The Whispers of The Sprite (The Whispers series #1) (6 page)

He raises his left eyebrow and smiles. ‘I do like to be around humans. My mother is tightly involved in the Council. She is the highest member and if she finds out about you she would be the first person that would vote for my death.’

‘Your own mother?’ I ask, staring at him with disbelief.

‘You’ve got to understand that she has to obey to rules. She worked hard to be in her position and she doesn’t give second chances.’ He pauses. ‘Me, on the other hand, I was never interested in politics.’

‘So what are you interested in?’

He doesn’t respond straight away. His eyes wander to the window. Maybe it’s a personal question, but Gabriel doesn’t seem to care about the rules. He is confident enough to carry on meeting with me. He sounds different when he is talking about the council and these odd laws.

‘Our lives were different when there were changelings around. We had more freedom.’

‘Changelings?’

‘You should know this from history. We used to swap infants years ago, but this practice has been stopped ...’

‘What do you mean by swapping children?’ I ask.

‘Maybe you are too young to understand what I mean, but years ago we used to take human infants and replace them with our own, to allow them to have a better life.’

‘What?’ I stand up, feeling like a stone was just dropped into my stomach. ‘You used to steal children?’

‘If you read your history books, then you would know that this practice was common in past centuries,’ he responds coldly.

I blink rapidly, trying to stop my racing heart. He thinks that I am stupid! I have never heard about changelings. What he describes sounds so cruel.

‘Are you going to sit down so I can tell you more about myself, rather than changelings? I think I brought up that subject too early,’ he says in a husky voice.

I hesitate, but sit down, feeling that our connection is stronger than I originally thought. I’ve got so many questions, but I don’t know what I should ask him first. He appears to be confident like he knows it all.

‘No, tell me more about changelings. I need to know,’ I press.

‘I don’t want to discuss this now,’ he cuts in and I think he is angry.

I never expected him to be so touchy about this subject. ‘Well then, let’s talk about something else,’ I say coldly. ‘For example, where do you live?’

‘Near the beach in Three Cliffs Bay. Our homes aren’t visible to humans. We tend to stay closer to the coastline, but others normally live in the middle of nowhere. Before your ability developed I was around you often.’

‘What about your father? Is he involved with the Council as well?’

‘No,’ he responds. ‘My father isn’t too keen on council rules. We have similar values, and although my mother is tied to the Council, my father doesn’t think that everything they do is necessary.’

‘For example?’

‘Well, I would need at least a few hours to talk about it, which unfortunately I don’t have.’

‘Right.’

‘There will be another time,’ he hisses, leaning slightly closer and an electric current shoots through me again. ‘Goodbye.’
 

Then he is gone. Yet again he didn’t explain everything, just leaving me with questions. Maybe it’s partly my fault, because I tend to ask a lot of questions and haven’t got enough patience. I need to stop thinking about how I am reacting every time he is close to me.

To distract myself from my confusing feelings, I switch on my laptop and start searching for the term ‘changeling.’
 
Surprisingly, I find a lot of articles about the myth. The stories go back as early as the fifteenth century. I stay up for a few hours, reading about this fascinating history. So he was right: we always believed that fairies were stealing our children, but no one was ever able to see them. Gabriel said that it doesn’t happen anymore. He said that this practice has been stopped. I should have asked him why, but we didn’t get into that. I fall asleep thinking about his blue eyes and wondering why I am the only one that can see them. I need to find out about the past; there was someone else that had a similar gift to mine.

The next few days pass quickly, but I still have Gabriel in my mind. George keeps calling, surprisingly making an effort. He promises to visit me sometime soon, but he isn’t specific, as usual.

Since I left London my life has been transformed. Unexpectedly, my phone is silent for a few days. Mum stopped calling me and I am not sure what is happening to her. Finally, on Sunday evening, I manage to get a hold of her, and after nagging questions she reveals that she had a date. However, this is the only information that I am able to get out of her. I can hear in her voice that she is embarrassed and isn’t comfortable talking about this with me. I hang up the phone, feeling happy that she is finally getting on with her life. Mum is in her mid-forties and spends far too much of her time concentrating on me. I hope that this will bring more and more opportunities for her to find someone else close to her heart.

A few days after the conversation with Mum and an interesting time with Gabriel, I open the front door. I wonder who is knocking at our student pad so late on this gloomy Friday evening.

‘Hello, Ania,’ says George, standing outside smiling widely. I stare at him, unable to say anything, frozen. George hands me the flowers he's holding and kisses me unexpectedly. The kiss is surprising and I expect a burst of the usual emotions to arise. Instead I feel nothing.

‘What are you doing here?’ I ask, confused and worried, still standing in the doorway.

