Hiya lovelies pictured above is the enchanting willow tree that's behind the garden.
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The freshly baked smell of biscuits wafted into my nose, making me close my eyes and sigh in content. Just a second later, I fluttered open my eyes and darted them across the room to see where the smell was coming from.

The smell led me towards Natalia's room. The door was left slightly ajar so I stepped inside without knocking.

"Yes, you're getting the hang of it!" Elijah exclaimed loudly.

My eyes widened in surprise. Both Natti and Elijah's backs were to me but I still couldn't ignore the words that came out from Elijah's mouth.

No! Please don't let it be what I think it is.

"Natalia," I spoke, making their heads snap up in my direction. Thankfully, they were decent.

"Oh Nina!" Natalia squealed, beckoning me to come closer. "Look what Elijah helped me make!"

I cautiously walked towards them. My cheeks warm with embarrassment from my thoughts earlier on.

In her hand was the most beautifully decorated biscuit I had ever seen. The glittering design looked too good to eat.

"It's marvellous," I replied slowly. My mouth was slightly watering at the glorious sight in front of me.

I turned to face Natalia. I stared straight into her eyes as I gave her a sad puppy face, trying to guilt her into giving me the biscuit.

"Oh, alright!" Natalia sighed. I let out a huge cheer as I snatched the biscuit.

Just as I was about to take a bite, Natti's voice boomed at me. "Whatever you do, you mustn't tell Nikolai."

I quickly nodded in response before eating the biscuit in one go. The shiny icing used to decorate the biscuit tasted like vanilla ice cream mixed with a tinge of chocolate. The biscuit itself, reminded me of cake rusk, for it had a smooth, yet crunchy texture.

"That was," I paused. "The best thing I've eaten all day!"

Elijah grinned at me. "I'm glad you liked it, I baked it myself. Natti did the decorations, with my help."

Natti rolled her eyes and gave him a playful push before looking at me. "He's lying. I didn't use his help at all."

"Yeah, you did," Elijah argued back.

"No, I did not." Natti replied. It went like this for minutes, each time both of their replies became a little bit more aggressive.

Great. I was officially stuck between their argument.

How do I stop them?

A lightbulb flashed in my head. I decided to let them bicker at each other whilst I crept back out their room, shutting the door as quietly as I could.

Once I was out, I sighed in relief. I straightened out my skirt and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Do you smell that?" Came Nik's voice out of thin air, which startled me.

I swivelled around, my eyes meeting his. "Smell what?"

Nikolai inhaled a long breath. "That. It smells like cookies, or biscuits. Or both!"

Oh no! Nik can't go in there right now, especially since they were arguing about the decoration.

"Wait, Nik," I shouted at him, just as he was about to turn the doorknob to Natti's room. "You can't go in there."

Nik gave me a confused look before giving me a sassy reply. "And why on God's green earth, should I not?"

"Because, they're both..." I hesitated.

"They're what Nina?" Nik shot back.

I didn't answer him. Instead I gave him a knowing look.

Now it was Nik's eyes that widened. "You mean they're...?"

I knew what Nik was referring to, he was thinking exactly what I wanted him to believe. I smirked in agreement as a horrified looking Nik rushed back into his room.

That was easy! I thought to myself. Nik was always an easy target to fool. What can I say, he was too gullible.

I mentally shrugged before skipping downstairs.

From the ground floor, I walked outside to the garden. No one was out here, most of the suitors were either cooped up in their rooms, playing games in the gaming room or swimming in the pool. Therefore, I was all alone out here.

As soon as I stepped out, the warm air flew against my skin. Instinctively, I rose my hand up to shield my face against the bright sun, as I made my way towards the bench. It was the middle of the afternoon and the heat was at its maximum level.

Fortunately for me, the bench was under the shade and there was a light breeze running past.

I sat myself down and took my phone out from the pocket of my shirt. Unlocking the phone, I clicked on the reading icon as I began to read an ebook called 'Sleeping Beauty'.

Halfway through reading, my legs began to feel cramped and numb, so I stood up to give them a stretch. However, it was a bad idea because as soon as I stood up, my legs failed me. I was about to fall.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the fall and to feel impact with the ground but that moment never came. Someone had managed to save me from falling.

"You're okay, I've got you," the voice whispered in my ears.

Hold on a second. I knew that voice.

"Rafael?" I questioned, my eyes were still shut tightly.

"Yes," he said, "it's me. I'm here."

As quick as lightning, I opened my eyes only to be met with Rafael's dreamy eyes staring back into mines. Hurriedly, I stood upright and smiled gratefully at Rafael.

"Thank you for saving me," I muttered.

Rafael chuckled in response. "Can't have the princess hurting herself now can we?"

I narrowed my eyes at him before letting out a small laugh.

"When did you get here?" I questioned. "Last time I checked, no one was out here."

"You probably didn't see me, I was behind one of the trees." He replied with a shrug, his eyes twitched ever so slightly. I found myself nodding at his reason, even though I knew it was lie.

"What were you doing then?" I inquired.

Rafael didn't answer me, instead he grabbed my arms and lead me to the back of the garden, where the large trees stood lined next to one another.

He led me behind one of the trees and told me to wait there whilst he walked up towards the big, willow tree.

He stood in front of the tree and whispered something. After a few seconds the tree burst with life. It glowed brightly as little butterflies flew out.

And then came little figures with wings. They came out the tree, talking excitedly to one another.  The sound of soft twinkles filled my ears as I stared in disbelief.

Were those fairies?

"Before you ask, no, they're not fairies." Rafael whispered, as he walked back towards me. It was almost as if he had read my mind.

