What's it like for a normal child to grow up in the fairy world? Better yet, what do the fairies DO all day besides dropping fairy dust and granting wishes that always seem to backfire? Based on the first story I wrote for Blue's background – 'Don't Forget To Remember Me'. One-shot for now, others may follow in separate submissions. Sequel to 'Remember' coming soon.
Fairies' Glen – approximately 7 years before the original curse
"Azure! You must stay still or I'll never get this sized properly!" The Blue Fairy muttered in frustration as she attempted to fit the coat onto her seven-year-old daughter's tiny frame. "It's still much too big on you. Here, step back up."
"I want to go play!" Azure squirmed in the mass of dark blue fabric, but stepped on the box again. "Hurry up, Mama!"
"Close your eyes and hold still." Blue picked up her wand and aimed it. "One…two…three!" A small blast of fairy dust flew from the wand and onto the coat, which immediately grew smaller. "There. That's perfect and you look lovely."
"Can I have pink instead?" Azure gave her mother a teasing smile. "Please?"
"You're feeling pink-ish today then?" Blue pecked a kiss onto her forehead with a loving smile. "All right."
"Pink, Mama!" Azure squealed as the fairy dust once against shot from the wand and turned the coat into a shade of pink fit for a princess. Looking down, she hopped off the box and gleefully threw herself into Blue's arms. "I love it!"
"I'm glad. Go play outside. Stay nearby, though, we'll be going on our visit soon." Blue watched as her daughter skipped out of the cottage. Picking up the box, she slid it back into a cupboard and went to pack the rest of Azure's things.
Glancing around at her daughter's possessions all around the cottage, Blue couldn't help but think how horrified Esme would be at what had happened to the Glen since she'd died. The fairy world had always been kept secret from everyone on the outside, and Blue hadn't changed that. The enchantment over the Glen had stayed in place and novice fairies were required to stay 'fairy-sized', as Azure always called it, both in and out of the Glen. And even though she was petite for a child, Azure was not and could never be 'fairy-sized'. Blue had been given permission to remain human-sized when caring for her daughter as an infant and toddler, as had several other fairies, but after Esme's death, Blue had released the restrictions on all non-novice fairies…in the Glen, at least. All non-novices lived in human form as they wished in the Glen. The novices still lived in their flowers, and more than once, Azure had been scolded for trying to open the blossoms and play with the novices. The enchantment over the Glen was checked and strengthened several times a day, and no one had ever breached it.
In the outside world, Blue took human size with a rare few people and usually only when Azure was with her. She'd done her best to ensure that her child grew up with as normal a life as possible, and so far, Azure didn't seem to notice that she was different than other children, aside from the fact that she could ask to have the color of her clothes changed with a second's notice. It wasn't an isolated existence and Azure was happy. The other fairies doted on her and spoiled her. They were safe. More than that, Azure had been safe.
Blue tucked Azure's little dresses into a bag. She'd been given word that King George would soon be traveling through the kingdom where the Glen was hidden, Leopold's kingdom, and even with the enchantments, keeping Azure here wasn't an option during those times – although she knew the enchantments would always work on the fairies, she couldn't be absolutely sure that they'd always work on a child who was only half-fairy and non-magical. She'd already asked Aurora - Queen Aurora, whose young daughter, Princess Aurora, was a few years older than Azure – to supply refuge for her daughter until the danger had passed. Queen Aurora had sent a carriage with driver and footman to bring them safely to her kingdom, which was waiting for them in the small village nearby. Blue would simply use magic to bring herself home in mere seconds, unlike the journey by carriage, which would take at least two days.
For now, Azure saw these visits as a fun diversion from everyday life in the Glen, although she didn't like being separated from her mother for very long. Blue didn't like the separations any more than her daughter did, but knew they were necessary.
"Beyla?" A soft knock on the door alerted her. "May I come in?"
"Of course, Carys." Blue folded a piece of fabric over the bag after she placed the last dress in it. "I was just putting a few things together for Azure to take to Aurora's."
"Don't forget the unicorn." Carys nodded to a blue unicorn on Azure's cot.
