Chapter Eight

My Dear Friend, began the salutation,

Today I have no time to pen of my doings, nor of my goals – save one: to assist you in returning to the real world, for while you are in the real world in body, you are clearly elsewhere in mind. You lock yourself inside your study as the days drift past, neither eating nor sleeping. You receive no visitors – the days on which I have called upon you have left me unsatisfied, for each time your servants expressed that you were unable to see anyone.

I am concerned for you, Frederick, for this is unlike you – it is clear that some foreign thing that I know nothing of plagues your mind. Of course, I do not ask that you confide in me – just that you inform me at once if there is anything I can do to assist you, no matter what the risk may be; I know that you, too, would go to great lengths for my purposes.

Several days ago, while I was sitting in your hall during yet another attempt to see you, I happened to overhear I conversation between two of your most trusted servants – the ones whom clean your study, I believe. They spoke of your unhealthy condition, and mentioned your correspondence with a certain 'Raleigh of Dunbar', saying that his letters had been arriving at your manor more and more frequently by strange means. Is he your concern? Your servants seemed greatly concerned when they spoke of him.

Please, send a response to this letter – tell me what I must do to be of assistance.

Best regards,

--Jon

Conrad of Chitin paced his father's chamber; occasionally shooting dark glances at the window revealing the evening's ugly weather. His father lounged in an armchair, watching his only son.

"It's simple", his father explained. "You eliminate the ones in your way – and anyone who is capable of stepping in your way. I don't understand you – you've never hesitated at acting cruelly to others before now."

Conrad shot another vicious glare in the window's direction. He hadn't told his father about the pretty girl with the uncanny eyes and her power, nor of the boy who's eyes resembled hers. He didn't want his father thinking him disturbed, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to speak of the incident without sounding so – not only had he never met anyone with an aura of power equal to his own, if not greater – but the girl stirred a memory within him of a green eyed man that had once come close to defeating him, of one whom had always defied him and his followers by steadfastly protecting the kingdom's royals, which included Katrina, and played the role of one of the key guardians of the article that Conrad desired...

Flashback...

The largest ballroom of the castle, barely ever used, had been splendidly decorated with midwinter decorations and numerous, bright banners carrying the Kyrrian crest. The windows, three times as tall as an average man's height and sparkling from their cleansing earlier that same morning, looked out upon the castle gardens blanketed in fresh snow, with new, delicate flakes still dancing down from the midnight-colored sky in graceful patterns.

Elegantly clad men and women, young and old, stood hushed at the foot of the ballroom's grand banister, it's railings twisted with garlands of holly. All eyes rested profoundly on four individuals descending the banister:

King Charmont, dressed handsomely in a jacket of midnight blue trimmed with gold, stepped slowly down the banister, giving the impression of making a connection with each man and women inside the room. A joyful smile played about his handsome, young face, and a crown of pure gold rested upon his head – a special sight, for he barely ever wore it. At his side he wore his sword inside its finest scabbard, trimmed with gold and studded with gems in diverse blues – a family heirloom, meant only for special occasions.

On the King's right hand was a lad no older than three, dressed in a miniature, spotless white doublet and a jacket that matched his father's. He had his father's curls, with fell into his gleeful green eyes (his mother's), albeit his hair sported a few light streaks that his father's did not. His small dagger, meant only for formality, hung at his side – it had been his father's when he was a boy.

The King's left arm was entwined with that of his wife and Queen, Eleanor, or Ella, as she liked to be called. Her raven-colored hair was tied back from her shining face in an elegant knot, and a delicate tiara of silver, studded with pearls, rested upon her head. She was clad in a creamy, floor length gown with hues of pale blue (customary in the royal family for women that had given birth just days before), which sported several lace flounces. Its bodice was intricately beaded with tiny blue stones.

In Ella's left arm rested her newborn, Katrina, wrapped in a white silk shawl and outfitted in a tiny, white wool dress with matching slippers. Her eyes were still blue, and they contrasted strongly with her tufts of dark hair.

