Faytes of the Otherworld: Fayted

“Dani, this is Cassia.” Liam introduced her to a curvy woman that reminded Dani of a Rubenesque goddess. Her skin was the color of melted caramel and the olive frock she wore brought out the green in her eyes. Cassia’s honey colored hair was tied back from her face in a beautiful gold scarf.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Dani shook her hand. She just smiled and Dani noticed a little gold ring in her nostril.

“Cassia is our local seamstress and all-around crafter. She runs our clothing and textile shop. All of our scavenged clothing, new and used, also go to her for rationing out and altering.” Liam explained, rocking back on his heels.

“I was just beginning to sew when all of this happened. I’ve learned a lot along the way, but I am hardly a true seamstress.” Cassia was humble in her words.

“If the rest of your designs are anything like this tunic, I’m sure they are quite lovely— and comfortable. Nicest thing I’ve worn in a while.” Dani pinched at the soft fabric.

“Oh, that’s just a basic tunic. We use them for medical procedures and backup if need be, but thank you; that’s a real compliment.” Cassia had a similar accent to Dani; clearly cockney.

“You from the East End?” Dani asked. She generally tried to tone down her accent, but hearing another cockney made her relax a bit.

“Yeah, Hackney. You?” Cassi responded, letting Liam lead them down the trail out behind his cottage.

“Whitechapel, actually. My mum was an artist.” Dani followed Liam as they wound down a wide path until she could hear running water. A large rippling pool stretched out in front of her, backed by the mossy mountainside. A waterfall tumbled over its edge, rippling the waters below. The people of the Hedgerow had built up the wall around the outsides of the pool till the mountain face in an attempt to keep everything out.

“Wow, this is beautiful.” Dani reached down and dipped her fingers into the water. It was cooler than she anticipated, but it felt good lapping at her skin.

“Usually bath days for women are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, men on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and then Sundays are communal so most people just wash off in their skivvies.” Liam had gone over to a large wooden trunk and popped the lid. It was filled with various bottles and clean wash rags.

“Everything in the bottles is all natural; we have several people who create green cleaning and beauty care for those that still want to use it. Completely harmless to the environment. We like to leave a small footprint.” Liam handed Dani a wash rag and let her look through the bottles of wash. She picked one marked Jasmine and Gardenia and made her way back over to the rippling pool.

“Oh, I forgot a towel for you,” Cassia exclaimed.

“Don’t worry; I have one up at the cottage she can use.” Liam held his finger up before running back up the trail to his home.

“Um, if you’d let me take your measurements before you jump in that’d be great. I can go back and find some clothes in your size.” Cassia held up a worn roll of measuring tape.

“Sure.” Dani had just finished sliding off her leggings and pulled her tunic over her head. She stood there in nothing but boy shorts and a sports bra. Scars crossed over her midsection and a particularly large one started at the top of her navel and disappeared under her bra.

Cassia tried not to notice and instead, beckoned her over and quickly took Dani’s full measurements across her body.

“You’re good, love. I’ll be back in a bit with some fresh clothes.” Cassia winked and went back up the hill, leaving Dani alone at the pool.

The sun had broken through the greying clouds, and the day had begun to warm up. Dani glanced at her watch; it was just a little after ten.

She slipped it off her wrist and laid it on the pile of her clothes. Then came her bra and panties as she slid into the chilled water. After a minute, she became accustomed to the temperature and waded out all the way to the waterfall. She nimbly climbed the slick rocks, the water beating down on her head as she made her way up the falls. Dani perched there on the flat stone surface, letting the water run over her face and down onto the rest of her naked body. Her vision was blurred as she peered through the waterfall and just took the time to finally relax.

She lifted her hands to her face and began rubbing the days of accumulated perspiration and dirt from her skin. She started working her way down her body when she opened her eyes to peer through the water again. Her surroundings looked wavy, but she thought she saw someone else in the pool.

Instinctively, she leaned out of the stream to get a better look. There was nothing that she could see, save for the undulating water.

She went back to washing herself, scrubbing her body with the sweet-smelling soap before lathering her hair up in a final act of getting herself entirely clean.

Dani blinked as the waterfall continued to run over her face, trying to clear her vision of any soap when she saw it again; someone was clearly swimming in the water.

Feeling entirely self-conscious, Dani slid from the jutting rock and plunged into the cool water.

When she surfaced, she waded out a bit into the pool, looking about her slowly for any signs of life. There was still no one that she could see swimming about with her.

That’s when she felt it; a tug on her foot. Dani kicked it away and began frantically swimming for the shore. She had made it a little over half way when she felt the tug again; this time it came for both feet.

Dani was drug under the water momentarily before resurfacing again. She heaved a heavy breath, anticipating another pull from below as she desperately paddled for shore.

She hadn’t gotten very far before she was yanked under again. This time she opened her eyes while she was under, even though the water stung and blurred her vision.

Dani came face to face with a goblin, its sickeningly grey skin looking more leathery than usual under the distortion of the water. Its yellow eyes glowed menacingly in the ebbing tide and she opened her mouth to scream as it clung to her naked body, bubbles escaping from her open mouth.

Dani kicked hard at the creature, buying herself enough time to propel to the surface and continue her frantic swim.

She pushed as hard as she could, arms overhead, as she kicked her feet. Dani felt like she was swimming through the mire, an ache in her back where the goblin had latched on. She had to get out of the deep end, or else a fight might lead to her drowning.

