EVERY CHILD HAS felt the thrill of riding down the railing of their staircase. When Bella and I were young, we used to slide down together before leaping into the air to see if we could land on our feet. 

It drove the fairies and Parisa mad, leading them to scold us for our recklessness whenever they found us on the railing. We created a new plan: to ride down on Bella's mattress. It seemed like the most brilliant idea and a much safer one too. They couldn't be as furious with us when we were riding on a fluffy bed.

We drug the mattress down the halls, stopping and watching every hallway for a pair of traitorous eyes who might end our new game. Bella would halt at each corner and peak around before coaxing me forward to begin pushing the bed along. We couldn't stop laughing and giggling the entire way, trying to keep our voices low. 

When we made it to the top of the stairs, Bella leapt onto the front, beckoning me to join. She had a look of fearlessness on her face and was ready to captain our new starship.

The stairs looked bigger than I remembered, a little too daunting and a little too steep. I finally edged on the back slowly after Bella's pleas. She didn't want to do it by herself. She was a little scared too, just better at hiding it.

As the mattress went over the side and I felt the tip of gravity, my stomach went into my throat as we whooshed downward. Bella and I began to scream and gripped onto any part of the bed we could grab. It caught on speed, thumping against the stairs as we bounced up and down.

The tip of the mattress caught the edge of the floor, coming to a screeching halt as the back end began to lift up to the sky. I felt a rush of wind and power that rose me up into mid air. I saw a flash of the back of Bella's blonde head as she rolled forward, but I was flying.

Everything happened too quickly. I remembered my arms crashing into the ground and the sensation of my face cracking against the marble, and then nothing. I woke up in my bed with Parisa hovering over me in a frenzy. 

She told me when the mattress flipped, I'd smacked the floor with such force that it had knocked me unconscious. My nose wasn't broken, but it had bled a great deal. It was a relief that it hadn't remained bent at an odd angle and ruined me. 

I wasn't allowed to play by the stairs or take any mattresses off the beds. I also wasn't allowed to play with Bella anymore. She told me this and I'd started to cry so hard that I couldn't breath. It wasn't her fault because I did it willingly, I'd pleaded. Parisa finally let me see her again, only in short amounts until she found us both to be trustworthy again.

As I rushed down the stairs now to get to the entry hall, I couldn't help but imagine sitting at the top of the stairs with dread before taking the plunge. My stomach was already up in my throat and my hands were clenched tight as if I were gripping the mattress for dear life.

I saw Parisa standing in the hall with a stone cold look on her face. Her red, fiery hair was curled in soft twists, and her make-up was flawless. The floor length dress she wore was a maroon that paired nicely with her hair color. She was dressed formally and I couldn't help but look down at my plain green day dress and tan, frayed cloak. She looked like royalty while I seemed more fit to be scrubbing the floor.

"I would say you need to change immediately, but I'm afraid we don't have time. Next time, Cybele, wear something that doesn't look fit for the common folk." Her voice was icy and I bit my lip before nodding quickly.

Parisa turned on her golden heels as she marched towards the ballroom with the stride of a dancer and the confidence of a general. "We will be meeting our guests here. Keep up."

I jumped, rushing to her side as she glared from the corners of her eyes. I felt a knot brewing in my chest. "I apologize."

"These guests are of high honor and should be treated with the respect that you treat the Elder Sylphs. A good friend of mine has sent them, and we will begin business. Your job is to only record what is said, understood?"

I was the secretary? That was an easy job to fill. Why was my involvement so imperative when the secretary of the Sylph Council could have been substituted? 

"This conversation is a private one and I entrust that you will be silent and discreet; not even Isabella is to know. You will sit at the table and write notes, and do not speak unless they speak to you. You are only a flower on the wall." Parisa stopped, turning and taking a tight hold on my arm. I winced. "Do you agree to this?"

It wasn't a question. "Yes, Parisa."

