Note to Readers: I know that this is the first chapter all over again. It's just that I realized how horrible the first chapter was, so I amended it. I added another scene into it, which should have been there in the first place. The previous one I had done had ended too abruptly. This is my second go at it. As I had mentioned, it shall take me some time to get back into the world again.

The Fairy Kingdom II

I was in a receiving room with fourteen of the Royal Guards, one Waterling Minister, two Redding representatives and one other fairy, the Minister of Delaphii. The word Delaphii belonged to the ancient tongue of fairy, which basically meant something like 'trade'. Think 'Minister of Foreign Trade and Affairs' back in the human world.

We were discussing as the Minister's name suggested, trade. Before this I had no idea that fairies even traded. Of course, I didn't have much knowledge about fairies. After all, I had only known I was a fairy just three months ago. I had spent the first twenty-five years of my life thinking I was human until one day, three men claiming to be fairies had turned up and informed me that I was one of them. And not just any ordinary fairy either, but a princess fairy. A princess who was going to be elevated to queen upon her return. Ha-ha, you think. My sentiments exactly. But there's nothing ha-ha about it now seeing how as I was really in another realm, with fifteen fairies and two other kinds of races the human realm doesn't even support.

"Ah, I do not think so," one of the Redding aired his opinion. The man's name was Reffeld. An attractive man, with brown skin. Not tanned, but brown. But the interesting detail about his looks wasn't his skin but his hair. It was white, and not just any white either, but silver white. It was left unbound so that it hung loose to his lower back. The man knew how to dress to complement his unusual looks. He was dressed completely in white. From the shirt he wore to the polished leggings of his boots, they were entirely white. Silver trimmings laced his elegant clothes.

His counterpart, another Redding representative, named Wende (pronounced went), with the same hair color and skin, scowled and agreed.

Ares, the Waterling Minister, ignored their opinions. The Waterlings and Reddings had never gotten along well. Actually, that was an understatement. They had the biggest grudge against one another, probably since the beginning of time. Perhaps their enmity had something to do with their contrasting looks. Where the Reddings' hair were as white as the purest snow, the Waterlings had hair as dark as the blackest midnight, a black so dark that it seemed violet at certain angles where the sun's rays hit. "The opening of the route would be the ideal solution," the Waterling insisted again, instead.

At this point, Neviel, the Minister of Delaphii, probably sensing another big argument about to ensue, quickly spoke up. "Ares," he addressed the Waterling, "perhaps we should look for another route that wouldn't cut through the Reddings' ancestral homes."

"Yes," Wende scoffed. "We could use the ancestral grounds through the Waterlings instead."

Loud voices began to echo through the room, as the twentieth argument yet in just the past two hours began to erupt.

Cavan, my cousin and a Royal Guard, began to step in to calm the situation. Cavan was extremely good at the job of calming senseless, angry men. The other Guards also stepped in to soothe the situation.

I would like to say I took all these in with interest. Unfortunately, after almost two hours of such, I was finding it extremely difficult to even bother what the latest argument was over. The arguments didn't make sense anyways. Nor did the discussions. It was apparent that the Reddings and Waterlings had come to the meeting with rivalry in mind and with the intention of making things difficult for the other. And neither was going to back down.

I traced the seat of my chair with idle fingers instead, bored. Alright, so I wasn't that bored. I was after all in a room filled with great looking men. The magical creatures in this realm just seemed to have extremely good genes, which made all of them look extremely handsome or beautiful. Even the Minister of Delaphii at the good old age of almost two hundred looked like a more handsome version of Richard Gere. It was difficult for my eyes to stop darting from one handsome face to the other. Just like good art, I couldn't stop admiring their beauty.

"Your Majesty, put in a fair word," Reffeld's voice suddenly rang out, jolting me alert.

I immediately realized that I'd missed all the goings on, so I wasn't certain what fair word I was supposed to put in. "Er," I began, as I tried to rack through my brain on what the latest argument had been about.

All eyes were on me.

"Well, er..." I paused, and then continued, "actually, I'm not feeling too well. Why don't we discuss this tomorrow, instead?"

Upon hearing that I was unwell, they immediately stopped bickering and began to ask after me. I assured them that it was just a slight headache, and a short rest would see me back to good health. A minute later, they finally departed to their respective guest rooms.

