I am a monster

I shouldn't be here. A human doesn't belong in a place like this. A place full of magic and power. And yet here I am. Hidden in a bush next to the palace of the Fae. I press myself to the ground as one of them passes. Her bright blond hair is pulled back making her pointed ears visible. Visible for all to see that she is powerful, she is Fae and we are nothing but human. Useless creatures only meant to serve. She turned and I was able to get a glimpse of her face. I put a hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp. She's the prettiest woman I've ever seen and she's staring right at where I'm hiding. Her gold eyes seem to pierce through the bush as if she can see me. I hold my breath for so long that I think I might pass out. My chest burns but there's nothing I can do until she leaves. Fear coils deep in my stomach and I wish I never came here. Her eyes glance at the bush one last time before she finally steps away and walks up the steps to the palace. I open my mouth and gulp down fresh air until I feel like my lungs might burst. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I never should have accepted Brad's offer. But it's not like I had a choice either. If I hadn't said yes he would have killed my little brother Lee. He' s only seven and if I have a chance at saving him I was going to do it.

I scan the steps and thankfully there's no one there, well at least that I can see. There could be a ghost, a Fae with the power to turn invisible. I'm gonna have to take my chances. The longer I stay here the more likely I am to be caught. Keeping my body low to the ground I slip out from behind the bush. If I could make it to the servants passage i'd be able to get in undetected. And then I guess I'd take it from there. Planning is not exactly a strength of mine. The closer I get to the palace the more I understand. It's positioned at the top of our city, to show that they have the power, and we don't. It's made of a glistening white stone that glows in the setting sun and gold leaves decorate the large metal door. All I want to do is rip it apart. Maybe then they would know what it feels like to lose something you hold so dear. I make it to the door and shuffle to the left, running my hands over the wall to look for a groove. According to the maps I've looked at there's meant to be a hidden door for the servants to get in through. Probably because the Fae think we don't deserve to walk through the front door. I grit my teeth and continue my search for the secret entrance.

There's no groove in the wall or at least I can't find it. I ball my fists and kick the wall in frustration. Well that was a dumb idea because now the wall is shaking. Wait, the wall is shaking. I stumble backwards and fall onto my back. I groan and pull myself into a seated position. Before I could stop it, a gasp left my mouth. The stones around where I kicked the wall were disappearing. A few seconds later there was a doorway that led inside the palace. The stones were just gone. They had disappeared into thin air. I crawled forward and stuck my hand through the opening. I waited but nothing happened. Was this the servants passage? Even if it wasn't, it led inside the palace. I was going to have to take my chances. I take a deep breath before stepping into the passageway.

I blink a few times until my eyes adjust to the lack of light. The passage is dimly lit and slopes upwards. Droplets of water drip down from the ceiling and splash against the grimy floor. If I wanted to find what I was looking for, I needed to keep going, even if every nerve in my body screamed at me to turn around and run. I was in a place that was off limits to humans and I wasn't here by mistake. I shuddered as the thought of being caught crossed my mind. Would they kill me? Torture me? Or do something far worse? I wasn't planning on finding out. The passage was full of the sound of running water and my footsteps. I'd only been walking for a few minutes but it felt like hours. Maybe time was different here? Maybe I really have been walking for hours. The passage twisted and turned but every part looked the same. As if it was built to make you feel lost and confused. Laughter and voices sounded ahead and I was snapped from my thoughts.

If it was humans ahead that was a good sign. I'd made it to the servants quarters. If it was Fae ahead I wanted to be prepared to fight, even if the chances of me winning were close to zero. As quietly as I could I slipped a dagger out of my boot and held it in front of my face. The weight of it felt perfect in my hand as if it had been made for me. My reflection stared back at me barely visible in the dim lighting. Blue eyes, pale skin, blond hair. Nothing felt different about me but my eyes glowed with new determination. I was not going to die here. And if I was, I was going to put up a hell of a fight. I rounded the corner and came face to face with a wooden door. I'd made it. "It's now or never," I whispered squeezing the handle of my dagger until my knuckles turned white but before I could pull the door open someone stepped through shutting it behind them.

