Green Apples and Glasses of Water

 I haven’t though this through at all. For crying out loud, I’m not even using my USB pen so it’s probably going nowhere… but hey, I may as well do it. Even if it does mean that my words fall on deaf ears, blind eyes. I want to begin, but I don’t know how to so I’m just dawdling around waiting for inspiration to strike. It’s unusual that I’ve got nothing to say, since it’s all I ever want to do; talk, make somebody somewhere listen. Rarely happens but when it does it’s a great feeling… now to start with something. That’s what I can start with! Apples… Yes, I’m serious, so stop it before you even begin. Nice green shiny apples do have something to do with what I’m trying to say; it’s a roundabout link but it is there, even if only for me. Hey, something else that gives a nice link; a really big glass of tap water on a frosty evening. There we have it! The start to my story… sort of; what I’m trying to delay is the admittance of something that you probably won’t believe when you read it. In fact, as soon as I write this down there will be an official warrant for my death upon my head. My pretty little crowned head. Oh, by the way; I used to be royalty- I guess I still am royalty- before the nation was struck down by rebels and a fear of my dead father. He’s dead now but he used to reign well until he became power hungry, like everyone before him. Started demanding this and that and then they took off his crown and handed it to my brother. And then he got himself killed in a battle thousands of miles from our land. Problem was –or is, depending on who you are exactly- that he won’t get flown back and given a funeral with the nation’s flag on his coffin, simply because according to the humans, we don’t exist. I’m…

This could be the death of me, quite honestly. I’ve thought that before but now I’m really not sure I should do this. I do like being alive, as much as a pain as it can be.

Nah, I’ll write it; I may as well be dead anyway, and I’m certainly dead inside. I’m not human because I’m what you might call a fairy. No, I’m not wearing a frilly pink tutu and carrying a magic wand. But I am wearing a crown because it’s the only thing I’ve got left of home that isn’t in my head, and there is nowhere better to carry a crown than on your head. Nor am I six inches tall; I’m actually about human size, though a little above the average height for a female… six one, to be precise. I can perform magic, but not stupid magic like, “and the little fairy saved the day once again.” actually, I’m more like an elf, without the pointy ears.

Well, that’s it; there is now an official warrant for my head on a shiny tray. Preferably with the crown. I say official because on average I’ve receive around five assassination attempts per week since the fall of my family, and the only reason I’m still alive is the fact that humans just can’t seem to help ending up in the way. There are now six dead humans in this small area alone, due to weird occurrences which humans put down to, “they went abroad a few months back; maybe they caught something.” Or “it was just their time to die,” After they copped it in their sleep.  You see, an assassin of my kind doesn’t point a gun at your temple or poison your morning coffee; no, they curse you. Sometimes you don’t know it, sometimes you do. I’m charmed to the teeth to prevent it but as soon as I get attacked by a professional… let’s just say I’ve been lucky so far. Someone is always just in the way or the curse reflects off one of my charms, or someone has already struck me with the curse and I’ve survived it before. They’re like viruses in the sense that once you’ve had a certain strain of one you can’t have it again. Which is great, except the fact that the assassins mutate them; how do I know all this? Heh… yeah, my old career title was assassin for the rich and famous of my old society; being the king’s daughter made my line of work a great way to make money. See, being the youngest I shouldn’t have ever touched the crown- never mind have it sat jauntily on my head- so I needed an income and my ability to tamper with curses was the ideal career path for me, the young pretender.