"Then what are they," I whispered back, curiosity filled my mind as I stared at the little figures in awe.

"Pixies. They're called pixies." Rafael spoke, louder this time.

I looked at him expectantly. "Do tell me more about them."

Rafael all but nodded. "Well, they're kind of like fairies but the smaller version. They're more like the fairies' helpers, at least that's what people call them in Arulia. Each pixie is unique in their own way and are assigned to one fairy in their lifetime. However, they're not always here for the fairies. They only appear to help when the fairies are in danger and desperately need them."

"So," I said. "That means I might have one pixie as my own helper."

Rafael hummed in response. "You do. But I've been trying to figure out who."

Confusion sprawled it's way onto my face, how can Rafael identify which pixie is my helper?

"You see, the pixie's are basically the smaller version of yourself. For instance, Natalia's pixie," he said, pointing at the pixie which was fluttering her wings and staring at everyone else. "Your sister's pixie represents Natalia."

I looked at the pixie, which now was staring back at me with intensity. She supported the same blonde hair as my sister and wore the cutest, stylish clothes. She held a tiny, pink purse in her hand and a replica of Natti's silver amulet necklace, was resting on her neck. Her wings were a beautiful, silver colour that reflected like mirrors in the sunlight.

Before I could reply to Rafael's statement, Natti's pixie flew in front of us.

"Rafael!" She squealed, as she rushed to stand on his shoulders. Rafael let her on his shoulders for a few seconds before he held out his hand for her to jump onto.

She safely landed on his hand and straightened herself up. "Who's this girl you've brought with you today? She's very pretty."

A smile crept its way onto my face. "I'm Nina, Natalia's younger sister, and you are?"

Shock crossed her face, her moth dropped open slightly and her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Nina! I'm Tiana, your sister's pixie. It's very nice to meet you." She regained her composure as she flew over to me and shook hands with my smallest finger.

"I'm afraid Rosalina is not here. Until you need her the most, she won't appear." Tiana replied, her mouth formed an 'o' shape as she looked at my confused face. "Oh how silly of me to assume you knew the name of your pixie. But anyways, her name's Rosalina, now you know."

Rosalina. The name itself sounded lovely. I couldn't help but imagine what she looked like, did she wear the same clothes as me or was she different? And most importantly, what was the colour of her wings?

I brushed away the thoughts and focussed on the little figure on my hand. Tiana grabbed onto one of my fingers and led me to someplace quiet, away from all the other pixies and Rafael, who was busy conversing with another pixie.

"Where are we going?" I asked, as Tiana looked ahead and guided me between the trees.

After a few minutes of running, walking and jogging at the same time, we halted to a stop. I moved my head from left to right to see where Tiana had led me. Wait a second, I knew where we were. Tiana had led me to the end of the palace property, where the thing separating me from the outside world, was a long, gated fence.

Tiana was the one to break the silence. "You must be wondering why we're here. Well, I brought you here because this is the only place where no one will hear what I'm about to tell you."

"I know everything." She simply stated.

I raised my eyebrows in uncertainty. "Everything? You can't possibly know everything, you're not God." I chuckled quietly to myself as I finished my sentence. I soon regretted my actions because Tiana looked angry, her face had turned a beetroot-red.

"We may not be God but we are pixies. Pixies are blessed with visions from the future, past and even present. Therefore, I would advise you to refrain from giving me a sarcastic reply in the future." Tiana explained with an annoyed look.

Oh my goodness! She really was starting to sound a lot like my sister, maybe they were made for each other after all.

"I'm sorry," I apologised before letting Tiana explain.

"I know about the Trixie. I also know who she is," she stated. "But alas, I cannot disclose any more information about her. However, what I will say is to trust Rafael, your aunt wanted you to think he was 'the bad guy' and you blindly believed her for a few solid days."

Tiana paused to catch her breath before continuing. "What I'm trying to say is that maybe your aunt isn't who you think she is. Instead of being wary around Rafael, I would strongly recommend being on guard around your aunt. Because one thing I can say for sure, is that Rafael is a good man."

My mind was spinning from her words, and now I didn't know who believe. On one hand was Becky Tricks, the aunt that no one knew about, who was a fairy. On the other hand was Rafael Santos, a mysterious young man who was always very kind and supporting to me.

"You can't tell anyone what I told you, not even Rafael. He can't know that Becky is your aunt," Tiana replied hastily, before she grabbed onto my finger and led me back to the willow tree. "Oh and also, don't tell Natalia about me just yet."

She gave me a small smile and nodded her head before signalling for all the pixies to fly back into the tree. Me and Rafael waved them a goodbye, standing by the willow tree. We watched the tree lose it's glow and return to it's normal form.

"What did Tiana tell you?" Rafael questioned, as he walked me back to the bench I was sitting on before.

I bit my lip and shrugged. "Nothing much, she just wanted to know about Natti."

The lie rolled smoothly out of my tongue as I flashed Rafael a reassuring smile. I knew that he probably didn't believe me, but he didn't press me on the matter. The corners of his mouth curled up in a smile as he kissed my cheek and disappeared inside.

I sat back on the bench, raising my hand up to touch the part where Rafael had kissed my cheek. My skin tingled as I thought about Rafael's mouth on my skin. I grinned widely to myself before burying my eyes into the book I was reading earlier on.

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What do we think about this chapter, and the pixies?

I'm so sorry about the late update, I was occupied with some work but I hope to update more regularly now so don't worry! Also, we've only got about 10 or so chapters left till the end of this book.

Thank you for reading. Don't forget to vote, comment, tag and share this story to friends and family who might be interested.