Chapter Twelve: Walk of shame.

The sun was spilling into the room long before either of them had woken. Wynter who was aware of the brightness refused to open her eyes and acknowledge the new day. She was warm and comfortable; why mess with a good thing? Beside her she could feel Tanner stirring and she smiled. Not once had he tried to make a move on her; he gave her exactly what she needed, a warm shoulder and the sense of security she had lost in her own home...If only she could stay like this for a few weeks she would be perfectly content with the world.
Unfortunately it could not be. Aside from her responsibilities that were necessary for living with such luxuries as shelter and full cupboards; she also had a very full bladder that she could no longer ignore. With a great sigh she opened her eyes and squinted against the cheery morning light. Tanner grunted at the sudden loss of heat and snuggled deeper under the blankets. With shuffling feet Wynter made her way to the bath room and proceeded with the ritual of relieving herself and washing up.
By the time she had finished splashing her face with the tepid water Tanner was up and about doing his usual morning routine. Again Wynter felt awkward. Not only did she not plan the sleep over but she had not thought about the morning after...She was wearing Betty Boop pyjama’s for Christ sakes! Grant it Betty was one sexy gal but Wynter felt anything but sexy with her morning breath and matted bed head hair...
Scowling at herself in the mirror she wondered if Tanner had a spare tooth brush or a hair brush for that matter...the knock on the door made her jump. “Wynter?” asked Tanner from the other side. She took a deep breath and opened the door for him. “Sorry but I really need to use the toilet....” he said unabashedly.
“Right. Sorry about that....” she said and pushed her hair back behind her ear in self consciousnesses. “I’ll just ah get out of your way then” she said and went to step out of the bathroom but he caught her face in his hands and kissed her on the mouth.
“You are beautiful” he said and then he let her go and closed the door on her shocked face.
* * * *
Two hours later Wynter wished that she had borrowed one of Tanner’s hoodies or something to cover up with....There were awkward moments in the elevator that involved a very ‘friendly’ but non threatening neighbour of Tanners who just spent the entire ride staring at her chest even while speaking with her and a very disapproving older lady who gave her dirty looks when Wynter smiled at her.
The worst however was running into Constable Marche outside, when she had reached her car. Indeed her key was just turning in the lock when he greeted her from behind making her jump and him chuckle. The sound was very creepy and foreign to Wynter who had to suppress the urge to shudder.
Pasting a plastic smile on her face she endured fifteen minutes of small talk with the Constable. Not once did he question her attire nor what she was doing in this particular part of town mid morning....He didn’t have to; it was clear where she had been and with whom she had spent the night. It wasn’t until well after he left that it occurred to her to question his motives for being there...Uncertain of the answers she would yield she left that question alone for the time being...
Instead she went home, showered, dressed and prepared a dinner for work. After a glance told her Rayne had raided her fridge she decided that she had just enough time for a quick trip to the grocery store before her shift.
As she stood in the aisle trying to determine if she really did need that bag of double fudge cookies she was hailed by Mrs. Snow. Cursing her luck she nodded to the portly woman and tried to make an escape...She should have known better. Mrs. Snow knew everyone and everything that went on in town and if she wanted a word with you she clamped on like a vice until she was finished or someone of more interest happened by...
“Wynter! I never thought to see you here at this time of day...Sure I thought you was working at The Souwester this afternoon...” said Mrs. Snow as she hurried to catch up to Wynter who was quickly moving down the aisle towards the check out.
“I am...I’m actually in hurry so....” said Wynter apologetically as she kept her pace up.
“I hear that new Mountie is settling in just fine for a mainlander...” she began but Wynter cut her off.
“Yes I slept with him and no he’s not my boyfriend. Go on now and tell Mrs. Flynn as she’s over there pretending to look at the expiry date on the yogurt while waiting to hear if it was me she saw this morning. Go on now...” commanded Wynter to the shocked elderly lady who did as she was told after an indignant sniff and saying something along the lines of ‘I never’ though by that point Wynter had stopped paying attention to her and had moved on to more important things such as paying for her groceries.
The girl who was working the cash register gave her a big grin and had her through and on her way in no time flat. As she drove her mind kept wondering about the sudden surge in violent fey attacks and why her family seemed to be in the thick of it....
Her Nan had raised her siblings and herself after her parent’s sudden disappearance back when she was nine years old. It was Nan who had told them about the fairies, ways to please them, to know where they dwelled and most importantly ways of protection.....Now that she thought about it Nan went above and beyond the limits of a superstitious person to one bordering on paranoia. She had even quizzed them before bed every night....For what purpose though? Had she known that something like this was coming? Why did she never say anything? Why didn’t she warn....The book. It had to be in the book....Reaching for her phone she glanced around and then swung the car into a u-turn.
