Deviation Actions
Literature Text
Colleen no longer came to visit the Moors since their first kiss.
Jack leaned against the rowan tree, gazing towards the castle. It had been a month since the last time he had seen her and wondered why the human girl who had given him his first kiss would just take off like that. He wondered what had he done to offend her.
The white-haired fairy became quiet and distant, preferring to be alone. The fairies and other creatures of the Moors seemed to notice this and wondered why he had such a change of behavior. Tooth attempted to offer comfort to Jack or advice, but he would only shake his head quietly and flew away. She had noticed he had grown fond of the human maiden. She didn't like this at all: she didn't like that Jack was falling for the human girl since too many bad things had happened between the two lands since Jack's parents died.
Jack would watch the sun set every day, thinking about his first kiss-so pure, beautiful and meaningful-and the day it happened. He wondered if it really was True Love's Kiss or that it was not meant to be. If Colleen would come back. If she was safe. Did she miss him.
He wanted to go to her this time and find out the truth about why she had run away. Why she was avoiding him. He waited until dark to take a chance to visit the slave girl. He remembered she spoke about a tree outside the castle where she often would sleep when sent there for punishment. Jack had to find out why Colleen had rebuffed him so suddenly. He used the cover of darkness to fly towards the human lands-a risk he thought was worth taking.
Colleen didn't like sleeping in the castle very much. Often the King's friends would try to sneak in when she was asleep and attempt to use her to their liking. She often would purposely get sent outside. No one could bother her while she was in the tree. Today she decided to steal some extra bread to get caught and sent outside and chain her to the tree. The servants had noticed that she had been disappearing quite frequently than usual-coming back late and even overly tired.
All she knew was she couldn't go back. The moment Jack saw her ugliness, he'd be repulsed. She didn't want him to see what she had hidden for so long. She recalled the scornful looks, the taunts and jeers. The words that echoed in her head.
Demon!
Leaning against the trunk of the tree, she shut her eyes to push away the unpleasant feelings, singing the magic song. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar whoosh and bolted upright to see the shape of the winged boy.
"Colleen?" Jack said.
"Jack, what are you doing here?" she said surprised and uncomfortable.
"I need to talk to you."
Colleen glanced towards the castle in fear, praying the guards did not see her speaking with Jack. Though she was only glad that it was dark out, but it didn't mean that they could hear voices.
"You shouldn't be here. If the guards hear you, they will come."
"But what's..." he began, walking towards her.
Suddenly, he gasped as he felt a searing hot flash as he felt something touch his foot. His wings fluttered as he jumped back and saw a chain on the ground that glowed red. Hissing, he backed away as he realized it was iron. His eyes followed the chain and saw it lead up to Colleen's ankle-though he had stepped away, it continued to glow softly. Curious. Usually iron did this when fairies were present. He tilted his head. He had always suspected something peculiar about the girl.
"Colleen," he spoke suspicious. "What is going on?"
"I told you it's not safe here," she said, diverting the subject. "You have to leave."
"Not until you explain why you left so abruptly a few weeks ago," he said feeling anger; he crossed his arms over his chest.
"It's...difficult."
"How difficult can it be?" he said frowning. "We kissed. I thought I was your true love."
"You are."
"Then why did you leave when I touched your back? Why have you been avoiding me?"
She lowered her head; her face flushed and felt tears pricking her eyes as she sensed that she would have to tell him about the Unspeakable.
"Because I don't know if you'd accept me," she replied; her throat tightened.
"Accept you?" he asked. "What do you mean?"
"Because...I'm a demon...of some sort..." She curled up under the tree, hugging her knees.
Jack didn't seem to understand. Though the iron chain was glowing as he got closer, he knelt beside her.
"You can tell me, Colleen," he said, touching her hand. "Please."
If there was one thing she didn't like to talk about, it was the Unspeakable. Colleen could feel the pressure building up inside as she sighed, knowing the topic about it would come sooner or later. She never wanted to speak of it again and forget it like it was a bad dream. And if there was one thing she learned about being a slave, it was that she couldn't trust anyone but herself. She didn't allow people to get close to her for that reason. Too many people hurt her.
But there was no reason to not trust Jack. Jack had been nothing but kind to her since they had first met in the Moors. She hadn't trusted anyone since her enslavement.
"Alright," she said resigned. "I will tell you tomorrow. But you have to leave here-I want you to be safe."
Jack look towards the castle. He didn't want to take any more risks being in the human lands; given that Colleen had told him about the lies the King had said about the Fair Folk.
Tomorrow couldn't come any sooner. The fairy waited in the rowan tree for Colleen to arrive. Day became sunset and he heard the girl's call outside the Moors. It took a while for her to escape this time, but she made it to the Moors. By the time they were reunited, Jack and Colleen embraced like they had been separated for years. He led Colleen to their special spot where they would spend their days talking. Colleen looked out at the pond, taking a deep breath, ready to tell him.
"The scars...on my back, it happened when I was little," she began; her voice trembled. "They told me I had a growth on my back."
She shut her eyes as she began to tell him about the Unspeakable. She could hear her own screams, feel the burning pain again.
