Where The Faeries Dwell

I wore my dress of satin ribbons and spider silk. It was lovely. I rode a graceful horse to the revel, and it got me there quick enough. Princess Adelaide had been crowned High Queen. She was kind, and gentle, and would be a good ruler. Other than the fact that she sometimes gave in too quickly. She didn't really think through the results of her letting someone have what they wanted. But-that was not my business to attend to. My hair is tied up into a crown around my head, but a very subtle one. I didn't want anyone thinking I was trying to one-up the princess.

I wasn't used to this. Seeing the odd creatures whirling around me still threw me off. My slightly pale blue skin shimmered in the dim light and I looked down to see what it was for a moment. Right. My yellow dress almost floated around me, never quite touching the ground. I was given this dress as a favor-a gift. It had been enchanted never to become dirty. I smiled at people as they passed me in the large ballroom. Moving to the snack table by dancing, I got there quick enough. People moved aside for people who were dancing. Maybe they presumed me drunk.

I looked down at the snack table and wrinkled my nose. Sparrow hearts? Blugh. But quite a few were gone. I continued looking. Some wine, a few cakes, chocolate fruit. These looked better. Grabbing a small glass, I filled it with some wine and held it while I plucked a chocolate strawberry and popped it into my mouth. There weren't really any seats, because all of the guests were required to dance the soles of their shoes out. So, I stood by the edge of the room and watched the dancing for a while. So graceful. All of the guests were so beautiful. My heart panged for a moment. Was I that beautiful?

"Oooooh! Chocolate fruit!" The voice of the little faerie wafted over the buffet in harmony with the music, her wings carrying Nahvee easily as the waspish faerie danced her way over other dancing guests, spotting the lady in the yellow satin as she made her way over.

"Oh- Oh no! Are you new? I hope you are new!" A chocolate treat raised half way to her lips before the faerie took note of the woman standing at the edge of the room, genuine alarm colouring the big glassy eyes of the fae. She had arrived earlier, her striped stockings and lacy gloves decorating the waspish woman's long arms and legs while she danced, gleefully having spent her energy before the faerie ever even stopped to think on the food.

Finally, she felt the need to have some sweets to satiate her hunger before - surely - Nahvee would return to the dance floor to carry on. That was when her big eyes fell on Maddie, long lashes fluttering when the lady was spotted as Nahvee blinked, her worries unfounded but heart-felt and honest in truth.

"Pleasepleaseplease don't be lost, oh you could fit right in of course but, oh oh I hope you're new." She spoke on, each thought coming faster than the last until her voice could scarcely keep up with her, the winged faerie looking between Maddie and the dancers about the room in rapid succession.

I heard a soft, high voice and looked around for the source in a moment of alarm. I swallowed my chocolate heavily. "I-" I started, before taking in the small creature's appearance. "Hello there." I started kindly, admiring how such a fragile creature could be so beautiful. "Yes- I'm new." I said gently, wondering what the importance of how long I had been here mattered. "It's a long and complicated story." I laughed a bit, a little forced.

"What-why is that important?" I asked, genuinely curious. "I don't believe I've been asked that here." Her voice was speeding up, too fast for the small and light figure that she was. "I'm not lost." I gingerly picked up another strawberry and popped it in my mouth, wiping my hands on a napkin nearby and obsessively straightening the folds of my dress.

Could it be she wanted to dance? "I haven't danced yet- would you like to?" I asked, gesturing to the dance floor and wondering how we would dance in the first place. Maybe dance next to each other? Everyone was moving so fluidly, and if I was being honest, one of the reasons I had avoided the dance floor was a fear that I would not stand a chance next to them. Either drowned in beauty and fluidity or ridiculed for my awkward joints.

Astraeh gave a small curtsey to the guards that stood at the entrance of the ball room, her glacier blue orbs glittering with soft curiosity. A gentle smile found it's way to her glossed lips as one of the guards cheeks heated at the attention.

Walking in a bit more the girl did a three-sixty spin to take in the room. The pale blue dress that she wore fanning out to surround her. Opening her mouth into a small 'o' she stared out into the large crowd before a giggle fell from her lips.

“Wow, It's absolutely beautiful.”

The words were murmured softly under her breath but some of the older woman around her seemed to pick it up and gave her a soft smile.

Blushing, Astraeh moved towards the food table. She was quite thirsty, the walk to the castle was agonizingly far. Grabbing a handful of her Golden Blonde hair, the girl moved it to rest on her shoulder. Humming as she maneuvered through the crowd, narrowly missing the gnome that had been dancing with his wife.

