Fae 5.8

~Charity~
The years past, and other than a few near misses none of us encountered the vampires again. Rochelle continued with her dancing, the dance company had wanted her to audition for several years now, I knew if she joined them she would move to the land that Kai and I had left, I just prayed that they would treat her better than they had treated us. I wasn't ready to see her go, so I kept saying no. Today she turns sixteen, and I've agreed to let her go. Sebastian kept up with his chess club for a while, but hadn't shown much interest in it for several years now. He spends much of his time exploring this tiny island we call home. Watching them cut into their cakes made me remember all the birthday's leading up to this one, and I began to cry. "Charity are you alright?" Kai asked as he put his arms around me. " I was just remembering when they were little. I miss that."  "We could always have another baby." "That sounds like a perfect idea."

~Rochelle~
I felt like I was flying as I danced back and forth across the dance floor. I had to perfect this dance for my audition. I am Sixteen today, and mom and dad have finally agreed to let me audition for the Dance Company. I have been trying for several years to get mom to let me audition, but for some reason she wouldn't, dad was cool with it, but not mom. Till now that is. I have never wanted anything as much as I want this.

~Sebastian~
Sixteen. For most turning sixteen is a big deal, but not to me, see to me it's no different than being fifteen or eighteen, I'll still be stuck in this town, population 42 and I know every one of them. When I was younger it was cool to know everyone in town, but now I hate it. Nothing ever changes here, the biggest thing to ever happen here was when the vamps moved in, I talked to one once, but mom freaked when she found out, and I've never done it again.  I would give anything to get out of this town, it's too quiet here, too bad no one gets to leave.

Fae 5.7

Both of the kids asked to sign up for after school activities, to which Kai and I readily agreed to. Sebastian chose the chess club, and Rochelle followed in my footsteps and chose ballet.













I had not danced in years, or even thought about it, but seeing Rochelle practice took me back to when I was a child and my only joy was in dancing. Rochelle was much better than I ever was, watching her dance in her recital I couldn't help but cry. Kai sitting next to me noticed, leaning over he asked me what was wrong. "Nothing, she's just so graceful. She reminds me when I used to dance."   "You never told me you danced"   "It was a long time ago, I haven't really thought about it in years." Kai knew me too well, "Liar" he said putting his arm around my shoulders. On the way home after the recital Rochelle said "My dance teacher said I'm the best dancer in class and if I continue to get better I might have a chance at joining the Fae Dance Company when I get older, isn't that awesome!" I smiled at her, but inside I was remembering when I told my aunt almost the exact same thing. I refused to let history repeat itself, so once the kids were in bed I told Kai we needed to talk. "When the day comes that Rochelle wants to join the dance company, we're going to let her regardless of her age, okay?" I could hear the tinge of panic in my voice. Kai heard it too. "Where's this coming from? She said she might have a shot when she's older, that could still be years away."  I Sighed and sat down, "When I was seventeen, I had a shot at joining a dance company myself. I told my aunt, who forbade me from joining, as I was too young, well I snuck  out and went to the audition anyway. I messed up my audition and since I didn't want to go home I went to the park. That's where I met James."   "So you don't want Rochelle to make the same choices you did. She's not you, and you're not Berlin. When and if the day comes that she wants to join a dance company, I'll keep an open mind. Fair?" That wasn't exactly the answer I wanted, but it would do.  I tossed and turned all night, memories plaguing me the whole time. I finally gave up and went outside to tend to the garden.

When morning came I had the best idea, once every one was awake I decided we needed a family day, and we all went down to the beach. We spent the whole day there. It was so peaceful. Sebastian and Rochelle went for a swim, then while Kai and I sunbathed, they built sandcastles. We returned home as night fell.








A few days later while sitting in the living room I heard the front door slam followed by Sebastian yelling at his sister "Its none of your business! Leave me alone!"  "Hey! What's going on?" I said as they entered the living room. "Rochelle? Sebastian?" I said looking from one to the other. With a sigh Rochelle finally said " We went to the park after school, Sebastian got there first and when I got there he was talking to a girl."  "Well there's nothing wrong with that, Rochelle."  "But mom, he was talking to that vampire girl. So I got mad at Sebastian and we came home."  "Rochelle go on, I'll talk to Sebastian."  "fine"   "Mom, I don't see what the big deal is. She's not all that different than we are."  "Yes she is. Her kind are dangerous, none of them can be trusted. Believe me I know. "  "You're wrong mom."  "Sebastian, don't argue with me. You are not to talk to her again. Do you understand me?"  "Yes ma'am" He said as he went upstairs. Part of me knew I was wrong and felt guilty for what I said, but a bigger part just wanted to keep my family safe. No good could come from Vampires.

