Pegasuses and Civilization
2033 Words
Evol stepped out of her dressing room to see Erac picking up her clothes after her and neatly folding them into a basket.
She, Evol, was a messy individual since she was a kid. Her mother had finally learned the hard way that Evol cleaning up after herself was a disaster.
"Thanks, Erac. " Well, the least she could do was appreciate the people that prevented her room from looking like a category two hurricane blew through it.
"You're welcome." Erac looked up to see that she was already all dressed up. "Oh, thank goodness you are already dressed. I suspect the royals would have begun to arrive by now. You should hurry, welcoming them in your mother's stead would be a great help to her. "
Evol walked to the vanity her mother insisted she had in her room to check herself. She looked presentable, she concluded.
Or at least, she would once she brushed her wayward locks. Thankfully, it had dried off for the most part on the way back.
She quickly took care of the mundane task and checked herself in the mirror once more, satisfied.
"Sorry, I have to run off. See you tonight?" Evol asked as she turned towards her room door.
Erac nodded putting Evol's footwear away. "I'll go back to the Clinic for a while."
"Got anything weird you are testing out today?"
"No. I need to be completely sane this week." Evol replied with a shrug
Erac raised her brow at her best friend half amused, half worried. Her friend had a habit of testing out fruits, nuts, berries and herbs on herself to test out their effects on both humans and faeries. For example, she discovered that the glaxim seeds, which her mother recognized as coffee beans, could keep humans awake against their will but would enhance a fae's powers momentarily. Down side was that it would leave the user feeling drained once it wore off.
Her research was for medicinal purposes of course. but it still always got Evol worried.
Erac rolled her eyes at her friend correctly guessing what was on her mind. "I'm being careful, okay? Magic is not everything at times. This is also necessary. Now hurry along, you don't want to be late."
Evol knew her best friend was just trying to change the subject but she let her... for now. With a quick wave, she exited her room and headed to the building that functioned as the administrative.
The sound of a distressed neighing, and a hubbub of voices coming from the stables, stopped her on her way. She listened and the sound of the animal came again, this time, a bit louder.
With a mental apology to her waiting mother, she changed course and double back towards the royal stable.
"What's going on here? " She asked as soon as she walked into the building. She saw a crowd of frustrated stable-hands gathered around a whining Pegasus.
The Stallion was big and black and really majestic from its snorting nose to its stomping hoofs which if they were anything to go by, the Pegasus was distressed and possibly close to flying off the handle.
"Princess Evol, " The voice of the head of stable staffs and the oldest, Jeanette greeted and waved her over. Jeanette was the first citizen of Faelme to first domesticate a Pegasus. Even more remarkable was that she achieved it in her mid 20s, two years after she joined the magical world.
Considering the fact that Pegasuses were extremely wild creatures and highly independent, it was and still is considered a great feat. And since then she had gone on to create a stable for the royal family consisting of three other Pegasuses besides her own and had broken in another three which she sold to the royal fairy family. She had spent most of her life training other folks who wanted to, how to follow after her footsteps.
"A new addition? " Evol asked approaching the woman.
"I wish." The elderly woman shook her head while wiping her brow that shone with perspiration. "It's belongs to one of the air royals. It isn't one of the ones I sold to them and is obviously one of the wildest I've ever seen. Makes me question how it was ridden here to begin with."
Evol's eyes strayed to the restless beast watching its tensed and toned muscle. It really was a magnificent beast. It reminded her of her own special Pegasus.
"You know, he reminds me of Shore. You think you can work your magic on him too? " Jeanette sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "At this point, I'm out of options. And it wouldn't do to turn out our guest's pet out into the wild."
Evol nodded at her suggestion and gestured for the stablehands to move away from the beast.
Evol walked slowly towards the animal, trying not to spook him. She kept her hands, palms opened facing upwards so he could see that she was harmless and no threat to him. The animal watched her cautiously, muscles tense but no more stomping. She waited a bit at an arm's length from him her hands stretched to his snorting nostrils.
He watched her warily from the side of his eyes for a few seconds before bringing his face closer to her outstretched hands. Evol felt a tiny smile tug at her lips. Since she was born, she had always had a way with animals. This one was no different.
She dared to inch closer to him and gently stroked his flanks. In a few minutes she felt the muscles relax beneath her fingers and he finally let her lead him to an empty stall for the night.
"Oh thank goodness." Jeanette whispered in her ears as she stepped out of the stall. "So, I guess you are the only friend he wants here."
Evol smilled. "I'll come check on him before dinner. I have to hurry along now or mother would send out a search party after me. "
And with that, she took off in a run towards her initial destination.
