Faye Delphinus studied her appearance in the waterfall’s reflection. Queen Thetis had assured her humans would not be as suspicious of a faerie’s appearance in the present climate as they would have been a thousand years ago, when only the trickster Wind faeries could slip into their ranks unnoticed. Pointed ears would be passed off as genetic mutation while waist-length blue hair would be seen as exotic, or even fashionable. Faye had no desire to be seen as ‘exotic’ or ‘fashionable’.

This would not be an easy assignment. But then again, being handmaiden to Princess Phantasia had never been easy…

***

Faye Delphinus, second-instar faerie of the Water Queendom and understudy of Lady Eudore, steadied herself on the coral wall as older faeries swam past her with graceful elegance. She was eleven years old but still had the coordination of a nymph, which was a reasonable outcome given her intense focus on reading: her ability to extract, process and analyse knowledge was on par with faeries beyond her evolutionary level, while graceful movement and subtle agility were skills for the Royal Court, not a scribe. It was Faye’s duty to service the Lady Eudore, who in turned serviced Lady Princess Panopea, who serviced Queen Thetis. Unlike her counterparts in the Wind Queendom, Faye did not dream of one day becoming a Lady herself – or even a Princess – because that would be unreasonable. Furthermore she despised how the youth of the Fire Queendom convinced themselves they were destined for a better position than what they had. Faye knew her place and putting all her focus into her duty so that she could perform to the best of her ability was the logical way to behave.

She made another attempt to swim down the corridor, then swerved to avoid a figure turning the corner ahead of her. Faye bumped into the wall and slipped down to the floor, coming to rest in the ankle high water. Blinking the concussion away she looked up to see the figurer holding out a hand to help her up.

“You should focus more on the world around you,” said the soft voice of Prince Dionysus, “Do not get so engrossed in knowledge that you let it pass you by,”

“I apologise for my inadequate observation,” said Faye, bowing her head in respect of the great Prince. He was a familiar sight around the Water Palace and, as the only Prince of the Queendom, a figure of controversy in circles and troops of the Court. Faye did not understand the complex politics of her elders, though, and considered Dionysus a kind young man who reminded her of Queen Thetis.

“Do not apologise. Your sight serves you well,” he continued, “You will one day understand that there is more to the world than what you see, however. Trust your instincts.”

The Prince smiled – a rare expression for his element – and returned to his original business. Faye watched the cascading waves of his hair dance through the air before he turned a corner and was out of sight. Several other faeries passed by, but none could match the Prince’s majesty. Pondering his advice, Faye continued on her way.

Chapter 38
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