I Tick Off the King of the Fairies

The king has a "friendly chat" with Nikki, and Poxy tells Nikki some more about Sasailya.

After a couple minutes in the winding, dismal dungeon, Nikki was escorted out of the dark prison. Blinking her eyes at the bright sunlight, she lowered her head to protect them, no longer caring enough to see where she was. She thought she heard the sound of crying.   Pretty soon, the guards stopped in front of some huge gold doors, with designs all over them. Two guards protected them, and they all did the wing snap. Nikki guessed it was some kind of salute.

"We bring the prisoner that our king has requested." Nikki's escort said in a deep, commanding tone. The crying sound was louder. Without a word, the door guards pushed open the huge entrance, and the crying became clear, loud, and incessant. Nikki was forcefully guided inside the large room. Impossibly high ceilings sheltered the room from the elements, and enormous windows allowed the light to pass through and fill the room with glorious sunshine.
Down a long red carpet lined with guards, there stood two thrones, each one occupied. Behind the thrones stood a tired looking fairy, probably Filaria, cradling Vinessan, who was bawling with all her might. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut, the baby in a fit of literal blind fury kicked and punched her nurse, who in vain tried to comfort her. As Nikki got closer, it became obvious that the king and queen were the ones in the thrones as sunlight danced about the spires of their crowns. Nikki's guards stopped a short distance from the thrones, threw Nikki to the floor, wing-snapped, knelt, and bowed their heads.  
  "My king," started the one to Nikki's right, "We have brought the prisoner you have requested. It eagerly awaits your fair justice."
It? Nikki glared at the guard, but had no time to make a snarky comeback, for just then the king cleared his throat. Nikki's gaze snapped back to the fairy king and examined him. His dark brown hair framed his rather handsome face, and he had a short beard, that looked quite good on him. He, too, looked sleep-deprived, and so did his blonde beauty of a wife. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Vinessan and her screeching was responsible.
"What is your name, human?" the king's voice reverberated powerfully in the big room. Nikki couldn't help feeling a tad nervous.
"Nikki Forrester." her voice came out scared and small, not at all powerful.

"You have accused of a serous crime, Nikki Forrester." the king's stare seemed to pierce into Nikki's soul. "Kidnapping the princess is an act of war. What do you have to say about this?"

"I didn't do it." Nikki said. Her voice sounded pathetic and small.

"Didn't do it?" the king mused. "They why were you in possession of the Princess when we apprehended you last night, at exactly 11:56 p.m. Earth time?"

"I found her." Nikki replied simply. "She was alone on the street corner; which I didn't do, either."

"That is simply im-" the king's voice was already raised to be heard over Vinnessan's caterwauling, but another earsplitting shriek from the princess topped his words. A fury filled the king's face, and he whipped around to face the poor Filaria and Vinessan. "CAN YOU NOT KEEP HER QUIET!?!?!?!" the king screamed. Baby Vinessan stopped crying in shock, and her screwed shut eyelids opened in disbelief. Upon her opening them, the infant caught sight of Nikki, and immediately started burbling happily and reaching for Nikki.

The king and queen's gaze snapped back and forth between Nikki and their child.

"No......" the queen's voice was mixed with disbelief and desperation. "It can't be." The king stormed down the stairs that led up to the thrones, and the queen sank her face into her hands.

"Take her away!" the king shouted, stomping through a door different than the one Nikki had entered through, and slamming it behind him. Vinessan began to bawl again as the guards roughly took hold of Nikki's arms, and dragged her from the room. Vinessan's crying was the last thing Nikki heard before the heavy doors were slammed shut.

Nikki hung, limp and defeated, as her captors took her back to her cell. She was thrown into the damp room, and the bars slid shut with a clang and a click as it was locked. Jeering at her her, the guards marched away.

It wasn't until the guards' footsteps had faded when Poxy appeared again.

"How'd it go?" he asked, eager for details.

"Nothing new." Nikki sighed. She really was going to be executed; nothing matter anymore.

"C'mon! Spill it!" Poxy begged.

"Nothing." Nikki repeated irritably. "The king asked me some questions, Vinessan cried because I wasn't holding her, and the king had a hissy fit. That's all."

"Wait. Rewind." Poxy held up his hands. "The Princess wanted you to hold her? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, so?" Nikki folded her arms. "When I had her on Earth, she cried whenever I wasn't holding her. No big deal."

"No big deal?" Poxy's smile lit up his face. "This is a huge deal! It's fantastic!!!"

"Why?"

"Well, when a baby fairy is born, it's immediately given to its nurse, so the Bonding can begin."

"What's the Bonding?"

"It's where a royal fairy finds a deep and thick connection to whomever they have Bonded with. The most logical person for a fairy to Bond with is its nurse, because their nurses already have to spend all day with the fairy."

