Chapter 7

The end of school bell rang, knocking me out of my daze.
All I had been thinking about since that morning was Isabel and the fact that she could see The Fey, like me. It had put me into a really crappy mood, where I continuously felt worried at what might happen. 
All around me students collected their books and headed for the door, the boys shoving each other and trying to all get out at once whilst girls hovered behind, rolling their eyes.
I got up out of my seat and slung my rucksack over one shoulder, kicking the chair under the table half-heartedly I made my way to the door where the boys had now emerged from the class room in a wave of bodies. Shouts sounded followed by laughs and i-told-you-so’s. Pushing my way out of the stuffy room I continued down the hall, ignoring their childish behavior. On my way to the main entrance I stopped by my locker and chucked my books in with more force than necessary.
“Hey Snowdrop”
Robbie stepped up beside me, his arm brushing mine for only a brief moment. The feeling stretched out for miles, feeling like it had lasted years. I shook it off immediately and kept a frown plastered on my face, pretending not to notice. “Hi” I slammed my locker door and prepared to leave when he grasped my arm, stopping me in my tracks. 
“What’s up?” Robbie’s tone was packed with worry as he positioned himself in front of me, urging me to look up at him.
“What does it matter?” I snapped, waving my arms in the air. “The Fey have ruined my life, that’s it!” I tried forcing myself past him but no matter how much I tried I couldn’t budge. What a way to act like in front of everyone, like a little kid having a tantrum when her ice-cream fell on the floor. Warm fingertips grasped my chin and nudged it upwards, and those piercing eyes met mine. 
“What have they done now?” Robbie asked, voice weaved with frustration. He studied my face, looking for any hints. I narrowed my eyes, wondering whether or not he’d care if my sister could see the ignorant little creatures like I could. 
“Isabel can see the fey” I muttered, biting the inside of my cheek. Robbie’s eyes lit up with blunt surprise. 
“That why you’re so stressed? Because your sister can see Faeries?” I could tell he was trying not to laugh.
“Yes because her life will be ruined!” I growled, wrenching myself free. “The last thing I ever wanted was for her to start seeing them, for her to be put in danger.” Robbie’s amused expression thinned out when he saw my reaction. I poked my chest “Look at me! I'm not the same person I once was!”
The crimson haired Faerie glanced down at the ground in shame, “Sorry Snowdrop” He muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. By now most of the corridor had emptied, leaving only them.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I grumbled, pushing past him and beginning to walk towards the school doors. “After all, you are a Faerie. Any mischief planned?”
“Actually, yes.” I hadn’t noticed how fast Robbie had moved, and was now walking at my side. “I am going to accompany you home.” I scoffed at this, keeping my eyes firmly ahead. 
“I am not a child. I can find my own way home you know.” My mo-ped had in fact, of all mornings decided to break down. So now it was either the bus, or by foot. And I wasn’t planning on sharing an inside space with a bunch of sweaty, dirty football thugs. So I had decided on walking.
“Great! I’m glad you see it my way. Now, let’s get you home” Obviously Robbie had chosen to ignore my lame protest, and happily waltzed out the doors and into the courtyard like nothing had happened.
Ugh! This fey boy really did know how to get on peoples nerves. 
I didn’t protest further, and instead ignored him for most of the journey back. I was just thinking of all the pessimistic details about Isabell’s sight when the blaring of an alarm-no, not an alarm, a siren called in the distance, growing nearer and nearer until a bright yellow car passed us at an alarming speed, the luminous blue lights atop of it almost blinding me. I winced as it flew past, and resisted the urge to cover my ears. I wondered for a moment what could have happened, when I noticed it heading straight for my village, disappearing ahead and out of sight. 
It must be nothing. I thought with a shrug, stealing a glance at Robbie whose eyes followed the marked car’s trail. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. 
It wasn’t long before we rounded a final corner that led to my home, and I picked up the pace, wanting to be out of Robbie’s presence as soon as possible. That was when I noticed the same police car that had just passed us, parked up alongside my house.
What-
“She was just here this morning. I told her to-to tidy her room before school” Mom? I threw my rucksack on the floor and ran up the lawn, not caring whether or not Robbie would follow. The twisting feeling in my gut told me that something was very wrong, and I didn’t stop until I had reached the decking.
Mom sat on the front porch steps, her eyes wide and frightened. From the redness around them I could tell she had been crying. 
“And at what time was this Mrs Blackwood?” A man of about 6 feet dressed in black uniform stood at her side, a notebook in one hand, and a pen in the other. Another officer stood at mums other shoulder, listening in.
“Ab-about 8:30” Mom stuttered. She held a tissue in her hands and was blowing her nose violently, her hands shaking with the effort.
But where was Isabell?
“Mom?” She looked up as I spoke, and her eyes creased at the corners as she forced a smile at me. 
