Shylie could no longer hear Dallas perusing her. They were on the far side of Glass lake, almost opposite of where she had landed Delvie. Her feet and ankles were sore from running. Dakota was still high off the shrooms. She let go of his wrist and red press marks were clearly visible on his skin.

"Sakes female, ever heard of stress relievers?" Dakota shook his hand to get the blood circulating again.

Shylie whipped around in an instant "You are the most immature, laziest, stupidest, rudest, dirtiest fairy in the whole kingdom! Not only do I hate you for that, but because you hate me and you've taken my flying ability away when another is chasing after me with murdering vengeance!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Dakota looked smacked out of his stimulatic joy ride. His gray eyes were sad at her but she showed no forgiveness.

"I...I'm sorry," he looked at the ground regretfully.

"What?" she asked not expecting him just roll over after he was kicked.

"Yeah, I'm stupid, lazy, immature, dirty, and rude...but...I never…ever… hated you, Shylie," He said.

Her look softened for second, but she remembered that she still couldn't fly and that was his fault.

"Fine then, you never hated me but you still put that spell on me and I very much hate it," she crossed her arms and looked away.

"If I give you back your flying ability then you won't chill with me anymore," he said half-smiling, half-sad.

"Why would I 'chill' with you? You're a filthy Underclass and I'm the princess. We couldn't chill together even if...we wanted to," she ranted.

"Oh I see, so what we've done today isn't 'chilling out'?" he asked bitterly.

"No...that was you taking me captive so I did whatever you wanted," she explained like it was so obvious.

Dakota frowned and shrugged. "I'll make you a deal, if I give you your flying ability back, set me free for good."

Shylie sighed, so he fell on her in an Underclass prohibited club, what was the big deal? She could let it slide. "Fine."

Dakota stuck his arm out, "Shake."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. They shook.

"You can let go of my hand now," he said wondering why she hadn't run off.

She let go. "So Mr. Magic, give me my wings."

He stepped back and cocked his head, trying to remember the counter spell's chant. He stuck his hand forward and started to say.

" §Í£øß∑ç..." but they heard foot steps behind them.

"Dakota Silver, WHAT are you doing?" he turned around to see some fairies he knew. That doesn't mean he liked them.

"None of your business," Dakota lowered his hand from the impatient Shylie.

"Dakota..." she hissed through her teeth for him to continue.

The other Underclasses veered their attention towards her hungrily, "and who is she? Doesn't look like our bunch."

"A friend," Dakota said icily and stepped in his path.

Shylie felt oddly warmed by his remark.

"Where she from? The palace?" he laughed looking at her fancy coverings.

Shylie didn't appreciate being laughed at, "As a matter of fact I am! Got a problem!" Her notorious temper flared. Dakota smacked his hand on his forehead. This was going to get complicated.

The other Underclasses looked startled, then the leader speaker said, "Yeah, we got a big problem with that."

Out of nowhere, another Underclass grabbed her from behind. She screamed in surprise.

"HEY!" Dakota shouted and went towards her but the leader blockaded him,

"So you brought a scummy Royal to these parts? What were you thinking Dakota!"

"Leave her alone! She didn't do anything to you!" Dakota refused to answer the question. He kept on trying to get to Shylie.

"Maybe she didn't, but her kind did. They do terrible things to us Dakota and you of everyone should know it!" The leader snarled, smacking Dakota from advancing.

"Shut-up wench!" The Underclass holding Shylie barked and when she didn't obey, kneed her in the stomach. She fell with an 'oomph'.

"How dare you treat me like this!" she screeched holding her tummy.

"Look, she sounds like she's the princess or something!" The Underclass wailed with laughter.

"She IS you nimrod!" Dakota yelled over the leader.

All other Underclasses looked at her in shock. They didn't expect the princess to be in these parts. "Well...now's our chance boys," the leader smiled and flicked his tongue across his lips, very pleased the way things had turned out. All the Underclass fairies there ran towards Shylie. She screamed in horror as they picked her up.

"DON'T!" cried Dakota who finally got fed up and punched the leader square in the jaw.

Before Dakota could get to them, they threw her into the water and jumped in after.

Shylie was momentarily shocked by the coldness of the water, but she kicked to the top to breathe. As soon as her head came out, she was dunked back under by an Underclass.

Dakota was having trouble getting to her because the other Underclasses kept him back. They were trying to drown her.

Shylie managed to get a small breath of air before someone wrestled her underwater again. She saw other thrashing about not so far from where she was. She wished her wings would work. A foot kicked into her face. She tried swimming to the surface again with her tears of pain adding to the water. Again she was pushed back down her lungs felt like they were going to explode.

Meanwhile Dakota was fighting off the fairies who were restraining him. He punched and kicked to get them off. "§Ω§¶∑µ∂ å£ßI∑µå!" He yelled and all Underclasses were momentarily frozen in place. He took a deep breath and dove under to swim to Shylie.

She saw him swimming towards her and tried screaming his name in desperate help. But as soon as she opened her mouth what air was left poured out and the water flooded in its place. Her head felt dizzy and she became lost to the water.

