The man's crimson eyes dilated in shock. He didn't expect that his sister would have a child so soon, being a young girl herself. The girl he knew was free spirited and carefree; she never laid her eyes upon another man even though she could have any man she wanted. With a gulp, he looked into her eyes and gasped.
Her eyes were glowing with a seriousness that he wasn't used to. They were cold and one wouldn't dare to question the depth of her words. At that moment, he knew that the sister he once knew was gone; her eyes were no longer the playful and naïve eyes that followed him around and constantly picked fights with him. He subtly felt that she had grown up in the two years she had disappeared.
"Who's the father Terra?" At his words, she looked down in shame. Heat crept along her face and her cheeks were tinted with a blush of embarrassment. She clasped onto the bottom of her torn dress and fiddled with the lace that hung from her leg while recalling memories that she'd rather forget.
***
Terra puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and disdain. She was tired of others calling her the good-for-nothing princess. Yes, she knew that she hadn't made a contract with a fairy yet and she also knew that she was oblivious to the sufferings of her people, but what could she do? It wasn't her choice to be pampered inside the walls of her castle nor was it her choice to not have a fairy. They all looked down on her and raised their expectations constantly. Their demands were too high, and she was just too small.
With a sigh, she looked towards a familiar tree. It towered over her and suspended miles into the air. Thousands of different colored flowers sprung from each branch and glittered in the sunlight. It was the spirit tree; the same tree that her people and the fairies were entrusted to protect.
She felt a familiar breeze and looked towards a boy who was barely fourteen years of age. In irritation she cast a fire spell and spewed it towards the familiar crimson eyes, but he just dodged while laughing. "Stop laughing or the next time I won't miss. And stop flaunting that you have a fairy! They won't lose to my high-ranked spirits!"
The boy only scoffed and taunted her while sticking his tongue out. "You're almost thirteen. How about you think about how to contract a fairy before bragging?"
Terra could only glare in response at her brother's obvious provocation and began a chant that she had repeated numerous times since she was five. It was a request for a fairy contract and ran through her head like a broken record. She was once desperate for a fairy and made frequent visits to the spirit tree, but after a few years, she grew weary of repeating the same chant till her throat bled only to be met with prolonged silence. Her hopes of having a fairy had long been extinguished and turned into ashes, and yet she still came every Sunday.
As her chant reached its end and rung in the air like an unanswered call, her arms dropped to her sides and she sighed in resignation. She felt her eyes burn and tears slid down her face while she hunched over. She fell into warm arms and looked towards the arms that held her only to find the boy that had been mocking her moments before. Her hunched back leaned into his embrace and she continued sobbing while her cries resonated in the air.
"You're just a late bloomer." He whispered reassuringly. "You're already a talented elemental mage and swordswoman. You don't have to have it all. You don't need a fairy."
Terra's eyes widened and she let out a soft smile. A genius. Many of her teachers had called her a genius and set the bar just out of her reach. Since she was young, people had praised her as the next master of the tower. The strongest warrior, the problem solver. The only problem was that they constantly forgot that she was just a child and that children have limits. She had to be everything, and when she wasn't, she was dismissed and called ignorant. This unbelievable burden was placed on her since young, and its weight was hers to bare alone.
The only person who she could act like herself around was her brother, Alex. He didn't expect anything and always comforted her with a smile. She stood straight and stared into Alex's comforting eyes. She didn't need a fairy, she had her brother, but if she wanted to preserve those innocent eyes, she needed more power.
1 year later
Terra's eyes were filled with shock as she stared at the fairy that had answered her call. The fairy was a golden orb of light that glittered while it flew in her direction. She rubbed her eyes, blinked in confusion and whispered, "You look like a spirit. Why is that?"
She was only met with silence, but a moment later, the orb dissipated and was replaced with a petite maid. Her golden hair flowed down her back and she was adorned with a black and white uniform that was similar to the uniforms Terra's servants wore. The fairy's aura was intimidating yet cutesy at same time, and Terra couldn't help but want to play dress up while she looked into the fairy's sunset orange eyes.
The fairy silently looked into Terra's eyes then spoke with a clear high-pitched voice. "My name is Aria. I'm a lightning fairy. Would you like to form a contract?"
Terra's eyes beamed with hope. Usually, the people in her clan would have received a fairy contract by the age of eleven. She had lost hope after her twelfth birthday and had tried to accept that she would never have one, but now her hope was relit like the embers of a flame. With a nod the fairy and the girl initiated a contract, and when she awoke the next morning, the tattoo on her collarbone that was evidence of their new bond caused her chest to swell with pride.