“Hello sweetie”
“What’s going on?” I demanded, looking sharply at the police officer, expecting an answer. “Where’s Izzy?” The two men exchanged a glance,
“Your sister disappeared early this morning, just after you left for school…“ The officer with the notebook paused and licked his lips, clearly trying to find an easier way to explain. “Your mother claims to have not notice her leave, and Isabel has not been seen since.” Mom had started crying again, her breaths coming out in short, ragged gasps.
Right then the world seemed to give way beneath my feet and next thing I knew I was falling, falling into darkness, nothingness. Isabel? Missing? My mind retraced its steps back to that morning, the last I had seen of Izzy she had been messing around with that stupid Gremlin of hers. Sudden realization hit me like a gunshot in the stomach.
Oh no.
A warm hand rested on my shoulder, bringing me back to reality. “I know.” That was Robbie speaking, he must have heard all the commotion and come to see what was going on. My mind felt all fuzzy, and for a moment I imagined myself swaying on my feet, I couldn’t focus right, my body not seeming to function properly. 
I quickly pulled myself back together, that is, enough to allow me to turn my head, and watch as Robbie’s face bared a look of mixed surprise, anger, and shock. “You know what?” My voice was barely audible, nothing more than a whisper. “What do you know?”
A pained expression etched across Robbie’s already complex expression. “It’s them. They have your sister.” 
I already knew that. It was obvious. Those creatures had kidnapped Isabel. Even though i already understood what had happened, his words sent yet another wave of despair through my already stiff limbs. Right then all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry, or better yet, die. 
“W-why?” I murmured, panic edging its way up my throat like bile. I could tell by the look on the fey boy’s face that he too, was just as confused as I was.
“I’m not sure Skylar. But I do know one thing…” He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck with a wary look. I could clearly tell he wasn’t happy about the idea. 
“What? Tell me Robbie. If there’s anything- anything at all, I need to know.” My voice took on a desperate tone, if the red haired boy had an idea, then I would definitely hear it.
“You’re not going to like it-“
“I don’t care Robbie, d****t! Just tell me!” I had to find her. Wherever she was, I would not stop until I got to Isabel, or die trying.
“We have to go into the Nevernever.” He finished, scanning her face. “There’s nothing else we can do.”
Apparently that was enough to snap me out of it, and before I knew it I had straightened my back and gasped. “The Nevernever? Are you insane? Or just ill?” There had to be another way, there just did. The Nevernever was completely over the top. The realm of Faeries? The home of monstrous beasts and hungry redcaps?
“I told you you wouldn’t like it” He sighed, grabbing my hand and pulling me back in the direction we had come. “We have to move quickly.”
“Whoa! Hold on a minute!” I hissed, wrenching my hand out of his grasp. “What are you doing? If Isabell disappeared from her room, wouldn’t it be there that we would find her?” That was the last place she had seen her sister earlier that morning. Surely her room would be the most obvious place to look first. Then i thought of something, 
How the hell were we supposed to get there? The realm of Faery was beyond the borders of the mortal world, out of reach of any normal human being. What were they going to do? Jump through magic portals? Walk through walls? 
Unfortunately i had thought too soon.
“We have to go to the park.” Robbie said, gesturing back down the drive, “There’s a portal, a gateway into the land of Faery. It’s the only one for miles around. Just trust me.” He held out a hand to me, that stupid lopsided grin ticking at the side of his perfectly lined mouth. He was looking forward to this.
I narrowed my eyes at how simple he made it sound. “And what about mom? I can’t just leave her!” I muttered, placing my hands on my hips.
“You won’t have left her. She has Becky, plus…we shouldn’t be gone long.” For a moment I thought I caught sight of Robbie’s eyes flashing with a sudden doubtful emotion, but it was gone long before I could confirm it or not. Becky was mom’s best friend. They had been as thick as thieves since high school, and had hardly ever been apart since Dad left. I knew that if there was anyone I could trust- it was Becky.
But the pain of leaving mom behind only ate into me more, and i glanced in the direction of our house. The police cars had by now driven off, and mum was still sobbing on the doorstep. Just as I had thought the words, the front door opened and the familiar long Ginger hair of Becky came into view. In one hand she held a cup of something which I guessed was hot chocolate from the way it steamed like a freshly boiled kettle. The woman sat down beside her friend, and handed her the mug. My mother took it gratefully, and before long they were talking between themselves, before Becky finally managed to usher her inside.
“Um Snowdrop? Just to let you know, times running out. It’ll be sunset soon.” 
Turning back around I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment. The feeling however was gone before I could think anything more. I hated the thought of leaving mom, after all she had been through, and now she had lost her youngest child. But I knew that Isabel needed my help, and right now the most important thing, was to rescue her. “Alright, just let me get changed.” I sighed, turning and running towards the house. Like Robbie said, they didn’t have much time…I needed to get in and get out without mum or Becky noticing, and fast.
