“If you’re caught,” Farah amended before sighing softly. “I suppose—” She quickly broke off into laughter at the quip. The woman shook her head before regaining herself. “I suppose we are friends, and… I feel it only right for you to know. Though I truly don’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable with my story.”
Farah took a deep breath and continued. "It only got worse in the following days. Rosalind had me tied on the end of a string. I was completely, blindly loyal to her. She could've told me to do practically anything, and I would've done it. And… she did." The fairy smiled amidst the sadness and laughed while hurting tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
“Aster Dell," she murmured. "It was Aster Dell that changed everything. It was a civilization near the coast. Rosalind led us there, telling us the city was overcome with Burned Ones and the civilians had been evacuated. The five of us got there, and the three fairies in her battalion – Rosalind, Ben, and me – all combined our magic. I had thought the civilization was evacuated, and the only beings in it were our enemies, the Burned Ones. But Rosalind had lied. It wasn't evacuated. The residents of the town were blood witches, sworn enemies of fairies in the Otherworld. I didn't find out until after."
"The lightning we brought down on the civilization destroyed it in seconds. It was the most power I've ever felt. When we went down to observe the damage and make sure all the Burned Ones were dead…" Her voice began to break. "There were people… she told us it had been evacuated… I should've doubted… should've questioned her. We murdered an entire town like it was nothing, and after trapping Rosalind in Alfea's hidden undercroft, I used a gateway ring to get here and hid myself away. I don't deserve such power."
Farah trembled, again painfully vulnerable at that moment. "I have hundreds of deaths' worth of blood on my hands. That day has lived in my mind ever since. I'll never be able to outlive it. I would've trusted Rosalind with my life. It felt like a betrayal. She manipulated me, lied to me, and worst of all…" Farah closed her eyes, refusing to cry. "She broke my heart. I really thought I was in love with her. I really did.”
“Yeah…” Elizabeth nodded, knowing what Farah meant. Obviously, the fairy woman knew Rosalind better than she did so she knew what she was capable of. “Don't worry. I've heard and lived my fair share of war stories.” she assured, listening to Farah talk.
She gently put her hand on Farah’s shoulder when it looked like she was about to cry. But hearing those two words set a rock in Liz’s stomach, having a good idea that it was the name of a town. She was a little surprised to hear about the existence of actual witches but she didn't dwell on that fact as Farah continued. “She did. It was a betrayal.” she nodded, not disregarding the rest of Farah’s feelings. “She's a war-mongering monster who would have been placed in front of a firing squad for her crimes in this world.” she sighed. “As a soldier, I can relate to having blood on my hands but I am sorry that you were tricked by someone so close to you.” her heart ached sincerely sympathetic to the other woman's pain.
Farah could feel the sympathy swirling inside of the other woman as much as she tried to keep her magic from reaching out. She normally didn’t appreciate the sentiment – because it was usually fake – but Elizabeth’s emotions were genuine.
"It's taken me all of my time spent here to realize that Rosalind never loved me," Farah sighed. "She never cared for me more than my power. Using me for her own gain was all she wanted. I've learned that, eventually. I would never want another relationship like the one I had with Rosalind. I felt incredible things for her, but they were never reciprocated,” she added, sounding like an afterthought.
"But the worst part is the memories that are burned in my mind. Rosalind is a mind fairy too. With both of our powers, we had an immensely deep connection… and she abused it," Farah finished quietly.
Elizabeth couldn't help but wince at the last bit of information. That just made the whole thing seem that much worse. “Nor should you want that again. It was an unhealthy enough relationship the first time. A repeat would just be… wrong.” she sighed, shaking her head. “You don't deserve that kind of treatment. No one does.”
“Maybe we can make some good, better, memories to try to help push those back so you don't have to think about them so much.” she suggested. “I don't mean a relationship. I just mean as friends. We can do things together and make other memories.”
Farah’s expression softened at Elizabeth’s words. “I… I think that would be lovely,” she murmured with a smile. “You’ve already been helping a tremendous amount. Don’t you think it’s a bit odd how similar we are, though?”
She pursed her lips with a grin. “We’re both military women, and we’ve had… a somewhat similar relationship during that time. I suppose I was meant to find you out here.” She playfully nudged Elizabeth’s shoulder.
Elizabeth smiled gently back and nodded. “Happy to able to help at all.”
Though she laughed a little as Farah pointed out all their similarities. “I've never been a big believer in fate or anything but it is an amazing coincidence.” she agreed, bumping the fairy's shoulder in response. “And I am glad that we met each other too.”
