The Best Bride

17. DRACOVILLA

It felt so good to be in the place we grew up in. Everyone in our family, Father, Mother, Uncle Jelly, Aunt Maxim, Twitter and Horn, were all in the living room as if they knew beforehand we were coming home.  

At our arrival on the living room doorstep, they kind of ran toward us and wrapped us in a warm family hug. I swept Twitter off his feet in a hug and kissed him on both of his cheeks. Mother was so happy to see us back that she began to shed happy tears. We wasted two minutes in trying to stop her flowing tears.  

When she finally stopped crying, she disappeared in the kitchen and began setting the dinner on the table for everybody.  

The smell of home made foods brought back my appetite and suddenly I felt so hungry that I felt like I could gobble everything on the table all by myself. No sooner had I sat, I began stuffing food after food in my mouth because, unlike man-made food, the foods my mother cooked were pretty delicious like I could go on eating for days forgetting I was already full or something.  

"Nutbrun seems little changed, but her eating habits are still the same," said Horn.  

"Slow down, honey," Mother told me, and I did feeling a bit embarrassed.  

Everybody in the Family knew where we had come from and the reason of our disappearances; King Mackaral had sent message to our family as promised. I was near finishing my dinner when Jewel revealed the good news to all.  

At first Father, Uncle Jelly, Aunt Maxim and Horn thought Jewel was joking, but when I said she wasn't, the smiles left their faces, replaced by seriousness. Then it was covered by the emotion of pure joy. Congratulation and best wishes showered on Jewel who now looked like she could die of all the merriness surrounding her. 

Mother jumped on her feet as if she had won some big lottery. "Oh my Gods! That's incredible!. My daughter is going to become the princess!"  

"When is the wedding?" asked Horn.  

"We don't know yet," said Jewel, and urged Mother, who was still dancing on her feet, to calm down. "Mom, will you please stop? King Mackaral has invited you and Father for meeting tomorrow. Mom, please don't jump before the king, okay?"  

"Sure honey."  

Everyone around the table was happy, but Twitter. He was sitting next to me, looking like a kid whose candies had been snatched away by some bullies; sad and angry. 

"What's the matter?" I asked him in small voice ignoring the hubbub in the dining room.  

"My work just got wasted," whispered Twitter. "You should be the one marrying the prince, not her -" 

"Stop it, Twitter," I whispered back. "King Mackaral chose her, and I'm really happy for her."  

"You sure?"  

"Yes. Beside this, I've found someone I really like." 

"Who is he?" 

"His name is Éclair. And he's human."  

"Human?" Twitter pronounced this word as if it was something disgusting.  

I nodded. "You don't have to sound disappointed. They're just like us but without wings."  

"Does he love you too?"  

"I... I don't know."  

"I bet if you'd stayed in human world for some time longer he would have gotten enough time to see more of you," said Twitter. "And then he probably would have fallen for you. No human would say no to fairies. But now your love is impossible. You can't leave Wingland. It's best if you forget him."