I have a new Faylinn short story, and this one may be my favorite yet!

 For Newcomers:

Each month Arielle posts a prompt on her writing blog that goes along with Fairy Tale Central’s featured fairy tale. I’ve been writing prompts for it of a continuing story about a wingless fairy and banished prince, Raylinn and Finn, or “Faylinn” as is their designated ship name…and their tag along sassmaster, Zayd.

The Previous Stories:

• Deal or No Deal (A Rumpelstiltskin-inspired story and the first introduction to these characters)
• Let Down Your Hair?  (A Rapunzel-inspired story)
• It Ain’t Easy Having a Genie (An Aladdin-inspired one, and Zayd’s first introduction)
• Frogs and Bears Make Great Boyfriends (A The Frog Prince and Snow White & Rose Red crossover story)
• That’s Definitely Not Granny (A Little Red Riding Hood one that dives into Finn’s story a bit)

Yeah, these titles. I don’t even know.

 A Summary:

(If you’ve never read the previous stories or just need a refresher.)

Raylinn is a fairy who was born without wings and visible fairy markings, a shame to the proud fairies…and punishable by death. In a panic, her mother took her away from the fairy realm into the human world, where she left baby Raylinn with a kind farming couple. After a tragic fire killed Raylinn’s adopted parents (because fairy tale protagonists aren’t allowed to have parents, you know), Prince Finnigan of Talgaria found her and took her to stay at his castle. Except, one day, grumpy King Olten struck his son and Raylinn became enraged and her fairy magic released unbidden, revealing her true nature. Well, Olten hates fairies (as do most people, due to the fairies’ inherit ruthlessness), and tried to have Raylinn executed. Finnigan quickly defended her, causing his father to disown him. Raylinn and Finn escaped from Finn’s father, and, now engaged, have been on the run ever since, having all sorts of adventures and searching for someone who can help Raylinn learn how to control her magic.

At last they found someone, a snarky genie named Zayd. Genies were once fairies who betrayed the fairy queen and were thus stripped of their wings and cursed as genies—people who can only use their magic when their masters make wishes. Zayd’s master, Aladdin, has the genie lamp tucked away and has agreed to not make any wishes, leaving Zayd semi-free. In order to convince Zayd into helping Raylinn learn how to control her magic, she and Finn agreed to search the world for a way to break Zayd free from his genie curse and become a fairy once more.

And thus the threesome travel the world, and find a lot of trouble along the way.

There’s also a Pinterest board!

 The Prompt:

This month’s FTC featured fairy tale is…

 Twelve Dancing Princesses!

And guys. GUYS. This is my second favorite fairy tale of EVER EVER EVER. (Beauty and the Beast being #1. Surprise!) It’s such a gorgeous tale and I jumped at the chance to do this prompt because I’ve always wanted to write a 12DP retelling. And…I still want to. But writing a short story at least appeased me…sorta.

ANYWAYS.

The Prompt:

This month’s prompt is super fun because it’s multiple choice! A choose-your-own-adventure prompt if you will. The first line is…

And then you choose one (or all!) of the following lines…

How fun is that???? (Read: Super fun.)

You can find the post to this prompt HERE! We’d love for you to join in and write your own prompt piece!

So, um, gonna be honest, guys. This one ended up being the longest I’ve written yet. #Sorry BUT. It’s also one of my favorite I’ve ever written. And I thiiiink (hope) you guys are gonna like it too. I do apologize for the length though! My idea got a little too big for a simple short story. I just love this story so, so much and wanted to make this prompt extra special. But I may have gotten carried away. *sheepish grin*

I hope you enjoy regardless! (This was a really fun one to write bwahahaha.)

The Genie Can Dance

How did he get into this?

Zayd sprawled onto the sofa of the ornate sitting area, trying to ignore the endless girlish prattling coming from the adjacent room. Technically, blocking out the chatter was the last thing he was supposed to be doing, but his eardrums still rang after spending an entire dinner with the twelve princesses.

Twelve daughters. Who in their right mind would have twelve daughters?

King Relken had merely sat quietly through dinner, a long-suffering look on his thin, sagged face. It was a wonder their father could still hear at all. After dinner, he had pulled Zayd aside, gave out a rush of instructions in a croaking voice that sounded as if it wasn’t used very often, then locked himself behind the thick doors of his bedchambers.

Now here Zayd was, left in the mercilessly buzzing of twelve girls. And why?

“Because it’s the right thing to do,’” he grumbled Raylinn’s answer mockingly under his breath.

Why couldn’t it have been her or Finn?

“Because King Relken is an ally of Talgaria,” Finn had said, “he and Father are friends, and he would recognize Raylinn or me instantly and send us in chains straight to Father.”

“Besides, you’re more knowledgeable in magic,” Raylinn had pointed out. “You’ll be able to sense what’s going on.”

And why did they care what was going on?

“Because people are in danger!” the two had cried in unison. They did that a lot. It was really annoying.

He had to admit though, this was a strange predicament.

It all started when Finn had begun to worry about how things were going in Talgaria, since he hadn’t been in his own kingdom for a while. Despite being hunted down by his dear ol’ dad, he wanted to sneak in and check things out. So they left the comfort of Lenderra (why, Zayd did not understand; at least there they were welcomed) and headed north to Talgaria.

