Exiled Princes

The sun had just gone down and Luan glanced around. His mind only half on Melian's voice, but his eyes doing a quick swept around the vast field. Melian and Evangeline walked ahead of him and Luan could not help to notice the constantly glare that Melian gave him since she found them.

As they got closer to the hill, the orange peach gold sky stretched far and wide, the color of a cotton candy that he always got from his grandmother. Luan watched the sky and lost in the rhythmic percussion of the rustling wind. It was as if he heard a bell tinkling above his head.

His eyes drifted around the vista of green grass, dotted there with one maple tree stood firmly on the ground. The red leaves became crystal clear as they approached it and he noticed there was a blue bird perched on the branch. Luan felt the pull, his fingers ached for his camera that made him wish he could take a picture of the scenery. He felt as if he was looking at a painting where the color had been adjusted at maximum saturation. The leaves were intently, almost fiery red. The birds that dipped and dove through the air had plumage so wildly colorful and it made Luan wonder if they had another purpose other than beauty and display.

"What's that?" He turned around and saw Melian was pointing her index finger to a massive Ferris wheel located not far from them. The view was magnificently stunning. The clouds were lining along the peach sky, hues from fiery orange into a soft rolling palette of violet and pink upon the sky. Luan felt as if he was drag into a fairy tale book.

"That's such a massive wheel." Melian pointed out.

"That's massive wheel is call Ferris wheel." His voice came out rougher than he intended. The faerie drink that he drank made his throat itchy. He blinked at the spinning Ferris wheel. Luan could hear a soft music in the distance, weaving feathery tendrils across the sky.

"I didn't ask you, Mr. Perfectly fine." Said Melian tersely. Her voice did not sound please with his comment. In other words, she wanted him to shut up.

"Well, at least you admit that I'm exceptionally good looking." He raised his arms dramatically.

Melian cast Luan a look of plain loathing. "What's so good looking about you?"

"Everything about me." He bemused.

Melian snorted. "Not everything about you are so great for your record."

"And your point is?"

"You're a problematic man, and problematic man tend to broke things without knowing the way to fix it back." She paused. "Also, problematic man doesn't look appealing at all." Melian added dryly.

Luan scowled. "Mind to share the problem is Miss Melian?"

Melian turned and looked at him levelly. Her eyebrows arched. "Your problem is that you nit-pick about everything I say."

"I'm not nit-picking. I'm pointing out the fact."

"Surely my opinion of you was vary from yours. Blackie is much more better looking than you."

"Both of you." Evangeline said, casting both of them a despairing sigh. "Stop it. If you intend to annoy each other all day long, we won't get anywhere."

"Sure, it is." Luan agreed. "But she started it first."

"Yes. I did, Mr. Perfectly Fine." Said Melian in a bored voice.

Luan was about to lash back at Melian, but Evangeline's look was warning. 'Stop it' was all she said and Luan sighed in defeat. The wind changed and the music picked up. "Do you hear the music?" Luan asked, taking a step closer beside Evangeline.

"Yes." Evangeline said airily.

"Another revel?" He asked. The wind blew ceaselessly in the air smelled like sugar and caramel.

"Yes." Evangeline said without preamble. Her eyes shone like a gemstone. "But it's different."

The three of them trekked through the green fields, heading towards the Ferris wheel. The ground studded with piles of violet-colored flowers tumbled at his feet. The music was louder now and grew louder as they reached the end of the hill and the Ferris wheel was visible enough to their eyes. The massive Ferris wheel was decorated gleaming lights, reflecting off the field so brightly that it looked as if someone was setting off the fireworks; red, purple, pink, and blue.

Melian grabbed Evangeline by the arm, propelling them both through the run-down looking amusement park that he could find in Canada. Except for the millions poured of people revamped into the amusement park.

This amusement park was empty but strangely enough it ran smoothly well without the caretaker. Luan glanced around, but his mind was only half way on the music spilling in the air. He would always love the amusement park, since he was a little boy. He loved the junk food, burger, cotton candy, the tornado potato, milk shakes, and corn dog.

"What's wrong?" Evangeline asked. She was alone without Melian by her side.

"Where is Melian?"

"Taking a little detour." Evangeline pointed. "At the spinning horses."

Luan followed her gaze to the brightly merry-go-around, spilling its mechanical music into the air. Something along her line made him let out a small chuckle. "The spinning horses there we call merry-go-around." He said, and Luan saw red tinted on Evangeline's cheek bones.

"Too much divergent between our world." Evangeline said. The wind blew ceaselessly in the air, lifting the soft waves of Luan's black hair, made them kiss his cheeks and temples. Evangeline felt her cheeks flame and was amazed that she still had the capacity to be embarrassed. She turned away from his gaze when their eyes clashing with each other.

"Should we go to Melian?" Luan asked, mostly to fill the growing silence between him and Evangeline.

"It's better we don't." Evangeline said. "She looks pretty stun that I'm afraid of breaking her amazement."

"Aren't you hungry?" Luan asked, suddenly reminded that they had not eaten anything since they met and he only drank the faerie drink.

No. It's still bearable for me." Said Evangeline. It was true that she was not hungry, though. "Are you hungry?" Evangeline returned the question back to him.

"Well," he said. "I guess I should've accept the fancy meals the faeries offered."

"Luan." Evangeline felt mired in a semi-permanent state of incense. "Any foods and drinks taken from the faerie can drive you mad."

"Well," Luan grinned ferociously. "You drive me mad with your sexy talk."

"Luan Winterlight!"

Luan stared at her for another long moment, the corners of his mouth twitching. The idea of teasing Evangeline was pleasant to him. "I'm joking." He said and tapped the tip of Evangeline's nose lightly. "Surprising enough I'm not hungry."