I looked straight at his ears, which were slightly pointed. He could be human or he could be Fae. I wasn't about to take any chances. I shoved him against the door and held my dagger to his throat. He glanced down at me his eyes unfocused. "What are you doing little human?" He asked looking genuinely confused. He was drunk, I could smell the scent of wine on his lips. But he was definitely Fae and that could prove to be useful. I took a small step back still keeping the dagger against his neck. He looked to be about eighteen so, a year older than me. His hair was brown and fell just above the tips of his ears. It wasn't anything special like the hair of the other Fae which glinted under the sun. But his eyes made up for it. They were the color of moss flecked with amber and gold.

I stared transfixed until he cleared his throat the sound sharp and impatient. "Is there something you need because I would quite like to get back to the party." I grunted at the arrogance in his voice. He didn't think I was a threat. He just saw me as some stupid human girl who wasn't a danger to him. No more dangerous than a passing fly. I pressed my dagger harder against his throat until it nicked his skin. He hissed and tried to bat my hand away. Unsurprisingly he missed. He'd ingested so much alcohol he could barely function. "If you want to get back to your party, answer my questions." He stared at me blankly before slowly nodding his head. At least he couldn't lie to me. Sadly that thought was not nearly as comforting as I wanted it to be.

"Where is the treasury?" His eyes widened in surprise but it was gone in a second. He couldn't believe how stupid I was to rob the treasury right under the noses of the high Fae. I could barely believe it myself. "It's on the other side of the palace." Wow. How helpful. We were under the castle surely there were more passageways down here that could lead to the treasury. "Take me there." He huffed out a sigh before saying "what about the party?" "If you take me there you can go back to your party." "Fine," he snapped glaring at me from under his lashes. I pulled my dagger away from his neck but still kept it in my hand. He didn't seem like he was going to cause much trouble but that could change any second. He is Fae after all. Without as much as a glance at me he turned and marched back the way I just came.

We wind through the passageways and he just won't shut his mouth. "My name's Kristian but you can just call me Kris," he says turning his head to smirk at me. "Shut up or I'll cut your tongue out,"I snap at him. Kris cringes away from me and doesn't open his mouth again. "Are we almost there," I ask after we've been walking for twenty minutes. "Yeah, we're close to the Treasury." A few more minutes pass and we stop in front of a staircase. "This staircase leads to the Treasury?" He nods his head. He could be lying. I need him to say It loud after all Fae can't lie. "Say it out loud." He brings his hand to his stomach as if I just stabbed him. "I thought we trusted each other." "Now," I hiss at him. He waves a hand at the staircase and says "this staircase leads to the Treasury, happy now?" "Very," I say flashing him a grin as I stalk towards him. He backs away until he hits the wall. "Guards," he screams. No, no, no. I clamp my hand over his mouth. Maybe they didn't hear. Even as I repeat it in my mind I know I'm wrong.

I hear scuffling behind the door. They're here. Pain erupts in my fingers and I cry out. I pull my hand away from Kris's mouth to examine it. Puncture marks line my fingers and palm. Blood streams from the wounds coating my hand. He bit me. Before I can do anything to him the door bursts open. Ten guards stand at the top of the stairs, hands holding an array of different weapons. I am beyond screwed. They rush towards me and I try to run. I'm too slow and they catch my arms and pull me back. I look at their faces but they're covered by masks. One of them raises a sword and I shut my eyes. This is the end. I didn't even get to say goodbye to Lee or my dad. I open my eyes just as the but of the sword slams down on my head.

I slowly opened my eyes but it felt like I was swimming in a haze. My head pounded in time to my heartbeat. The pain was everywhere and it wouldn't stop. I blinked a few times trying to take in the blurred shapes around me. My eyes stung and I shut them quickly before slowly blinking. I'm lying on my back looking up at the ceiling. "Pull her up," someone says. Hands close around my arms and I'm dragged to my feet. I cried out as the pain in my head intensifies. Finally after what feels like forever the pain subsides and I can see around me. I'm standing in the center of a room surrounded by Fae. They crowd towards me, peering over each other's shoulders to get a look at me.

