Chapter 21: Family

Princess Aria halts and exclaims, "Wait!" She finally finds her voice to speak out her hesitation.
The rest of the fairies behind her abruptly stop walking too.  Aramir and Jeera, who are both situated in front of the Princess, turn around and stare at her confused, but did not say anything. Every fairy is silently anticipating for their Princess to say something further.
"Princess Aria, the Queen and King need to know as soon as possible that you are here." Aramir utters on an impulse but still as politely as possible.
"But I have not ever seen them before! What do I say to them? Will they believe that I am their daughter? What if they get disappointed?" Princess Aria rants frantically all her doubts.
Jeera looks at Princess Aria. She seems to weigh if she will say something to give the Princess some encouragement.
Suddenly, Caspian stands by her side and reaches out to hold her hand gently.
"Princess Aria, all the Earth fairies looked for you everywhere in the realm. The Queen and King will see you as you truly are, just like I did."
He says reassuringly but let go of the Princess' hands immediately when he realizes that all of the other fairies are looking at him shocked. Not to mention Aramir's stern look. Caspian re-joins the crowd of fairies.
"Queen Alina and King Merlion, your parents, are devastated all these years for not finding you. Not a single day passed that they did not look for you." Jeera adds with kindness in her tone. She hopes her words helps the Princess a little bit to be braver to face her true family.
Princess Aria stares at Caspian from afar for a while, and then glances around her. She looks at all the fairy faces and she sees on each and every face the acceptance and anticipation for her, for their Princess.
"Princess Aria, we know that this is too hard for you. You have been away since you were a baby. But this I will promise you, as a protector of this realm. The Fairies in Green Haven is one family. The Earth fairies honour you as our Princess. You are part of this family. We shall give you the same reverence as the Queen and King." Jeera ascertains.
Her words are the summation of the sentiments of the rest of the Earth fairies.
Jeera comes up to the Princess and encourages her to move along. Caspian on the other hand, falls back even more and joins the other fairies far behind. Princess Aria walks side by side Jeera and Aramir now.
The procession resumes silently towards the Elder tree. When they reach the entrance of the Elder tree, Aramir signals for them to stop and says,
"The envoys from the Blue and White Haven have been inside for a long time discussing plans. I will go ahead and inform them about the wonderful news." He enters quietly.
Princess Aria turns to Jeera. Her mind recalls the impending battle.
"Will the fairy realms be at war? Isn't there a way to prevent this from happening?" Princess Aria asks Jeera with a worried expression.
"My Princess, Fairies are peaceful but if an evil force like Alirion threatens that peace, we will not hesitate to fight back and protect our realm." Jeera replies resolutely.
After a while, Aramir comes out and ushers Princess Aria to come forward. Princess Aria looks back and scans the faces of the other fairies looking for someone.
"Caspian?" she utters expectantly.
Caspian comes forward as if he was pushed out from the crowd of fairies. Bran snickers in amusement at the side lines.
Caspian bows reverently and says formally, "Princess, what do you require?" He is a bit flushed, aware that the other fairies are staring at them both.
"Can you accompany me inside?" Princess Aria replies with the same formality.
Caspian stands and glances towards Aramir for permission. Aramir nods in agreement. He turns to the entrance. Princess Aria follows after him and then Caspian next. The rest of the fairies stay outside in silence.
"Some of you, return to the bridge and guard it from intruders. Cleo, lead them and stay hidden among the trees. You are an expert in that anyway." Jeera instructs the rangers.
Cleo nods and leaves along with a few of the rangers.
The fairies left behind spread out to just wait for the council meeting with the envoys in the hall to end. Bran sits with his legs crossed, on the ground. Jeera joins him shortly.
"What a terrific revelation, right? Imagine, our lost Princess found? Who could tell?"
"Even with Aldar and Melandra still unconscious, our Princess is found and she was just under our noses. Why didn't Caspian notice? He has been seeing her in the human world for a while now..."
Bran speaks out all his thoughts enthusiastically. He cannot contain his amazement on how things have turned out.
"I think Aldar and Melandra made sure that the Princess' whereabouts cannot be easily known by any of us, by any fairy. Even the Dark fairy is desperate to get to Aldar and Melandra because I think, no fairy magic, even dark ones can get to the Princess." Jeera rationalizes.
Bran nods in silent agreement to Jeera's theories. Who knows what kind of protective spells Aldar and Melandra devised to keep the location of the Princess a secret for such a long time? They are two of the greatest fairies in the realm anyway. Even the Queen and the King were not able to find her.
Bran smiles to himself. Jeera notices and slaps him on his shoulder.
"What's so funny?" Jeera asks curiously. Knowing Bran, he can find humor in almost any situation.
"I just thought that Caspian is in a state of shock right now. Finding out that the one you feel so special about is your Princess. That is really something to think carefully about. Our Princess..."
Bran trails off, suddenly seeing the bigger picture of all these. Now, he feels guilty in taking it lightly.
"I think Caspian will make the right decisions eventually." Jeera replies confidently.
Both Bran and Jeera stay silent, deep in their own thoughts.
Suddenly, Caspian walks out of the Elder tree in a rush. His face looks terribly conflicted.
"Hey there Caspian? How was the family reunion?" Bran hollers to Caspian jokingly.
Caspian is about to leave but Bran walks up to him when he realizes that Caspian looks troubled.
"Caspian, where are you going? Do you like to talk about it?" Bran inquires.
Caspian stays silent. He merely looks away to the distant trees, lost in his thoughts and emotions. He was never the sharing type. He grew up being independent since he was a child. Bran is a friend but he is really conflicted right now. He needs to get away and sort things out on his own first.
"Bran, this is really such a bad time for me. I need to be alone for now." Caspian politely request from his friend.
Bran lets him go. He knows Caspian well enough to not push him to open up when he is not ready yet.
"Jeera, Bran, I will just be by the bridge. Call me when Aramir needs us to assemble." Caspian informs them as he walks hurriedly away.
Caspian is determined to calm himself down. He is a ranger. He is a protector but he cannot do his duties if he will not be focused. Not now.
He must set aside his emotions for his responsibilities for his people, his realm, and his family.