"All I remember is a glowing red chain and a searing hot pain that hurt so much, but I don't know what it was they did to me. I was too little to understand."
Jack's expression changed to shock as he listened to the story. What kind of monstrosity would hurt a little girl? Did humans normally do this kind of thing to slaves?
"Let me see," he said.
The slave faced away from Jack, lowering the top half of her dress, exposing her back. The flesh was mutilated with two vertical cauterized wounds like something had once been there. He tried to use his magic to heal it-only to see a shape of what looked like wings. Of course! It explained a lot. She had to be a Fair Folk. Her characteristics seemed more human than fairy though.
"Colleen," he said. "What was on your back...what they took from you were wings."
"Wings?" she questioned.
The shock hit her when she thought about a few things. Her intolerance to iron was one of them. Her mother speaking very little about her father.
"But...it can't be! My mother was human," she protested.
"Did she say anything about your father?"
She shook her head. "Very little. All she told me was he was a very brave man and they had to stay away from each other. He left to go fight the war and he never came back."
"It's possible he was a fairy," he said.
She lowered her head, telling Jack the King's words. "One of the King's laws is 'any union between a human nor Fair Folk is forbidden for it is an abomination. Any offspring produced by this union IS also an abomination and their fate shall be decided by the King, which includes up to and including enslavement or extermination."
"It may be, but not impossible," he said, rubbing Colleen's back. "Nothing can forbid love. And certainly not the King."
"Aside from the scars on my back, the intolerance to iron and being called an abomination at the castle, I had always wondered more about my past. But one thing I do know is my mother loved my father very much. She may have not told me about him because she was protecting me."
"It's possible," said Jack. "Many of the Fair Folk have died because of the wars. But he was mostly protecting you and your mother. He wanted to be sure you were both safe."
Colleen nodded. "Mum always made sure I was safe as well. That's what I loved about her. She taught me about the Fair Folk and how to show you are their ally. She always protected me until they took me away from her."
She felt tears welling up as she remembered her last time with her mother. How she fought tooth and nail to keep her daughter safe. She heard her fighting until the men overpowered her. She could only assume that they had killed her after getting her out of the little cottage they lived in. Jack saw her starting to cry and held her, feeling her tears soak his shirt.
"Don't cry," he said pulling her closer to comfort her. "I want you to stay here at the Moors with me. You're my True Love. And I promise you that you'll always be safe here. "
She sniffled looking at the castle in the distance, nodding lightly. She wouldn't go back this time. Never again. As they sat by the lily pond where the water fae danced on the surface and the lightning fairies brought a mystical glow of lights. They held each other as they watched the beautiful scene of the Moors unfold before them. She rested her head on Jack's shoulder.
"Just hold me," she said. "Don't let me go."
He nodded and held her close, rubbing her hair. "I won't," he promised. "I'll make a bigger hammock for us to sleep in."
He showed her the rowan tree. She sat down on the cool grass, glancing up to watch Jack go to work. Resting against the trunk, she closed her eyes and smiled, feeling relief and joy. She was inspired enough to sing the special song in a voice sweet and low:
I know you/I walked with you once upon a dream/I know you that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam/And I know it's true/That visions are seldom what they seem/But if I know you, I know what you'll do/You'll love me at once/The way you did once/Upon a dream.
While Jack worked, he listened to her singing with a smile. The creatures watched Colleen, mesmerized by her singing. She continued to hum the song. It was a song that brought her comfort in times of darkness. She looked at the creatures of the Moors, smiling.
"That was a beautiful, Colleen," said Jack.
"My mother used to sing this to me when I was little," she said, smiling. "It always made me happy."
He fluttered down from the rowan tree when he had finished making a hammock for the both of them and held his hand out. "May I have this dance?"
She looked at him with a blush, but nodded with a smile. "Just to warn you, I am clumsy when it comes to dancing," she said.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine."
He wrapped his arm around her waist. The two lovers stood up he began to dance with her, leading. The lights were glowing and the lightning fairies glowed in the dark, creating a perfect atmosphere for them.
"Go on," he said. "Hum the song-just follow my lead."
She obliged and followed his lead, looking into his eyes in a loving manner. She did step on his feet a few times, apologizing with embarrassment. Some of the pixies and Mini Fairies giggled at the adorable awkwardness between them. As she sang the words and taught him the rhythm, Jack began to memorize it and to sing softly with the creatures joining in a humming choir, which made the Moors glow slightly. As the scene unfolded in a romantic setting, some of the Mini Fairies squeaked with adoration at the scene.
Colleen's face flushed. Her heart was pounding. She followed Jack's lead, she rested her head on his shoulder and inhaled his scent. It smelled like the woods and the wind. A place where she felt safe. The Moors.
Eventually a yawn came from the young maid and her eyes fluttered as she began to feel sleepy. Sensing her fatigue, he scooped her up and flew her up into their hammock. He wrapped his wing around her to keep her warm and buried his nose in his beloved's hair, smelling her scent. He looked at the brand on her shoulder and healed it. He watched as the ugliness of that mark was gone forever.
Thank you to
for creating the picture.