As they were passing through King Relken’s kingdom, which sat just to Talgaria’s southern border, both Zayd and Raylinn sensed a strange magic in the air. It didn’t take long for them to catch word of the King’s odd problem and proclamation. The whole kingdom was abuzz about it.

Apparently, King Relken’s twelve daughters wore out their dancing slippers every single night, and wouldn’t reveal why. Their father had gone as far as locking them in their rooms, but still the slippers were found threadbare each morning. Guards and servants would stay in the rooms, and some were found fast asleep the next morning, while others went missing completely. The King was baffled. And desperate. Especially with rumors flying that his daughters were using dark magic or murdering these people. So he put out a proclamation that any person who solved the mystery would be rewarded handsomely. Many had tried, with the same results as the guards and servants. They either slept the night away or disappeared, never to be seen again.

And, of course, Finn and Raylinn got in their heads that they should try to help. Or, more accurately, Zayd should help.

Hmph.

They didn’t seem the least bit concerned that the previous attempts resulted in the people going missing.

“But you’re clever,” Raylinn had insisted. “Besides—”

“It’s the right thing to do,” he muttered again. Those two were so good. It was disgusting. And now they had him doing their gross good work for them. Finn had claimed it was strategic—help King Relken solve his problems, show him that fairies are not all malicious beasts, hope the word spreads, and tad-ah! Zayd and Raylinn are accepted by the world. It seemed far-fetched, but it was getting a little tiring having people recoil every time they spotted his fairy markings. At least Raylinn’s didn’t show up unless she used magic. Where he couldn’t use magic and still had markings all over him. Life stank.

It hadn’t gone all that great marching straight up to the castle, orange fairy markings visible for all to see, and claiming he wanted to give the challenge a try. He was immediately arrested—Thaaanks, Finn and Raylinn—and questioned. The King was just sure he was the one who caused this mess. So he had to go into his whole life-story spiel—how he was once a fairy, talked some others into playing a prank on the fairy Queen by letting some humans into the fairy realm, and was promptly punished by being banned from the realm, his and the others wings stripped away, and their magic given to the whims of humans. And thus genies came into existence. Once powerful fairies, now only able to use magic if their human masters wished it.

Fortunately, King Relken wasn’t totally thick in the head. He had heard the mythology of genies and, being as how Zayd had no wings and was not using any magic to escape, finally believed the story. Or maybe he was just tired and wanted this riddle solved. Either way, next thing Zayd knew, he was introduced to a dizzying rush of twelve girls—who all gaped at him like he had two heads—fed supper, told he had three nights to solve the mystery and then he was out, and now sat in the girls sitting room.

“Hurrah,” he murmured.

“Are you talking to yourself?” A blonde head of hair and fair face poked out from the door leading to the girls’ shared bedroom. Why they all had to share one big room in this huge castle didn’t make a lick of sense to him, but what did he know about princesses?

“No.” He shoved up to sitting position at the edge of the sofa, trying to place the girl. She was the oldest, he was pretty sure, with some frilly, ridiculous name—Lacy? Lilac? Lucia?

“Lavena!” came a girly shrill from behind her.

There it was.

“Just a moment, Thalia!” she called over her shoulder.

Ugh. All their names were equally over the top. How did anyone keep them straight?

With a (very fake) smile, she slipped into the sitting room, a goblet of wine in her hand.

He smelled traces of the sleeping draught five feet away. Well. This was a new development.

Lavena glided across the room and held out the goblet. “We thought you could use a drink.”

Very interesting. So the girls themselves were putting the people to sleep. That probably meant the few, like him, who knew not to drink the wine, ended up disappearing. These girls could make a person want to drive a dagger into one’s ears, but he really didn’t peg them as murderers.

He stood to meet the princess face to face, not moving to take the goblet. To her credit, she held his gaze, but her smile became a little too wide, not matching the furrow in her brow. She almost seemed…desperate?

Well, drat, now we was genuinely curious. How did Raylinn and Finn drag him into these things?

He crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels. “You know, if you just tell me what you and your sisters’ little secret is, this would make it a lot easier for everyone.”

For five, ten, fifteen seconds, she studied him, unmoving, unblinking. He couldn’t help but notice the heavy bags under her eyes. If she was so tired, why did she keep dancing or whatever it is she did at night?

Finally, she opened her mouth. Hesitated. Opened it again. “Do you hate being a genie?”

He actually found himself laughing. “A diversion, huh? Fine, I’ll play along. Yes. I despise it.”

“Why?”

“Why?” He raised an incredulous eyebrow. “Because I can’t use my magic unless someone wants me to. Magic is what makes a fairy a fairy. My very essence is in the control of someone else’s whims. I’m a slave.”

“But you told Father that your master doesn’t make wishes, and let you go travel the world.”

He shrugged. “He still owns me, even if he loosened the chains a bit. I will always have the threat of being enslaved to someone.” A familiar burning flared up inside him. Traveling with Raylinn and Finn had tampered it down, but it was still always there, just below the surface, threatening to consume once more. Anger. Pure, hot anger toward the fairy Queen and what she did to him. He gritted his teeth and stared at the gold and blue carpet, digging his fingernails into his arms.

“It’s not fair.”

