When Vi's eyes fluttered open, she was lying on a large canopy bed with a feather comforter and silk sheets. The drapes around the bed were all closed, but sunlight made its way through the gossamer material. She found a pair of moccasin slippers at the side of the bed that fit her feet perfectly. Vi washed her face and hands at a small basin alongside one of the walls of the grand room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a velvet chair next to the window; there was a blush pink gown draped over the chair. The dress was finer than anything she had ever worn, yet it was relatively simple for a dress meant for royalty. Her fingers were fumbling with the strings along the back of the dress when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
A fairy with red hair walked into the room, carrying a tray in her hands. Vi's mouth watered when the smell of fresh cinnamon rolls reached her nostrils. The young fairy, who looked to be no more than ten years older than Vi, had a wide smile on her face when Vi made eye contact with her.
"Good morning, my lady," she replied sweetly. "Would you like me to help you finish getting ready?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Once I have tied the laces on your dress, you may help yourself to breakfast while I fix your hair."
"My name is Genevieve, but I prefer to be called Vi."
"I heard rumors that the princess had returned to the land. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Princess," she said, dipping into a curtsy.
"I'm not a princess. I'm simply a visitor in this land."
The fairy titled her head to the side. "They said you didn't have a clue about who your parents are, I mean, were, but now it not the time for somber conversation. The council wants you to meet with them after breakfast."
The fairy let out what sounded like a nervous giggle to Vi. "I almost forgot my manners. I'm Rose." She curtsied.
"I'm pleased to meet you." Vi curtsied, unsure what she was supposed to do. "May I ask you a question?"
"You may, although I don't understand why you think you need my permission. You are a princess, after all."
Why does she keep insisting that I am a princess? The only thing I know for sure is that my mother is dead and she was someone important to these people...I mean fairies. I hope someone will give me some clear answers today.
"How well did you know my parents?" she asked, saying each word carefully.
Rose opened and closed her mouth, almost as if she was unsure of what to say or how to say something. Finally, she gave a stiff smile and said, "I knew them like a servant knows their master, but we shall not talk about this grim subject anymore. The Elder Council is not patient when it comes to matters of the royal court."
Vi wanted to scream or stomp her foot. Why is everyone here treating me like a child, that everything I say is silly or unimportant? At least he...
She shook her head to clear her mind of him. "Yes, Ma'am." Vi obediently followed Rose downstairs into a dining hall. In the center of the room was a long table draped by an iridescent cloth of some kind. All of the council members were seated at the table, along with some fairies that Vi did not recognize. There was another table farther into the room, but it was quite a bit smaller; Vi saw Felix sitting at the smaller table as well as some of the other fairies that she remembered seeing last night in the woods. Nobody turned in her direction until the eldest fairy stood up and made a whistling sound. She twirled a strand of hair that had fallen over her shoulder as the entire room gazed at her in astonishment; a few people had their arms crossed, but most of them stared at her with their mouths open.
"Good morning, Princess Genevieve. Come and join us for breakfast so we can get better acquainted with you," he said in a voice that bounced against the walls.
Everyone else stood up, curtsied or bowed to her, then sat back down as if nothing unusual had just happened.
Rose nudged her forward, but Vi didn't move very far.
"Where am I supposed to sit?" she whispered to Rose.
"With the Elder Council. You will find an empty seat when you get closer to the table. Now go," she said, nudging Vi so hard that she nearly stumbled.
She was relieved when she saw the fairies were eating the same kinds of food that she was accustomed to eating; Vi had been more than a little nervous that she was going to have to eat foods from strange plants and animals. However, the fairies drank sparkling silver liquid from their goblets. The fairy with the spectacles told her it was a nectar from a tree that only grew in the center of the kingdom, specifically in the forest that they had found her last night. Vi declined the offer to drink the nectar when a serving boy began to pour it into her goblet; instead, she opted for traditional hot chocolate.
"You are how old?"
"Do you know anything about your parents? It can be any small detail."
"Did you really have no idea about who your parents were?"
"Tell me about your education."
"You say you got your necklace from your mother. How did she give it to you?"
"How did you not know about Slatkovila until last night? Do you wish to ignore your heritage?"
The questions kept coming until she told a servant that she was done with her hot chocolate.
"Let the poor child breathe. I'm sure her parents had good reasons for keeping all of this a secret," said Silvia.
Vi smiled at her in gratitude.
"Now that we have all finished our meal, let us head outside," said the oldest fairy.
Only the Elder Council and Vi headed toward the front doors; Vi assumed the others had resumed their normal responsibilities for the day. One of the council members handed her a cloak before they greeted the crisp winter weather.
"While we are convinced that you are Princess Genevieve, the heir to the throne, due to the character that you have demonstrated thus far and the family resemblance, some of us are uncertain if you are fit to lead our kingdom. Before we can make an unanimous decision about your future here, we need more proof. The soldiers who found you told us that you possess a unique, but powerful gift. Will you step into the snow?"
What is that going to prove? "Yes, sir." Taking a deep breath in and out of her nose, Vi walked down the front steps and onto the thick layer of snow.
"Now walk around the garden."
"Yes, sir." She let out a sigh. Is this supposed to test my abilty to listen and follow orders? Vi moved in between the small shrubbery and then stopped at a tree covered in large icicles.
The council whispered excitedly amongst themselves, but Vi could not understand what they were saying.
"Thank you Genevieve. That will be all." He turned to the other fairies and spoke in an odd language which sounded unlike anything Vi had ever heard. "We don't need to see anymore proof. The council has made a decision." He spoke in the strange language again before all of the fairies, except two, turned and headed back inside.
The fairy with rosy cheeks glanced back at Vi. "I believe you will be a great ruler like your parents, perhaps even greater." Then she disappeared behind the doors.
The fairy with the spectacles was the first to glide over to her. "Princess, there is something that we must show you. Hopefully, it will answer some of your questions, at the very least."
Silvia nodded in agreement. "Before we proceed, there is one more thing that I must ask you. Did anyone else follow you here, other than the wooden man and the rodent?"
"No, Ma'am. Why do you ask?"
"We still have a murderer on the loose, so we can't be too cautious about your safety or the safety of this kingdom."
The two fairies led her back inside and headed down a corridor, which was almost completely hidden by shadows. Portraits lined the walls; the paintings depicted people dressed in regal clothing. Upon closer examination, Vi discovered that the portraits actually showed fairies, their wings so delicate that she almost didn't see them in the background; both young and old faces smiled at her even though most of them were stiffly posing for the artist who painted each of them. Toward the end of the corridor was a painting of a young king and queen. The king had wavy copper brown hair and bright green eyes; his facial hair almost concealed his playful smile entirely. The queen, in contrast, had tight, curly, blonde-white hair partly pulled back into a bun and grayish blue eyes; her smile was more serious but gentle and her face was a little rounder.
Vi took a couple of steps backward. Even though she had never seen their faces before, she knew the young rulers in the painting were her parents. Yet there was something unusual about this particular portrait.
"Why is there only one set of wings visible in the painting?"
"Because your father was human," said Silvia.
Word count: 1,611