I’m a Human among Fey

Reunion


Coming out on the other side, we stand in what looks like the local park of my city. The leaves are quite colorful so I'm guessing it's autumn. There don't seem to be many people around, so I doubt anyone would have noticed us appearing out of nowhere.

Hildi pats me on the back, "We're out of our depths now, so you're going to have to show us around."

"Okay, sure! There should be a Walmart around fifteen minutes that way. But I do have to ask, does that Glimmer thing also change your clothes?"

The queen answers, "On the level we're using it, yes. To the eyes of Humans we will look like a human version of ourselves, with a clothing style appropriate to what people of our status would wear."

"Okay, that should be fine then. Oh, one thing though. Can you make the protection around my eyes a little stronger? I have a hard time seeing because it's so bright."

"Of course, just tell me when."

The sun then slowly gets less bright until I get to a level where I can see well again.

"Alright, that's good. Just follow me, try to stay away from the streets and the cars."

"What are cars?" The queen asks.

"You'll see, they're like metal carriages that move by themselves."

"Fascinating."

We then move through the park, where people tend to give us weird looks and take photos of us.

"Are you guys sure your Glimmer is working? People are staring."

"Hohohohoho, of course they're staring, we're royalty after all. Say, what are these little shiny boxes they're holding?"

"They're phones. Basically, it's like a device that you can use to talk with people across long distances, share writing with and go to the internet, which is like a…Uhm…I guess it's like a mostly free library of all of Humanity's knowledge together with recordings of entertainment and music."

"Marvelous! So has humanity learned to do magic by themselves in this world?"

"Nope, magic doesn't exist here. These are all possible by manipulating the way the world works with science and stuff. But don't ask me how it works, I just know how to use it."

"Still, to be able to use such an artifact must be quite the skill to have!"

"Not really, it's something even toddlers can do."

"Perhaps we should send our scholars to this world to learn these skills as well. What do you think Dear?"

"I agree with you. If something like this is possible without magic then there is a huge blindspot in our technological knowledge."

We exit the park and come up to the sidewalk where multiple cars pass us by.

Hildi asks, "So these are the cars you spoke of, right?"

"Yep."

With a disgusted facial expression, she asks, "What is that smell they give off?"

"It's gas. Cars burn it as fuel to function."

"I guess there are downsides to every invention…"

A guy on the other side of the street then starts yelling at us, "Yo! You guys famous or something?"

"Uhm…What should I say to him?"

The queen confidently answers, "Nothing. Just smile and ignore him. The peasants sometimes get a bit riled up when they see us. Best to not give them attention when they do."

"Okay…"

"Ey yo! I'm talking to you!"

He pulls out his phone and takes a picture of us before leaving.

"See, nothing to worry about."

"I guess…"

We continue moving downtown and seem to be getting more and more people's attention. By the time we get to the parking lot, there are already twenty people following us around taking pictures and live streaming.

"We're here. It's inside that building."

The queen looks fascinated, "It seems quite big for a clothing store."

"Oh, that's because they don't just sell clothing, they also sell food and other stuff."

"I see, so it's some sort of indoor market?"

"Uh yeah, I guess but everything is owned by one company, not multiple people."

"Fascinating."

We walk towards the door, past multiple staring onlookers, and enter the store.

"The men's section is over there."

I guide them over to the clothing section where I start looking through the stuff I used to wear, to see if I can find something in my new size.

The queen asks, "So, are these displays? Where is the tailor?"

"Nope, these are all the clothes you can buy. They are pre made."

"Won't that cause the clothing to not fit correctly?"

"Sometimes, yeah. But most people don't have the money to get designer clothing made for them."

She seems a bit confused as she inspect a pair of jeans, "Do people just buy the clothes without trying them on then?"

"Sometimes but there are changing rooms where you can try them out."

"Are they being washed after each person trying them on?"

"Nope."

"That seems…Quite dirty."

"Yeah…That's why you're supposed to wash them when you buy new clothes."

"Perhaps burning them would be a wiser choice…"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing important, my little Snowflake. Just keep perusing."

I then pick out some camo shorts, a red shirt and a jersey from our college football league, while an older overweight lady with bad hygiene approaches us.

"Uhm, excuse me. That is the boy's section."

"Yeah, I know."

"Are you her parents?"

"Of course," The king answers proudly.

"Yes, we are," The Queen agrees.

"I sure am, got a problem with that?" Hildi says, causing the other two to give her a bit of a side eye.

"Great, so you are one of those liberal Hollywood types. Are you okay with your daughter crossdressing like that?"

The King then, with a bright smile, answers, "But of course. Our little Snowflake can wear whatever she desires."

