Kissing the Fae

Chapter 57

“So, you were an actor? Like you act mostly in what genre?” I asked.

No... I did not initiate. He opened up about it. And I noticed that Nikolas likes to talk. He is not a silent type of guy, he talks a lot. While I am willing to listen to whatever he has to say to me. It’s just ironic because he does not want me to invade his personal space — which I won’t even if he did not tell me, but he’s the one who makes his life like an open book. It was as if he can’t keep everything to himself.

I am not complaining. Seriously, no. I actually like his attitude because it is so rare to hear some stories about how human life works in the human realm. Also, it gives me new learning and it widened my perspective about it so nope, not complaining. It actually benefits me for it somehow fed my curiosity.

“I mostly act in... fantasy movies. I like it. The genre, the effects, and the storyline itself. I always wonder what if all those roles and movies I was part of coming to life? I had always wonder what would it feel like.”

I looked around the place. We are now far from the main city of the Acres Kingdom. There were small houses around, poverty is seen in this neighborhood unlike in the main palace, where richness is seen.

These people are at the very edge of our kingdom and sadly, they are barely seen. I helped, yes. But it wasn’t enough to feed everyone in this part of the kingdom. I have addressed this problem to the officials, to the La Roi and the La Reina, and they attended to it. It is not only my obligation to help them but also, theirs, too.

“Now your wonder has ended, right. Fairies are real and I hope you made a movie where fairies were part of it.”

“I did,” he answered shortly. “It was fun... But so unrealistic yet maybe, all my dreams about this place helped me act like I was inside the real world of magical creatures like fairies.”

We stopped. We just stood up from afar observing the busy street. It was desperately sad to see them being drowned in poverty. It just proved that not all magic world was built perfectly. It’s beautiful, but it has flaws. No, not the people living on it but the system.

Those people? They are the ones who need more voices to be heard. Someone might serve as their voice. I did... I willingly help them because they are the people of Acres Kingdom. But then, they were put here at the edge for nothing.

“What happened to them?”

“Those are the ones who disobeyed the rules. They were punished for a lot of reasons, valid and heavy ones that I even thought deserved to be put in a cage,” I said slowly, my voice has a hint of guilt.

I admit I thought that way before. My parents’ won’t just make an order without putting their minds on it. They were warned, they were given a lot of chances they chose to blow up, making it so hard for us to give them another one to reverse it, for them to do what’s right this time because they repeatedly broke our trust.

Something that is so hard to earn these days. Perhaps those officials and the La Roi and the La Reina got tired themselves that they have stopped showing them mercy for being so disobedient.

“They tried to escape to cross the bridge that separates our worlds. We are not allowed to do that. We are only supposed to live here and not mingled with people whom we do not share the same kind. That’s the top rule in our kingdom, to not live the way humans live, to not disturb their peace, and also, to remain to be unknown. But those people chose to forget the rules and just kept on practicing it and this... is their punishment.”

“Do you not find it harsh?” he asked, voice almost a whisper.

We were on the top looking down at those hopeless people. Their powers were taken from them. Not only being caged — not totally but they can’t leave their place because it was sealed — but also, taking their power away from them is a punishment, too.

I helped them... Giving them food, trying to make their surroundings look lively as opposite of them, to make their lives a bit easy through giving them enough supply of needs to survive.

“No...” I answered sincerely. “I mean, yes, I thought they deserved it, and still, I do. I pity them... My heart goes with them, Nikolas but rules are rules. If we let them escaped, I don’t know what would happen in your world. If we let them do whatever they want, others will follow until it will become out of hand to control.”

We do not want that to happen. Our world will be discovered by many, our people will possibly rule the human world, they’d take advantage of them because we have powers. We can easily manipulate and put everything in our grasps with no sweats.

“You don’t want to be controlled by us, right?”

“No one will want to be controlled, Rasha. Humans or not...”

“Then, that’s the reason why they have to stay here until the end. Because we don’t trust them anymore. If we release them, they might try to escape again, and if they succeed? They will rule your world. A lot of innocent people will be at stake.”

As much as possible, we tried to not interact with humans. But things just don’t go according to our plans just like this curse in which we were left with no choice but to deal with humans, just like my situation right now.

