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Pips frowned at Crysta and asked in annoyance "You wanna run that by me again?" He and Crysta were still the best of friends, but things had changed since she had taken the Wise Woman's place. She was always so busy with her work in the forest and protecting it from the humans. That was fine with him, though he missed the times they had together he understood that neither of them had much of a choice. He was still able to live his life as he always had, at least until today when she was asking him to travel far away and visit with other fairies.

Crysta shook her head, she had known that Pips wasn't going to like this idea but she couldn't go herself and there was no one else who was strong enough to fly the distance. "Pips try to understand, there are other fairies out there, and they live with human's every day! Surely they have some ideas of how to live with them but still protect the plants. Her dark hair was as wild as it had been when she was an apprentice to Magi, but she had grown it out now it brushed along her back and was filled with braids and some flowers. She hoped Pips would understand the importance of this mission, but he wasn't one for change.

The passing of time had affected Pips as well though not as noticeably. He was more apt to be responsible, though he still was set in the ways of his youth, his hair remained its orange/red hue and his eyes were still light almost neon green with excitement for life. He sighed and turned away from his friend. He understood Crysta's point but the rainforest was his home, this was where he belonged. He slowly turned and realized that he wouldn't have a choice when he saw her pleading face. "How far away are you talking?" He asked, resigned to his fate.

Several thousand miles later Pips was cursing Crysta's name as he rested his tired legs. She wanted him to travel as far as he could to find other fairies and talk with them. Find out how they were able to live so closely with the humans and still maintain their duties. He sighed and rested his legs were exaughsted and he knew that he was reaching his limit. He told himself he would speak with one more group of fairies before returning to FernGully and telling Crysta what he had learned. He noticed the signs of fairy life and followed them to what was locally known as the 'Veil of the Fairies'.

Tabitha smiled down at the exotic looking young man. His hair was the most brightly colored she had ever seen in her years as Queen. He had purple and red bands on his upper left arm and wore only a strange looking bottom that looked as if it were made of only a few bright yellow flower petals. She and her husband Colbert were listening to this strange fairy as he explained he was from a far off land called FernGully. The fairies in FernGully had until recently actually believed that the humans had died out. Now that the humans were once again living close or even near FernGully the fairies were seeking wisdom on how to live with them.

The young man called himself Pips and she thought him very charming and honorable for traveling so far from his home in order to help their leader, a Wise Woman named Crysta. She sighed and fanned herself with a golden leaf that matched her golden dress as she cast a long glance at her son's empty throne. Cornelius could certainly learn a thing or two from such a fairy. She smiled slowly as an idea settled in her mind to be used later.

Colbert saw the calculating look in his wife's eyes and sighed resigned to allow her to do as she wished. He looked down at the handsome young man and knew what his wife was planning. Their son was a wild young man but Colbert knew it was because he was young and restless. He shook his head as he ran his fingers through his long fading red beard. He would let his wife play her games and see what came of them.

Pips found this group of fairies the strangest ones he had met yet. They seemed to cover almost every inch of their bodies with strange heavy clothing. He noticed that much of this court was dressed in gold colored clothing. When he asked an attendant it was explained that it was the season where the leaves changed colors. An event called 'The Golding of the Leaves' was to take place tonight. Pips had never heard of such a season before. The eager fairy continued to explain that after the Golding the leaves would start to wither and fall, after the last leaf fell the cold would come and the fairies would go into hiding when winter came. Pips shook his head words such as 'Ice' and 'Snow' held no meaning for him. He decided that this land was as strange as the fairies in it.

His attention was taken when the Queen and King had finished discussing the matter. For some reason the smile on the Queen's face unsettled him. "We have decided that our son Cornelius will show you around our Kingdom and explain our ways to you." She smiled and said "You should stay with us through the winter; it will be too dangerous for you to fly." Pips still didn't understand this 'winter' thing, but apparently it was a big deal to these fairies. He knew he had no choice but to bow politely and accept the Queen's decision. He felt a pang in his heart when he realized that he would be away from FernGully for a while longer.