After Cavan had overseen that a few of the palace guards would escort the gentlemen back to their rooms-probably to ensure that a fight didn't break out in the corridors anyways-he shut the door.

Now, only fairies remained.

"Shall we escort you back to your room to rest, Your Majesty?" Cavan asked. Cavan was one of the taller Guards standing at a good six foot five. His hair was a golden blonde, and at present he regarded me with concerned pale blue depths.

Okay, now was probably the ideal time to admit that the illness had just been a lie. But I didn't think Cavan would be too happy to hear that I'd lied to important Ministers of important allies, just so I could escape from listening to their incessant babbles. He would probably deem it an incorrect political move, subjecting me to a lengthy lecture that might bring about the imaginary headache I had had to flare to life. And the worst thing about all this was that he would probably be right. After all, Cavan had been King of the Kingdom longer than I had been Queen. How he could have been King before me was another long story altogether.

I decided to settle for the half-truth. "Actually, I'm feeling better already."

I caught Lucius hide a half-smile at my words. Lucius was one of the fourteen Royal Guards. Of all fourteen of them, he probably knew me the best, so it wasn't surprising that he'd guessed the lie. He stood at around six foot two. His hair was blonde, and it curled in tight circlets on his head. His eyes were a pale green, like that of soft jade. He wore the uniform of the Guards, which meant a long sleeved white shirt with a high collar, black pants that tucked into black boots, and a forest green cloak.

I turned to Neviel and addressed him, so as to distract the others from detecting the lie, too. "So what are your opinions on the meeting so far?"

"Actually, Your Majesty, I feel that it's going to be difficult to get the Waterlings and the Reddings to cooperate."

Exactly my thoughts. Ironically, it had actually been me who had managed to bridge the two people together. But it seemed that although they might agree not to slaughter one another upon sight of each other, it didn't mean that they weren't going to trade insults at one another whenever the situation allowed for it. I was already regretting not just choosing over one of them as my father had done. The meeting had been called between the three people so that we could come to a consensus about opening a route that would be convenient for the fairies and their people to cross the boundaries when they traded. But it seemed that even after almost a week of discussion, not a single route could be settled upon. In fact, it didn't seem in the Reddings' nor the Waterlings' mind to find the best route for all the three people. They just kept picking routes that would either destroy one's or the other's properties and lands.

"But what do you believe is the best route, Neviel?" I asked.

He went to the map that was spread out on a table in the center of the room. "Unfortunately, Your Majesty, it seems that there are very few routes that can be opened without the cooperation of either the Waterlings or the Reddings. I believe that the Reddings wouldn't mind so much about cutting a route through the Gorge Forest, but they do not want to agree to it simply to rile the Waterlings. As it is with the Waterlings and the route through the Pezas Lake.

I stood up and went over to peer at the map. I frowned. "But the shortest route would be?"

He traced an outline through the Kingdom and then towards the northlands with a finger. "This should be the best route. Except that it does cut across the Reddings' ancestral grounds."

"We would need them both to compromise," I said.

"Exactly. But I fear, Your Majesty, that would be almost impossible."

I agreed wholeheartedly, but said instead, "Why don't you contact them separately in their chambers, Neviel, and test their true opinions on the matter. Try not to bring up the other party in front of one another. Just get each party to agree to something."

"I shall try," he said, although he looked worried at the upcoming task. Then, as though a thought came to mind, he hurriedly scrolled the map up, and said, "I shall attend to the matter."

And with that, he quickly exited the room.

"Is he always like that?" I asked to no one in particular as the harried figure of the Minister of Delaphii disappeared through the doors.

"Yes, but he's very good at what he does," Lucius replied.

The discussion shifted to a few other topics of concern, and very soon a debate broke out over the coming of a people called the Azirans. The Azirans lived in the southernmost lands, and was a people with great magic, even though their people were of a small number. They were a solitary people who although weren't enemies to the fairies, were also neither an ally. They preferred to keep to themselves, and seemed to be nobody's friend. But the interesting thing was that the Kingdom had recently received a note from one of their messengers that their people would like to seek an audience with me.

