"Has there been any sign of the raven prince?" Media asked the three fairies. 

"We've searched everywhere in the kingdom, and have seen no trace of him," the short one, Merryweather, replied, careful not to look directly into her mistress's eyes. 

"Perhaps you were not really looking?" Medeia asked, her voice cold as ice. 

"We have searched every millimeter in Adardoven, Mistress," spat the taller fairy, Flora. "Honestly, I don't think we will ever come in contact with the prince.

"I suppose I shall have all three of you executed then." Medeia glared at the fairies as she stood up from the stony throne. "I know just the goblin to do the job."

Goblins were the only creatures that could come close to harming any of the fairies. Before their extinction, fairies were one of the strongest creatures to grace the earth. Their magic could transform curses and heal even those who were looked upon by death. It was only fairies who would make one's dreams come true and give happy endings.

Unless a human being captured a fairy. The will of such a fairy would be transferred to the monster who enslaved her. And Medeia had caught three fairies. 

Fauna's face changed, her fear rising. She thought of the nasty goblin who worked down in the dungeon. His sharp teeth and wrinkled skin was enough to frighten any fairy. With the image of the goblin fresh in her mind, she ducked behind Merryweather, who wigged almost immediately. 

Flora, however, stood tall. "And who will do the bidding for you when we are gone?" she asked, her composure cool and confident. 

Medeia sighed. "I can catch other fairies," she said with a smile drawn across her face. "I don't need you three to finish my dirty work. In fact, that's why I wanted you to find the prince."

"What do you mean?" Flora asked, flying towards Medeia. 

"I've grown rather fond of the raven prince. He is quite handsome, and I believe he can be of use to me," Medeia said, a dark tone in her voice. She sounded sadistic, almost lethal, and her words dripped like blood. 

Flora shook her head. "You wouldn't do that!"

"But I can," Medeia replied. "I am, after all, the villain. And revenge is my forte."

"You are cruel."

Medeia walked over to the balcony that overlooked the mountain of thorns where she resided. Flora's words stuck in her mind as she imagined the sound of her sister's voice. It sounded so hopeful, yet full of disgust. As always, Medeia was the hated one, the person everyone despised. 

In return for all the pain she had felt those many years ago, she caused other to beg to take it all away. This was, in her opinion, unreasonable. She still lived with her anger and resentment from all the years she had spent with her perfect sister. The memories came flooding back, and she knew she could never forgive the king or her sister for what they had done. 

"I am cruel because I have risen from the hatred of my past," she said spitefully, as if trying to convince herself that what she was doing was right. 

"By spreading more hatred around and cursing royalty as if there was no tomorrow?" Flora asked, her voice rising. 

On any other day, Medeia would have shut the fairy up. Instead, Flora's words cut like knives, opening old wounds that had never fully healed. There was nothing stopping her from destroying everyone in her path except defeat. For too many years, the pain had built up. 

"You don't know what lurks beneath the surface."

She eyed the dark clouds surrounding her tattered palace, and looked towards the glimmering towers atop Adardoven's castle. How she longed to be a queen herself and gain the freedom she so desperately desired. No more deadly games to play and hearts to break. But however much Medeia tried, the bitterness still remained. 

There, up in the sky, the sun lit the earth. It pierced its way through the ever-darkening clouds and fell upon Medeia's fragile skin. 

"Don't tell me you're in one of your moods again?" Flora asked. 

"Find the prince," Medeia said bluntly, ignoring the fairies altogether. 

"Yes, Mistress," all three fairies replied. 

"Search the neighboring kingdoms, if you must," she continued. "I don't want you to come back until you have found him and are sure of it."

"Yes, Mistress," they repeated. 

"And if this search is a failure," Medeia said sharply, "I will have the goblin chop you up for dinner."

Fauna looked as if she were about to contradict Medeia when, all of a sudden, Merryweather jabbed her in the ribs. "Don't you dare say a word!" she angrily whispered. 

"Ow," Fauna mumbled, tears filling her eyes. 

Medeia smiled viciously and filled the room with eerie green light. "I trust you will get the job done?" she asked. 

"Yes, Mistress," the fairies cried out, Fauna crying actual tears.

"Come straight back here when you have found him," Medeia concluded. 

"Yes, Mistress."

"Now go, before I decide to let the goblin walk free," she said, laughing in her low voice. 

Medeia watched as the fairies left the Forbidden Fortress, flying towards the kingdom of Adardoven once again. She was displeased with their actions, but even more annoyed with her own work. She walked back over to her throne and sat, wondering what was to be done. 

