Disclaimer: Disclaimed. :)

Prologue

Twenty years prior to present time

Faster.

The little fairy fluttered her wings vigorously as she tried to propel herself forward despite her weak state. No, she could not afford to be caught now. Not after all the trust the king had given her by entrusting her with this gravely important task.

She would not fail him, even if her life depended on it.

The sound of twigs being crushed under one's foot and the increasingly louder shouts of fury reached her ears just as the fairy rounded a corner and neared the edge of the forest.

She was almost there. It was almost over.

An arrow flew precariously past her and the fairy resisted the urge to shriek, somehow managing to keep her calm even as her life hung in the balance. She clung tightly to the package in her arms even though it was almost as big as she. That wouldn't have meant anything to a human, since she was about the height of a pencil, but to her it meant that the package was heavy enough to drop at any moment. She could not afford that.

Fasterfasterfaster -

- she was almost out of the forest now. As long as she managed to make it out, she would be safe. Master Serio had the power to protect her within Lavencia.

A stream of moonlight filtered by the thick blanket of trees reached her eyes, and the fairy let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in when she finally saw the moon.

Almost safe.

She forced herself to move forward wearily, but at that moment a cry rang out and a shot was fired. The fairy wobbled in mid-air, desperately fluttering her wings -
- and fell to the ground with a barely audible thud.

No. No. No.

As she writhed in agony from the wound that was currently gushing out large, relentless pools of blood, the fairy caught a glimpse of a sick, sinister smile. She took in deep gasps of air as her lungs tightened. She dug her nails into the package, her blood darkening the black cloth that was wrapped around it.

A big, callused hand wrapped its fingers around her, and the fairy had all but one thought before she gave herself in to oblivion.

I'm sorry, Your Majesty.

"You cannot mean to tell me that you sent that tiny thing to fetch the prophecy?" An elder asked incredulously, cutting off the heated discussion that the king was having with Serio Rei, his trusted aide.

The king sighed audibly, "I am afraid so, my dear subject. I hate to have to say this but these are troubled times and there is hardly anyone I can trust. Faye will be fine. She may not be too skilled in terms of magic, but the little minx can be very resourceful at times. She'll deliver the prophecy to us." Even as he said it, the king turned to Serio with questioning eyes.

"In times like this, as much as I would like to reassure Your Majesty, there is nothing that is certain."

The king let out a bark of humourless laughter while the elder clicked his tongue impatiently. "That was hardly of any help at all, you useless –"

The sentence was left unfinished as the door was thrown upon and an anxious midwife curtsied so quickly that she almost fell. The three men's faces immediately grew solemn when they realized what she was here for. "Elena," the king nodded, swallowing thickly, "is there something wrong?"

The midwife – Elena – shot him a dirty look. "Your Majesty, I had thought of you as a king who could take care of both his kingdom and his family, but apparently I was wrong. The Queen went into labour more than three hours ago, and you were nowhere to be found! This is blatant disrespect for the woman who is carrying the heir of the kingdom..." Elena threw her hands up in the air and continued on her tirade.

The king smiled weakly while Serio smirked. "Woman," he drawled, "just tell us the results already. The baby? Is it okay?"

At the mention of the baby, Elena's face glowed as she smiled with love and satisfaction. "A fine little lad he'll grow up to be. Those eyes of his! He'll be charming all the women in the kingdom!" She shot a sideways glance at the king accusingly.

The king laughed, the sound a deep rumble in his throat. In times like this when even he himself had to fear for his life, the arrival of his son was not really something to be celebrated, but it brightened up the atmosphere all the same.

In the northern wing of the castle, a woman huffed and puffed, moaning in pain as she tried to get her baby out into the world safely. Except for a midwife and her husband, there was no one else in the tiny, secluded room.

"Push, Your Highness! I can see his head, push harder!" The midwife urged frantically.

The woman wheezed as she did as she was told. A few more times, and the cry of a baby broke through the stillness of the night.

The woman's husband - ignoring the weakened state that his wife was currently in - hurriedly asked, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"A healthy boy, Your Highness."

The woman's face paled further when she heard of the news. She clutched weakly at her husband's robe, pleading, "Please...please...don't do it..."

The man didn't even show a sign of having heard her. Instead, his lips twisted into a cruel, sinister smile that looked oddly out of place on his clear, handsome face.

"Very well," he muttered to himself like a crazed man, "Very well." Turning to his wife, he disregarded the horrified look in her eyes and the desperate way she was tugging at his robe.

"Soon, my dear," he murmured soothingly, caressing her shaking hand, "Soon we will have the world."

A/N: This is my present project. While I write this I'll also be planning out Timeless and rewriting it. Hopefully when this is finished - or nearing the end - I will be done with Timeless as well. I'll post it when the time comes. :)

-Annabel.