Midnight Cove

His kingdom. Phoenix's words held me in complete awe of the moment, and as he spoke them with reverent sincerity I looked over at him in blatant astonishment. He had told me in the cave that he was the Prince of Darkness, but seeing it was somehow much more impressive. This place was his to rule and these beautiful faces surrounding us were his subjects. I suddenly had a deep admiration for Phoenix I had not felt before. His self absorbed narcissism now seemed a little more well founded.

"Walk with me, Bonnie," and he offered me his arm. I hesitated, unsure if I really wanted to explore the Underground Realm of the Dark Faeries. "Please?" he tacked on and I timidly wrapped my fingers around his strong bicep ballooning against the cloth of his black robe. I was shaking inside, but I refused to shy away from this adventure. Pushing back my fears, I swallowed hard and with my chin raised I followed the Dark Prince as he began to lead me down his path.

Slowly, we strolled up and down the wooden planks that made up the series of docks bordering the canal. Phoenix explained the history of the marketplace and he knew each and every shop. The numerous tailors, a few repair shops, there were bakers, and music shops, bookstores, and smiths of every kind. Each one looked quintessential to this enchanting Faerie Realm.

Everywhere we went others bowed in acknowledgement and respect of his high stature, to both him and then to me. At first, I only smiled at them a little, uncomfortable with this unusual homage, but after about a dozen times I started to mimic Phoenix and slightly nod in their direction. Admittedly, it was fun and I began to feel elated by the way people were showering me with such unnecessary attention. Practically every little girl fantasized about being treated like a princess. Walking with a handsome prince in this busy haven was a fantasy actualized.

Phoenix told me all about his people, elaborating on subjects Cove had only glazed the surface of. How the Fae had ruled in ancient times bringing peace, technology and freedom to the mortal realm. How there were stories of the faeries being aliens come from spaceships and theories about them originally being angels fallen from heaven, which was one of the explanations as to why they couldn't pass on like humans. But no one knew the truth, it was "shrouded in the mists of time" is what he had said. They knew no more as to why they existed the way they did, than we humans understand about our own existence.

It was all so fascinating. I was relishing every minute spent there. As we walked away from the Portical, the water became more and more shallow and the people became sparse. The trees too were becoming fewer and farther between. We followed the walkway until it ended on a moonlit sandy bank.

"Where are we going now?" I asked as Phoenix lead me along. He showed no sign of stopping or slowing. He merely continued to stroll into the vast, dark forest that laid just beyond us.

"Come on, Bonnie," he said his mischievous eyes twinkling in the night. "I'm not going to bite."

"Yes, but you have before," I chided him. The very first time we met he had bit me. But not hard... My thoughts softly reminded me.

Phoenix stopped walking then, pulling me from my inner debate, and taking my hands in his as he turned to face me, he confessed.

"I am sorry for that," he cocked his head to the side and said, "Well, sort of. I wanted to taste your blood, and as a prince, I always get what I want. I didn't hurt you, did I?" His body language said he was apologetic but his words said the opposite. When he asked me if I had been hurt though his concern was sincere.

"No, you didn't hurt me," I decided I wasn't mad. I was curious though. "Why did you want to taste my blood? Are Dark Faeries like vampires or something? Do you need human blood to survive?" I didn't really have any expectations, more than anything I was just intrigued by it all.

"No," Phoenix laughed. It was the first time I could remember him laughing in such a lighthearted way. It was infectious and seductive, I honestly felt warmed by the sound. "The idea of vampires is just a story. If anything it is a spin off of what we Dark Faeries represent. We are beautiful, immortal creatures and yes we do enjoy the taste of human blood. But the idea of sucking out all of a human's blood through a hole in their neck is ridiculous. I can't say a vampire doesn't exist, because truthfully, Bonnie, there are a lot of unbelievable things that exist in this world. Personally, I have never seen a human's corpse come back to life and walk around during the night craving blood, or brains for that matter. I will not be the one to discredit it though. I will say that the idea of it is not appealing to me and I hope for humanity's sake that they do not exist." Phoenix's voice sounded authoritative and deep. I found myself trusting him without question.

"So, why did you drink my blood?" I asked still unsure of what it could've done for him. What attraction could have possible lied there? For what purpose?

