The sound of rushing water roused me from my sleep, and I opened my eyes. I was in a bed, but it was not mine: it was much larger, and the pillows and sheets were as soft as silk. I yawned and stretched, and tried to figure out where on Earth I was. It was a room, clearly a bedroom, with the most beautifully carved furniture in it. The sun was shining in through the windows, though a cloud obscured it every now and then. Outside I could see trees waving in the wind.

I turned my eyes to the dresser beside the bed, and saw a pair of underwear lying on top of it. This was good, for I was completely naked; of my old clothes there were no sign. My old clothes…as I thought about them, the rest of my memories came back in a torrent of images.

“The Great Temple, built entirely of crystal…Queen Aldavien, in her shimmering robes, welcoming me to Faerie…the priestesses chanting…I was lying on an altar…there was light, and warmth…my body was changing, transforming…oh, God…that pain…that incredible pain…as if I was being torn apart…I must have blacked out…”

Absent-mindedly I stroked my hair behind my left ear, only to get a shock. A quick glance in the bedside mirror confirmed it: my ears were now adorned with backward-curving tips, and my hair seemed much longer and more luscious than I remembered it to be. And my eyes! They were like veritable sapphires, glowing in the early morning light. Does that mean…it wasn’t a dream…have I really been transformed into a fairy?

I quickly put on the delightfully comfortable undies and climbed out of bed. There were no other clothes lying about, so I headed to a large, magnificently decorated cupboard. I opened, and beheld a collection of gorgeous dresses, the likes of which I had never seen before. They seemed to be in all the colours of the rainbow, and each one felt almost magical when I ran my fingers across it. There were many other clothes as well, and shoes, and robes, and coats and hats as well. I was still staring in total amazement when a voice behind me said: “They’re all yours.”

I whirled around, and there was Livia, beautiful as always, leaning against a now open door. She was clad in blue, and her hair was tied with blue and white ribbons. I didn’t bother putting on some clothes first – I ran straight into her arms and embraced her. She pushed me backwards and we both fell onto the bed, rolling around, laughing, and kissing each other.

“I’m so happy to see you’re all right!” she said. “I heard one of the priestesses say the transformation was an extremely difficult and painful one. You’ve been asleep for twelve hours, at least!”

“I-I have? What…what time is it?”

“It’s nearly noon. No, don’t get upset! You don’t need an excuse…I mean, it is your first day as an immortal fairy, after all. It’s not like you’ve lost a lot of time and…oh!”

I gave her a smooch on the lips before she could finish talking. Our eyes, now so alike, gazed at each other happily and contentedly. Spending forever with someone like her, someone I couldn’t love any more if I tried, would be bliss. I fleetingly thought about my uncle and aunt, and my abominable cousins; what would they say if they knew where I had disappeared to? Would I ever see them again? A small part of me actually wanted to return to them, just so I could tell them to their faces that, despite how rotten they were to me, my life did turn out to be a fairytale.

Livia went over to the door and told me to get dressed.

“All my friends and family members are waiting to meet you,” she said. “My mother, Everine, has been preparing the most mouth-watering dishes for dinner – and she hasn’t even used any magic to help her! Everyone is extremely eager to meet you, Lucy – it seems you’ve become a real celebrity!”

“Oh, I hope not,” I groaned. “I’m not very comfortable being in the spotlight. Couldn’t I just meet your parents today, and then some of your friends later, and…”

“Oh, don’t be silly! You’ll be perfectly fine! Everyone just wants to welcome you and make you feel at home as soon as possible. And I’ll be with you the entire time. Now, I’ll give you half an hour to get yourself ready, then I’ll come and fetch you.”

She gave me a wink and slipped out the door. I went over and closed it, then began to try on the various dresses. Soon I settled on a beautiful pink gown – my favourite colour – which fit me much better than my old clothes had done. I combed my hair and held it in place with a pink headband. On my feet I slipped a pair of white high-heeled slippers, and, no surprise, these were exactly the right size as well. I admired myself in the full-length mirror, which hung on the wall. I was no longer a plain, lonely girl, who was constantly miserable, but a lovely young lady, living the life she’d never imagined.

My thoughts turned towards my mother, who had died when I was so young, but whom I still remembered very well. What would she say if she knew what had become of her daughter? Would she approve of me living with Livia, loving another girl instead of a boy? Would she be upset to hear that I was no longer even a human, but a magical being which she never knew existed?

“I don’t know if you can hear me, Mom,” I said softly. “But if you can, please know…I’ll always be your daughter, no matter what happens. You’ve shown me such love and devotion, and I would never do anything that you would disapprove of. But Livia…well, I love her, Mom, and, even though our love was probably against your beliefs, I hope you would have understood. I…I’ll never forget you, Mommy, and I’ll always love you. You were the greatest mother any girl could ever wish for.”

I sniffed back a few tears and blew my nose with a handkerchief.

“What a time to bring up old memories!” I thought to myself, trying to get back into a cheerful state of mind. My life had been miserable for so long, and I kept thinking that it might turn miserable again at any moment. When I turned around I saw that Livia had been standing by the door, listening silently. She came over to me and squeezed me tenderly against her body. For an instant I was reminded of how my mother used to hold me whenever I felt sad.

“I won’t pretend I know how you feel,” Livia said. “But if there is anything, anything at all, that you wish to tell me, please do. I know how overwhelming and…jarring this new life, all these changes, must be to you. If you’d like to slow down, or spend some time alone, that’s fine.”

“Maybe…maybe we are going a bit too fast,” I sniffed. “I just don’t know if I’m…ready for all this. I mean, living forever…it’s a bit too much to take in. And…what if I’m not ready for a relationship yet? I do love you, Livia, but I’m still a young girl, and I don’t know much about love…what if I’m just confused or irrational?”

Livia gave a little laugh.

“Love is never rational, my dear Lucy,” she said. “But you’re right. If you don’t feel ready for a serious relationship, we can still be friends – for now. Then, later, when you’ve settled in and grown used to the life of a fairy, we can talk about what’s best for both of us. For my part, I will always love you, no matter what choice you make, and you can be certain that I will do everything I can to make sure you are happy.”

She kissed me lightly and wiped away the last of my tears.

“In the meantime, there are some people who would dearly like to meet you,” she said. “Do you feel ready to come down to dinner?”

“Yes,” I said. “I’m ready. I just hope no-one notices I’ve been crying.”

“Would you like me to ask my mom for a magic spell? One that’ll have you feeling as right as rain in an instant?”

“Oh, heavens, no!” I said, laughing. “I’m feeling as right as rain right now. Still, perhaps one last kiss would make sure of it?”