"What?" The wild fairy and Nadine asked at the same time, looking at Taven startled.
"Julius, what happened to you?" Taven asked. The mad fairy was surely Julius for he had the dark blue eyes and features of the prince.
"I'm NOT Julius! Why do people keep on calling me that? My name is Tex Ventura!" He cried insanely. His eyes were red with tears.
Nadine let him go and he scrambled to his feet.
"Where's Blaire?" Nadine immediately asked, remembering her.
"Blaire Rye!" Taven choked, startled that such a gentle girl like Nadine associated with such creatures as Blaire Rye.
"Who are you?" the so called 'Tex' raised his fist at Nadine.
"HEY! Watch it!" Taven yelled grabbing Julius' fist tightly behind his back so he wouldn't hurt Nadine.
"I'm Nadine! I live here! Now tell me...Where. Is. Blaire?" She said sharply, and impatiently.
"You're Nadine?" 'Tex' asked with round blue eyes. He looked like he had found a savior.
"Yes. Where is she?"
"She told me to tell you that..." He looked at the ground.
"WHERE IS SHE!" Nadine screamed in annoyance and interrupted him, surprising both males.
'Tex' pointed to the dark corner where her futon was. "She's sorry."
Nadine whirled around and gasped. Blaire's body lay still with a javelin jammed into her stomach, and dried blood everywhere around it. She rushed up to Blaire's side. "Blaire!"
Blaire lay still. Tears swelled up in Nadine's evergreen eyes. 'Tex' walked up behind her and choked out "She told me to tell you that she's sorry."
"What happened?" Nadine whispered but with demanding force.
"She took me to Ashant Burrow to beat up some Royals..." he stated.
"WHY!" Taven asked shocked that the prince would even consider to do such a thing.
"Because they're evil! They're the reason she is like this!" 'Tex' turned around ready to beat the fairy in his face.
"Shhh, keep going," Nadine grabbed his arm gently for him to continue his story.
"Well, she got mad at this...poster that her picture on it. Then she got in a disguise and made me wear a disguise so we could get in. They did let her in but not me and when I didn't move the bouncer had me thrown out by these Royal guards. She came after me but one guard started hitting on her real gross-like. I got angry and punched him. Then we got into this big fight and one guard was about to hit me with a javelin but she saw it coming and jumped in its way. I was safe but she was injured so I brought her back here," he finished.
Taven and Nadine stared at him in shock. She, because Blaire Rye had protected the very person she hated with all her heart. He, because he couldn't believe Blaire had brainwashed Julius.
"What did she do to you dude?" Taven asked wide-eyed.
"What do you mean? She SAVED me!" Julius growled
"So you don't know that you're Julius? You don't remember being kidnapped?" Taven asked amazed.
"What are you talking about?" Julius asked totally puzzled.
"Blaire Rye is a vicious Underclass rebel. She would stop at nothing just to kill a guy like you," Taven explained. Nadine didn't argue, it was true.
"You lie!" Julius exploded and tried going after him.
Nadine held him back, "'Tex' How long has Blaire been out?"
Julius was momentarily stuck thinking, leaving time for Taven to get to the other side of the room.
"About three hours," he said then shouted, "I HATE ROYALS! WHY DID THEY HAVE TO KILL HER!"
"Hold up," Nadine said laying her ear close to Blaire's face. "She's not dead."
Julius whipped around, "She isn't?"
"No, she is breathing faintly," Nadine concluded and rushed to her ailment cabinet.
"Blaire? If you can hear me I want you to know how grateful I am that you saved me. I know if it were me that were hit, I'd probably be dead. You aren't because you're the strongest fairiette in the world..." Julius went on and on. Taven was seriously freaked out. "...and I love you."
"You? You're in love with HER?" Taven sputtered surprised.
Julius turned his head and glared. "You should be proud to have her as an ally for us."
Taven cocked his head to one side, completely confused. 'Us'? Then he got it. She made him think he was an Underclass. That was too funny!