Fae 5.6

After the kids were gone to school I sat down to read the paper, most of the news was routine, though one headline caught my eye. "THE CITY IS PLEASED TO WELCOME IT'S FIRST VAMPIRE RESIDENTS"  No, surely I had read it wrong. Nope. That's what it said alright. I couldn't breath, how could they let one of them move here? This was wrong.


I went inside where Kai was working, and told him the news. "I knew."  "Wha- How? How did you not tell me?" I felt betrayed. "We need to leave, I refuse to live in the same town as one of those!"  "And just where are we suppose to go Charity! Back to the land that we came from, or have you forgotten how they treated us!" Kai was angry, he never got angry. "Just forget it Malakai" I said walking away. I went and sat down on the couch and Kai went outside for a bit.





When he came back inside, I was sitting on the couch crying, "Charity, I never meat to hurt you." Kai said sitting down beside me. He lay my head over on his shoulder and said, "I promised long ago I would protect you, and I meant it. I didn't tell you before  because I didn't know how. I knew how you would feel and I didn't want to see you hurt. Though it seems not telling you has hurt you even more. Forgive me?"  "I forgive you, I just don't know what to do."  "Don't worry whatever happens we'll deal with it together."

Fae 5.5

Our little ones we growing up. The time had come for the twins to start school. Our village was very small, so small in fact you could get most anywhere by flying, which is exactly what the kids did on their first day of school.















When the kids had left, Kai surprised me with a picnic in the front yard. "What's the occasion?" I asked. "Well these last few years our lives have revolved around the kids, and while I wouldn't trade our family for anything, I would like to get to know my wife again." I smiled and leaned over and kissed him.




When the kids got home from school, they set to work right away on their homework. Sebastian flew through his, while Rochelle took a bit longer to finish hers. I offered to help, but she wanted to do it herself.



Before bed we read the kids a story as we had done since they were babies. "Mom" Sebastian asked "Yes honey?" "Are humans real?" He asked seriously. I chuckled and answered "Of course they are, why do you ask?"  "Well this boy at school said they were just made up, humans didn't exist."  "Well, just between us I'll tell you a secret, I used to be one."  "You were a human?!?" Sebastian's surprise was evident. "Yep, I was. Someday when you're older I'll tell you and your sister all about it."  "I can't wait" He said as he drifted off to sleep.




As we went to bed I told Kai what Sebastian had asked. "Funny, Rochelle asked me the same thing. Why do you suppose they think humans are made up?"  "Well" I said, "Until I met you I thought the same was true of Fae, so it makes sense. Though I suppose someday I'll have to tell them how I became a Fae."  "We'll tell them, but that wont be for many years." Kai said rolling over to go to sleep.

Fae 5.4

To celebrate their birthday, Kai and I decided to take them to the park. As soon as they had eaten we got them changed and headed out. I took Rochelle and Kai took Sebastian, we hadn't been there long when it started to rain, so we figured we try another day and we headed back home.











We tried to put them down for a nap, but Rochelle and Sebastian would not have it, so we set about teaching them to walk and talk. I let Kai handle the potty training however. Life was simple and uneventful, just the way it should be.

Fae 5.3

Kai took to fatherhood like he'd done it before. It did not matter if they needed changing, feeding, or to just be held he was the first one there when they would begin to cry. I loved watching him with our babies. Our babies, I still couldn't get used to the fact I was a mother. I had never even thought of having children, I was going to be a dancer, then James happened. Now however, I couldn't imagine my life nay other way.

We quickly settled into a routine, I would garden, then eat breakfast with Kai, sleep for a few hours while he tended to the kids, then I would tend to the while he worked on his potions. It was definitely unconventional, but it worked for us.

Birthday's past and soon the twins were toddlers. They were the perfect mix of Kai and I. Rochelle had my hair and kai's eyes, and Sebastian had Kai's hair and my eyes. They were most definitely opposites.

Fae 5.2

Life is a funny thing. Sometimes what seems like the most horrible thing that could happen later turns out to be a blessing. If I had never been taken by James I never would have met Kai-my own personal angel, my light in the darkness-and I wouldn't be here right now.  We have lived here now for nearly five years. Both Kai and I are respected members of the community, a few people knew about our pasts, and no one cared. Everyone had their own reasons for being here.We own a small elixir shop, I grow the ingredients and Kai makes them. I no longer have nightmares, though I still don't sleep well at night, I suppose I never will. I am happier than I ever thought possible. Life is good.

Being woken up because you need to throw up is not the ideal way to start the day. "Charity are you alright?" Kai asked from the bedroom. "I think I have the flu, don't come in here" Of course he didn't listen, he was by my side in an instant holding my hair back. " I think I'm finished" I said as Kai helped me back to bed. "Stay here, I'll bring you some water." Always my protector, Kai made sure I was comfortable checking on me throughout the day.

