4Chapter 1: The Unknown Allies
Rosemary allowed a single tear to escape from her eyes before shutting them tight and running her hand across her cheek. She knew he would be coming soon and she refused to appear weak. She grasped the silver handle of the thick-bristled brush and ran it through her black hair. The curls slightly flattened under the brush but, once again, they refused to give. She sighed in defeat and placed the brush back in its place on the beautiful mahogany dresser that sat across from her bed. She stared at herself in the mirror tghat sat on top of the dresser; at the features Philip once admired - the olive skin, the raven black hair, the light brown eyes. His voice still rang in her head. 'Flawless,' he used to say. She let out a disgusted laugh. 'Flawless?' she could see not but flaws in everything she did; everything she was. Even in the beautiful while dress that she was wearing. To her, it just didn't fit right, but she wasn't about to change just for Philip. She was dreading his visit as usual. All he would do is tell her that this was all her fault. She already knew that. She didn't need him to tell her. He just wanted to bask in her misery. 'Not this time,' she thought spitefully.
She walked over to the stool that sat by the lace-curtained window and sat, pulling back the curtain just enough to look out the window. The dreadful light appearing over the horizon warned her that her guests would be there sooner than she had thought.
Rosemary walked to the front door and, sure enough, there were three figures walking towards her. She stepped out onto the stone porch, the ground cold under her bare feet. A sudden wind gave her a chill as her hair and gown fluttered in the breeze. She stood there waiting as they got closer and closer, but were still far enough down the hill for it would take them a while to get there.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of blue fly past. She turned but found nothing. Somewhat curious, she walked around to the side of the house but still found nothing. Walking back to her spot on the porch, she prayed that Philip and his companions hadn't noticed. The slightest difference in the way she acted would make Philip very curious. Curiousity was not a good thing in his case. He knew her all to well.
Philip looked up to where Rosemary was supposed to be standing, the grey stone porch just coming into view, but she wasn't there. He felt fear build up inside him, but he didn't want the two men that walked at either side of him to notice. He just kept his face blank and tried to make everything inside himself just as emotionless. He almost let a relieved sigh escape when she reappeared on the porch but he somehow refrained from letting go of the breath he hadn't realized he was holding as.
He looked up at the old white house that he had always admired. It sat atop a rather large hill that was fairly flat at the top before it started descending towards the rest of the town. The whole thing was surrounded by the thick forest save for the clearing around the house and a path that led all the way to town. He remembered arguing with her about how unsafe that was. The house always proved him wrong
As they finally broke through to the clearing, Philip could swear he saw different colors flashing by him. He shook that thought from his mind. By then, he was used to strange things happening around there.
Seely flew behind a tree, moving as quickly as her little wings would take her. She pressed her tiny body against the hard trunk, hoping she wasn't seen… again. When the woman was back on the other side of the house, she let out a deep breath. She darted off towards her post but collided with something hard. She looked up at the pixie in front of her and flew back a little, then up to her eye level.
"You were seen," the pixie said firmly.
"No I wasn't!" Seely retorted.
"Almost seen again." The pixie said, almost with a tone of disgust.
"Well I'm set directly by her. If I stray from her eye level, you won't be able to see me. Lily, these people aren't as stupid as you like to believe. You should give them more credit."
Lily sighed. "Just don't let it happen again," she said, her firm tone faltering.
Seely was envious of Lily, but not because she was put in charge. She was envious because Lily was tall. The small fairy wanted to be able to walk among the humans and not be considered an outcast. Pixies weren't the only creatures that could do that of course, some fairies could, but not Seely. Lily didn't understand what she was capable of. She didn't care like Seely did.
Fists clenched, Rosemary shut her eyes tight and prepared for what was going to come. The routine visits from Philip had become completely agonizing and she dreaded this one even more. She maintained a cool composure and looked across her yard at the now completely visible trio.
She took a deep breath and smiled a fake smile as she greeted the men and led them into her living room. She had already decided what she would not do. She wouldn't shout, she wouldn't retreat to her room, and she would not cry. The only problem was that she hadn't decided what she would do.
After they were all seated, Rosemary looked over at Philip, who was giving her a questioning glare. 'He couldn't have noticed anything,' she thought, 'He's to suspicious.' In a second, his face was replaced by the usual, emotionless one. 'He wasn't always like that,' she thought to herself. She had to turn her attention back to Drake, one of Philip's companions, who was mumbling incessantly about something. It was extremely boring and meaningless, but it was all she could do to keep her mind from the past.
Rosemary went to get some coffee, 'Or just to get away from Drake's mindless speeches' Philip thought as he laughed inwardly. He had to find some way to clear his head. He unknowingly began pacing back and forth until the talking stopped and he realized what he was doing. Both Drake and Benson were staring at him.
"I was...um...thinking," he said uneasily.
"And just what were you thinking of?" Benson inquired with actual interest. Of the two, Benson had always been Philip's favorite. The quiet yet inquisitive man was always kind and was a good listener.
"The war," he said, knowing that they would accept that answer. Not much else was on people's minds lately. They both nodded and Benson looked at Drake questioningly. After an awkward silence, Drake shrugged and continued rambling.
Philip walked up to the fireplace and looked at the pictures that sat on top the mantle. Her parents looked nothing like her, they each had blue eyes and blonde hair; her father's reaching an almost platinum while her mothers was more golden. The one thing that made her look a little like her parents was the olive skin that matched her mother's and her smile that matched her father's. Both of her parents were MIA for a while. He wouldn't let anyone tell her, but he had a feeling she knew. 'Just a kid' he thought, 'Then again, I'm not much older.'
Lily and Seely returned to headquarters after the three men left. They reported the inevitable argument that didn't go quite as bad as they had expected, but they reported that it wasn't over yet. In three days, there would be a meeting somewhere else. After that, they checked out and headed home.
They flew together through all of the trees to the center of the forest until they reached a large, white tree.
"Well, I've go to go home now," Lily said.
"Alright, bye Lily." She watched Lily turn to the left of the tree and then Seely darted off in another direction. She wasn't quite ready to go home. She went back to the woman's house and looked into her bedroom. She watched her for a little while. There was some sort of connection between them that no one could possibly understand. Seely sat on the windowsill with her back against the side and watched the woman.
A few minutes passed and a rock flew straight at Seely. She looked down and saw a man who was getting ready to throw another. Lily would be really mad if Seely was caught. She darted up to the roof and prayed that she hadn't been seen. Seely lay down, not knowing how long she would be there, and tried to calm herself.