A/N: Hi :) Thank you for checking out this story! I've worked on the idea for a really long time, and I'm really excited to share it, so I do really hope to hear what you think! The prologue here is mainly intended to explain the weird geography I invented and it also sets up the source of the main conflict. But starting from Chapter 1 it gets very different when the actual principal characters are introduced, so I hope you stick around! And please review!

Prologue

Delphine lived in the Forest, mostly by herself. She rarely saw other fairy folk. They tended to isolate themselves. Delphine didn't mind, she preferred to play with the animals. She had just learned how to turn herself into other creatures, and now she was working on turning one creature into another.

She had also learned how to turn herself human. At first she had been eager to visit the many kingdoms surrounding the Forest. There were several kingdoms in the three continents on each side of the Forest. To the south lay the Foretlands, to the north, beyond the mountain range, were the Inghetlands, to the west, on the other side of the lake were the Lochlands, and on the east was the ocean. Delphine had only ever visited three kingdoms in the Foretlands. Then she realized humans can be annoying, especially little girls, especially princesses.

She would never forget the temper tantrum the princess of Jardinia threw when she lost her fairy doll. Delphine had only borrowed it to see how accurately humans had proportioned that doll, but given the scene the little princess created, she decided the girl did not deserve to have it back. In Ligne she got spotted by another little girl, although this one was not a princess, who tried to catch her in a jar. And in Lavigne, she tried to drink from people's cups and tasted the most disgusting liquid imaginable.

So she mostly stayed away from the human kingdoms, though she did visit the rose gardens in the Jardinia from time to time. Roses were exquisite flowers and none grew in the Forest. She liked to collect rose petals and place them on her bed. The only trouble was that the fairy code did not allow her to pick flowers, but she had found a way around that. It turned out she could pluck all the flowers she wanted to if she was in human form. She would usually transform into a kindly old woman, but the queen did not like to have strangers in her garden, and she would always have the gardeners throw the trespasser out.

Delphine really disliked the queen, and once, when the queen's carriage was passing by the edge of the Forest, she transformed one of the horses into a bird. Or tried to. She only managed to give it feathers and turn its feet into bird claws. The creature looked truly horrific, and the coachman probably had to put it down. But she could never do anything to the queen directly because the fairy code also prevented her from ever using magic on a human unless it was at the request of another human. Not long after, the queen died, though Delphine had nothing to do with it. Now she thought she might visit the rose garden in peace, but now the princess threw her out every time she got caught.

So Delphine really didn't care much for humans until one day she met an Inghet prince. She had found herself in a spot of trouble. She had transformed into a rabbit and found herself caught in a hunter's trap and could not change back. She had not learned to transform without the full use of her limbs. The hunter, who was actually the prince, came to fetch the rabbit, but upon seeing her struggle so desperately, took pity on her and decided to set her free. To his utter shock, the rabbit then proceeded to transform into a fairy, and then into the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Delphine had managed to perfect the look that would make men want to do her favors.

But she didn't need any favors from this man, in fact, she owed him one for setting her free. She sat down and talked to him and listened to his story. He had journeyed across the mountains to visit his brother and seek his fortune in the Foretlands. He told her about the Inghet kingdoms, and the life there amidst the ice and snow half the year. Delphine resolved she should visit there some time.

But even after the prince rode off to Lavigne, they became friends. Sometimes he rode out into the Forest and Delphine would be eager to find out how he was faring in foreign lands. He had big plans. He had come to the Foretlands with the hopes of becoming king.