"Well, you are beautiful and strangely different than other human girls. Your feelings are easier to read, which I find interesting. I wanted to taste your blood to see if you really were a human or not, and," he said pausing for a moment before continuing on, "I wanted to see if you tasted as good as you look." He winked at me and I could feel my cheeks slightly blush at his admiration. "Mmm, see that's exactly what I mean. You see, Bonnie, although I may not need blood to survive I quite enjoy the taste. Humans taste wonderful. They create blood everyday, whereas Faeries do not. We immortals do not need to regenerate, we are fixed in place as we are for all time. When I occasionally do taste mortal blood I savor it. But just as a person would enjoy a dessert you cannot make it your every meal. Granted there are those that would love to solely survive on the blood of humans, however they cannot survive long that way. It is not enough sustenance for our bodies. We eat 'fairy food' which mainly consists of breads and baked goods made here in the Underworld."

"And what did you find out from drinking my blood? Do you crave me?" I was a mixture of intrigue and fear as I awaited his answer.

"No, Bonnie, I don't." Phoenix sounded matter of factly and I couldn't hide my disappointment. The allure of attracting him on more than just one level had been appealing, even if it was depraved. Phoenix laughed, lightly snickering at my dejected mood. "I do crave something from you though."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" I asked slightly elevated by the idea of still enticing him.

"Your company," he said, smiling. He let go of my hands and again offered his arm. "Shall we? I want to show you something else."

Piqued with curiosity and flattered by his unabashed compliments I eagerly took up Phoenix's arm. I couldn't wait to see where the next stop on our magical mystery tour was going to be. He lead me down a dirt path that wove itself through the wood. Occasionally, we would pass homes aloft in the tree tops, or built into the trunks of the enormous trees. There were lanterns hung throughout the canopy and lamp posts lit by firelight every hundred yards or so, guiding our feet.

It was an entirely different world down here. Even the stars seemed different, like they hung amidst our atmosphere rather than beyond it. The night seemed dark blue and sprinkled with lights everywhere. I didn't feel afraid like I thought I would. Then I saw them, there were colorful floating lights that caught my attention.

"What is that?" I asked pointing to the red and blue sparkles in the distance.

"Pixies," Phoenix said with perfect nonchalance.

"Pixies? Aren't Faeries, pixies?" I asked unaware that there was a difference between the two.

"Pssh! They wish they were Faeries." Phoenix rolled his eyes and continued walking me along the path. "Pixies are small, always, they don't have hardly any magic and they are ugly. Like Brownies, they have bad attitudes that match their hideous looks. It's probably the reason why they are in such rotten moods all the time. Brownies can't fly though."

"I think they're beautiful," looking at the breathtaking floating iridescent lights I couldn't imagine the creature making it was anything but.

"Yes, well the pretty light they give off when they fly is about the only beauty they have. I wouldn't say they were any better than Brownies though. The Brownies at least don't bite. It is best you stay away from them. They also drink blood and could swarm a person like a flock of bloodthirsty mosquitos, the size of hummingbirds." Phoenix warned and lifted his arm that I had been gripping and wrapped it around me, placing his hand on the small of my back as he continued to lead me down our path together.

"Oh?" I was a little shocked that the Pixies actually posed some sort of threat to me.

"Don't worry they wouldn't dare come near me. It would be a trivial thing for me to end them," he said.

He was so confident. I was really starting to enjoy my time with Phoenix, but somewhere in the back of my mind I couldn't stop thinking about Cove. I didn't want to mention anything that would bring up the possibility of talking about him. For the moment, I just wanted to completely forget. I wanted to live for me, and enjoy this time with Phoenix. Phoenix was so much fun and I was really beginning to see him for myself instead of how Cove had painted him to me. He wasn't really a bad guy after all.

"Almost there," he sounded excited. I couldn't help but smile and pick up my pace, almost bouncing with each step.

"Where are we going?" The unknown was driving me crazy. I didn't know how much longer I could take the suspense.

"Here," Phoenix said and abruptly stopped. The grin on his face was boisterous as he watched my expression of pure joy turn to bewilderment.

I stood underneath the gothic archway of a black castle. The hundreds of golden lights warmly lit up from inside. The magnificence of the palace left me in a stupor. I was completely speechless. I turned away from the sight to try and get my bearings but the view in the opposite direction wasn't any help.

What I had failed to realize was that Phoenix had been leading us up a mountain top. Below laid a lush green forest speckled with cottages and treetop homes all aglow. Beyond that, far, far below us was a cove filled with little boats anchored safely in their harbor and little people walking to and fro from shop to shop along the same wooden docks. There were bridges along many of the finer roads where we had not traveled and spires from some of the grander homes on the tops of some of the hillsides below us.

My hands flew up to my mouth. The brilliance of such a spectacle was one I had never encountered before. I knew in that one moment that my view of life had changed. I didn't know if I could ever go back to the person I was before. Magick had altered me irreversibly and the beauty and the enchantment of the Underworld was a sight I didn't know if I could ever leave.