A Fairy's Tale

♠ - I - The Challenge - ♠

Daisy curled her fingers under the table, staring at each member of the Royal Council with a straight face. Despite all the confidence from the outside, the sweat on her palms confirmed that she indeed was nervous. After all, soon she would hear if the people of the Mystic Kingdom would accept her as the successor of the current queen.

"Princess Daisy." That voice almost made her jump from her seat despite the calm tone.

She blinked twice as she gazed across the long rectangular table, looking for the owner of that voice. Her eyes met several beings that either looked human but with pointy ears or had animalistic features but still had a human shape. Her gaze stopped on a slim man with very short white hair. She took a deep breath as she recognized Acacio.

By Acacio's side, at the head of the table, Daisy spotted a woman in a dark green, flowing dress, with pinkish skin that showed marks of aging. Her short, wavy hair had lost its original red-brown color and was replaced with gray strands.

Her chest tightened, realizing that her grandmother couldn't even maintain her usual hair color anymore, which didn't require a lot of magical power.

"Erm... ye-yes...?" said Daisy, failing to keep her tone calm, standing up.

"You don't have to stand up, Your Highness," said Acacio with a quick laugh, "please make yourself comfortable."

"Yes, I-I'm sorry," she said, taking back her seat.

As chatter filled the room, Daisy focused her gaze on the cream-colored cloth covering the table under her eyes. She silently scolded herself for showing her nervousness around the council. As the next queen, she should have shown more confidence, especially in this situation.

Her heart sped as she felt something tapping her shoulder. She quickly turned around and saw her grandmother's smile. Seeing that her grandmother was trying to calm her down, Daisy looked back to the scene in front of her, only to see Acacio examining the papers in his hands.

"From your excellent grades to your improved control of your abilities, you've shown us that despite being half-fairy, you are worthy of being the next Queen of our kingdom."

Daisy breathed in, trying to hide her excitement. After three years of working hard to get the best grades at the magic academy, as well as trying to control her abilities, it was great to hear the council finally recognized her.

Attaining top grades at the kingdom's strictest academy was a condition the council set for her to earn the throne.

"I'm so happy, I tried my best for you to accept me." Daisy turned around to face her grandmother. "You don't have to worry about leaving the throne anymore. You can rest now, our family will always rule the kingdom."

Her grandmother's lips lifted into the cheeriest smile Daisy had ever seen, but she saw that it seemed forced as her grandmother's serious expression remained.

"Before you celebrate, you should worry about your next task," said an arrogant voice by her side.

Daisy didn't have to turn around to see the owner of that irritating voice. The innocent-looking woman who sat by her side hadn't been friendly to her ever since she stepped into this world.

"There's another task?" Daisy frowned. "I thought that if I did well at the academy, you would accept me as the heir to the throne."

Daisy's gaze fell on Acacio. Waiting for answers, she couldn't believe she had to do another task after all the troubles she had gone through at the academy. There couldn't be another task. Acacio's light blue eyes met her dark brown eyes.