Calling in sick twenty minutes before her shift was not something she did on a regular basis but considering the current circumstances she was willing to bend her work ethics and make an exception. Pulling into the drive way she raced inside her house, up the stairs and into what was once the bedroom of her grandmother.
Kneeling in front of the bookshelf she searched the titles. Unable to find what she was looking for she began throwing them on the floor; as it emptied her search became more frantic. At last she found it tucked in her Nan’s favourite book of poems.
Taking a deep breath she opened the small leather bound book and began to read. The light shifted on the floor and it pooled around her as she read the faded ink scrawls. She finished when the shadows had begun to chase the sun away.
Wiping the tears from her cheeks she stood and jumped when she saw it standing in the open doorway. Unlike the others she had seen thus far this fey was in no way intimidating or hostile in appearance. In fact it looked rather serene and friendly. Leary of it Wynter waited for it to speak first while mentally reminding herself to place more wards around the house.
“You mortals are a strange race” said the fey giving her a warm smile that didn’t reach her golden eyes “You rape and pillage what does not belong to you all for the sake of having it. Tell me, Wynter do you wish to posses our Prince; to claim Locan as your own? And do you really believe we would allow you, a mortal, who is not worthy to breathe the same air as he, to take him from us?”
Wynter tried to hide her surprise and her confusion by using bravado instead. “Sounds like somebody’s jealous” she said moving casually towards the dresser and the iron cross she knew to be resting on top of it. “Did his Royal Highness pass you over to play with a lowly mortal? Bet that hurts the pride” Just a little further she told herself.
“You will live to regret your disrespect” said the fey that now stood nose to nose with Wynter; all pretences of warmth gone from its face “My Lady will make you do things you never thought you could do; things that will break your body and when you cry and beg for mercy you will remember this day.”
“Funny, I figured that you would remember this day” said Wynter reaching out and clasping the cross in her fist “as the day a mortal broke your nose” She whipped her arm up and slammed the cross into the fey’s face. It gave a hideous cry as Wynter felt the bone break and watched as blood sprayed everywhere. The fey glared at her and then disappeared with a mighty rumble that made the house shake and sent everything in the room crashing to the floor shattering mirrors and glass in the process. Trembling Wynter dropped the cross from her lax hand and stared at the mess.
“Wynter?” called Tanner as he jogged up the stairs. “Are you home?” he called again. Wynter didn’t answer him. He finally reached the room and stopped in the doorway “What happened? Are you all right?”
“Not my blood” she said answering his questioning look. “I think I need to sit down.” She plopped her ass down and held her head in her hands. Eyes closed she could hear Tanner shift his weight from foot to foot, his uncertainty of what to do made her feel worse.
“Do you want to be alone?’ he asked tentatively.
Wynter lifted hear head and looked at him. “Oh my God....” she whispered as she saw something around him waver, much like heat waves off the tarmac in the extreme temperatures of the dessert. “It’s you.....”
“Wynter, you never answered my question; are you ok? You seem kind of strange...”said Tanner still standing in his spot by the door. “And pale...”
“You’re him aren’t you?” she asked still staring at him.
“Um, him who? Did you hit your head?” he asked finally stepping into the room and crossing over to her.
“Locan” she said as he was examining her face. He immediately let her go and let out a forced laugh.
“That sounds like a character from Star Trek” he said.
“Or the name of a fairy Prince” she said and saw the shadow pass in his eyes before he became stoic and distant with her.
“Ok” he nodded and backed away from her. “Now you know”
“That’s it? No denial? No explanations? Just a fucking nod and ok?” she demanded getting to her feet.
“What do you want me to say Wynter? If I deny it I’m a liar. Try to explain it and you won’t believe me. So, yeah; all you’re getting is my confirmation and a fucking nod of my head as you so eloquently put it.” He began to pace the floor in frustration, the glass crunched under his feet but he didn’t pay attention to it. “You know what? I’m glad you found out. I was sick of keeping the truth from you, of being careful not to slip up and do something that’s not normal! Do you know how hard it is to hold a part of yourself back because you’re afraid of what others may think of you? That they might fear you because of what you are or what you can do?”
“Oh I think that I can imagine something like that yes” said Wynter crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him “Thing is I don’t like liars, especially when I’ve slept with one. So if you would kindly get out of my house I’d like to be alone right now”
Tanner stopped pacing to gape at her. “Do I at least get a chance to explain myself?”he asked.
“Not now” answered Wynter with a shake of her head. “I need to process...this” she gave a sweeping gesture that encompassed the room and him.
Letting a protest die on his lips Tanner gave her one of his odd little bows “As you wish” he said and then left the room. Seconds later she heard the front door close.