Chapter Six: Deeper Knowledge
(edited version)
With Darrin out of her sight, Tania went down the stairs and proceeded to head to the kitchen. She passed servants on the way, and many gave her glowing looks that plainly said: Oh, there's a fairy! A real, live fairy! I can't believe it!
She rudely ignored them all and walked in stiff, hurried steps. For some reason, dismissing Darrin left her in a foul mood. She sighed angrily. No, she was not angry at Darrin, but rather at herself. Why? Truthfully, she couldn't place her finger on why. Strange, really.
"Good morning," she mumbled as she entered the kitchen.
"Good morning, Mistress," Kylee greeted with a very polite tone as she gave Tania a respectful curtsy.
Tania's stomach jolted, but her fears vanished the moment best friend straightened, with a huge comical grin on her tanned face.
Kylee chuckled. "Personally, I don't see what all the fuss is about," she said amusedly. "You are the same Tania."
Tania's mood lifted. Her lips curved into a tiny smile. "I'm glad someone's head is in the right place. I'm so sick of the way everyone's behaving towards me."
"Yes, it must be horrible the way everyone's treating you like a princess," Kylee said with a serious face.
"I didn't mean it like that."
Kylee burst out laughing. "I was jesting, Tania! Lighten up. Why are you so…" She studied her friend's face. "…serious? What's bothering you"
Tania sighed heavily. "Is…uh…Darrin still here?"
Kylee's face darkened. "He just bade me goodbye a couple of minutes ago. Why did you dismiss him, Tania? I found him quite nice to be with. Not that I'm interested in him or anything," she said, shrugging, "but he was very amiable."
"It's complicated," Tania said wearily. "I…I don't need him."
"I'm going to have to disagree. Remember last night? You were killed. Someone actually wanted to murder you."
"But I'm still here."
Kylee sighed wearily. "That's not the point. Even though you're fairy, you can still die." She paused, then said curiously, "Any idea on who killed you?"
Tania shook her head. "He was masked. They both were. Even their hair was covered. All I know is that their voices were deep, so they were men. Anyway, there is no more reason to worry, Kylee. They thought that I was a witch, which means I'm safe. They think I'm dead right now."
"But that doesn't mean you're out of danger!" Kylee protested. "What if they see you again? They'll figure out that you're a fairy since there are no other people in this world who are immortal."
Tania sighed. "Kylee," she said gently, "I really appreciate your concern, but I beg you to stop worrying about me."
Kylee sighed, a bit angrily because of her friend's stubbornness. "Fine," she said stiffly.
Tania sighed. "I'm sorry."
Kylee shrugged. "Don't worry about it."
"Need any help?"
"Well…since you offered, sure. More hands, less work." Kylee said, cheering up a bit.
"I'll wash while you dry," Tania said. "I like washing better."
Kylee shrugged, then grinned. "Whatever you say, fairy person," she joked.
"Any enemies?"
"Not that I know of."
"So…no enemies?"
Tania glared. "I said, 'Not that I know of,' all right? Stop repeating your questions!"
The short, stocky guard winced and stepped back a little. "Eh...sorry. Anyway…uh…don't worry about this, Lady Tania. My men and I will have those two attackers arrested in no time at all. So…what did they look like?"
Tania swallowed a cry of frustration. "For the umpteenth time," she said shakily as she tried to control her anger, "I could not see what they looked like. They were both masked."
"Oh. Right. I-I forgot that you already said that," the pathetic guard said sheepishly. "Well…uh…me and my men better leave and work on this case. Don't worry, Lady. We will capture those two in no time. Don't worry."
Tania's face was fixed into a glower as she watched all four guards walk away.
She scowled. Those two, whoever they are, will never be captured.
Tania entered her manor's big library. It was one of her favourite places. One reason was because of the hundreds (maybe even thousands) of books it contained. Another reason was because of its tranquility. The glass windows always let large shafts of sunlight pour in, making the room comfortable and inviting.
She was alone.
She was alone, and she couldn't help thinking that it would have been better if Darrin was there.
Snap out of it, you fool! Tania yelled to herself. You dismissed him because you wanted to gain independence. Learn how to be by yourself!
