(3rd person POV)
Esmeralda Anna Cassandra Grey was an anomaly, to say the least. To start, she was a fairy. Not a tiny Tinkerbell fairy either. A human sized fairy with wings that looked like they came straight from the movie Maleficent. They were a stunning coal black color, and were so big that the tips of her wings dragged as she walked. She was a short, slim 6 year old and looked normal once her wings were tucked in safely (Fae had the ability to dissolve their wings into thin air, and spread them in their full glory once more when they so wished). Wings were not the only abnormal thing about Esmeralda, however.
Esmeralda had the generic fae hair. That entailed hair that changed colours according to her emotions. Her hair was naturally blonde, but if you ever saw Esmeralda, at least without her glamours on, it would probably be purple. Hair colours meant different emotions for different fairies, so it would be crucial to know the specific index for every individual fairy, should you want to know. It was all very confusing, but for Esmeralda, it was normal.
Esmeralda had purple hair whenever she was happy. When she was sad or nervous, it would turn blue. Anger was red, fear or stress made her hair silver (much like the Marie Antoinette syndrome, but thankfully for her, it was temporary), orange was sick or in pain, blonde was neutral and green was disgust or revulsion. One colour that had never been seen on Esmeralda's head was pink. Pink meant love. Specifically, romantic love. Her hair would not be pink until she met her soulmate, and that would be the day she turned thirteen.
Soulmates were a once in a lifetime occurrence. The majority of fae had them, but some didn't, and even that was perfectly normal. To know who your soulmate was, you would have a soulmark on your left or right arm, and your soulmate would have the same mark, only on the opposite arm. Esmeralda bore a tattoo-like insignia on the inside of her left wrist. It was simple enough. A pair of angel wings with a small sun hovering just above the wings, almost touching, yet not quite. It would become a legendary sign in approximately a decade. An insignia with such simplicity would one day be a symbol of power, love, two people united, and above all, peace.
Esmeralda fiddled with her shoulder length purple hair. It was charmed to stay that color, so mood swings would not change hair colors. She much preferred her vibrant multipliers hair, but the sticking charm was probably the best decision for a six year old with ADHD, dyslexia and a vivid imagination.
Swinging her legs, she adjusted her position on the cold, boring chair in the principal's office. She hated how bland the decor looked. It was the same in every room in the school. Beige walls, white tile floors, uniforms that looked about as colourful as a math workbook...
She was waiting for her dad to come pick her up. She had been playing in the sand at recess, when the class mean girl came up and dumped mud on her head. Kaylee was determined to make her life hell ever since Esmeralda had sung Over The Rainbow well enough to get a small solo in the class act in the school talent show.
Esmeralda wasn't quite sure what had happened after that, but Kaylee was lying on the sand, screaming that Esmeralda had pushed her. Esmeralda's hair was devoid of mud and the recess monitor with the severe hairstyle was taking her to the principal, claiming Esmeralda had been using violence and was lying about Kaylee putting mud in her hair.
The thing was, however, (though Esmeralda hadn't touched Kaylee in the slightest) the evidence of Kaylee putting mud in her hair was gone. Her hair was clean and looked just as it had before the incident. Kaylee wasn't even sent to the principal. And that, Esmeralda thought afterwards, was the most unjust thing ever.
A firm knocking on the door sounded, and the principal looked up. He was your average elementary school principal. Wearing a drab suit and sporting a immaculately well groomed mustache, yet had a head as bald as an egg. He was intimidating and looked like he had never once smiled. His name was Mr. Mahler and was pretty much your textbook definition of a fossil.
"Enter." He called.
Esmeralda's dad opened the door and walked in.
"Mr. Grey-" Mr. Mahler intoned flatly.
"Daniel will do just fine." Daniel Grey responded in a clipped tone.
"Daniel, it has come to my attention that your daughter is simply not compatible with this institution. She will have to choose another school, due to her violence against students, ignorance towards teachers and students and an unwillingness to learn. She will no longer be enrolled in this school as of now. I can give you a list of schools that might better suit her academic-"
"My daughter has ADHD and dyslexia, and those prevent her from learning properly, not because she is unwilling to learn or ignorant! I will NOT be needed that damned list of yours. We will be going. I assume her belongings are all at the door?" Daniel fumed.
"Have an excellent day, Mr. Grey. Best wishes." Mr. Mahler said coldly .
Daniel took Esmeralda's belongings in one hand and took her hand in his other.
Once they were seated in the car, Esmeralda drew her knees to her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt Kaylee. She put mud in my hair and..." She trailed off.
"Esme, sweetie. Listen, it wasn't your fault. You are special, and not because you are a fairy. You have magic, not just your fae talent. You have the capacity to do almost anything if you put the right amount of effort with your powers. Most fae can't do that. So, Esme, I'm going to take you to a camp. This camp is going to teach you how to control these powers, especially your talent, and they have fae there too, so you won't be alone. You can work on your aerial skills there too. It's called Camp Half-Blood. "
"Will you be there? "
"No. I'm sorry. It's for people who are like you. Not me."
"Oh. Can I have a pretzel? "
"I don't know. CAN you have a pretzel?" Daniel was already handing over the bag of pretzels.
"May I please have a pretzel?"
Daniel chuckled. "Sure."
Little did Esmeralda know, that would be one of the last times she saw her dad. After all, bad things happen when you are entangled in Greek mythology.