Did any of her revenge truly mean anything, or was it all just a game she'd never grown out of? She was bombarded by events of the past, and she wallowed in self-pity. But there was nothing to be done. At least, nothing she could think of that could ever fix the relationships that had been broken apart by her selfishness. 

And she felt the ache with every breath she drew, but she knew not what to do. Medeia, for the first time in nearly two decades, cried. It was only a tear that fell quickly, but it was remorse, nonetheless. 

*     *     * 

There, lurking in the shadows, was a cripple. He was no taller than one of the bushes that stood next to him, because of the way he was hunched over. How he came to be there, he did not know. In his faint memory, he thought about the last thing he remembered. 

A girl, no more than sixteen years of age, had entered his dream. She looked similar to him. They both had the same golden hair and blue eyes, yet they were completely opposite in everything else. In the dream, she sang and filled his heart with hope. It was all that kept him going. 

About a week ago, this man had suffered a terrible loss. His beloved father, his only kin, had died and left him to live on his own. It would have been easy for him to make a living, had it not been for his deformed frame. He was looked upon as a monster, a child of hell. He accepted this, though his spirits were low. 

The Everglade Forest was not a pleasant place to rest one's head for the night. And Vester had done so for three nights. He had encountered wolves, though it seemed he had the ability to control them. He still didn't know if it was magic he used, but he had been able to ward off the beasts. 

Or perhaps the wolves were just frightened by the way he looked. 

 Vester's skin was wrinkled and almost leathery in texture. He may have been double in size had it not been for his crooked spine and short legs. In truth, he was a beast himself. He was mocked int he streets because of his crippling disease and beastly appearance. There was no one who would ever treat him as an equal. 

He stood and began making his journey towards the next village, hoping there would be one kind soul willing to help him. Though he knew there was little to no chance of this, he continued on, having faith that someone would hear his cries. 

*     *     *

The fairies searched the kingdom of Adardoven, hoping to find any trace of Prince Cadfan. When the sun began to lower, they sunk to the ground, tired from the day of a hopeless search. Their wings were battered and their skin glistened with sweat. 

Merryweather spoke first. "This is pointless!" she exclaimed, falling back on the grass. 

"That may be so," said Fauna. "But you heard Medeia's words. We can't go back until we find him."

"Oh, I wish we were still free," Merryweather stated. "I hate that witch!"

"Don't we all?" Flora asked, touching down as her wings slowed down. 

"I keeping of the prince," Fauna said. 

"We're all trying to look for him," shot Merryweather. 

"Yes," Fauna replied. "But I don't want the prince to be found. You know what she'll do to him."

"Turn him into one for her spies, no doubt," Flora said, sitting down on a rock. 

"And then Medeia will have won the fight," Fauna continued. 

"What do you mean?" Flora asked. 

Fauna looked over at Flora as though it was obvious. "Well, if she captures the prince, she can brainwash him into giving up the throne. Then she'll take it and Adardoven will be lost."

"Isn't it kind of a hopeless case now?" Merryweather asked. "King Hubert isn't helping this kingdom any more than the last king. soon enough, Adardoven will fall and will not rise again."

"Oh, I hate your grim prophecies!" Flora said. "Both of you! We have to find a way out of this mess."

"How are we supposed to do that when we're bound to Medeia?" Fauna asked. "We must do her bidding."

Flora rubbed her temples and tried to think of a solution. She sat there, thinking for what seemed like hours, until she finally found the answer. 

"I've got it!" she said.

"What?" Merry weather asked, sitting up suddenly. 

"We can convince Prince Cadfan to destroy Medeia," Flora said. 

"Just one problem," Fauna commented. "We can't say anything bad about our mistress. She would sooner have our heads mounted on her wall."

"I know that," Flora continued. "But if he gets the idea himself..."

"I'm not following," Merryweather said. "You want us to convince him of Medeia's tyranny, but not say a word against her."

"We just have to convince him that the throne is worth fighting for," Flora said. "That's all. If we can do that, the kingdom can be saved and even flourished into a brighter nation."

"I doubt it's only going to take three fairies to get the job done," Merryweather said. 

"We can recruit the other fairies to help," Flora said. "While we may not be able to tell humans about our secret demise, we are free to share the plan with others of our kind."

Fauna smiled. "So I assume we're just going to break the rules?"

"We're not breaking the rules," Flora said, laughing. "We're only bending them slightly."

"Only to make our conscience breathe a little easier," Merryweather laughed. 

"For once, in our measly lives, we are doing the right thing," Flora said. 

Soon after, all threes fairies collapsed on the ground from their exhaustion. Little did they know that Vester had heard every word and was slowly comprehending everything they had gone over. If he could be of any service to the fairies, he would feel very honored. 

But he knew there was little chance of that. Who would want help from a cripple?