Guardian of the Hills

I Love You, Period.

Waking up alone in my bed was not what I wanted to do, but I knew Derek had to go back to his realm. Maybe in three days he would come back. I stretched my body out and sat up. immediately, the wave of nausea hit me, and I realized I was going to be sick. I barely made it to the toilet. I sat down on the cold floor and wiped my face. I thought about the pizza I had eaten the night before, and if it could be bad, then I thought of something else. Ban had said I had a halfling in me. No. It's impossible. Besides, I'm not late. Or was I? I got up and went to my calendar. With the days in the fae realm, my days were off in my head. I was, in fact, four days late on my period.

But Seelie fae can only make babies during Beltane, and it is just April. I immediately decided to go on and fix breakfast and put it out of my head for now. After I made Dad his daily care package, he turned and looked at me.

"Any word on when Derek is coming back? I sure miss him on the boat." I frowned.

"I'm afraid Derek might be gone a lot longer than he thought. His father just passed away, and he needs to deal with family business for a while."

"I hate to hear that. When you talk to him, would you please offer my condolences?"

"I sure will, Dad."

School was uneventful. I saw Jessie, and she looked worse than she did the day before. The situation was bad for all of us, but deep down, I felt sorry for her the most.

When I got out, I went straight to the docks as always. Dad was coming in with a small catch. I bet he really was missing Derek. The next two days went by just as uneventful. It was almost like my old life, with the exception of Dade being a missing regular part of my life. I had also woken every morning throwing up. I had put it off long enough. with every day my period was missing, I grew more anxious. On the third day after Derek left, I drove over on my Moped to the next town and purchased a pregnancy test. I got home and sat down straightaway on my bed and began reading the directions. It seemed simple enough. Just pee on the stick. So I went into my bathroom and sat down. I did as the box said and sat it down on the counter and walked out. Three minutes really seems like an eternity when you have your entire life on the line. I thought about telling Dad about college and then telling him he was going to be a grandpa. Me fearing telling about my acceptance to the university seemed minor all of a sudden. The timer on my phone went off, and I ran to see what the results said.

There it was. One single blue line stared back at me. So if I wasn't pregnant, what is going on with my period?

I paced back and forth a bit. Perhaps I should make an appointment with a doctor. It was Friday on the calendar. I called Dad.

"What's up, Kiddo?" he answered.

"How do you feel about me going to see Derek for a couple of days? I have a ride."

"I think that's a swell idea. I'm sure he would be happy to see you."

"Ok. Love you, Dad. See you Sunday."

I went ahead and packed a bag with some earthy clothes and changed into the ones Derek had given me. I also packed some snacks, the belt, sword, and knife. What I needed was witch doctor. Perhaps Ban could enlighten me on my issue.

I went straight to the portal. I needed to come back later tonight to be back in my realm by Sunday night. As soon as thsun went down, I called to open the portal. I went straight through with sword drawn. To my surprise, there were no guards. The forest was eerily quiet. there wasn't even a cricket chirping. I reached Ban's cottage, and before I could nock on the door, it opened, and Ban beckoned me inside.

"I didn't think you would ever get here," she said as she motioned for me to sit down. Her sister was already at the table.

"I'm Skeeter," I said as I introduced myself.

"I know who you are, girl," said Dorcha.

"You're in grave danger coming here in your state."

"What exactly is my state?" I asked.

"I thought you told her,"snapped Dorcha at Ban.

"I did. I had a feeling she didn't believe me."

"Can you prove it to me?" I asked.

"Of course," said Ban as she slid back her chair from the table. She came over to me with an empty cup. She reached into a cage and brought out a fat toad, and promptly squeezed him until he peed all in the cup. She then grabbed my hand, and before I could object, she pricked my finger with a needle.

"Drop three drops of blood into the cup, my dear." If it smokes, you are indeed with fae. If it doesn't, then you're not. I squeezed the three drops into the cup. At first, nothing happened, and then there was a whiff of smoke, and then it looked like the cup was on fire.

"Congratulations!" she said to me.

I could not help myself. I immediately stuck my head out the window and vomited.

As soon as I got hold of my composure, I turned back to the two sisters.

"Now, what am I going to do?" I asked.

"You're going to protect that child with your whole body and soul is what you're going to do," said Dorcha.

"How am I supposed to keep this a secret from Derek?"

"Not just Derek. Everyone."

"I don't understand how this happened. I thought fae could only make babies on Beltane."

"Fae, yes," said Ban. "But you are human. Fae women are the only ones who can get pregnant on Beltane. "

"What?!?! Why did no one tell me that."

"Quite honestly, it's not well known as it would do no good for the man without the woman.

The thought of having any baby terrified me. The thought of giving birth to a half fae was downright traumatizing. Then there is the fact that the baby's father has laid down a royal decree that all halflings shall be put to death. Suddenly, I felt fear and panic. Not for me but for my unborn child. As much as I loved Derek, I knew in my heart I would protect this baby at all costs. Even from its father. I instinctively wrapped my arms around my waist. I had to get back through the portal. They were right it wasn't safe there. I thanked them for their time and headed back toward the gate. I stopped when I got to the edge before the portal. It was Derek and Helda. They were about to go back through.

" You know the way you kissed me the other night, I thought you had been missing me."

"Helda, let it go. I told you I thought you were Skeeter."

"What is with you and that human girl anyway?" Derek turned and looked at her.

"We're bonded," he said matter of factly.

"You love her. Wow, Derek. I never saw that coming from you."

"I never saw her coming either. I want to see her tonight."

"I know, but we have to save these girls first."

"I know. How many did you say there are?"

"At least twenty."

I gave them time to get through the portal, and then I stepped through. I had to figure out exactly how I was going to keep this from him.