The Fairytale Life of Doris McQueen [#1] ✓

ONE

Chapter 1

Ten years had passed and the little girl was now grown. Yes, Doris McQueen had changed over the years. She was taller and wore spectacles. She kept her hair short and efficient in a pixie cut. She didn't like long hair since it was hampering and required a lot of time to manage. For someone who lived under Alexander McQueen's influence, every minute was important. For every second lost in managing long hair you could lose millions of money.

At the moment Doris was sitting down for breakfast with her Dad. Her Dad wore the same scowl he wore every day since the last year when he had finally agreed to send Doris to a school. Doris knew her Dad was paranoid. He never let her go out alone and till a year ago Doris had been home-schooled. The home tutors had been the best in the States and Doris had grown up to be a capable young lady just like her Dad wished her to be.

T.V. and the internet were the only sources of entertainment for Doris. A psychology programme on BusinessWeeklyWisdom.com had made her aware of how backward she was in human skills. To be successful in a competitive world you have to know how to handle human resource and Doris knew that was a handicap since she hardly interacted with people. She had felt her Dad would agree but Alexander didn't like the idea at all.

He didn't want to endanger Doris by allowing her to go to a school. She didn't even know what kinds of 'things' lurked in the outside world. The house was safe since he had put every seal he knew in and around it but even he knew that Gemima wasn't dead. Faeries aren't easy to kill. A decade would be as small as a minute to wait for Gemima. She would try to get Doris and Alexander couldn't allow that. Sometimes, Alexander hated himself for spoiling his daughter's life. He wished he could just explain to her why he was so protective. But that would mean explaining the faeries and Gemima's plan, a plan he had not much idea about. All he knew was that his late wife had asked him to keep Doris safe and if that meant hiding her true identity from her, he would do that. He couldn't allow her magic to attract 'things', dangerous 'things'.

And so, Doris didn't believe in magic. She was just a regular girl. Well, a regular girl who would never go to a public school. He wouldn't permit that.

Sadly, Alexander hadn't known exactly how persuasive his daughter could be. The result was Doris had completed a year at Dale High. She was top of her class in every subject and always got excellent grades. Alexander had faerie-proofed the whole school during the first day he had been there. She was dropped and picked by Alexander's trusted staff. Doris didn't like this treatment but Alexander insisted that rich people's kids were always in danger.

Today Alexander's frown was deeper and he continuously fidgeted. Doris watched him out of the corner of her eye knowing he was going to speak.

"Doris, my dear-" There you go!

"Yes, Dad."

"Is it really important to go to school today?" Alexander asked in a tired voice.

Doris stared. Nobody's parents ask such questions. People force their children to go to school and here Doris was willing to go to school by herself. Dad should be proud of her. "Yes, Dad," she informed.

Alexander looked towards the ceiling stalling a response. He finally managed to say, "It's your birthday. Don't you want-" Alexander's golden iPhone started ringing and he was forced to answer the call with an apologetic look directed towards Doris.

Doris' mind was spinning. Dad wanted to celebrate her birthday!? Dad never celebrated birthdays. He was never free for them. All of Doris' birthdays had been normal days. No cakes no candles no presents. What was happening to Dad? She listened to his phone call suspiciously.