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The morning was flooded with sweet spring air blended
with the fresh scents of ripening flowers. The sun slowly rose to meet the tips
of the green meadows and the peaks in the distance. Its gentle rays warmed the
ground casually as the tiny grains of fertile soil sprang between the early
blooms. The lingering cool touch of night slowly evaporated and the last dim
stars disappeared under the white foam clouds. It was a beautiful and quiet
morning in the kingdom of Meridell and something very special was about to take
place.
Nearby in the castle, a tiny baby Ixi was born.
Its fur was a magnificent shade of blue. It blinked open its eyes and let out
a squeak. Shimmering strands of hair fell into its hopeful face and the Ixi
gently brushed it aside with its paw. The Ixi was cuddled between several layers
of warm blankets, which it playfully licked with its soft pink tongue. When
it lost interest in that, the little creature looked curiously around its surroundings.
Huddled around the Ixi was a large group of Faerie's
who were all talking excitedly. They were the colors of all the different elements;
earth, water, air, fire, and light. Only the Faerie of darkness was missing
from the joyful crowd of visitors. The Faerie's affectionately reached out their
fingers to stroke the Ixi's ears and tiny pink nose. The creature, in return,
stared fascinated by the beauty of the Faerie's and their garments.
A Water Faerie stepped in front of the crowd.
She was dressed in a deep sapphire blue gown that sparkled like the swift currents
of the ocean. Small blue jewels and crystals decorated her glimmering bodice
and it sparkled like tiny rainbows as the Faerie moved. She silenced the crowd
and began speaking. "Sisters, the blessing ceremony for young Princess Ritzalina
will now begin. May I have the honor to place the first blessing on the princess?"
The other Faerie's nodded and smiled warmly. She turned to address the baby
Ixi. "I hereby bless Princess Ritzalina with the gift of beauty. For like the
majestic world beneath the blue waters, you too shall grow with elegant and
wondrous beauty." She then placed a soft kiss on the baby's cheek and tapped
its forehead with a light touch from her wand. A deep blue glowed around Ritzalina
and then faded away.
The next Faerie to step up was an Earth Faerie.
She was dressed in a cool shade of emerald green. Wove through her brown hair
were golden cornhusks, lush forest leaves, and exotic pink flowers. As she walked
to take the water Faerie's place, blossoms that were dangling in her hair fell
to the ground to leave a veil of living things. "My gift to Princess Ritzalina
shall be the blessing of kindness. She will show great compassion and kindness
towards all other living things." At last, she placed a warm kiss on the Ixi
and tapped her forehead with her shimmering wand. This time a green color glowed
around the princess and then slowly died away.
After she had returned, a fire Faerie came next.
Her scarlet wand shot out bursts of fire stars, which glittered endlessly around
the room. Her fiery red hair was tucked neatly behind her neck and a ruby stone
pin held it in place. "As the representative of the element fire, I shall bless
the gift of strength upon young Princess Ritzalina. When all else is black around
her, she shall find strength and shine her light inside." She blew a soft kiss
to the Ixi and tapped her wand on her head. A small red flicker gleamed around
Ritzalina like a warming flame and then faded.
Then came the Faerie of air. She wore satin robes
of twilight blue and on her head was a silver circlet adorned with aqua gems.
Her skin sparkled radiantly with glitter and she smiled upon her listeners.
"I am the element of air. I shall bless Princess Ritzalina with the gift of
knowledge. She, unlike others, will be able to see the true meaning hidden behind
the obscure wind. For some things are not always what they seem." She did as
the other Faeries had done and lay a gentle kiss upon the baby's cheeks and
made a soft blue color shine around the Ixi until it disappeared to leave not
a trace.
The last Faerie to place a gift on Ritzalina
was the light Faerie. She looked entrancing in her yellow gown with her long
blonde hair streaming down her back to form bouncing curls at the end. Her face
glowed like the warming sun. "I, Faerie of lightness, hereby give Princess Ritzalina
the blessing of love. She shall always contain love for her peers and for her
kingdom as long as she lives."
Just as the last Faerie kissed the Ixi and created
a yellow glow around her body, the doors at the end of the hallway burst open
with an earth-bellowing shatter. Darkness seeped into the fair castle like a
shadow before a storm. All of the Faeries huddled by where the princess lay
to protect her from the Dark Faerie that stood by the door. "Phaedra," the Light
Faerie gulped. This could only mean trouble.
"Why hello sisters!" screamed Phaedra at the
end of the hall. She strode forward briskly, her deep purple and silver dress
glided as she walked. "Nice to see that you invited me," she sneered as she
flipped her black hair over her shoulders. No one moved or made a sound. No
one except for the little baby Ixi whom began to cry desperately. "Ahh, what
do we have here!" exclaimed the dark Faerie. "This must be the new addition
to the family," she said as she peered at the tiny creature. "Little Ritzalina,
is it not?"
"Princess Ritzalina!" retorted the Light Faerie.
"You will address her correctly, as she is royalty."
"Yeah, whatever," grunted Phaedra. Her eyes cut
into green slits as she stared at Ritzalina with disgust. Suddenly, a smile
curved onto her lips and she let out a soft cackle. "You didn't expect me to
come all the way here without blessing your young princess." Phaedra lifted
the blankets to find the little creature trembling with fear. The other Faeries
exchanged nervous glances. " My gift to you, little Ritzalina, will be a terrible
curse." She laughed dryly. "On your 12th birthday, you shall come across a dark
magic artifact and when you touch it, you will unleash the powers from with
in it. You and Meridell shall forever be stained by its darkness." Phaedra began
laughing so loud and hard, piercing the room with her dark plans. A cloud of
purple shadows surrounded the Ixi and she cried innocently at the horror surrounding
her. Then the dark Faerie disappeared with a poof of smoke.
The Faeries were in a state of shock. They whispered
and cried as they thought of what to do. Finally, a Fire Faerie had a plan.
"Sisters, we must work to protect Princess Ritzalina from this evil harm," she
said with a broken heart. Everyone sighed. "I think it would be best if she
lived outside of the castle for her youth."
"And never know she is really the princess?"
gasped an Air Faerie with shock.
"Yes, we shall have to change her name also,
so that Phaedra will never know it's her. She will be known as Ritz."
"Then we should change her color too, that way
Phaedra will never recognize her on that cursed day," cried the Water Faerie.
"So be it. We will paint her with a Faerie Paint
Brush."
"But who should live with her and be her companion?"
Just then a yellow Acara stepped up from the crowd. She was very plain but had
a warm and kind smile on her face.
"I shall. I will take good care of her," said
the Acara cheerily. The faeries nodded appreciably.
"Done," said the Light Faerie.
So begins our tale of a little Ixi crossed by
fate, who when she wakes up years later in a small cottage, will never know
her true past…. or her destiny.
To be continued…
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