The calm. The white, the cold, the trees.
The river running, and the silent birds.

The comfort of being home, after fifteen minutes in the Human World. The sun was high, a cold shine above the frosty forest.

Aidan wasn't there. He couldn't have been home already - our little trip this morning (or was it the day before? The Human world was playing around with me) took a few hours. No sign of the Council either. Good: they didn't bother following me.

I walked until I reached the village. A few fairies were outside with their children. The look they gave me when I walked past - my way-too-weird glowing hands, and my way-too-human trousers and hoodie - didn't slow me down.

I needed Aidan.

Maybe I could catch him, walk home with him and try to form a plan.

I found him near the tavern. He was walking fast.

"Aidan!"

He stopped: "I was on my way to the portal, to check on you."

"Gotcha first!"

"So what have you got?"

I frowned. "Not here. Let's sit."

The tavern - the unofficial nerve of the local community I was never a part of - was a big, bright house made of stone, lit with ever burning candles. Massive tables in the middle, to get us (them) close.
Bubbly, friendly fairies serving drinks. Happy melodies sung all around.

It made me feel sick somehow, but I couldn't wait to tell what I'd seen.

Aidan ordered two cups of hot buttercup water from one of the smiley bartenders. Our favourite hot beverage, very sweet. Nothing like coffee... Niall's face came on my mind and faded just as quickly.

"Talk, Meira. What did you see?"

"The Human World is big. Fast. And terribly alive." I said, while a bubbly waiter gave me my drink.

"What about the Human you need to help?"

"That's the interesting part. Remember how well I could see him in my visions?"

He nodded.

"Well, when I'm next to him, or when I touch him... Nothing. We only connect when he's asleep. Also..."

I hesitated, just a moment, to tell Aidan about the visions I had in the coffee shop. His face suggested he knew something was going on, though. So I talked.

The visions.

The Grey

The blur.

Aidan's eyes turned incandescent, as they would always do when he was worried, or angry, or both. I felt it would be a good thing not to mention my trance in the streets during the Human night.

I took a drawing out of Niall's hoodie pocket and put it on the table. I took it off Niall's wall, in the hope Aidan could explain. How it did not die in the water portal, I had no clue.
Magic.

Aidan had a look at the cartoon-me, fighting black-and-white blurs with my trademark yellow glow.

"How does he know?"

"He can see me the same way I see him."

"Visions?"

"Dreams."

He looked at the drawing, his eyes scanning the black and white fuzz I couldn't understand.

A minute passed. And then another. Until it wasn't bearable anymore

"What is it then?" I said, rather impatiently.

"You need to stop this mission, You're not ready". Aidan's words were sharp like ice.

"Excuse me?"

"I will take care of the Council. Go home. I'll join later."

I wasn't going to let this happen.

"Aidan, you don't understand. Niall needs help. Ready or not, I need to help him."

"You don't" He was standing, ready to leave.

I was starting to feel tired of this:

"Why? What does this drawing mean? Tell me the truth!"

Aidan lowered his voice.

"Dark."

Silence fell between us. I could hear the glasses clicking and people talking. A bubble of everyday OthwerWorld life.

We were no longer part of this. We never were.

I tried to keep up the pace, but Aidan was too fast, too hurried, and I ended up running to stay by his side:

"Slow down! Aidan, please!"

We were on our way home, after his silent exit from the tavern. We didn't speak until we hit the end of the town and started our journey through the prairies. But Aidan didn't slow down, didn't even look at me, and, as he reached the little house's front door, he stormed inside and ran to the shelves where his notebooks were.

I stood there, waiting, in the tiny kitchen.

"You will have to talk to me at some point!" I yelled.

Aidan came back with the Council's Book of the Past - a heavy textbook featuring the OtherWorld battles, triumphs and growths, His eyes were tired, and now faded brown, like he aged a decade or more in the past hour.

His gaze was burning through me.

"I thought the Dark was a threat from the past! The books never said it was hiding in the Human World, they said we defeated them - you defeated them!" My voice was high-pitched, trembling.
Angry.

Aidan sighed: "Look at this, Meira."

I flicked through the Book of Past's pages. The great battle against the Dark was mentioned as "The Long Night". I started to read a chapter. It only mentioned the Dark as "The enemy we faced and defeated." It didn't say how.

Didn't say it could come back.

"You aren't supposed to know about the Dark, Meira. No one is. There's a reason why the Council and I aren't very fond of each other, and why I am not living like a hero in town."

It started to sink in, finally. Why the Council was so hostile, yet almost eager to send me in the Human World for me to fulfil my mission. Why I wasn't able to connect to Niall, most of the time.

"They don't want anyone to know about the Dark... Because they didn't kill it."

Aidan nodded: "We never found the way to kill it for good, we just sent it away, your Mother and I.

I asked the Council to tell the community it would be over for now, but not forever. They didn't listen. They said it was to protect our world, that panic would make the Dark hungry for more negative energy."

I swallowed hard: "You sent the Dark through the portal, didn't you."

"We did, Meira. We did. It was the only choice."

"And the Dark found the perfect hosts." Flashes of the Human World, its greyness, came back to my mind.

"The Council...Did they know about my dreams before today?"

I could see guilt in Aidan's eyes: "They did. They knew what your dreams were made of."

"So this morning was just a plan to make me jump and save us all. And you knew."

Anger settled in, at last. The Council made me their weapon.

"We're in great danger, Meira. This world, their world... Stay away from this."

I walked to my bedroom, carefully avoiding Aidan's gaze and guilt, sat on my bed, and let my thoughts go.

I didn't know what to feel, or how to feel. Was it betrayal? Or a desperate attempt to save what was left of our world?
The Council's lies covered the land, scarring it way more than the Dark did. Was I a secret hope in a world that could explode? Or was I just one of their hidden secrets, a figure made of notebooks and Council's whispers? Was that the reason why I was locked, away from them, from everything, for so long?

I couldn't be mad at Aidan. He raised me, guided me, knowing what I could become, one day. Someone made him do this. I knew who it was, but I didn't want her picture in my head, not right now.

I meditated for a moment, stretching it, trying to connect to Niall's soul. He must have been night in the Human World. How long was I gone for, now? Days, maybe? I remembered my promise to help him ease the pain. I remembered last night - or rather, a few hours ago - and the look of hope in his eyes when he finally met someone who could understand him.

I couldn't let the Dark swallow him, and us.

I felt something warm in my hands. The glow was bright, and the feeling was so overwhelming I almost forgot where I was. It was like being wrapped in a blanket, safe and comfortable.
I didn't feel pain anymore, I didn't hear any voice, no white noise. It was just me and the energy inside, finally connecting, finally putting the pieces together.

I was at peace. For the first time. All I wanted was to pause, to feel that moment, to hold it for ever. I felt invincible.

And suddenly I knew.

Aidan found me in the study later that might, looking for human toys and gadgets that would help. "I can't stay away. I have a mission to complete. I am going back tonight." I said, while packing. I was dressed like me, again, and this time I nailed the bun. I found an old leather bag that belonged to Aidan, from his Archer years, and filled it with things like money, and papers.

"If you think you can stop me, think harder, Aidan."

He said nothing, but I knew he would help.

What he didn't know was, he would help to save us and Niall.

"Anything I can do, Meira?" The guilt in his voice, again.

I took my time, adjusting my leather boots. "Please get in touch with Mother."

There wasn't any other way.

*********** Author's Note ***********

So...we're halfway through the storyline and things have changed quite a lot in a short time for Meira!

What do you think of the pace?
Do you understand Meira's decisions?
What do you think will happen next?