"She'll never be a real boy. You know that right? Stop indoctrinating your kid and seek Jesus."

The Queen answers, "We won't. Now, leave us."

"I'm certainly not just going to leave and let you abuse your child! Gimme that!"

The woman stomps toward me and tries to snatch the clothing out of my hands but before she can, both Hildi and Dalan step between me and her and push her away.

"Ouch! Hey! You are not allowed to touch me! I'm calling the police!"

The queen then leans over to me and asks, "So, is this some sort of noble? Should we be concerned?"

"Pfft, nah it's just some crazy Karen. Even if the police show up, nothing will happen because we didn't do anything wrong…Although, we don't have any I.D.'s. So, we should probably hurry after all. I'm going to put this on to see if it fits and then we better pay and teleport to my sister."

"Alright but take your time. If these police do come, we'll find a way."

"Okay."

I go into the changing room and put on the clothes. They're a bit baggy and chafe in some spots but they'll do fine.

After I'm done, I step out of the changing room and ask, "So, what do you think?"

Both the king and Hildi then chuckle and Hildi says, "I'm not sure what the fashion is like in this society but in my opinion, you look horrible honey."

"I'll have to disagree with Miss Hildegard. No matter what type of rags you dress yourself in, you will always look pretty in my eyes, hohohoho."

"Great, so you hate it…What do you think?" I ask the Shadow Lady.

"Hmm…Let me ask you something. Do you prefer this type of clothing or your dress?"

"The dress."

"Would you have worn these clothes if you had the option to wear pretty dresses instead?"

"No…Probably not."

"Then I think we can say with full confidence that we both don't like how you look in this. Not because it's ugly but because it's not something you chose to wear, you had to."

"I…Fair."

"Now, let's get to paying for these clothes so you don't have to wear them for long and perhaps take a long bath when we get back home."

"Okay…"

We then go to the counter to pay for my clothes while the crazy Lady is still yelling at us from halfway across the aisle.

"Alright, that will be 124,97. Would you like to pay in cash or card?"

The king pulls out a bar of gold and puts it on the counter, "Will this suffice?"

"I…Sir, what is this?"

"It's gold, I can pay in gems as well if you don't accept gold."

"I…I'll have to talk to my manager about this. One moment please."

She then goes away for a bit before returning with the manager in tow who inspects the gold bar for a second before saying, "Sir, are you aware that this is worth much more than the clothes you want to purchase?"

"I am now, Hohoho. I do not mind though, take the change as a tip."

"Alright…Have a wonderful day, Sir."

A bit shocked, I whisper to him as we leave, "That was worth waaayyyy too much money. You could have bought half the store with a gold bar that size!"

"Perhaps but we also don't have any of the local money on us, so this was the best method to ensure we wouldn't waste any time."

"I…I guess that's true…But that was still too much money!"

"Hohoho, that's something new you will have to learn. Money is not an issue for us."

"I mean…Okay, but you still don't have to waste it."

He thinks for a bit and asks me, "Hmm…Do you believe that if I had paid the exact worth in gold that the manager would have accepted it?"

"Probably not…"

"Then at what amount do you think he would have done so?"

"I…I don't know."

"Then perhaps, this was the lowest amount he would have taken. We can't know. In cases like this, it's best to risk over spending than underspending."

"Hmm…I guess you're right. I feel bad that I made a big deal out of this now."

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"Hohoho, don't worry about small things like that, my little snowflake. Instead, try to look ahead, we're going to see your sister now after all. Are you ready?"

Awkwardly holding my arm, I answer, "No…But I don't think I'll ever be, so let's just go now."

The King then speaks something into a seashell and another portal opens in front of us. Stepping through the portal, we end up in a hallway, in front of a door. The place looks kind of shabby. The paint is starting to fall of the wall and there are some graffiti tags strewn all over it.

"I'm guessing she is behind this door?"

The Shadow Lady nods and asks, "Do you want us to go inside with you?"

"Maybe later…For now I'll go in alone."

The door isn't locked, so I just walk in. The room seems to be for two people and on one of the beds lies Maggie, she seems to be watching something on her phone. She seems mostly normal but also a bit exhausted. I can see bags under her eyes and it looks like she has grown up a bit but also lost some weight. When she notices me entering, our eyes meet and I try to say something but I can't. Instead, I just start crying.

Maggie then pauses her video, stands up and walks towards me, "Hey, it's okay. First day is always the worst. My name is Maggie, nice to meet you."

"Ma…I..sob"

"Maybe it's best if you sit down for a bit, here that's your new bed. It's nothing fancy but it's also not as bad as you'd think."

