Chapter 2

Mei walked to her car and set some empty boxes in the old, ripped, backseat. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and got in the car, turned on the engine, and drove to her fathers, soon to be her, house.

She gathered the boxes into her arms and carried them to the house, packing the few things she wanted to take; books, flower seeds, and a few essays her father wrote before he retired his job as a professor. She took the boxes back to the car and tucked them under the backseat so they wouldn't roll around.

She walked back to the house and stepped lightly up to the attic, noticing the shuffling sound the soot sprites made. She smiled and remembered when she was a little girl and had been afraid of them.

Strutting to the hole in the wall she ran her finger along the edge. Pulling back her finger revealed a clump of black soot.

Cuties I bet… She thought to herself and lowered to a squat, looking straight into the blackness that was their home.

Interesting too. Her mind raced and she wondered what it was like where they lived. How they enjoyed the darkness. Was it musty? Wet? Cramped? Or, was there more to the hole than meets the eye?

She let her imagination wander until she thought she saw something move… She leaned in closer, her nose just in the crack and something tickled it. Mei thought she must have been crazy; her eyes searched the darkness like mad! She tried to get her head in the hole but couldn't get it in completely. Then, something marvelous happened. She sneezed and something felt caught in her nose, like a small sample of soot but… not really soot at all.

She felt herself moan unconsciously and shrink into a feeble position. Her body was rapidly getting smaller! She closed her eyes, only for a moment, and slept.

She awoke to blackness that engulfed the world around her and rubbed her tired eyes.

Trying to shake the reality away and go back to her deep, deep sleep. She gazed around her and saw nothing in any direction. A shrill cough sputtered from somewhere on her right…left…in front of her maybe?

She looked around, saw nothing and asked, "Whose there?" with as much strength as she could.

"Don't worry, I wont hurt you. Hey! Jim! Take a look at this!"

"Wow, that's a good one we'll take her to Zushami!"

"Wow, I never thought we'd see another human down here! Seeing as it's only you, me, and the prince of course!"

"Right, let's take her to the prince!"

"Wait," Mei pleaded, "Who are you, where am I?!"

"The sprite kingdom of course!" A hoarse voice answered.

"Sprite kingdom?" she paused. "Oh my."

"Right, to the king!" A younger, less gruff voice stated.

Suddenly, one hand was on each of her arms, and she was being pulled in some direction. She struggled to get free but was unsuccessful.

"Your majesty!" The hoarse voice said after what seemed like an hour.

"We have brought you a new one, a human at that, look at this!" Mei was hoisted onto a hard surface, and poked twice in the right shoulder.

"Well, she certainly is a find, please assist her to Nanny." The prince's hand was on her shoulder, his sturdy voice rang in her head. "She will help you adjust to the darkness, then you may come see me if you like, excuse me, I'm Prince Zushami, glad to make your acquaintance."

"Mei, it's nice to meet you, but I have a few questions-" She was cut off by the prince.

"Please, I will answer questions later, but I think it would be wise if you went to see Nanny before we discus anything further. Please take her there and make sure she's comfortable." Zushami kissed her hand and most likely bowed, but Mei couldn't see a thing.