Chapter Text
Chapter one: Strange Places and Meetings
In the dream I could smell the earth tones of the forest. I could hear the trees groaning as they swayed and the animals in them cooing and chirping. I felt the cool breeze on my skin along with crunchy dried leaves under me as I laid eyes closed in the middle of a clearing. When I found myself ready to wake up I couldn’t shake the sensation of it all. opening my eyes slowly I was met with the color orange as bright autumn leaves came into view. confusion ranked my mind as I sat up the leaves sticking to my hair and clothes. looking around I noticed I was actually in a clearing. The forest surrounding me was created by all different types of tall trees: cedar, pine and some I didn’t know the names of. looking up I noticed the sunset colored sky littered with a thousand stars. It was all beautiful and peaceful that is it would be if I knew what was going on. How did I get here? Are there any woods even in my area? I live in the city. I asked myself questions in disbelief but no matter what I was still here in the middle of nowhere. a great caw coming from one of the trees broke my racing thoughts. turning towards it I stood up coming eye to eye with a big black raven perched on a branch in a not so far away tree. it’s dark green, almost black eyes twinkling with something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Suddenly a cold gust of wind moved through the air and the weather started to change, the atmosphere growing darker. slowly from out of the woods fog started to seep into the clearing filling up the area till my feet were clouded from my vision the air turning damp with mist. Looking back at the large bird it suddenly took flight, its talons bare cawing as it headed straight towards my face. Its feathered wings licking my head barely missing me as I instinctively ducked not trying to get hit. at the last minute the bird flew upwards over my head quickly i shot my head back up and spun around trying to track the bird with my eyes but as the raven flew its flight pattern changed suddenly once again speeding downwards dramatically it headed straight for the ground till it disappeared into the fog. I had expected a crashing sound, a hurt caw anything but in the moment there was nothing but silence. confusion spread across my features and mind as I just stared in disbelief at the floor. I must be trippin ', I thought or maybe I’m still dreaming? raising my hand I brought it to my arm pitching myself hoping it would wake me up to no avail. nope. definitely not dreaming I confirmed in my head as I sighed giving into defeat and put my hands on my hips trying to come up with my next course of action. “You know most people don’t usually sleep in the middle of the woods.” a male voice said from behind me. In one swift movement I grabbed a stick nearby, turning to the person to whom the voice belonged. pointing it at them in a warning as my eyes started to investigate the guy a few yards away from me. He looked around my age, his lean muscular body a few inches taller than me with fiery red hair that was overgrown and stuck up in different directions. His pale skin was littered with freckles, he had sharp bone structure and pointy ears almost like an elf. his bright green animated eyes pouring into mine with excitement and curiosity flashing behind them. He was handsome in a mystical ethereal way. looking him up and down I noticed his weird attire. he wore green velvety pants with patchwork on it and a matching tunic that was laced up tied in the front with some brown rope. he had brown leather boots, some accessories and a matching brown leather belt with two holsters on it that carried two long glowing golden daggers that shined at his sides. Them being the last and most important thing I noticed. standing my ground with my guard up I shouted with an authoritative tone “who are you? How long have you been watching me?” “long enough to know you snore.” he retorted back with a smirk crossing his arms. “where am I?” I asked confusion mixing with my words. “in the whyle woods of course. So do you just fall asleep in random places for fun or…?” he asked, pausing at the end for an answer. getting irritated I replied “look wacko When I went to sleep I was in my queen sized bed. then I woke up here!” I finished throwing my hands in the air in frustration at the end with an exasperated sigh. I put my hands back down to my sides, stick still in hand in case he wanted to try something. “wait. you really don’t know where you are.” he said in more of a statement rather than a question as he took a few steps forward. to which I took two steps back in response. “Are you a human?” he asked, looking me up and down. “What else would I be?” I replied with sarcasm and annoyance dripping off my words “could have fooled me. you look exactly