She closed the door behind her and headed for the very recent encyclopedias. Having spent a lot of time there, she knew very well how the library was categorized.
She fingered through the volumes. D…E…F!
She pulled that one out and sat down hurriedly on a sofa near one of the windows. She flipped through the pages, in search of the section entitled "Fairies."
When she landed on it, she read eagerly.
Fairies
Description
Fairies are beings with the same physical characteristics as those of humans. The size of their feet, however, is small compared to human-sized feet.
Tania stopped reading and glanced down at her feet.
Small. Tiny. Miniscule. Not human.
How come she never really thought about that before?
Frowning, she continued to read.
They are immortal, meaning they cannot die from mortal deaths, such as diseases, stabbing, old age, drowning, burning, etc. They can die, however, in means of magic or emotional trauma.
They possess very powerful magic within them, but they choose to only use what they would call "small magic." They fear for the consequences that would arise if they use "big magic."
They are extremely discreet and wary beings. Most choose to hide their race for many reasons. One reason is to avoid demanding humans…
Tania stopped at that and skimmed through the rest. Then her eyes came upon the very long history of the fairies.
She took a deep breath and began to read.
Tania tore her weary eyes away from the volume and shut them. They needed to rest after almost an hour of intense reading. She sighed softly and tiredly, never realizing before how long and complicated fairy history was.
Faelin, the only fairy kingdom in the world that ever existed, was created during the very beginning of the First Aeon (each aeon was 1000 years long). It was also known as the Birth Age, because this was the time period when the creation of living forms began to take place.
Faelin's very first fairy ruler was King Alaric. His wife, who was also a fairy, was Queen Rianna, who bore him three sons named Eric, Julien, and Regan. Eric, being the oldest, became the next ruler. He married Janelle, who bore him one daughter named Fiona.
Fiona, though a female, ruled Faelin after her father's reign. There were many who seemed disturbed at first for having a she-fairy as ruler, but Fiona proved herself worthy by bringing prosperity to the kingdom through her shrewdness and determination.
Fiona married. She and her husband became equal rulers—no one was more powerful than the other.
Suddenly, Tania realized something. Wait a minute. She opened her eyes. If fairies are immortal, then where did all these rulers go?
She immediately opened the thick book again, and began to search for an answer. When her eyescaught sight ofthe subtitle "Immortality" she paused, then began to read slowly.
Immortality
As mentioned under "Description" fairies are immortal. They cannot die from mortal deaths.
There is, however, a way for fairies to leave this world, once they tire of it. High beyond the clouds is a place called Noewyn, a haven for the fairies. It is a refuge of happiness, where war, famine, violence, and many others do not exist. However, it is not the same place where mortals' souls go to after death. Noewyn is for fairies alone.
The fairies in Noewyn are not dead. They are simply living in an unreachable place for mortals. Unfortunately, no detailed description can be given of Noewyn, because once a fairy soars up there, she or he may never return.
Tania stopped at that, surprised at the information. Darrin never said anything about Noewyn.
Probably because he doesn't know about it—ha! I finally know something he doesn't, she thought childishly. She then mentally slapped herself for being immature and for thinking about Darrin. She went back to the book, determined to erase him from her thoughts.
Another subtitle caught her eye.
The Saeryl
The Saeryl was once called Faelin's Heart because it was the one item that helped maintain peace and prosperity to the kingdom. It was a many-faceted crystal that could be enclosed with one hand. It was a royal heirloom, passed down from one fairy ruler to the next.
It was an item with the strongest and most powerful magic. It had two abilities: the ability to destruct and the ability to heal. One beam from this crystal could either kill or heal any being. However, this could only be done gradually. Only a powerful being could handle the Saeryl.
The Saeryl also had a special aura. Its aura was so strong that it bathed the entire land of Faelin. It brought comfort and joy to the fairies, making them reliant on it. It was the one piece that bound the fairies together.
It was mostly used for removing sicknesses or wounds. It could even cure anyone who was at the brink of his or her death, though it could not restore life to an already dead being. It was mostly used for mortals, such as humans and elves, but the fairy ruler(s) controlled it.
