Ailia

Lily Pads and Crystal Castles

Click. Click. Click. Ching.
Click. Click. Click. Ching.
Click. Click. Click. Ching.
Click. Click. Cli-

"Ailia! Please! Would you be careful with that! It's very expensive!"

Ailia immediately dropped her hands, but did not look ashamed. Indeed, she only moved onto the next exhibit for fear of losing her escort in such a large crowd.

The Fair was a marvel. So many diverse cultures brought together to share their best things. The smells, the colors, the various inventions. You never knew what to expect with each turn you made.

What was that smell?

Ailia craned her neck in an attempt to see over the towering figures around her.

"Umph!"

The wind was knocked out of her as something quite solid pushed her sideways. There was a mess of movement, curses, and dirt as three men tumbled over each other in some sort of qurall. She regained her footing and turned in confusion and fascination. One man was permanently lying on the ground, leaving the other two to settle the dispute. She realized that the smaller of the two was a young man from her stables.

Ailia's quick eyes missed nothing. The larger man shifted his weight,

"Duck!" Ailia yelled.

The stableboy though startled did as he was instructed, dodging the clumsy right hook.

"Sweep his legs!"

The young man still in a crouched position, put his weight on his hands and swept his legs outward causing the larger man to stumble to the ground.

A look of victory came and went as the larger man stood looking more angry than before.

Ailia couldn't stop the amused giggle that escaped her lips.

"Run!"

The stableboy quickly and clumsily pushed himself from the ground and dashed into the crowd, the large man right behind him. The onlookers simply started moving again, walking around the unconscious man on the ground.

Ailia stopped to examine him. A simple touch of his wrist told her he had no fatal wounds; however he did have a poor liver.

A hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Miss Ailia. Your instructor is insisting you come at once."

She looked back down to see the man awake and looking at her quite dazed.

She smiled.

"Hello. You've received a moderate strike to the head. I must encourage you to rest, and stop drinking so heavily."

The man slowly nodded. Ailia gave a small laugh and stood from her crouched position.

Ailia, her younger sister, and her mother were the last of the High Fae. A race with incredible healing powers that allowed them to know the exact problem, and if they choose to accept half the pain, the ability to heal instantly. From a young age her mother has taught her the ways of the High Fae;the knowledge of herbs and bandages, the focus to heal, and clarity of mind to find the problem even without physical contact.

She followed the servant back to her ruffled tutor. Who immediately filled the air with complaints of her indecency.

Ailia continued walking through the town square, taking in as much as her eyes would allow.

Her life was prolonged due to her elvish heritage on her father's side and High Fae on her mother's side, but it would never be enough time to quench her thirst for knowledge. Not in a world so vast.