I always thought something was the matter with me. I have always been different but it wasn’t until now that I realized how much so.
Ten strange man stood before me, but they looked much like me in a strange way.
They had the same pointy ears and animalistic features like me.
Here where I lived, I was the odd one out. Now seeing them I knew I wasn’t the only one.
“You are coming with us” one of the ten man stated
“No ” I replied simply
By the look on their faces I knew they weren’t pleased with this answer
“You shall come with us, willingly or we’ll drag you there forcefully, you belong in Ylnarion with us”
“Ylnarion? What’s that? A disease?” I said jokingly
The way they looked at me, I knew they didn’t appreciate that joke. I make jokes when I am nervous or scared. It’s a bad defense system I made for myself
Two men stepped forward , grabbing onto my arms
“It shall be forceful then” one of them said while the other placed a bag over my head.
They dragged me along for a while, first I fought against it, kicking and screaming but eventually I got tired and gave up.
Somewhere in between I might have fallen asleep.
Because the next thing I know, I am in a room. Not my own obviously but it had its similarities.
The bed pushed to one corner, books piled around them, but there was something odd about it.
I grabbed one of the books and it was suddenly clear. They were in another language.
Panic started to rise within me, I knew I had to get out of here.
I tried the door but as expected,it was locked. I searched for a window but there was none there. Just a painting of one.
Was this supposed to be some sick joke?
A small click came from somewhere in the room, and behind a piece of wall, there was a face.
“Psst, come with me” he whispered
Hesitant I took a step back, backing myself against the windowless wall.
“Come on! Before they notice” he continued
“Alright , I ‘m coming” I said eventually.
What else was I supposed to do? Sit here and wait? I though
The crack in the wall was just big enough to slip through with a lot of wiggling.
Once inside, the wall was shut. It was completely dark.
“I can’t see” I whispered
He laughed, however he did nothing to help
“Where are we going? Can you turn on the light?any light?” I asked again.
“No. Your eyes will adjust in a second” he explained
“No they will not…” But before I could finish , my eyes started to adjust to the darkness. In fact it was as if I could see as it was daylight in here
“How the?” I whispered to myself
“Come on I will explain everything later” he said, grabbing hold of my hand and pulling me along in the long and winding corridor.
We took three left , one right and another left. Then we ended up in front of what looked like a door.
He pushed it aside and stepped out of the corridor first.
His arm extended back in, to help me up.
The door we just went through wasn’t really a door , it was a huge painted portrait of someone who looked a lot like me.
What the fuck
I stood there , staring for quite some time.
When I felt a nudge in the hips.
“Come on, lot’s to explain,” he said, grabbing hold of me once more and pulling me along.
Couple of faces started to peer through doors, just to see what was going on. The expression on their faces however was surprisingly happy.
We enter a throne room, Bulky braziers at the bottom of each of the six columns light up the higher levels of the throne hall and covered it in dancing shadows, giving it a warm radiance.
A crimson rug splits the entire room in half and matches the banners with crests that hangs upon the walls.
An elegant throne of oak sits in the middle, two smaller wooden seats stand beside it for those closest to whoever sits there.
Now it was only occupied by an old man.
“Finally” he said while getting up with huge delight
He came forward, walking up to me , arms outstretched preparing for a hug.
I slipped behind the guy who brought me here but he pushed me forward into the arms of the older man.
“Finally, you’re here ” he said over and over again
“I thought I lost you” he weeped
I struggled to get out of his hold, after a couple of tries, he let me go.
“I’m sorry, but who are you exactly? And why am I here? And where is here?” I ramble on
The man before me laughed “come sit , I’ll explain everything” he said, guiding me towards the back.
Not knowing where I should or could sit, I sat on the ground
“No no no, you’re sitting right here. ” he said, pulling me up with one swift motion and guiding me to the chair on the left side of the throne.
“Let’s begin with where we are. You are currently in Ylnarion , The land of the Fae. I am the rightful king of Ylnarion and you , my sweet girl, are my only heir to the throne” He explained while his eyes sparkled with pride.
“So you’re telling me, no scratch that you’re saying that I am a fairy princess? You must be kidding. I’m normalish but not that!” I said, throwing my hand in the air in disbelief.
