"There now little fairy, where did you see my daughter?" he asked raising an eyebrow at the tiny thing. Tears filled her eyes as she looked away, fear and shame seemed to pour from within her."I am so sorry. I didn"t know…. She had her mark hidden. I was just curious about her, honest!" the fairy rambled as large tears like dew drops slid down her tiny face. He shook his head trying to keep up. The little thing continued rambling but he was still stuck on the first bit of information.
"Enough. Let us start there. What didn"t you know?" he asked trying hard to be patient with her.
"She"s protected by the Shadow King. I broke the law of the forest… He will never let me rest…" The fairy began to cry harder, her tiny shoulders shaking as her hands covered her face. Clovis looked at her helplessly. It didn"t matter that she was only 5 inches tall and her skin was pale green. Her tears were just as powerful as any lady of the court.
"Protected by who? The shadow king?" the Emperor asked looking at the others to see if he heard right. The fairy nodded and looked at him as though he was stupid.
"She wears his crest on her ear. Fae folk and monsters alike can not touch her or feel his wrath." the fairy whispered wiping her big, doll like eyes. The fourth Prince was surprised when he realized what she meant. He looked to the maid who brought Princess Raina down to breakfast.
"Was the princess wearing her ear charm this morning?" he asked and the girl looked at a loss. Tears were running down the young woman"s face. Cursing herself for leaving the princess here, because this was all her fault. She would no doubt catch the blame if the child never returned home. Unfortunately for her the Prince was running out of patience. "Its silver and purple. Come now woman." he pressed and she nodded.
"Yes I believe she was." the girl replied trying hard to remember. He took a deep breath and steadied himself.
"Okay, thank you. Go inside and rest." He told her, taking pity on the trembling maid. Thought it was no fault of her own, he knew that this would fall on anyone who allowed something to happen to his little Princess. Worse so if The Dowager Empress found out what had happened to her little girl.
The Maid curtseyed unsteadily, and walked inside, glad to be free of the accusing eyes.
"Are you talking about that little earpiece with the jewel on it?" The Emperor asked trying to figure out what is going on around him. His son moving too fast for him to keep his old mind on topic. Clovis nodded.
"Yes. It was given to her by the little lady who saved her from that Kidnapping a few days ago. That"s why she wouldn"t let her cousin take it from her." He replied glaring at Fae again. The Emperor stopped for a moment and realization flashed in his eyes. The trinket that meant so much to her she had defied her uncle. Now it made more sense and a touch of regret needled his heart.
Clovis turned his attention back to the little Fairy who was gaining some color in her cheeks but wasn"t quite gaining enough to fly. "So, I get it you didn"t know. Now where is she?" Clovis asked her still holding the little fairy aloft. She looked away and mumbled something very very softly. Her tiny voice was already hard for him to hear, but when she spoke like that there was no way he could understand her. "Speak up." He said soothingly, using every ounce of his control to sound caring to the little sprite. "No one is going to hurt you." She looked up at him sadly.
"I used the spell before I knew who she was… we walked across the plane to the clearing near the Phoenix drenched falls." The Fairy replied and his face darkened just a bit. That was so far away… She could never find her way home. There were a few murmurs behind him and he heard as men began taking off back into the forest.
"How could they have gone that far? Her tiny legs never would have made it there in three days time more or less a few hours." The Emperor replied glaring at the little thing in disbelief. How dare she trick the royals about the little princess.
"It"s possible father. She used a Plane shift spell. We are lucky she only took the princess that far. If she had truly wanted to Raina could have been deep in the Forgotten Woods before dinner." Clovis explained setting the little Fairy back in the cage. She whimpered as her skin touched the iron. He sighed, taking a sash off his waist and stuffing it into the cage and setting her on it like a little nest. "Put her in my daughter"s room. If nothing else she will make a good companion."
"You said you wouldn"t hurt me!" The little Fairy accused her eyes filled with pain as though she had been wronged. He nodded.
"I won"t nor will anyone else. However, you must pay for stealing our princess away." He replied shaking his head. "Lets hope we find her." Clovis looked at the sky, it was slowly growing dark now. "Please be alright little one." He whispered closing his eyes as the wind caressed his skin.