A Modern Fairytale

The last queen of fairies

Long, long ago, there lived a fairy named Berenice Echethier. She came in two colors: gold, blue, and red. Her wings were made of golden sparks, her hair a fiery red, and her eyes a deep blue. The fairy wore her hair in a pixie cut. Berenice was the daughter of a general and a musician in Mecrisdale, the land of fairies, and she had a twin called Tallis. Her brother was her exact opposite, but they got along quite well.

Berenice loved all sorts of activities. Since she was little, whenever the circumstances allowed, she would run and jump around, doing backflips in the air—with or without the help of her wings. She had little interest in staying indoors. Despite her disinterest in music, her mother trained her in it anyhow. Whenever she did, Tallis would always be observing close by, taking notes. When neither of their parents was around, Tallis sat at the piano and Berenice ventured outside. Either by flying or climbing, she tried to reach new heights every time; each time she did, she brought her brother some fruit from the top of a tree she climbed that day, a shell from whichever ocean she explored—a souvenir from her trip, a token signifying that she had broken her own records.

Then, Tallis was taken away as well into the sort of life their father lived but that he clearly would never have chosen for himself. As the only family member left that stayed regularly at home, Berenice's mind began to wonder: how did she want to live? Would she wait for her mother to decide she was good enough as a performer or give up on her at last? Or would she decide for herself? If she decided for herself, what would that decision be?

For the first time, the red-haired fairy became curious about the castle. She tailed her brother one day as he traveled, stopping near the gates. She couldn't simply invite herself in, this much she knew. Looking upon the castle beyond the gates, Berenice stood next to a tree, pondering her next move. As she stood there thinking, she caught sight of a tiny golden spark landing on a branch. Without hesitating, the girl minimized her own size and chased after the suspicious spark. Once she was close enough, two seconds later, the other fairy held a finger to his lips. "Shh!" he hissed sharply.

Berenice threw up her arms, incredulous. "What was I going to do, scream that I saw a fairy?"

At a closer look, the young man looked vaguely familiar—but only vaguely. There was nothing special about his ash-blond hair and crystal blue eyes, and his golden wings would not be very unique either if they didn't match her own. The swirling silver line peeping out of his collar on the side of his neck, however...

Berenice squinted. "Which prince are you?" she asked.

The other fairy looked pointedly at her again, hissing "shh" once more.

"I won't say anything if you tell me," she promised.

Finally, he dropped his hand. "I'm Corbin. I know this is not the best shirt for me to sneak out in, but I was in a hurry. Don't judge."

"Corbin? As in Corbin Ginemoux, the crown prince? And you're sneaking out in broad daylight?!"

The prince's brows creased, studying Berenice carefully as if he was trying to decide if he shouldn't trust her after all.

"That's really bold! I like it!" the girl hissed, lowering her volume only when she realized where she was.

Relieved, Corbin shrugged. "They're busy. I can afford it today. What's your name?"

"...right. Pardon me. I'm Berenice Echethier."

"Are you by any chance related to the general?"

"That should be my father."

"Never heard he had a daughter," Corbin mused, "Tallis is your brother then?"

"He is. We look so much alike, anyone can tell at a glance that we're twins."