Jenniffer Anida Shirley checked her white blouse once again. Her navy blue skirt blended nicely with it. So did the pendant from resting on her throat. James would have said she looked beautiful. Not pretty, as her lawyer friend had said, beautiful. 

"The courts really want this revenge," he said slowly, as they drove to the law office. "They'll give us a more detailed description of what is to happen." 

Jenniffer grimaced. "Oh, ugh. This is only going to end badly." 

"Bad situations and decisions only have bad outcomes," he reminded her wisely. 

That brought back a memory of a day she had tried unsuccessfully to burn from memory. Sherylyn, young and pale, jabbing her with a ball point pen in her leg. 

"Stop Sherylyn." 

"No!" 

"Sherylyn!" 

"NO!" 

"SHERYLYN!" 

"NO NO NO! You're not my mommy! You're a witch!" 

Then she had...lost it. Just lost it. She had gone to the workroom and returned with a board. She wasn't going to hit Sherylyn with it, just give her a good spanking. She had forgotten it had nails in it. Sharp nails. And the first strike had left more open wounds than she dared to count. Jeniffer had been a monster then. But she wasn't now. 

"I'm afraid I can't defend your case much," the lawyer was saying. She turned to him with blazing eyes. 

"Try." 

"I promised I would." He took her hands in his. 

She turned her head away. "You better." 

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Thorra Marie Lane hated saying goodbye. But she hated the goodbye to her cousin more than anything. With tears and several hugs, they had bid goodbye. How hard it truly had been to watch her small blue minivan wind down the road and off into the distance. 

"You'll miss her," Rebecca Rose Lane interjected. 

"Forver and a day," Thorra replied, taking a line from several of her favorite movies. 

Reid Lane sneered. "Forver and a day. What a girlie dumb thing." 

Thorra sniffed. "It's not girly." 

"Now you're going to cry!" 

"No!" Her voice broke. "I'm not!" 

"Baby! Baby!" 

"Reid Benjamin Lane!" Rebecca bellowed. "Stop!" 

But it was too much for Thorra. She took off running, not looking back at her cousin's house.

She cried. 

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Marcus Gair Hunter peered out of his bedroom window overlooking the large estate next to him. He had always dreamed of going exploring over there. That was an old house, and those types always had the secret passages and such. He was sure there would be a hidden treasure and then he would get to sell it for a lot of money. 

The old owner, someone called Eliace Mornday, was a young woman of about thirty who resided there but had been mean and somewhat of a hermit. She always had the blinds closed and the little time she had spent outside she was heavily clothed in sweaters and sweat pants, even in the summertime. A brown hat always dived down over her eyes. 

As he watched over the past few weeks, the for sale sign had been put up and about ten days ago, taken down. His mother had said there were going to be new neighbors anyday and that she must make her chicken and cheese casserole. 

Up the stairs wafted the smells of that very dish, which he dispised. Anything with the word cheese in it did not appeal to him. His younger sister, Matha Emily Hunter, bounded into his room which she wasn't ever supossed to do. 

"Martha!" He warned, standing up. 

"Oooh!" Said the seven year old. "You're watching again. I'll bet it'll be a pretty girl, and you'll fall in love and get married!" 

"I'm thirteen!" 

She grinned and said in a sing-song voice. "Marcus is in lo-ove. He'll ge-et mar-eed!" 

"Get out!" He demanded. 

The girl barely missed his grab for her. She thudded down the stiars, fast as a rabbit. 

He was just turning back to the window when his mother's high voice sounded from downstiars. 

"The new neighbors are here! It looks like a man and his daughter." 

Marcus rushed to the window. A girl who looked about his age with brown hair was picking up a box. Her eyes scanned his home briefly, and their eyes locked. She blushed and quickly looked down. 

Marcus decided he liked the new neighbors. 

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Starlight was in her bed, a silk nightgown made of a butterfly's thread wrapped fittingly around her. She stared up at the ceilings, embedded with crystals and stars her father, Treshado, had collected for her. The prettiest one and her favorite by far was a small one that tended to glitter and gleam even in the light. 

"Meadowlily is asking for you," said Silverstone from her doorway. She looked embarassed as Starlight sat up. 

"I'm sorry. You have your night dressings on. I'll tell Meadowlily you have already prepared for sleep." 

"Nonesense," Starlight said, standing up. "If you'll fetch me my robe, I'll get the slippers." 

"No need," Silverstone answered, already holding the objects. "Do you need help getting into them." 

"I'll manage," Starlight said a bit sarcastically, then smiled. "I apologize. I deem to be quite snappy these days. Let me know if I ever annoy you, please." 

"Never miss," Silverstone replied, unused to this kindness. 

Starlight gave Silverstone a nod and flew away, creating a silver dust that settled over the floor. She soared into the night sky. It was a few seconds before she reached Meadowlily's room. Quietly, she landed. 

"Hello, Starlight," her sister said, smiling. Meadowlily had to be the prettiest in the kingdom. With her cornhusk-colored hair and and deep green eyes, she was sweet and lovely, all in one. Her skin was a deep golden color, with thrashes of dark pink here and there. Her lips were a yellowed red, but not quite orange. 