"Enough," the women on the throne scream her voice shrill and cold. It's the woman I saw before with the blond hair and gold eyes. But now she's sitting on a throne and a crown rests on her head. She must be Selene queen of the Fae and on her left sits the king. I scan the room but all the exits are blocked by guards. I can't escape. My breathing quickens as reality sets in. They're going to kill me.

Selene stalks towards me like a cat hunting it's prey. When she grins I swear I see fangs."Your name?" she asks cocking her head in question. No point in lying now. "Lia, my name is Lia." Selene grabs my chin in her delicate hand and turns it from side to side. "Hmmm, quite pretty for a human." I grit my teeth and balled my fists. I wanted to scream, to run, to hide. Anything to get her icy hands off my face. But I stay still and let her watch me. There is nothing I can do. "And why are you here? I don't suppose you came for no reason." She says running her hands down the side of my face. I flinch away from her touch and she smirks down at me. "I'm sorry your majesty they said they were going to kill my brother if I didn't." My voice broke off and I took a deep breath. "If I didn't steal from you," I continued. The crowd gasped at my words. I guess no one had tried to rob them in a very long time. The queen took a step back and continued to watch me. A look of boredom crossed her face and she waved her hand at the guards holding me up. "Kill her," Selene said while the king nodded in agreement.

I threw my arms up in front of my face as if it would be able to stop a blade from cutting my skin. The queen's eyes widened and she held her hand up to stop the guards. "Where did you get that bracelet?" She hissed under her breath. My bracelet. Why would she care about that? It wasn't anything special. Just a thick silver band imprinted with the image of a hand holding glowing golden light. The last thing my mother gave me before she was killed so many years ago. "I got it from my mother." The queen moved towards me so quickly I could barely see the movement. Her fingers scraped down my arm leaving a trail of blood. "Don't lie," she snapped her eyes bright with fury. "I'm not. Why would I lie about that?" She looked taken back by my response, she's probably not used to people talking back to her. "That bracelet is made of Creta, a type of Fae metal used to make us pass as humans. It takes away our power and changes how we look. Why are you wearing one?" My breathing quickened and I looked down at the bracelet. My mother told me to never take it off or something bad would happen. Like an idiot I believed her. I haven't taken it off since I was eight years old, I haven't even tried.

"I don't know," I muttered not looking up. The queen sighed and rolled her eyes. "Take it off." "No." I snapped. If I was going to die I was at least going to die with it on. The queen snatched a dagger from a guard behind me. I struggled against their hold but there was nothing I could do as she cut the bracelet from my wrist. It dropped to the floor and clanged loudly against the tiled floor. I screamed and screamed as my whole body erupted in agony. White hot pain shot through me and I collapsed to the floor. I couldn't see, I couldn't hear all I could do was feel as if the pain had me writhing on the floor. As quickly as it started, it faded away and I was left with a dull throb. I stumbled to my feet and almost fell back over.

"What happened," I gasped out clutching my head. No one answered. They were all staring at my ears. Were they bleeding? Had they fallen off? I reached my hand to my ear but there was no blood. What were they all staring at? I ran my hand up until it reached the tip. It was pointed. My ear was pointed. The room spun around me and I could barely breathe. I traced my ear once again, my fingers trembling. Was I Fae? It wasn't possible but what if it was? A laugh erupted from Selene's lips, the sound cold and unnatural. She analyzed me, checking to see if there were any other changes. "You thought you were human." My muscles shook at the weight of her words, what they meant. I shook my head, refusing to believe it. The longer I stood there the more I realized everything was different. I could hear birds singing outside the palace walls. I could see the intricate details on the kings throne all the way on the other side of the room. The fabric of my tunic felt ten times softer. My senses were heightened and it felt amazing and I hated myself for it. "You are one of us ," Selense said softly, gesturing at the Fae who were staring in awe. I wanted to deny it but what other option was there? "No," I yelled. "No I'm not." She smiled at my outburst and shook her head slowly. "Oh but you are, you will see that soon enough." My throat closed and as tears slid down my face. I should've known better. I should never have come here because now I will never leave. They will make me like them. They will turn me into a monster.