His eyes snapped back up to the princess’s quiet voice. “Pardon?”

“It’s not fair,” she repeated, and that fake smile had vanished into something akin to sympathy. “Everyone deserves to be free.”

He opened his mouth, but no words bothered to present themselves.

This time a real smile emerged. Soft and kind. And maybe a little sad. She held up the goblet. “Now you definitely look like you could use a drink.”

He chuckled, took it, and chugged it down in one gulp. She didn’t need to know that most sleeping draughts, poisons, and the like didn’t affect his body whatsoever. He may not have his wings or control over his own magic, but he still had the immortal body of a fairy. Smacking his lips, he handed over the empty goblet. “Yum, yum.”

“Lavena!”

Another chorus of cries echoed from the bedchamber.

Zayd rolled his eyes. “Siblings.”

With a tired sigh, she took the goblet. “Tell me about it.” She moved to leave, but halted and cast him a cheeky grin over her shoulder. “Goodnight, Zayd.”

He snorted. He had to admit, the girl had spunk. Wriggling his fingers in a wave, he plopped back down on the sofa and faked a yawn. “Goodnight, Princess.”

Seeming satisfied, she disappeared back around the door, but left it cracked, per the rules of the King’s challenge. Zayd had been instructed to see if the girls stayed in their room. Although he was also instructed to not try any funny business or they would scream bloody murder and bring in the guards who waited just outside in the hall. He would then have his head chopped off. Seemed fair. He guessed since there were twelve of them and one of him, their father felt pretty secure that they could take care of themselves.

Now to wait. For possibly imminent doom.

He stretched out on the sofa, lacing his fingers behind his head, and wondered if Raylinn and Finn were laughing at his predicament while they slept safe and sound at their camp outside the city.

No. They were probably worrying about him, questioning if they made the right decision.

Ugh. How did he end up with such boringly good people?

A good half hour stretched on with the incessant chattering of females. As much as he wanted to block it out, he forced himself to pay attention. There was a lot of talk of lace and dresses and hair braiding.

On occasion, someone would order someone else to “check on the genie”, in which he would promptly close his eyes and breathe deeply.

“Sound asleep,” someone said after the half dozenth time he was spied on.

“Good.” That seemed to be Lavena’s voice, and she sounded genuinely relieved. “No sense in him ending up like the others.”

His ears perked at this. He scooted a little closer to the edge of the sofa, toward their door.

“But, Lavena, he’s—”

“I know,” she said quickly.

“Do you think he knows?” another one asked.

“I can’t imagine how.”

“Should we tell them about him?”

A moment’s pause. Then Lavena’s quiet answer. “I don’t know. Perhaps”

“How did everything get so complicated?” someone groaned. “Just one night. Can’t we sleep for just one night and forget about all this?”

Moans of agreement echoed from the room.

“And doom us all?” Lavena sounded more tired than ever. “We have no choice. Now come on, we’re going to be late.”

More groans were followed by much shuffling and then, for the first time since he arrived, silence.

All right, now he was really curious.

Hoping they were done spying on him, he leapt up from the sofa and crept over to peek through the cracked door.

The girls all crowded around one of the twelve beds lining the vast room. The fireplace on the far wall illuminated their shimmering gowns, while the dresses they had been previously wearing littered the floor.

So…they got all dressed up every night and danced their shoes to pieces? They just liked to have balls? No, that wasn’t right. None of them seemed exactly excited about this.

Lavena, at the front of the group, knocked the frame at the foot of her bed. The bed lowered into the floor.

Um?

With Lavena at the head, the girls one by one stepped down into the rectangular hole, descending on what he could only imagine was a staircase.

Now things were definitely getting interesting.

Once the youngest princess—a mere child of nine or ten—disappeared through the hole, he slipped into the bedroom. He sucked in a breath. An overwhelming sense of magic bombarded every inch of him. And it felt…familiar. It oozed from the rectangular opening in the floor, which did indeed open up into a descending wooden staircase. Only the faintest glow of silver reached up from the bottom, where he could barely make out the girls.

He swept his gaze across the bedroom. Ah! A black cloak lay sprawled across one of the beds. He snatched it up, wrapped it over his head and shoulders, and made for the stairs. The cloak certainly didn’t make him invisible, but it helped conceal his blindingly orange hair and fairy markings in the darkness.

Ha! An invisibility cloak. Now that would be useful right now.

He skulked down the stairs. He couldn’t make out the girls anymore, just a silver floor below, but he still heard their chatter in the distance. When he was halfway down, something slammed above. The opening was gone, sealing him in.

Great. This better be worth it.

He continued on until his feet hit the solid, silver ground. The silver light shimmered in the distance. He shuffled forward until it grew brighter. The sense of magic became stronger, nearly intoxicating. What was this place?

Finally, the darkness gave way to a dim forest, radiating with starlight, casting everything in a silver glow. No wait, there were no stars. In fact, the sky was nothing but inky blackness. The light seemed to just emanate from nothing. He touched one of the tall trees and immediately drew his hand back.

…What?

He felt it again, examined it closer. It was sort of a normal tree. If trees had pure silver woven through their bark and leaves.

Heart pounding, he hurried on. The silver trees gave way to ones with gold threaded through them.

