The fairies have existed since long before humanity, or any other creatures, for that matter. The moment there was earth, there were fairies of the earth. The moment there was air, there were fairies of the air. For every piece of nature, there were fairies to protect it.

  The fairy country, ****, was where these fairies came to interact. It was where the fairies of everything came to report to the fairies of fairies, the fairy royalty. Each generation would see only seven such fairies. For the millions of fairies that existed, this was an incredibly small number. The duty of the fairy royals was to ensure the safety of their fellow fairies, thus they were gifted with extraordinary, world-altering strength. When the fairy queen of that time, Emmeralde, used her power to curse the human race, she drew upon the innate strength of the fairy nobility, a feat that no other being could possibly accomplish, save the deities.

  The fairy country’s most prominent city was named Emmeralde Verthaven. ‘Emmeralde’, of course, came from the name of the fairy queen who famously saved her people, while ‘Verthaven City’ was the previous name of the city. The city was vibrant and green. They lived in trees whose trunks and branches were as bright and crystalline as they would be if they had been carved from peridot. Though this was deep in the forest, somehow the sun still shone brilliantly down upon these magnificent trees and cast an aura of life over the entire city.

  The moment the child saw these peridot trees, her eyes shimmered, the enormous shadows of the trees reflected in them.

  The fairy’s body bobbed with excitement as they grew closer.

  “That’s Emmeralde Verthaven! That’s the capital of the fairy country. If you want to stay here, you need permission from our queen. Ever since the humans killed our king, we fairies haven’t accommodated any of your people. The queen has the highest position in our land, and since it was originally our fairy queen who cursed the humans, we haven’t really been on the best of terms with each other. You specifically need to get the fairy queen’s permission. But don’t worry! Queen Emmeralde has long since passed away. Most fairies of this generation are more curious towards humans than resentful, though you will find some elders who aren’t so keen on them. Queen Kiridian is especially known for her curiosity of humans, so I think you’ll be fine! Besides; I’m one of the strongest river fairies in this entire forest! My queen won’t seek me out, but she won’t immediately dismiss an audience with me.”

  The talkative fairy continued on as usual until they reached the gates, where two fairies flew up to look at the child.

  “It’s a human! It’s really a human!” one exclaimed.

  “Do you think it can see us?” the other wondered.

  The child nodded, causing them to fly back in surprise.

  “It nodded! It really can see us!”

  “Is that a fairy on its shoulder?”

  “Why isn’t it saying anything if it can see us?”

  The blue fairy floated down and spoke to the two fairy guards.

  “This is a human child I found, lost in the forest. As you can have realized, she can see us. Furthermore, she would speak if she could, but she is unable to do so. This has caused humans to look down on her and cast her away. I want to bring her to Emmeralde Verthaven, but require Queen Kiridian’s permission to do so,” she explained to the guards.

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  “Are you qualified to meet with our queen?” they asked.

  She nodded. “I am. My name is Rau of the Starry River. I am the sixth successor of our tribe’s chief. I bear the tribe’s crest on my shoulderblade, as you can see.”

  She turned around and showed the guards a dazzling, swirling pattern on her right shoulderblade, surrounding the skin where her wing grew.

  The guards saw this crest and immediately saluted to the blue fairy, Rau.

  “Our apologies, Lady Rau! We’ll immediately bring you to see our queen!” Their apology was spoken decisively, without a trace of hesitation or unwillingness.

  Rau and the child then entered the city and followed the road that would lead them to Queen Kiridian.

  The roads in Emmeralde Verthaven were surprisingly wide, considering how small fairies were. Even though the child was only six or seven years old, there was enough room for her to walk the streets without needing to be overly concerned about stepping on fairies or crashing into things.

  It was quite surprising to her.

  Why do such small fairies have such wide roads? Would it not be easier to use magic to shrink me to the size of the fairies? Surely, she thought, such magic must exist.

  Naturally, she was correct. It would be easier to shrink the child with magic.

  The reason for the large roads, however, was a matter of courtesy. Just because they could use magic to shrink their guests, did not mean that they would. To them, it was disrespectful to force their guests to alter their bodies just to enable them to move throughout the city.

  At the time when Verthaven City was first established, the city was frequented by many races, including, of course, humans. Humans in those times were generally smaller than the humans of the present, so the roads were too small for adults, but perfect for such children as the one currently accompanied by this so-called fairy chief successor.

  Outside the palace were the imperial guards. Queen Kiridian only had a dozen guards to protect her home. They were the most talented of the current generation of fairies.

  The two outside were Kyran of the Molten Lake and Arn of the Midnight Sky. They were certainly not chiefs of their tribes, but being sent to protect the fairy palace was a far greater honor than being the rulers of their respective tribes.

  Kyran was large for a fairy, with flaming orange hair that seemed to possess a mind of its own. He wore golden armor of the highest quality and wielded a golden spear with a ruby blade. Contrary to his appearance though, he was a softspoken man of a scholarly temperament.

  "A human!" he gasped softly when he saw the child approaching from afar.

  "Halt!" cried Arn. Her appearance was unusual for the fairies. The Midnight Sky Tribe was very rare, and its members kept to themselves, even among the fairies. Its tribesmen typically possessed skin the color of the sky at midnight and hair silver as the stars. Arn's skin however, changed depending on the color of the sky. If it was a clear blue, then hers would be as well. If it was gray and cloudy, so was her skin. If the sun was set, it would be dark blue, and if it was midnight, it would be black. She had a bit of curiosity, so she immediately called out to the two as they approached.

  "We seek permission from Queen Kiridian for this human child to reside here. I am Rau of the Starry River, successor to its chief," the blue fairy introduced herself.

  "And the human? What tribe is this one from? What is its name?" Arn asked.

  "Her name?" Rau blinked in surprise. "I can't believe I forgot to ask what her name is! This human cannot speak, so I have no way of knowing without reading her mind. I am certain that she has no ill intentions though. She can see us, after all."

  "We cannot knowingly allow a human to enter the palace where the queen resides!" Arn cried. "It doesn't matter if she can see us! She'll endanger us-"

  Suddenly, a voice drifted through the air, as gently as a breeze. "Bring the human to me, Arn of the Midnight Sky. I grant my permission and give you my word that I will hold neither you nor Kyran responsible for any troubles that may arise."

  The pair of guards immediately knelt to the ground, placing their fists across their chests. "Your word is our command, our Queen!"

  "Forget the formalities and bring them to me now," the queen's voice drifted through the air once more.

  Arn immediately stood up and brought the two through the palace.