She let go of me then suddenly held me by the hand and dragged me along with her . . perhaps I should of been abit more alarmed .. but for the first time in my life . . I was blushing!
Now that she was walking ahead of me, hand in mine, I finally had a proper look at the woman who had, quite literally. ambushed me out of seemingly nowhere.
Which, for the record, wasn't something I was used to.
No one had ever successfully ambushed me before, and that was something I prided myself in.
I had questions.
Starting with the most obvious.
"What are you? Are you Fey, or mortal?"
It was a simple question.
I was nearly certain she was human… but I had to be sure.
She glanced over her shoulder with a smile, still leading me by the hand as if we were old lovers returning home.
"Me? I'm fully human, of course my darling, all though…"
Her violet eyes sparkled faintly.
The word mortal might not be appropriate anymore." striking a cute pose with her cheek leaning on her free hand while giving a wink with a idol like smile.
I was dumb founded, than went back to the thoughts I had before. What did she mean by that? She then pouted her lips as if noticing my thoughts and turned around and continued walking.
"You are most likely wondering what this place is."
Her fingers trailed along a vine as we walked. It pulsed beneath her touch, blooming as if blushing.
"Most likeley coming to the conclusion that you have either stepped into the world of the fae, or perhaps a place that has simply a place under the faes influence"
She took a breath as if to gather her thoughts, most likely thinking what was the best way to put her thoughts into words.
"You see when the fey lay claim over a piece of the land in the mortal world, it is consider fey touched. However the longer it remains fey touched, pieces of the fey world begin to fuse with it, turning the area into something that is neither the fey world nor the mortal world. It has simply became it's own domain. It's quite fascinating really."
She stopped talking after giving that signature soft smile of hers. I wanted to press for more information, she turned back ahead, and continued to lead me through this mysterious world
I couldn't help but wonder how much of my fascination was truly mine
Had she cast a spell before I even realized it?
Was this charm hers... or the forest's?
She was clearly a witch.
And not just any witch, she was a woman who had survived within a fae-touched environment for what I could only assume was decades.
She was a interesting woman whose beauty matched. Her figure was lush and perfectly shaped. voluptuous in the way myths warn you about, a woman with a body that could easily convince you to do stupid decisions. Paired with a smile with a wit that could convince you signing away your life savings to some random con artist is a completely sensible decision. I now began to understood why men made stupid life choices over a woman.
She looked back and smiled again "We are almost there darling"
Again with the darling? Why did she call me darling so much? And why did I not question it at all? I hardly knew her. It was off putting. She gave another pout and looked back forward, but then stop as a series of thick thorny bush blocked us off, decorated in roses.
Wondering what she had planned next, she raised one hand and made a gentle swirling motion with her fingers and just like that the thorny vines shivered as if being tickled, then slowly began to part, only to reveal what was behind them.
A small stone path way revealing a quaint cottage nestled crookedly between two silver limbed trees. Complete with a wooden fence, a garden and a front porch.
Pink smoke drifted lazily from its chimney into the indigo sky, mingling with candles that hovered midair, flickering gently without breeze. The smell of spices, rich broth, and all sorts of flowers filled the air.
She smiled looking back at me and said
"Welcome to my home beloved, I hope you make yourself at home."
I swear this woman's goal today was to make my head explode with soft power seduction. But again, with this beloved nonsense?
Now that we stopped I could notice that she was actually fairly short, i was at least seven inches taller than her maybe more. I would guess she was probabbly around five foot three, but this only made her curves look in my opinion even more lewd.
She dressed in dark robes, and wore a traditional witches hat, her fashion was fairly simple, but it hugged her body perversely. She looked almost fictional.
She looked back at me with a bright smile with her dull velvet eyes. Her smile caught me off guard yet again
"Does darling enjoy what he sees?"
I blinked dumb founded, this woman was dangerous, she was absolutely dangerous. She was staring forward that entire time yet was completely aware of my gaze. She had the ability to read emotions around her.
As if on cue she followed
"You have no need to be alarmed my dear, I promise, now follow me, allow me to introduce you to my home~"
I needed to be more alert, but my ability to detect killing intent still identifeid her as safe. In a world where everything was a possible threat, I felt I couldn't ignore the one possible guide I may have in this place
A sudden meow could be heard right under us.
"Charlie! Oh my dear charlie, are you here to welcome mama and papa?"
I looked down and saw a cat, not some weird version of a cat, just a normal actual cat. But what was a cat doing here?
She lifted him snuggling her cheek among the feline
"Oh charlie how kind of you, but you had no need to worry, mama was perfectly safe, she was just out welcoming papa on his return home~!"
I finally had to question and break the act of our little role play as lovers.
"I'll ask again," I said, firmer this time. "Who are you, really?"
I paused.
"Forgive my doubt, but the first thing any wizard is taught—especially when it comes to the Fae is to never trust what you see."
She didn't take offense.
Instead, she smiled, arms wrapped around her cat as it purred softly against those hypnotic melons.
"Mmm. What a wise teacher you must've had," she said, her tone almost affectionate.
"And they were right, of course. You shouldn't trust anything you see here."
Her gaze met mine, gentle, but with a flicker of something deeper. Older.
"But in the lands touched by the Fae, every step is a gamble."
She stroked the cat's ears, then continued in that soft, melodic voice of hers:
"You didn't know what would happen when you crossed the threshold. For all you knew, the air here might've been poison. You could have died the moment you took your first breath."
She tilted her head, as if marveling at the thought.
"And yet… you're breathing just fine."
"That is what this place is."
"Risk, wrapped in wonder. Danger, dressed in beauty."
She smiled again, just barely.
"And sometimes, the reward for stepping into the unknown… is understanding."
She giggled stepping closer, gently putting her cat she addressed as charlie down. Waving her hand to signal me to lower my head as if to tell me a secret. as I did so she gave a threatning yet seductive whisper.
"Or maybe the air is toxic and the only reason you breathe is cause I chose to save you from your idiocy"
My eyes sparked wide.
She laughed
"Joking, the air here is perfectly fine! But then again, can you really be so sure? But that's simply what the fae is, trial and error. Most don't last more then a couple minutes here!"
My heart pounded, I was in over my head, this woman wasn't sane, she was simply functionally insane..
"But to answer your question. Do not be afraid traveler, I mean you no harm, my name is Selene, one of the four elected kings of this forest . . and I simply wish for nothing more, than to win over your heart~"
She placed one hand on each side of her witch dress and curtsied. Looking up to me with a hauntingly beautiful smile.
"Welcome to my humble little castle my love, I do hope you enjoy your stay"
She was beautiful but I could see it as clear as day now. This woman really was functionally insane.