Percy had been careful. She had come to Elsewhere U for the music program, nothing more. The Fae had been a surprise. The other students had advised against using her Name, so she went by Percy. It fit well, Percy the pianist. She was glad she had brought the necklace her grandmother had given her, the little iron cross gave her hope. She even picked up the habit of carrying offerings and salt everywhere she went. Maybe the Fae would ignore her, she thought. She hated to think it, but maybe They would pick someone else. Maybe her protections would be enough.
They weren’t enough. The changes were slow. Her roommate, Zipline, didn’t show up for a week. No one acknowledged she was missing. Then, Art History stopped happening. She didn’t even realize it was gone, only sensed the shape of its absence. The world around her slowly bled out, replaced with a close facsimile. Then, just as They had hoped, Percy forgot her cross. She realized her mistake before she made the end of the hallway. She turned in panic, but the path back to her door lost all meaning in her mind. Still, she bolted. The hallway became fuzzy. Not losing focus, but the floor seemed to grow and sway as if a meadow brushed by a breeze. One foot came to a sudden stop, and the rest of her body followed with much less order. The world around her started to fade to black. The last thing she remembered was an impossible sky stretched above her.