Dakota had at last reached her. He grabbed her in his arms and kicked to the surface. He flew with an explosion out of the water and over to the shore, far from the Underclasses who would soon be mobile again. Shylie felt like a limp rag doll in his hold. He set her body on the sandy shore, she wasn't breathing.

"Aw, no...com'on Shylie!" he shook her but her head just rolled to the side. He started panicking, "SHYLIE! Come back, snap out of it!" He noticed a small blue bruise was developing under her eye.

He steadied her head, put his mouth upon hers and blew his air into her. Then he laid his head on her chest to hear if she was breathing. She wasn't, he tried it again. She still did not move.

He felt liquid bubble up into his eyes. "Dear sakes, Shylie..." he whispered and pulled her up so she leaned on his shoulder to hug her frail body. As he tightened his grip, Shylie's body heaved and she coughed out the lake water.

"Shylie!" He pulled her back to see if she was alive.

She pushed out of his grasp with a moan and fell onto the sand to cough up more water. When she was done she just buried her face into the sand as light tears rolled down her cheeks. She laid silently as the wind blew past them.

"What did they mean when they said 'you of everyone' should know how badly Royals treat Underclasses?" she finally asked in a weak voice.

Dakota stared at her. Did she even hear that spiel made by the other Underclass? She was barely able to talk and the first thing she could think of was that?

"It was nothing, a happening from a long time ago," Dakota shrugged the matter away.

"What did they do to you Dakota?" for once she asked instead of demanded of knowing.

"Why do you care?" he almost snarled.

She shrugged and turned her head away from him. She did not have the energy to fight, nor argue with him.

Dakota frowned. She had changed somehow. The cruelty and hatred in her seemed to languish it's dominance, being replaced with more gentle curiosity.

"It happened when I was a fairyling," he told, wanting to tell her now, "Some older Royals were...riding around on their birds near Vearce, where I lived at the time. I was taking a nap in the meadow near there when one Royal's kestrel dived at me with it's talons. It's noise woke me and I just missed being sliced. But that wasn't enough to satisfy their entertainment needs so they chased me with their birds until one caught me in the back and picked me up. They flew until we reached a giant tree, there, the bird dropped me, I fell, rolled, acquired instant cuts and bruises, but was still alive. Then the Royals got off their birds and jumped me. I was left hanging upside-down by my ankles, tied to a tree branch, bleeding, naked for three days. I was pretty much dead before I was discovered."

Suddenly, arms were around him. He looked down surprised, Shylie was hugging him. He lifted her head to see her baby blue eyes filling with more tears.

"I'm so sorry," she whimpered softly.

"It's not you're fault; it happened a long time ago," he explained wiping her tear away with his thumb.

"How could anyone do that to another? It's wrong! Why? Why would a person to that to a fairyling ?" She cried.

"They could do whatever they wanted, they were Royals and no one could stop them. For if we did, more Royals would beat us. If we appealed to the Dynasty, they would always take the Royals' side. Underclasses can never win, and you've made sure of it," Dakota explained.

Shylie couldn't believe what she was hearing. And it was true.

It was an unjust system. Her kind had made it so unfair for the others. She heard terror stories of what the palace waitresses had to go through with the male Royals, of how there were brawls started by the Royals but ended up with an Underclass jailed, and now this. A guy who, at first, seemed like just another slob of an Underclass but had just saved her, a Royal, the same kind that had hurt him. There was so much more to him than there seemed but she had seen his true personage and was ashamed at herself for mistreating him as she did.

He turned back to look to the other side of lake, the other Underclasses were gone. They should have known not to mess with him, for he knew a lot of magic.

Shylie, for the first time, noticed a long, dark scar going all the way across his back. She put her finger on it and traced it's shape. He jumped with tingles forming on his spine. "What are you doing?"

"Is this scar from that incident?" she asked looking at him with sad eyes.

Dakota nodded, "The bird's talon dug through my skin."

Shylie winced, incapable of imagining the pain he had gone through. She had a disgusted thought about the Royals, why would they do such a thing? Wait, she was princess, soon-to-be leader. She could prevent such harshness. How? She couldn't physically stop deranged Royals from beating Underclasses.

"What's wrong?" Dakota asked seeing her disheveled look.

"Nothing...I..." But she remembered how he was supposed to give her back her flying ability. "Please make my wings fly again."

Dakota looked at her surprised that she had said 'please' instead of demanding it again.

"Very well, '§Í£øß∑ç §å†µ∑£å!'" He said and touched her glassy, useless wings.

She felt no magic, but fanned her wings anyway. She lifted. With a squeak of joy she flew around Dakota.

He laughed but stopped when she grabbed his wrist.

"You said you'd let me be free!" he protested with a snarl.

"I'm not taking you prisoner. I have an idea and I need you for an...example," She explained quite shocked at his tone of voice.

He looked skeptical, how was he to know she was telling the truth? The princess of the fairies could be quite crafty.