How Long Has it Been?

How long? How long has it been since I saw the light? I feel so cold. I feel so empty. What have I done? He tried to stop me….he tried…I saw him. The man I loved. He protected

me, he…he fought against the dark. What will happen now? What will I do without him?

****

Dimitri was sitting outside on a park bench, like he always did on Saturday mornings. Thoughts were rushing through his head about his finished case. The park was always the place where he could clear his head and get back onto level terms with the world. Dimitri, Alexander to his closest friends, was a thinker and an analyst. This would explain why he obtained the job that he had. He had a curiosity for the unimaginable, the new, and the broken. He spent most of his time running from case site to case site in hopes of finding a clue, evidence to see who the murder was. That was right, Alexander was a homicide detective. Gloomy, but someone had to do it. He felt that it made him stronger and that was never a bad thing.

Sighing, he looked up into the sky and noticed clouds not too far off in the distance. "Looks like rain is coming.." he commented to himself as he glanced back at the couples wandering around in the park. He felt his eyes narrow. Was he jealous? Perhaps. Alexander had always wanted to fall in love but it had never happened for him. Maybe it was his job, but he had never found that perfect woman for him. Closing his eyes a face passed before his memories. Quickly opening his eyes again he forced the face from his mind and concentrated on the grass. 

He hated not having much to do. It made him feel idle. Oh how he hated being idle. Maybe he would go grab some lunch. It was getting on in the day. He paused to look down at his shirt as a butterfly decided to land. He wore a summer suit, a sign he had just gotten off a case, and his hat was sitting beside him on the park bench. At the age of twenty one, he was in the prime of his life and he was enjoying it. He had finished college last year and had a degree in criminal justice. He was level headed and a bit romantic. But he tried not to fault it too much. His life on Earth was not dull, it was lively to say the least, but he always longed for something more. It had been ages since myth and fantasy had descended upon the planet. His mother would tell stories about fairies who came to save the world. Heh, How he used to love those stories.

Alexander took a breath before looking up once more. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A sudden and unfamiliar movement. That was something that stuck with him regardless of where he was. It was a trait from the criminal field, notice the new and never forget the old. This form was new and yet familiar. It was a woman. The way she walked, the air she had about it was one that he knew. He found himself standing up and staring for a moment. Shaking his head he placed a hand to his forehead and smirked. What was he doing? A woman had found herself walking toward him, long chocolate hair fluttered behind her as she headed his way. A familiar face greeted him as she grew closer. Those deep blue eyes captivated him. His eyes caught a glimmer of gold as the chain around her neck glinted bright in the sun. Glimmer, that was what she preferred to be called and he would have to agree he liked it more than Alice, her first name.

Reaching back he grabbed his hat and started toward the woman. How long had it been since he had seen her? "Ms. Glimmer is that you? I didn't think I would find you out here."He made his was over to the young woman with a smile on his face. As he reached her he tipped his hat and stood relaxed. "I must admit, since I moved here I have seen more and more of you. What I am getting at is..Seeing you outside your practice studio. Speaking of which, how is your violin solo coming coming?" he questioned with that same gaze he gave when he would question witnesses. He never did it on purpose; it was like second nature to him. Day in and day out he had to read faces and if he was not careful he could lose a case.

"What brings you out here today? Beautiful weather is it not?" Looking up for a moment he watched the sun fight back against the oncoming clouds. "But I do fear that rain might be in our horizon." He looked back at her and smiled. Dimitri Alexander had known Glimmer for a few years now, knowing her mostly from afar due to his college education. But he was fond of their friendship. In the past two years he had moved to the town due to a job transfer. He did not fight the move, knowing Glimmer would be in the town. But that was something he would keep to himself. Since he had met her he had been drawn to the light she gave off and found himself almost addicted to the sound of her laugh. Perhaps, he thought, this was because for once in his life he didn’t have to question her or observe her as a corpse. Ironically most of the women in his life were of the cold and recently deceased variety.

Glimmer offered a short and sweet wave as she placed a hand on the pale sheer fabric which hung off her hip and covered her shorts. “Dimitri, I’m so happy to see you again. I was wondering if work had finally done you in.” She laughed slightly, her slight British accent lingering on her ‘a’s. I was just out trying to find some inspiration. But so far all I have found has been some old putrid lake.” As she spoke the last few details her nose wrinkled up ever so slightly in distaste. Glimmer was a rather uptight woman with a dislike in things not perfectly contained. But that didn’t bother Dimitri, he often found it to be an interesting challenge trying to keep up with the dramatic diva. “What brings you to the park?” she asked.

