Wings of a Wanted Princess

                                                                             Chapter One

Alice waited outside an antique shop for her blonde friend Brittney looking at ceramic fairies each one having a different element to them, and each one doing something different. Some were sitting on huge mushrooms; others were sitting on huge leaves that were floating on water. Some of them were for the seasons: spring summer, fall, and winter. Nevertheless, they had two things in common; One: they were obviously supposed to be tiny. Two: they all had those incredibly pointy and ridiculous ears.

Looking at her reflection through the store window, Alice looked at her ears; they were small and round, never had they been pointy. When it came to height people might think she was short for her age, but to her family she was average. The few things she had in common with the ceramic fairies was the length of her hair, some of the fairies before her had such long hair they were sitting on it, however, her hair hasn’t been passed her hips for over a year now. The second thing, Alice had her own pair of wings, though hers were not as colorful as theirs, no one on Earth were supposed to see them.

Alice sighed at her reflection. Her eyebrows creased. It has been too long, she thought. Hearing a bell and footsteps, Alice pulled away from the window and toward her friend with an ‘almost’ smile “So, what did your mom say?” She asked while watching her friend coming from the pizzeria in front of her.

Brittney gave out a better smile than Alice did. “She said it’s fine, as long as I’m back in two hours.” She pointed behind herself and added. “It’s going to get busy by lunch.” She bit her lip.

“That’s good.” Alice said, starting to walk to one of the popular shops. “We’ll be done by then, right?” she gave Brittney a knowing grin. When it came to shopping for her blonde friend, it was no use giving her a time limit.

Brittney followed Alice into Eve’s Boutique, her favorite store. “Of course,” Brittney said, in a sarcastic tone, “anyways if I don’t, my mom will hunt me down and embarrass me.” She pulled out a cardigan sweater and checked for the size. Alice felt a little jealous of Brittney. Even after her parents’ divorce three months ago, Brittney was still able to give out a better smile than Alice. No not better, but a real one.       

Alice on the other hand has been in Clearfield Town for almost a year, and she still can’t seem to give a real smile when she greets someone. But her smiles must look real, because Brittney hasn’t noticed.   

“So, when does the season start?” Alice asked while picking out a ruffled skirt.

Brittney answered while trying on a straw fedora. “Volleyball practice starts this week and the first game starts in a month.” Putting the hat back, Brittney, turned to Alice, tossing her a shirt that would look great with the skirt. “You’re coming, right?”

Alice nodded, “Will and me won’t miss it.” Although Alice has not accepted her new life, she still enjoyed the company of her blonde, shopaholic, athletic friend. She never understood why she did not mind having a human as her friend, yet she did not like living the human life. But maybe it had to do with the fact that Brittney did not know who she really was, and so treated Alice like she treated everyone else.

Looking back up at Brittney, Alice saw the blonde’s eyes were narrow “Is there something wrong?” Alice asked.

 “Yes, there is,” Brittney nodded uncrossing her arms, and picked up an off-the-shoulder tank. “There is none in my size.” Putting it back, she looked at what other colors it came in. “Darn it. None of these prints are likeable.”

Alice let out a small laugh; she started walking to the wall where sundresses were hanging. “Awe poor Brittney,” Alice said still laughing. She pulled out a teal blue cotton dress in Brittney’s size. “Here what about his one?” she suggested.

Brittney grimaced. “You know how much of a fashionista I am, but dresses I don’t do at all.”

Putting the dress back and shrugging, Alice said, “It was worth a shot.” She started looking one in her own size. “You know one of these days I will get you in a dress.”

 “I like to see you try.” The blonde flicked her hair and continued her search.

After leaving Brittney at her mother’s pizzeria, Alice headed back to her home, or as she would like to call it her ‘safe house’. She strolled down the town, passing parks and houses. Parents are playing with their kids, trying to get them out as much as possible before they have to return to school. An imprisonment for children between the hours of eight to three is what Alice would like to call ‘school’.

She continued to walk until she hears a little girl’s piercing cry. Apparently the little girl had scraped her knee after falling off her bike. She looked about six with brown hair and eyes, and was shouting for her mother. The mother rushed to her daughter’s side and started rubbing the scrap, whispering something about it being all better now.

Alice’s mood saddened. Watching the mother comfort her daughter, made Alice miss hers even more. She remembered a few years ago when she hurt herself flying around the court yard. To put it simply, not all fairies were born graceful flyers. Living in a castle made of stone did not make it any better. Sure Will, her guardian and her closest friend, chuckled about it the next day when he saw the red bump on the side of her forehead; and he still has not dropped it after five years. But her mother comforted her that night, and while she rubbed away the pain, she also made her feel a bit better. Well at least until, Will brings it up again.    

“You know, you could always talk to them.” Alice didn’t have to look up to see who said that. She knew it was Will, coming from who knows where.

“I know.” She responded back. She turns on her heels and continues her way. “You weren’t following me again, were you?” she asked in a teasing voice.

 “No, trust me, I gave that up on that the first month after you made my cup of water explode onto my face.” Alice looked up and saw Will chuckling at the memory. He shrugged. “Well I guess I deserve that after teasing you about the whole ‘flying into the castle’ incident.” Will almost dropped the paper brown bag he is carrying when he couldn’t control his laughter. After seeing Alice not laughing either, he cleared his throat and apologized. “Anyways, I was at the grocery store. Coincidently, we finished at the same time.”

 Alice purposely bumped into him. “Sure whatever.”

“I didn’t. I swear.” He said almost jokingly. Alice could tell he was telling her the truth. “But seriously, you should talk to your parents.” He continued. They were a block away from the house when Will mentioned they were asking for her this morning. Her parents did not mention much to him, just that they really miss her. Alice noticed Will look at the bag she’s carrying from Eve’s Boutique. “Want me to carry that?  It looks pretty heavy.”

She rolls her eyes. “I don’t mind carrying it.” she said. “I maybe a princess, but that doesn’t mean you have to treat me like one. Especially here.” She took a short breath. “The only good thing about this place is that everybody treats me the same.” Even if I’m pretending to be something I’m not, she thought.

Will only sighed as he unlocked the door to the two story house. He stepped inside and placed the groceries on the table. Alice noticed he wasn’t even looking at her, as if he was too sheepish to talk about the situation.

She walked up to him and laid a hand on his arm. “You alright?”

Resting his hand on hers, he looked into her eyes. “You know I blame myself for everything, and it doesn’t help when I see you so unhappy.” Will looked away; Alice could tell he was remembering that day. “If I didn’t suggest-”

 “Nothing would have changed, he would have found another way.” she raised her voice interrupting him. “Damos would still be after me.”