Apologizing profusely, she kept her head down and continued her trek to the table. She looked up when there was a blockage in front of her.

Looking up, Astraeh tilted her head at the two females that stood in front of the table, snacking on sweets. Her blue eyes widened a bit and she smiled. “Oh, I'm sorry, please, Excuse me.”

Walking around them, the girl immediately picked up a glass of sparkling cider and took a sip. A small sigh escaped her mouth and her eyes slid closed.

“I could get use to this.”

I turned my head in slight surprise. "Oh!" I said, putting a hand on my heart. "I hadn't seen you there. Apologies." I noticed her dress and fawned. "I absolutely love your dress. It almost matches my skin." I giggled slightly, glancing down at the skin I would never be used to. My gaze fans out to the room again, everyone spinning in circles, everyone beautiful. "It is amazing isn't it. I'm not sure if I will ever get used to this but I can hope."

I took a sip of my wine in my glass. It fizzed in my mouth and tasted slightly bitter. I coughed, covering my mouth with my fist. "I'm not even old enough to drink, but I suppose age doesn't define rights to faeries." It was still odd to me. They never smoked either. Well, I hadn't met one that did. They were well aware they were death traps and didn't like to participate in them.

I'd even met one who was horrified when I told him that my mom smoked. Horrified.

I looked around the room again and my gaze fell on the lady next to me. "You know, you could fit right in. It's like you belong here." I wondered if she noticed how perfectly she would fit here. It made my heart almost ache. "But maybe not."

"Oh thank goodness, I thought you were lost!" The little fae sang, relief evident as she spiraled out of the air for a moment before those delicate shard-like wings caught the air, lifting the tiny faerie with a mild flutter to speak to the other two who were there.

"That would be trouble! Buuuut since you're not?" She giggled, fluttered about both Maddie and Astraeh, observing the new faces that Vee was not used to.

"We should dance, it would be SO fun! Ohhh but first I want more honey, and chocolate. Don't worry about your age!" Speaking with mirth she dipped and dived through the different platters, plucking up a bit of honeycomb for herself and even offering a truffle for the new arrival.

"My name is Nahvee - it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." she offered her name for new people, with a very graceful curtsy for a tiny fae her size and blinked those big eyes at Maddie and Astraeh.

"You guys came to dance, right? Can you fly!?" she asked flying about the place, excited and giggly as she looked over the pretty strangers to the realm.

"We should dance!" she said again; by the sounds of things, Nahvee was not ready to hear "no" as an answer either. It would be fun, she liked to have fun with the guests...

I smile at the small creature as her words carry the conversation. She seemed quite... energetic. I still wasn't quite sure why that would be trouble, but I decided not to ask. Perhaps the reason I didn't know was because I was new to the faerie realm. I would love to dance, just not in the midst of these incredibly graceful people. But, I knew she wanted this, so I strained a smile and nodded in consent. When she goes for more food, I laugh and reach over Navhee to grab a bit of a honeycomb. I had never tried one before.

"Hello, Navhee, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Maddie Angevin, but you can me Maddie." My smile this time is genuine. I love meeting new people. It makes me feel happy to know that the total of people in this world I now just went up. I try to mimic her curtsy and fail, but pretend it was graceful. When she asked if I could fly, I paused. "I'm not...sure." I conceded. I had wings, I just wasn't very used to moving them. They were rather large so perhaps I should assume that they would work. "Perhaps." I smiled at Nahvee again. She was so excited about the smallest things. "Yes." I said decidedly. "Let's dance." I threw the rest of my conscious away along with my ability to care about other people's judgement.

My hands reached down and obsessively smoothed each and every crease in my dress over and over again, until they were exactly how they'd started. I sighed. I should stop doing that.

Astraeh jumped slightly, startled at her reply. “Oh my, no you're okay! I zone out some times and tend to run into people.” The blonde giggles and grabs a strawberry, biting into it; though her cheeks redden like the fruit at the compliment.

“Thank you, I made it myself.” Her glacier blue eyes scan over her skin tone and a cute smile pulls at her lips. “I think your skin tone is absolutely beautiful.” Her blue eyes sparkle for a moment, taking in the female before she finishes her strawberry.

Astraeh let out a hum of agreement, eyes wandering around the ball room. She jumped lightly at the girls abrupt coughing and pats her back softly, her blue orbs widening. “Oh lordie, then why are you drinking?”