Dimitri shook his head and smiled. The same as she always had been. Glimmer never changed and that was what I found valuable in their friendship. He could depend on her just as her customers depended on her for their art. He straightens himself up and pulled back his jacket sleeve slightly to peer at his watch. 12:45. sliding the tailored cloth back down he returned his gaze back to Glimmer.

" I just off work. This one was a piece of work. I never thought it was going to end." He reached up and loosened his tie and smiled. Looking around for a moment he couldnt help but smirk. "To be honest, I felt this was a pretty large city when I first arrived but I am slowly being proven wrong." 

Suddenly his phone began to ring. His brow furrowed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the thick silver flip phone. "Would you excuse me for a moment my dear?" He flipped the phone open and pressed it to the side of his face. "Homicide Dectective Dimitri Alexander." His voice suddenly became serious as his expression matched it. He glanced down at his watch again before subconsciously nodding his head. "Yes. Understood sir. Yes. I understand. I will get on it." Closing the phone he slipped it back into his pocket.

"Seems I never get a break." he laughed as he removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair. "My partner is on the scene now...east end of jefferson. Perhaps I could see you later?” He paused for a moment and looked Glimmer over. No. He couldnt. He couldnt bring her with him. But what if she was a witness? Who was to say she wasnt? Dimitri shook his head and returned his hat. Perhaps it would be best not to bring her.

*****

Dimitri sighed as he feverishly checked his watch for the third time. 
"Need to be somewhere Alexander?" His partner comment with a snide tone as he took another photograph of the dead woman's body. Suicide, at least that was what it was being called but Dimitri did not think so. Something was not right. They way her body was laying was not a match for a self provoked jump. 
"Dinner plans but things have been taken care of." Dimitri stated as he knelt down and looked over the young woman. "She was pushed..." 
"Are you mad? She clearly jumped. Suicide Alexander, plain and simple. The lady musta been fed up with her man or something. Nothing abnormal about this type of thing." Dimitri's partner, John Taylor was from northern New York and not easily amused, in fact he was very dry in humor. 
"Look at her John, the way she is facing, she well backwards. Don't most willing folks jump forwards? Unless we have a coward, this one was pushed." Reaching down he picked up a set of broken pearls. He stood up and watched as the ambulance take the body away. He looked up and saw bits of clothing hanging from the banister. "She must have taken quite a fall..." 
"Hey Roy, where did this vixen call home?" John asked the survey leader. An older fellow in his mid fifties with an eye for those postmortem.
"Eh, got me. I thought she lived on thirty-six but when I questioned those who saw her fall, said she was on da seventy-third. Don't know what she got up der but it must not have ended well." Roy shrugged as he began removing the caution tape. Dimitri sighed and messed with the case notes. 
"I saw a woman." A voice came from no where. Dimitri turned around to see a young face, a face he knew. She stood a foot shorter than he, she was a tiny thing, and was about seventeen years of age with vibrant green hair. "She stood up there." She pointed up at the seventy-third floor. "They were fighting about something. I heard her scream. When I crossed the screen I saw her there. Dead. When I looked up, the other girl was there, staring at her. But then she was gone." The witness rubbed the side of her arm slightly. "I couldnt see her face, it was too dark. But she pushed her...I am sure of it. No person just walks away like that. No person with a soul." She finished as she looked up at Dimitri.
"What is your name?" He asked her as he flipped open his note book. 
"Aria Fiore."

****

It had been a month since that night at the crime scene. How so many things can change in that time. He had been getting along in the case and things were not looking grim. Two other women were murdered and there were little leads into finding out who the killer was. A few suspects but nothing concrete. The killer was out, on the loose, and Dimitri often feared for Glimmer's safety and for such reasons he tried to drive her to where ever she needed to go. He had seen her very little but had been telephoning to make sure she was safe. Many would think of him as a big brother but deep down Dimitri was very fond of Glimmer and he would be beside himself if she ever got hurt.