Farah grinned and took the shoulder bump in stride. “I’m not so much either, but fate seems to always get its way with me. This is a much better outcome. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite so lovely as you, darling.”
Elizabeth raised a brow, a little surprised by the epithet, but just smirked playfully back. “And I haven't met someone who I can relate to so easily in quite a while, sweetheart.” she teased, though the sentiment was true.
Farah instantly flushed. She hadn’t really thought about saying ‘darling,’ the word just came out of her mouth naturally. It’s how she referred to everyone. But it was like Elizabeth’s comeback had given the pet name a whole new meaning.
“I-I’m glad,” the fairy stammered slightly with a small smile in return.
Elizabeth chuckled, not having expected Farah to blush. Though Liz had often been a natural flirt before she met James and hadn't slipped into that old habit as much anymore. “Come on. My apartment building is just down the street.” she assured, going back to a more casual tone.
Farah nodded and followed Elizabeth’s lead. “How long have you lived here?” she asked, not meaning to pry too much but also looking to deflect the conversation away from anywhere else it had a chance of going.
“A few years.” Elizabeth answered simply with a shrug. “Long enough for me to know my way around but still not enough time for me to know most of the regular locals. It's a quiet enough place and people don't bother you all the time, unless they’re gossip hunters or reporters and I haven't done anything newsworthy since I moved in.” she added with a light chuckle.
“Except for welcoming an otherworldly alien into your living space,” Farah teased quietly, unsure of who could be listening. She was taught to always be careful. “But that’s good. I don’t need any attention. It’s what I’m here to avoid.”
“Yeah. Except that.” Elizabeth chuckled. “Which is why, if anyone asks, you're an old friend from boot camp but we lost track of each other when we were put in different battalions.” she explained, already having come up with a vague enough story to satisfy anyone who might be curious about her new roommate.
Farah nodded. “That’s perfect,” she commented simply. “Friends from boot camp. Got it.”
She sighed quietly and glanced back at the woods. The memories of hunting Burned Ones in the Otherworld with Saul, Ben, and Andreas ran through her mind. She did miss them.
Elizabeth smiled, glad that Farah approved of the cover, and walked up to the door of her apartment building. “You alright?” she asked, glancing back and noticing the fairy’s stare as she dug out her keys.
Farah quickly looked back at Elizabeth. “No,” she answered quickly before shaking her head. “I just miss the Otherworld. Saul, Ben, and Andreas were my best friends. And it’s been weeks since I’ve seen them.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I understand.” she assured. There had been quite a few days, or occasionally weeks, when she missed her old friends. Especially James. It even got to the point where she would start crying over them just to try to release her emotions. Though there was some debate in her mind if that was actually healthy for her or not.
Farah sighed quietly. She tried to keep her abilities contained, but she felt the strength of the sadness and loss radiating from Elizabeth.
The fairy observed the building they were about to enter before again looking back at the woods.
“My… Sorry, our room is just down this hall. It's the last door on the right.” Elizabeth informed as she walked in, holding the door open for Farah. “Though the location is the main reason how and why I got to start my garden. And we get a key to the backdoor too. I’ll talk to the landlord about getting you a spare set.” she offered.
Farah noted the correction, and she smiled subtly. She stepped into the room, looking around and taking in the little details of her temporary new home.
Her eyes lit up excitedly. “Oh, yes! I’d love to see your garden! But, um… what exactly is a ‘landlord’?”
The apartment wasn't very big. Just a living room and kitchen combo with pretty standard furniture.
“I'd be happy to show you.” Elizabeth smiled, trying not to laugh at the unexpected question. “I guess the Otherworld doesn't have apartments, huh? A landlord is someone who owns a building at lets people rent rooms.” she explained.
Farah blushed slightly. “Oh, yes… that makes sense. No, not in the way that you have apartments. But we have… no.”
The fairy looked embarrassed, but quickly, she took Elizabeth’s offer to see the gardens. “Yes, I’d love that.”
“It's alright.” Elizabeth smiled. “If you don't know something about how things work around here, you can ask me. I’ll try to be more open-minded about what you might ask.” she said as a sort of apology for almost laughing. She didn't mean to make Farah feel embarrassed. She had just been caught off guard. “Come on. Garden is this way.”
“Thank you,” Farah said quietly. “Rosalind kept much of the First World a secret from us. She hated any mentions of it, and I don’t think she likes humans either. I, on the other hand, don’t mind them.”
She winked at Elizabeth to try and relieve some of her embarrassment from earlier as she followed her to the garden.
