I See Faeries

~chapter fifteen~

Prophecy

~

Bubbles. I was ensconced in a cloud of minuscule bubbles. Every inch of my skin - my face, my arms, my legs - was covered completely by bubbles.

The world beyond my bubble cloud was distorted, but I could see enough to know that I was underwater. A brightly colored fish swam past me, opened its mouth, and coughed up a tiny purple eel. I watched the eel and fish until they were out of sight.

Something jostled my bubbles, and I was abruptly knocked sideways and spun so that I was now floating upside down. I could feel the blood rush to my head, but no matter how much I kicked my legs or tried to paddle with my arms, I remained in the same position. A huge fish with cruel black eyes and a mouth filled with teeth the size of my fingers swam lazily past. I held my breath until it was gone. That fish must've bumped me, I realized. My heart skipped a beat.

I'd been so distracted by the fish, I hadn't noticed that the bubbles were moving with a purpose. I soon realized that they were bringing me somewhere, though, and as we drew closer, the destination became more apparent.

A school of fish swam by, surrounding me completely. The current from their passing spun me upright again, and as soon as they were gone I could see it.

An underwater city. White marble buildings and cobblestone streets spread in every direction across the seafloor. Nestled in its center was a palace of white marble and glittering golden domes and spires. As my bubble cloud travelled over the city, I noticed that all of the streets began - or ended, perhaps - at the palace, like spokes on a wagon wheel.

It was there that I was unmistakably headed.

Is this Rheithlyn? I wondered. It would make sense. Faeries were magical creatures, and their main ability was power over water. The ability to manipulate it, to be more precise. To hide their capital city at the bottom of the sea seemed . . . well, it seemed like a faerie thing to do.

I floated down, passing through a shimmering, transparent barrier that surrounded the entire city like a dome. As soon as I was through, my bubbles popped. I fell quite a distance, only to land painfully in a hedge. It broke my fall, thankfully, but still wasn't pleasant. I got to my feet with a grunt of effort, and dusted myself off. I was completely dry. I looked up, and realized that the dome held the water at bay. I inhaled, and oxygen entered my lungs. There was real air here, somehow.

And where was here? I looked around, trying to get my bearings. From the look of things, I was in the palace courtyard. The main doors to the palace's interior were just to the left, a few paces away. Two men stood guard, each dressed in thick, gold-colored armor. Each held a long spear, and neither seemed at all concerned with the girl who'd just plummeted from above and flattened one of their master's hedges.

Each man rested his spear-less hand on the hilt of a sword that was strapped to his hip. They stood with their feet apart, their eyes fixed forward, and their jaws tightly clenched. They had the same long, honey-blonde hair that fell across their shoulders and chests, unable to be contained by their helmets.

They were both beautiful, and as I stared at them I couldn't help but think of Roman. If these were faeries - and I was almost certain they were - then they were the first I'd seen aside from him and the men and women in A'tkumai. The faeries in A'tkumai were abnormal, also, and I had a gut feeling that these guards were prime examples of standard faerie males. Given that, I couldn't help but notice the striking dissimilarities between my companion and the golden-haired men before me.