Slowly I opened the front door of the house, trying to keep as quiet as possible. From what I could hear, everything was silent apart from the faint sound of people talking. Taking a chance I hurried towards the stairs, and began making my way up them. The smooth polished wood of the banister felt good beneath my palms, and the house smelled wonderful. The staircase overlooked the living room, where a plasma hung from a wall above a wide, open fireplace. Sitting on the white leather sofas was mom and beside her, Becky. From the way Becky was rubbing the other woman’s back, I could tell she was crying again. My gut twisted with the shameful thought of leaving, without even so much as a goodbye. Words could not describe how much pain I was going through right now. 
Remembering the slim amount of time I had, I climbed the rest of the stairs in a few easy bounds, and ran straight for my room. Being the tidy person I was, it was always spick and span, not a piece of clothing nor rubbish in sight. Diving under my bed I retrieved my travelling bag. It was old and battered due to the use of it over the years, but it would easily do the trick. Throwing it on my bed I hurried over to my wardrobe and yanked out a few changes of clothes. Nothing fancy- mainly sweatpants, jeans and tank tops. If I knew anything about the realm of Faery, it was that having too much weight on your shoulders would only slow you down. And being in the Nevernever that was a very bad idea indeed. Fancy being torn limb from limb by a chimera because you couldn’t outrun its poisonous bite. Or end up dangling over a pot of boiling water at the hands of a hungry goblin. Not a very pleasant thought.
I shoved my clothes into the bag, and then made my way to the chest of draws at one end of my room. There I pulled open the top draw; inside were different items. Pieces of loose string, old bottle caps, keys and half a dozen pins. I dug around in there for a moment, before I found what I was looking for. Reaching into the draw I pulled out a worn out bracelet, made completely of solid iron, and slid it onto my wrist. It locked, and once I was sure it wouldn’t slip off, I grabbed a small bottle of salt, a lighter, and shoved them into the bag with the rest of my things. Fey weren't immune to iron, one single collision with skin and bam! They’re sent howling in pain. The salt was just a minor addition, it resisted all- or most fey. 
Throwing a few more things into my bag I finished off by putting on my awesome skulls- and- rose’s hoodie that I got off grandma for my birthday, and headed out the door. 
I reached the top of the landing and to my luck, mom and Becky were still talking to one another, hot cups of chocolate placed in the palms of their hands. Taking advantage of the distraction I silently sneaked back down the stairs and made way for the front door. Opening the painted would I was struck by a chilling breeze, and looked once more over my shoulder sorrowfully, at the two women I was about to leave behind.
I'm sorry.
Then in a few fast footsteps I was out the door. 
Making sure the it was fully shut behind me I kicked off at a blinding speed, running past mum’s ford, past Becky’s Toyota and regrettably my own mo-ped, down to where Robbie was stood waiting for me.
He looked up as I approached in surprise, I had returned pretty quickly. “Ready?” 
At my nod he smiled and turned, heading in the direction of Forest park.
I’m not sure how long it had been until we finally reached the small secluded play area. At the far end of the park were two swings, a slide and what appeared to be a funny looking roundabout. Closest to where we stood were a set of monkey bars and an unsafe see-saw. For once no one was here, at least Robbie and I could disappear without anyone witnessing us. That was a start.
Without even a moment’s hesitation the fey boy entered the park, and headed directly for the slide.
“Um, question. Why are you walking over to the slide? I thought you said we didn’t have time to mess around!” I called in frustration, marching after him. The trees and forestry around the playground did their best to shield us from the icy breeze, I still shivered.
Since when did it get so cold?
Robbie let out an exasperated sigh, though I could tell he was only joking around. I had never seen him angry. “The slide is our doorway into the Faerie realm.” It was then, as we neared that I noticed a gap in between the ladder, and the slide itself. It was small, only able to fit a couple of people at most.
“Another question. Why is this ‘portal’ you speak of in a park anyway? Surely the fey wouldn’t be stupid enough to create a gateway right in the Centre of an area that is usually full of humans?”
“We Fey have a funny way of disguising things Snowdrop. Encase you haven’t noticed already Faeries live and feed off of mortal emotions. Kids nowadays have minds bursting with colorful imagination, hence where this portal came from.” He replied, giving me an are-you-stupid? Look. As we approached the slide, I found myself thinking hard about what he had just said. I never knew that. They survived off of our emotions? What a silly thought. I opened my mouth to ask something else, but Robbie spoke before the first word was even past my lips.
“Now if you please, can we stop with the questions for one second and focus on the task at hand?” I glanced over at Robbie to see him smiling at me. He only earned himself a death glare in return. Holding up his hands in a gesture of defeat once he saw my expression Robbie grinned and turned back towards the slide. “One other thing you should know Snowdrop, is that only a Faerie can open up the portal.” I watched as he reached out his hand, palm facing upwards and waited for me to grasp hold.
Here goes.
Holding my breath I took his outstretched hand and before I knew it, we were heading through the hole beneath the slide.