A Fairy Well-kept Secret

Daryl stared at the girl in front of her.

She looked beautiful. Soft pink hair reached down to her waist and she had gorgeous eyes. Even in a baggy grey sweatshirt, the girl looked cute thanks to her petite build and the gentle slope of her hip.

Anyone else would have passed her off as a trendy young woman except of course, for the large butterfly-like wings that extended from her back.

Daryl swallowed, feeling her throat go dry before turning to her friend, “This is your cousin?”

Daryl reached over to set a large stack of books on to her bedside table. She sighed as she looked over at the last of the boxes she had emptied.

Moving was always a lot of work but she’d really been looking forward to the process this time since she got to spend time with her best friend.

A thrill settled in her chest when she remembered what they had begun.

After a month of waiting, the girls had discovered they’d both been accepted into the same university.

It was several hours away from their hometown and the two friends had been beyond excited knowing this would let them get a place of their own.

Living with her best friend would be an insanely fun time and Daryl had packed happily and planned all of their meals and the places they would check out together after moving in.

Their small apartment was a ten minute walk from the University Campus and was set in a lovely neighborhood close to most of the shops they needed to visit.

Everything had been the sweet old life she’d expected until a few hours ago when her sweet friend, Beryl, had received an urgent phone call.

Daryl sighed before falling into bed.

She couldn’t believe how calm she was acting after what she’d just seen.

Beryl had hurriedly explained that an aunt of hers was in some trouble and had to drop her daughter off with them before leaving.

Daryl had nodded seeing how disturbed her friend had been but she had not expected to see a gorgeous lady like Beryl’s cousin; Or the fact that her cousin had Fairy Wings.

Beryl had hurried her cousin away to the kitchen, yelling to Daryl that she would come back and explain everything.

Daryl huffed out of her mouth and wondered why she felt so empty all of a sudden.

She knew she didn’t mind the company of an extra person.

Maybe it was because she had never seen such a strange sight before.

Or maybe it was because she had never expected to not know something that Beryl did. Maybe it was because she had thought she was moving in with her best friend who held no secrets from her.

But now, all the questions in her mind confirmed that Beryl was not someone she was close to or someone she really knew.

Beryl watched her beautiful cousin lug down the water she had been handed.

She eased the girl into a chair.

“Feeling better?”

Her cousin looked up with a tired smile, “Sorry to barge in on you like this and be such a burden, Beryl.”

Beryl smiled a reassuring smile, “You’re not a burden at all, Daff, and you know that!”

Gathering her silky brown hair up, she tied it into a quick bun before settling on a kitchen stool, “So, what’s going on? Aunt Agnes wouldn’t give me any of the details. Is everything alright?”

Aunt Agnes had sounded very perturbed on the phone and that had made Beryl rather anxious. The woman was a free-spirited, happy lady whose tone always had a hint of mischief to it. She had never sounded worried or upset to Beryl in all of her years and her sudden change in tone had really bothered the pretty girl.

Daff smiled, her eyes still dull, “She- She’s just a little worried but- I think she’ll be alright now.”

Beryl quirked an eyebrow before reaching for a glass of juice, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Daff kept her eyes on the floor, her lips still in a sad smile, “W- There’s a bit of trouble… There’s someone called Damon around who’s hunting Half-Myths.”

Beryl nodded as she drank her juice, the liquid not tasting as good anymore. She knew very little about Daff’s world.

“Half-Myths.”

Daff looked up to make eye-contact, “Me. Anyone who’s the child of a human and a water spirit, or a centaur or a-“

“Fairy,” Beryl supplied, her eyes widening.

She couldn’t completely grasp it.

Beryl didn’t meet these two very often after all. They had met maybe six to seven times in her entire life and most times, it was always only her aunt.

Beryl was always looking out for her gorgeous, quiet cousin but could never find her in family gatherings as much as she’d liked.

Her soft pink hair had always fascinated her and she had asked her mother if she could dye it too.

Her family had never shied away from talking about Agnes and her tiny daughter but they didn’t have much to say about the two.

Several years ago, Beryl’s mother had told her of Aunt Agnes being married to a real fairy. Beryl remembered the grip of her heart when she’d seen the picture of a young, pretty Aunt Agnes standing next to a tall handsome man with light pink hair and laughing eyes. The part of the picture that had caught at her chest was the large wings sprouting from the man’s back.

Beryl had dismissed it later as some sort of prank of photo manipulation but somehow, the picture had never left her mind.

“So…”

Beryl jerked out of her thoughts to see her gentle cousin still sitting in front of her, large wings out in full display.

“W-would it be alright if I stayed with you two?”

Beryl blinked, “I- I’ll ask Daryl but if you’re in danger, of course.”

A hundred questions swarmed her mind, “What about Aunt Agnes?”

“Mother is going to see if she can get Dad.”

Beryl processed what she heard, “Your dad?”

Beryl had never met her uncle but knew from her grandparents that he was an agreeable, handsome man that always made pleasant company and good conversation about anything involving gardening.

Daff had set the empty glass down on the counter, “Right. Dad’s out on a job… He might be able to find somewhere safe until Damon is taken care of.”

Beryl watched in silence, not entirely sure how to respond.

Daff smiled when she met Beryl’s eyes, “Mother has left me with a Dream Acorn. It hides my Half-Myth scent so I don’t bring the two of you any trouble. She thinks it would be quicker for her to travel alone since I need to keep my wings hidden.”

Beryl bit her lip, “Oh, that’s alright. Just- so maybe you can stay at home while Daryl and I go to University? I don’t think we should let anyone see your wings.”

Daff awarded her with a blank stare before she smiled, “I don’t want to be a burden! Maybe you can give me some sort of job like the humans do to make money?”

Beryl giggled at her cousin’s request, “I don’t know… The wings will be a huge distraction.”

Daff nodded, “Well, if I take proper care of my system, I can always hide them.”

Beryl stared at her cousin in disbelief, “What?”

Daff laughed, “I can hide my wings if I get sufficient sunlight, honey and sleep.”

Beryl wasn’t sure this was what she had wanted when she was expecting her University life to be ‘unreal’. Things were getting more and more complicated by the minute.