She nodded with little satisfaction before flicking a hand at the guards who stood on each side of the large double doors. They scurried under her stare, taking a firm hold on the doors as they pried them open. With grunts and wheezes, their hard work was rewarded as the doors began to creak forward on their own. They swung out as the guards hurried to stop them from they clanged against the wall.

"Thank you." I smiled to each of them as Parisa shoved past me into the ballroom. Both fairies gave me a nod before I hurried after her.

She pointed to a small desk that sat in the center of the empty room with a lone chair. "Sit there." The ballroom was empty, dancing with light from the crystal chandeliers against the golden walls and velvet curtains. The desk looked lonely, like a small island in the center of a cold sea.

I nodded and took my seat. There were a few pens with ink and a stack of crisp paper occupying the entire space. Picking up a pen, I dated the top right corner and wrote Parisa's name before witnessing my own.

"What are the names of our guests?"

Parisa stood still, gazing at the open doorway. She was focussed elsewhere, hardly paying attention to me any longer as she gazed into the open air. "Only put N and D."

I frowned but wrote it nevertheless. What kind of names were those? Pen names?

Names she doesn't want anyone to know. Remember, this is a private conversation, one she doesn't want even the counsel to know about. Which is very, very odd...

A horn blew and I saw Parisa visibly straighten her posture as she rested her hands behind her back. They were clenched in tight fists, her knuckles turning ghostly white. 

Two tall figures strolled through the open door and I stood immediately, folding my hands in front of my body. They were two men, one brunette and the other blonde. They walked with power and confidence, perhaps even a shade of arrogance. 

They dominated the room, gliding across the marble with an uncanny grace and elegance. But, there was something darker that was hidden beneath this air of power. It was strong and sent chills down my arms. The room appeared to get smaller as they walked closer, and my head began to spin as my eyes watered.

"Parisa," The brunette's voice was deep and chilling as he took her dainty hand in his own. "Lord Diaboli."

"It is a pleasure to meet you in the flesh." Parisa grinned before turning to the blonde.

"Lord Nocen." He grinned, showing off a flash of white teeth as he shook her hand before placing a kiss on the back of her palm. I felt an odd sense of deja vu. I'd heard a name similar to his before, but I couldn't pin point where.

"What a delight." She exclaimed before turning towards Lord Diaboli, the more business of the two it seemed. The other appeared more... untamed. "Has Shax explained the intent of this meeting?"

I took a seat at my desk quietly before taking a hold of my pen. I copied her words, keeping my eyes glued on the paper. My job was only to write and I kept my lips sealed.

"Who is she?" The blonde's humorous voice rang in my ears as I looked up towards the trio. Both men had their heavy eyes weighing on me. Parisa's blue ones dug down into me as she motioned me forward. I felt my stomach spin, my legs wobbling as though they were to give way underneath me.

Taking a deep breath, I could feel my head start to pound before taking the first step forward under the piercing intensity of Parisa's eyes and the haunting unknown of the brown-green gazes of the lords.

I moved forward, wondering if anyone else could hear my heart hammering against my chest. With a quick stride, I walked toward the power play. The smothering fog was only stronger and I forced myself not to wrinkle my nose since disgust was hardly an acceptable face to present to your guests even if they truly earned the title.

Parisa was quick to speak. "Please forgive her. She is in her head too often."

I held my composure but felt a vicious flare of annoyance spark inside my chest as I glanced at her. She was the one who told me to stay silent, and now she was condemning me in front of these important men she spoke so highly of. She was putting her mistake on me instead of owning it herself.

I bit back my snide remarks and my temper before taking a breath as I spoke. "Yes, please forgive me. My name is Cybele, and it is an honor to meet both of your acquaintances. I am Parisa's daughter, and I will be documenting this event for you."

I extended my hand towards Lord Diaboli, but he didn't shake my hand in return. His eyes had widened considerably at my statement and his arm appeared frozen by his side. I noticed now from the lack of space between us that he had very charming almond colored eyes and clear, tanned skin with the slightest evidence of stubble on his chin.

