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Faded Memories #1: Forgotten Princess - Part One


by kit_3_3_3

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It had been a strange day in Faerieland. The wind blew wildly outside; scaring away tourists and making the local inhabitants flee to their homes. The unusual weather put everyone in grim humor. It was no different in the Faerieland palace. Fyora, the Faerie Queen, sat at her desk in the council room with her chin resting on one hand. Her lavender eyes held signs of weariness and slight annoyance. In front of her, at their desks, the High Faerie Council continued to bicker. What had started out as a small disagreement between the dark faerie member and the light faerie member had turned into a full on shouting match between every element. Fyora was the only one to remain silent. Finally, when all faeries had to stop yelling and breathe, the queen stood up.

     “Enough,” she said. Though she did not speak loudly, everyone in the room heard her and was instantly silent. “You have been at this all day and I am very surprised at you. I did not think that such a small matter could create such hostility between sisters. Enough of this. The council is dismissed.”

      As the council walked out of the room shamefaced, Fyora sat back down and put her head in her hands. It had been a long day and right at this moment, all she wanted to do was get away from the pressures that came along with being queen. The paperwork on her desk told her that was impossible.

     “My queen,” said a quiet voice. “Are you all right?” Fyora looked up to see that the earth faerie of her council had lingered behind.

     “Of course,” said Fyora with a smile. “Go to bed, Lilia. It is going to be another long day tomorrow.” Lilia smiled and left the room. The smile faded from Fyora’s face with the other faerie’s departure.

     With a sigh of exhaustion, the queen pushed herself away from the desk and walked over to the window. She watched as the wind outside turned Faerieland from a paradise into frightening city.

      She had only seen one other day like this during her reign as queen. It was a day that she desperately wished to forget, but its memory continued to haunt her. It was a day only a few remembered so she was unable to share her pain with anyone. So instead, she hid it behind the smile she wore when in public. No one could see past her shining eyes and cheerful face. In a way, she knew that was better. She didn’t want to worry anyone.

      When she made her way back to the desk, instead of beginning to read reports, she reached down and pulled open the lowest drawer. Fyora then pulled out two items. The first was a picture of two faeries in their teens, one of which was Fyora herself. The other faerie, however, was strange. She like Fyora, had long purple hair, though hers was a darker shade than the queen’s. She was slightly taller than Fyora and had sparkling green eyes. Both girls had an air of mischief and the other girl had her arm slung around Fyora’s shoulders in a sisterly way.

      The other item was a silver locket with small green gems placed in the shape of an N on the front. As Fyora looked at it she felt a tear force its way out of her eye and fall down her cheek. As she closed her eyes, she was lost in a flood of memories.

     ***

      The halls of Thyora, Queen of Faerieland were silent. The members of the High Council and the queen herself had been in the Council Room all day. Servants relaxed after doing their tasks. The silence was suddenly shattered by the laughter of two young faeries that raced around the corner of a nearby hall. One girl was the exact image of Thyora with long lavender hair and shining amethyst eyes. Her light lavender dress swirled around her ankles as she ran. The older girl had darker purple hair with unusually green eyes. Her dress was a light shade of green. Behind them came two enraged looking fire faeries. They cried for the two girls to stop but their quarry ignored them. These were the princesses, daughters of Thyora, and if there was one thing that was known about them, it was that they never listened to anyone and were as mischievous as a faerie could possibly be.

      They then quickly turned another corner and stopped before the large purple door which was the entrance to the Council Room.

      “Come on, Fyora,” said the older girl. The two instantly made their way in with their nursemaids right behind them.

     The faeries of Thyora’s council were shocked when the two princesses rushed into the room in a whirl of screaming and laughter. Their maids tried desperately to catch them but it was no use. The young faeries hopped over desks, dodged around chairs and skidded underneath tables. The shocked faeries instantly burst out in laughter as they saw their queen’s daughters evade their nursemaids with practiced skill. They had almost made it to the other end of the room when Thyora, their mother, stood up with an enraged look on her face.

     “Silence!” she yelled. The maids froze in terror and the council instantly quieted. The two girls faced their mother with smiles of mischief still on their faces. “What in the name of all faeries is going on?” demanded the queen. Her eyes flicked toward the nursemaids.

     “We... we caught them skipping their classes,” stuttered the first maid.

     “Then they refused to go back so we tried to make them and... well,” said the second faerie, “it didn’t really work.” Several members of the council chuckled at this.

     Thyora turned angry violet eyes toward her daughters. Fyora gazed at her mother, the picture of pure innocence while her sister looked at the queen with a rebellious glare.

     “Thank you. You are dismissed,” she said to the fire faeries. Without another word, she descended from her throne and grabbed the two young faeries by the arm before towing them out of the room. The council members winced, for they knew what was coming next. They could only hope that the daily argument between mother and daughters would not be as bad as the last one. Only the day before, Navaleen had managed to open a secret panel to the Hidden Tower and the queen had found her eldest daughter playing with a Fire and Ice Blade. The result was not at all pleasant.

     Thyora led her daughters to her private study before freeing them. They turned to face her and she glared at them angrily. She was silent for a few moments before turning to her younger daughter.

     “I am surprised at you, Fyora,” she stated. “I expect this kind of behavior from Navaleen but not from you.” She did not seem to notice that both her daughters stiffened with anger.

      “I get into as much trouble as Navaleen,” retorted Fyora. “By now I would have expected you to be used to it.” Without another word, the young princess stormed out of the room while her sister, Navaleen, followed her after fluttering her fingers in a goodbye gesture at the fuming queen.

      Navaleen watched her sister as they made their way down a hall toward their rooms. Fyora, despite the fact she was not the heir, had always been their mother’s favorite. She shrugged these thoughts away. She was used to Thyora’s ridicule.

      The girls entered the luxurious room they shared and both sat down on their own beds. They were silent, but it was not long before Navaleen heard the expected outburst coming from her sister.

      “Why does she spend all of her time evaluating our behavior when she should be helping Faerieland?” demanded Fyora. “It's no wonder that people think she is a terrible ruler.” Though she wanted to disagree, Navaleen had to admit that Thyora had not done a great job of ruling. It was only a matter of time before the faeries began to think of rebellion.

      “At least she tries,” said Navaleen. Fyora glared at her sister.

      “You’re just saying that,” she snapped. “You know she doesn’t really.” Navaleen sighed. Despite the fact that Fyora was sixteen in faerie years, and Navaleen was eighteen, she seemed so much more mature.

      “Well, when you’re queen you can fix mother’s mistakes,” said Navaleen slyly. Fyora turned startled eyes toward her sister.

      “What do you mean when I’m queen?” she questioned. “You’re the heir.”

      “I don’t want to be queen,” Navaleen stated sternly. “Besides, you would be a better queen and Mother likes you more anyway.”

      “Does not,” retorted Fyora.

      “Does too.”

      “Does NOT!”

      Navaleen suddenly tackled her sister and pinned her to the bed. Fyora laughed as her bigger sister tickled her mercilessly. Fyora had just managed to escape Navaleen’s grip and chuck a pillow at her when their nursemaids ran into the room. With much difficulty, the fire faeries managed to separate their charges. Both princesses continued to laugh as their maids scolded them and escorted them to the set of rooms where their tutors were awaiting them with impatient scowls on their faces. They didn’t try to resist. They knew that the second their teachers turned their backs they would be out the door for another adventure around the palace.

To be continued...

 
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