Blending
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Over the next few weeks, I took the time to explore the garden. It wasn't as big as it seemed that first night. Day and night both existed in the enclosed forest, just as it did in the outside world. There was no actual sun, but daylight filled the illusion of an endless sky above me, enabling investigation of my sanctuary.

Living in the garden was not unlike what I imagined a hippie commune to be like, or maybe, considering I was the only living person there, the garden of Eden. For the most part, I was content to stay here, then my wrist would itch and glow, and the memory of what brought me to this garden made my heart ache.

In the first few days, the purple and black tattoo would start glowing just after sundown and grow brighter over the next hour. Ty was searching for me. Every time it grew bright enough to light the darkness around me, I feared he'd tracked me to the hidden door of the forest. My imagination saw him searching that dead-end corridor, but he couldn't find the high timber doors to access Nora's garden.

The timing also gave me a hint to when Ty was about in the castle. Nora told me the creatures were nocturnal, that the ones I could blend with usually held high profile jobs in the human world. For this reason, an hour before sunset was the best time to seek food from the kitchens. To the goblins, all Sidhe looked alike, but they would question my being there if it fell within the usual work time hours.

Giving me directions to the kitchens, Nora ensured I could repeat them back to her by rote. The risk of walking through the wrong door and getting caught was high, but if I knew the way, and held my head high as if I belonged, I should survive the excursion.

We roleplayed how to deal with the goblins if I saw them, ensuring I knew how to behave towards the creatures considered the lesser ranked of the Unseelie. Mostly, Nora sang me a lullaby to help me sleep each night.

It took over two weeks to build up the courage to leave the garden. Actually, it took desperation. The garden provided me with fruits, vegetables, and fresh water, but I craved protein. So, four days after my brand stopped glowing, I made my way to the garden door and exited into the corridor. The stone hall was empty, as expected, and I made my way quickly through the maze of corridors to find the kitchen.

Wearing a dark purple velvet and black lace, backless dress that Nora had given me, I was assured I would look just like every other Sidhe female in the castle. It was low cut across the bust but had long sleeves and a long skirt, so I felt more comfortable than I had in Lisa's barely-there mini-dress.

There was no point wearing underwear. The dress didn't allow for a bra, and while I was okay to wash my body in the stream through the garden, I'd given up washing my knickers daily a week ago. There were other priorities. Like memorizing my way through the maze that was the Unseelie court.

No, I didn't know what that meant. All Nora explained is that the Sidhe were a race of people. The good Sidhe lived in the Seelie court; the evil Sidhe lived with the monsters of the fey world in the Unseelie court.

To me, that seemed a very black and white description. Nothing in my life had ever been black and white, so my nature was to distrust such a generalization. "Surely, they are not all evil?"

"You saw what they did with your own eyes, Messina. Do you doubt what I tell you?"

While I couldn't argue with her because her answer made me think of Lisa, I couldn't help but remember that not one person in that room screamed in pain while they died. Having screamed my throat raw growing up in my guardian's care, my mind filled with shades of grey over the exact definition of the word evil. Still, I didn't voice my challenge. Bowing my head in acceptance, I appeased her.

After fifteen minutes of walking, and only one wrong turn, I reached the kitchen. There was no one in the corridors, and I was grateful to find the kitchen empty.

Opening the fridge, I smiled spotting the milk and cheese. Taking a deep breath and thinking things through, I searched the draws and shelves on view. From the cupboard, I removed a flask and filled it with milk. Cutting the block of cheese in half, I wrapped a portion to take with me, while nibbling on another piece.

Closing the fridge, ready to raid the pantry, I froze when I discovered I was no longer alone. The woman who aided my escape, Margo, stood appraising me. "He's been looking for you," she lisped. "He knows you are still here and has been waiting for you to emerge for food."

Moving to my scavenge pile; Margo gathered them into a hessian bag while adding some crackers, a knife, and some dip. "He has started to think you starved yourself to death, but we are all ordered to report the presence of a human immediately."

"Are you going to report me?" Perhaps she already had and was delaying until he arrived.

Margo looked me up and down. "I see no human here."

My lips twisted, tempted to smile, but still untrusting. "Why are you helping me?" No one had ever helped me before. Not when they saw the bruises, or when my regular visits to the hospital should have alerted someone to my suffering. Never. So why would this woman who lived with monsters be the first to do so?

"You are not the only half-bred here," Margo snarled as she handed me the bag. "Goblins are loyal to no one but themselves. It suits me to help you. One day, I might want your help again, and would need your good graces." Sharp demonic teeth gleamed at me when Margo smiled. "You will teach me about humans, and I will teach you about the people here."

Holding up my wrist, I flashed the tattoo. "Won't he be angry if you help me?"

"Margo sees no human here. Just another Sidhe." Grabbing a notepad and pencil, she shoved them in the bag. "Talking will not always be safe. Write about your people on this." Margo turned towards the pantry. "Daily is not safe. That supply should see you through a few days. Never come here on weekends."

"What day is it?"

"Friday," Margo called over her shoulder as she stepped inside the large pantry. It was twice as big as the kitchen area, which seemed designed for multiple people to utilize it simultaneously.