Char opened his mouth as the royal family reached the foot of the grand staircase. "Noble guests! First, I wish you all a merry midwinter." This statement was greeted with happy chuckles and scattered applause from the crowd. "I would like to welcome you all to two celebrations of great importance that are to take place tonight: The yearly, celebratory feast and ball of midwinter – and the birth of a new member to our family."

The applause filled the room, reverberating off the walls and the ceiling. Char turned to Ella. "Care to do the honors?" he asked her, grinning broadly.

"With pleasure", she murmured, her cheeks flushed. Stepping forward, Ella tilted Katrina so that the crowd had a clear view of her. "It is with pleasure", she addressed the crowd in her throaty voice, "that we introduce you to our new daughter: Katrina Eleanor Of Kyrria!"

The men and woman burst into applause, and then surged forward to offer their congratulations and to get a closer look at the child.

After half an hour, the number of people surrounding the royal family had not decreased, and Ella, still exhausted from birth, desperately needed a break. Glancing over at her three-year-old son, Sebastian, and catching sight of his bored face (all the attention was on his baby sister), she chose to take her son with her for a short stroll in the gardens. Char quickly understood, and ordered the orchestra to strike up a lively gavotte: the start of the celebration.

Handing Katrina to Char and taking Sebastian by the hand, Ella slipped through a back door, fetched her fur-lined cloak and gloves, and slipped back outside into the gardens, which were constantly patrolled by guards, of course. They bowed to her and the young prince as the two made their way through the snow-covered lanes, and Sebastian, recognizing a few of the guards, would point and give a glad shout, imitating his father's salute and causing a few of the guards to crack a smile.

He attempted to catch the snowflakes that were still drifting from the sky, indulged by his mother's impressed commentary and her occasional, glad laugh. Just as Ella was about to sink down onto a nearby bench, she heard the call of her name.

Sighing, she scooped up Sebastian once more and turned around, expecting to find another noblewoman, filled with glee over the birth of Ella's new child. Forcing a bright smile onto her face, she turned around – only to find an old woman rushing towards her, stooped with age, but with a glad smile consuming her face.

Lucinda!

She hadn't seen the fairy in nearly a year, and was glad to see her again – for after all, it had been Lucinda whom had come up with the magic in order to allow Ella to attend the three balls several years ago, and thus be reunited with Char. Still, having suffered from Lucinda's curse for sixteen years left Ella a bit worried about Lucinda's reaction once she saw Ella's child, which, of course, she would want to see.

As Ella hugged the old woman and accepted her congratulations, Sebastian turned away, pouting, for Ella had told him of her curse – and its giver. Although he'd also been told of Lucinda's assistance in getting his mother and his father together, he was still resentful towards the fairy for having cast a curse upon his mother that had made her suffer so.

Ella drew back from embracing the fairy, bearing a smile tinged with slight concern. "What brings you here, if I may ask?" she questioned curiously.

Lucinda smiled. "Have you not been wondering why I haven't shown myself for nine months, Ella dear?" she asked, a slightly secretive look upon her face.

When Ella nodded, she continued. "You do remember that one night, years ago – the night on which you wrote that false letter to Char in order to ward off his proposal."

Ella raised her eyebrows in confusion as to the connection between Lucinda's ninth month disappearance and her current trip back down memory lane.

Lucinda continued, "You remember how you cried, later, in Mandy's bed chamber, and how vexed Mandy was with me – how she called me to her aid as you'd done several months before. You remember how I appeared, old and gray instead of young and beautiful."

Ella's confusion level rose.

"You remember how shocked I was – after all, I'd just spent time as a squirrel and as an obedient child, and I'd finally realized how horrible my "gifts" were for its recipients. I said that I wished I could take all of my gifts back."

Here Lucinda paused, her mind clearly back at that past scenario.

"You stepped forth from behind the curtain... and said, "Yes, please do take them back." I told you that I'd renounced big magic – forever."

Sebastian was ardently listening to Lucinda now, drawn to the story by the emotion in her voice. He ignored the soft snowflakes that continued to fall around him.

"You begged me to, you wept, and I wept with you, for you were to lose the man you loved because of me! Ah, how clearly I remember."

"When you broke your curse, I was ecstatic to know that my gift was no longer keeping you from what you most wanted. A weight was lifted off my shoulders."