He stood by his car in the police parking lot and lit a cigarette, a new found habit. Inhaling the smoke before exhaling again. The puff of grey smoke lifted into the air. July had been a month full of suspense and horror for him. Seeing all those bodies, the bodies in the water. The murderer had taken to killing her victims in the rain or drowning them before pushing them out of windows. He had been nicknamed the Black Lake Killer since one of his victims had been found in a pool of bloodied rain water. Just thinking of it made Dimitri sick. Taking another drag of his cigarette he closed his eyes. Another thing that made this killer different was the fact that there was always a mark of death, a kiss, to be ironic. The killer would kiss one particular body part of each of her victims before pushing them out of buildings. It was as if she was killing these women out of jealousy, since it kiss was always placed upon the body’s most flawless area.

"You know, I really hate this fuck. This Black Lake guy. Have you seen the body? Fucking case just gnaws away at your guts. This town... Every prom queen from every fucking hick town in America turns up here for one reason or another. Where do they end up? Gutted on the fucking sidewalk. Disgusting if you ask me." John came up beside Dimitri and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Still worried about her?"

"I'd rather not say..." Dimitri muttered through the cigarette before removing it from his mouth. "She is safe. I've made sure of it." John nodded and removed his hand from Dimitri's shoulder. 

"Ya know Alexander, I'll miss you when you have to transfer out to LA. This hell of a city will not be the same."

"The case has not been closed yet John...I still have time." Dimitri's eyes were locked forward as he dropped the burning end of his cigarette onto the pavement. Crushing it under his heel, he decided he needed to get going. "Let me know if we get any leads." With that he opened the car door and slipped inside. Glancing back he noticed John shaking his head in amusement. John was the only one that knew about Glimmer and Dimitri wanted to keep it that way. No one else needed to know. He had requested that Glimmer stay with him in his apartment until things with the killer were settled. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt.

****

Dimitri sat on his couch, a hand covering his face as he tried to calm down. It had been such a long day and he longed for the images in his head to stop. He hadn’t seen Glimmer in weeks. Every time he got home she was already asleep. As strange as it was, he missed seeing her. At times he even began to wonder if she was still in his apartment after all. She seemed to never make a sound. Sighing he stood up. He needed to make the flashbacks stop.

Dimitri fumbled into the bathroom and flicked on the light. Searching through the medicine cabinet he finally found the small container of red pills. Flipped the top off he tossed a couple pills and downed them without water. Returning the cap it replaced the pills in the cabinet. Sighing to himself he splashed some water on his face and stood there for a moment. "Maybe Aria knows something about Glimmer’s isolation.." He placed a hand on his head and tried to calm down. "Why I do find myself concerned for her? Why do I care so much for Glimmer?" With an irritated groan he flicked the light off and walked from his room. The pills would take effect shortly and he would be back to normal. The flashbacks had only started a few weeks ago but they were getting more and more intense as the case drew out. 

He walked back into the living room and stopped seeing Glimmer’s silhouette staring out the window. She had her hair down and was dressed in her silk nightgown. From the look of it she had just gotten up and taken a shower. Was she still dripping wet?  Dimitri sat down before speaking."I must apologize for what you saw...you see." He paused as he thought. "This case is getting serious. The killer is spreading out. Just because we know her MO doesnt mean we are on her trail. There are hundreds of hotels, apartments, and high rise buildings in this city...she could be choosing any one of them for her next target." He looked over at Glimmer now. "I suppose I let it get to me." He refused to tell her that she was in any danger. Resting his head against the back of the couch he closed his eyes. "I worry about you Alice..." he said softly, as if he was talking to himself. 

Slowly the images began to fade as the cool summer air filled the apartment. "I want you to be safe...you know that. So if this case gets worse..I want you to stay here where I can keep an eye on you. Is that alright with you?" He kept his eyes closed now. His brown hair falling onto his face softly. His chest rose a fell with each breath, two buttons undone and his tie hanging on the door to his room. "You know...I'll miss this place when I leave." His eyes opened now as he stared up at the ceiling. Slowly he looked over at her as he noticed her not speaking. “Is everything ok Glimmer? You look like you have seen a ghost.” He sat up slowly before noticing something was dripping from her hands. “Glimmer?” Dimitri tilted his head slightly as he tried to see her better in the dark room.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was raspy and deeper as she lifted one of her hands and looked at it for a moment. A smile crossed her lips, her bright white teeth catching the light of the moon. Slowly she reached out her palm and placed it on the window leaving a dark imprint. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced back at Dimitri. “All that work…and what did it get me?” She laughed softly as she steadied herself.

