Beyond The Veil

Chapter 12

~Emery~

My skin was on fire; I wanted to scream and yell at someone. How dare they plan a wedding behind my back! I hated that I had kissed him; I should have never kissed that i***t. "Ugh!" I screamed into the air; everything around me seemed to be falling apart, and I had no say in any of it. 

I was so wrapped up in anger that I did not see the incoming tree; I walked right into it, head first. I fell backward; my hand instantly went to my bleeding forehead. Once I saw the blood, my hands started to tremble, and everything just spilled out of me. The frustration, anger, and embarrassment wrapped me tightly in its unforgiving coils, pulling tight, leaving me no air to breathe.

What was I doing? I had no idea anymore; my life wasn't my own, this isn't what I wanted, and for the first time, I felt completely alone.

"Hey! Fae girl!" A harsh whisper came through the veil and startled me. I squinted, trying to find the face of the voice. "It's Micha!" 

My heart fluttered once I heard his name. I jumped up, running to the Veil. "Micha? I can't see you, where is the-"

"I couldn't make one, listen to the Fae woman who came in here, who was she?" He asked; his voice was a little muffled. 

"She was a Fae elder and my mentor-" I slapped a hand over my mouth. I wasn't even supposed to tell him anything about her or this world. I was breaking a major rule...but part of me didn't care; no one knew of Micha or where I went now and then. It was one thing I managed to keep to myself, even if it was kind of selfish. "Why do you ask?"

"She came here with a piece of paper, and my father took it from her. Do you know if it could be of importance?"

A paper? That could be anything. "I-I'm not sure...Odessa wasn't the type to tell you anything about her private life."

I heard Micha sigh heavily, and I pressed both my hands on the Veil. What was it about this Demon boy that interested me? Maybe it was the thought of danger or the rebelling feeling that has surfaced ever since my life started to be someone else's. "Micha? What's it like to be a Demon?"

Micha snorted laughter, "What?"

"You know, the daily things you do every day, what does it look like over there, on your side?"

"Are we playing 20 questions? Cause I disagreed." He said with a chuckle, but I tried to get out of my own head and my own reality.

"Please..." I begged, my voice slightly cracked. 

"It must suck over there for you," Micha stated. I looked at the Veil as if I was looking at him. Then, I smiled, wiping the tears from my cheek. 

"I asked you first," I said with a slight chuckle in my voice. 

"I'm guessing over on your side; it's unicorns and rainbows, right?"

"No, it's just-" I stopped; now that I think about it, my home was...perfect. But, God, I hated that word.

"Perfect? Well, here it's not; you don't dress to impress here. We don't care how you look as long as you can fight with a sword. Let's say over here; the grass is not greener." For some reason, I loved listening to him talk; he seemed knowledgeable and quite charming. "Now you, Fae girl."

"Hm? Oh! Well, I guess it's like you said, it's perfect here. But, I've come to hate it..." I let that last part slip, but for some reason, I felt like I could tell Micha, a demon stranger, anything I wanted to, and he wouldn't judge me for it. "It feel's so fake, no raw emotion, just playing pretend. I feel like a doll trapped in a world of increasingly high beauty standards, and even your best isn't good enough." I pressed my head against the Veil; I started to get a headache for my impact with the tree. 

"Are you bleeding?"

My head popped up, looking at the Veil as if I was looking at him. "Wha-Well yes...I hit a tree."

"Hm...I'm guessing that was before the yelling started?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat; if he heard me scream and yell, others might have heard me as well. "How did you know I was bleeding?" I asked curiously.

"Copper."

"What?"

"Bleed smells like copper or metal to me. I have a strong sense of smell; that's how I knew it was you here. You smell like earth."

I raised a brow at him, not knowing if I should be offended at his comment of how I smelled to him; maybe it was a Demon thing...

"Okay..."

Micha started to chuckle again," No, not like dirt, if that's what you were thinking. What I meant was the smell of the Earth after it rains..."

A fluttering in my stomach made me instantly smile. "Micha, can I ask you something?"

"I thought we were already playing 20 questions?" He retorted.

I rolled my eyes, then giggled like a silly school girl, then a tiny little snort interrupted my laugh; I quickly covered my mouth. My cheeks flushed, my cheeks and ears were hot to the touch.

"Hm...that was kind of cute," Micha muttered under his breath enough for me to hear. My eyes grew wide; I hated my little snort when I laughed. Micha was so different; it was refreshing to talk with him and not feel like I had to guard up. 

"Micha...um," I tucked a piece of hair behind my hair as I found the courage to ask him," Can we talk like this more? I mean-If you don't mind...If you are busy, I understand. I just-"

"Yes, but I can't give you a time of day to come here; people will start to notice; let me remind you that what we are doing here is illegal on both sides, you understand?"

"Yes..."

Micha scoffed," You've never broken a rule before, have you? I can hear it in your voice..."

He was right; until this day, I had never broken a rule; I had never felt the need to but now that everything was being decided for me, and this was something I decided myself.

"No, I have never broken a rule...but as of now, I'm done following them."