Feeling shy with my hanging arm, I glanced away from the first lord to the second, who was staring at me with such intensity that it made me swallow. His hands were in his pockets as he scanned me carefully, those vibrant green eyes drawing me in like beacons of light to a moth. I could see his chiseled jaw that looked quite nice under the chandelier light.

He gazed from Parisa to me with a level of deep interest, studying us both intently as though he were trying deeply to draw bridges of connection between us. I withdrew my hand, letting it rest by my side. I was relieved; there was something odd about him and the other lord too, something that made me anxious to shake either of their hands.

To make the matter worse, from this distance I could tell how tall they actually were. From the desk, they had hardly appeared any different from other noble men I'd met all my life. I was tall for a Sylph, but both men towered over me now that I had come closer, making me feel small which was a rare occurrence. I wanted to hide behind my desk as they seemed to press down on me from all angles with that thick smog hovering in their air.

"Yes, Cybele is my daughter, but she will not be joining our discussion today." Parisa broke the silence, giving me a look to sit back in my seat.

I turned automatically, dread filling my stomach as I cursed myself internally. Brilliant, Cybele! Way to make everything awkward and weird! Aren't you supposed to be the charming and pretty one? That is who you are supposed to be!

"She's... your daughter?" Lord Diaboli was finally able to stutter. It shocked me that such a man with an aura of poise and power appeared tongue tied. "Does Shax...?"

"Adopted. Don't mind him or that." She stepped forward, muttering something to him I couldn't hear. Whatever she said, it seemed to pacify him as his eyes cleared and he nodded as she stepped away.

"Who would sign their children over to you?" The blonde said under his breath, and I felt my eyes snap over to him only to find that he was still watching me. I had noticed his eyes had been a vibrant green, but now they appeared to glow an enchanting gold. They were the color of a setting summer sky and my favorite evening gown that was resting in my closet.

Lord Nocen smiled, biting his lip as he smirked at me. An involuntary blush rose on my cheeks as I yanked my gaze back down onto the paper. I needed to be writing.

"Parisa, Shax believes that he can locate the Prodigy, but there is a small problem." 

I wrote furiously, the words slowly begin to register. They were here about the Prodigy? What did they know? Who was Shax? Where were these men even from? I'd never heard of them in the Sylph community or in any of the neighboring kingdoms.

"What is this problem?"

"When we detected the disturbance of power those few months ago, as Shax stated in the letter, we discovered that the origin of this Prodigy is quite unfortunate. It appears the planet we must search is Earth."

I nearly dropped my pen. Earth? The Prodigy was human? Would Parisa even consider bringing one of those destructive creatures here?

"It doesn't matter where it is. We just need to take it. I don't care that the population on Earth is large, but you must search until you find the Prodigy and bring it to me. Tell Shax that the origin and species is of no concern to me or its caretaker."

Caretaker? Was that me? Apparently, she'd already given me the job regardless of my protest. She also didn't seem to care that a human would be in our household. It was too reckless for me to even imagine, but she seemed hardly phased by the thought.

Diaboli's nose scrunched as he narrowed his eyes. "Caretaker?" They were unaware of the situation as well.

"Yes. I will put the Prodigy under the care of Cybele." Once again, all eyes rested on me and I forced my eyes to stay on the page as I copied her words.

"She is only a Sylph, Parisa." Nocen retorted with a growl. His words were sharp and I felt my fingers begin to quiver. I wasn't just a Sylph as much I wished to be. "You know the Guardian won't be just anyone, especially not your kid who you can keep under your nose."

There was silence that hung in the stale air.

"Cybele," Parisa's soft voice taunted.

"Yes, Parisa?"

"Please come stand with me. Leave the pen."

I stood and proceeded to her side. Her face scared me in a way that was foreign. She looked especially pleased and wicked as she stared at Lord Nocen and Diaboli. She was taunting them and I didn't understand why; she hadn't ever looked this victorious, this pleased with me.

"Take off your cloak." My eyes widened at her words and my feathers tickled my sides. She took a step back, giving me space.

"Excuse... me?" I stuttered.

"Take off your cloak." Parisa looked to the two men. "This should prove everything."