Dani’s feet had just brushed sand in her struggle to get to more shallow waters when the goblin shot out of the pool behind her and came down hard on her shoulders, shoving her back below the waves. Bubbles swirled around her face as she struggled to break the surface, her lungs not able to hold air any longer.

A hand pierced the water and wrenched the goblin backward, pulling Dani halfway with it. She was able to break free and come up for air, gasping as she gulped lungfuls of sweet oxygen.

Evan had flung the goblin back into the deep end and was wading out to get Dani. He had a towel slung over his shoulder, half of which was trailing in the water.

“Quick, get to the shore.” He threw the towel around her shoulders and tugged her back towards the beach. They were wading at the hip when the creature came swimming back, leaving a trail of water behind it like a hungry piranha.

Dani shot out her hand; pushing the limestone up from beneath the waves straight at the goblin’s face. It went skipping back like a rock on the lake’s surface and crashed into the mountain side. Before Dani could even turn and walk back to shore, three more goblins hopped through a break in the castle walls near the mountain face.

“Evan, there’s more!” Dani hollered, tucking the towel in such a way that she would stay covered. She didn’t wait for backup before heading back out into the pool, hands raised. All the silt and sand at the bottom of the pool began to swirl the water around her body clockwise, slowly at first but steadily building in intensity. The faster it spun, the more the swirling became a muddy whirlpool.

All four goblins were caught up in the funnel of muck, crying loudly as they spun around uncontrollably. One went under and never came back up, but the other three were able to get a footing on the rock face and pulled themselves from the tide.

Evan was ready for them, commanding the limbs of an overhanging tree to scoop one of the beasts up, flinging it out into the forest like some natural catapult.

Dani had just created some sort of luminescent underwater explosion that sent the third goblin high up over the mountain in several pieces as Evan looked on in awe.

The fourth had snuck up on him while Dani destroyed the third. Before it could attack, a dagger had been thrown, pegging the beast in the back of the head.

“Come on, Dani.” Evan reached through the water and tugged her to him. She let him carry her effortlessly through the waves until she was able to stand up on her own at the shore.

“Let’s get you a dry towel.” Liam set down one of his throwing knives and took Dani from Evan, bringing her over to a stone bench. He handed her a dry towel and turned himself away while she wrapped herself in something that wasn’t sopping wet.

Cassia came running down the trail then, her measuring tape flying behind her like a scarf. Her face was flushed as she stopped in front of them, panting from her hurried step.

“Are you alright?” Cassia took Dani’s hands and looked her over.

“Yeah, yeah I think so.” Dani just nodded, feeling a bit overwhelmed. She glanced over to see Evan, topless, wringing out his soaking shirt. She thought that maybe he was more muscular than she had first assumed…

“I was coming back to see if you had a color preference, because I totally forgot, when I saw Liam running down this way like something was on fire. Said he heard a bunch of splashing like there was some sort of commotion.” Cassia explained.

“Gnashers.” Liam nodded toward the pool. One of the bodies was still whirling around in the middle where the vortex had been.

“You’re just a magnet, aren’t you?” Cassia bit at her nails. She hadn’t meant to come off so disrespectfully.

“They do like me.” The corners of Dani’s mouth twitched with a smile that she just couldn’t force.

“Let’s get you some clothes, eh? I think something clean and warm to wear will do you some good.” Cassia threw her arm around Dani’s shoulders and started to direct her back up the trail.

“You were quick.” Liam stepped over to Evan who was now wringing out his trousers.

“I happened to be within earshot.” Evan hopped around on one foot as he attempted to put his still very wet jeans back on.

“Or eyeshot.” Liam narrowed his eyes at Evan.

“You think I was spying on her? Hardly. I was out collecting more Rowan berries when I heard all the noise and came down to see her fighting for her life—again. I didn’t waste any time.” Evan didn’t like the accusatory tone Liam was taking with him.

“Then where did the towel come from? You don’t usually have a towel handy when picking berries.” Liam thought he had caught him.

“There was one sitting at the bathing station.” Evan lied. It wasn’t really a towel at all, but a length of tightly grown moss. He needed something to cover her naked body with and he didn’t have an actual towel available. He improvised.

“I didn’t see one.” Liam knit his brow.

“It was there. Besides, we should just be thankful that someone was nearby to help her.” Evan slid his feet back into his boots.

“What are we going to do about that break?” Liam changed the subject and pointed to the crumbling gap in the wall.

“About that.” Dani’s voice startled the men as she came up behind them, “I have a quick solution.”

“Where’s Cassia?” Liam questioned.

“I told her I forget my clothes, which I did, but that is beside the point.” Dani breezed past Liam and Evan.

She slipped her towel off just before the water’s edge and waded out to the other side of the pool; the far corner where the stone had weathered and crumbled away. Even though the rocks were slippery, Dani had no problem climbing atop them to a fracture in the wall.

From the distance she was at, she looked like some sort of naked elf, small and ethereal. The men could see that she had crouched down and placed her hands out in front of her.

Dani held one hand to the mountain while she submerged the other in the pool. She let the energies swirl through her and brought up tall quartz pillars almost two meters in length. They grew and bisected each other, forming a crooked crystalline fence.

After the crystals ceased their growth, Dani dove back into the water and made her way to shore.

“Close your eyes, gents. Don’t need to scar anyone.” She called out, just where the water was chest level. Liam and Evan averted their eyes, but neither of them felt like they would hardly be scarred.

Dani tapped on Evan’s shoulder, “Safe to look, now.” She passed them by and back up the trail, disappearing round a bend of trees.