The Queen Of All Strange Things

8

I have no idea how but Trevelyan as he is was waiting outside my room next morning. He seemed to remember my rules but the fairies didn’t. I was disappointed to find that these weren’t the fairies at home but those who lived in the palace. And yes, I woke up with fairy braids on my hair.
It was terribly sunny here, and if it weren’t for the curtains, I would have got a tan early in the morning. On the table was a note written in ancient hand writing.
“Come downstairs for Breakfast.”
I changed my shirt onto a dark blue one with a “Don’t mess with me” print. I decided to keep my own denims on. I discovered Trevelyan on my way out as he bowed.
‘Lady Gem…’
He can’t pronounce my name properly and say it as ‘Amothest’ so he switched to Lady Gem, which was awkward.
‘H-How did you get here?’ I exclaimed.
‘I’m a gnome,’ he said as if it answers everything.
‘Oh never mind.’
The corridor was deserted. In front of my room was room number two. It was half opened. I wonder who lived there.
‘His highness Prince Andrew resides in the next room, your grace,’ said one of the fairies. I know it’s not polite but I peeped in.
It was a colossal mess!
I mean everything from cloths to comic books and bed sheets and weapons were everywhere! And plus, it stunk of rotten wool
‘Doesn’t anyone tidy this place up!’ I cried.
But the fairies shook their head.
‘He never allows it.’
Anyone can get sick by just staying here. I’m not a neat freak but I set out to tidy it. The fairies helped too. I had no idea what stunk though but I quickly found it out to be a soaked wool jacket.
Even a bunch of fairies could not think what to do with it. Just in time, the dryad from yesterday passed by.
‘What are you doing, my lady! His highness will be mad!’
I gave out a sigh. ‘No one sane can live here.’
‘Your brother won’t be pleased.’
Brother?
Oh, yeah, Andrew.
‘Well,’ I said. ‘I’m his elder sister.’
And I got the help of the dryads too.
I staked the comic books in a pile, sent the dirty clothes to the laundry, dumped the food containers and in fifteen minutes the room was considered tidy.
Then, Dyane (the dryad’s name) led me downstairs.
Breakfast was laid on a marble white table in a verandah overlooking the Nile. There were dozens of dishes lain on it and a few nymphs I guess were still bringing them when I arrived.
‘Who else is coming?’ I asked.
Dyane shrugged. ‘Just your highness and the Prince...’
Not even a large family can finish this off. And so Dyane left me alone in the middle of a banquet.

