A/N: Well, basically, this is the Brother Challenge developed by Lara D and limegreenwordmachine. So enjoy. Disclaimer… I do not own Mustardseed, I repeat, I do not own Mustardseed.
Mustardseed quietly fumed as he walked along the white beach, smelling the salty water of the Atlantic Ocean. The moon shown down on his face, making his blond hair look white. It was beautiful night, but it his sour mood made it seem ugly. Normally, he had a high tolerance level with his mother, but this time she had gone too far. She was trying to set him up with another faerie girl. On vacation. He was sick of meeting girl after girl and seeing their vain hope of becoming the next Queen. It sickened him that these girls wanted to marry not for love, but for power. It was Puck's lucky day when Oberon banished him. Not only did he get to get out of an arranged marriage, but he also found the love of his life. He thought as his toes squished through the sand. Maybe I'll find that someone too…
"Hello," said a girl's voice. Mustardseed whipped around looking for the speaker of the greeting. All he saw was an empty beach and waves gently crashing on the shore.
"I said hello. The least you could say is hello back," said the voice again in a teasing tone.
"Uh, hi?" he said uncertainly, scanning the beach once again for the girl.
"You've ever played 'I spy'? If you have, you must be horrible at it. Then again, being the heir to the throne of Faerie leaves little time to play childish games. I, on the other hand, have all day to play these sorts of games, and I got to say, I am a master at them."
"Wait… You know who I am?"
"Of course I know who you are! Who doesn't? You're the talk of the town, with your parents being King and Queen of Faerie. Well, your dad is dead, but you get what I mean. And your brother sure is popular too—with him falling for the Grimm girl. It's awfully romantic. You know him being alive for 4,000 years and finally finding THE girl."
"Wait, you know who my brother is too?!"
"Haven't we been over this already? Yes, I know who your brother is. I mean, seriously, you're all over the tabloids."
"What tabloids?! I was just at the gas station and I saw my face nowhere!"
"Of course you didn't. Those are the human tabloids. I'm talking about the Everafter tabloids."
"Everafter tabloids?"
"Wow, you're seriously out of the loop."
"Uh, thanks?"
"It might be easier to talk if we're face to face."
"Okay," Mustardseed said, looking up and down the beach another time. He saw no one. He sighed and looked out at the water. He was surprised to see a girl standing in the waves, covered by the water waist down. A big grin on her face, she pushed back her dark hair and then waved at him.
"Come on in! The water's fine!"
Mustardseed looked out the strange girl. "I don't even know who you are!"
The girl grinned another big grin. "My name is Giana."
"Well, Miss Giana, I'd advise you to come out of the water. Play time is over. We need to discuss more about this tabloid thing."
Her grin disappeared to be replaced by a sorrowful expression. "I can't."
"What do you mean you can't? Your limbs are in proper working condition, are they not?"
"Man, and people say you're the smart one." She turned her back to him and went under the water.
"Wait a second! You can't leave now!" He yelled after her. He kicked the sand in frustration, and started back toward the beach house. What a bad day. First his mother, and then a mental girl decided to tell him he's a celebrity. Great. He scrunched he's nose. Obviously the girl was an Everafter, her knowing about him and his family. I wonder why she couldn't come out of the water… Realization hit him, and he turned around as fast as he could and looked back out at the ocean. His eyes widened as he saw Giana break the surface and jump high into the air, a trail of water following behind her. She dived back into the water, barely making a splash. Mustardseed ran out into the waves, trying the push through the water as fast as he could. "Giana!"
"Yes?" she appeared right next to him, a smirk on her lips. "Is there something you would like to say?"
"You're a mermaid," he said.
"Yes, and you're a fairy. Now that we've got our species cleared up, would you still like to ask me some questions?" She put her hands behind her head and leaned back, her glimmering fish tail bobbing in the water. "Well?"
"Oh, yes," he said, clearing his throat. "Uh, where do you see these 'Everafter' tabloids?"
"In my village."
"Where's your village?"
"The moon."
"So be—wait a second. The moon?"
"I have to amuse myself somehow."
"So you find pleasure in my own discomfort?"
"It's immensely entertaining."
"That's very kind of you."
"My turn to ask a question! Where's your favorite place to be, in the whole world?"
"How is this relevant to the conversation?"
"It's not, I just want to know."
"Hmm…," he pondered. "I've got to say, I love living in New York City. I would have to say it's one of my favorite places."
"But is it your favorite place?" she looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"I think my favorite place really depends on who's there with me."
"Odd. One of my favorite places is a secret that I only share with myself. You would have to be very worthy if you want to know my favorite place."
"I am worthy?"
"I'm still deciding. I'm sure I can trust you, you being royalty and everything. And faeries can be quite blabby…"
"Thanks."
"Your welcome," she smiled again. "Time for me to go. Until we meet again, Mustardseed." And she disappeared under the surface, her tail flicking water at him.
He stood there, alone, in the middle of the water and watched the last ripple from her departure disappear. Out of all the girls he had met, she had been the one girl who didn't swoon over him or fall head over heels in love with him. He had actually had a normal conversation with a girl—not an awkward one that revolved around material things. It felt nice. And, for some strange reason, he felt the urge to swim after her. But instead, he turned and headed back to the beach, where he trudged back to the beach house in his sopping wet clothes. When he reached the porch steps, he paused for a second to look out at the ocean, and smiled.
A/N: Tell me what you think! I just came up with it off the top of my head… I saw the challenge and was like "MUSTARDSEED!" and felt the need to do it. I like all kinds of reviews—supportive ones, nice ones, random ones, fat ones, skinny ones, constructive criticism, etc. But if you don't like it and choose to review, please tell me why! Also, I'm not sure if I should add more chapters or not, so give me your opinion on that too! Peace and pickle grease!