"Meadowlily," Starlight acknowledged her. "Now, what is it you need?" 

"We have some good news. And mother wanted me to tell you." 

"Why doesn't she just tell me?" 

"She's sick! She has been for the past one hundred and twenty three years. You kept her waiting, you did. Then you weakened her so it had taken a long time to heal her." 

"I barely know her. I've seen her but once." 

"I know." 

"What is the news then?" 

"Spideruby is sending the collected Army of one trillion, five hundred thousand and sixty three faries. And she still has one to go. Maybe two." 

Starlight felt a pain in her stomach. 

"So it is time, then?" 

"Enough time to take out many states at a time." 

"Why?" 

"They're evil." A flash of red glinted across Meadowliyl's eyes. "I despise them." 

"They don't know-" 

"They do! THEY DO!" 

Starlight couldn't know what to do. 

How would she stop the faries in time to save the humans? Sure they were a dasterouly bunch, but that could be easily avoided. But that didn't matter. 

Her time was running out. 
_________________________________________________________________

Ashten Eli Brooke leaned across the dining table to give James a quick peck on the cheek. He was taking her out for a celebratory dinner tonight. He and Sherylyn had moved into the house a week ago and it was under construction work. She hadn't seen him since the day before they moved, and her week had been boring and uneventful. 

But tonight had been exciting and something she could look forward to. First, he had picked her up on a bus he had rented just for them. They shared a glass of sparkling cider and talked about the new house. The bus driver had then pulled up to a sparkling lake where James led her off onto a grassy lawn. They ate buttered rolls and cheese by sunset. Then they went to a nearby cafe which was elegant but laid-back and almost completely empty except for them. 

Now she was pulling away and smiling at him. James gave the best dates. But it wasn't the surprises, or the expensive things that made these dates special. It was being with him. Too bad there couldn't be another step in their relationship. He had made that clear from the beginning. He told her he couldn't ever bear to marry again. Losing Alice had been hard to recover from, and then marrying an abusive woman who he had no idea about? That made him feel like an awful father. But Ashten knew James was the sweetest man she would ever know. 

"I have one more thing planned," he said, standing up. Her put his arm around her waist and led her back to the lake. He bent over and dug through the picnic basket he a brought, coming up with two cup fulls of something. When Ashten opened her's, she grinned. Chocolate pudding. Her favorite. 

"That's so sweet," she breathed, taking his hand. They ate and strolled by moonlight. 

It was awhile before she reached the bottom of the cup. She popped the last spoonful into her mouth and began to swallow. Luckily, her tounge felt the hard object inside. 

"I think I lost a tooth," she said, her mouth full and spewing chocolate goo. 

James looked excited. "Check." 

She turned away, because this must seem gross to him. She grabbed the object and struggled to swallow the rest of her dessert. The thing was so covered in pudding, she couldn't tell what it was. But not a tooth. 

"Could I have a napkin?" She asked, and then remembered the picnic basket was about half a mile back. 

"Here," James said, pulling one from his coat pocket. 

That sure was strange. Because he couldn't have known that this would happen. Unless...

With a few quick strokes the pudding was gone. In it's place was a beautiful shiny ring. Ashten turned back to James, tears in her eyes. He was already down on one knee. 

"I know what I said," he began, sounding unsure of himself. "But I never imagined what an amazing person you were." 

"I will," Ashten rushed on, making him smile. 

"Marry me?" He asked, jokingly. "Oh no, I just wanted to ask if you would tie my shoe." 

"I'll do that too!" She said, swooping down. He grabbed her arm and they tumbled over, laughing. 

"I love you," she mused, sitting up. 

"You too," James agreed. 

Ashten was so excited! She had a wedding to plan!

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The streets of Darkrade cast eerie glows over everything as one fairy walked along it. She was sad she couldn't fly. That would help a lot in this situation. The fairy had a head of plain brown hair. Her eyes were a vubrant blue. She moved without grace, but also without clumsiness. Every part of her ached for something. It ached all over, but it centered in her heart. That's where all the ache came from. 

Dark ruby eyes glinted for a second behind her. Then she sighed. 

"Spideruby." 

"You've...come." 

"Yes." 

"To fight?" 

"Yes." 

"Your own kind?" 

"Yes." 

"And there aren't any others of you?" 

The fairy hesisitated a split second before answering. "No." 

In one movement, the fairy's arms were pinned behind her bank, with one of Spideruby's fingernail at her thorat. A sharp fingernail. 

"Tell me the truth." 

"I am!" she hissed. 

Spideruby jerked her roughly. "Let's go." 

They walked down the long street and turned to the castle. Spideruby lifted in flight, barely holding onto the sturdy fairy at her mercy. 

They came into Sunselletta's room, and Spideruby lit a faint candle. 

"Mother," she said with affection. 

Sunselletta took one look at the person and sat up in bed. She didn't feel so sick anymore. 

"I found her wandering the streets," Spideruby said, pushing her forward. 

"I was not!" The fairy hissed. 

Sunselletta looked at the fairy. "You've come," she said. "Alice."