Here Lucinda smiled, and Sebastian caught a faint whiff of lilacs in the air.

"However, a little less than a year ago, a thought hit me that should've hit me years before. I didn't understand how I couldn't have thought of it before – how the sadness of it couldn't have affected me before then."

Ella was leaning forward slightly, waiting with worry and anticipation to hear what the fairy would say next.

"What of all the others that I'd cursed? They hadn't broken their curses – they were still being held back because of some "gift" or other that I'd bestowed upon them at their births. And there was nothing that I could do – I'd renounced big magic."

Ella sat down hard on the snow-covered bench behind her, and Sebastian – quite smart for his three years – widened his green eyes.

"How right you are", Ella conceded, her voice suddenly exhausted and very quiet. "How right..."

"I brought my case before the council of my people", Lucida continued in a hushed tone, darting a few well-placed glances around the gardens in order to check whether anyone was listening.

"We have reached a solution that is linked back to the birth of our people – a tale that we do not share with non-faeries, even if they are Friends. But, this time, the council is making an exception, and I have been permitted to tell you."

Ella had completely forgotten about Sebastian, who was listening to Lucinda avidly.

Ella, also engrossed in what Lucinda was saying, sat down on the snow-covered bench behind her without truly realizing it. Lucinda joined her.

"Many hundreds of years ago, an Ayorthian explorer with a nearly unbelievable sense for the feelings of the earth discovered Kyrria because a wild storm blew his ship off course while he was sailing along the Ayorthian coast as research for a new map he hoped to construct."

Even though Ella knew this, she didn't interrupt.

"His ship, though one of the sturdiest, was torn apart by the storm, and the explorer, Perrin was his name, hit his head upon a rock. Nearly unconscious and unable to think clearly, he slipped beneath the waves, into a world of eerie calm and quiet, where large fish eyed him in graceful understanding, and gigantic, beautiful sea plants swished back and forth in time to the water.

"No one had ever heard of the mermen and mermaids – no one knew that they existed, up to that day. Their kingdoms beneath the sea were hidden within huge underwater labyrinths only known to them. Few dared to venture outside these labyrinths, except the guardsmen and women, and even they did not often venture as close to shore as the area in which Perrin was sinking.

"Before I continue, I must explain that there were two different kinds of sea people. There were those who lived in areas populated with the flying fish – fish gifted with wings and thus of amazing speed. These sea people sometimes procreated with the flying fish, and produced children with both a tail and wings, and magic to do with the water as well as the sky. They were called the Kailani.

"Then, there were those who didn't believe in mixing with the flying fish – they believed in keeping their magic of the water pure, and were called the Marinel. The two kinds of sea people, different in their beliefs, were generally peaceful, but didn't mix with one another (A/N: meaning that they resided in separate kingdoms).

"Now, back to the original story. There was a particular Kailani maiden – a child who was the product of a Kailani and a flying fish – who was extremely curious about the upper world, and loved to venture farther out than the rest of her people. Her name was Nerissa. On that day, she was exploring the area in which Perrin was drowning, and she glimpsed him. She was fascinated by humans, and swam closer. When she saw his handsome face, her heart stirred with emotion, and she was tempted to save his life. She had heard dark stories of the brutal deeds humans had committed, and was thus hesitant, but when she saw that he was unconscious, she couldn't resist.

"She swam to him, and brought him to the surface quickly with the speed that her wings provided her with. She lay him down on the shore and pounded her palms onto his back, making him cough up the water that he had swallowed. Once he was breathing evenly again, she lay him down on the sand and watched him in his peaceful sleep.

"She didn't notice that he was coming to, and when he touched her hand and whispered, 'thank-you', she was startled and leapt back into the water so quickly that Perrin thought her a beautiful vision. (A/N: yes, I know that this sounds like the little mermaid. I'm sort of using that story in order to create this one, a little bit.)

"Nerissa realized, after watching him from beneath the water for about two days, that he had nothing to sustain him, and that he was on his own. She began to leave nourishment on the shore while Perrin slept. The explorer began to wonder whether the vision that he had had after nearly drowning was reality – and whether it was she, the winged and tailed creature, whom was sustaining his life.

