A Modern Fairytale

The missing note

When I arrived, you were with Valerie and...the fairy king. Even to someone who had only heard of you—both of you—without having seen you, it would be quite easy to tell who was who. Valerie had that glare as she spoke to King Reginvalt, who was seated with his chin on his fist, smirking up at her and seemingly wholly immune to her aura. You towered over them both, standing just beside them, visibly concerned—for what, though, I wouldn't know.

...though I suppose one could only worry when the fairy king and Valerie were seen together.

Both of them must have noticed me as soon as I walked in, but it was you who acknowledged my presence first. As you looked up, they did too.

"Iefan," Valerie, before gesturing to each of you. "King Reginvalt and Einar."

"Hey." In response, King Reginvalt barely lifted a hand in greeting. I decided, at that moment, that I should probably stay away from him as much as possible. It didn't seem very likely that we would get along.

"Hi," you said, a slightly unsettled smile on your face. "I'm Einar."

I bowed in your general direction—since all three of you were in a group anyhow. "I'm Iefan. Pleased to meet you."

"Just Iefan?" King Reginvalt asked lazily.

"Yes...huh?"

☆☆☆

I could turn most things into most other things. The eternal battle of Valerie's penetrating gaze and Reginvalt's impenetrable smile, though, was something I could only admit defeat about. It had been like that from the very beginning, and it didn't seem likely that it would ever change.

You may not have noticed, but the moment you walked into the room, the whole atmosphere changed. Trust me, I would know—I'd stood in between them more than long enough to be able to detect that. Of course, they must have noticed you as well, and possibly even before I did, be that by one or a nanosecond. But as usual, both king and princess refused to let their natural flow be interrupted. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I believe we shared a somewhat confused glance just before Valerie started introducing us.

Of course, your confusion was very much warranted. I wonder how much she told you, the messenger that Valerie sent back to Rectitia.

Reginvalt didn't respond to your bewilderment. I gave him a nudge. "Don't be like that," I said to him.

He shrugged. "I'll leave it to you then," he said to Valerie.

She nodded.

At that cue, Reginvalt vanished. I could only sigh—I'd lost count of how many times I'd done so that day.

☆☆☆

As far as I knew, both of you disappeared. Absent a trail of sparks that I knew would follow Valerie when she turned to her fairy size to fly away, I thought both you and King Reginvalt simply...teleported somewhere. My surprise must have been transparent, as Valerie chuckled in amusement.

"Reginvalt was never here," she said, "That was only a mirage."

"And...Einar?"

"He's still here, probably flying out the window just now as we speak."

"He went invisible?"

"What a show, right? We are all fairies, Iefan."

We are all fairies. That should have meant the three of you, but at that moment, I had a sneaking suspicion that it was not what she meant.

"Jena said you have something to show me," I said, a bit apprehensive. It couldn't be good if I had to be summoned all the way to Mecrisdale for this; moreover, Jena herself looked a bit...concerned, when she delivered the message, even though she said nothing more than that.