Thanks for reading Shadows! Enjoy!

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Danica:

A magnificent bedroom awaited me when I finally woke up from my slumber.

Touching the supple silk sheets, I adjusted my body position and yawned. It had been a good time before I had such sweet sleep as this...wait.

"Where am I?", I asked out loud, hoping the creatures near me were friendly towards non-magic humans.

Hearing a squeak from the mattress as I slowly edged off the bed, I tried to get it quickly over with by making even less sound than before as I still had no knowledge of my whereabouts.

Suddenly, a tiny face popped into view, shouting, "Good Morning, your Royal Highness!"

My eardrums must have blasted into smithereens for I could no longer hear my own footsteps hitting the floor lightly or the sound of the words the fairy said next.

"I am your humble servant, Mariya. How could I help you get ready today, Princess?", she gently queried.

"Umm...", I stammered, befuddled on how to answer.

Looking directly at her, I observed gorgeous shamrock eyes sprinkled with bits of amber along with a scrawny feminine figure clothed with a cream blouse fitted to her arms and a long skirt that shimmered whenever the wind blew from the nearby window.

At that point, I had several questions to ask her, but the first thing that tumbled out of my mouth was,

"Are those...leaves on your skirt?"

Quickly, I raced to shut my mouth with my fingers. This poor woman had probably been sent to fetch me breakfast and here I was possibly offending her!

Why I was even...alive?

She giggled, making me swear that I heard the tiniest bells ever rung as she laughed.

Grinning even wider than before, she replied, "Of course, milady. The whole skirt is sewn of rowan leaves, soaked in water of oak bark and hardened with the sap of a Russian maple tree in bloom."

Before I could ponder on inquiring why, I set my mind straight and recounted what was on my mind to Mariya.

"Oh dear...I am afraid I cannot help. However, as the sprites often say, a good day's work should not start without a full meal first."

Mariya abruptly dropped the tray on the bed before vanishing with a wink.

Examining the food, I spotted potatoes, sausage...and a very peculiar piece of wood hiding under the china platter.

Dear Princess,

I am very sorry for your predicament, alas I have no say in whether you are wed to our fairy prince or not.

Nonetheless, there is to be a welcome feast for visiting dignitaries this afternoon. There have been rumors in the castle that the parents of the cursed princess are to come and settle this engagement once and for all. Now whether to believe this idle gossip is up to you.

It is my opinion that you should, in no way whatsoever, use the curtains in your room and tie them together; I also recommend that you not locate the window and chant the spell written on the flip side of this message.

That would be awfully ghastly should an invisible human be set loose outside the grounds of the castle.

I wish that I could have been of more help, but it was not to be. If only Prince Amir had communicated with the sprites and sent them a message that Prince Anthony was on his way.

Sincerely,

A Most Regretful Fairy

After reading the letter, I was flabbergasted. If what she said was true, and I had no doubt whatsoever that it certainly could be, then did that mean...Anthony was a prince?

"Not important," I muttered. Getting back to the subject at hand, I got back to work and flipped over the birch bark to see the inscription written there.

Aperta Fenestra

I chanted it over and over til I think I stopped getting the words all jumbled up.

Then, I wandered over the window, spreading my arms wide in front of me, and whispered, "Aperta Fenestra."

The stained glass window squeaked, letting go of the stone and giving way to the cloudy sky outside.

"Yes!", I said softly, so as to not bring attention to myself otherwise all my efforts would have been for naught.

"Naught. What a funny word," I stated, then tensed up, wondering if maybe someone had heard my little slipup.

Fearing I might have actually been heard, I walked over to the sturdy magenta door and checked for noise in the hallway. Hearing none, I grabbed the window curtains, trailed them down my back only to tie them all together into one giant rope made up of dusty fabric.

Unfortunately, a cold gust blasted through the room, briefly buffeting my body and literally sweeping me off my feet.

Catching hold of the head of the bed, I braced myself against the breeze and watched the curtain rope go flying out the window...

DID I LET GO OF IT WHILE I...BUT HOW?

Pushing my inner scream down to the depths of Tartarus, I straightened my posture, landed on my feet and proceeded to have a silent tantrum.

Just as I thought all was lost, I heard a slight movement out the corner of my eye and so moved to strike my possible attacker.

"Woah", the attacker, presumably a male based on his deep-sounding voice, said as he avoided my slashes at his posterior.

Putting his hands up in the air, he pleaded, saying, "Please Danica. I don't want Anthony to slap me like he did that guy just 'cuz I hit his girl."

"What?", I stammered, viewing his tall dark figure for the first time and recognizing him as a fellow student from school.

"Well now that we've got that out of da way...Name's Trey, been Anthony's homeboy since like...forever and am pleased to finally meet ya though I'd hope to make you acquaintance in more...", he paused his speech, shivered from the breeze coming through the open window before finishing with, "pleasant circumstances, I think."

Staring at him, I waved my hands around his face to see if I was somehow dreaming or if this was all real.

"Now to get ya out of here...where did I place that thingmabob again?"

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Author's note: Shadows will return...ha! It just did! "I'm back baby!"