My "flu" continued for several weeks before it dawned on me. "KAI!" I shouted from bed. In the blink of an eye, he was in the doorway "What's wrong?" "Nothing actually, I don't have the flu" I said smiling and putting my hands on my stomach. "You don't? Then what- Oh!" The look of utter joy on his face made me so happy, I started crying. "I'm going to be a father?" he asked taking my hands. "yes" I said giving him a kiss. This was the happiest day of my life so far.


My pregnancy progressed smoothly, after the first few weeks I had no more morning sickness. I spent my time tending to the garden and planing the nursery, we went with neutral colors, since we didn't want to know before hand what the baby was. when we had finished putting the bassinet together, Kai knelt down put his hands on my belly and started talking to the baby, "Hello in there, I'm your father, I can't wait to meet you." I knew without a doubt that Kai was going to be an amazing father.

"What do you think of  Jessica for a girl or David for a boy?" Kai asked rubbing my growing belly as we lay in front of the fire. We still hadn't decided on a name. "Uh-uh. What were  your parents names?" I asked. Kai had never told me their names. He was quiet for a while then said "Sebastian and Rochelle"  "What if we named the baby after both our parents? Sebastian Tanner for a boy and Rochelle Emily Berlin for a girl?"  "I think those names are perfect."

The rest of my pregnancy progressed without a problem, with the name picked out and the nursery ready all that was missing was our little one. That was soon remedied when I went into labor, Kai rushed me to the hospital where after a relatively short labor I welcomed our wonderful twins into the world. They were so perfect, so tiny. I never thought I could love something more than I loved Kai, but I was wrong. I instantly fell in love with this tiny little life that we created. Up till then I had never seen Kai cry, but upon seeing his children for the first time he did. We came home the following day, and after laying our little ones down in the cradle, both Kai and I just stood and watched them sleep. I promised them that I would always be there, I would see to it that they never experienced a childhood like Kai and I had. They would never feel unloved or unwanted.

Fae 5.1

"Charity wake up!" My eyes shot open to find Kai shaking me awake. He pulled me into a hug "It's just a nightmare, he's gone." I was holding on to him so tight, trying to calm myself down. "Okay, I'm okay" I said a few minutes later releasing his grip on me. "Was it the same dream?" He asked concerned. "Yea, same one." I said. I had been having nightmares about James. I hadn't had a decent night's sleep since we escaped, most of the time I slept during the day since  I was afraid to go to sleep at night fearing I would wake up to find myself back in that cage. "You know he can never hurt you again, you're safe now"  "I know" I said laying back down, but never really going to sleep. 

We had been living here for almost a month and so far the only person who spoke to us was Martin. He got Kai a job,  and came by nearly every day to check-in on us. Neither Kai nor myself felt welcome here. We tried to make friends, and fit in, but it was obvious that no one wanted us here. I asked Martin about this one day and he told me that it had been decided long ago to never speak of the Vampires again. Everyone living here believed that the Vampires no longer existed. Our being here had caused them to be faced with the lie they had created. Needless to say they made our lives very difficult.

After six months we were miserable living there. I had to start growing our own food since no one would do business with me. Kai had a job, he was a laborer who worked nights. With him gone at night I really didn't sleep, I hated being alone in the dark.

 I missed my Aunt, and started to resent Kai for changing me. We had a horrible fight one day and Kai stormed out of the house slamming the door so hard the windows rattled. While he was gone I just sat and cried.

Kai still wasn't home when I crawled into bed, when he did get home I felt him slip under the covers with me and wrap his arms around me. The next morning I apologized, and so did he. "We're leaving here tonight" Kai said. "What? Where will we go?" I asked confused. "I went to Martin last night and asked him for help. Seeing that we don't fit in here, he agreed to help  us leave. There is another world where some Fae -mainly those who are exiled from here- live, but they may be more accepting than those who live here. We must leave tonight though, as Martin is leaving on a mission for the Council and no one will notice us slipping through the portal" I didn't know what to say, it was a lot to take in at once. "Okay" I said at last. Not at all eager to stay here. We spent the day preparing to leave, packing our few belongings. Night fell at last and Martin showed us to the portal and bid us farewell. I took Kai's hand and together we stepped through.

On the other side I was amazed at what I saw, it was beautiful! Though we had left at night, here the sun was shining. We made our way to the town, apprehensive that we would be greeted the same as last time. We were greeted by various townspeople, all of whom smiled and waved at us. When we got to the square the entire town had turned up to meet us. After being greeted by everyone, the leader of the town, Julien, led us to our new home. Our new home was much nicer than our last. It was a modest three bedroom house, with plenty of land. Julien told Kai that he would be back later in the day to check on us. For the first time in months I smiled.