches. Jumping up to grab the tree limb above me, I lifted myself up and climbed quickly. Checking to make sure it was secure, I fell into the hanging bed. It rocked as I snuggled down into it. I felt safe. "Thank you." My eyes growing heavy.

A gentle breeze blew through the trees, a whisper almost too quiet to hear. 'Sleep, we'll protect you.'

***

She came with the sunrise. Not that the sun was visible, but the forest filled with light. Beautiful emerald greens, fields of flowers, crystal clear brooks, all became visible from where I hung high in the tree. "Messina, come down," the woman called to me, her voice enchanting, and just like I remembered it.

She looked like me, but her hair was a rope of golden silk, and her skin was the color of honey. We had the same turquoise eyes and heart-shaped face. When she smiled, it felt like the sun was shining upon me. "I've waited so long to see you grown." Her long fingers combed through my hair. "I'm sorry I sent you away, that I couldn't escape to find you."

"You've found me now." I smiled brightly as she braided my hair for me.

Her smile faded. "What happened to you? How did you come back here and find my tree?"

"I don't remember what happened. I was told the police found me wandering along a road, but when I couldn't tell them where my home was, they gave me a new one. Eventually, not having a home was a better choice than the one on offer. My friend Lisa and I came here looking for warmth and food. They killed her. They stamped her red and drank her blood." Lifting my wrist, I showed her my mark. "They gave me to the owner, but I ran. This is the first time I've felt safe since you sent me away. Please, let me stay."

The woman swiped the crystal tears caressing her cheek. "You are born of their world as much as mine. I should have known it would draw you home. My garden will protect you now. The faerie mound recognized your blood and heard what you desired most. It led you to me, but you cannot stay here indefinitely."

"How do I escape?"

The woman took my wrist and caressed the black and purple mark there. Her thumb rubbed over the birthmark just below the fresh tattoo. "You don't. Not yet. He'll be looking for you. We need to wait till he realizes you escaped him again. I would send you to my home, but I realized too late, you were safer with your father."

"Did I know my father?"

"Yes."

"Was he angry when you sent me away?"

"He was never that sort of father."

A burn of disappointment passed through me. I'd always hoped my real father loved me, looked for me, wanted me. "What's your name?" I'd dreamt of her many times, but it was the memories of her that had lingered, even when all my other memories had escaped me. This wasn't a dream, though. It felt different. This encounter felt real.

"Nora." She caressed my cheek gently as she finished styling my hair. "You are going to need food and supplies, so you'll need a dress, something that allows you to blend."

"Blend? They are monsters; I'll stand out like a sore thumb."

"Nonsense, there are plenty of the fallen Sidhe amongst the Sluagh and goblins. They'll think nothing of a new face wandering the halls."

I wasn't so convinced, but Nora had me stand and walk for her. Shaking her head, she stood with me. "No, you belong, you need to look like you do. This is how you must walk." She walked a line, her shoulders back, confident of herself. "Do not make eye contact with the Sluagh, ensure you make eye contact with goblins, and if you see a troll or red cap, just get out of there before they get close to you."

"What do the trolls and Red caps look like?"

Hesitating, Nora waved her hand, a cloud of golden dust floated before me, forming an image of a giant man with a red cap on his head, dipping it in the blood of a flayed man.

"They are the best warriors of the Unseelie, second to the Sluagh. Red Caps are the most vicious, and the noblest of all the Unseelie. They are one of the few who still place duty higher than self."

The image faded and another took its place. This one had a large man, his stomach large and protruding over his kilt. He carried a mallet and scimitar both dirty as if rusted and covered in dried blood. Spit filled my mouth; I swallowed it in a lump of fear. "Yes, I saw a few of those at the feast."

Waving her hand the image turned into golden dust as it fell to the ground. "Trolls. They have no empathy and live only to fulfill their own needs. If you have nothing to offer them, you are food only."

My wrist pulsed, a sudden jerk of pain that eased quickly. The tattoo was glowing faintly. "What does this mean?"

"It is his mark." Nora shook her head in despair. "You were marked to serve him. When he accepted you as his servant, he branded you. He can find you by your mark. As he gets closer, it will glow brighter. It also allows you to know when you are close to him so you will be able to avoid him, hopefully."

"Serve him how?"

"However he wishes, Messina. You belong to him now. He can do whatever he likes with you, and none will stop him. It will protect you from the others. If they tried to harm you and you flashed that mark, they would leave you be. However, if you show that mark, they will undoubtedly take you to him now, since they would all know he is looking for you."

Tears ran down my cheeks. "Can the mark ever be removed?"

Turning her face away, as if the answer was hard for her to say, Noras wouldn't meet my eyes. "Only if he chooses it. To think, I sent you away to protect you from him, only for him to find you again. This must be her doing." Nora forced herself to meet my eyes, seriousness conveyed in the intensity of my mirror. "Messina, you must know, if he ever removed the mark, he would give you to his people to devour. At that point, you would need to reveal the name of your parents. It would be the only thing to save you. But, you would never do that unless your life was in absolute peril."

"Why?"

"To reveal the name of your parents would curse you to a much worse fate then enslavement to the dark prince."

"What could be worse than enslavement to such an evil being?" Feeling my resolve slowly crumble with the fear I recognized in her eyes, I huddled in on myself.

"Being eternally bound to a Seelie lord that will use you for the title your true name will give him. They've all been looking for you, Messina. Many will want to use you; many more will want you dead. It's why I sent you away, but fate will not be duped twice." Standing, she caressed my head and faded with the light into the creeping darkness of night.