‘I told you that I would come to see you. I missed you,’ he explains, stepping inside.

Reluctantly, I let him in. I close the door, feeling defeated as he makes himself comfortable on the sofa in the living room. Michael and Carl are in the kitchen, cooking supper. He looks good. His blond hair is styled and he is wearing a dark blazer with designer jeans. Normally, under these circumstances I would be happy to see him, but his visit is so unpredicted that I am more worried than excited.

‘Hey guys. This is George – a friend,’ I say, looking at Mike and Carl, who are busy debating on the choice of ingredients that they should add to their curry.
 

‘I hate to correct you, darling, but I am your boyfriend,’ says George, smiling. Mike and Carl are staring at me, uncertain. ‘Nice to meet you guys.’

My housemates acknowledge his greeting with a nod and get back to their exotic dish. I am just about to take George upstairs to my room to find out what exactly he is doing in my house, when Amy walks in, looking all dressed-up and glamorous. She added long blonde extensions to her hair; she has a black maxi dress on and hasn’t overdone it with the makeup tonight.
 

‘Ania, are you ready?’ she asks, not noticing George, who is talking to Carl and Michael in the kitchen.
 

‘Ready?’ I ask blankly.

‘Don’t tell me that you forgot about tonight’s party?’

‘Party?’ George interrupts while walking back into the living room. I sigh, trying to take a deep breath.
 

‘Oh Amy, this is George, my friend from London,’ I say, stepping forward and smiling. I have mentioned George to Amy, but I gave a very brief description, intentionally avoiding the complicated relationship part.

‘I have to correct her all the time. I am her boyfriend,’ adds George and winks at Amy, who starts laughing. I roll my eyes and think I have already lost the battle with George with regards to the status of our relationship.

‘Umm …’ This is the only coherent sound that I am able to make.

‘So are you guys coming to the party?’ asks Amy.

‘No, I don’t think –’

‘Of course we are,' George interjects. 'Ania will go upstairs to change and get ready. So what kind of party is it?’

I leave them discussing details about the wild student party. I walk to my room, feeling overwhelmed and angry with myself. I invited him, but I didn't expect him to show up so quickly. George is behaving strangely. I am not in the mood to go out, and I especially don't want to go out with George and Amy at the same time. At this point, I don't have any choice so I put on my best dress and make my way back downstairs. When I join them, George and Amy are still engaged in a conversation about the nightclubs in London. Michael and Carl are sitting opposite, looking annoyed as they are trying to watch a football match on TV. I give them an apologetic look and put a smile on my face.

When we finally leave the house, Amy is talking about how much she enjoyed herself at the last party she went to. George takes my hand and looks as if he is actively listening to my housemate. I am feeling uncertain about this whole evening; we have a problematic history and I am the one who always ends up crying because of him. There have been many situations when we went out together and by the end of the night, I had to get home by myself because my ‘boyfriend’ disappeared unexpectedly. I am not sure what’s changed tonight; George is charming and caring and has brought flowers. I feel on alert and suspicious.

It is dark when we leave the house and it is raining, so we decide to take a taxi. The house party is somewhere on Mumbles Road. When we reach our destination I find myself staring at a three-story town house filled with drunken students. I haven’t noticed any Sprites around, though I expect them to keep themselves away from crowds of people. Amy announces that she is going to get us drinks. The music is loud and there is a variety of alcohol in the kitchen; people seem to be enjoying themselves. We are in the living room when Amy appears again and hands me a glass of rosé wine and a pint of beer for George. Then she vanishes, explaining that she has to meet a French bloke that she was introduced to at the last party.
 

‘So why are you really here, George?’ I ask, making sure that I sound serious. The music is so loud I have to raise my voice. He looks at me as if he didn't understand my question.

‘I told you. I missed you,’ he says and begins kissing my neck gently. I shiver, but I am not going to let him fool me. I push him away.

‘Where were you for all that week when I was in the hospital?’ I continue, as I don't want to fall for his charm so soon. He looks at me for a while and takes a pull on his beer.

‘I didn't know that you were in the hospital and I have been thinking about how badly I treated you in the past.’ He is staring at me, his honey-brown eyes full of pity. ‘I want us to be real now.’

My jaw drops. George is expressing real feelings towards me. I can't believe what I am hearing. On any other occasion, I would be over the moon, but today my feelings for him are no longer in my heart. I don't want him to feel this way.
 

‘What do you mean by ‘real?’’ I ask, taking a sip of wine. ‘Being a real couple?’

If he is not really serious he will back off at this point, but his expression doesn't change.
 

‘I thought about it for a long time and I want us to be together.’

I smile and decide to play it my way, remembering all the times when I cried because of his lack of emotions. My subconscious reminds me about the handsome Sprite who visited me a while ago.