******
Curtis stepped out of the palace gates and was immediately engulfed by the outside chatter that had been blocked out by the tall palace walls.
He, unlike his siblings, had wanted to tour the Elfin kingdom. To his siblings, the land kingdom seemed too overwhelming... too extravagant. And he understood them.
Too much, too soon.
But he had been born into this part of Faelme at the time when Faelme was still united ...and he did miss it sometimes.
He loved the feeling of nostalgia just walking down the street like this, gave him.
Faelme had always been a beautiful empire, developing alongside the rest of the world ,maybe even a little bit faster because Faeries had magic at their disposal.
The humans brought wonderful ideas with them along with news of the latest human inventions and the Faery technicians recreated them in better versions.
The Merfolk scoured the ocean every few months to scavenge wrecked human ships and bring in their trophies. Thanks to that, a whole lot of human plants had been planted and raised in Faelme soil.
The Elves worked on Faexore, the most important Faelme metal which could only be bent under the influence of Elvin magic.
The fairies did a lot of the physical work like hunting, mining and farming, since their huge build made for excellent manpower and they had a way with plants.
Together, they had built the beauty that was the Elfin Palace, part brick and part Faexore. And had made the Kingdom the thriving empire it was now. Faelme had been peaceful with humans and Fae cohabiting peacefully .
Till humans betrayed their trust.
That week was the darkest week Faelme had ever seen. And it had stung.
Curtis' sandaled feet made a dull thud as he turned around a corner off the street and into the Elfin market.
The whole place was abuzz just like it used to be. He recollected running around his mother's skirts on this same cobbled ground.
Then, he wasn't royalty, merely the son of the best Archer in the Fae Army. He father was in the royal cabinet though.
Queen Layla had been the queen even at that time and was close friends with his mother.
Since the elves were the driving force behind Faelme's revolutionary progress and also because of their peaceful and loving nature, it made perfect sense that their kind should lead Faelme into future glories. The cabinet was created to assist in that goal with two representatives from each specie.
Curtis gazed around him at the excitement the market place always held. He wished everything had stayed the same, but it hadn't.
Gerald, one of the humans in the cabinet had betrayed Faelme to the invaders for the promise of wealth and power. When he was caught sneaking off to meet up with them, after being reported by his mermaid wife, he confessed and revealed the terrorists' hideout.
There had been lives lost among the Faes that night as the terrorists counterattacked with guns, one of the few human inventions that Faes had refused to reproduce.
The bandits escaped through the land portal leading to that portal being sealed off permanently, cutting off the Elves access to the outside world and Humans to Faelme.
After, the dark times, the cabinet held an emergency meeting to decide the fate of Gerald and consequently, the fate of the humans.
The Cabinet was divided with the Elfin representatives requesting that not all humans were corrupt and power-hungry while the others demanded that the human should be banished from Faelme forever.
That decision dragged on for days and eventually, Queen Layla had, much to the Fairies and Merfolk chagrin, refused to banish the humans.
The decision had caused the final division of the cabinet, then the species and consequently, the division of Faelme.
He remembered it just like it was the day before, how his father had stomped into their home seething. He remembered the meetings his father held at their yard afterwards. He remembered his parents' hushed discussions at night. He remembered when the amalgation finally happened.
Families were separated, friendships were torn apart. The Merfolk retreated under water and the fairies returned to the trees. All in a bid to avoid putting their lives and loved ones at risk.
Thankfully, he was a pure blood so he didn't lose his immediate family even though he lost some friends.
The fairies had reverted back to the primitive Fairy living in order to survive.
Living exposed to the harsh rainforest weather conditions and having to feed on fruits and legumes only, after being used to the luxury that was human civilization was difficult but they had adapted to that way of living after almost a decade had passed.
Now, Curtis could hardly remember life before then. Now, he could do without the wonder that was wind powered electricity and the human plumbing system. Now, he couldn't even imagine himself going back to that way of life.
Taking all these into consideration, he really couldn't decide for sure if the gathering and the purpose behind it was a good idea or that it would even work at all.
Even if it did, it would be a huge change. A very slow and possibly catastrophic change especially for his generation and younger. Like he thought earlier....
Too much, too soon.
There would be happy reunions sure, but there would be sad ones too. There will be willing participants but also protesters.
He wasn't stupid, he knew he would also be used as a chess pawn in this game. It was the price he would have to pay for bearing the title of a prince.
He had recently turned twenty-three and he knew his parents were hoping to set him up with the Elfin or Mer princess to speed things along, sort of. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.
Curtis sighed and doubled back making his way back to the palace. It would soon be time for the dreaded welcoming dinner party.
- Writer
