The Fae Book 2: Burr and Daisy

Prologue: Burr

25 years ago...

"Come here, little prince," my grandmother called me over to sit next to her on the large, comfy chair in our family room. I sat next to her, hoping she would tell me another story because I had some questions.

"Are you going to tell me a story?"

"Yes, Oberon. Would you like to hear the story about the Prince of the Fae?"

"The fairies," I said.

"Yes, the fairies."

"OK," I said to her, settling my head against her arm.

"There was once a little boy who was the Prince of the Fae," she always started the story the same way, but it wasn't always the same story. "And when he was a little boy, he could see the fairies, and they talked to him and he could talk to them. In their own language. And when the fairies talked to him, they called him Prince."

That was interesting because I could do that. And they called me Prince. I had never told anyone that, though. The fairies had told me not to. I looked up at Nan, waiting for her to go on.

"The prince grew into a fine young man, and when he turned eighteen, he became the King of the Fae."

"King," I said, trying that word out on my tongue. I had practiced saying prince in my room when nobody was around.

"It is an awesome responsibility to be King of the Fae. The King commands the fairies and provides them with their magic. And, in return, the fae protect their king. He has thousands of his own personal guard around him, all the time."

"So he can't be hurt?"

Nan shook her head. "No, Oberon. The fae protect their King, always."

"How? They're so little."

And that was the first time I had told anyone that I had seen them. I quickly looked at Nan to see if she caught my slip.

"It's OK to tell me, Oberon," Nan said. "Or your mom or dad, but no one else. Do you understand?"

I told her I understood. And I did, somehow.

"The King is very powerful," Nan went on with her story. "But when he finds two other people, he is at the very height of his power."

"What two people?" This was a new story I'd never heard before, but I would hear many times over the coming years.

"The King of the Fae must find his True Queen."

"Yuck."

Nan squeezed my hand and laughed. "Girls are yuck now, Oberon, but they won't always be yuck."

"I've seen queens in books," I told her. "Some are ugly looking but some are pretty. I'll have a pretty queen."

Nan gave me a smart look. "Just remember, little prince, pretty is as pretty does."

I wrinkled my nose because that made no sense, but Nan kept talking.

"The important thing is for the King to find his True Queen because only she can calm the storm. The King of the Fae can call down the storm, but only the True Queen can calm the storm he calls down."

"What if the King likes it to storm?" I liked storms. When the lightning was at my window, trying to get in, it never scared me. I liked it.

"Well, the fae are all about balance, Oberon. The King and his Queen are two halves of a whole. He is the storm and she is the calm. The King cannot ignore his queen's commands, and she is the only one who can command the King."