Tia stared at the tear on Dallas's finger.
"I'm not crying," she stated and looked back to him.
"Why did you off running like you did?"
"I...I...thought I saw somebody," Tia answered.
"Was it that 'Heath' guy?" Dallas frowned.
"Do you know him?" Tia asked getting eager.
"No, only that once Tamera has him, he's hers forever," Dallas shrugged not liking the eagerness in her voice.
"Oh," she said and looked at the floor.
Dallas helped her up from the floor and they walked around the palace.
In the main hall, a fairiette approached her.
"Oh my sakes! Aren't you the Chaiha Tia?" she squeaked.
"Yeah," Tia smiled a little embarrassed.
"Can I like, I don't know, get your autograph?" she asked wide-eyed.
"Yeah, d'ya got any ink or parch?" Tia asked.
"No, but you can sign my wings!" she bubbled with delight and grabbed an ink stick off a nearby table.
Tia took the stick and signed her name in a flourish on the young fairiette's silky wings.
"Thank you so much!" she squealed and flew off to show her friends.
"You must be famous," Dallas said as they continued to walk.She shrugged, "I try."
Dallas's face turned sad suddenly.
"What's the matter?" Tia asked.
"Julius is my best friend and he's still out there in Blaire Rye's clutches while I'm doing nothing to help," he explained while looking at the ground.
"I'm truly sorry, Blaire Rye is an unpredictable fairiette and I hope she has shown mercy to our prince," Tia lifted his head back up.
Dallas smiled in thanks but noticed that they were still wet from Glass Lake. "Want to get dried off?"
Tia nodded her stringy wet hair and he took her hand to lead her to the heated rocks.
They walked deep into the mountain, past the hot springs and bathing pools, past the dining hall, and the dungeon lead off. The heated rocks were deep in the belly of mountain and was heated by the under flowing lava that came from the fire sprites' volcanoes.
As they entered the heated rocks' dome, they heard voices.
"Stop mocking me!" came a voice that hurt Dallas's ears. It was the voice of none other than the fairy princess that hated him.
"Maybe we should turn around," Dallas said stopping suddenly.
"Why?" Tia asked. It felt so warm where they were. She wanted to stay and get dried off.
"There's someone in there already," he shrugged and tried escaping but Tia held tight and dragged him in.
Inside laid the princess who was glaring at a guy in a robe. He had curly blonde hair and was smiling mockingly at her.
They both looked up as she and Dallas entered.
"Ferra!" the princess growled surprised.
"Who's he?" the guy in the robe asked.
"My brother's friend," she rolled her eyes and sat up. Her skin was a faint rose color because of the heat. She grabbed a container of moisturizer and rubbed it along her great smooth legs.
"My name is Dallas," Dallas corrected the high and mighty fairiette, while staring at her legs that she was so carefully oiling. As did the robe guy.
"Whatever. Hey aren't you that performer from Chaiha Heights?" she asked to the familiar looking fairiette standing next to Dallas.
The girl nodded and stared awkwardly at them.
"What are you doing with this loser?" she nodded referring to Dallas.
Dallas stepped forward threateningly.
"Hey, ya'll seem like decent fairies. No need to start something," the guy in the robe stepped in.
The Chaiha performer squinted at the guy in the robe like she recognized him.
"Don't I know you?" she asked.
"Me? No!" he said startled.
Dallas sighed exasperatedly at Shylie, "Your so not worth it."
"When I'm queen, the first thing I'm going to do is strip you of your title and banish you to the spirit grounds," Shylie hissed.
"Hey stripping sounds fun," the guy in the robe started to take it off.
"YOU keep that on!" She screamed at him. He gave a hurt look but stopped untying the robe.
"I doubt Julius would let you," Dallas said to her last remark.
"Julius is gone, maybe he's even dead," she threw back. Dallas backed up in shock that she would say such a thing.
"You take that back, wench!" he cried and charged at her. She screamed and ran away to other side of the giant rock. Tia and Dakota looked on as he chased her around the room.
"How dare you! I'm telling my father!" Shylie cried, jumping over another rock.
Dakota noticed that the girl performer was familiar too.
"Haven't I seen you before?" it was his turn to ask.
"ME? No!" she said a bit surprised.
"For sure? you look a tad familiar," he said cocking his head to the side.
"Same to you, which club do you hang at?" Tia asked the strange fellow.
"Er..." His eyes darted around nervously.
"You don't go to any clubs do you?" Tia asked crossing her arms.
"Well, it's not that I don't want to..." he stumbled through his words.
Tia laughed, she knew the feeling, "You're not very good at impersonating a Royal are you?"
His gray eyes widened in astonishment. "What? How, how, how, how...huh?" he stuttered, flabbergasted she knew.
Tia giggled and leaned in close, "I'm an Underclass too."
He stared at her in bewilderment with his mouth hanging open. He had flown up to Chaiha Heights, but she, SHE had the whole freaking club fooled. It was deluxe.
"Don't tell anyone though," she quickly added as Dallas and Shylie ran around them again.
"I'm going to rip your hair out!" Dallas shouted as he flew past.
"Hey, I won't tell anyone as long as you don't tell anyone that I'm an Underclass," he shrugged and bowed slightly out of respect to her. "So what's your name?"
"Tia Larque, and yours?" she smiled.
"Dakota Silver," he shook her hand.
"OH! I remember, you were fool of the year Vearce's Juniper Festival," she said exclaimed.
"Hey not so loud," he nodded over his shoulder at Shylie smacking Dallas's head back and forth while sitting on him.
"Ow! You are so going to pay for that! Ow! That too!" he yelled from under her.
They laughed at the squabbling Royals. Tamera laid down on the heated rock that Shylie once occupied. She flipped out her damp hair and turned to Dakota.
"So how come your here, does the princess know your real status?"
"Unfortunately yes, she jailed me yesterday for flying to Chaiha heights and accidentally falling on her," he explained.
"No kidding?" Tia asked surprised it was possible.
"Yeah, then I trapped her into letting me take a bath by taking away her flying ability," he told proudly.
"Really?" Tia asked amused that an Underclass had that much power.
Dakota looked both ways and then leaned over, "She doesn't like to admit this but, she thinks I'M SEXY!"
Shylie momentarily stopped whacking Dallas and glared, "I heard that! And I DO NOT think you're SEXY!"
"She's in denial," Dakota shrugged. Tia giggled at the event.
"Ah-ha! I'm free and you are going to pay!" Dallas laughed evilly and insanely.
"Com'on Dakota, time to jet!" Shylie about screamed and yanked him from his rock.
"See ya!" he shouted to Tia.
"Bye!" she replied but Dallas yanked her off her rock too and continued perusing Shylie.