She wasn't expecting an answer nor did she need one. Nudging her slightly with her hip she gave a smile, eyes turning to crescent moons. “I think we both belong here, all three of us actually.”

The blondes eyes focused on the small, cute, creature and tilted her head. The amount of enthusiasm in her voice made Astraeh laugh softly.

Her eyes twinkled at the mention of dancing and she quickly agreed. “Oh my yes! It would be so fun.” She herself gave a small curtsey and introduced herself. “Astraeh Triffissim at your service, just call me Rae.”

She watched the two for a moment with soft curiosity, zoning out for only a moment. Blinking rapidly she tuned back in to the conversation and watched as Maddie struggled to find an answer for the fae before undoubtedly saying yes.

Rae chuckled and grabbed Maddie's hands, stopping her from fidgeting so much. “You look amazing, don't worry so much.” She looked out towards the dance floor and then the two girls, smiling. “Let's have tons of fun, yeah?”

"Oh my what a pretty smile!" The fae said gushing, seeing how Maddie smiled at the energetic little Navhee. She thought that Maddie had understood why being lost would be ill-advised and thus spoke nothing more on the topic, unaware that Maddie herself was so new to the realm that it made her unsure, Navhee particularly focused and excited over the prospect of dancing with the new faces she had only just had the chance to meet.

"Maddie! Mad, Addie, hmmm." She hummed with such a sweet high pitch that it almost seemed her voice was a buzz, the honeycomb that was offered along with the waspish proportions of Nahvee doing nothing to banish the appearance the fae had of a black-and-white wasp, her clear glassy wings beating with the same quick speed that the faerie was talking in. Nahvee was considering some trifle matter with great effort, while Maddie curtsied and thought on whether she could or couldn't take flight.

"Dee! Rae and Vee!" As Astraeh introduced herself using her full name, the matter which the fae considered came to an end, Astraeh's abreviation of her own name triggering girly giggles from the faerie who rudely chose nicknames for herself and Maddie as well, the soft laughter of Astraeh matched by the giddy enthusiasm of the tiny dancing faerie.

"Rae! Dancing WOULD be fun! Let's find out if Dee can fly, if we're lucky we - all three of us - will be bumping into other dancers and flyers in no time at all! Well?" Vee asked, but didn't really wait for an answer. The tiny fae dressed in ribbons and stalkings, reached out to take hold of the hands of the pretty ladies, or at least a finger of each, since Vee was so tiny.

"There's time for more wine and treats later, time to dance! Don't you want to?" Again the fae asked in a rhetorical manner, smiling and fluttering her wings for all they were worth, glassy wings that caught the light and filled with colour when she moved. She was very excited, and looking forward to dancing with these new people she had had the pleasure to talk to.

Navhee's wings caught the light beautifully. I admired them from where I stood, my eyes wide. I loved the way that they shimmered. Clearing my throat I adopted a more neutral expression. "I can try to fly." I said politely. My wings shot up, suddenly visible and gave a few flaps. The strength with that they pulled me into the air a little surprised me. "Oh." I said. "I suppose I can fly, but i've never done it before. I hope I don't crash down." I eyed the dance floor warily. That would be bad and embarrassing. My face heated up just thinking about it.

With another attempt, I got my feet fully off the floor and they stayed in the air. I was flying. I looked around me in surprise. "Interesting." I mused, watching how the light refracted against the iridescent of my wings.

I turned to Astreah-or Rae- and frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry, you can't fly can you? It was impolite of me to show off." I laughed, my voice carrying. I wasn't sure if it was impolite at all, but if someone had flown for the first time around me and I couldn't fly, then I would be a little sad. But perhaps she didn't mind. I looked at her expression carefully, trying to read it, but I couldn't get anything. I was always so terrible at reading expressions.

I gently set my feet back on the floor. "I'm not a very good dancer." I warned Rae and Vee. "In fact, I'm terrible. I always trip over my own feet." I laugh, but it was true. I was a klutz. "But I will dance anyway. Rae? Vee? Come on, let's get on the dance floor!" I move towards the dance floor and bump into a few people, but they hardly seem to notice. Anyway, I was dancing in no time, and it felt great.

"That's WONDERFUL I can't wait to fly together!" She chirped, Nahvee fluttering around Maddie very excitedly, tugging at her hand and the hand of Rae as well; she was very energetic and excited obviously.

