Chapter 10 Red and Blue
Waking up and finding out that being in the fairy realm is real and not a dream can leave your mind in a daze. I have been staring at a ginormous sunflower chandelier for a while now, and no matter how I blink, my mind is having trouble getting used to it.
"Human, are you awake?" Serafina, the green fairy that I saw yesterday, stands beside the flower bud that serves as my bed. Strangely enough, I find that it is quite comfortable, which makes it harder for me to get up. "You have been opening and closing your eyes for a while now."
"I'm sorry." I feel so embarrassed. I got so used to snoozing my alarm that my body is just so used to doing that even when I am already in a different realm.
A different realm. That's the thought that manages to keep me awake.
I pull myself together so I can sit up and keep my body upright. My butt bounces off of the flower bed that I'm sleeping on to stand before Serafina.
"Sorry for the wait. I'm awake now." I tell her after a long minute of silence with her just eyeing me up and down.
"You reek." She comments before looking at the tray of weird looking fruits that she leaves at the side of my bed.
"And you did not even eat your food." She frowns, looking so angry that I was afraid that she might bite my head off.
And no, I wasn't exaggerating about that.
"Humans are so wasteful. I can't believe that the Prince has to deal with you.
" She glowers in disgust. "Follow me. We have to scrape that disgusting human scent from you. "
Scrape? Now why don't I like the sound of that?
I was led to what sort of seemed like a bathroom with a pond full of flowers floating on the surface.
I smell a mild fragrance coming from the water before Serafina pushes me in.
I barely manage to gasp when I fall into the water and gasp out for air.
It's deep enough that even if I stand, the water is still at my chest. I began to shiver instantly because of how cold the water is.
"D-Don't you guys have a-any heater here? Or anything to keep the water warm?"
"Warm water?" Serafina repeats the words with disgust on her face.
"You humans heat your water when you bathe?
Ugh! No wonder your skin looks so awful.
" She suddenly jumps down into the water along with me after stripping down so fast that I barely have enough time to look away.
"Come here, human. I need to rinse you clean before you meet the prince.
You are not worthy to meet someone as esteemed as Prince Zhier as you are now. "
"Gee. Thanks." I mumble under my breath and stifle a gasp when Serafina grabs me by the arm and starts to lather me with what seem like a gooey substance to wash my hair and skin.
By the time that Serafina finished lathering my whole body until I smelt like fresh daisies and lavender, I was finally given a dress.
Unfortunately, that dress is a little too.
..revealing for me. I mean, not as revealing as how the queen and Serafina dressed.
It just has side cuts on the waist and a very plunging neckline, which Serafina has to adjust at the back because I'm not that gifted at the chest area like they are.
My hair is tied back into a bun pinned with pins and beads—don't ask me how they kept it there.
After Serafina deems me 'decent and presentable enough', she finally allows me to leave my room and escorts me to what seems like a dining area where Prince Zhier awaits.
He seems to be sipping tea and eating some sort of weird fruit when I arrive.
He barely lifted his head even when I took my seat.
"You're late." Zhier looks at Serafina behind me with a raised eyebrow. "Explain." He demands.
Serafina quickly stiffens. "I-I was making sure that she no longer reeks, my prince."
"I don't think that is an adequate reason, Serafina."
"It's my fault." I feel so bad for Serafina because she honestly looks deflated until the heavy gaze of the Seelie Prince. When Zhier has his gaze on me, I continue, "I keep dozing off whenever she tries to wake me. I'm sorry."
Zhier carefully examines me. "I trust that this isn't a lie?"
"It's not. There's no benefit for me to lie."
Zhier nods before turning to face Serafina. "I'll let this slide for today. Right now, I want you to leave, but don't go so far that you can't hear me when I call for you to assist Livia."
Serafina closes her eyes and bows. "Yes, prince."
Zhier waits for her to leave the room before sliding a tray of food towards me. "Today I want to teach you a little about my world. We'll do it gradually since we don't know exactly how long you are going to stay here, but it will be enough to get you to survive the fae realm."
"Wait, you don't know how long I will be staying here?!"
"Lower your voice." Zhier glowers at me. "We do not know how the marking works since only faes with powerful magic can place them on humans, so until we figure out how to use it to get to Prince Klovis, you are to stay here. Or would you want to get your family involved and place them in danger?"
I turned mute at that statement and proceeded to fiddle with my hands.
He's right; as long as I have this mark that I first thought of as a scar, me and my family won't be safe.
But that doesn't mean that I am safe here in the fairy realm either.
The queen doesn't seem to like me. It's not just her but also the other fairies here as well.
I am only being treated well here because of Prince Zhier, and I don't think that his protection is going to be permanent.
I just don't think that I can trust him.
That damned unseelie prince. Just where is he so I can leave this place?!
"Never eat anything that has blue."
I snap my attention back to Zhier. "What?"
"The food." He repeats, pointing at the array of fruits before me. "Blue fruits are safe to eat for faes, but for humans, they are not. You would be bound in the fae realm permanently if you do."
"T-That's a little too extreme." I gulp. "What if I accidentally eat something blue? Won't there be anything to reverse it?"
"Not that it has been heard of, so no. But in order to make things easier for you, just eat red fruits. Blue and red never mix in foods. That includes drinks."
I look down at the array of food on the plate that he has given me. They are fruits that have a weird shape. I don't even think that any of these are familiar to be.
Come to think of it, I don't think that I have eaten anything since I arrived here. I didn't even notice it until my stomach started to grumble.
I pick up a horn shape red fruit, turning it around just to make sure that it has no hint or spec of blue on it.
Once I am sure, I hesitantly take a bite.
For some reason, it tastes so sweet and salty at the same time.
Its skin is crunchy on the outside while the inside is like one of those soft chewy candies.
"Seems like our food satisfies you. That's good." I did not even notice it, but Zhier is grinning as he watches me eat. Immediately, I feel self conscious and chewed slowly. I was so hungry that I did not realize that I was wolfing down my food.
"I-It taste alright." I mumble.
"Eat more. There are plenty of red fruits for you to eat." He teases.
To be honest, I should be angry at him for his teasing, but does it matter? I am hungry and the food tastes great. I must admit that I don't eat much fruit back in the human realm, but what choice do I have here?
Nothing. That's what. I am at the mercy of these...fairies.
"Aren't you a prince? Don't you have somewhere more important to be than sitting there and watching me eat?" I decided to ask because it is not getting easier to chew, especially when someone is looking.
"I am a prince, so even if I have some appointments, they can wait for me." He waves away my concern. "You became my priority the moment I brought you here with me. You are someone valuable that I need to protect for the safety of this realm."
And here we go again. He's throwing me all this pressure that I don't even need or want. I hate this.
I continued to eat until I managed to finish my fruit and went for the green colored tea that they prepared. "I'm done." I say, getting up from my chair as I wait for him to do the same.
Zhier looks at me before getting up and walking around the table so he can move in front of me.
"W-What?"
"You never get up from your seat before those who have higher status than you in this realm do."
"Sorry."
"Also, be wary of your physical appearance.
You have a little drop of juice left on the side of your cheek.
" He reaches for my lips with his thumb, but just before he can touch my skin, the mark on my hand throbs, making me flinch.
I quickly take a step back, like I was woken up from getting lured by Zhier's eyes.
"Damn Prince. Why can't he just show himself." He mutters, picking up something from the table before handing it to me. "Here. Wipe your lips. When you're done, follow me. I still have a lot of things to teach you about this realm and how you can protect yourself."