"She is not my ally," Taven laughed.
Julius looked confused then understood, "You're a Royal aren't you?" he asked darkly leaving Blaire's side.
"As much as you are, actually you, your highness, are even more so," Taven said. This shocked poor confused Julius.
"Your messing with my head!" Julius shouted, covering his ears.
"No Julius! It was she who messed with your head. I'm only telling what is true," Taven barked.
"Nuh-uh!" Julius retorted.
"You are the prince of fairies. You have a sister named Shylie, Oberon is your father and Titania is your mother. You were kidnapped by Blaire Rye," Taven further explained.
Nadine came back with bandage, balm, and ailment juices to see Julius or 'Tex' shaking his head while Taven stood mockingly.
"What is going on?" she asked coming between them.
"Are you a Royal too?" Julius demanded.
"No, I am an Underclass," she said, puzzled by his remark.
"Then tell this Royal to leave me be. He keeps telling me I'm a Royal when I'm not!" Julius whined.
"Let him be whatever he wants. He's obviously confused," Nadine said smartly and crossed to Blaire. Julius followed.
"But he IS a 'Royal' ," Taven said mockingly.
"Still why be horrid to your own kind? Do you enjoy torturing him? It seems he has been very good to you when he was r-o-y-a-l, so why?" Nadine said while ripping the bandage into a suitable piece.
"I...he needs to know who he is. He loves her when in reality, she kidnapped him," Taven explained wondering why Nadine had even turned against him.
"You do?" Nadine asked Julius with a questionable raised eye brow.
"Well...yeah. She's wicked awesome..." he looked at the ground smiling, and turning red.
Nadine raised both her eyebrows in surprise.
"See?" Taven looked agitated. She carefully studied the javelin and with a fast tug, pulled it out of Blaire. Her body shuddered.
"Blaire!" Julius cried and set his hand on the wound, where fresh blood puddled out.
"You're going to need to move your hand," Nadine said. Julius obeyed. She cleaned the dark red skin around the puncture and had Julius help her wrap the bandage around Blaire's waist.
Blaire made a small moan. Julius whooped happily, knowing she was going to make it, when she thought not...
Nadine lifted Blaire's head and poured ailing juice onto her mouth. The liquid slid off her lips and down to her throat.
"With rest, she should heal. She lost a lot of blood," Nadine wiped her hands on her leaf skirt.
Julius sat on the floor next to her and watched with affection.
"Seems like cupid has struck his arrow straight into his heart," Nadine giggled, walking back to Taven.
"He shouldn't be in love with her. For sakes, it's Blaire Rye! She kidnapped him!" Taven keep saying angrily.
"Are you jealous?" Nadine asked.
"No!" Taven said immediately.
"Then why are you acting though it's wrong for a Royal to love an Underclass?" Nadine asked angrily. "If that's the case, why is it even right for a Royal to be talking to an Underclass? You are a hypocrite Taven Argalos. Why did you even bother to help me if you thought it wrong?"
Taven looked at her shocked. She had no idea how it had been for him. He took a deep breath and figured he could finally spill the secret that no one knew. "I was born an Underclass."
Nadine stared at him silently. "Excuse me?"
Taven sighed, walked over to the stool and sat down. "Nobody knows. I was born an Underclass. Both my real parents were Underclasses. They were both killed shortly after my creation, by Royals. I'm originally from Chickloa, or so I was told. A Royal couple found me afterwards and adopted me. I've had the Royal title ever since."
Nadine was speechless. She had never heard of such an instance that Royals would adopt an Underclass. She would have thought they would have just put him out of his misery.
"You're lucky," was all she said.
"So I don't think it's wrong that a Royal be friends with an Underclass. I'm not a hypocrite. But Julius still doesn't get who he is."
"My name is Tex!" Julius shouted from Blaire's side.
He looked back at Blaire, she turned over and her eyes fluttered open. Minty green sheen stared at him, then behind him.
"What is he doing here?" she spat with a whisper, referring to Taven Argalos.