"Thank you, Margo." Hefting the shopping bag on my shoulder, I started for the door.

Margo shut the pantry door behind her ending our conversation. Smiling, I made my way back down the corridor. Several corridors away from the kitchen, I passed a goblin. I made eye contact with the tiny creature like Nora taught me. He continued down the hall without anything but a snarl towards me. At least I think it was a he. There was a very asexual appearance about the goblins.

The realization that Margo was half goblin distracted me from trying to discern sex. Margo was shortish and had the same large black eyes. Her skin was softer than the goblin's I'd passed, and she could pass for a petite human if she wore sunglasses, leaving me sure her other half was human. Caught up in thoughts of how a human came to spend enough time with a goblin to mate with it, I made my way back to the safety of Nora's garden.

That night, I set out my picnic and rationed out my portions to see me through the weekend. I was beginning to love my home in the garden. Over the next three weeks, coming and going to the kitchen without issue, I grew comfortable with my life here. For the first time since I was five, I was happy. My lodgings were warm and dry; good healthy food was abundant; the hammock was the most comfortable place I'd ever had to sleep; and, I loved the dress the faerie mound left for me.

Only the regular itch and glowing of my wrist tattoo ruined my happiness here. But, as the weeks went by, and the itching happened less regularly, I realized eventually, that danger would pass too. With patience, this could become my new life.

Margo started giving me books to read. They were books about the Sidhe and the different creatures in the Unseelie court. She was teaching me about my new home. In exchange, she wrote questions on the pad asking about the human world every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday that I went to the kitchen.

The books gave me the knowledge about the Sluagh, the eaters of human souls. The first afternoon I encountered them, I could recognize them by the tribal style tattoo birthmarks over their entire torso and arms. They looked like the Sidhe in height and physical build, but their cheeks were gaunt as if they were anorexic. The chalk white skin of the Sluagh almost seemed to be made of talc or that they were painted with a powdery substance.

Both the male and female I passed wore black leather. The man wore black leather pants, leaving his muscular chest bare to show his markings. The woman wore a short skirt and a matching, intricate bra, revealing as much of her flesh as possible. Unlike the goblins, there was no confusion over the sex of the Sluagh. The men I encountered over the coming weeks were striking and masculine. The females were lithe and feminine.

Today, again, I encountered two Sluagh after leaving the kitchen. Stopping to ensure I didn't run into them, I kept my eyes low as Nora instructed, making sure not to make eye contact. "That's a pretty mouth. Can I kiss it?" My eyes widened at the females tease, and my heart picked up the pace a little. The man with her laughed and whispered something in her ear about the young sidhe being inexperienced, and then they continued in front of me.

From what I'd read, the Sluagh were the scariest of all the Unseelie creatures. They were the most powerful in majicks, they could fly, and they were vicious, feeding off the blood and souls of their victims. They couldn't breed, so they enslaved select humans to swell their ranks. The dark prince was their commander, despite being a half-breed Sidhe himself. He catered to all the Unseelie creatures, but mainly to his kin, the Sluagh.

Shortly after the Sluagh passed, a large Sidhe entered the corridor. He held considerable stature and muscle bulk, taking up a good portion of the hall as he moved towards me. On top of this, his presence made him seem giant sized and swept through the corridor well ahead of him. It was for this reason that I looked up in time to see the Sluagh go to a knee as the man passed. Not having any idea who this man was, I curtsied as he reached me.

The Sidhe stopped to assess me. "Do we know each other?" His voice humored, but friendly. "Look at me!"

With fear pounding in my chest, making breathing difficult, I lifted my eyes, my body staying in the curtsy. The Sidhe considered me. His face was ageless, yet his eyes seemed old. There was something familiar about him that I couldn't connect in my brain, distracting me from the danger as I tried to place why I felt like I knew this man. He reached out and touched my cheek, staring into my eyes with adulterated interest. "Your age?"

"Eighteen."

"Is that so?" He considered me some more, eyes glancing at my bust, appraising me, his golden green eyes full of interest. "We should get to know each other. A king should know all his subjects, especially the beautiful ones."

Palpitations racked my chest with the anxiety of who the Sidhe was standing before me. The king of the Unseelie, and he was hitting on me. Horrified and curious all at once, we stared into each other's eyes. His brows furrowed after a moment, and he snapped his hand back, eyes now keenly focused on my features. "Eighteen. Are you sure?"

"No. I lost my mother young, and those that took me in guessed my age." Touching my cheek absently, I wondered why his touch wasn't as cold as most people I met. It wasn't warm either.

The king watched me, his eyes flicking to my hand, pupils pinpoint focused before dilating. I was too lost in his presence to consider what he was thinking. The King's eyebrows lifted as a mischievous smile lifted the sides of his mouth. Without another word, he turned and continued down the corridor.

He was gone before the whirling thoughts in my head slowed enough for me to realize I was standing out in the open. Confused by what occurred, I hurried back to the forest. It was a Friday, and after that encounter, I was happy to have two days of isolation with the weekend ahead.