Chapter 1: Banished
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"I hereby punish you to spend time in the human world for the duration of 365 human days. Your powers are sealed until then."

My brain stopped working. Somebody slap me, please. I glanced up at my father, the Fae king. He looked regal sitting on his throne. He's usually very nice to me... but not today. No, not today. I'm so unlucky.

"Pardon me, my Father king." My voice was trembling. Just a little bit. I stood straighter, ignoring the noise around me. "I'm... banished?"

I heard that bit about my powers. Sealed? Sealed?! That is an idea that is unfathomable to me. No flight or invisibility? Gaah. 

Also, hold on a second. To the freaking mortal world?! Whuh-

My father, the Fae King, raised his eyebrows at me. His face looked grim and the usual humor I see in his eyes are nonexistent. He looks around the hall. The other fae lords and ladies are murmuring to each other. Some are smiling in my direction.

I do not like their smiles. My hands itched to smack their faces.

"But why?" My voice showed the panic I felt. 

Okay, so I was almost wailing. But truly, to spend a year in the human world? That's... preposterous!

"How will I live there? I'm a fae! I'm... I'm...". Ugh, my voice trembled. This is not good. If I can't find a reason for my father to retract his words, I'm doomed to go to the human world.

"Zhee." He called my name with finality. It's like a death bell to my ears. I know when he uses that voice that whatever I do, he's never going to change his mind. I lowered my head. I don't want to look at him or the folks who bear witness to my humiliation.

"You have continuously damaged property. Not only did I, but also your Mother Queen tell you to stop your mischievous acts, yet you still persisted. This time you have incurred such damages not only in terms of property but you have also trampled with some fae folks' feelings. You must apologize to Lady Ameba for what you said to her."

I raised my chin in defiance. "But it's true. She's nothing but a fat fae lady who resembles the --"

"That’s enough!" My father's voice boomed. I cringed. Maybe I pushed him too far? All chatter stopped and the place was still.

"My decision is final. You will stay in the human world for a year. If you do not learn and change, I won't permit you to return to Faeland. Someone already awaits your arrival in the Gate." He didn't look at me. He looked at his people.

Oh yes. Faeland. That’s the name of my home. It always struck me funny but… What am I thinking? I’m banished? Today?!

Anger pulsed in my veins. It's always about other people. They're more important than me. I clenched my fists and stormed out of the hall. I have not yet been dismissed but I didn't care. Why should I when I have already been publicly banished from the kingdom?

---

There was a knock on the door. I was busy packing things and I didn't feel like opening the door.

"Honey." Ah, my mother, the Queen.

She entered, softly closing the door. She shuffled her feet and played with her gloves while I continue to pack up.

"Dear, you don't have to pack those things. You're leaving them behind."

I went still. I looked at all the nicely folded clothes. Silk and satin fae clothing with trimmings of gold and silver. The softest fabric in the whole kingdom... and I'm supposed to leave these behind? It's a conspiracy. Seriously, this day is the worst.

I straightened my back and turned to my mother. My mother is beautiful with her golden hair and perfect skin. The Fae age well. Her hair falls gently on her shoulders and she had a ringlet on her head. But who cares? Everyone knows she’s the queen. Her silk dress is stunning but even more so, her silver wings were the loveliest wings in all of Faeland. She's slender in form while I'm rather... awkward. 

I’m torn between talking to her calmly or raging. But the bed looked really nice so I proceeded to dive into it. This situation is still unreal to me. I figured I'd wake up from a very bad dream.

"Honey. Zhee. Can I talk to you?" my mother said.

Nope. She's still here. I'm not dreaming. This is a nightmare. I put a pillow over my head. 

"Go away."

She sat beside me after a few minutes of silence. I wished the bed would just swallow me.

She stroked my hair and started talking. She usually talks to me knowing I didn't want to talk. Fine. I'm listening anyway.

"You know we love you, dear. But this time, your father and I decided that this is for the best. Think of this as a vacation of sorts minus the magic. You need to cool off your head, love." I can hear her smile as she said that. My mother is usually unperturbed by things. How I wish I can be as calm as her. Instead, I'm a walking time bomb.

I sighed and looked at my mother. She smiled at me and I smiled back weakly.

"I know, mother. It's just..." I clenched my hands. "Some of the fae lords and ladies are ridiculous. I don't get it why they have to act so high and mighty. Why can't I have friends? It's because they're all talking bad about me. Why can’t I be myself? I hate all of this.”

She patted my head gently.

"There are things in this world and in our lives that we have to keep even though it goes against our personal beliefs, child. You’ll learn the game we adults play and I’m sure you’ll do well in the future. Helix will be your guardian. He will wait for you at the Gate. He's a kind person so be sure to act accordingly, ok? You have 10 minutes then come to the Gate."

She left and that's that.

