That Third Morning of the End

Belladonna woke up that morning after what wasn't much sleep at all- less than two hours, maybe even one, only enough to dream that dream. She'd been tossing and turning the whole time that she was allowed to sleep, so she was exhausted. Standing at her bedside, looming above her, was Hirluin.

"...what now?"

"Belladonna." Hirluin spoke, his maw dripping with the black goo that it usually leaked.

"Talkin', huh? Somethin' important t' say. What is it?"

"...I didn't want to tell you the truth before." It caught Belladonna off guard. He never spoke this much- usually, if at all, only brief sentences of a few words.

"A-about what?"

"Why I hide."

This piqued Belladonna's interest. "You mean... why you run off when I try t' prove you're real. You're goin' t' finally tell me?"

"I thought you would have figured it out on your own, but you didn't, and I was glad... at first. Then, I began to reconsider after what you said about me to Castillo."

"Shit." Belladonna sat up. "You were... um... I wasn't tryin' t'-"

"Enough." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "If I wanted you to act a certain way before, I would have said so."

"Alright... fair." She heard the sounds of the Fae in the hall outside. In fact, she also heard one of them under her bed. She guessed they were listening in on the conversation, ready to whisper things into her ears and show her grand spectacles that no one else could see- or horrific sights that would break what remained of her sanity in two.

"...I'm one of them."

Belladonna stared blankly at him. "One a'... one a' what?"

"The Fae." 

Almost immediately, Belladonna backed towards the wall in fear, before steeling herself and jumping off the bed, directly into a standing position with her shoulders raised and her hands balled into fists. "You're tryin' t' take me, too?!"

"No. I was assigned to protect you."

"Why?! Th' Fae are my enemies! They're tryin' t'- tryin' t' abduct me! Why would they want me... safe?"

"You misunderstand. They- no, we value you, Belladonna. If you die without accepting your Fae heritage, your soul is lost forever. We want you to either stop rejecting us or to pass on your blood. We don't want to take you as soon as possible, as you believe- we only want you to accept that you're part of us."

Belladonna's fists unclenched. "...wh... why are you tellin' me this now? An' not b'fore?"

"You're in danger because of what Richard has done. We want to save you, Bellado-"

"S-save me, my fuckin' ass. Every time I use my powers too much, I'm put through HELL. All th' whisperin' an' things that no one else can see... it's 'cause of all a' YOU that I'm seen as crazy!"

"Of course. Only the Fae-blooded, or the rare humans we reveal ourselves to, can see the Fae. I am always around to aid you, though I was pretending to not be Fae, so as to keep you from fearing me, too. The others only appear when you use your powers enough- when there's hope that you may see your abilities not just as tools, but as part of you."

"This is weird. This is too weird. I don't buy it, any of it. This is... you... you're not actin' like yourself."

"This is me. The real me, who cares about you. Who loves you as family."

"F... family?"

"Family." Hirluin approached Belladonna and hugged her. "You've grown among humans, so you think like them. You don't understand the Fae, but you are Fae. I'm sorry I stayed quiet for so long, but... please... we don't have much time left. I had to tell you everything now, even if you're not ready to hear it. I don't want you gone, Belladonna."

Belladonna was conflicted. Silent, for a few minutes. Finally, she answered...

.........

......

...