Blue smiled sheepishly. "She would have cried for days if I'd forgotten Cricket. Thank you." She nestled the unicorn on top of the clothes in the bag. "Last time I forgot him, I tried to magic one for her, but she knew the difference. How do children know?"
"I have no idea how their little minds work sometimes." Carys replied. "I've never been one." She sat down on Blue's bed. "The novices are all back and accounted for, Seren's checking in with the dwarves to inventory today's fairy dust collection, and Nova is on night duty for any evening wishes. Are you ready to take Azure to Aurora's?"
"She's packed." Blue answered, furtively, not looking at her friend. "I'll take her shortly."
"I didn't ask if she was packed, I asked if you were ready." Carys reached over and grabbed onto Blue's arm. "You can't keep doing this, Beyla."
"I'm sorry to put extra responsibility on your shoulders, Carys." Blue nodded, curtly.
"That's not what I mean and you know it." Carys rolled her eyes, as only a fairy could. "You know I don't care about that."
"I can't take a chance on her safety, Carys." Blue turned to her oldest friend, settling on the bed next to her. "This is the only way I know how to do that."
"Maybe if you told us –" Carys barely started the sentence before Blue interrupted her.
"You already know the answer. I don't know why you persist."
"Because I keep hoping you'll slip up and give me a different answer." Carys grinned at her. "You know we'd do anything for you. For Azure."
"I know, my friend." Blue smiled her gratitude. "I know you would. And I appreciate that. But I won't put anyone else in danger."
"Same song. You're sounding like one of those little tunes that Azure sings over and over again."
"They can drive you mad after the fifteenth time, can't they? Blame Snow White for teaching them to her." Blue reached over and squeezed Carys' hand. "Do you think she's going to hate me when she's older for sending her away so many times?"
"I think you run the risk of losing her trust if you don't tell her why you're sending her away." Carys said, bluntly, and Blue flinched. "I'm simply being honest. As much as I love her…as much as we all love her…she is not one of us and there is nothing we can do about that. One day, you will have to let her go into the world. Will you send her into the world without the knowledge that she needs?"
"She's only seven!" Blue protested. "I don't have to worry about that for many years."
They heard the front door to the cottage fling open. Light footsteps came into the room and Azure's grinning face appeared. "I'm ready to go! Everyone's busy and Nova can't play with me." She glanced at her cot. "Where's Cricket?"
Blue opened the bag and held it out for inspection. Satisfied, Azure took the bag and clutched it to her chest. Carys stood up, kneeling over to give Azure a quick hug. "We'll see you when you return from your adventure, little one, all right?"
"Bye, Carys!" Azure waved as she left. She looked back at her mother. "We're going now?"
"Yes, my dear girl." Blue pulled her close. "You are going to have so much fun with Princess Aurora. Perhaps she'll allow you to play the flute that you loved so much last time."
"You're staying with me this time, right?" Azure asked, her voice unsure. "We're both staying, aren't we?"
Blue's heart sank. "No, darling. I'll come to get you in a few days. This will be a visit just for you."
"I don't want to go." Azure's blue eyes filled with tears. "Not by myself again, Mama."
"You won't be by yourself, sweet girl." Blue fought her own tears. "You'll have Cricket and Aurora to play with. And when you come home, we'll have a tea party. Would you like that?" Resorting to bribery to placate her daughter wouldn't help, she knew, but hearing Azure cry put her at a loss. "Be a brave girl for Mama, all right?"
"I'm tired of being a brave girl somewhere else!" Azure stomped her pint-sized feet, her lower lip quivering, her eyes flashing angrily. "I am brave, Mama! I want to be brave here!"
"I know you do, baby." Blue reached for Azure's bag and held her daughter's hand firmly. "And one day, you will. But for now, it's time to go visit Aurora."
Azure crossed her arms over her chest and set her chin in the air defiantly, but ceased her argument and her chatter. She followed her mother outside silently and Blue fought the bubbling anger in her throat, anger at herself for putting her daughter at risk, for needing to be separated from her, for everything.
As they walked to the edge of the Glen, where the protection spell ended, a chill crossed the air, but it wasn't from the weather. Something had broken in Azure, their bond of trust had begun to crack, and Blue felt it as surely as if she'd caused it.
Which, if she ever allowed herself to admit it, she had.