---

Helix is a lanky man. A foot taller than me, I suppose. He was wearing something strange. "Jeans" they call it in the human world. It's a little bit ...poor for my taste. The fabric looked thick to be comfortable to the skin. I made a face. I don't like human things already. A simple shirt with an honorary pin covered the rest of his upper parts. As I looked more closely, the shirt isn't so simple at all. It's one of those rare finds in Faeland that won't get wet or dirty. It's a perpetual white shirt and it's often said it protects the wearer from sword slashes. Do I dare find out?

Looking at his face, there's nothing much to say. He's rather... homely. The males in Faeland all have straight blond hair with perfect noses. Helix’s nose is not quite proportional to his face and his skin color’s darker than mine. Then I finally looked at his eyes. Holy, Fae baby! He's got the most amazing green eyes and his hair... I gulped soundlessly. No man and fae should have that kind of hair. It falls gently on his shoulders. His hair is as black as ebony and it moves with grace. It’s like it’s alive… Sounds scary, I know, but it’s beautiful. Despite the fact the rest of him didn't amount to anything, his eyes and hair made him look sinuous like a willow.  I envy people with innate grace because I don’t have it. Darn it.

"Hello, pixie". His voice sounded harsh to my ears and I felt cold all over.

“Don’t call me pixie!” and I stuck my tongue out at him. See? I do have a bit of grace. Lies.

He chuckled at me and I was furious. I am a fae princess and he has the gall to… to… laugh at me!? I turned around sharply and decided I should plead to my father that his decision was so wrong.

“STOP.” I stopped midstride. Not because I wanted to. Then I realized… Helix was no ordinary being. He holds the power of the Voice. I can't move my body!

“You-! You’re human! How could you…” I sputtered. He walked towards me slowly and a wolfish grin showed on his face.

“Tut tut, so easy to anger, so easy to fool. Be glad I didn't shut your mouth, too. Your emotions will grant you your eternal doom, pixie. You need to learn to control them lest they get the better of you.” He didn’t need to shout. The whisper of whispers from his lips, I can hear.

“I demand you release me at once!” Seriously, my bones are aching. Plus, this is embarrassing.

“Say ‘please’”. He chuckled again. I saw his green eyes sparkle in glee.

A sadist. Darn it. Of all the beings I could end up with…

“Please.” I almost barked the word. I hate begging.

Almost immediately I was released from his magical hold and I tumbled to the ground. Lucky I didn’t have the usual guards with me or this scene would have spread like wildfire in the kingdom. I am spared a second humiliation.

“How dare you--!” I wanted to rage at him for everything’s that happened. He grabbed my wrist to pull me up and applied pressure.

Ow.

I shut my mouth. I could feel the power tingle in his skin. He’s… not what he seemed. A calm lake holds many secrets beneath. I know when someone’s more powerful than me. Ah, power. How you cripple me. I stood silently and looked at the ground.

“You are Zhee. The youngest and the only daughter of the Fae King and the Fae Queen.”

I nodded. I dare not trust my tongue at the moment.

“You are also the biggest headache of the kingdom. You do not possess tact or grace like your other siblings. You are rude and live in your own fantasy world thinking nobody can touch you because you’re a princess of the Fae.”

This damn human! I was angry and I was about to deliver a retort when he pushed me. I gasped as I made contact with the ground. Oh, wow. My mind went blank. I was pushed. BY. A. HUMAN. I wanted to scream at him, but I couldn't speak. I'm rendered immobile AND speechless.

No matter how I tried to stand up to fight his magic, I couldn’t. Swell. Here we go again. 

He knelt beside me and looked me in the eyes. I didn’t expect those awesome green eyes can turn so cold. I shivered internally. 

“Listen to me you brat. I will be your guardian in the mortal world but I have no plans of babysitting you. I have your parent’s permission to punish you as I’d like and you won’t like it if I do. You will do as I say and you better follow it. You don’t have the luxury of being a princess anymore. You will earn your keep and you will change.”

His voice sounded so harsh to my ears. Beneath it, I can also sense pain. My eyes widened. I think they did anyway. Hey, I still can't move.

“You will change. And you will live. Now stand up before you become real dirt." He stood up and walked to the side.

I brushed the dirt off my clothes. Hold on a sec. I will live? What? What the Hellfire was he talking about?

“Uh. Okay.” Finally, my vocal cords work. “Can I call you Helix?”

He looked at me without responding. Oh, homely iceberg. Now that introductions are over, I can breathe easy. Overall evaluation of Helix: KEEP CLEAR. DANGER. SADIST. FOLLOW OR DIE. I could say more but you get the idea.

I wasn’t allowed to bring anything (I protested a lot but I didn’t win over my mother) so I just had me, myself and my Fae butt.

Helix waved his hand nonchalantly and a Gate to the mortal world opened. Already I felt fear. It takes a great amount of power to open the Gate and Helix looked like he just swatted a fly. I wanted to go back to the comforts of my bed. Humans didn’t have a good reputation in Faeland and now I have to stay there for the year. May the Fae Goddess help me.

I took a deep breath and followed Helix into the dark tunnel.

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