She then walks me over to the other bed and we both sit down.

She pets my back and reassures me, "It's okay. Let it all out. We've all been there…"

"No…sniff…You don't understand…I…I'm Samuel."

"What?"

"I…After I died, I reincarnated into a different world. Lots of things happened. I'm a Fey now and I…"

She slaps me in the face and pushes me off the bed.

"Who set you up to this? Was it Clara? Look, no matter what beef I have with that cunt, pretending to be my dead brother goes too fucking far. I should have known when you came in dressed like that. That's fucked up!"

"N-No I really am Samuel."

"Shut the fuck up, I'm not entertaining this! Leave!"

She then pulls my hair to get me to stand up.

"I…Our favorite movie to watch together was Barbie in the Nutcracker!"

"How do you…No I'm not gonna listen to this, leave!"

"We used to go down to the bridge and get rid of the spiders under it because we wanted to make it our secret base but one time it rained and the next day it was worse than before so you ended up crying and I comforted you all night."

"How do you…"

"You used to ask mom for toys that I wasn't allowed to get. My favorite was the yellow power ranger because Dad thought that the show was for boys, so he didn't take that one away from me when he saw it in my room."

"..."

"Also Grandpa used to tell us stories about how he got lost in the forest once and a community of Bigfoots nursed him back to health and sent him back home."

Maggie then slowly walks to her bed, sits down and puts her hand over her face.

Staying silent for a bit, she says, "I'm not convinced yet…But I also don't understand how you could know that if you weren't Samuel."

"So…How can I convince you?"

Looking a bit weirded out she asks, "For starters, why are you wearing that?"

"I thought you'd recognize me if I wore clothes similar to the ones I used to wear."

"Then what's with the dress shoes?"

"Huh? Oh, I forgot about those. I don't wear guys' clothes anymore so I guess I didn't notice."

"Right…So, you reincarnated into another world…And you're a girl now?"

"Yes, although technically this isn't my body my soul was forced into the corpse of a human sacrifice right after I was born, so technically this is someone else's body, though we are working on freeing me from it."

Giving me a disbelieving look, she says, "Okay, now you're just getting ridiculous. Is this some sort of elaborate prank or something?"

"Nononono. I can prove it!"

"How?"

"So, my biological parents and the woman that helped me and I see as a mother are waiting outside this door. If they stop using their glimmer you'll believe me!"

"Right…"

I then go to the door and open it.

"You were probably listening anyway, so come in."

Getting uncomfortable, Maggie says, "These guys look like celebrities, am I on some sort of TV show?"

"No, look. So this here is my biological father. He's the King of the Winter Court. Please stop using your glimmer for a second so she can see."

"Ohohoho, sure my little snowflake."

Maggie then looks at him wide eyed, "How did you do that? Is this some sort of magic trick?"

"Ohohoho, it is no trick, just magic."

"Yeah, so my biological father is a winter Elemental, basically like the embodiment of Winter."

Crossing her arms, Maggie says, "Okay…Prove it."

"Dad, could you please show her?"

"Hohohoho!!! I don't really have to. You calling me Dad has filled me with more joy than I could contain, Hohohoho."

"I…Anyways, look out of the window Maggie!"

Skeptically walking to the window, she opens it and says, "It's…Snowing. In the middle of October? How did you?"

"See, I told you I wasn't lying! As for my biological mother, you're going to have to brace yourself. She looks a little scary."

The queen looks a bit taken aback, "You think I look scary?"

"I mean…Yeah, but you're a nightmare Elemental. You're supposed to look a little off putting, right?"

"Off putting…I didn't know you saw me that way…"

"I…I didn't want to hurt your feelings…But could you please turn your glimmer off too?"

"Sure…"

Looking at the Queen, Maggy gawks at her for a bit then answers, "Wow…You really have to be Samuel…No one could be so rude and wrong about someone's looks. She looks gorgeous."

"So you believe me now!?"

"I mean…I kinda have to. If it's not true, then either I'm dreaming or you're some weird aliens who made it their sole mission to fuck with me. I am kinda hung up on why you think she's off putting…Wait, it's because she's black isn't it? Sigh...You always had a problem black people..."

"What!? No!"

"Hahahaha. Calm down, I was just trying to test if it really was you."

"Wait, that was a test? How was that a test!?"

"Well, if you were just pretending to be Samuel, you would probably have left your guard down when I said I believed you. So, when I implied you're racist, you would have probably said something like 'Well, you know how it is' if you were just pretending."

"Okay so I passed the test though, right?"

"Yep."

Feeling really anxious, I fiddle with with my clothes, "Wait, is this another test to doubly take my guard down?"

