Marked By The Unseelie

Chapter 10 Red and Blue

Chapter 10 

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."