Young Jhudora and Queen Fyora: Part Five

      Luma knelt down in front of the sleeping dark faerie. She smiled softly, remembering how much young faeries loved to cry when their mattresses were too lumpy. If they could sleep sitting against a wall, her job of maintaining The Academy would have been so much easier. She placed on hand on Jhudora’s shoulder.

      In preparation for this moment, Fyora taught Luma one phrased in Dark Fae. As soon as Jhudora’s eyes fluttered open, Luma whispered in Dark Fae, “The Queen wishes to see you.”

      Jhudora gasped, assuming she was still dreaming. She slowly stood, her wings stretching out slightly. Luma took her hand and began to lead her to the castle where Fyora lived.

      As a small treat, Luma decided to take the more scenic route through the royal garden. Jhudora’s eyes widened as she saw all of the flowers. It took all of her strength to not break away from Luma and stare deeply at each unique bloom. Luma glanced back at Jhudora and laughed softly. She slowed her pace to give Jhudora more time to admire the flowers.

      Luma whispered to herself in New Fae, “If only every young faerie admired the beauty of this garden.”

      Once they had made their way out of the garden, it wasn’t long before Luma was guiding Jhudora through the corridors of the castle. The rough stone pillars were rustic compared to the marble of The Academy, but that was part of the charm. Jhudora did her best to study every tapestry hanging on the wall in the short time she was able to view them.

      Eventually, Luma and Jhudora made their way into Fyora’s throne room. Jhudora quickly tucked her swaddled doll into her waistband so that Fyora wouldn’t be shocked to see herself in doll form.

      As soon as Jhudora saw Fyora on the other end of the hall, she bowed. Fyora smiled brightly as she stood and made her way to Jhudora.

      “My child,” Fyora whispered in Dark Fae, “Has Faerieland treated you well?”

      Jhudora looked up at Fyora and bit her lip. She didn’t know what to say. She wanted to say whatever would please the queen. She simply looked down at the floor.

      Fyora began to kneel down so that she would be at eye level with Jhudora. However, as soon as she noticed the back of Jhudora’s blazer, she gasped and jumped upright.

      “Luma!” Fyora covered her mouth with her hand, “Why did they tear up her blazer like that?”

      “Oh.” Luma took a deep breath as she touched Jhudora’s wings.

      Jhudora flinched slightly. “They’re sensitive . . .”

      Fyora sighed, “Luma, do you think you know who did this?”

      “The Seamstress. She’s an old air faerie,” Luma pulled her hand away from Jhudora’s wing. She crossed her arms over her chest as she thought. All three faeries remained silent until Luma broke the silence. “She’d do this to any faerie who made her life harder. I had to yell at her for cutting an overweight faerie’s uniform so that it looked like it fit. She really should be fired. . .”

      Fyora nodded. “As long as it wasn’t because she was discriminating against dark faeries, I suppose it’s not too big of an issue.” Fyora glanced at Jhudora before asking in Dark Fae, “Did she discriminate against you because you are a dark faerie?”

      Jhudora’s eyes widened as she began to blush. She whispered back, “I wouldn’t know. I couldn’t understand her.”

      “What?!” Fyora gasped, switching back to New Fae, “Luma, when language spells are extremely easy and can be performed by any type of faerie, why did no one use a spell to understand her?! Or for her to understand them?!”

      Luma bit her tongue.

      Fyora sighed and placed both hands over Jhudora’s ears. “Close your eyes,” Fyora whispered in Dark Fae. As they both closed their eyes, Fyora’s hands began to glow pink. Luma stepped back as she watched Fyora’s first spell as the Queen. Luma smiled softly, knowing in her heart that Fyora would be a kind and just queen.

      Fyora opened her eyes long enough to move one hand to Jhudora’s neck. After a minute, she pulled her hands away.

      Jhudora opened her eyes and asked in New Fae, “Did it work?” She slapped her hand over her mouth as soon as she heard her voice. New Fae was higher pitched and sharper than Dark Fae. She stared at Fyora with concern in her eyes.

      “Yes, my dear,” Fyora smiled, speaking in New Fae, “All it took was one tiny spell to let you understand this new world.”

      Jhudora stood in shock. She understood! She pulled her hand away from her mouth and smiled brightly.

      “Now, we need to visit The Seamstress, don’t we?” Fyora smirked slightly.

      Fyora snapped her fingers, and the three of them were transported to The Seamstress’s workshop. Fyora called out in Air Fae, “Seamstress, I’m speaking in your language so the children don’t hear. There was a problem with your performance.”

      The Seamstress jumped out from behind a rack of bolts. She saw Jhudora and the blood drained from her face. She cleared her throat and made her way to Fyora.

      “Seamstress, you are an air faerie, but you have put a lot of work into textiles,” Fyora sighed, “So I imagined you would know how to do a certain basic spell.”