"Why don't the fairies bond with their mothers?"

"Queens are often too busy to constantly be with their children. The Bond has two stages. The first stage is present from when they are old enough and have made their decision on who is their Bond to the age eighteen. During the first stage, any separation between the Bonded is extremely uncomfortable, and greatly disliked. In the second stage, being apart is much more bearable, but they still enjoy being together."

"This is stupid, Poxy. What the heck does this have to do with me?" Nikki interrupted. Poxy rolled his eyes.

"It's obvious, Nikki." he said, exasperated. "Vinessan has obviously Bonded with you, so the king can't possibly kill you now."

"Why not?" Nikki was beginning to perk up. Finally, a big of good news.

"People whose Bonds die before the second stage usually go mad, and kill themselves." Poxy explained. Smiling to herself, Nikki leaned her head against the bars.

"Thanks, Poxy." she grinned. "I needed that."

"Happy to help." Poxy gave a mocking bow, his face full of playfulness. Nikki smiled gratefully. It was amazing how much a single friend could help in a time of distress.

"So, Poxy." Nikki began, trying to fix herself up. Her hair was a mess, and she was still wearing her pajamas, which meant a stupid pair of heart-patterned shorts and a tank top. "Are fairies the only things living is Sasailya?"

"No way." Poxy shook his head vigorously, the chain mail under his breastplate clinking softly. "Sasailya is teeming with different types of beings; none human, although Sasailya itself was created by one. A human, I mean."

"What do you mean?" Nikki cocked her head.

"It's a long story." Poxy warned.

"That's okay. I have no pressing matters to attend to." Nikki gestured to her cell. So, taking a deep breath, Poxy began his story.

"Long, long, ago, humans, fairies, pixies, unicorns, brownies, centaurs, everything roamed together on Earth. Everyone was happy, and things were peaceful between species. But then the idiotic humans began to stray farther than they should have and poking their noses in where they did not belong. It eventually led to a certain human called George who invaded a very personal part of a dragon's cave. The dragon, of course, in turn, roared angrily at George, who fled with fear, and immediately began to spread awful rumors about dragons, and saying that he had slain the horrid beast." 

Poxy straightened his armor before continuing. "There was a tremendous uproar, and the humans began to say that they were above all beasts, and began to kill off any other species. There were so many other beings, but, even though they vastly outnumbered the human race, a war would result in so many deaths. A human who was against the war and killing agreed to help the ailing races. His name was Leopold Farning. Leopold claimed he could save us all, by creating an entirely different world. The distraught races agreed, and Leopold set to work. He was an exceedingly brilliant man, and with the help of our magic, he did indeed create a world; better and bigger than Earth-a perfect utopia. All of the magic beings kept the whole operation a secret, and every day Leopold moved exactly 1000 beings, so the humans wouldn't notice. However, the humans did notice, but rejoiced, for they thought the disappearance of the creatures were of their own doing, and they basked in their self-satisfaction. Along with the magic races, demons needed to be relocated, as well. The humans were becoming a nuisance to them, and a new world sounded perfect. The only problem was their king, Karataura, who stubbornly refused to move. But Janarie convinced him, and so the demons went willingly." 

"Janarie is that fairy that tricked the demon king, right?" Nikki interrupted, which earned her a frown and a nod.

"Unbeknownst to them, though, instead of being moved to Ellaria, the good part of Sasailya, Leopold secretly fixed the portal to Sasailya to send the demons to Zectractra, the bad part of Sasailya." Poxy continued. "Once in Zectractra, the demons had no way back and no way to warn the rest of their foul kind. One thousand demons a day were moved with the other thousand, and eventually the only magical beings left were the monarchs, who had decided to go last, after their peoples, and Leopold. They stayed deep in hiding, to not be discovered by prying humans. Finally, they gathered in front of the Portal, and had the demon king enter first, and officially imprison all evil in Zectractra. Uniting their powers, the mighty monarchs waited until Janarie escaped through the Portal, and informed the monarchs of her complete mission. They were all dismayed about Janarie's curse, but it was a small sacrifice for the good of all of Sasailya. Janarie entered the Portal, and the monarchs together chanted ancient spells and verses that erased all traces of their races. All blessings and protection spells were lifted, and the humans noticed immediately. Diseases, pollution, and almost everything impure, ran rampant, with no unicorns to suppress it. Clean waters, a gift from the water nymphs, was replaced with filthy liquid. Plants began to die, insects began to infest everything, food was hard to find, and the humans realized what they had done." 

"They cursed their stupidity, but there was nothing they could do. In return for his great service, the monarchs granted Leopold the chance to live in Sasailya for the rest of his days. Leopold agreed; he had no family, and was often mocked about his intelligence by humans, so there was nothing for him on Earth. Leopold entered the Portal, and the monarchs followed, using one last spell to hide the Portal, so no human could see, touch, sense, or even smell it. Magic had left Earth forever.

