Fairies of Desire

The whispers began as soon as I entered the throne room. "Is that her?" "Look how pale she is!" "Her wings look awful!" I had grown used to these comments. These comments had been made since the beginning of my life. Being born on a full moon during its highest peak had caused me to have pale mesh wings, white hair, and a pale skin tone. So, naturally, I was the prime target of bullying. Meanwhile, my parents, the rulers of the Sun Clan, had long, beautiful, brown hair and large monarch butterfly wings. I was the stain of the family, as my sister, Helena, called me. Or more officially, The Moon-Cursed Fairy. Speaking of which, my elder sister and heir to the Sun Clan Fairy Throne, smiled in my direction. It wasn't one that was happy for me. It was more of a smile of satisfaction at seeing me get pointed at and sneered at. I kept my eyes down. My wings folded and pointed down. My dress was a long-sleeved pink dress. Its ruffled skirt made a slight noise as I walked. The dress was beautiful but... It wasn't my type. Since I was always the prime example of disappointment and ghostly appearances, I often wore long-sleeved dresses with long skirts to hide as much skin as I could. When I was alone in my room, I wore small, tight dresses. I found them much more comfortable and freeing. I walked in silence down towards the throne. I was the last of the royals to enter. Everyone gawked, pointed, and mocked me, even with my pale skin hidden away. My father, King Roland, stood at his throne and gazed upon those who had flown into the large opening in the oak tree we lived in. Almost everyone from the Sun Clan was here. "Let the Spring Equinox Ball begin!" He declared. Music began to play, and fairies began to find partners. I excused myself and slipped to a back corner of the throne room. I slipped out a book from the folds of my dress and sat down in a chair. It was going to be a long ball, and I knew no one would want me as their partner. I was just here because my father demanded it. Before reading, I looked at the ball before me. Beautiful, fairy women dancing in their open-backed dresses. Some floated in the air with their partners, their wings flapping lightly. The fairy men, their beards and hair combed back and well. Their tailored suits and their wings proudly showing off their war scars, holes in their wings, and missing fingers. I had long given up the idea that one of these handsome fairy men would approach and look at me the same way. "Well, well, well… looks like everyone here has a partner except for you." Helena's crude voice appeared. She had her hand fan open and was waving it under her chin. She wore a long, red, flowy dress that split at her thigh. Her waist-length brown hair was down and loose. She also wore an emerald necklace that apparently had been passed down to each heir of the Sun Clan. She wore it every day with great pride. The necklace matched her cruel green eyes, which were now fixed upon me. "As usual." She painfully reminded me. Behind her, her friends, Lola and Zega, snickered and laughed. "Who would want to dance with someone who looks like a poltergeist?" Zega said. "Look at her wings! You can see the veins in them if you look close enough. It's so gross." Lola said. "Is there something I can help you with?" I asked Ina bored and I bothered tone. These insults and reminders were an everyday thing for me. Especially from these three. "Campbell and I are getting engaged tonight. Keep your eyes down, stay away from him, and stay out of sight." Helena announced. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, congrats." Helena smiled. "Thank you." "For convincing a buff woman to marry you.” I finished and then looked back at my book. Helena huffed and slapped her fan closed. She then placed the tip of her fan in the middle of my book, forcing me to look up. "I mean it. Keep your eyes off of him." She growled. I rolled my eyes. Not in a million years would I be interested in Campbell. Nor would he in me. However, Helena was always suspicious of someone trying to steal what was hers. "Don’t worry, Helena," Zega spoke up. "Campbell wouldn't approach this yucky moth if she were the last fairy in Sun Clan." "Besides, you're the heir! You can give him what he wants!" Lola chimed in. Helena opened her fan again and began waving it. "All of this is true," She said slowly. She looked back at me but said nothing. She then looked at my book. "What on earth on you even reading?" She asked. I covered some of the pages with my pale arms, blocking the majority of the words. "Just a romance story." "Hah! Of course you are! It's the closest thing to a love life you'll ever get." Helena said, laughing at me. Lola and Zega chimed in as usual. "Who would ever want to marry Silver?" "She's a freak! If I were a fairy man, I wouldn't even hold hands with her!" I felt a little hurt but not much. I was numb to all of this. "Will you just go away? I'm not even doing anything but reading." I spoke. Helena huffed and turned away. "Fine, we will. But seriously, my sister, you must find ways to attract a mate. No one in Sun Clan will willingly marry you." "That's fine by me. All the fairy men are trash anyway." I said and then turned back to reading. "Her best option would be marrying a rogue fairy!" Zega commented and then laughed. Lola laughed with her. I clenched my hand and then relaxed. The possibility of me finding love with the way I look was slim to none. "Oh, Silver, you're so tense. Here, have a drink to loosen you up." Helena said. She turned so suddenly that I didn't