Your day had been going rather well. Strange.

You tried to stifle a yawn, remembering that no elf should ever be seen losing their poise, “Hello, how may I help you?” you spread your lips in a polite smile. You had a dragon hybrid on your hands and one can be assured that you had no desire to aggravate any of the special customers that walked through your door.

Unfortunately, that door had a few claw marks of one or two irritated werewolves. For some reason your usually reliable wolfsbane potion hadn’t had the most reliable of effects.

But they can be fortunate they weren’t poisoned, you thought with a tiny smile.

“I need something to treat injuries,” white scales rippled across her face as her eyes scoured the vials around your small store. You had double-checked your supply and made at least two bottles for as many recipes as you could in the past week. You’ve often been surprised by how desperate some customers can be.

“What sort of injuries? Cuts? Burns?” you held out a blue flask, “Because there have been many of those today.”

“None of that, no,” she shook her head, “What do you have for frostbite?”

You could hardly hide your confusion at that, “Frostbite?”

She nodded guiltily, “And I have a tendency to,” her pupils became slits and turned a startlingly light blue, “Lash out at people.” Lovely, you fought the urge to sigh.

“I’m afraid that’s rather rare in this time of year. Do you think this injury could wait three hours?” you caught the girl’s rise in irritation. 

“I guess so. He probably won’t lose his nose that fast,” her eyebrows furrowed together, “Won’t you be closed by then?”

Through the window you could see more people entering the square, “Yes, but certain things need more attention than sleep and when everything is done, then I can start brewing your potion. All you need to do is ring the bell that I will hang on the hook by the door to let me know you’re here.”

The dragon girl nodded before leaving your small store.

You stretched, trying not to knock over any of the things on the counter. Things were rather hectic in the morning, but very good for business. You couldn’t have been less pleased with the money you’d earned today. One would be surprised how many people need one of your shots for energy boosts. You’ve often been tempted, but the ingredients are limited and you’ve gotten used to the early mornings.

Not to mention your parents would be even more disapproving if you were consuming your own products! Thank goodness you’d diverted them from taking care of some of your finances; they’d have heart attacks if they saw how much the ingredients cost, especially when bought in bulk…

You took out your phone. It was certainly not sleek like the ones you’d seen others with, but it worked very well. Most of your money went to keep your supply to be ready for as many situations possible.

“Except for frostbite,” you muttered as you sent a quick message to the merchant by the river. If you remembered correctly, he would be in the harbor this evening. Until then you would need to get rather inventive.  

The door opens and a relatively tall person came in. His movements were rather sluggish and yet he moved with the grace of a fairy. His hair was also very messy and it was grey. If that’s indeed a fairy, mother would throw a fit, you raised an eyebrow at him.

“Please tell me I heard this wrong,” his voice was remarkably deep. He walked over to you and even slouched, he loomed over you, “But did you really put sleep low down on your list?”

“How did you hear what I…” you pressed your lips together when you realized how stupid the question was. He tapped his ears with a rather annoying smile. Your wrist tingled as you looked at him. That was when your own ears picked up on a very irregular heartbeat, “But yes, I did say something along those lines. Why do you ask?”

He opened his mouth to answer before his eyebrows pulled together, “You’re a fairy?”

“Partially, yes,” you could sense something off with him. Strangely enough, only the skin on your wrist crawled, “Why is it that you came in here,” you kept your tone light, “Did you want something?” you gestured toward your crowded shelves.

“I think so,” he frowned, “Could I get a—It’s you,” his eyes widened when they locked on your wrist. You followed his gaze and saw a bronze band wrapped around your wrist. 

“What in the…” you didn’t feel any different, but it was really not every day that one sees metal seemingly imbedded in one’s wrist. Then you felt a rush of energy flow into your head. It had something strangely pure to it, but then another alarmingly wicked piece. Dominantly, you felt something much more lighthearted, but more daring than anything.

A hand shook you lightly and you nearly jumped out of your skin, “You need to hide,” the guy’s voice had lost all drowsiness. His eyes were a bright blue now, but not icy like that dragon’s ones had been.

“What happened?” you tried to blink the flashes of white and silver from your eyes, “Did you do something to me?”

“No,” he shook his head before frowning, “Well, maybe, but that isn’t the point. We’ve got to—” he was interrupted by a horrible screeching sound. It sounded like metal being torn apart.
            You resisted the urge to put your hands over your ears, “Whatever you want me to do, I need some sort of explanation!” you winced when the sound came again.

“Firstly, it’s not what I want you to do, it’s what you need to do,” his deep voice was barely audible through the screeching, “secondly, your energy has just been exposed to both Heaven and Hell and…” he trailed off. His light eyes glowed as they locked on your wrist, “They’re coming to get you now.”

“I thought they don’t have anything to do with mortals,” your eyebrows scrunched together, “Except for the demons, according to the stories, they still like to make their deals.”

“Why the tone—Nevermind, just get to somewhere safe right now,” he snapped. The horrible sound then stopped. Only silence remained.

A cold feeling rushed through you. This was certainly not how this square should have sounded at such a time.

“You know what, screw it,” the guy stepped forward and placed his hand over your eyes. You tried to move away but your movements were suddenly far too sluggish, “I do apologize for this,” with that his hands leave your face. The ground seems to be swept out from under you and all light leaves your eyes.

 

“What have you done?”

“I didn’t know that it was her, someone could have been able to tell me before I walked into that shop?”

“You should have known by her corima’s energy.”

“It doesn’t work like that…just make sure she stays where she can’t be reached.”

“We’ll do our best.”

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If anyone got a look at this story when it was first published, it was written in first person! I changed it to second person instead, so I hope this is a good change! If you liked reading the first chapter, leave a comment or something to let me know! :D