“And you being my father? How? I would know If I was adopted” I continued
“You weren’t adopted, you were stolen from me! Because they knew if I didn’t have a rightful heir I couldn’t be king anymore. So they stole you. Took you away to that awful place. When I heard of your location I sent some men to find you but when they got there, you were already gone. They took you again so now I send Briar after you. ” He said angrily
“Who are they? And who is Briar? “
“So much questions and yet I was the only one who helped you” Briar stated sarcastically
“Point taken, but you would have loads of questions to if you were in my shoes” I stated agitated
“Briar, let the others know she has returned ” The king ordered
“Yes sire” he said and quickly before he bowed, he blew a kiss into my direction and then he left.
“Nelly, that is your given name. I don’t know what they called you but your mom and I named you Nelly” he said softly
I got up and walked away from the throne, I needed some space to breathe and think. This was too much information too fast and I had to get out of here.
I glanced quickly towards the door but there was no change in hell for me going out that way. Guards in shining armor blocked my path. Great…
So I turned towards my so called father, the king
“They didn’t called me anything in particular it changed anytime we moved” I said eventually
The king stood up again, again arms wide as if he was preparing to embrace me
“Where can I rest ? I am awfully tired after all this information” I announced to him, suddenly sounding very formal.
“The guard will take you to your room, no need to run. They are quicker than you. They are trained in this. You don’t even know your fae powers yet” he explained
I started to walk towards the few guards standing by the doorway but I had one final question for the king
“Who are they ? The ones who took me?”
A fire blazed in his eyes, I recognized it as pure hate.
“Your Uncle and his wife, they decided that they were the ones who should be on the throne to rule Ylnarion. They had an heir they could show off after they misplaced you somewhere else. But now it is our time and they need to GO ” he hissed and dismissed me at the same time.
The room they led me in was fit for a princess. It was bright, pink and the bed was full of pillows.
I hated it.
I walked towards the window and looked out to the lands of Ylarion, everything looked fine but then I looked closer. The colors were brighter and it seemed that we lived in permanent Autumn. I figured that out because when they dragged me away from home, it was mid winter.
The trees lost its leaves swiftly and fully but it never ended up empty. It seemed that when a leaf fell to the ground another simply grew back in its place just to fall again once more.
I drew the curtains close, just to draw some darkness in this doomed pink bedroom. If he wanted me to stay here. He really needed to change the color.
With nothing else to do but wait, I let myself fall upon the bed.
Quickly I drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Upon waking again, two faerie girls stand in front of me, holding a tray with different beverages upon it.
“Would you like something to drink? ” one of them asked nervously
“Yeah sure ” I replied, still half asleep, my head still resting onto one of the thousand pillows.
They placed the tray beside me on the bed and poured me a decent cup of coffee.
“We are here to get you ready ” the other one replied before walking off into what seemed to be a bathroom.
When she came walking back into the bedroom, the sound of water running filled the room and the steam quickly followed.
“I drew you a bath, normally we would help you but we thought you would like some privacy” with that they curtsied and closed the door behind them.
strange but kind, I thought
I stepped into the Luke-warm bath, my toes curled as they touched the surface. Slowly I let myself in, relaxing as my body goes deeper into the water. My mind swirls , closing my eyes and letting my head submerge. Silence meets me there while the heat comforts my body.
I remained there for a while until my lungs screamed for air.
A soft knock on the door pulls my mind back to the now.
“Miss, are you ready?” One of the girls asked
“Yeaah, I’m coming” I replied defeated.
They dress me in a Crimson gown, made from the finest material I never knew existed. It was soft yet firm and I wondered if it would shred if someone drew a knife in it.
As final touch they came with a crown, embedded with crimson rubies. Placed it swiftly upon my black hair which was now tied in a single tight braid.
“Do you want to see yourself?” They asked joyfully.
They guided me towards the mirror standing next to the main door and closed my eyes with their hands before I could see myself in it.
“Are you ready?” One of them asked
Before I could reply they withdrew their hands.
The person in front of me isn’t me, yet I feel like it could be me if I tried.
