Mom and I go into the Portal. I see a rush of blue light and I appear in a grassy area, filled with flowers and butterflies and soft doves, all the magical things you could imagine. This is the Fae World, just as I remember it. I've been here a few times, but most of them were when I was younger.
Mom takes me down a stone paved path, leading to a building. I could feel the magic all around it. I can hardly wait! We knock on the door, and in a few moments, an elderly lady comes to greet us. It's my grandma!
"Celeste!" She says, giving my mom a hug, "and Zanelle!" She turns to me and hugs me. "It's so good to see you!" You may have noticed that she didn't call me Cynthia, and that's because I don't use my human name, Cynthia Everglade, in the fairy world. My fairy name is Zanelle Fortine.
"Zanelle, you have an exciting time ahead for you, are you ready to get started?" My grandma asks me.
"Yes!" I reply. I've never been more ready in my life.
"Let's go have breakfast and I'll tell you everything you need to know."
She leads us to the dining room, where we eat magical scones and croissants. And my grandma tells me why I'm here.
"You're going to begin your fairy training. Every weekend you'll come to the Fae, and your instructor will be giving you lessons. Then you'll stay the entire summer with us, while you finish all your final fairy exams. After that, on your eighteenth birthday, you'll have the Magic Ceremony and be granted your very own personal fairy wand. Isn't that great?"
"I can't wait to get started!"
"Great!"
After breakfast, Mom says goodbye and returns to Earth. I don't know why she'd ever want to go back there, to that boring place where people like Alice rule the world. To each their own, I guess.
Grandma takes me to meet my instructor, Miss Beverly, who will be guiding me through the fairy training process. She's a fairy with blonde hair, tied back in a bun, long fingernails, and poised green eyes. Oh, by the way, the fairies in Fae don't have wings, they just kinda float. They can walk too if they want, it's all a part of the magic. Miss Beverly takes me to a training facility. It's a long walk, but I get to see a lot of the Fae.
There's the sweet shop I loved as a kid. And there's the park. And the swimming pool. And so many other childish dreams. I'm starting to worry that the Fae will be just like Earth, boring and dull, except here everything is just too perfect. But something dark and red catches my eye. It's the land of Hades. Or rather, the entrance to the land of Hades.
I was always told to avoid that place whenever I came here as a kid. After all, that's where The Hades, the ruler of the land of Hades, lives. In that land runs all kinds of foul creatures; hags, werewolves, vampires, demons, etc. We used to be in a huge war with them, but things have quieted down now. Nevertheless, we don't want to start drama, so we don't go there. But there's something about that place that calls me. I long for any excuse to go there and see the black gates in their magnificence, but I know I can't.
We arrive at the training facility. Let the fun begin!