Under Cavan's advice, I'd given my consent to the audience. I was more than curious about their request after hearing what the Guards had to tell me about them. It would probably be a month before the Azirans did arrive, but it was difficult to keep from guessing at their motives. After all, according to Cavan, this would probably be the first out of over a few thousand years since the Azirans even left their own turf to venture into another's. And the Queen herself was actually coming. It had to be something of importance for the Queen herself to travel to meet me.

I didn't join in the debate but instead, just listened to the opinions of the Guards. And also, of course, continued my earlier eye wandering. It was always a dizzying experience to see so many beautiful men in one room, but the head-spinning experience was seeing so many beautiful men who were also able to speak intelligently too. Everyone knows what a rarity that was with the humans.

There was Jaz, with his beautifully carved cheekbones, and bright emerald gaze. He was saying, "The Azirans might just be deciding that it's time to break out from their recluse."

Then, there was Delan, a man with an almost haughty stature, midnight gaze, and brown hair streaked with the most amazing golden highlights. He was a quiet man, so he just nodded in agreement with Jaz's words.

Gadon didn't agree. "I think it's not that simple." Gadon was tanned, and his hair was a rich golden, like spun gold thread that reached to his lower back. Currently, his hair was tied at the nape though, so that his striking silver eyes took center stage instead. Gadon always reminded me of a Greek god, and I would have to admit, I was a little afraid of him. If you had been introduced to him the way I had been, you would understand why.

And, there was Tevel. A man with dark looks, with hair curling to just below his ears. His frame was lean. His black eyes sparkled intelligently as he voiced out, "Whatever it is, it's always better to be careful."

Everyone agreed.

And, of course, there was Jaques, the Captain of the Royal Guards. He was speaking now, but I wasn't really listening to the words. It wasn't that I didn't care for what he had to say, but his voice just seemed to have the weirdest effect on my entire body, making me tingle with its sonorous effect. He and I were seeing each other, or at least, something to that extent. Were a few exchanged kisses considered as seeing one another?

"Perhaps you'll want to rest now, Your Majesty?" Jaques suddenly spoke to me.

I jumped slightly when he addressed me. My eyes darted to him, and then I quickly averted my gaze. "Oh, sure," I said, suddenly remembering that I had proclaimed that I wasn't feeling well earlier.

And of course, it would be Jaques who remembered.

#

The day had just started to turn that dusky pink and purple when evening comes. Wispy clouds fringed the skies. I was in my room, seated in one of the red sofas close to the human length windows so that I got a good view of the darkening skies. The rest of the room was decorated sparsely, but elegantly. It contained a good-sized bed with shimmering seashell pink, silk sheets. Close to the bed was a side cupboard, a simple vase resting on the top. An assortment of pink, baby blue and white flowers had been inserted into the vase today, adding a fresh, tangy fragrance to the room. Exquisite vases graced the shelves and a few paintings decorated the walls, but otherwise the room was left pretty much empty, allowing for a lot of room to pace on the pine floorboards.

I decided to take the rest time I'd obtained to catch up on my reading. In my room were piles of books I'd moved from the library. I had taken a thin book with a red spine titled simply "History", and curled up comfortably on my chair to read.

It had been Cavan who had suggested that it would be advisable to begin familiarizing myself about the history of the fairies, considering my station as queen. I agreed with him. Really, I did. But there was so much I needed to know considering my station as queen-the customs of the fairies and the ten over other creatures which shared the lands with us, the relationships between the different creatures, the geography of the lands and more recently, even the trading and its history between the creatures. If the list kept on, my room itself would soon become a library.

So one couldn't blame me that when Cavan had advised me to read up on the topic of the fairies' history, I'd picked out the thinnest possible book on the shelf. Actually, the book was a miserly fifteen pages long. It looked extremely old, its spine creased and the pages yellowed with age. Considering the fairies' supposedly rich history of over twelve thousand years, I had serious misgivings about how the pathetically thin book could arm me with the knowledge of fairies' history. But I decided that a little knowledge was better than none, and at least when Cavan did ask me about reading up on the topic, I could mention that I'd indeed read up an entire book about it already. It was the last thought that made me decide to take the book.