like us fey. I mean tall, freckles, long red curly hair. sound familiar?” he said pointing at me then back at him. “hold up” I stopped him in disbelief pointing at him with one finger “you think you're a fey?” I questioned busting out in laughter afterwards not able to take him seriously “your trippin!” I exclaimed, unable to hold back my chuckles. ”Thanks for nothing! See ya later!” I choked out between giggles before turning to leave in the opposite direction. However I only got two steps forward before colliding face first into something solid knocking me on my butt. shaking it off A little I looked up only to see the same exact boy I was trying to get away from. “If I wasn’t a fey could I do this?” he said cockily as he crossed his arms in front of him. scooting back I got up pointing the stick I managed to hold on to out at him again. How did he get there so fast? I asked myself, chancing a glance over my shoulder to the spot he was at, only to find him standing there with a smug look on his face as he waved over to me and his doppelganger. moving to the side so I could see both of them at the same time I realized I wasn’t going crazy. There it was before my very own eyes one person in two completely different spots at the same time. Maybe he had a twin, my brain reasoned but with one last little salute to his other self the doppelganger near me burst into a puff of orange and gold glitter and all reasoning went out the door. “Believe me now?” he asked with an overly confident smile plastered to his face that read I told you so. Taking a deep breath, I tried to come to terms with everything thinking about what to do now. “okay…” I said slowly in a voice that held disbelief and shock “so fey are real and I’m dealing with the seelie and unseelie courts… but that still doesn’t answer my question. Who the hell are you?” I say raising an eyebrow. “someone knows their lore.” he joked back. “I just like fairy tales.” I responded nonchalantly. “Well, allow me to introduce myself! I go by many names but you can just call me puck.” he said with a dramatic bow. “You're the great Robin goodfellow? like from a midsummer's night dream?” I asked mockingly to which he popped back up excitedly with a glint of mischief in his eyes. “That's me! thank you very much!” he said happily with a wink and a big smile. “I don’t mean to cut this short but we should probably get out of here before the redcaps and goblins feel like having a late night dinner party. I have a place close by.” he said, coming closer and this time I let him. My head weighed my options. “Come on…” he said, a convincingly sweet honey adding to his voice “I’m not the type of guy to leave a pretty girl stranded. I promise my help comes for free. Besides, it's not like you have many other choices.” I have to go, I reasoned in my head. I mean I could take my chances without him but the next thing I run into may not be nearly as nice. looking into his eyes I saw no malice or untrustworthiness. “fine…” I said “whatever you say Shakespeare in the park.” I finished dropping my stick and walking over to him, raising my hand out to his. “names Y/N.” I say as he gave it a gentle shake before letting it drop. “ It's a pleasure to meet you.” He said with a sweet tone and eyes that were constantly boring onto my own, making me blush. “Follow me.” he said and we started to walk shoulder to shoulder alongside each other into the dark forest. The thicket of trees growing thicker consuming everything as I ventured in. No turning back. We walked for a couple minutes before I had to admit these oh so dangerous woods were actually quite beautiful. The ground was covered with ferns and different plants that I had never seen before that sent glowing green lights into the air when you touched them. thick tree roots jutted out here and there in twisted clusters of dark wood. attached to the trees and ground were glowing mushrooms all different sizes and colors. littered everywhere while firefly’s and other creatures were dancing around it all fluttering past me. walking even further in I noticed blue iridescent pools of water holding fish that couldn’t possibly exist in my world. It was all almost overwhelming so much so I didn’t realize I hadn’t said a word until the trees started to thin out again and we walked into a new clearing. This one however had a tiny stone cottage with circular windows on each side of its wooden door. The grey rock walls of it covered in lush green vines. “It's not much but it’s a good place to hide between quest and messing with the court.” puck said in an unimpressed way. “I think it’s beautiful.” I said, giving him a smile. stopping at the door, puck turned facing me in front of it before grabbing the door handle and opening it dramatically “welcome to my humble abode!” he joked letting me in. Upon entering I noticed