“If you were in my position, I know you’d say the same. That deserved it...”

We sat on the wooden chair just beneath the huge tree. The only thing I am thankful for in this situation is there are no kids involved. If they ever bear one, we take it away then give it to someone who'd be willing to adopt and take care of the child. Harsh, maybe... But that's the best solution we can ever come up with instead of letting it be with their parents who are still paying for their mistakes. The child should not be affected by what they did in the past.

"Is there a period of time when they can be released?"

I shook my head, chuckling without humor. They seemed okay, at least. They can still live up to it for years with everything we have provided them to keep them alive.

"I'm afraid to say that there's none... They will live there until their last breath. We cannot just release them that easily, Nikolas. We are afraid they might do something stupid again and this time, we might not control it."

Once everyone learned that there is another world, they might be curious and tried to escape. Everyone is craving for something new, a new experience, power, and the feeling of being superior. We are all greedy at some point. We are all willing to sell a part of us to have that experience and superiority. I am not belittling the human's capability but in reality? They are not comparable to us. They are nothing.

They do not have the power to fight us. What we are trying to prevent here is tyranny. We are trying to avoid that from happening.

"That's kind of not okay to me," he blurted out. "They looked ill, Rasha. Being there for years is tortured. Not being able to explore and just stuck there in nothingness... I won't make it. I'd rather be dead than just wait for death to come to me."

"Unfortunately, you are not them," I told him cheekily. "We are not supposed to let our emotions rule us. We follow the rules of our world, not our hearts. Leaders should not be soft and be lead by sympathy and all those emotions that would make us weak. Besides, we gave them chance, and again, they wasted it. This is their punishment. We are not letting them get away from our grasps."

If you keep showing them your vulnerable side, they might abuse it. And I have learned not to be too kind because it might be used against me, just like the counselors who kept attacking me for they thought I am weak and too easy to give up, resulting in them assuming I am not fit to lead. The La Roi and the La Reina have taught me to be strong both inside and out, because if you know your strengths and weaknesses? No one will use it against you.

"Well, if I were them, I won't do the same mistakes. I am not stupid risking my future just to feed my curiosity."

I am curious about the human world. I assumed it has a lot of things to offer... But just like him, I won't act stupidly to feed my craving soul. I clearly know

"Aren't you curious about how our world feels like in reality? You said you have been dreaming of us. I am sure it piqued you, wondering what would it be like to be here."

"I was curious, of course..." He chuckled without humor, still, eyes are fixed below us, looking down at those hopeless people. "But if witnessing this paradise means death to me, I won't bother to take a peak, Rasha. I won't... But I guess I am just really unlucky to be here."

Is he? Partly. And what does it mean to be in their world, then? If humans who were brought here died, what about a fairy who has no intention to harms them? If I'd be there, what would happen to me? No one has ever crossed back and forth from here to the other realm. So no one can really tell what would happen to us there.

Isn't it unfair if we live there? While humans died trying to live their lives in our world.

"Yet lucky, I guess? Because I get to live in a paradise that I thought, only existed in my dreams. I thought it was impossible and who would think that you guys actually exist? It was hard to believe that there is another world but even harder to think that extraordinary creatures like you existed."

I saw him glance at me. So I met his stares.

"How about you? How did you handle it knowing there is us? Knowing there is another world that is the total opposite of your home."

"It wasn't shocking..." I answered shortly. "Maybe because I didn't believe that there is only one world, so upon knowing that humans do exist, it just made me curious. Like it urged me to discover it more, to explore what would it be like to be outside of our kingdom, but then I am not going to take the risk."

Unless if I prove that I do not belong here. Then maybe, it would make me forget everything and just go and take risks because there is nothing to lose anymore. That is how going to work, right?

"But maybe, I will... I might change my mind so I could also feed it for I want to know what would happen if a fae invades your world..."

"It's chaos, Rasha. You won't like how it works. You won't be able to feel this kind of peace again."

If only he knew that it has been a long time since I am at ease. So it does not matter... I just want to see it myself.

My curiosity is killing me now. And I won’t question if it would he the reason of my death in the future.

I sighed deeply.