That wasn’t right. He couldn’t be in… No. No. It was impossible. There had to be another explanation.

He continued through the strange forest, only to come into a clearing with a great lake halting his path. Across the lake, shimmering like diamonds in moonlight, stood a great castle. Movement caught his eye. Twelve boats sailed across the lake, heading to the castle. Each boat held two people, though he could barely make out the details in the dim light. Not that it was hard to guess. The princesses sat in those boats. But who were rowing them?

Crouching, he dipped a finger in the water. Smooth. Wet. Not too hot or cold. Seemed to just be water. Good.

Without another thought, he shed the cloak and dove in. Pure adrenaline and curiosity kept him swimming. And maybe the all-too-familiar magic permeating the air. He needed answers, and he needed them now.

His arms and legs did protest once he finally made it to the sandy bank where twelve little silver boats were docked. Ignoring his achy muscles and dripping clothes, he ascended the bank to the castle. Its perfectly smooth walls gleamed like marble, casting off a strange mix of black, blue, purple, and green, as if it couldn’t decide what color to be.

There was no courtyard, no guards, nothing but the double doors waiting at the edge of the beach. He reached for the handles with both hands, but his brain had the good sense to stop him. Maybe bursting in there and making himself known wasn’t the best idea. He sighed. It would be fun though, but fine.

He carefully pulled the handle of the doors. It glided open soundlessly. He opened it up a crack, just enough to see inside. The great candelabra glimmering above illuminated the polished silver floor of the enormous room. Vines of silver, gold, and green clung to the walls like wallpaper. Unseen stringed instruments and flutes set a haunting waltz cascading through the ballroom, and twelve couples twirled in perfect cadence to the music. Wherever their feet touched the floor, it glowed with silvery light.

Zayd’s heart took an unhealthy beat.

Not only did he recognize the twelve princesses, but their partners as well. Their partners with fairy markings and no wings.

He shoved both doors open with such force, they slammed into the walls behind them. The dancing halted, wide-eyes and gasps took over the room. The music stopped.

“You are all supposed to be off on some deserted island, living your days blissfully away from humans.” His clipped words echoed through the ballroom.

“Well, I’ll be!” One of the twelve male genies stepped forward, and a grin spread across his fat lips. Green fairy markings ran up and down his arms and across his cheeks, matching his hair. “How did you get here, buddy?”

“Brother?” Kydan stepped forward, his markings and hair still a little lighter than Zayd’s.

A strange mix of emotions swirled uncomfortably inside him at the sight of his younger brother.

“Wait, what?” Lavena stepped away from a blue-marked fairy and set her hands on her hips. “You’re all brothers?”

Zayd found himself laughing, the whole absurdity of the situation throwing any semblance of sanity on the fritz. “Are you kidding? What are the chances of me having twelve brothers? Now that would be a crazy coincidence. No. Just Kydan and…” He glanced among the familiar faces until he landed on one whose fairy markings were so red they nearly looked black. “Lukian.”

His older brother’s lips tilted into a smirk. “Funny finding you here.”

“Me? What about you? What is this place? Everything looks and feels like… I mean, the gold and silver trees and—” He stepped through the doorway and took in the grand room. “Really?” Now he knew what happened to the clever few who didn’t drink the wine and made it below.

On a balcony above the far wall sat a dozen small trees. Small trees that had a distinct human shape within their trunks.

“This is like…”

“Home?” Kydan provided, wide eyes hopeful, still looking so young despite being hundreds of years old.

“More like a cheap imitation.” The fairy realm boasted trees of pure gold and silver. Its sky was a constant shimmering silver, brighter and more glorious than what the mortal world’s stars and moon could ever produce. The buildings grew from the trees themselves into intricate, magnificent dwellings. At the memory, that anger pricked inside him again.

“Answers,” he spat out. “Now!”

The only answer he received was the youngest princess—what was her name? Tallulah or something?—gasping and doubling over.

Quintin, a purple marked fairy next to her, grabbed her shoulders to keep her up right. The other girls, too, seemed to be struggling to stay on their feet, and even the genies looked a little pale.

“We must…dance,” Lavena gasped out.

“Seriously?” Zayd raised an eyebrow. “I like to party as much as the next person, but do you really think this is the time?”

“No, we must dance,” she said, and as her feet began to move, the invisible strings and wind instruments took up their haunting tune once more. Fairy music.

The others followed suit. They circled the room, spun each other around, switched partners, leapt into the air, and did it all over again. All the while, the floor shimmered and sparked. It was a complicated dance. A wild dance. A dance of fairies—one of the most powerful things in the universe. Zayd could feel it, feel the magic surging through the room, through the whole strange world.

The fairies held balls often, for dancing gave them strength, power, magic. Through their dances, the fairy realm grew and thrived. As did they.

“Join us, Zayd!” The green-marked fairy—Arik, a goodhearted fellow and once one of Zayd’s closest friends—called as he swirled one of the princesses around.

And Zayd found he wanted to. Found the music beckoning, the promise of magic intoxicating. Still, something niggled at his mind. Told him no. Something was wrong.

He crossed his arms and dug his nails into them. “I’d very much like explanations first!”

“We will explain all. But come. Dance!”

