To Owe a Favor

“Stand still Lilianna,” the warrior awkwardly sidesteps me as his wings take up the majority of space in my small bathroom.

I still, “How do you know my name?”

“Your mother told me.” I scoff at his response. Of course my mom told him that. She's probably the one who invited him into our house.

In annoyance I question him further, “What else did she say? That I wet the bed 'til I was nine." My sarcasm didn't seem to enthuse him.

Instead, he leans away from my body, “Isn’t that a little old?”

“Aren’t you a little old?”

“Compared to you, yes," the warrior gives me a smirk.

“How old-" The warrior cuts me off by opening my bathroom door and walking out into my bedroom.

"I have a favor." He repeats.

I walk out after him, ignoring the water that continues to fill my bathtub. The warrior turns around. He is standing in front of my door, "There is a ball tonight that I must attend. You will be my companion."

I scrunch my nose, "Like a date?"

"Don't flatter yourself human. I need to blend in if I am to watch over the prince."

The warrior looks at my open closet door and invites himself to my clothing items. When he begins to pull dresses off the hanger and throw them to floor, is when I object, "Hey! Those cost a lot of money."

I pick up the dresses and place them flat on my bed. The warrior walks up to me, "They're cheap."

I give him a glare, "They cost hundreds of dollars... each."

I pick up my favorite red dress with black beading over the bodice. The warrior rubs his hands over the beads and scoffs, "If this were a Fae dress, these beads would be made from Obsidian..." he pauses as if remembering female Fae clothing, "or diamonds."

"Fine," I chuck the dress onto the bed, "then you won't have a date to the dance."

"Companion," he growls out, "and yes, I will. I have a dress for you, but I know you won't like it."

On his hip is a small pouch, he moves his hands over the area and pulls out a slip of fabric.

I gape and take it from his hands, "This- is a dress?"

The warrior repositions the dress in my hands, "Fae usually don't confine themselves to clothing. This is what most of the Fae women will be wearing during the ball."

"As long as I blend in..." I walk with the dress into the bathroom. If I wasn't constantly losing weight because of constantly getting an illness, the dress probably would've looked nicer.

When I walk up to the warrior after changing, he scans my body that is exposed from the tight dress. He nods once and walks out of my bedroom.

He doesn't get far. My parents nearly fall into my bedroom, obviously after leaning against the door to listen to the warrior's conversation with me.

My mom is gasping over my dress before I can even confront her for eavesdropping. "Lilianna. You look so beautiful! Let your hair down, you haven't grown it out for nothing."

My mom starts to undo my bun while my dad takes a photo of us together. He admires the picture on the camera, "I think this makes up for the lack of prom pictures all those years ago."

I roll my eyes. After purchasing a long green dress, I got sick on the night of the dance and couldn't go. Most of the dresses in my closest I had worn for only a few hours before placing them back on the rack.

The warrior is beside me in a few strides, he picks up a long strand of my hair and raises his eyebrows, "I've never seen a human with floor length hair."

I nod, long hair is something that my mom made me love over time. In a sweeping motion I gather all of my hair and put in over my shoulder. It falls down in slight waves from the bun I had put it in this morning with hair pins instead of hair-ties to hold it together.

I hold my arm out to the warrior and he loops his arm through it with a slight roll to the eyes. He's a full head taller than me, but I have no issue tilting my chin up to glare at him.

Somewhere off to the side my dad snaps another photo of us as we are locked in a silent stare-down. The flash makes me blink, and I barely catch the warrior's smirk before he is pulling me down the stairs of my parent's house.

His quick escape would've been funny if he weren't so quiet. In seconds he grabs me and presses our bodies together in the open area of my front yard. His powerful wings move forcefully and lift us into the air, guiding us far away from my parent's house.

Neither of us talk on the way to the Eastern Ball. The air quickly moving air is hard to breathe in and it gets colder as the sun begins to set on our twenty minute journey.

When the warrior places me on my feet he quickly scans the crowd at the Eastern Ball, "This ball is for the Fae and the Shifters to meet together as tribute to the peace over our lands." When he is sure no one is in earshot he leans closer to my body in an intimate manner, "We are to act as lovers in front of everyone. This will allow me to avoid other guests and watch over Prince Erin."

I tilt my head up, "It's a good thing your pretty handsome," the warrior raises an eyebrow at my declaration, making me nervous, "...fairy."

At my de-emasculating term he grabs my waist with a little too much pressure, "Careful human. I don't think you want me to prove what a fae warrior is known for."

He chuckles quietly and my cheeks flame red. He tugs me by my waist into the ballroom. We are soon being crushed and crowded by many of the frisky dancers who will grind onto any sex organ. Now I see why he wants to avoid other guests, they are all staring at the single warrior fae with unashamed lust in their gaze.

I push my body close to the warrior when a shifter gets too close. He keeps his head raised, nodding to a few other warriors that are dressed similarly to him in silver armor.

He curses suddenly, leaning into my ear, "We need to dance," he tilts my chin toward the ceiling, "up there."

I open my mouth in shock at Fae couples dance a formal waltz with their wings holding them high above the crowds. The warrior wraps me in his arms, hoisting me higher so he can place one hand on my ass and the other on my back.

I grasp onto his shoulders, "Don't drop me."

At my panicked face, the warrior shakes his head, "I won't let you fall..." he looks up to the other fae, "Far."

He shoots us into the air before I can respond, mimicking the dance of the Fae even with my toes placed on top of his. He moves in time with the other fae but remains near the outskirts of the dancing community. His gaze is continuously scanning the others, anyone else would assume he is being protective over me as his lover, but instead, he is scanning for a threat.

The music changes from a pulsing beat to a soft cadence. The warrior slows the movement of his wings in an effortless flutter. My gaze travels past his wings to the sheer amount of Fae laughing and dancing throughout the upper area of the ballroom.

We couldn't have been dancing for very long since the song didn't seem to change, but my eyes began to feel heavy none-the-less.

My eyes blink closed and I rest my head against his chest. Feeling an overwhelming sense of calm that lures me into sleep. I'm unafraid of any danger while in the arms of this warrior.