I had almost missed it at first. I'd reached out to take from the shelf what I'd thought was the thinnest book on the topic, a solid few hundred pages, when the book, apparently shoved deeper into the shelf, had fallen out.

I turned to the first page, and began to read.

I was only halfway through the book when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," I called out. The door swung open, and I saw Jaques enter.

I watched him shut the door, and my heart did a little flutter as he strode towards me. I put the book down and stood up. My voice came out a little breathy. "Jaques."

"Carrie," he returned the greeting, flashing a brilliant smile that made my heart flutter even more. But his brows furrowed as he came closer. "Are you feeling better?"

Oh. Okay, a tough question. Did I admit my lie to Jaques? "Yeah," I replied, deciding that it was only a white lie. Everybody made white lies.

He stepped in then to give me a gentle peck on my cheek, a hand sliding tenderly to my waist. His body felt very warm next to mine. He smelled fresh and of something masculine, and my stomach made a small somersault from having his body so close to mine. He stepped back then and asked, "What are you reading?"

I looked down at the book I'd spent the past half an hour reading, and realized that I couldn't remember a word I had read. Jaques had that effect on me. It was this effect that made me wonder sometimes if I was struck with some love spell. My eyes quickly scanned the title of the book, and I told him simply, "History."

We both sat down. He took the chair opposite mine.

"So, what are you doing here?" I asked him, smiling.

"To see you," he answered.

"To discuss?" I probed.

"Just to see you."

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. Jaques never, ever came to my room just to see me. He had always only come when he needed to discuss certain issues or the likes, although sometimes he did stay a while longer to chat. My voice came out a little cracked, "Really?"

"Yes." His gaze slid to the open book lying face down. "But if you're occupied..."

I quickly said, "I'm free." And then realizing that I sounded much too eager, I said more calmly, "I can always read later." Oh, no, now that almost sounded as if I was reluctant. "I mean, stay. You can help me with it."

He raised a brow, and his voice was a little laughing. "Help you read?"

I flushed and explained hastily, "I meant, with my history."

He seemed to sober. "Of course. What would you like to know?"

My gaze traveled back down to the red book on the table, and I realized I still couldn't remember a single detail I'd read, so I couldn't ask any questions on it. In the end, I asked him to tell me the history between the Waterlings and Reddings that had caused such rivalry between them.

I'd had a rather hastily explained version of their enmity by Neviel, but as hastily as it had been explained, it had been forgotten. Jaques launched into a more detailed explanation. And almost as soon as he had begun, I realized that Jaques had stepped back into 'Royal Guard mode,' which basically meant that he was being all formal, and we were in effect discussing...work. I couldn't believe it! Here Jaques was, especially to see me, just to see me, and what did I do? I had him talking to me about work!

But after a while, I realized that maybe it wasn't so bad. Having him talk meant that I could just sit back and observe him to my eyes content. His aqua eyes shone intelligently as he spoke. He sat upright, one hand resting on the armrest of the cane chair. The fading sun had edged in from the windows, highlighting his dark ruby hair so that it seemed almost bronze.

Because I wasn't really listening to what he was saying, it took me a few seconds to register when he'd stopped. I quickly gathered all the bits and pieces my brain had managed to retain so that I could respond.

Jaques seemed to have caught on. "You weren't listening, were you?" he asked.

"I was," I began to deny, but then... my gaze met his. Our gazes broke a few seconds later, and as it did, the ice between us broke too, and I realized that I didn't want to have to continue the charade of speaking about centuries' old grudges.

I said instead, "Let's start over."

He gave me a puzzled look, not understanding.

I continued. "You came into my room. And I'm glad to see you. I ask, 'How have you been?'"

He smiled, catching on. "I'm well. And you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine too." I leaned forward in my seat. "I'm still interested in hearing the last story about you and Gadon. You left before finishing it the last time."

He laughed. "You remembered?"

How could I not have? Apparently Gadon and Jaques knew each other when they were just five years old. I always knew the two were close friends, but I never knew they were that close. And truthfully, it was just plain interesting to find out these things about Jaques.

Jaques obligingly continued the tale from where he had last left off. He was just telling me about how some older boys used to gang up against him and Gadon, when I just had to ask, "Is that why he learnt to be so scary?"

