26. Childhood Friends: Part 1

☠️Two Years Ago☠️

The young fairy prince gathered up the papers from his desk that he'd collected over the past couple of years.

The documents consisted of newspaper clippings about the recent circulation of honey gold. Black market ledgers from pawnbrokers on Halfway Point, and receipts from transactions involving the purchase of honey gold.

His findings all had one thing in common: Hive Island. It seemed strange to Luke that the Hivian's would start selling their honey gold to outsiders; they worshipped the precious gold like it was a god to them, and they didn't allow anyone to leave the island with their gold without dire consequences.

Hive Island wasn't apart of the United Islands government and was once allied with Fairy Land. They used to do trade deals all the time, which abruptly stopped without warning, and the alliance broke.

It was this sudden stop of trade which peaked Luke's interest in researching further. And the further he looked, the more honey gold he found. There was never any mention of Hive Island joining the United Islands, yet their honey gold had started to spread throughout the world.

It all seemed odd to Luke, and it became the beginning of his theory that Hive Island was secretly under King Mordred's rule. It wasn't until a recent article confirmed his suspicions that he was possibly right.

An investigative journalist from an independent newspaper wrote about a princess who lived with the King called his Red Flower, and the Princess would one day marry King Mordred when she came of age. It was believed to be an arranged marriage.

There was no picture or description of the Red Flower, but Luke knew that the Princess of Hive Island was called Azalea, a flower often found in red. Shortly after the release of the article, the journalist was found dead, and the newspaper shut down permanently.

This was all the evidence Luke needed to prove to his father that he was right, and hopefully, he would save Hive Island and the Princess.

He gathered up the last of his jumbled papers into his arms. It was like trying to juggle three balls at once. Luke sniffed and pushed his square glasses up his nose with the nudge of his right shoulder; he could barely keep the bundle of paperwork in his arms as he attempted to open the door to his bedroom.

Eventually, after much struggle, he managed to open the door with his foot and stumbled forward, bumping straight into his father. His gathered papers exploded up into the air and fluttered down around them like giant pieces of confetti.

"There you are son, I wanted to see you." Oberon helped his son to gather the papers he'd dropped everywhere.

"R...really?" Luke chimed. His dad hardly ever wanted to spend time with him.

Luke adjusted his white beanie hat to cover his jet black hair. He knew his father didn't like that he was a black winged fairy, so he tried his best to cover it up. He never showed his wings when around the council, and he always covered his hair with his favourite white hat. He just wished there was a way to hide his charcoal eyes, and then maybe he would have his father's approval.

"Yes, your mother wanted to speak with you." Oberon handed Luke back his papers without so much as glancing at them.

"Oh..." Luke looked disappointed.

He idolised his father, everyone did. Oberon was the perfect fairy with bright, neon green hair and wings, the colour of nature itself, a sturdy, muscular frame, and he was tall. He looked like a warrior, and even though he was married and would never betray Luke's mother, every female fairy in the land fell head over heels for him.

Luke didn't glow colour because he was a black fairy, but he was supposed to be the strongest of his kind. He didn't feel strong like his father. He was tall and lanky, and not an ounce of muscle could be found on him. He was short-sighted and always had to wear glasses. His speech was impaired, chronic shortness of breath, and the only fairy in existence to be allergic to pollen.

No wonder his father had no feelings for him. He was a disappointment to him, an embarrassing mess. Luke bet his father wanted another child, but Titania couldn't have children; he was a miracle child himself, or so he liked to believe.

"W...w..." Luke's stammer got the best of him. He swallowed and took a deep breath. "W...w-where..." he finally got the word out with a triumphant smile, but Oberon had no patience for his stammer.

"She's waiting for you in the hall." Oberon marched off.

"W...w..." Luke hadn't even had a chance to speak with him about Hive Island. "WAIT!" he shouted, scrunching his eyes shut.

He hated shouting, but sometimes, the only way he could form a word quickly was to shout it out loud. His father knew this and trekked back over to him, seeing his son in a flustered mess.

Oberon felt guilty for not being patient enough with his son's stammer. He could see the frustration was getting to Luke; his face was slowly reddening, and his breathing had turned to short wheezes.

"Take your breathstone, Luke." Oberon looked sorry for his son as he struggled to breathe.

Luke's breathes came in shallow, desperate gasps. His chest tightening as though an invisible hand were crushing his ribs. His trembling fingers found the pendant around his neck—a small, oval-shaped gemstone nestled in a delicate silver lattice of curling vines.

The stone's surface shimmered faintly, swirling with a shimmering mist that seemed alive. Shifting within the stone like trapped smoke behind glass. Clutching it tightly, Luke pressed his lips to the breathstone.

The breathstone, sensing his discomfort, flared to life, and the swirling mist within grew brighter. A cool vapor seeped from the stone's surface, and Luke inhaled deeply. The vapor slid into his lungs like liquid air, soothing the raw tightness and easing the sharp pain in his chest.

As Luke exhaled, a faint stream of silver sparkles escaped from his lips. Slowly, the crushing weight lifted, and his breathing steadied.

"Are you okay?" Oberon asked.

Luke nodded, his face reddening feeling highly embarrassed, and feeling ashamed for being so weak in front of his father.

"You shouldn't work yourself up like that, it always sets off your chest," Oberon sighed.

"I just w...w-wanted to talk to you about Hive Island." Luke tucked his breathstone away and scrambled through his pieces of paper and handed his father the newspaper clipping, pushing his glasses up his nose. "It's proof that King Mordred has taken ...umm..." Luke had forgotten the word, and his face started to strain.