His heart thrummed with the music. It really wouldn’t hurt anything, would it? Just to dance a little? Besides, he really, really wanted to know what was going on.

As if reading his mind, Arik spun the princess toward him. Without thought, Zayd leapt into the dance and caught her, one hand in hers and the other on her hip. She was one of the younger teenage ones, and her dark braids were already coming loose in the wild dance, but she grinned up at him as he spun her around the room.

“Remind me your name again.”

“Colletta,” she provided breathlessly.

“Care to explain what’s going on, Colletta?”

“Well, um.”

“It’s a world between.”

He glanced over his shoulder as Kydan glided by with his partner.

“A world between?”

“Can’t you tell?” another fairy called from the middle of the room. “The trees are a mix of mortal world trees and fairy ones. We are between the realms.”

Zayd missed a step. “Excuse me? Where did this come from? How are you all here? You said you were all going to a deserted island to avoid being enslaved by humans!”

“We did.” Arik spun by with a redheaded princess. “Gotta admit though, Zayd, it was boring without you.”

The strings took a dramatic hum and the partners switched off. Colletta twirled out of Zayd’s hold and he caught one of the older princesses as she leaped toward him.

“We found them,” she explained, cheeks red with exertion. “My sisters and I were sailing back from the Isle Vendra, where we often spend our summers. But our ship wrecked.”

“Onto our island,” Julip said, his yellow fairy markings practically glowing in the bright light.

“I felt sorry for them.” Kydan, now partnered with Talullah, swayed to Zayd’s right. “I let Talullah touch me, making her my master, so I could grant her a wish and get them to safety.”

“Much to my disapproval!” Lukian called over.

“Oh, come now, Luki,” Arik said, gracefully spinning in a circle, despite his broad size, “it turned out all right.”

“Because Kydan was so kind,” Talullah piped up, “I wanted to help him.”

Kydan’s eyes sparked. “So we got an idea. What was the coincidence of twelve princesses shipwrecking on our island? Maybe it was fate.”

“How do you figure?” Zayd asked.

“Well, you know magic runs stronger with familial bonds. We thought…maybe the princesses could fix our problems.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Zayd stepped away from his partner and halted. “This is going nowhere.” Their story was as dizzying as the dance. “Will someone, and I do mean one someone, just tell me what this is all about? Plainly please?”

Lukian pulled away from his partner to join Zayd. The others continued to twirl around the room.

Lukian crossed his arms and leaned a shoulder against the vine-ridden wall. “We wanted to go home,” he said simply.

“But—”

His older brother held up a hand, halting his protests. “Do you want to hear the story or not?”

Sighing, he nodded. “Please.”

“Like Kydan said, magic is strongest when used with family groups.”

It was true. He, Lukian, and Kydan use to do all sorts of great feats when they combined their magic.

“So we figured, it could be the same with our curse. If twelve princesses—sisters—all made the exact same wish, maybe…” A gleam sparked in Lukian’s dark eyes.

Now the room began to spin even though he had stopped dancing. “You mean…”

“We risked letting each one of them become one of our masters.” His voice lowered. “They seemed…”

“Kind?” Zayd suggested at the same time his brother said, “Susceptible.”

Zayd lowered his brows.

Lukian didn’t seem to notice. “Once they wished for a fixed ship and to be back home—and their ship crew to forget the whole affair for safety measures—they then made the same wish, all at once. For us to be free and go home.”

Lavena glided over to them, breaths heavy and cheeks red with exertion. Still, a twinkle sparked in her tired eyes. She leaned against the wall, catching her breath, before saying, “We thought it worked. All twelve of them disappeared. But then, that night, my sisters and I got this strange…urging, like some unseen force was tugging at us. It guided me to my bed, which then lowered into this place. As we walked down, that tugging only got stronger and stronger.”

Tallulah swished by with her partner. “We suddenly just had to dance!” she called.

“The magic sent us here.” Lukian held out his arms. “We tried to leave with the girls, but we couldn’t. And we, too, felt that weird urging to dance. That’s when we realized. The magic took us as far as it could, but it needed more magic to work. The Queen’s curse was too powerful to break, even with twelve simultaneous wishes. But it did as much as it could.”

“It made this place,” Zayd said, understanding beginning to dawn. He took in the area with new eyes. “It’s like a bridge.”

Lukian snapped a finger and pointed at him. “Exactly. But we still need more magic to feed the wish.”

“Dancing.”

His older brother nodded. “Dancing.”

“All right, that explains a little. But why do the princesses have to dance?”

“Because we made the wish,” Lavena said. “We’re tied into it, and now we have to finish it.”

Zayd appraised her. Huh. Perhaps she wasn’t as ditzy as she seemed. “And if you don’t?”

She bit her lip and glanced at Lukian. “We get weak. Worse than weak. It feels like our very souls are being drained from our bodies. But as long as we dance for a few hours every twenty-four hours, it seems to appease the magic. We haven’t told Father because he may try to stop us, or send a whole army down here, only for them to get caught up like the others. We can’t…” She swayed a little, face paling.

Lukian, too, appeared a little sickly. He grabbed her hands and spun with her back into the wild dance. “We are so close, Zayd! After all these years, we can make it back home. Come. Join us!”