      The Seamstress stammered in Air Fae, “I usually just use a needle and thread like an average grey faerie. I don’t use magic most of the time.”

      Fyora motioned towards a rack of uniforms. “Bring me an earth uniform.” Fyora gently elbowed Jhudora before whispering in Dark Fae, “You look good in green.”

      Jhudora smiled brightly as The Seamstress handed Fyora a new uniform. Fyora held the blouse and blazer up to the light and began to whisper a spell under her breath. The fabric glowed a beautiful pink as Jhudora stared in awe.

      Once the spell was complete, Fyora handed Jhudora the new blouse and blazer. Jhudora pulled the new blazer on and almost began to cry. The back of it phased through her wings as if they weren’t even there. When Fyora put a hand on Jhudora’s shoulder, Jhudora began to sob.

      The Seamstress balked at the scene of the Faerie Queen being kind to a dark faerie. She scurried away to hide behind the fabric. Jhudora turned to Fyora and looked into her eyes. She then threw her arms around Fyora to hug her. Fyora smiled softly as she gave Jhudora a small squeeze. Jhudora pulled away with a smile.

      Luma cleared her throat. She glanced around the room before asking, “Where will she sleep?”

      Fyora bit her lip. The Elders would destroy her if she took a dark faerie into her castle, and the dormitories were divided by elements. She stared at the uniforms for a bit before realizing the simplest solution. “She looks good in green, so let’s let her live with the Earth faeries.”

      Jhudora flinched slightly again. The Earth faeries hadn’t shown her kindness, but almost all of the faeries she met had treated her as if she were a pile of garbage. Besides, when the teacher of the Earth Magic class was mad at her, there was an earth faerie who seemed to stand up for her.

      Luma pulled a book out of her pocket and flipped through the pages. After a few seconds of studying, she relayed to the queen, “It works out well. An earth faerie just moved on to private tutoring, so there’s a free bed in the earth dormitory.”

      “The only problem is that attending the earth magic classes won’t do anything for her,” Fyora looked up at the ceiling, “Maybe there’s another class she could take at that time?”

      Luma glanced at Jhudora’s wings. “Say, Jhudora. . .” Luma stopped herself from touching Jhudora’s wings, even though their strangeness made her want to examine them, “Can you fly?”

      Jhudora blushed. She slowly shook her head no. She was taught that flying too high was dangerous, as it could upset the faeries in Faerieland. She was able to fly a little, but not too much.

      “There’s a flight lesson going on at the same time as the Earth Magic class,” Luma muttered as she consulted the book, “So she’d be able to practice flying in a safe environment.”

      “That’s wonderful!” Fyora smiled brightly. “Do you think the earth faeries could take everything from here?”

      Luma nodded.

      Fyora turned to Jhudora and hugged her tightly. Fyora whispered in Dark Fae, “Will you be alright?”

      Jhudora responded in Dark Fae, “I will do my best.”

      Fyora pulled away and clapped her hands. “Alright! My job here is done! All it took was a little magic, and we fixed all of the problems!”

      Luma laughed softly, “Yes, Fyora, magic is useful.”

      With that, Fyora snapped her fingers. In a flash of glitter, Fyora and Luma disappeared.

      Moments after they disappeared, the Earth Elder barged into the room. She set her sights on Jhudora and scowled. She hissed, “You’re mine, now, huh?”

      Jhudora’s faced blanched. She slowly nodded.

      “Well, come here and hurry. Classes are over, so I need to show you your bedroom.” The Earth Elder sighed, “Dark Faerie.”

      “I have a name,” Jhudora sighed as she began to walk towards the doorway.

      The Earth Elder slapped Jhudora’s wing and hissed, “Don’t backtalk me!”

      Jhudora nearly fell to her knees, her eyes stinging with tears.

      “Grow up; that doesn’t hurt,” The Earth Elder rolled her eyes as she began to lead Jhudora to the earth dormitory.

      Jhudora pulled herself together as she rubbed the spot the Earth Elder slapped. She followed closely until the Earth Elder abruptly stopped in front of a doorway with ‘Supply Closet’ written on it. Jhudora stared blankly at the door as the Earth Elder opened the door and threw her in.

      Jhudora turned towards the Earth Elder, confusion in her eyes. The Earth Elder simply slammed the door.

      Jhudora’s eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Being a dark faerie had its advantages when it came to being in the dark. She studied the room. There was a mattress with a spring poking out of it and cleaning supplies. When Jhudora tried to unfurl her wings to relax, her wings banged against the shelves. She fell to her knees, crying in pain.

      It was better than hiding in a corner, unable to move, but it wasn’t much better. She pulled her Fyora doll out of her waistband and unwrapped it from her old clothes. She held it close to herself and sat down on the mattress. She laid down, being careful to avoid the spring.

      She knew that this was discrimination and that she could call upon Fyora, but that would just make everyone resent her. So she simply laid on that broken mattress and cried herself to sleep.

      To be continued…