Soon Pips understood the 'Golding of the Leaves' the entire court was assembled for the event as the Queen and King flew around changing the colors. He shook his head at this strange custom but took note on how they worked at night to lessen the risk of being seen by humans. He knew that it would be easy enough for the fairies at FernGully to work at night and added this to his information. He noticed that the King and Queen were discussing something and the Queen seemed to be upset. He smirked as he flew closer. He had been too uptight lately and he was aching to have some fun.

"Oh my dear." The Queen said to herself before turning to her husband "Don't look now dear husband, but our son is missing again." The way she said this led Pips to believe this was not the first time the young prince had pulled a vanishing act. He remembered not seeing the prince at the court earlier today and smirked wondering if that was a common occurrence as well.

The King gave a resigned sigh as he said to his wife "So he is…" He knew that his son constantly disappearing upset his wife, but in this instance he understood why. "I think he feels a bit silly riding that white butterfly we gave him." He had tried to talk his wife out of getting it but she was so set on it that nothing he could do would dissuade her.

The Queen frowned as she turned to look at her husband "Why should he feel silly?" Her frown deepened when the King answered "I-It doesn't make the right impression on the ladies." Colbert grabbed a small leaf from a passing bush and handed it to his wife so that she could fan herself.

"What about the impression on the court!" She demanded as she fanned "Colbert my love it is the Autumn today! And we have begun the 'Golding of the Leaves'! He should be here! He'll hurt himself! I just hope he isn't riding the veils on that wretched Bumblebee! He is the crowned Prince for heaven's sake!"

Pips smiled in amusement before flying to the Queen's side. He noticed that the energy surrounding his legs when he flew attracted quite a bit of attention from the court. He tried to explain that his wings helped him direct where he wanted to fly, but his actual power for flying came from his legs which channeled the energy from mother earth. He noticed that most of these fairies could float on their wings, but preferred to ride insects instead. He wondered if this was because they had lost touch with the earth or if it was something else.

He shook his head, he was distracting himself "You said earlier that the Prince would be the one to show me around…perhaps I should go out and find him for you? To make sure that he is safe?" He smiled; eavesdropping came in handy every now and then. He had also heard that the Prince preferred to ride a Bumblebee and he had noticed one flying by after the Queen and King had passed. The Queen's eyes brightened as she encouraged this idea. Pip left with a sigh of relief, the Court folk were very nice, but much too formal for his tastes.

He narrowed his eyes as he looked in the direction of where the Bumblebee went. He smirked and followed after. This Prince was the most interesting person he had seen so far, and he hadn't even met him yet! He found the Bumblebee on a windowsill and saw what he assumed was the prince inside talking to a wingless fairy. He frowned wondering over that before returning his attention to the Prince.

Pips smirked in amusement as the young Prince did some very clumsy flirting with the wingless fairy. He shook his head but then frowned when the two were cornered by a large beast. He remembered that it was called a dog and that humans often kept them near. He wondered if he would have to go in and intervene but the matter was soon handled as the two introduced themselves and bowed to calm the dog. Pips smiled to himself "Cornelius eh?" He agreed with the one called Thumbelina that it was a funny name. Personally though he knew neither of them could talk.

Pips was getting bored of this and hoped they would do something interesting soon. He smirked when he saw that the Prince was clearly infatuated with the clueless looking girl. He shook his head remembering when he had been infatuated with Crysta. The Prince offered the girl a ride on the Bumblebee and he smiled "Finally some action." He said to himself, following after and enjoying his little spying adventure.

The Prince and Thumbelina flew around a nearby steam. He watched as they seemed to be dancing in air. It was then he noticed that the Fairy Prince flew a lot more than the other's at the court. His wings were strong and strange golden dust fell from them as he flew about. He heard the two whisper loving words to each other but shook his head. "It's just a little crush Kid." He said softly to advise the infatuated prince. He followed after them when Cornelius returned Thumbelina to her home. More sweet words were exchanged and before the Prince could even get a kiss the King and Queen appeared nearby calling for him. He exchanged quick but tender goodbyes with Thumbelina before flying off. Pips realized he would have to get to the King and Queen first or else the Prince would know that he had been followed.