the wooden floors and big cobblestone chimney in what I could only assume was the living room charred used wood still in it. There was a brown leather couch and a wooden table in front of it. On both sides of the room there appeared to be doors leading most likely to a closed off kitchen and or bedroom. The house was unkempt and dusty trinkets, chest and nightstands spread about all over the place holding who knows what. Nothing was too personalized. like he didn’t stay here often. As I took in everything standing inside the entrance of the house the door shut lightly behind me. puck moved pass going straight for the couch flopping on it laying down and putting his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner. “word.” I say lightly to myself walking towards Puck on the couch who was sitting up to make room for me. I sat down finally relaxing a little not knowing how tense I was. “I like your funny way of speaking.” puck said “thanks. I’m from Brooklyn.” I replied, making him smile a little as he said “are you sure you’re not like half fey or something? you look more like us than my friend who actually is.” “I’m not capping.” I replied, laughing a little at the ridiculousness of it all. '`what?” he asked, confused, giving a little head tilt. “lying.” I explained Puck letting out a chuckle after. “so… what’s the plan, birdman?” I asked him “well we could go to the summer court and see if I can dig up anything or we could find my friend Grimm and see what he knows. all else fails, we go to the oracle but she totally gives me the creeps and I’d personally like to stay as far away from her as possible.” he said fake shivering “who’s Grimm?” I asked, confused “he’s like the Cheshire cat from Alice in wonderland only grey and very unenthusiastic. that fur ball hates me but he won’t be able to resist something as mysterious as this. just be careful that cat loves making deals you can’t come back from.” he finished explaining with a warning tone “noted.” I said jokingly “my turn for questions!” puck insisted “tell me has anything like this happened before?” he finished “nothing this mad. once in a blue moon I’ll wake up in another room or something but that’s just usual sleepwalking stuff.” I replied “interesting…you must be doing it in your sleep.” puck concluded sending an orange glitter puff to the fireplace, the whole thing going up in flames. the warmth radiating off it licking at my legs as I sat next to it eyes staring at the fire in amazement. “I’ll never get used to that.” I say making puck chuckle “perks of being a summer fey.” he joked. I let out a little yawn tiredness creeping in as a question popped into my head. “If I'm doing this in my sleep then how are we gonna keep me from doing it tonight?” I thought out loud. puck falling silent thinking for a moment scratching his head before his face lit up with an idea. “You're not going to like it but…we could make a deal?” he said “after you just warned me not to do that.” I retorted “I said don’t do it with others…” he said emphasizing the word others “you can trust me. I’ll make it fair, I swear.” “I don’t know. if you're really Robin Goodfellow then you're the trickiest fey of them all.” I questioned “you wound me.” He joked putting a hand to his heart in fake pain before turning serious “I promise.” He replied as he looked into my eyes a sparkling of something Trustworthy reflecting in his. I knew he wasn’t evil and his tone was soft and pleading. a warm spread to my cheeks as I decided my choice and nodded my head “I trust you. Don’t make me regret it” I said his features holding a surprise look at my words ``okay!” he said enthusiastically “there are three options of deals we can make. There's word is bond but for that I would need an even trade and I don’t want anything. then there's object deals where you have to give me something of personal value also unfair in my book. then last but not least markings. I know it’s a creepy idea but it’s not as bad as it sounds. We can do whatever makes you comfortable.” he explained “the mark deal. what do we do for it?” I asked “we hash out the terms. I use my magic on you then it’s a done deal.” he responded “do you know what the mark will be?” I asked curiously “no clue.” he said with a shrug I thought back to my tattoos. I already knew it was nothing. I got 7 in the two years after I turned 18. What's another, I concluded talking to myself in my head. “Okay.” I say “good.” robin responded “I’ll make it so I can sense you and make you appear in case of emergency and you don’t have to do anything.” he finished to which I nodded my head yes “where do you want it?” he asked as I raised the inside of my right wrist, him taking it gently, his touch comforting and warm as he put his hands around it. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked with concern, looking me in the eyes making sure I was fully committed “yes.” I responded “ready?” He questioned and I nodded reassuringly. suddenly a bright peach sparking light appeared glowing through his hand and a sharp intense burning started on my wrist. like someone was burning out a cig on my skin. The pain made me wince at first but then slowly I got used to it. Soon the light died down and puck immediately asked “are you okay?” “Never been better.” I responded giving him a playful smirk trying to lighten the mood before he moved his hand revealing a black and grey autumn leaf that was now on my wrist. “could have been worse…” puck joked shrugging “could have been my name.” he finished laughing. I shoved him a little while joining in “so tell me puck.” I leaned back against the couch talking to him in an almost taunting manner. “What were you doing being a creep all alone in the woods? Are you always such a loner? “Well…” he said. “Once upon a time, I had two close friends. Shocking, I know, given my natural charm, but there are those who just don't appreciate my brilliance. Unfortunately they are in a not so accessible place right now. One of them was that friend I mentioned. Her name is Meghan." He finished his tone sad and full of lounging his eyes almost tearing up full of a bunch of emotions, one definitely being hurt. “I’m not her.” I said trying to make a point in a serious voice “I’m not going to stay with you just so that you can play make believe knowing I’m not going to live up to your expectations.” “I know.” he said, giving me a nod his mood lighting up “trust me you're nothing like her….” he continued trying to joke past the moment “in a good way.” he finished his tone shifting to a charming one as he looked me up and down. breaking the silence I asked “how do we even know this thing worked?” tapping the leaf on my wrist “what do you mean?” he asked leaning forward “you can’t feel it?” “Feel what?” I replied “I don’t know how to explain.” he said trying “it feels like I can sense your aura. like I can feel your emotions faintly in my head.” he said closing his eyes for a second before popping up on the couch moving to stand in front of the fireplace “time for a test run!” he said excitedly “go to the bedroom over there…” he continued pointing at one of the rooms “and I’ll try and bring you back over here.” he said pointing at the space next to him “okay” I said slightly skeptical getting up from the couch my feet touching the cold wood as I walked over to the door just now noticing I wasn’t wearing shoes. I guess I’ve been so caught up in the moment I reasoned. Looking over my shoulder I gave one last look at puck who gave a reassuring nod before going into the room closing the door behind me. looking around the room I found out I was indeed in the bedroom. There was a makeshift wooden bed in the corner at the end of it, an old black trunk with rusted gold pieces. across from the bed was a wooden nightstand, the top covered with lit candles. puck must have lit every fire in the house I thought as I watched the flames flicker. Above it hanging on the wall was a golden mirror. My reflection in it disheveled broken leaves from outside stuck in my messy poofy hair, each section going in different ways. My pale green pj shorts and matching Lacey tank top are now all covered in dirt. However my many gold hoop piercings were still intact along with my other jewelry I didn’t take off the day before. I looked like a wreck that’s for sure. no wonder puck wanted to help. I was not able to think about it long however as a bright yellowish orange light caught my eye. bringing my wrist up, I realized the light was coming from the mark that puck had given me. the once black leaf now shining brightly like the ink was made of molten lava burning my skin. The light grew filling the room getting brighter and brighter turning white until I was engulfed by it, making me close my eyes as they strained against it. After a while the light started to die down and the burning stopped. Opening my eyes I was instead met with a flurry of orange glitter and autumn leaves spinning around me making me dizzy, the room vanishing in thin air behind it all. Suddenly my feet that I didn’t know were off the ground came crashing down onto the hardwood floor making me lose my balance. I was about to fall when all at once the flurry disappeared revealing puck. his arms outstretched, grabbing onto mine to keep me steady. his fingers leaving a tingling sensation on my skin as blush crept up on my cheeks once again “well that was more effective then I thought it would be!” puck beamed with a triumphant smile, his green eyes playful and mischievous. “time for a celebration!” he finished moving his hands to my waist. He quickly started spinning me around and around waltzing me throughout the living room. I held on putting