The haunting melody drifted around him, bringing back memories of that place. The place of glimmering trees, silvery skies, and magic. Magic coursing through the very air—like here. His body buzzed with it now, through his fingers, down to his toes. He could feel it, like an echo, calling for him to return.

He barely knew at what moment he had stepped into the center of the room. All he knew was the euphoria of moving to the intoxicating music. The floor sparked with magic, sending surges of energy through his whole body. His feet still remembered the complicated patterns. And, for one moment, he could imagine it. Fairies moving together in their wild dances of magic in the enchanting land of his birth.

One princess spun out of his hands, only for Lavena to appear in his grasp.

She smiled at him, tired, but happy. “I don’t know how you found us, but I think it really was fate. Now you can go home too.”

Home. The word brought him back to his current world. He took in the twelve princesses, all exhausting themselves for the sake of strangers. As he shifted positions with Lavena, he caught sight of the trees above—trees entrapping innocent people. Something wasn’t right.

The music continued to play, magic burst across the floor. Drawing him in again. Tugging him to keep dancing. To go home.

He forced his head around and met Lavena’s kind, exhausted gaze. Lavena. A human—the beings the fairy Queen detested, deemed weak. Nothing but animals. And that’s when it hit him.

His heart slammed in his chest and he halted with such force Lavena nearly fell out of his hold. “Stop! Everyone stop!”

Slowly, hesitantly, the others stilled. The music stopped. Twenty-four pairs of wide-eyes stared at him.

He shook his head and stepped away from Lavena. “This is madness.” He spun around to face Lukian. “What do you think is going to happen when we return to the fairy realm?”

Lukian merely shrugged. “What does it matter? It’s our home. And it was so long ago when Queen Valetta banished us. I doubt she even remembers.”

Zayd barked a dry laugh. “Is that what you’ve convinced yourself? Because you know just as well as I that’s hogwash. She holds the record for longest grudge holding. The second we step foot in the realm, she’ll have our heads. No, worse. She’ll think of an even more humiliating punishment. And what about them?” He thrust a hand out at Lavena.

Her brow scrunched. “What about us? What are you talking about?”

“Have you not figured it out?” He spun in a slow circle, meeting them all eye-to-eye. “None of you? All this dancing won’t just make a portal, this is a portal. If you keep dancing, you’ll all be transported to the fairy realm.”

Female gasps resounded through the room.

“Don’t you see?” he continued. He didn’t care a lick that he was yelling. “You’re repeating the very thing that caused our curse in the first place! Bringing humans into the fairy realm is forbidden. Queen Valetta’s wrath will be horrendous!”

Lavena stepped back, shaking her head in disbelief. “That can’t be right.”

“No?” He jabbed a finger at the trees. “Tell me, what happened to them?”

“They…they followed us down here and the earth…” She swallowed, seeming unable to finish.

“Turned them into trees? Yeah, that’s the type of thing that happens to humans who mess with fairies and their magic. Do you think it’ll be any different for you? You’re protected now while you’re tied to the wish, but the moment you’re in the fairy realm…” He just shook his head.

“But…” She turned to Lukian. “Is this true? If we keep dancing, will we all end up in your realm?”

He dropped his gaze to the floor, jaw clenched. His words came in barely a whisper. “I just want to go home.”

Murmuring broke out among the princesses. They all stepped away from the fairies, gathering around their eldest sister.

“You tricked us!” one of them cried out.

“And now we’re trapped.” Lavena turned panicked eyes to Zayd. “If we don’t keep dancing, we’re all doomed. But if we do…”

“You’re doomed,” he finished, anger boiling inside him. He snapped around to face Lukian. “This was your idea wasn’t it? You’re such a moron!”

“Me?” A dangerous gleam flashed in his older brother’s eyes. “You’re the one always coming up with pranks and dragging us into them. Who’s idea was it to let some humans into our realm in the first place?”

The words stung like a slap. Because he couldn’t deny them. It had been his idea. He thought it’d be funny to bring some humans in (an act forbidden), to watch as they gaped like monkeys. It was supposed to be a joke. Until the humans stole some of the Queen’s treasures and she caught them. He and the others were cursed as genies and banished forever. And he didn’t even know what happened to the humans. All because he thought it’d be a laugh.

Afterwards, his friends, his brothers, left for an island to get away from humans…and him. They never said it, they had even invited him, but he had seen the bitterness in their eyes.

“Don’t tell me you don’t miss it.”

His older brother’s voice brought him back to the present. “Miss what?”

“Home, you dunce. I saw you dancing. You want to go back as well. We are willing to take any risk to get out of this boring mortal world!”

“I…” The words caught him off guard. It was true, he was dancing. Would he risk it? Risk Queen Valetta’s wrath just to be able to see his exotic home again?

He glanced at Lavena, and the hurt in her eyes struck something inside him, something he had not been willing to admit, even to himself. Through her he saw Raylinn, and Finn, and even his master Aladdin—people he…cared about? Ugh. When did that happen? He thought of the adventures he had had, the beautiful places he had seen. Perhaps the trees here weren’t made of silver and gold, maybe the sky didn’t glisten silver, maybe magic didn’t spark through the very air. But this place held its own enchantment and wonder. And people. Kind people, like Lavena and her sisters, who risked everything just to help a few strangers.