"Nope."

"I…Are you sure? I don't want to fail any-"

Maggie gives me a hug, "Welcome back Samuel. I've missed you so much…"

We then both start crying in each other's arms until we get interrupted by a woman yelling outside the door, "Hey! You are not supposed to be here! Who are you?"

"Hohoho, seems like we got found out. We better go now."

"Are you coming with us Maggie or are you staying?"

"Are you kidding!? Of course I'm leaving with you! I lost you once, I'm not losing you again!"

"Good! The portal is outside your door, let's go!"

I take her by the hand and run through the portal with her. Surprisingly, we don't come out in front of Walmart but instead, in front of our old home. Shortly behind us, the rest of our group leaves the portal.

"Holy shit! We really did teleport!"

"Hahaha, yeah you kinda get used to these sorts of things after a bit. But seeing our old home like this…I didn't think it would feel this weird…What happened after…You know…"

"After you died?" she lets out an awkward chuckle, "Well, about forty minutes after I got your text, the hospital called us. They told us it looked like you got into a hit and run and are now in the ICU. They said it's not looking good and that we should get there quickly. We then drove to the hospital and sniff you…You were already dead when we got there. I…I don't remember much after that. I just know I cried until I started laughing. That made me feel really scared. I thought I was going crazy because I was laughing, that I didn't really love you. Sob Sorry… Anyways, I was doing pretty badly for a bit. I stopped eating and just layed in bed all day. Then, when the police got involved, I was so done I told them everything. They then put me into the care facility we were just in. Dad is currently getting trialed for second-degree murder. They also tried to get mom on charges of child abuse because she told no one about what Dad did but there was some out of court talk and they settled for no jail time in exchange for losing custody over me. Afterwards, I was just…Kinda doing nothing. I just watched the time go by, didn't even go to school. Just layed in my room all day. I bet life as a princess must have been a lot cozier by comparison, haha."

"Yeah…It would have, haha…"

Suddenly getting serious, she asks, "What happened?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"You always get like that when you're hiding something. Did they abuse you too!?"

Avoiding her eyes, I answer, "Not exactly…"

"Not exactly!? What do you mean 'Not Exactly'!?"

"Well, a lot of things happened but it's probably best if you don't know I don't want you to- Shit."

Feeling my legs give out, I fall over but before I can hit the ground Hildi catches me and sighs, "I knew that was going to happen…"

"What? What's happening!? Is he okay? Did you do something to him!?"

"It's okay Maggie, I'm fine I'm just a-"

"You shut the hell up Samuel! Last time you were 'fine' you fucking died! What is happening to him!?"

Hildi answers, "In the simplest terms, Sammy was quite sick these last few days and her body hasn't recovered yet but she insisted on getting you as fast as possible, so she pushed through until now."

"Is it bad? Does he need medical attention!?"

"No, she just needs to let her body rest. She already got over her illness, she just needs some time to recover now."

Maggie then starts crying a little and yells at me, "Why do you always do this!? Why do you always push yourself and lie to me!?"

"I'm just trying to protect you, that's my job as your big brother."

"Oh yeah!? And how did you protect me when you died!? If you went to the hospital early and took a taxi you would have probably survived!!! You have never protected me by hiding your problems, all you did was make yourself feel better by seeing yourself as a protector instead of a victim!"

"..."

"And now look at you! Even after you got a second chance you learned nothing!!! I'm not just going to watch along as you kill yourself again. If you really want me to go with you, I need you to swear that in the future you'll tell me when something bad is happening to you!"

The queen interjects, "For us Fey, swearing on something is a lot bigger of a commitment than for you hu-"

Ignoring her, I ask, "Would it be okay if I swear that I won't hide my emotions, ailments or bad things happening to me from you when you ask me?"

"Sure."

"Alright…I swear that I won't hide my emotions, ailments or bad things happening to me from you when you ask me."

Colors then come forth from my body. A pact has been made.

"What was that? Did you cast some sort of spell or something?"

"..."

The Queen then speaks up again and answers, "When Fey like us make a vow or a promise, it is binding. Sammy, just swore on her life that she will do what you wish."

"What!? Are you fucking stupid Samuel!?"

Feeling annoyed and anxious, I answer, "You wanted me to swear on it, so I did."

"Yeah but like, normal swearing not magical blood pact bullshit swearing! Can we undo this?"

"You can if both you and Sammy agree to void the contract," the queen answers.

"Fine, I wish to void the contract."

"I…I don't."

"What do you mean you don't!? Don't be stupid! If you're willing to literally throw your life away for this promise, then you're doing the exact opposite of what I wanted from you in the first place! Void this contract now!"