Unfortunately, the Saeryl was destroyed on the 564th year of the Eighth Aeon. This led to the abandonment of Faelin. Without Faelin's Heart, the fairies' spirits broke. Thus, Faelin, a place that was once filled with peace, was deserted as the fairies scattered off to different places of the world, hiding their identities and finding simple jobs.
Tania stopped reading and calculated in her head. Hmmm…564th year…that's about eighteen years ago, she thought.
She continued to read the book, eager to learn more about her race.
After what felt like hours later, Tania rested.
Wow…so much more to read, she thought as she flipped through the pages. She just realized now that almost half of the F volume was about the fairies.
After King Bastian and Queen Lillian ascended to Noewyn on the 548th year of the Eighth Aeon, Princess Ophelia came to the throne. She became the sixteenth female ruler of Faelin. She married two years after becoming queen, and she bore a beautiful, golden-haired daughter named—
Tania turned her eyes to the next page to read about Ophelia's daughter.
Except it ended right there. The entire section on fairies ended right there. The next page had nothing to do with fairies.
Farvon, Bill
Bill Farvon is one of the greatest warriors that have ever existed—
"I don't care about stupid Bill!" Tania screamed out loud. She looked at the page number on the left side. 181. Then she looked at the page number on the right side. 203.
Twenty-two pages. Twenty-two damn pages were gone.
Tania cursed. Did her parents do this on purpose?
No, the pages just happened to rip themselves apart, her mind thought sarcastically.
She frowned. Maybe it wasn't them who did this. Maybe it was someone else.
Fuming, she rose from the sofa and began to search around the library for books, any books, about fairies.
Forty-five exhausting minutes later, she collapsed on a chair.
Not a single book.
She shut her tired eyes. Noewyn…she thought distantly. I can just leave all this and go to Noewyn…
"Lady?" someone called.
Tania opened her eyes. "What?" she said angrily. She sat up and turned to the door. A young girl in a plain, shabby dress stood under the frame, looking terrified and ready to run away.
Tania softened. "I'm sorry, Karla. What is it?" she asked gently.
The girl hesitated. "There's s-someone here for you," she said meekly.
"All right. Tell them I'll be right there."
The girl nodded and scurried away.
Tania sighed wearily and forced herself to rise. She wondered who this visitor could be.
Probably just someone who wants to see a real, live fairy, she thought wryly as she left the library.
She was wrong. At the drawing-room, she found herself looking at a middle-aged man with dark hair and an unkempt beard. He was tall, with a slightly muscular build and strong bone structure.
Tania started. He looks like Father…
Except this man did not have the twinkle in his eyes. His grey eyes were cold and wary, which disturbed Tania. His beard was untidier that her father's, and he looked heavier and stronger.
"You don't know me, do you?" the man asked rudely.
Tania shook her head.
"I thought so. My name is Weston…your father's brother and only living relative. No cousins, aunts, uncles, or other siblings whatsoever. Just me. Anyway, did he talk about me often?"
Tania noted that he said "did." She eyed him cautiously. "You heard of his death?"
He let out a harsh laugh. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be here, would I?"
Tania raised an eyebrow. Despicable man. "What are you doing here?" she asked sharply.
"I'm your guardian from now on. After all, you're only sixteen. You cannot run this estate alone." He held up an ancient-looking document. "Here's proof that I am your father's brother."
Tania stared at him. "So…" she said slowly, "you came here just to be my guardian?"
He let out a scornful laugh. "I don't think so, girl." He smirked at her. "You parents died rich. I'm planning to get my hands on their gold."
How blunt of him. Tania's eyes narrowed as she felt her blood level rise dangerously.
"Get out," she snarled.
"Oh, you can't make me, my dear," he replied breezily. "Don't think that I don't know about you being…abnormal." He laughed at Tania's surprised face. "Oh, yes. Word spreads quickly here in Déoras. If you're a fairy, then you do not have the blood of your so-called parents, meaning this estate isn't rightfully yours. I know for a fact that they were both human. Why you are here, I do not know." He grinned. "Now, where should I put my luggage? I think I'm going to be here for quite some time. You better get used to it."