He felt more pressured when he saw the inpatient look in his father's green eyes. His stammer was always worse when around Oberon. This never happened with his mother.

"CONTROL..." He remembered the word. "King Mordred has taken control of Hive Island. The Red Flower is the P-Princess." He nervously played with his hands as he waited for his father's response.

"This isn't proof, Luke." Oberon read through the article. "This Red Flower could be anyone." The fairy king pinched the bridge of his nose. "You need to grow up, and stop with these silly theories. It's not normal. Go out and make some friends."

"Nobody wants to be f...f... acquaintances... with a s-stammering black fairy!" Luke's jaw tensed, and he pulled off his white hat. His jet black hair shimmered under the light, and his father looked away. "Not when even my own f... f...FATHER... can't look me in the eye."

"Don't be like that, Luke." Oberon looked him in the eye. "There is nothing wrong with being a black fairy. That is all in the past now, but you can't make friends cooped up in your room all day, researching conspiracy theories that will amount to nothing, stammer or not." Oberon placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Please sit next to me during the council meeting..."

"The council h-hates me." Luke's nose flared angrily. "They can all g-go to hell!"

Luke stormed off back to his room and slammed it shut after him. He fell back against the door, crying into the palms of his hands. He hated that he couldn't get his sentences to form fluently.

He slammed his fist against the wooden floor. He would prove them all wrong. He would find the Red Flower and prove she was Princess Azalea being forced to live with King Mordred. He scrambled to his feet and started to pack his paperwork and belongings into a duffle bag.

While still in his human form, black glitter dusted around the back of his shoulder blades, and his glossy black wings fluttered behind him. He flew out of the window and made his way down to the hall to say goodbye to his mother. She would understand why he had to do this. She always understood. He hovered outside the window and overheard his mother and father speaking.

"Obi, you have to be more patient with him when he talks." Titania patted his back.

"I know, it's just frustrating." Oberon was slouched over the table, rubbing his head in his hands. "I don't understand why he acts like this. Why can't he be normal like all the other fairies his age?"

Luke's heart fell to his stomach. Instead of saying goodbye to his mother, he left a handwritten note and fluttered away to Fairy Dust. The tavern was the only place where another fairy welcomed him without prejudice. The barman was always kind to him and was the only fairy other than his mother who was patient with his stammer.

"What's with the bag, son?" The barman nodded towards his duffel bag on the counter and passed him a fairy bomb.

Luke shook his head. He didn't want rumours to spread around that he was thinking about running away from home. His father would stop him before he could reach the port. Before downing his shot, a male fairy sat next to him, grabbed the drink from his hand and splattered it in Luke's face.

Knox, one of the Lord Decker's sons. His goons stood behind him, sneering at Luke. This was nothing new to Luke; they'd been bullying him since they all started attending court over a century ago.

"You're not welcome here." Knox had a repulsive smile on his face. "And no white hat is going to cover the fact that you're a black fairy."

Knox pulled the hat off Luke's head, and his jet black hair shimmered under the light. The bar fell silent and stared at him. He knew there was still prejudice in Fairy Land towards black fairies. They were once a mighty race, but they'd become too consumed with power.

Civil war broke out, and many fairies died as a result. The black fairies were wiped out. Luke's grandfather made sure of that. He wondered which side of the family he got his black lineage from. It would be ironic if it came from his father's side of the family.

However, Luke hadn't realised that the prejudice was this bad. Some of the fairies fidgeted in their seats looking uncomfortably, and the barman gave him a sympathetic smile but did nothing to help him.

Luke reached for his hat, only for Knox to lift it out of his reach. Knox was a tall fairy and had startling blue hair and eyes. He was very popular amongst the fairies of their generation.

"Come on, do you want your hat back or not?" He dangled the white hat above Luke's head, teasing him with a cruel smirk, enjoying humiliating him.

"G...g-give it back!"

"W-w-w-w-what was that?" Knox mimicked his stammer. "I can't understand a word you say. No wonder your father never spends time with you. I bet you're an eyesore to him."

Luke clenched his fist next to his side and felt the black energy forming around his fist. Despite the discrimination, at least he could still use his stingers in his human form.

"Don't be a jerk, Knox!" A female fairy fluttered into the bar and landed on Luke's shoulder.

Luke shifted his head to find a sunshine yellow fairy sitting on his shoulder.

"Whatever. I don't know why you're friends with such a dork." Knox threw the white hat to the beer-stained floor and fluttered off with his goons.

The yellow fairy fluttered down, picked up Luke's hat, and apologised on behalf of Knox.

"Th-thanks, Lady Tia." His shaking hands took the hat, and he quickly covered his head of jet black hair.

"Where are you going?" She noticed his duffel bag. "Are you running away? You shouldn't let people like Knox get to you like that."

Luke grabbed his bag and scurried off, but not without Tia flying after him. He picked up his pace as he headed towards the port. He scrambled through the forest, tripping over a couple of fallen branches. Still, Tia followed after him.

"G-go home, Tia!" He stopped running and faced her. "Th-this doesn't have anything to do with me. I w-will be back. Cover for me, p-please."

"As long as you promise to come home." She crossed her arms and eyed him suspiciously.

"I p-promise." He pushed his fallen glasses up his nose with a lopsided smile.

"Good luck with whatever it is you're doing." Tia smiled and kissed Luke on the cheek.

His cheeks burned red, and he watched with a broad grin on his face as she flew back home. Luke turned around and started running towards the port. He hid behind a pile of crates and waited for a ship headed towards Halfway Point. From there, he would be able to catch a vessel to Meridian Island.

Continues same time tomorrow in Part 2

☠️ What do you think of Luke's character?

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~ Robin Xxx