Prologue
The parents looked hopefully at the old nurse.
"She's fine." the midwife said eventually.
A baby girl gurgled happily on her lap.
"Do you think she will grow up alright?" the mother asked anxiously.
The nurse gave the baby a beaded bracelet. The baby looked at it with wide eyes for a minute, and started to play with it, laughing.
"Perhaps this is a good time to find out." the nurse said. "A sort of experiment."
"I don't know if I like the sound of that." the father said.
"You can't let her grow up as she would normally be." the nurse continued. "The council will have her destroyed."
The mother picked up her baby in her arms, and cradled her.
"Can't we just remove her tail?" she asked, stroking her daughter's fine brown tail.
"No. That could make things worse."
"Then it's settled." the mother said. "We'll raise her as a Gaian. She will know nothing of them."
The father nodded.
"Thank you nurse." he said. "Let's take our new daughter home."
"But your Majesties," the nurse interjected. "You must have a name for her?"
The queen looked at the King and nodded.
"Yes," the Queen replied. "Our daughter will be named Ayaleia."
The baby laughed.
When they had left, the nurse stared at the Gaia screen she had cast of the child. There was a lot of green in there, but at the far end in the corner was a touch of red…