Wings in the Sky

The air is cool; it feels like I’m at the beach. Not like a moment ago when I was driving home with my husband from a Christmas DnD party, the heater going full blast. We were bickering and teasing about how we finagled Florence’s plan for the evening. He’s not here.
“John? Where are you?” I stand up. I’m in a light, soft dress that flutters around my knees.
“He’s not here, darling,” a sweet voice sounds behind me. I blink. I am on a beach with a woman in a Grecian-style gown at a table. On the table, there are tea cakes and sandwiches. My stomach growls. I just ate? Why am I hungry?
“Please, sit. I’ll get you a drink and explain some things.” The beautiful woman pours a tea cup and sits water next to it. She plates a sandwich, cakes, and fruit on the plate. I could have sworn they were tiny cute plates; now it’s the size of a dinner plate. I’m definitely dreaming. I sit down across from her.
“How would you like your tea?”
“Just cream, please. Where are we?” I pick up a sandwich—it’s just chicken and cheese. I take a bite. It’s exquisite. The bread is soft, the chicken is seasoned with rosemary and garlic, and the cheese is sharp and delicious. How can a dream sandwich taste so good?
“Mmh, this is wonderful,” I said.
“Wonderful, now I’m sure you are wondering why you are here,” the woman said.
“This is a dream, so go for it.” I pick up a small cake. It’s a creamy and tart Black Forest cake.
Her eyes look sad now, “Darling, I need you to think of the last thing you remember.” She reaches across the table for my hand.
I put mine in hers without thinking. I thought about the drive. John was teasing me. I was acting defensively. “Acquiring a new dress was definitely necessary for our disguises.”
John looked at me with laughter in his eyes, “Until you rolled so poorly it got us trapped in a dressmaker’s dungeon.”
I gently pushed his arm. “Well, those things happen. I wasn’t going to pay full price.”
Laughter, then crush, we hit a buck. Pain, John crying out to me. Then here, the ocean. A place I love.
“This isn’t a dream, is it? Is John OK?” I said, wiping away the tears that were falling—my loving husband, who cares for me.
“John is heartbroken, but he will be alright.” She strokes a finger over my knuckles in a soothing gesture. I feel calmer. It’s not great, but maybe this is some kind of next step. Maybe reincarnation is accurate. I don’t feel like myself quite yet.
“This is a lot, but I need you. You are a part of a different realm, but there is only one of you. The cycle of souls alternates, yet only one of you exists. You’ve gone back and forth between the realms before, but there is still just one of you. This may not make sense, but I need your help to win a war. You may recognize me from one of your stories, I am called the Mother, in A Court Of Thorns and Roses,” I choke on my tea.
“That’s a series. It’s a horny series.” I say around my coughs.
She laughs, it’s musical.
“That it is, but all of life is like that. The High Lord of the Night Court will need help, and your expertise.”
“I’m not much of an expert on anything now,” I say, eating another sandwich.
“Yet, the plan for you is to adapt to each court, to blend in or stand out as necessary. I propose you use your storytelling skills to help influence the courts and gain acquaintances.” the Mother says. “It’s all fine in dandy, and I am currently human. It might take my whole lifetime actually to infiltrate the court. I need to become Fae.” I say.
She smiles, “Darling, I can change who you are. It will take some doing, but I am certain you a person to help it is written in the stars. I plan on putting you 100 years before you are truly needed.” She leans back in her chair. “I will give you plenty of time to figure out what and who will be able to help the high Lord successfully. Of course I will not send you completely unarmed, we shall negotiate skills that will serve you.”
I sit thinking about how I could make a new life. The books were spicy, John and I both enjoyed our own reasons.
“If you are the god of this world, why can’t you just tell me what is going on?” I sip on the tea.
“Well, there are many different things at play. The future is something I don’t see clearly all the time. Free will and what not.” She flips her hair back. I notice the color seems to change while I am watching her. It’s all colors, one at a time. I start to stand; this is all dizzying me.
“Don’t focus on me too hard, darling; I am every woman and none at at all.”
I nod. Why is it me?
“I don’t know why it is you; that is a mystery to be solved in time, if ever, " she says breezily.
“So, one hundred years before the High Lord of the Night court needs me. I’m assuming that I will have to figure my way there, and you’re not going to drop me down into the Velaris,” I say.
“Oh, sweet one, you are correct. Now, we have the means to change you, and we need to decide what skills will be best for you to have now and others you may learn. When I change you, you have to have my essence. A tooth holds the essence of people dearly. To help your skills I believe you need to become somewhat of a chameleon. If you take a tooth, it will change you for about an hour. If a tooth is traded, the essence will be there forever for you to call upon. It will feel more like an ill-fitting dress, doable but not wonderful. If a tooth is given freely without expectation of recieving something in return, it is yours, it will feel like the perfect slip. Wonderful.” She leans forward smiling at me, smug at her suggestion.
“I want to create 3-D stories, and when I tell a story, I want to be able to make it come to life, like a projector. That is how I can go into places and figure out everything. Everyone loves a storyteller.”
Mother nodded. “Yes, that will be a wonderful idea. You will have to learn local stories. What else? You need more than that to survive.”
I sit thinking, “I have some skills in hunting, but I don’t know much about foraging. Foraging skills, or a book on all the plants in each region. Skills on processing plants into balms and stuff.”
She smiles, “Peculiar, most people would have asked for strength and power like high lords.”
Mother nodded. “Yes, that will be a wonderful idea. You will have to learn local stories.
I shrug. The goal isn’t to stand out completely; the goal is to blend in and help as much as I can.
“I would break my job, and I can do anything I please. Besides, I figured that I would get a power-up just by becoming a fae.”
She laughs heartily. “You are not wrong.”
I get the feeling that she will bless me with more than I am currently asking for. Things to help keep me alive until I figure it out are always useful.
“what about the Archeron sisters? Won’t Elaine be able to see me?” I ask.
“No, not until you need to play a part. You will need to ward against their scurrying then, but I’ll help you find the certain wards then.”
I nod. That makes sense. I’m not sure what kind of things I should be asking for.
“I want to make bags with endless space that are still light.” If we are going big, let’s make it worthwhile.
“I will give you one, but you must figure out how to create something similar.” She stands, featuring me towards the side.
I blurt out the next thing that pops into my head. “Supplies for a year, a bow and arrows.”
She looks at me, “A half-year supplies. You will need to figure out how to interact quickly with the fae in the summer court.”
The summer court is usually open to visitors and entertainers.
She holds out a box, and inside is a single tooth—a back molar. “Well, hurry now. We don’t have all day for.”
My fingers tremble as I pick up the tooth. I’m glad it’s not covered in tissue. I put it in my mouth, grab the tea, and swallow. It’s hard going down. I resist a gag.
I feel my body change, and warmth slides through me.