"Will…Will you still stay with me if I do?"

"Of course I will you fucking dumbass!"

"Alright, I void the contract."

Colors appear in front of us, revealing a knot of light in the air. The knot then snaps and shows what looks like colorful electricity before disappearing.

Somewhat exhausted, Maggie looks at me with disbelief, "Jeez, you really just have no idea why I want you to stop putting yourself in danger, do you?"

"Because you love me?"

"Yes but also because I don't want to lose you or see you suffer. And don't think you can hide your suffering, you can only hide the reasons why you suffer but I'll always know when you're hurting... So just…Let me help you too Samuel…"

"Okay…"

"So, tell me…What happened to you after you died?"

"Are you sure you want to hear it? It's really bad…"

"I do."

"Okay…You better sit down then."

I then recount to her what happened to me after I reincarnated. Maggie does ask some clarifying questions but otherwise she just sits there silently listening to what happened, growing more and more concerned and frustrated the more I tell her.

"...And that's how I got here. We then went to Walmart, got me these clothes and went straight to you."

"And you're safe now?"

"I dunno…Hopefully."

"And when do you get rid of that flesh prison?"

"I don't know."

The king speaks up, "We should be able to do it once our little snowflake has fully recovered. Removing the flesh prison takes great strain on both the body and soul. She needs to be in good condition for it or she'll die during the ceremony."

"Dies!? Is it even worth doing it then?"

"Yes, even if she dies during the ceremony she'll just reincarnate and be back in two hundred years. If she dies like this, she's stuck."

"Two hundred years!? I'll be dead by then!"

The queen interjects, "If you stay human, but you don't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"We have the ability to turn you Fey. It's your choice whether you wish to take it or not. If you don't, you will probably die before Sammy grows out of being a toddler."

"What do you mean?"

"Sammy might look like this now, but she is only three months old. Once we remove her flesh prison she'll go back to being an infant."

"Wait, what!?" both me and Maggie say in unison.

"Wait a second, I'll turn into a baby?"

The queen corrects me, "No, you already are a baby, you'll just turn back."

"Will I keep my memories or will I be as dumb as a baby?"

"You'll still be the same, though your mind will be influenced a bit by your real body. In terms of development, it will take about fifty years for you to grow into the human equivalent of a four year old."

"Huh…So should I just wait fifty years like this and then we remove the flesh prison?"

"That's not how it works. Functionally, your body's growth has stopped at birth when your soul got imprisoned. The longer we wait to restore you to your body, the less likely it is that it can withstand your mana and soul growth. Right now, you are already most likely going to suffer from mana sickness when you go back to normal. If we wait another fifty years, you will have to die to get a body strong enough to hold your soul and mana. As your mother, I can absolutely not allow you to wait longer than we have to."

Thinking out loud, Maggie asks, "So Samuel is a baby with his memories from his last life intact?"

"Correct."

Maggie then gets a mischievous smile on her face and asks, "So, I'm older than him?"

"That is also correct."

She looks at me and says, "Which means…I am the big sister now."

"Come on, that's totally not how that works!"

"It sure does. Don't worry lil sis, I'll take care of you now~ As the big sister it's MY job after all to make sure you're safe~"

"You're really enjoying this aren't you…"

"Me~? Noooo…I just didn't know I was a big sister before, so now I'm taking the responsibility that comes with it. Don't worry your pretty little head about it, you wouldn't understand after all…"

"Hohohoho I'm glad you kids are getting along well. I do have a question for you, Maggie. Where is your father currently located?"

"He's in prison. I don't know where exactly though."

"I see…Do you mind if I take one of your hairs with me?"

"Uhm…What do you need it for?"

"To locate your father. I'd like to have a bit of a chat with him while I'm here."

"Uhm, sure take it then."

The King then takes a hair from Maggie's head, "Alright, see you later. I shouldn't be gone for long, Hohohoho," then flies into the sky and disappears in the distance.

After he's gone, the queen claps her hands once to get our attention, "While your father is away. Why not go to your house and take all the things that have value to you with you? We will probably not return here often, so it's a good opportunity to do so now."

Maggie says, "I'm not too sure that's going to work. My mom is probably home right now, I doubt she would let a stranger in and I'm not allowed to be there unsupervised."

"Oh, there is no need to worry about that. I was intending to have a long talk with your mother anyways. So, while I'm doing that, you kids just go and take the things you'd like to keep."

Hildi hands me over to Dalan and adds, "I'm also going to talk to her. I would have preferred to 'talk' to her Dad but I think his Highness got that covered."

"It's decided then. Take your time my little snowflake and make sure you get everything you would miss."

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