my head on his shoulder smiling and laughing as I got lightheaded till unexpectedly puck let go, sending me crashing onto the couch, my head and vision doing somersaults for a second as I recovered. looking up at him standing in front of me my heart started beating faster as a spark of something warm inside me ignited. puck brought up his hand giving me a dramatic bow laughing. as he brought his hand back down a golden bowl of what looked to be fruit magically appeared in a cloud of sparkles that slowly disappeared around it. “Go on...” he said, bringing his head up “trust me.” he continued affectionately, his eyes still as animated as before meeting mine with a smirk on his face. “Try one.” he finished in a daring tone without thinking, blinded by my emotions and everything I grabbed two of the smallish looking pink and purple fruit examining it. I could only describe it as a cross between a peach and a plum but when I synced my teeth into the juice filled fruit I was met with the taste of sweet raspberries and wine. wanting more I quickly ate the next my body finally feeling hungry through all the adrenaline deciding to take one more. puck followed suit tossing one in his mouth before placing the bowl on the table. as I watched puck do it everything started to go in slow motion my head growing clouded and relaxed a high sensation starting to come over me tingling my whole body. Noticing the change puck gave out a small chuckle before he grabbed my chin tilting my head upwards so he could look me properly in the eye, his brimming with curiosity. “how are you feeling?” he asked. smiling I said “honestly I’m feeling a little zooted” puck laughed joining in entertained by not being able to understand me saying “I can’t believe you're still functioning.” “why?” I asked, swaying a little “cause that fruit you ate isn't the regular kind. fey use these to get drunk. For humans this stuff is supposed to knock you on your ass. I jokingly gave Meghan some and she passed out after eating one bite you ate three.” he explained “well…” I said, closing my eyes, relishing in the feeling “she sounds kinda like a bitch.” puck tugged on my hair making me open my eyes ``hey! what?” I continued “she’s a lightweight. I’m Scott’s Irish. I was made for this.” I finished laughing as puck made an exasperated sigh sitting down with me finally. “of course you are.” he said sarcastically “everything over there is rooted in magic. you can’t take five steps without stepping into something complicated and magical then once it’s in your blood it’s there forever.” he finished “hmmm…totally” I say not fully able to comprehend what he was rambling on about “you know I see why you guys use this stuff. I have never felt a high this good and I have tried everything in Brooklyn.” I say using my hands to express it, breaking him from his roaming thoughts “at least now we know for sure there’s something wrong with you.” he joked “yep that’s me! always a mess!” I laughed back “I think you should probably go to bed honey. we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” puck said leaning back with a yawn “I’ll take the couch.” he finished I nodded and tried getting up only to trip on the table. puck quickly sat up reaching out his arms he put his hands on my waist keeping me from toppling over. I laughed as I stood straight again, pucks hands hesitantly leaving my body as I started stumbling my way to the bedroom door. feeling pucks cautious eyes on me I turned around only to catch them darting to something else pretending he wasn’t watching making me smile. “thank you puck…” I said looking at him affectionately, his eyes immediately finding mine with a surprised yet still equally passionate gaze “for everything.” I finished in a soft tone, turning a light shade of pink as blush went to his ears and face puck replied casually “it’s nothing…” pausing for a second his face softened his green eyes sparkling with admiration “I’ll do anything to help you.” He finished with a more serious tone. Hearing those words made my head spin. my heart swelled in my chest. Unable to bring words to my emotions I nodded with a smile and gave him a little salute saying a light “goodnight.” at him then I turned entering the room, the door closing behind me. I leaned against the wood head raised to the ceiling, a faint smile on my face as the heat that had risen on my cheeks lingered. Closing my eyes I savored the moment feeling a mixture of foggy feelings known and unknown fighting for my attention. raking a hand through my untamed hair I opened my eyes denying them knowing I wasn’t going to find all the answers right now. Looking over to the bed I flopped down onto it, my head sinking into the pillow tiredness hitting me all at once. unable to fight sleep as it overtook me and I drifted into a peaceful state of oblivion and dreams.