"Wow." Nikki broke the silence. "To think we were so ignorant..." she trailed off, and Poxy nodded.
"Those monarchs banded together and formed The Council." he added. "One monarch rules their race, and also are a part of The Council, which controls all of Sasailya."  
"How many are on the Council?"
"Fifty, I think. There are fairies, unicorns, brownies, pixies, water nymphs, fire nymphs, earth nymphs, air nymphs, centaurs, griffins, dragons, sphinxes, dwarfs, elves....the list goes on and on."
"What about banshees and Chimeras and stuff?" Nikki wondered out loud.
"Those things wander the Cursed Lands; they deserve no place in the council." Poxy said in disgust.
"The Cursed Lands?"
"Yes." Poxy nodded. "Sasailya is shaped like a circle. The Council adopted a picture of Sasailya for their symbol, even. It looks like this." On the filthy floor, Poxy used his finger to trace a circle with a line down the middle, and another very tiny circle in the center:

            

Nikki looked at it, and pointed to the small circle.
"What is that symbolize?" she asked.
"The Portal." Poxy replied. "It isn't really there; we moved it to Ellaria. Anyway, the line is the Cursed Land. Banshees, Chimeras, imps, things like that live there, not demons, so they can't go to Zectractra, and not nearly decent enough to live in Ellaria. So, they wander the Cursed Lands, preying on each other and unfortunate souls who get lost in there." he lowered his gaze and started doodling in the dirt. "My mother got lost in there when I was only two." he said quietly.
"Oh, Poxy. I'm so sorry." Nikki stuck her arm through the bars and put it around Poxy. "Okay, this is really uncomfortable, so I'm going to stop now." she gasped, quickly withdrawing her arm. Watching her massage her arm, Poxy managed a grin.
"They can't keep you down here for much longer." Poxy changed the subject. "Sooner or later, Vinessan will win. She can scream louder than anything I know."
"Yeah." Nikki nodded. "She shattered a light bulb in my kitchen, seconds after I handed her off to-" Henry, Nikki finished in her mind, but was stopped short.

Henry. What was he doing right now? Was he okay? Was he panicking? Was he looking for her? What about her parents? Once, when Nikki was twelve, she went to a friend's house after school. Her mom was expecting her at five, but the friend's car broke down, so Nikki started to walk, texting her mom, telling her she was walking and might be a little late. Her mom did not reply. Turns out, she called the police to go find "her poor baby" as she walked home.
That friend lived exactly twelve houses away.
Nikki couldn't even imagine how freaked out her parents must be, and she realized how much she missed them. A dull ache throbbed in her chest, and made tears come to her eyes. Hastily wiping them away, she hid her face from Poxy.
  "Handed her off to who?" he wiped his hands off. "Nikki? What were you going-oh, frats, are you crying? What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Nikki avoided his gaze and fought furiously to hold back tears.
"You can tell me." Poxy assured her. "I won't tell. Honest."
"I just want to go home." Nikki blurted out. "Henry and my parents are probably worried sick, and I miss them so much."
"They don't miss you." Poxy stated. She whipped around to face him, and he blanched. "No, wait! That's not what I meant! I mean, Henry misses you, but you've been Erased, so no one else does! Well, they would, if they still knew-" Nikki put a finger to his lips.  
"Okay, start over. What does it mean to be erased?" Nikki stared at him, and he fiddled with his helmet.
"We-ell....." he finally started. "The human brain to us is relatively simple. There's a part of it we call the Memory Box. All memory is stored there, long and short term. We discovered, though, that no matter how deep the memory, we can remove it, if they're an adult. If it's a child, we can only remove memories at the maximum age of five years. Your parents we did first; it was pretty simple, because they haven't known you their whole lives. When you were ten, you moved to where you live now, so we also did all of your current friends. Henry, however, was too young to take memories of you; they were way too old. But he is the only one, and we sent a replacement sister to help him be convinced that you were a dream, nothing more."
"What are you saying?" Nikki could not, would not, comprehend.
"Oh, Nikki." Poxy shook his head sadly. "Don't you see? You've been Erased."

Author's Note

I tried to explain Sasailya best I could in here......tell me if it makes sense in any way. What do you guys think of the Erasing?!

Reviews

[paparapapa]

Wait, let me take all the new information in first. Haha. Sooo, this one's an unexpected chapter! The bond thing's a good twist. I was really wondering how she will be able to escape death. So good one there. And, just a suggestion, can you add spaces in that one long paragraph about the history. It really would be pleasing to the eyes. Oh, and the last part was also a pretty interesting twist. It's really sad that she has to be erased. HENRY! =))) Anyway, I also like Poxy's character. Good job on this one. :)