"Always so funny. My father. The king."
"Ah. The king. Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't."
"That's a huge help. Thanks." I crossed my arms and pushed up to my feet, then started to stomp off again. Even my escape plan hated me. I shouldn't have bothered getting out of bed today. Besides, no one ever believed the fairies, why should I?
“No. Don’t go.” She flew in front of my face and pressed on my nose with her small hands. I stopped, finally seeing her tiny body close up. Her wavy rose gold hair blew in the draft from her beating wings, her silvery skin glowing in the dim light and illuminating the faint lines of fairy symbols painted or tattooed on her shoulders and down her arms. I held out my palm and she took the gesture, resting on top of the gauze still twined around my hand.
"You're hurt? That just won't do." She dug her bare foot under the first layer of gauze and attempted to pull it up and peek underneath.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Just tell me what's coming. What does it have to do with me and my family?"
"Patience, prince. You'd learn much from looking beyond yourself. Nature is a web of connections. We rely on each other." The fairy bent over and planted her hands on the gauze. A blue glow came from grip as her petite face squished together. Pain jolted down my arm as a deep burning raged in my palm. Invisible flames ripped through my skin, devouring it, consuming.
"Ow!" I snatched my hand away. "What did you do to me?"
The fairy tumbled through the air and crashed into a pile of dead leaves.
She huffed and regained her stance, flying back up into my eye line. "I think the words are 'thank you'. We don't just heal anyone, you know."
I unwrapped the gauze but the huge gash from the glass was gone, except for a few crumbles of dried blood still left from yesterday. I flexed my hand. No pain. Nothing.
"You're welcome," the fairy said, peeling a leaf from her hair and tossing it behind her. "Now can we move on. You have much work to do."
"Me? I don't think you get it. It's my father that’s the problem. Not me. He's the one who needs to get better."
"But you need to defeat the coming darkness. The darkness is what's affecting your father. It poisons the blood, brings out the evil."
"So you're saying he's been poisoned?"
She shook her head, a glittery cloud puffing into the air around her. "The darkness is many things. Many bad things. But things are changing. Moving. We can feel it. The forest feels it. And you need to save us. Why do you think you came here?"
"Ha.” I stomped my foot and pointed at the ground. “I came here to get away from everyone else's judgments, not to find more. And I'm not exactly the hero type. Why do you think I would be the one to save you?"
"Because that's what the forest is telling us. They know the stories. The ancient ones. The ones others don't dare to tell. There is a plan for you, even if you don't know it, even if you don't want it. You have potential, Prince of Many Faces."
Potential. A dirty word. I definitely didn't see it.
"Besides,” her wings slowed and she hovered ethereally in the air, her tiny eyes welling until she blinked and pushed the tears down. The weight of a thousand stares bore down on my shoulders as the rest of the fairies edged in toward us.
The silver fairy narrowed her stare toward the onlookers than flitted near my ear as her squeaky voice dropped low. "You might be our last hope."
4
23rd May
I looked in the mirror and tilted the crooked crown straight again. The thick gold frame and ring of sapphires weighed nearly as much as a brick. It strained my neck and constantly slid off to the side. How did my father ever wear these things? So uncomfortable. Even the golden rings in my eyes seemed tarnished next to the large hunk of gold on my head.
I slid a few jeweled rings on my fingers. The large rubies looked massive next to my simple signet ring, but Griswold insisted that I needed to be in full dress. Not just a prince, but not quite a king. Something in between that I didn’t know how to be.
"You look great, darling."
Mom slid into my room, her beautiful raw silk gown in deep shades of midnight blue and gold swept across the floor, the skirts swishing around making her look the regal queen even without the sash across her shoulder emboldened with our family's royal crest. The lion in the center stood for bravery, but I didn't feel I lived up to the legacy, especially not now. My aching stomach seemed to agree.
"As do you. The kind and gracious queen." I leaned down and kissed her cheek, her skin dry and tired as the brightness in her eyes snuffed to an exhausted glaze. My throat closed and I struggled to swallow the words of pity she didn't want to hear. The toll of caring for a monster slowly painting its horror across her face.
“How’s Dad doing?”
The sash sagged as her shoulders fell, the heavy sigh collapsing her posture. “It’s getting worse. Sometimes he doesn’t even know who I am anymore. The doctors have taken to sedating him most of the time, but if we don’t find a solution soon...” Her eyes welled, but she turned away before wiping the tears and flicking them to the floor. “Let’s just stay positive okay. Are you ready for your big debut?"
I
