Chapter 9: A Second Chance
That night, the pirate fairies' ship was still sailing across the ocean which was now an inky, purplish black. All the fairies had turned in for the night. But, the only ones who were still up and about were Princess Lapis and Prince Jamie. They were out on the starboard railing, looking out into the night.
"How lucky are we that found a ship with fairies in it?" Jamie commented. But then, he noticed that his wife had a troubled look on her face. "What's the matter? Is everything okay?"
"I'm just afraid that Jasper is going to find the Seven Prism Wand before we do." the young princess vented. "I don't even want to imagine how catastrophic it would be if Malachite was resurrected. I'm almost scared to find out what she looks like."
"It's going to be okay." the prince promised her. "We will get that wand and we're going to save everybody. Jasper won't be victorious."
Jamie and Lapis leaned into each other and shared a passionate kiss.
"Uh, this seems like a bad time; doesn't it?" a familiar voice sounded off, startling the young couple. The blue fairy turned and saw Bismuth with an uncomfortable expression on her face.
"I'm sorry." the princess apologized. "I thought we were the only ones still awake."
"So did I." the rainbow-haired fairy replied with a somber tone in her voice.
"Hey, Bismuth." said Lapis, after a brief awkward moment of silence passed. "I wanted to ask you this before, but I didn't because we had just met and I thought it seemed a little personal; but why did you spend over a decade on the island of trolls and ogres?"
"Well, you know that fairy hunter that you, your friends, and the pirate fairies were talking about?" Bismuth asked, to which the fairy princess nodded in reply. "I was there during the first attack."
"Really?" Lapis gasped. "What was it like, being in the middle of that chaos?"
"He came out of nowhere." the burly fairy answered. "But wasn't the way he caught us off-guard that affected me, it was what he took from me specifically."
"What happened?" the fairy princess asked.
"I used to have friends like you, back when I lived in the fairy world." explained Bismuth with a somber smile. "Crazy Lace Agate, Larimar, Tiger's Eye, Snowflake Obsidian, and Biggs. They were some of the greatest fairies you'd ever meet. On the day that the fairy hunter ambushed us, all the fairies scrambling all over the place in hysterical panic. The fairy queens tried their best to corral the fairies to safety. Some fairies were out of harm's way, other fairies; they weren't so lucky. I witnessed the fairy hunter ensnare my friends right before my eyes. I was so shocked, I didn't know what to do. Trying to save them was a bad idea because I would've ended up being captured too. So instead, I fled from the fairy world and never went back, knowing that I could never forgive myself for not saving my friends."
"Wow, I'm so sorry." the young princess apologized sympathetically after Bismuth finished her story. "I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't know." the brawny fairy told her before giving a heavy sigh. "Seeing you with your friends and being happy with them makes me realize how badly I miss my friends."
"You said you wanted nothing to do with fairies you don't even know, so why did you come with us anyway?" Lapis inquired.
"I thought that if I helped you and your friends stop Jasper and save the world, it'll help me redeem myself and maybe my friends will forgive me for abandoning them all those years ago." Bismuth replied, giving a sad smile.
"I completely understand how you feel." the blue fairy said. "I've been having a lot of doubts about being a fairy princess lately. The fairy hunter attacked us on one of the most important days of fairy culture, even after I promised myself that everything would go off without a hitch. I feel like I'm failing as princess of the fairies. Maybe if I find the Seven Prism Wand, I'll be able to make it up to myself."
"Hey, you couldn't have known that Jasper and the fairy hunter would come to lay siege on the fairy world." the rainbow-haired fairy said back. "At least you're doing something to make things right. All I did was flee for my life. I doubt my friends will ever look me in the eye again after this is all over. They're probably beyond angry at me for abandoning them."
"Bismuth, I don't think anyone can stay mad at somebody for more than a decade." Lapis reasoned. "I guarantee you that when we make through this adventure, your friends are sure to forgive you for what happened."
"I hope you're right." Bismuth replied softly with the glum look on her face.
"Anyway, Jamie and I are going to head off to bed." the young princess yawned. "You coming?"
"Later." the burly fairy answered, glancing to the side. "I just want to sit here for awhile longer."
"Okay, good night." Lapis said to her as she and her husband went to the sleeping quarters where the other fairies slept.
Later that night, most of the fairies were peacefully asleep. However, Princess Lapis, who was snuggled into Prince Jamie's embrace was quivering and moaning from the dream she was having.
The fairy princess found herself flying in a black, foreboding void. It was endless, empty, and frightfully quiet. But then, a sound broke through the silence; a sound that Lapis was very familiar with. It was the sound of a baby crying.
"Hello?" she called out. "Is somebody out there?"
The blue fairy fluttered her wings and tried to find the source of the sound. She could hear the cry getting louder and louder, but she didn't know if she was getting closer. There was nothing in this void but her.
Just then, the young princess saw a white light and she shielded her as all the blackness in the void was drowned out. When she uncovered her eyes, she saw a bassinet in the middle of an empty room. When Lapis approached the tiny bed and looked inside, she saw a face that was almost completely concealed by blankets. Only the eyes were left uncovered and when they opened, Lapis was surprised by the eye color. They were royal blue, just like hers. What did this mean?
The young fairy princess awoke with a shout and started breathing heavily.
"Lapis, are you okay?" Jamie asked, who woke up the moment he heard his wife scream. "What's the matter?"
"I just had a freaky dream." Lapis told him as her breathing slowed down. "There was a cry, it was coming from a baby. When I finally got to her, I saw that she had the same eye color as me. But why did I dream about a baby in the first place?"
"Maybe you're just really tired." the human prince thought aloud. "After all, it has been a really long day."
"Long is an understatement." the blue princess replied sleepily as she rubbed one of her eyes. "But, maybe we should just go back to sleep."
She yawned and cuddled back into her husband's chest as Jamie wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and took in the sweet floral scent the princess had. The prince loved the way Lapis always smelled like flowers, that and the softness in her skin.
It didn't take long for the blue fairy to fall asleep. Her tired body soaked in the warmth of the kindhearted prince and she was back in the realm of sleep once again.