Accidental Time Traveler-InutaishoxOC

29. Leap of Faith

 A cloak of stars and a crescent moon illuminated the clearing where the Bone Eater's Well was located. It was daytime in Underhill. Her head floated like a balloon tethered by only a thin string to the rest of her body.

The time shift disoriented Layla for a second before she got her bearings. The mortal world was a little sharper, a little more solid than the world where the faeries lived.

Layla was beyond grateful to be back in the real-world. The Feudal Era may be full of demons, bandits, and hordes of warring armies but she felt safer than she had in Kieran's manor surrounded by capricious faeries.

She disentangled her hand from Toga's and walked over to the well and peered down into the dark. This is where it all began. Where I fell through time and met Toga. My life has been one whirl-wind adventure after another. I don't know if it's my awakened faerie nature, but I have never felt as alive as I do now.

The world was more beautiful and vibrant. The clean air in her lungs a miracle. With Layla's decision to return with Toga to the Feudal Era her life had come full circle. They started their path together at this mysterious place and now Layla faced a new and unexpected future in this foreign era. Possibilities stretched endlessly in front of her.

The people of this era accepted the well's mysteries without question. What if Layla used her scholarly skills to learn more about its history? A worthy project to focus on.

Stroking the weathered wood, Layla rested her chin on the lip of the well. "So...we're back." She chuckled dryly. "I can't believe I'm glad to say that but I am."

Here, life is what you made it. Layla refused to surrender the place she'd carved out for herself with Toga. Leaving everything behind had taken a major leap of faith.

What now?

Layla didn't know and didn't care. She was no longer plagued by anxiety and indecision over what her future held. Smiling to herself she relaxed against the well, her arms dangling over the edge. Love triumphed over logic in the end.

Toga glanced in the direction of the village. "The hour is late. We should head for the village."

Layla hopped up, dusting loose grass off her skirts. The faerie silk was remarkably free of stains after kneeling on the dewy ground. "Right. I should probably also tell you, I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since our breakfast on the porch."

"The faeries did not provide you with food?" Toga sounded angry. They provided her with fine clothes and jewels yet no sustenance for her fragile mortal body.

"Uh...Toga. Faerie food is magical. There are countless stories of humans becoming addicted to their food and wasting away from the lack of it when they return to the mortal world. I wasn't about to chance it even if I'm half-faerie."

The demon lord looked her over carefully. "Humans perish quickly without water or food. You should be delirious with thirst and unable to move."

Layla had come to the same conclusion earlier. "I guess I'm more resilient now which is good because if I weren't we'd both be dead."

Toga did not need the fresh reminder about their captivity. Their lives were tied together irrevocably. He wondered if this might have contributed to Layla's decision to return to the past with him instead of returning to her own time with her grandmother.

Toga knew Layla loved him. After being poisoned by the pervasive magic of Underhill, she risked herself without hesitation for his sake. She saved his life, opening their soul mate bond to absorb his pain and cure him of the toxins.

Humming off-key, Layla plucked a waxy green leaf off a bush and twirled it between her fingertips as they walked.

Now, Toga realized he'd underestimated her. Layla may not be a warrior, but she possessed an impressive strength of her own. Likely, a strength she inherited from the indomitable old woman who marched into Underhill to save her granddaughter.