"What does 'carnation' mean?" Serena asked, her thin eyebrows scrunched together.
I sighed and took the book from her hands, flipping to the correct page. "It's a word for saying the word 'flower', Serena."
She looked at me, her chin out and her eyes wide. "I didn't know that."
"You're young, you don't know many words." I placed the book down on the table and pushed her a step back. "Now, let's sit and read this story together."
As she settled into her chair, I fingered the worn, white ribbon bookmark in my hand. I glanced down at the book, having finally made it through the perfect storm that had happened on my birthday. Since such a thing did not happen every year, I had no explanation to offer.
We continued to read the story together next to the fire. I was lost in the words of the old fairy tale, the words that my grandmother had read to me so long ago:
"I am Cindrella, the most beautiful fairy of all time, and I have loved a prince named Sycorax, a dark, handsome fairy. You see, I am of the enchantment fairy race, and our only purpose is to give true love a chance to flourish. So, when Sycorax came to me, we started a romance. I soon realized that our love was forbidden. I was a fairy of light, he was a dark fairy.
"My light was so bright that it made me easily visible to our enemies. So, on his birthday, the fairy ruler framed us for treason, for attempting to cause a war between their kingdom and the humans. Sycorax and I were locked away in a dungeon to be punished."
"Poof."
"What?" I looked up from the page, in awe of what we had just read. "That was the only thing left?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Was he killed?"
"No." She shook her head. "He was saved and hidden away from the fairy kingdom. I was sentenced to two hundred years as punishment for becoming with a dark fairy."
I went back to reading, pushing the memory of how awful I felt at the time from my mind.
"As I lay there, I wondered if Sycorax, my love, had managed to find someone to look after me while he was away. I didn't hear anything, so I knew the prison was in an isolated spot. Still, I worried.
"A week passed, and I lay on the cold stone floor, thinking about the awful life I would have for the next two hundred years, when I was finally forced out. I was to be sent across the border to the human world, where I would be able to escape with little notice.
"I was given a bracelet that would identify my new name and a bag of items to help me function in this new world. With the bracelet came a slip of paper. It told me my new name. I was to be Serena Jane Milton. The bracelet was enchanted to look like a bracelet from the human world. I would be able to use it to make anything I wished. Out of fear and loneliness, I wished for a family, a friend, and a home of my own.
"I looked around, waiting for the guards come to do their duty, and instead, I found myself being rescued. I was taken to the house of the man who had been running the true fairy kingdom in Sycorax's absence. His name was Silas and he was my grandpa."
I gasped. "Serena, this is your grandpa I'm reading about. It's about you."
She nodded. "I know."
"No." I pointed to the book. "He's written in the present tense, so he is still alive."
"Okay."
I flipped through the book, skimming the pages. "It's more of a journal he's kept. He's talking about right now, right now." I squeezed her hand. "You're my granddaughter."
She looked down at the book, then back at me. "What?"
"You are going to be a fairy princess, my dear. Your grandpa plans to take you to the fairy kingdom as soon as you are old enough."
"How do you know that?" She pointed at the book. "It's after that."
"That's just how it's written. It reminds me of my time."
"I don't want to become a fairy princess." She stuck out her tongue. "It's boring."
I laughed. "Anyone who wants to live forever is going to be bored to death."
"I want to live forever?" She tilted her head up to me, her eyes wide. "Will there be a way for me to stay here with you forever?"
"No, sweetie." I hugged her, my heart breaking with the knowledge that she wouldn't understand until it was time for her to find out for herself. "Aunt Annalee is getting a little older, so she'll be going to be too. Your sister, Arial, is around your own age too so you have a very good chance of keeping a connection to this world."
"Arial is my sister?" She asked, her eyes wide.
"Yes." I nodded. "She'll be your sister once you and your grandpa get back to the fairy realm."
She hugged me back. "And will you be my aunt?"
"No." I laughed. "I'll be your fairy godmother. You will call me 'Godmother', okay?"
She saluted me before turning her attention back to the book in her hands. "So, let's read the rest of this story. This is so good. You should have the next one."
"Are you sure?" I asked. "This story has everything you need to know to be a fairy princess, Serena."
"Yeah." She nodded. "I'm sure. I want to become a fairy princess."
"Alright, let's finish this story and then we'll read more." I handed her back the book.
She settled back into her chair, curled her legs, and pulled her purse down off the end table. I told her which pages to turn to in order to finish reading. After we had finished, I slid the book back into place on the shelf, needing in the story of this sweet little girl.