Drat it all. Raylinn and Finn really were getting to him.

Lavena gasped and bent over, clutching her midriff. “We have to dance,” she gasped.

The other girls went to her aid, even as they swayed on their feet.

The music continued, and the men slowly moved to the beat.

“No. No!” Zayd marched forward and snagged Kydan’s wrist. “This has to stop!”

Kydan looked up at him, eyes like a frightened deer. “I don’t know how to fix it, Zayd. We have to keep going.”

Zayd swirled around and met Lukian eye to eye. “Look what you’ve done! Do you know why I came here in the first place? I didn’t care about some reward the king was going to throw at me. I came hoping to show him that not all fairies are evil. So maybe, one day, we can all live in peace. But now you’re only going to prove to him that everything everyone believes about fairies is true. That we are nothing but malicious beasts!”

Lukian halted, gaze harsh.

Zayd clenched his fists at his side. “We always saw the humans as weak, but you know what? We’re the weak ones. We use magic to get what we want and never think about how it affects others. Well, look!” He gestured to the princesses huddled together, clinging to one another on the floor as their life drained away. “These people in this so-called boring world are giving everything for you. They could have just as well enslaved you and been granted endless wishes. But they chose, instead, to give that up so you could all go home. You’re wrong, Lukian. I don’t want to go back to our realm.” He marched over to the girls and stood in front of them. “I am perfectly content right here, with the mortals. They have been far better friends than any fairy.” Good gracious, did he just say that? And meant it? Who was he?

Lukian did not move, but something shifted in his eyes. The usual hard gleam softened and, for the first time, Zayd saw a new look within them. Remorse.

The others had stopped as well, and Arik stepped forward, stumbling a little as the magic tried to draw him back. “We didn’t mean for it to go this far.”

Blowing out a sigh, Zayd clasped the large fairy on the shoulder. “No, I didn’t mean for it to go this far. Lukian was right, I’m the one who brought this mess on you in the first place. I’m…” He grimaced as he slowly forced the foreign word from his lips. “Sssorryyy.”

“That had to taste terrible,” Lukian said.

“The worst.”

The brothers stared at one another for a long time. Then, slowly, a hint of a smile crept onto Lukian’s face. He gave Zayd a nod. Zayd returned it—a mutual understanding. All was forgiven.

“Zayd!”

He swerved around just as Lavena collapsed into one of her sisters arms. Tallulah looked up at him, panicked, pleading.

Drat, drat, drat!

He couldn’t fix this. He had no power. No magic. Nothing. He was just a stupid genie.

His heart hiccuped. A genie. Of course.

“You have to keep dancing and make a wish!”

The girls looked at him, confused.

He rushed over to them, pulling them to their feet. “You’re all still the masters of the genies. You still have the power to make wishes.”

Colletta shook her head. “But we wished for them to be free.”

He grabbed her hand and hauled her up. “Yes, but it hasn’t worked yet. You’re still working on your wish to be granted, remember? So, technically, you’re still the masters.”

Talullah leaped to her feet, seeming rejuvenated with the thought. “I wish we didn’t have to keep dancing!” Absolutely nothing happened. She frowned at Zayd.

Zayd patted her head. “Yeah, that’s where the dancing comes in. We’re gonna use the magic laced in this realm to give your wish the strength it needs to work. Everybody up!”

The men hurried over and helped the girls. One of the older sisters pulled a swaying Lavena to her feet. Zayd leaned in close. “Up for one more dance?”

She smiled weakly. “I think so.”

He took her hands. The moment they spun into the beginnings of a dance, her color returned. The music around him and spark of magic below once more tried to draw Zayd in, but he clung tight to Lavena, his anchor to the mortal world, and called out, “Make the wish, girls! I wish we were no longer bound to this wish. On the count of three! One!” He and Lavena grabbed wrists and spun in a tight circle. The ground surged beneath their dancing feet. “Two!” They let go, sliding backward away from one another. “Three!” They leapt back toward each other, grasping each other’s hands.

Lavena’s eyes sparked with life as she cried out in unison with her eleven sisters. “I wish we were no longer bound to this wish!”

A storm of overpowering magic blinded Zayd.

He may have screamed. He hoped not, that would be embarrassing.

Wait. Why was he on his back?

He snapped open his eyes, only to see a perfectly normal ceiling above. He flipped over, a soft rug meeting his skin below. Moans echoed around him. Sitting up, he found himself and a whole pile of other people in the middle of the princesses’ bedroom floor.

“Hey, it worked!”

Lavena sat up from across the room, rubbing her head and frowning. “You mean there was a chance it wouldn’t?”

He shrugged. “There’s always a chance things won’t work. Especially with my luck. Now let’s see…” He took a quick headcount as everyone groggily came to.

Thirty-six? How did… Ah. A few young men, some people in servant uniforms, and soldiers glanced around at the princesses and genies in a daze. The missing people. It worked better than he even thought it would. Looks like the ones trapped in the trees made it out alive as well.

“Well!” He clasped his hand together. “I guess it’s time to wake dear ol’ dad.”

* * *

Watching the guards faces as thirteen genies and dozen (very confused) missing people marched out into the halls with the princesses had been entertaining, but the face of King Relken, as he stood in the throne room in his wrinkled dressing gown after Lavena told her tale, was priceless. It took her a few times to get it across, and he had to blink the sleep away multiple times. Eventually, though, he seemed to get the gist of it. Once all explanations were finished, he turned to Zayd.