Lucky for us, a dragon gobbled up almost half of the food. Andrew arrived on dragon-back, as usual but I didn’t dare to tell him about his room.
He dropped onto a seat and opened the lid of a dish. I didn’t dare to touch anything either and steam seeped out whenever he opened them. To my amazement, there was alto a bowl of chicken toes.
‘Chinese,’ mumbled Andrew.
‘Huh?’
‘The cook shifts cuisines whenever she feels like it,’ said Andrew.
Salzar slithered around the breakfast table, eyes on the chicken toes.
‘Help yourself,’ said Andrew. He turned to me. ‘You don’t eat chicken toes do you?’
I shook my head. A lick fog Salzar’s tongue was enough to finish it off. Then he ate half of the dumplings and I helped myself with some noodle soup but I just couldn’t get it to stay in my chopstick without them sliding back to the bowl.
Andrew sighed and showed me how to use it.
‘Seriously, are we supposed to pretend as brother and sister?’
Andrew nodded. ‘Long lost brother and sister. There is nothing to pretend I guess. Just keep it in mind.’
And of what I’ve heard, siblings fought a lot.  And Andrew is just too un-childish for me to act big sister. But having a pretend bother! I’ve always wished for brother, but not like this!
Salzar gobbled the rest of the noodles as well, holding the bowl with his sharp clawed hands. All of a sudden, Salzar leaped out of the verandah and flew up in a flash. That’s when I noticed a girl of probably Andrew’s age skipping towards us. Andrew rolled his eyes and slurped a noodle thread.
‘So,’ said the girl. ‘Do you like it.’
‘Er….’ I turned to Andrew.
‘Palace cook, Nymphea,’ said Andrew.
My eyes widened. ‘You are the Palace Cook!’
Nymphea beamed with a nod.
‘I’m a daughter of Demeter,’ said Nymphea.
Goddess of harvest... Makes sense to me.  
Nymphea looked around at the dishes.
‘Wow, you must like chicken toes,’ she said to me.
‘Oh no, Andrew loves them.’
‘You do?’ said Nymphea, beaming at Andrew.
Andrew was scowling.
‘Sorry,’ she squealed. ‘Hm… can I bring some more?’
‘I think he has had enough,’ I said.
Nymphea bowed at both of us but looked at Andrew a while longer biting her lips and quickly spiked away. Andrew pretended as if she were invisible.
It took me a while to understand what was going on. And I couldn’t help myself from laughing.   
‘What!’ said Andrew, all annoyed.
‘She likes you!’ I said.
Andrew snorted. ‘She’s a pain.’
I was still laughing.
‘It’s not funny.’
‘I’m just wondering what you have for a cute girl like that to actually like you,’ I said.
Andrew got up.
‘Hay,’ I said. ‘I was just kidding. Fine, you are charming, happy now?’
I think I made him even madder because he stormed away.
‘Good, you are all finished!’
I jumped, getting up of my seat. It was Athena. More like the goddess of sneak attacks.
‘Hi,’ I said with a grin.
‘If you are done, shall we begin?’
I looked at the mess on the table.
‘You ate that much?’ she mused.
‘The dragon, not the humans,’ I said. ‘What about the mess?’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ said Athena and the mess on the table cleared, just like that.
‘I need a long time to get used to this place,’ I sighed.
‘Then we shall begin at once!’
My first destination was the library. I gasped at first sight. It was enormous, like a labyrinth will book shelves filled with books at every corner. Any book lover would spill their brains out.
‘Oh. My. God.’ I exclaimed. But I wasn’t too thrilled. I can barely expect what kind of books there are in here, probably boring old history books. But the sight was enough to make your heart race.  But then, I saw the new arrivals on the nearest book shelf to the entrance and I squealed making even Athena jump.
‘All three volumes of Mystica!’ I cried. ‘How come this is here?’
I love Mystica. It’s written by a mystery writer called Karl Rightson and it’s about a girl who is an inventor and magician in a world where magic is banned. But I’ve only read the second book and I’m dying to read the first.
There was Arctic Ranger by Goldin Chase, Immortals by Susan Alley, the Gadroth Chronicles and almost all of the new releases I drooled over at Goodreads.
‘I see you like fiction,’ said Athena.
I gave her a pleading look. Probably the best I could ever muster. 
‘You can read them after the lessons.’
‘Ca-can I just touch them at least?’
Athena smirked. ‘No.’
But I knew the risks. If I ever get hold of a book, I sink into its worlds and it’s hard for get me out.
‘But it doesn’t make any sense,’ I said. ‘Who reads modern novels here?’
‘Every writer is a master of imagination,’ said Athena. ‘And collecting their work is a preservation of their mind.’
‘Oh,’ I said. ‘Guess imagination is very important here.’
‘It’s what created us.’
‘Uh… Huh?’
Athena walked deeper into the library.
‘So, you are all just someone’s imagination? You’re not real?’
‘Not really’ said Athena. ‘But we are not supposed to exist. We were created by the imagination and beliefs of the men in Ancient Greece.’
‘Is that even possible?’
Athena stopped. ‘Ancient Greece was a vast civilization. They created us to help them explain things that their minds could not comprehend and thus they believed that we were real. Their belief was so strong that they created us, we became real.’
I whistled.
‘That’s why we are immortal,’ said Athena. ‘Not because we are supernatural entities, but because we are fragments of the mind of man. As long as man exists and believes, we exist as well.’
‘But no one believes in Greek gods anymore.’
‘But they remember,’ said Athena. ‘People still think about us. We are a part of their lives even though they don’t believe in us.’
‘What if they forget?’
‘We fade,’ said Athena. ‘No one misses something that is forgotten. Sightless was created based on human belief. We depend on them. That’s why we try to keep our world secret from yours.’
‘Won’t people believe in you more if they knew you existed?’
‘What will happen if a child who sees a dolly under his bed as a monster explores and discovers that the toy was not scary at all but all in his imagination?’
‘The child will not be scared of the toy anymore.’
‘What do you think will happen to us? The doll will remain a monster as long as the child thinks so. Once man discovers that we are all simply a part of their imagination, they will dismiss us. That is all that it will take. The human mind is a very delicate and powerful thing.’
‘Yeah, but even so, human mind creating something real…’
‘We are not real, Amethyst. We are but mere ghosts.’
‘Then why should I be concerned with something not real and are ghosts?’ I said.
‘Do we look like ghosts to you?’
‘No but_’
‘It’s because you too Amethyst are a part of this world,’ she said. ‘There is one part of you that is a ghost like the rest of us. That’s why regular humans cannot see us. Either because they do not believe and do not wish for us to exist and because they are not part of this world.’
I really did not get that part.
‘And about your question before, don’t humans concern themselves with a lot of things that are not real?’
‘Fine! I’m part unreal and I’m going to be the Queen among fragments of imaginations. Now what?’
‘You must learn about every civilization, their folklores and every race and species of invisibles.’
‘Okaaaay,’ I said. ‘And…’
‘Learn to deal with them,’ said Athena. ‘And if you are successful in today’s lesson, you can have a novel.’
‘That’s bribery.’
‘First rule of being a Queen,’ said Athena. ‘Do not let anyone know of your weakness.’
Is my bibliomania a weakness?