Fairy Born

Chapter 8

Maille looked behind her at the door. It was ominous as if there were secrets sealed away here that were meant to be sealed away. The door was heavy and hard to open but with using all her strength, Maille got the door to open enough for her to fit through. The room was dark and dust covered everything. Maille made a note to bring a broom and some cleaning rags to get rid of the dirt when she came up there next. She moved over to the table that stood in the middle of the room and looked over its contents. There were maps with routes drawn all over them, there were books that were written in as journals and some books that showed spells. 

“I need to go through all of this.” Maille sighed. It would take days to clean the room and she was not good at waiting for things to happen. She sifted through some papers that were left scattered on the table and sorted them into stacks, maps, stars, moons, and journal pages. It was hours before she left the room, dirty and tired. She made her way to her bedroom to bathe. 

“Ivy?” Maille called out, walking down her hallway. Ivy was needed to help her dress and she wanted to request her help before she got in the bath. 

“Yes, milady?”

“I need to bathe, will you get a nice dark blue dress to wear for me?”

“Of course.” Ivy moved aside and disappeared down the hallway. Where was she going? Maille found her bath full of hot water and new soaps were set on a table beside it. These bottles were blue and they smelled like lilies. 

Maille soaked in the water until her muscles relaxed. 

“Princess?”

“Yes?”

“Your father requests your presence ma’am.”

“Thank you” Maille got out and dried off quickly, hoping to get to her father sooner rather than later. The dress was a simple one and she put it on by herself with minor difficulties before descending the stairs to find her father in the throne room. 

“Father? You wanted to see me?”

“Yes. Come sit beside me. You have suitors.”

“Suitors? I do not get to choose?”

“Of course you do, but these men bring you gifts and request your time. You must meet with them and decide whether any of them are worth your time.” Maille went and sat in the smaller throne beside her father and waited as a man was brought before her. He had wings that were large and resembled dragonfly wings. He wore green clothing and he had his hair shaggy and it touched his shoulders. 

“Your Grace, I bring to you a rare flower. I have grown this from seeds of magical origin. This flower is used in potions used to heal and its scent is so rare that people from far and wide have traveled hundreds of miles to sample the smell.” He produced a pot that held a purple flower. It looked like a flower she had never seen before. 

“Thank you. I really appreciate the gift. The flower is very beautiful.” Maille rose and collected the flower from the man. “Please, call me Maille, at least for now, what may I call you?”

“I am Sir Donegal. I too was once a human. I lived in Scotland.”

“Thank you, Sir Donegal. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Next suitor,” Morphael said, cutting in. A man walked in, he wore black robes and his hair was dark deep black, it almost looked like it was painted. He wore it long but had it tied back. His wings were black and jagged. He was a shadow fairy. 

“Hello, your Grace. My name is Krad. I am a shadow fairy and I bring you this.” He reached into his pocket and brought out a necklace. The chain was gold, so bright it shone. The pendant was a red stone, it looked like it was dripping off the chain. 

“It is very pretty.” Maille’s voice was soft, she was so in awe of the stone. 

“What does it do shadow fairy?” The king asked. 

“Do? Who said it did anything?” Krad's eyebrows rose. 

“What does it do? Give it to me.”

“Very well, your highness.” Krad approached and handed the gift over to the king who examined it. 

“There is no magic in this.” It was a statement, not a question. The necklace was not enchanted by anything. 

“No, your highness. I mine in the caverns. I happened upon this jewel and made a necklace for the princess.” Krad bowed toward Maille who nodded her head in acknowledgment. 

“I would like to speak to you later,” Maille said as she approached the fairy. She held out her hand and he took it dutifully and kissed the back of her hand. His lips were soft and warm. 

“As you wish.” He snapped his heels together and turned and left. Maille stood, breathlessly watching him exit. 

“Are you certain Maille? Shadow fairies are notorious for-”

“I am part shadow fairy, or did you forget that father?”

“I am sorry. I did not mean to offend.”

“It is fine Father. We all have to overcome our thoughts about other fairies”

“Next suitor.” The king announced. He handed the necklace to Maille when she returned to her seat. She slid the gem in a pocket of her dress, not wanting to wear it just yet. A man with no wings entered. He had brown hair that brushed along the floor. He walked with his back ramrod straight and when he approached the thrones he fell into a flawless bow and went down on one knee. 

“I do not have an expensive gift as the other suitors undoubtedly had, but what I offer is security. I can and will protect you.”

“Expensive gifts do not sway me.”

“I ask that you at least give me a chance.”

“I believe I shall.” She said, surprising both males. 

“Thank you, Princess.” He said and bowed again before leaving. 

“Are you still thinking of Krad?”

“Yes, Father. I wish to get to know him.”

“Very well. That was the last suitor, for now, go find your Krad, but understand that if any harm befalls you, his life will be forfeit.” Maille shook her head at her Father’s protective nature.

“Yes, Father.” She half ran across the room to the heavy oak doors that were opened by the two guards who stood in front of them. There was no one in the hallway so she ran down the hallway towards the entrance to the courtyard, surely someone must know him or know of his whereabouts. The door to the courtyard was open and when she stepped out into the sun she saw Krad, he was sitting alone in the center of the courtyard with his arm reaching for the sky. 

“Krad?” He spun around and smiled at her, he seemed surprised. 

“Your grace.” He bowed low to her. 

“What are you doing? Is it shadow magick?” He stood up and looked at her before even blinking and answered.

“It is not. I was simply summoning my familiar.”

“Familiar?”

“Yes, he is just a baby right now but he will grow up. Fully grown he will be this tall, big enough to carry me.” He motioned with his hand at his shoulder height. 

“What is he?”

“A dragon. A small variety, but a dragon nonetheless.”

“Dragons exist?!”

“Says the fairy.”

“Oh, yeah, right.” Maille blushed. She remembered the necklace and pulled it out and handed it to Krad. “Will you please put it on?”

“Of course.” he walked around to stand behind her and clasped the necklace into place. It was oddly warm on her skin. 

“Were you always a fairy?”

“Yes. I was never human, though I have seen enough of humans to know about them.” 

“Did you know my mother?” He paused before answering.

“I was not intimate with her but yes, I did know her. Shadow fairies are not the best friends to keep around. Strange in such a dark place that the very shadows are avoided but that's the way it is. It did not use to be this way. We were ruled by a long line of shadow fairies.”

“Do you do dark magick?”

“That depends on what you consider dark.”

“Do you kill anyone?”

“Redcaps kill humans and soak their hats in the human’s blood. Killing is not the worst that you can do here.”

“What is the worst thing you have ever done?”

“I would rather not answer that.” He said and dug in the dirt with the toe of his boot. 

“Oh, I apologize, that was too bold of me.”

“It is fine.” He flashed her a smile and she blushed. His teeth were white and they were perfectly straight,

“Your grace?” Maille turned and saw a guard beckoning her over. 

“Yes?”

“Your brother is here.” The guard said, he seemed to spit the word brother out. He must hate the Seelie faeries. Maille curtsied to Krad and left with the guard and followed him back to the throne room. Her father was in his throne looking down on her brother.