Pips flew at top speed and sighed in relief when he arrived before the Prince. He bowed to the Queen when she asked if he had found her son and hesitated only a second before answering "I did not find him your highness, perhaps his Bumblebee was too fast for me." He hid his smirk at his own joke when the prince arrived. Pips saw that the young man's face was flushed from his recent encounter and shook his head. He wondered if he had ever been that foolishly in love before. He decided he might have, but he had hidden it far better.

The Queen narrowed her eyes when her son arrived, he had a strange look in his eyes, his face was flush and he was breathless. The thing that worried her the most however was that smile on his face. 'Oh please don't tell me…' She thought. She was not as clueless about her son as her husband sometimes seemed to believe. Her son was in love, but that simply would not do! He couldn't be! Not so young and certainly not now. Only a few seconds after this thought her son confirmed her worst fears.

"Mother, Father…" Cornelius said as he stepped forward, trying to collect himself as he spoke to his parents in front of the entire court "I have found the girl I'm going to Marry!" This statement was met with gasps of shock and some of the court ladies wailed in disappointment. However it was the Queen who stole the show by appearing to faint.

Tabitha had learned early on in her rein that if she wanted time to think she had only pretend to faint; her husband was used to this trick of hers and so was ready to catch her. She let the ladies in waiting fan her as she came up with a plan. She knew that others would not be happy with it but she simply could not let her son throw his life away by marrying some nameless girl he had only just met. She sat up and her husband must have realized what she was planning as his grip tightened on her arm, but she ignored the silent warning.

Pips was hiding his amusement at the court's reaction. The prince was young and had just met his first love. Surely none of them were taking this seriously? But as he looked around he realized that they were far stricter than FernGully, in FernGully love was proclaimed every day and they just accepted it. It seemed here however it was a more serious matter. He took this time to look over the prince closely.

The Prince appeared as strange as the rest of them, his costume was red shoes with yellow orange tights a red tunic with a green gem and soft yellow sleeves. Pips wondered at such a crazy ensemble before even getting to the Prince's hair, it seemed shorter on the back of his head and neck then it was on the front and top looking as though someone had nicked him with a razor. Pips shook his head and thought that the Prince should be lucky to get any girl to marry him dressed in such a way. Pips unfortunately had no idea what the Queen was currently up to.

Cornelius had been prepared for the court's and even his mother's reaction. He just waited for it to pass when he noticed a stranger in the court. Cornelius could not stop himself from blushing at the expanse of lightly tanned skin the stranger had exposed. Cornelius thought to himself that this was the most exotic looking person he had ever seen. A strange yellow cover on his waist was all he had on to be decent, he had bands of purple and red on his arm and his hair was outrageously long and brilliantly colored. Cornelius noticed that this man seemed to be amused with the Court's reaction, his firm hands coming up and covering his laughing mouth as his light green eyes sparkled in amusement. Cornelius was almost thinking this man was wildly beautiful when he remembered he was in love with Thumbelina.

He closed his eyes as he remembered Thumbelina's soft beauty, but the sharp colors of the stranger made her seem almost plain. Cornelius shook his head and opened his eyes when he noticed that his mother had recovered. He steeled himself against whatever she had to say. He had proclaimed his intentions in front of the entire court, and unless his mother had already been planning to marry him to someone else there was very little she could do.

Tabitha looked between the wild stranger and her foolish son. This idea had been in her head the moment she had met the exotic Pips. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at her son "I'm sorry my son but I cannot allow that." The court went silent to see what the Queen would do, it was known that the Prince had no intended and so there was little she could do to stop him, at least until they saw the slow smile on her face.

Cornelius was ready to stand against his mother and said "You have no other to offer me, my choice stands." He felt a trickle of foreboding go down his spine when he saw his mother's smile.

"If you had been in court today my son you would know otherwise, your father and I intend to betroth you to Pips."

Two voices answered "WHAT!?"

Hope you enjoyed the beginning!