I was beautiful , completely different yet still the same.
I looked stronger, fiercer, ready to take on whatever was waiting for me.
The guards that stood in front of my door, gaped at me. Before quickly composing himself and leading the way towards the throne room.
The oak throne was still there yet the two other small chairs that had been there before ,had been removed and replaced by a second oak throne.
My throne.
I stood up straight and started to walk towards the king, one foot in front of the other I made my way to the end.
“Daughter” he said smiling at me
I curtsied in front of him waiting for a reply.
He simply stretched out his hand and I took it gracefully. He guided me and then we sat together in union. Awaiting what was to come.
“How am I supposed to know, what you want from me” I whispered towards the king
“You’re doing just fine, just be yourself” he whispered back
I faced the door once more, Feariefolk started to fill the room.
Lot’s of chattering , so much it was hard to make out what they were saying.
Suddenly everyone stopped, and not because the king spoke but because two unlikely people came walking in.
One of the faerie girls who helped me earlier, quickly whispered information into my ear.
They were supposedly my uncle and aunt.
The man looked old, much older than his wife.
Wrinkles upon his face, barely no hair left upon his head and an angry expression set in his eyes. His wife looked younger, however the bags under her eyes told everything they needed. She gave me a once-over and her smile faded, completely disappeared from her face.
“What is the meaning of this” he ordered
A vein in his neck popped out.
“This is unspoken for! You just can’t pick a random girl and say that she is your heir” he continued
The king didn’t move an inch “She isn’t a random girl! You know damn well where I got her! You stole her from me and now she is finally home! ” he brawled back
“How are you so sure it’s her?” The fae woman said.
The crowd started to murmur again. Agreeing with the now seated king and queen.
“Test me” I said to no one in particular .
Everyone’s heads turned to me.
“And how are we supposed to do that?” He questioned.
“Well you see uncle. Test me for my power, you must know what it is” I said disgracefully towards him.
What am I doing? Why am I talking…? I don’t even know what they are I thought
He took a step back, surprised by my tone and the hatred I showed for a man I didn’t even know.
“Very well, if it is the same as him. You are his daughter” he said pointing to the king next to me.
“Very well, let her try the five gifts ” the King ordered into the room.
Everyone parted ways , creating a massive stage for me.
“The first one is the gift of tongues. Try to speak any language you can” The king said
I thought hard upon a language I might know.
“I cannot” I said truthfully
The crowd started to laugh, not for me but about me. They probably thought I was a stupid little girl.
“Next is the gift of shapeshifting” the wife said bitterly
Not knowing what was expected of shape shifting I concentrated with all my might into becoming larger then I already was but nothing happened”
“I cannot do this” I replied eventually.
The laughter in the crowd started to grow and the chattering started to increase.
“Next up is flight , the third gift that the royal line can do” the man who was my uncle stated
“Fly?” I questioned them, however when no one replied ,
I knew I just had to give up on this one, because first and foremost I did not have any wings to fly with.
“I cannot fly,” I stated.
“The second to last one, glamour one of the people here in the crowd” the king ordered with hope in his eyes.
He pointed towards a random civilian , who came forward. Still with a smile on his face.
It made me so angry , he had the nerves to stand before me smiling like he does.
Something inside me just snapped.
” Stop smiling” I said angry
Immediately his smile disappeared from his face. Fear struck in his eyes. His hands flew up to his face, but there was no mouth onn the right place anymore. It was blank. Gone.
The king started to laugh,”are you happy now? She glamoured his smile away. Is this not proof enough that she is mine?”
The crowd had replaced their laughter with cheering.
“Guards, throw those two in the dungeon” I said pointing my finger towards my uncle and his wife.
They were however hesitant before the king added, “listen to your future queen”
Suddenly they all sprung into action, grabbing hold of them and dragging them by their arms, into the deep dark tunnel that led to a dark and rotten cell.
Briar came in front of me, smiling like an idiot.
“I knew it was you” he stated happily
He bowed down to one knee
” Milady”
“Stand up you idiot” I replied giving him my hand to help him up
“You can let go now”
“Not until you make it up to me”
“Make it up to you for what? “
“Saving your ass in the tower”
The End