Chapter Once:
The stampede outside her bedroom had awakened her from a deep sleep. Jalamia peered at her alarm clock and let out a long groan rolling onto her back. Her amber eyes opened slowly. She stared grumpily at the freshly painted ceiling. Her bedroom had been the last to be painted in the renovated ante bellum mansion they had purchase. She still had to suffer smelling the harsh toxins from the seemingly child friendly paint.
She continued to laid awake listening to the racket that resounded through the rest of the home. The noises varied letting her know it did not come from one source. They ranged from deep gutter shouts to high pitched gales of laughter. She heard the furniture scrap against the wood floor. She flinched. After the many hours spent getting them to the shining perfection all involved were about to get a rude awakening.
She swung her long bare legs out of the bed stomping over to her large oak dresser. She yanked out a pair of worn jeans and a plain white t-shirt. She dressed hurriedly and storm out of her room. Just as she stepped out a guff of wind passed her leg.
"Slow down," she snapped.
"Stay outta my way, dog," a deep raspy voice snarled at her. The voice belonged to one of their resident light fae. Specifically, a short swat red hair and beard male dwarf. He had stopped at the top of the stairs and glared back her then stuck out his tongue.
"Why you little," she started for him, but he moved too fast. He disappeared out of sight a second to soon. She curled her fist so tightly it hurt. Mentally she counted down from ten to one. Her sister's method for dealing the ungrateful hoard of light fae they guarded.
After giving herself a couple of minutes to calm down she started towards the stairwell. It winded in a spiral down to a two story foyer. Amazing none of the creatures was present. However in the clear light of the day she saw the damage done.
"It's not that bad," said a familiar upbeat voice. She turned to see her cousin Claris already using her magic to correct the damage. The beautiful blonde appeared refresh and completely worry free, like the fucking little fae never got on her nerves. Which she was sure they did deep down. Hell she was prepared to call in the Men in black to have the little fuckers put in cages. Maybe then they will appreciate their guardians more.
"That's great for you to say, but remember we have neighbors. I surprised none of them have called the cops," Jalamri leaned against a nearby wall.
"Stop being a negative nancy. The neighbors are like two footballs field away. That is why we brought this property," Claris completed repairing the damage and faced her. She wore a clean pair of white capris and a summery yellow sleeveless blouse. She looked ready for the runway. Indeed her cousin always looked like one of those perfect supermodels that graced the vogue magazines. Unlike Jalamira who had darker looks and if she stood near a tree she was sure no one will be able to tell the difference between them.
"Where are you going?" she pushed away from the wall.
"The mall," Claris said simply.
"Who will be babysitting?" Jalamira mentally did the calculations. Her brother was at his broker job, her sister was in their home dimension fighting back the invaders and the other guardians were at their respective human jobs to make an appearance of normality. The only ones who were left was her, Boria, her other cousin and Claris.
"You're the only one here," Claris said, "and I need some time to myself. Could you make sure everyone has breakfast."
Jalamira watched speechless as her cousin walked out the double front doors swing a large white and gold purse. She groaned again. Now they expect her to feed the fucking fairy folk. She made her way through the foyer into a large dining room. She had not seen any of the other until she continued into the kitchen. A brilliant light greeted her. She had to shield her eyes to prevent from being blinded by the true form fairies. They flew around the kitchen in a baking frenzy.
"Oh the grump is up," a high pitch female voice called out.
Jalamira narrowed her eyes, "Now listen up," she spoke loudly to the room occupants, "I am going for a run. When I come back, there better be silence, organization and this house better still stand."
She peered around the large kitchen at all the attendants in the kitchen. They stared at her like she was insane. She growled low in her throat and turned to leave the kitchen. Whispers immediately followed her. She didn't care. She knew no one would be foolish enough to challenge her authority.
She magically donned a pair of loose grey jogging pants and an oversize grey sweat shirt. They smelled of her brother. She smiled wickedly to herself. It would serve him right by not warning her before he left early that morning. She knew exactly where to hid them.
A bright sunny morning greeted her when she stepped out of the mansion. In truth she wished for a gloomy rainy day. Water energized her and what's more there will be little chance of running into her human neighbors. However she needed to get out of the house before she committed mass murder.
Jalamia sprinted down the long asphalt driveway and through the thick black iron gates. Their guard saluted her after she passed him. He was a light elf of the warrior class. If one looked closer they would see the pointed ears under his blue guard cap. She knew when coming back his twin will take his place. They never presented a problem unless they were horny. Then she had to lock her room door at night.
She ran down the stretch towards the more populated part of the neighborhood. These were newer mansions and much larger, but built closer together. Their house butted a large lake one side and on the other side an eighteen hole golf course with a country club. Her brother, Eli and cousins, Joshua and Cali belonged to the country club. She hated the place ever since Eli asked her to come to one of the parties. These humans were horribly snooty and rather cruel. She did not feel comfortable enough to participate in the events. Eli eventually stopped asking her to come. Even now she saw the elder retired humans wandering over the false green hills following after a small white ball. She shook her head and continued to run.
The road jutted around an s- curve and climb up. She saw more mansions surrounded by large pine and oak trees. Most of the homes were empty due to the resident propensity to be off on some type of adventure. She rounded another corner when a ball bounced ahead of her. She stopped up short catching the ball just in time.
"That's my ball," a young girl called out.
Jalamia saw a small dark haired little human girl running towards her. She wore a pink jumper with a cartoon on the chest and pink and white shoes. Her hair was done in two dark brown pig tails which bobbed around her head.
She stood at the edge of the property looking from the girl to the ball. If she hadn't caught the ball it would have went into the street. Of course the child would have followed after it. They had irresponsible parents who gave their irresponsible teens dangerous fast cars. She glanced around her lips pressed into a thin line. Not a parent in sight.
"Thank you for catching it," the little girl stopped at the edge.
"Where's your parents?" she asked.
