Merry early Christmas! I have big news! Mira took her first hops today! It was so cute to watch, I just about died! I swear she gets cuter every time I look at her! ^_^

Her cheeks burned. "It- I' was not!"

"It was!" the sprite princess insisted. "You guys went and watched the sunrise! You can't get more romantic than that!"

"I' wasn't romantic." Raz sneered with disgust. "We was watchin the sky- only otha thing tha happened-"

"Wait, something ELSE happened?!"

"No! Well yeh, but it wadn't anythin important. Ah jus took a quick dip an' met a mermaid."

Alleigh blinked. "A mermaid?"

"Yes, a mermaid."

"...I was right." she giggled. "You are a liar!"

Raz made a grab for the troublesome sprite, managing to catch her on the third attempt. Marching straight to the window, she threw her out into open air, huffing, pulling the wooden shudders closed. "An good riddance... I nevah liked her anyhow." grumbling to herself, she crossed the room again and set herself back down, snapping her fingers. "Th' resta ya, back ta work." her company continued brushing her fur for about ten minutes more, before deeming it silky smooth and tangle free. As the sprites showed themselves out, she studied herself in the mirror. Her fur did look smoother, she supposed, and it looked nice- though she could definitely do without the pink bow they tied her ears back with. "Hmm..." she leaned in closer, examining her face. Ahead wondered for the millionth time, why? Why did Zalim want HER as his bride? She was nowhere near as beautiful as some of the other jills she'd come across on land. She thought she was a bit too tall, nearing seven and a half feet. Most females were lucky to reach six! She was nothing like any of the other women he could have; with his magic, he could easily have chosen someone else. Someone prettier, someone 'sweeter', as women were often stereotyped as... someone who didn't see it fit to bruise or draw blood when irked. Someone who actually knew something about being a queen; she had no doubt there were s bajillion expectations and rules. And...

"Are you... alright?" Opal asked from the table top.

She sighed, falling back into the reclining chair, rubbing her temples. "Yeh, Ah'm fine. 'm jus feelin a bit off balanced- not used ta sleepin most'a the day." it was true; she'd slept from seven that morning to nearly an hour past sundown.

"Maybe... perhaps a good meal will clear your mind." Opal offered, smiling with Lela on her shoulder; the tiny sprite refuses to leave. "Its past supper time."

"I s'pose..."

...

Five minutes into dinner, Raz got bored. "We should do some'n fun."

Zalim raised a brow at her over his chalice of whine. "Alright." he set his glass aside. "What would you like to do?"

"Well..."

...

"This's nice."

"Indeed."

She wasn't quite sure how it had happened, but somehow, they'd ended up on a raft and floating down a wide river. They'd st out a lace blanket under them, assorted foods laid out between them. The current was gentle, but plenty strong enough to push their raft along slowly. There was the general chirping of crickets and other woodland noises, but otherwise it was quiet. She took a deep breath of the air; it smelled fresh and sweet here in the forest. A fish splashed off to her left, a warm splatter of water touching her face. She laughed and stuck out her hand, letting her fingers trail in the water, laughing louder when she felt a swarm of little minnows and tadpoles come nibble her fingers curiously. "Ah..." feeling refreshed and suddenly playful, she cupped her hands in the water, before throwing it up above them. She laughed at Zalim's dumbstruck expression. "Aw c'mon, smile! Iss' good for ya!"

"Right, of course." he carefully wiped a fleck of moss off his arm. "I-"

"Look!" she suddenly cried out, scrambling to stand up. She could only gaze at the trees in amazement, watching as a thousand lights began to flicker on. There were yellow, pinks and blues, purple and green! She stuck a finger hesitantly, and a pink speck landed on her fingertip. "Are these..."

"Fireflies." he confirmed beside her, watching the little lights slowly beginning to drift from the branches all around, swirling around them slowly in the air.

"But they're..."

"Haven't you learned now, my dear Raz?" his voice was light, an amused smile on his face. "Everything here is different, everything here is magical."

"Oh wow..." bending over, she put her face close to the water, nearly jumping out of her skin when suddenly, another face was staring back her. It was her... yet it was not. "Wh-What..." the face came out, connected to a tiny body, made of water. She gasped as the smaller version of herself smiled and waved, chattering at her in a series of squeaks. "How..." the smaller version landed in her palm, its oceanic body rippling.

"As I said, all is magical here." she could have sworn his voice was whispering in her ear, and it sent a shiver down her spine. "Even the river. Any who catches their reflection finds themselves with a... personal water sprite, I suppose. This little creature will do any and all of your bidding, and can never be destroyed less you will it, or your own life is taken.

"Wow... so your wot, like, my copy?"

The little water sprite made its squeaking, chattering sound again. Zalim chuckled. "Water sprites are not copies, my dear." she huffed a little when he called her 'dear', but was too much engrossed in her water creature to care at the moment. "They are simply a piece of your essence. And they cannot speak. Your telepathic bond will grow in time."

"Oh... kay..."

It was quiet for a moment, before he lay a gentle hand on her arm. She didn't even tense. She could feel his presence not an inch behind her, but not touching. "I want to show you something." his voice was barely there. "Would you let me?"

For a moment she felt... nervous, feeling his warm, slow breaths on her neck. "Yeh." her voice was barely audible as well. "Ah'd like tha. I'd like that a lot."

And done! What's this? Raz is ok with Zalim taking her somewhere? Is that just the shock of having her own personal sprite talking, or… you decide! ;)