The Queen of Tylwyth: the Lost Betrothed

Chapter 18

     "Why did you abandon me?" whispered a grim soft voice. I was surrounded by darkness. The ghost of a familiar woman suddenly appeared in front of me. It was Mama Anita dressed in her funeral attire as a ghost.

      "After all I have done for you, Ella! You abandoned me for the blasted fairy realm!" wailed Mama Anita in a grim hoarse voice. I backed up and suddenly the ghost of a familiar girl appeared next to Mama Anita. It was Cora, dressed in her school uniform.

      "Why did you abandon me, Ella? You just disappeared, leaving me alone! You abandoned me for them!" Cora wailed. I covered my ears in pain, I couldn't handle their shrieks of pain. Suddenly the ghost of a familiar man appeared next to Cora and Mama Anita. It was Papa Papyrus, dressed in business suit. The one he died in.

     "Why did you abandon them, Ella? Why did you abandon your family?" Papa Papyrus whispered in an eerie soft voice. Cora and Mama Anita continued to sob while Papa Papyrus continued to whisper. Suddenly the ghost of a familiar woman with fairy wings appeared. It was Queen Lucinda in her royal attire.

     "Why have you abandoned your kingdom?! Your people need you?!" Queen Lucinda shrieked with utter pain. All four of them continued to chant what they said. Suddenly the ghost of a familiar fairy boy appeared. It was Brenin in his clothes from the ball.

     "You were my only chance to help my kingdom. You abandoned me, Faylinn. You abandoned your people. You abandoned your destiny," whispered Brenin repeatedly. I couldn't take it. I screamed to the top of my lungs and everything around me instantly shattered.

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     "Ella! Ella! Ella, wake up!" screamed a familiar voice as they woke me up. My eyes slowly fluttered open. For a split second, I thought it was Mama Anita who was trying to wake me up, but it was Cassidy.

     "Mmm...whattttttt???" I grumbled sleepily as I rubbed my eyes. Cassidy sighed and answered, "Well you were having a bad nightmare. Also we're heading into a nearby village for supplies and breakfast!"

     I blushed a light pink in embarrassment and then shuttered as I recalled the nightmare. Cassidy held out her hand and helped me up. I noticed the camp was already taken down and Cameron was waiting for us impatiently. Cassidy and I then walked over to him.

     "Morning, sleepy head," said Cameron with a soft chuckle. I playfully rolled my eyes at the fairy boy while Cassidy let out a laugh. Suddenly Cassidy piped up, "I almost forgot!"

     She waved her hands around me and stopped a few minutes later. Cassidy then handed me her mirror. Looking at the mirror, I suddenly noticed that I had very curly shoulder-length black hair, chocolate eyes, and coco-colored skin. I also had a pair of icy blue fairy wings. Cassidy changed my appearance with her fairy gift. I then handed the mirror back to her and stated, "Good idea! We would of been caught if I didn't have a disguise!"

     "The disguise will last for at least twelve hours, but let's go get breakfast!" the fairy girl exclaimed. She then grabbed Cameron and I before dragging us to the village. It was a more simpler version of Cassidy's and Cameron's village. There were some huts and wooden buildings, along with merchant tents. Cassidy lead us over to a large wooden building and we entered it.

     "Oh my..." I whispered to myself in shock. Fairies of all sizes were all crowded in a tavern-like establishment.  There were cute fairy girls, dressed in tight cotton dresses, serving fairies drinks and meals. Bulgy fairy men were laughing and drinking as some told of stories. The twins and I stood out like sore thumbs at this place.

     "Oh! New customers!" a feminine voice exclaimed happily. A fairy waitress suddenly walked up to us. She had light violet hair in a bun, bright gray eyes, and tan skin. The girl had light pink fairy wings, pointy ears, and wore a tight cotton white and brown dress.

      "Table for three," stated Cameron politely. The fairy waitress nodded and led us over to a small table with three chairs. We took our seats and the waitress then said, "My name is Katerina and I will be your waitress for today! For breakfast, we have oatmeal, sausage, eggs, and toast!"

     "I will have eggs please!" Cassidy exclaimed happily. Cameron nodded and said, "I will have eggs also," before staring back at the ground. I answered, "I will have oatmeal."

     "Ok, I will be right back!" Katerina exclaimed before walking away. Once she was out of hearing range, I then turned to face Cassidy and Cameron. I asked, "What supplies do we need to get?"

     "Food and clothes," stated Cameron. I nodded and then Katerina came back with our food, a jug of water, and three cups. She placed our food on the table and filled the cups with water. Katerina then said to us cheerfully, "If you need anything, just holler for me!"

     The twins and I nodded and Katerina walked away. We then began to eat our breakfast. As we ate, I overheard some of the fairy men tell a tale about warrior women.

     "-when I entered the land of the red wings, I went toe to toe with the Queen of Flames! A beauty she was, but fearsome! Nearly sliced my leg off clean!" an old fairy man with a sailor accent laughed, causing his fellowmen to laugh with him. I furrowed my brow and whispered to the twins, "What is that man talking about?"

     "Those men were once part of Queen Lucinda's journeymen. They used to journey into the land of the Warons. Journeymen don't journey as often lately. Also Warons are nicknamed "red wings" because they stain their newborns' wings red with blood," answered Cameron. Suddenly I heard a conflict begin to happen.

     "I ordered pork, not steak, you worthless leecher!" yelled a rough nasty voice. Katerina was getting yelled at by a bulky scary looking fairy man with dark blue wings. She was profusely apologizing to the man. Annoyed, I got up from my seat and walked over to the man.

     "Leave her alone! It was a simple mistake!" I yelled at the man. Everyone went silent, including the fairy man. He looked shocked that a girl stood up against him, but that was soon replaced with laughter.

     "A smaller leecher is standing up for another leecher!" the fairy man laughed. The twins ran up to me and whispered to me frantically and in unison, "What are you doing?! Do you know who that is?!"

     "Of course, she knows who I am! After all, I AM the most famous journeymen in all of Twylyth!" exclaimed the man, very full of himself. I smirked to myself and said,"Actually I don't know who you are and I don't care who you are!"

     Many of the fairies in the tavern gasped in shock and the man became more angry. I swore I saw veins popping out of his forehead. The man stood up and said, "I'm Jericho the Rocker! The journeyman who was able to rip one of the Queen of Flames' eyes right out of its socket! Now I challenge you to an ornest!"

     "Rules?" I asked smugly. To be honest, I had no idea what the hell an ornest was. Jericho answered, "Blades and fists. First person to get knocked down wins. If I win, you have to flash your underwear to all the men in town and pay me hundred silverlings!

     I blushed a bright red, but remained calm and chill. With a toothless grin, I responded in a mocking tone, "Sure, Jericho! But if I win, you have to pay Katerina and me two thousand silverlings~! You probably have that amount on you, after all, you're the great journeyman who ripped out one of the Queen of Flames's eyes!"

     Many of the customers and workers began to whisper about my bravery and stupidity while the twins tried their best not to strangle me. Jericho grinned and held out his hand. I forcefully grabbed it and we shook. He then whispered, "Challenge accepted!"