realize what she had in her hand or what she was doing. By the time I did it was too late. Dandelion wine spilled all over me and my pink dress. Droplets of the golden wine flickered on the pages of my book. I scooted back and waved my arms, flinging off the golden wine. I looked up at her angrily, and half soaking wet. Helena stood directly behind me, holding a tall champagne glass. Residue of golden dandelion wine dripped down the side of the glass and onto her fingers. Satisfaction filled Helena’s eyes. Behind her, Zega and Lola laughed loudly and pointed at me. I gritted my teeth in anger but said nothing. What was the use? My words would have gone unheard. If I were to make a scene here and now about what my sister did, Helena would somehow turn it against me. And her stupid friends, of course, would play along and help her as well. Helena placed the champagne glass down on my table and finally walked away from me. Lola and Zega followed her, giggling and laughing. They often look over their shoulder and look back at me. I stood up from my chair and looked down at myself. My pink dress was pretty much ruined. The golden liquid had clearly stained the top of my chest piece of my dress. While a good amount had landed on my head and drizzled down my back, I also knew some of it had gone forward. Specks of it were on the ruffled skirt of my dress, and more so now that the wine was dripping from the ends of my short white hair. I gripped my hands into fists and held them as tightly as I could. Helena was my family and sister, but I hated her. She tormented me since the day I was born. She always found a way to humiliate and hurt me. And it was all because I was the Moon-Cursed princess. I slowly closed my book and picked it up. I fluttered away from my table and kept close to the throne room wall. There was a small door that led to the bedchambers of the royal family. I quickly went through this door and followed the tunnels that led to my bedroom. As I took off my dress, I frowned. This beautiful dress was done for. I went into my closet and pulled out one of my short, tight dresses. The dress went as far as my thighs and was strapless. It was pink, a similar shade to the one I wore. I knew I would be anxious and self-conscious wearing this, but it would have to do. After arriving back in the throne room, I immediately felt a wave of anxiety hit. I decided to go back to my book and hide for the rest of the ball. "Princess Silver?" I didn't recognize the voice, but it was fine and sounded sincere and friendly. I turned around. Where I floated was a long-haired blonde woman nearby me. She wore a silver and black iron woven crown upon her head. Her hair was so long, it was braided into two large locks and fell to the middle of her legs. Her wings were a moth's lunar wings, fitting and matching her silver, flowy ball gown. "Princess Silver, I have not seen you since you were a baby. My, have you grown." She said, smiling. I looked at her, confused, but gave her a small smile. "I apologize, ma'am, but, um, who are you?" "It's alright. I'm Queen Blossom. I am Queen of Bone Clan." "Queen of Bone Clan?" I repeated a loud. Normally, balls were for the clan itself. My father had never invited neighboring clans for ceremonies and balls before. The Bone Clan was our neighboring fairy clan of the northwest. They lived in the thick forest region of the world and were considered to be the stealthiest of all clans due to their ability to camouflage themselves. They were also the clan that the Great Light Fairy lived in during the Great Fairy War. My father and the king of the Bone Clan fought together in the war, and even fought against Void, a powerful fairy who lived decades ago. Since then, the Bone Clan and Sun Clan had been close. "I'm surprised your parents didn't tell you that we were coming." She said, "No worries. I'm sure they got busy and forgot to tell you." Yeah, sure...... I thought. My parents could be attending a funeral and would have never been told of it. "My son had business to attend to back home before our travels. He's a day’s flight away, unfortunately, and couldn't make it in time for the Spring Equinox Ball." Queen Blossom stated. She then eyed my dress and hair. "You look beautiful tonight, Princess Silver.... But by Void, isn’t that dress a little short for a Princess?" "Oh, um…" I stammered with a reply. I wasn't used to being called Princess. I wasn't used to being addressed by my royal title. My mother, my father, or my best friend ever addressed me as Princess. It almost felt embarrassing and uncomfortable to hear. Another reason I stammered was that I felt self-conscious again about my choice of change. No one really saw me in these types of dresses. Some may think it wasn't elegant or defining as a princess. My sister, Helena, had really put me in a tough spot when she poured the dandelion wine on me. However, I knew I couldn't blame her. It would look bad even if it were true. I was talking to the Born Clan Queen after all. Most importantly, I could get in trouble. "I'm afraid my fingers slipped on my champagne glass, and I spilled it on my dress. I had to change my dress." I said to her with the brightest smile I could muster. "SILVER!" So much for staying out of trouble. Queen Blossom turned, and I followed her gaze. My father and my mother stood side by side. My mother held a hand to her mouth, and my father held a sour look on his face. A look he always had just for me. For I was the bane of his existence "SILVER, JUST WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!?"