"Rae! Rae can you fly too? Maybe Dee can carry you, it'd be sooo cute." She promised, but was soon dancing away with them whether the two girls had carried up into the air, or not.

"This is so much FUN!" Declared the little fae, swaying to the music without problem, not shy and excitable as ever, looking as though she was made of infinite energy and glittering charm.

"I have never danced with TWO people at once" She chimed while they danced, happy to try something new and rather enjoying the dance after the brief pause to eat her honeycomb, trying to make sure that Astraeh and Maddie were enjoying themselves too.

Maddie watched Navhee sway to the music so easily and a pang of jealously hit her. She shoved it deep down and a smile covered her face, large and wide. She was having fun.

"I've never danced in a large room like this before." She commented, still aware of the splendor. "But it is fun."

Maddie tried flapping her wings to the rhythm of the music. She thought it added a nice visual effect. She had to do this until the soles of her feet went through? That might be a while.

Unlike Nahvee appeared to be, Maddie wasn't filled with as much energy. She wasn't sure she could go so long without breaks, but she thought she would try. After a while she was a little out of breath, but had learned to enjoy the magnificence of the fae instead of be jealous of it.

"Oh wow you're a natural" She replied gleefully, never showing a sign of slowing, no ill-will for Maddie or Astraeh at all as the three of them had some fun.

"Yay I'm glad you decided to dance, then, since this is the first time in a large room." She happily explained, pleased that Dee was having a good time too.

"We can dance like this ALL NIGHT! Isn't that wonderful? Whee" Energetic and hyper active the fae flew about Maddie, little wings glittering as they almost buzzed with light, beating so fast they were almost blurring together, Vee was having a great night.

"I'm glad you decided to dance Maddie! Do you want to come to another party you think? Oh it would be great! You could show off another pretty dress and meet some more people here, OOH!" Her lacy gloves were pressed to her face as the faerie brought her little hands up enthusiastically.

"You wana meet some of them!? Maybe I could introduce you to the Queen! She's great at dancing." Sang Nahvee, all that was involved in the party coming somewhat naturally, the fae having no intention to upset Maddie with her silly request...

The girl smiled softly, albeit a bit sad, and waved the female off. She pressed the rim of the glass to her lips and finished off the liquid, setting it down afterwards; her tongue darting out to lick off the excess cider.

“It's fine.”

Rae grabbed a small cookie and nibbled on it, feeling slightly out of place, but smiled and followed them timidly to the dance floor, apologizing to the people she was bumping into along the way. She gently pulled her finger from the girls hand, careful of her small size.

She had been excited at first, but she was a bit on the introverted side. The girl didn't know what to do with her body, plus the cookie in her hand didn't really help her so she finished it off and watched the two of them, though a bit stiff Maddie was dancing quite nicely, Vee on the other hand was quite energetic and twirly.

Astraeh bit her lip and just bobbed her head to the music, her hands clenching the bottom of her dress. She had toned down her bubbliness a bit, and was now quiet and listening to their conversation, she felt awkward and a bit out of place considering she didn't have wings, she couldn't relate to them.

She sent them a small smile and bowed, her hair following over her shoulder. “I'm gonna go sit down for a bit.” She turned on her heel and maneuvered her way through the crowd of people, smiling softly at the gazes that were sent to her.

Rae plopped down in a seat and let out a sigh, slipping her heels off her feet she set them on the chair next to her before wiggling her toes about and laying her head on her arms whilst closing her eyes.

Maddie was having fun twirling and losing herself to the music, but when Vee asked if she wanted to meet people-the queen, she gulped. "Well," She started nervously, slowing down her dance to focus on the words. She ran her hands through her hair and continued "I'm not sure-I mean that's very nice-I just have never." Frustrated, Maddie took a deep breath and smiled. "That sounds great Vee."

Maddie's gaze turned back to the refreshment table and the lady who was leaning on it almost sadly. "But let's bring Rae, shall we? I'm sure she would love to meet the queen." Giving Vee a wide smile and without waiting for a response, she weaved her way through the twirling mass of people. She had gotten better at understanding the rhythm.

Reaching the refreshment table, hands darting out for stability on it, she smiled at Rae. "Hello. Vee was going to introduce me to the queen. And I was wondering if you'd like to come."

Maddie was absentmindedly swaying to music, now that she had gotten into the rhythm. It was hard to stop. The beautiful music danced in her ears and almost intoxicated her.