“What in the-“ Dimitri stood abruptly as he noticed the imprint on the window was leaving a trail. “Is…that blood? Glimmer are you bleeding?”

“Why did I do it? I gave them everything. But what did I get from it? They were the ones who got all the credit. Alfea…school of the fairies…more like school of the phonies. Without me where would any of them be? Heh, starting now it is my turn….and no one is going to out shine me now.” Her voice was softer as she spoke. She whipped around suddenly as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Reeling back she got arms-length away from him.

Dimitri felt his stomach drop when he noticed Glimmer was dripping with blood but it was not her’s, no, she had no cuts on her form. “W-Where have you been?” He reached for his gun but he was shocked to find it was not there.

“Now now Dimitri…did you really think I’d live the gun out? I moved that naughty little toy when you were in the bathroom.” She smirked as she brushed the wet hair from her face, leaving streaks of crimson in it. “I have no issue with you my dear…but those earth fairies…they had it coming to them!” She screamed as her eyes glinted emerald green. What had happened?

“G-Glimmer…now, just calm down and tell me what happened..” He glanced over at where she he moved the gun. Maybe if he was quick enough he could grab it. Looking back at her he broke into a run but tumbled forward when he watched his gun start levitating in thin air.

“Now what did I tell you?” Glimmer wagged her finger as the gun flew over to her. She looked it over for a moment before thrusting it out the window, causing it to shatter as she did so. “Now that that is out of the way…we can talk.” She laughed softly once more as she looked around at the broken glass that littered the ground. “Perhaps I should just show you.” With that a rush of dark energy filled the room and waves of dark green and black smoke encircled Glimmer’s body. When the air cleared she stood before him a different woman with new clothes. Dimitri’s jaw dropped. Where those wings?

“I should have told you sooner that I was a fairy…but I never felt ready but now, now, I feel more alive than I ever have. How did this all start you ask? Well a few months ago, just before meeting you again, I had gone back to the Magic Dimension, which is where I call home, to become an enchantix fairy. I stood by my team, my friends, and helped them find their way, I did everything for them! I helped each and every one of those miserable fairies earn their enchantix but they turned their backs on me. Why? Because Tempist Fairies are never in danger, they never need saving. In a world where time can be altered…there is no such thing as danger. So how was I to earn my power? I asked them for help…I asked them all….but they left me in the cold. That was when I followed a few of them back to Earth.” She clenched her fingers as her featured were downcast. Stepping forward, her dark sandals became more visible. Her black skirt fluttered as a gust of wind blew into the room through the broken window.

“Glim-“

“It was then that I decided that if I couldn’t have enchantix then none of my team could.” She laughed psychotically as she watched her hands glow green with energy. “I broke into the first girl’s room…I begged for her to help me…but she refused…saying she had no time. That she was sorry. That she was sorry! I couldn’t help myself…”She began to trail off as she looked down at her hands. “I didn’t mean to push her hard…I just meant to frighten her..honestly…” Her voice started to break now. “Next thing I knew she was on the ground outside. It was such a mess, but the rain water started to wash it away. When I looked down I saw that I had finally done it. I had achieved enchantix, or rather, my disenchantix. I couldn’t stop myself after that. Everyone was going to pay for what they did to me….everyone is going to pay. Now Dimitri, I’d stay here if I was you…I’d hate to have to kill you to.” She frowned slightly before walking over and kneeing down beside her friend. “Such a pretty face…”With that she kissed his cheek softly before standing again. “I never meant to hurt anyone…but I can’t stop now. No matter what I do, I just cant stop.” She sighed and lifted her hand and ripped it through the air, causing a tear to open into the Magic Dimension. She was going to Alfea.

Dimitri watched her walk through into a world more colorful than he could have ever imagined. In the distance he could see what appeared to be a school building. That must be the Afea school she mentioned. There would have to be hundreds of innocent students in those halls who would be helpless against the threat that was coming. Gathering his courage, Dimitri retrieved another gun from behind his row of case logs and forced himself into the portal after the woman he fought so hard to protect.