Chapter 13

As he waited, something caught his eyes to the right. When he looked closer, he saw that they were fairies. Both female. One had bright red hair the color of flames, the other brunette; however, they both had the same blue eyes as Raine. "Well, hello there," Bryce said to the fairies. "Who are you?"

The auburn fairy held back a bit, hiding behind the brunette, who squared her shoulders and cleared her throat. She spotted Raine lying on the grass and rushed to her side as the red head followed. "Raine!" she said frantically. "Raine, what have you done?"

Bryce walked over and sat on the log beside her. "Do you know her?"

"Know her?!" the brunette replied. "She is my sister! Raine, Princess of the Magical Forest!" She advanced on Bryce as anger filled her voice. "Did you do this? What have you done to my sister?!"

The red-head placed her delicate hand aside Raine's cheek, and then turned to the brunette, smiling. "She is human! She really is fully human!"

"Really?" Bryce asked, and then leaned down and gently lifted her hand to check her pulse. "She is a human now?"

"You!" the brunette said, pushing his hand aside with as much force as she could muster. "Get away from her! Haven't you done enough already?"

"Me?" Bryce asked, placing an innocent hand on his chest. "I have done nothing!"

"Oh. You have done plenty!" the brunette replied. "Are you not the human that my sister has been meeting every day?"

"You are her sisters?" Bryce asked in disbelief. "Well, it is truly nice to meet you. My name is Bryce. What is yours?"

The brunette sighed as she placed her hands on her hips, hovering in midair. "My name is Earthen." Then, she pointed to the red-headed fairy. "And this is my sister, Misty."

"'Tis a great pleasure to meet you both," Bryce replied. "Any friend of Raine's ..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Earthen said. "Save it."

"Earthen! She must have gone to Virtra!" Misty said, smiling in admiration. "She had to have!"

Earthen looked over and gave her sister a dirty look.

"Virtra?" Bryce asked. "Who is she?"

Earthen pushed Bryce on the chest with all of her force. But, to Bryce, it felt lighter than a bird's wings brushing against his chest. "The Dragon Queen of the Dark Forest, you moron!"

"Hey, now," Bryce said. "There is no need to resort to name calling."

She huffed, and then turned back to her sister, lying on the grass. "Raine, what have you done?"

"Wait," Bryce said. "What does this mean?"

Earthen turned her attention back to Bryce. "It means that she will owe the Dragon Queen a great debt. And I am afraid that it will be more than she can pay."

"Oh, Earthen!" Misty interrupted. "You worry too much! Raine is not stupid, you know." Then, she turned to Bryce. "No offense."

"Now wait a minute..." Bryce said.

Earthen flew up to Bryce and grabbed his shirt in an attempt to pull him closer to her, but to no avail. "We have no time for this, man! I must tell Father! Now!"

"No! You cannot tell Father!" Misty said, attempting to stand in her way. "He will be furious!"

"Well, he is our only hope. I am sure that this idiot cannot help," Earthen replied, and then she turned to Bryce. "No offense."

"Now wait a minute..."

"Get hold of yourself, man!" Earthen said. "Raine's life is at stake!"

"Her life?" Bryce asked, suddenly confused. "But why would she do such a thing?"

Misty smiled sheepishly as Earthen's eyebrows pulled together angrily. "For you."

"For me?" Bryce asked in disbelief.

Earthen looked at him, obviously wondering how much to tell him. "She is in love with you, Bryce."

"In love with me?"

"Yes, you moron!" Earthen said, pushing against his chest. "I should have known that you don't feel..."

"Now, wait a minute!" Bryce said. "For one thing, I never said that I did not feel the same way. And for another, stop calling me a moron!"

Earthen turned her back to Bryce in a huff to face her sister. "Misty, we must go! Now!"

"But why?" she whined.

"To tell Father, of course!"

"No. We cannot!" Misty said as fear welled up within her eyes. "He will kill us!"

"Oh. He will not kill you," Bryce replied. "Would you like me to go with you? To talk to him?"

Earthen huffed. "No. He would certainly kill you. Misty and I will tell him."

"Oh, no. I'm not..." Misty started to protest.

"Yes you are!" Earthen interrupted. "This was your idea, after all!"

"Your idea?" Bryce asked. Obviously, Raine had been talking to her sisters about her feelings instead of to him. But how could they ever make it work? She was a fairy, after all, and he was human. But if she was to be fully human now...

"Snap out of it, man!" Earthen said, slapping the side of his face to get his attention, but it was a mere brush of a feather to Bryce. "I said that we would take care of our father! You need to stay here with Raine. Please, keep her safe."

Bryce nodded. "I will, on my honor as a Knight of Cambria." Then, he struck his chest with his fist in salute.

Earthen rolled her eyes. "Very well, then. Misty, we must go! Now!"

"But, Earthen..."

"Now!" Earthen ordered. Then, she turned her attention back to Bryce. "If anything happens to my sister, anything at all, I will rain terror down upon you. I promise you that."

Bryce, concealed a smile. After all, how in the world could this little fairy cause the destruction that she promised? But, looking into her eyes, he had doubt of her sincerity. "As I said, I will keep her safe, on my honor as a knight."

Earthen nodded. "Very well." Then, she flew away, obviously expecting her sister to follow.

Misty looked at Raine, who was still sleeping peacefully upon the soft green grass. She reached down and softly kissed her cheek, and then she flew away, in the same direction as her sister.

Bryce looked down at the sleeping Raine and sighed. Then, he sat back down on the log. How could she be in love with him? he wondered. After all, they had not known each other long. But he searched his soul as he waited for Raine to wake, and he knew how it could happen, how she could feel so much for him in such a short time, because he felt it, too.