"In the evenings, he began spending hours sitting by his fire, staring out into the ocean, thinking of her: the thick black locks, curling elegantly over her translucent skin and into her luminous, oceanic colored eyes. He was unable to forget the fragile-looking wings, nearly transparent, with a likeness to a glassy silk tinged with a hue of sea green.

"Perrin began speaking to her – it was unbeknownst to him that Nerissa was listening to his every word beneath the waves – and he told her how he planned to build his own boat out of driftwood, and how he would sail back to his homeland, Ayortha, where he drew maps for royal usage. He told her how he would map his voyage home using the locations of the constellations, and how he would return his new map to his King and Queen, and share with them his discovery of a new country.

"He did not fail to mention how he wished to see her once more – how he wished that she could accompany him back to his homeland.

"The more Nerissa listened to him, the more she wished to do just so. One night, when his boat was nearly complete, she couldn't hold back any longer – she made herself known to him. The explorer was delighted, but kept his distance in respect of the mermaid's shyness.

"She began to tell him tales of her own land beneath the sea in return for his tales of Ayortha. They grew close, very close, and in the end, Perrin confessed that he wished to be her, wherever that might be.

"Nerissa confessed the same feelings – but she doubted that he would be accepted among her people. And, she had always wanted to walk upon steady land...

"So she visited a powerful sorceress beneath the ocean. She explained her cause to the sorceress, and begged her for help. Nerissa promised to give the sorceress whatever she desired in return, be it not her life or Perrin's.

"The sorceress demanded a sacrifice of painlessness from Nerissa: If Nerissa wished to be with Perrin, and walk on earthly soil with two human legs, her hands would feel burning pain whenever they touched anything with the exception of Perrin himself – albeit they would not be blemished. Thus, Nerissa was given the magic of painful fire.

"Nerissa accepted the bargain. Swimming back ashore, she explained the bargain to Perrin before drinking the potion – she wished to explain it to him while she still had a voice. She promised that she would learn to read and write, so that she would be able to communicate with him through parchment and educate herself on the world that she did not yet know by book.

"She swore to him that she was certain of her wish to drink the potion, and after much discussion, Perrin promised her that he would touch whatever he could for her to spare her pain. He promised her that he would teach her the art of reading and writing. Nerissa rejoiced once he gave her his consent to drinking the potion, and she did so.

"At the start, the pain at touching anything was excruciating, but Nerissa did it more and more often in order to grow accustomed to it. The joy of having legs and being with Perrin was enough to make up for the loss of her voice.

"Perrin and Nerissa made their way back to Ayortha, where the already-famous explorer was welcomed with much joy – after all, people had thought him dead for months. Perrin's friends and the royal family were enchanted by Nerissa and her quick ability to learn, not to mention the charm of her character that she exhibited on paper once she grew masterful of the skill.

"Perrin and Nerissa made the route to the country across the sea known to the Ayorthian ship captains, who brought those that wished to settle on the beautiful land over the sea. The royal family, too, wished to see the new land, and the King and Queen saw how moved Perrin and Nerissa were at it's grassy plains, adventurous forests, and cooler climate – and thus, they made Perrin the new ruler his new country, and Nerissa his Queen.

"They named the country Kyrria, and under Perrin's courageous, strong, earthly rule and that of his wise, beautiful Queen, Kyrria was begun and prospered.

"Perrin and Nerissa had many children – and each child was gifted with wings, magic of the sky, the earth, the water and the fire. The people began to call them the Faeries – meaning 'elementally gifted'.

"So it was thus, Ella, that the Faeries came to be.

A/N: You are probably wondering how the story of how the faeries came to be will connect with the rest of the plot. I thought that it was too long and maybe a tad too much to digest to put into one chapter, so it'll be continued in the next one. Also, in this chapter we met Sebastian as a small boy, and in the next one, which I really, really plan to have up this week (I'm serious! ;;;), we'll meet him how he is in the present, w/ Gemma and Wayne and Katrina, etc. There's also bound to be more romance soon ;-), so hang in there!

Please, please, please review?

Much love,

--Lioness-Elf