What the Fae?

Chapter 1 - Beck

Chapter 1

"Did you know a human heart is 1,000 points?" Beck's white gossamer wings fluttered as he ran down the list of items on the parchment. "We sooo gotta get one." The idea of beating his best friend, Storm, at this game was his biggest motivation for playing. Not just beating him, but pummeling him down to a pulpy mess of loser.

Canyon, a faery with the brightest ginger hair and wings in four kingdoms, sighed and fell back against the rough bark of the oak tree. Its shade made the perfect refuge from the Fae Realm's brutal summer sun. "This whole scavenger hunt is barbaric."

Beck stopped and lowered the paper he was studying to gawk at his friend. "Barbaric? We're only talking about humans." He dismissed the ridiculous notion away with a snort and returned to the list.

"I don't like the idea of killing a human just for a stupid game. There's plenty other stuff on the list we can get without bloodshed."

With a roll of his eyes, Beck plopped himself down next to his bleeding-hearted friend. "Who said anything about killing a human? Nowhere does it say it has to be a fresh heart." He shoved the list into Canyon's face, pointing to the item in question. "We'll just swing by a cera... ceme... dead body place and find one there. It's not like they need it anymore."

"You do realize," Canyon said, resting his elbows on his bent knees. "Humans bury their dead really deep, like six feet. That's either a lot of magic or a lot of shoveling just to reach the body. And if we manage to avoid the attention of any Eradicators in the area waiting to kill us, we still need to cut the heart out, if it hasn't decomposed yet. Very messy stuff."

Beck stifled the groan threatening to escape his lips. Being a prince had meant a lifetime without once performing manual labor. That was what the human slaves were for. He wasn't about to start now. Besides, if the king found out they dissected a human, even a dead one, he'd be in deep trouble. "Fine, whatever. We'll concentrate on finding the lesser items that won't tax your conscience."

Canyon smiled and grabbed the scavenger list from Beck's hands. "Great, because I asked Stacey what a—"

"Who's Stacey?"

Canyon's eyes narrowed. "Stacey, the little red-haired slave from the kitchens. Don't you know any of their names?"

Beck scoffed. "Why should I?" He snatched a piece of bark from the dirt and tossed it into the grass. "Wait, is she the one with the bright green eyes?"

Canyon nodded.

"I remember her." The memory of his last encounter with her in the pantry brought a smile to his face. "She's got soft lips."

"Anyway," Canyon held up the list again. "She helped come up with some of the items this year and said these bells were popular with the young female offspring. Should be easy to find. Just one is 200 points."

Beck glanced at the paper. "Tinker bells? Sounds easy enough. What's next?"

The two faeries continued to plan out their strategy while waiting for the other two teams to arrive. The six friends had been playing this game for the last couple years, the items becoming increasingly more challenging, and more dangerous.

While leaning his head against the tree, the aroma of gardenias wafted on the warm breeze and tickled Beck's nose. He leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes, savoring the perfumed air. Every morning when he was a child, his mother would pick one of the pungent blooms to wear in her silken hair. No matter where she traveled within the castle, the sweet scent trailed her obediently and lingered, like a trail of breadcrumbs. Whenever he needed to find his mom, all he had to do was follow his nose.