Evangeline sighed inwardly. "You should take note when to joke around. You are lucky enough the drink was only a juice not more than that."

All humor had gone from his expression. The vision. He thought. Luan was contemplating of telling Evangeline about the vision, but he rather felt not.

"Faerie drink?" Inquired a voice from behind them. A soft and familiar voice. Melian had come into earshot and Evangeline looked at Luan briefly before exhaling a sigh.

"Yes. Faerie drink."

"I bet this idiot here drank the Faerie drink." Said Melian.

Luan frowned. "The last few minutes ago, you were calling me Mr. Perfectly Fine. Now it's an 'idiot'." He looked at Melian sideways. "I'm glad that I left big impressions on you."

Melian let her mouth slightly a gaped. He is mad. Definitely. But she kept her thought firmly in her head. "I guess you're doing perfectly fine despite of drinking the Faerie drink. Good for you." She said simply.

"Please stop." Evangeline interjected, not trying to make the situation riled up with their endless arguments. "What did you find?"

Melian glanced at Evangeline, "Nothing special. It's just spinning horses with its mechanical music."

Luan fought the urge of correcting Melian's term of words, but he shoved his thought away. Arguing with Melian will only intensified his headache. "I assume there was no one handling this amusement park." Said Luan, though he knew Melian would not welcome him in the conversation.

Melian snapped her fingers. "Those are correct- clever, I'll grant you Mr. Perfectly Fine." Surprisingly, Melian did not sound irritated. "I don't see anyone here except for us. That spinning-"

"It's merry-go-around." Evangeline interjected.

"The what?" Melian asked, but did not see any point of asking it again. "Anyways, that merry-go-around thing is running on its own. Pretty clever of it, don't you think?

Just as Evangeline was about to curt a nod, agreeing with Melian, the lights from the merry -go-around went out, and a whooshing sound snapped their attention away. They were plunged into darkness.

"Am I blind?" Luan's voice floated out of the darkness, tinged with slightly annoyance. "If this is your trick of blinding me, I won't be pleased, Miss Knowing Everything."

"Is that supposed to be me?" Melian sounded puzzled.

"What?"

"Miss Knowing Everything." Said Melian.

"Yes." Luan said as if this should be obvious.

Evangeline sighed. "You're not blind." She sounded mild, as always. "The lights just went off."

"Oh." Luan replied, sounded uncharacteristically surprise.

Melian muttered something under her breath. Evangeline could not quite hear her, but she was fairly sure she caught the words 'Luan' and 'his small brain'. A moment later there was a strange sweet music playing in the air, flawed with sweet sour notes of singing and the mechanical horses spun back again.

"My lady!" Melian cried out in alarm. Bright light filled the amusement park, sending Evangeline into a fit of blinking. There were five faeries standing in front of the merry-go-around and the blue haired faerie clicked his fingers and the mechanical horses stop spinning.

"May I inquire your purpose of invading our territory?" The blue haired faerie inquired. He wore a white long shirt. Gold leaves woven in his blue hair. A mantle of green cloth draped around his shoulder, inlaid with wild flowers. He wore a black trouser and matched with a pair of silver sandals.

'Faeries.' Evangeline thought. She remembered the exiled Faerie Princes. Drazhan once told her the story of the five Faerie Princes who were exile from their kingdom. She would have never thought she could meet one’s one day.

The golden sky had gone, and twilight deepened into true night. "Our apologies. We are travelers who are lost looking for our way back to the Queen." Said Evangeline. The tranquility of her tone surprised Luan. There was something in the way she spoke now that surprised him. She spoke with something careful and delicate.

"And the idea of you invading our territory was only a bad assumption of mine?" Asked the blue haired faerie. All of them were fair indeed with their pale lovely faces.

"Absolutely, Your Highness." Said Evangeline, bowing low.

"Your Highness?" Melian demanded and Evangeline glanced sideways at her. Melian returned Evangeline's gaze and opened her mouth as if she intended to ask her question. Then, she seemed to think better of it.

"We don't have any ill intentions coming here."

The blue haired faerie tilted his head to the side, like an interested bird. All his attention was on Luan and

Evangeline noticed it. "One of you is not from this world. Is he the legendary child of the Selene?"

Evangeline felt Luan stiffen beside her in surprise. She stepped forward, putting herself between the Faerie Princes and her companions. "I'm not quite sure how you got this info, but he is indeed."

"Let's just say I have reliable sources." Said the blue haired faerie Prince, and Evangeline wondered what would the other Princes' voices like?

"Please, your Highness. We hope you will let us go our way safely. I hope you would understand. We had heard you and your brothers were as kind as your beautiful face and your kindness must be extreme indeed." Said Evangeline, inclining her head in their direction.

The blue haired faerie smirked and stepped forward. "You're as charming as your mother, Evangeline Rosewood." He said, and gestured at the other Princes. "Take these as our token."

One of the faerie Princes stepped forward. He had a mint pink hair with a mixture of blonde. He wore the same white long sleeve shirt with a mantle of dark blue cloth draped around his shoulder. He has steely grey-blue eyes. He opened his hand. White flowers in his hand gleamed in accusation. "Take this, and join our dance before you go." Said the mint pink haired Prince. His voice was deeper than the lake and raspier.

For a moment Evangeline looked thrown. She hesitated. The mint pink haired faerie leaned over to her and spoke softly. "It would be unwise to refuse the bounty of Faerie Princes."

Melian's eyes flicked toward the Faerie Princes. "It won't hurt us just to join their dance, my Lady."

"Yes." Said the blue-haired faerie. "Come and join us. Rest yourselves with us. Rest is better with ease mind and music can bring tranquility to our minds."