“Well…genie.” He said the title like he wasn’t sure if it was an insult or compliment.“It seems you solved the riddle, as well as saved my girls, and I have to keep my word. I’m not exactly sure what a genie desires though. So”—he shifted uncomfortable—“do you have any request as to what your reward shall be?”

Oh, this could be fun. “Welll.” He laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back on his heels.

Lavena cleared her throat to catch his eyes and gave him a very disapproving glare.

He pouted. Fiiine. No jokes. It had been a long night. Sighing, he stepped to the front of the group to face the King. “I do have one idea.”

The King raised an apprehensive eyebrow. “Yes?”

Zayd glanced behind him at his fellow genies, who watched with anticipation. “I would like for you to stop seeing us genies, fairies, whatever-you-want-to-call-us as monsters. Sure, our Queen is a nightmare, and there’s some in the realm who are…erm…unpleasant. But we’re not all that way, just like not all humans are good and bad. It gets rather annoying having people scream every time I walk down the road. Maybe if you stop your prejudice, your people and, in turn, the other kingdoms will catch on.”

For several heartbeats, the King just stared, his face expressionless. Silence reigned in the throne room.

Then, slowly, the King raised his chin, and a hint of a light sparked in his eyes. “That is all you ask?”

“Well, if you want to send me on my way with a basket stuffed with food, I wouldn’t complain.” He thought he heard a sigh come from Lavena’s direction.

He started when King Relken burst into laughter. Who knew the thin, tired, unassuming king was capable of such emotion. He laughed so hard, tears rolled down his cheeks. Poor guy was probably unhinged after raising twelve daughters by himself.

Once he had a hold of himself, he nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it is time we changed things around here. The fairy wars nearly wiped out the kingdoms, but our hands weren’t perfectly clean in bringing it about. Perhaps, to avoid such disasters again, it is time to put away prejudices and start thinking about how to get along.

Zayd grinned. “Thank you, sire.” Raylinn and Finn were going to be shocked when they heard he actually succeeded in the quest. He couldn’t wait to rub it in their faces.

* * *

“You sure you don’t want to stay a while?” Lukian asked, walking with Zayd and Kydan down the castle steps. “This kingdom may be the only safe one to roam around in for a while, at least until King Relken convinces the others we’re not, you know, deadly, horrifying, hideous beasts.”

Kydan bounced down the steps two at a time. “We could explore the kingdom together! We’re practically free!”

Zayd smiled. It wasn’t entirely true, but, in a way, maybe it was. Lavena and her sisters had chosen to do as Aladdin did for him and not make any wishes. It didn’t free them completely, but it was something. Maybe he never gave Aladdin enough credit. In his own way, Aladdin gave him freedom. Or was just trying to get rid of him but, eh, details.

He hopped down the steps after Kydan. “As nice as that would be, I’m afraid I have other commitments.”

“Zayd, wait!”

They halted at the bottom of the stairs, in the courtyard, just as a figure rushed down the steps, blond hair flying behind her and a big basket in hand. “You almost left without your reward.” Lavena grinned cheekily, holding up the basket.

Mouthwatering scents wafted from inside. Zayd removed the lid to find a feast inside. Well, Raylinn and Finn would be happy.

Now grinning himself, he took it from her. “Silly me. How could I forget?”

She held his gaze for a moment, that playful spark in her eyes slowly fading to something more serious. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for a bit?”

“That’s what we were just saying!” Kydan piped up.

Zayd reached into the basket and pulled out a juicy, steaming hot chicken leg, which he proceeded to take a big bite out of. No sense in letting Raylinn and Finn get first choice. This was his reward after all. “Well,” he said with a mouthful. He chewed and swallowed before continuing. “It’s been fun, but I’m afraid I have some…some…” He forced his lips to form the word. “Frriendsss waiting.”

Lukian smirked. “Wow, you are just full of painful words lately.”

“It hurts so bad.”

Lavena just rolled her eyes. “You’ll at least visit?”

Kydan looked up hopefully at this, and even Lukian seemed mildly interested in his answer.

Zayd grinned, smacked Lukian on the shoulder, ruffled Kydan’s hair, and gave Lavena a quick, greasy-lipped kiss on the cheek. Her look of horror was almost as priceless as her father’s face the night before. Almost.

Without a word, he spun around, waved goodbye with the chicken leg, and walked away.

“But you didn’t answer!” Lavena called. She groaned, and he just caught her asking his brothers, “Is he always like that?”

“Unfortunately,” came a unified response.

Grinning wider, he sauntered out of the courtyard, off to find Raylinn and Finn.

Welp. There we go. I may have had waaay too much fun with this one. Throwing Zayd in with twelve princesses was just too tempting. Besides, I thought it was time he had his own story, yeah? Figured you guys wouldn’t mind. 😉

Fun Fact: I almost titled this one Dance, Dance Fairylution because I’m super professional and mature like that. I figured I’d better curve the insanity of my titles…a little. *grins*

This also gave me way too many ideas for a full 12DP retelling which is…a problem. Because I needed more ideas. >.>

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