Jaques blinked, and then he actually asked, "Are you afraid of Gadon?" The way he asked the question made me want to deny it, because he'd asked it as though he already knew the answer.

"What?" I said somewhat defensively. "It was the way I'd met him, alright? Any person would have been afraid."

"Carrie," he said seriously. "You kicked him down the stairs."

"So he frightened me first," I pointed out.

"He had only put a hand on your shoulder."

"Yes. But I woke up in an alien place and I was not in the mood for anyone tapping me on my shoulder," I explained.

Jaques frowned. "Is that why you kicked him downstairs?"

I leaned nearer towards him, slightly agitated. "I was kidnapped, and in a house I didn't know. So yeah, I would kick the person who had kidnapped me down the stairs."

I glared at him, daring him to say differently. He didn't glare back, but leaned back into his chair instead, and just looked at me. It was difficult to remain angry with someone who was so calm. So I leaned back into my seat too.

After a while, he said, "That does not explain how you could be frightened of him."

I simply said, "But it does."

He didn't say anything, obviously waiting for me to explain myself.

"He was cursing and giving me mean glances," I finally said.

He still didn't say a word. I asked, "Isn't that enough?"

Jaques nodded. And then he leaned towards me, and asked,"Why did you think he was cursing?"

"Because I kicked him downstairs, and he's annoyed with me," I told him.

Jaques shook his head. "He was angry with himself for not forseeing it."

I narrowed my eyes at him, and leaned towards him as he did towards me. "You know," I said pointedly. "You're not going to be able to change my opinion of Gadon."

"No?" He leaned in closer as he asked.

I leaned in closer, and told him positively, "No."

He came even closer, so that his face was now only inches from mine. His eyes seemed darker now, and there was an almost invisble fire in them. "No?" he asked again, but this time his voice had dropped to a low quietness, an almost rough sound. And I felt the searing breath from his question caress my lips. I hadn't noticed before but the sky had darkened so that its darkness cloaked us.

My voice came out just as a bare whisper, "No." And then I found myself unconsciously leaning into him. Our lips touched.

A loud sound echoed through the room.

I jumped, frightened by the noise. It came again, and I realized that the sound was someone knocking on the door. I immediately pulled away from Jaques. The chair scraped loudly on the floorboards as I struggled to my feet.

I called out, "Come in." It was Lucius, and he gave me a formal bow. I spared a brief side-glance for Jaques to check if he had composed himself. As it was, I didn't have to worry about Jaques. He was all business. While I was still blushing furiously, embarrassed at having been almost caught, he had walked over to question Lucius about his presence, almost as though nothing between us had even taken place.

Although Jaques and I had been seeing each other for nearly a month, the others weren't aware of our relationship. Though, come to think of it, Jaques and I had never really discussed our relationship with one another before. However, he was always very formal with me whenever we were in the presence of others. And so I acted the same.

The men spoke in soft tones and it was only some moments later that my curiosity began to take over, and my embarrassment started to fade. I stood there for about half a minute to wait for the men to stop their own conversation to tell me what was going on. But as the seconds after that half-minute ticked on, I started to wonder if it wasn't actually considered bad manners to talk in front of the queen, in her own room, without telling her what was going on. It took another few seconds of wondering before comprehension of the situation hit me that Jaques might just had been trying to give me time to compose myself.

The moment I realized that, albeit somewhat belatedly, I walked over to them. And they stopped.

"Your Majesty, we might have a situation that requires your attention," Lucius told me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"A human had somehow found his way into our lands."

"A human?" I asked, shocked.

Lucius nodded. "He held one of those devices that the humans call guns, and had threatened to use it against one of our people who had found him. We managed to capture him, but he refuses to tell us how he had come into our lands, and if there are others."

I immediately realized the danger. If there were other humans with guns out there, then they might harm the fairies to get back their friend. "Let me talk to him," I told Lucius.

"Of course, Your Majesty."

--

Author's note: Okay, I really hate to write. So forgive the few happenings. Without school, I'm realizing that I no longer have something I hate worse to make me write any longer. I'm enjoying my holidays, and suddenly writing becomes the one thing that is most hated in my life. So naturally, I'm taking my time with it. Expect long periods between updates.