Halfway Point (Parts 7-10)

26. Childhood Friends: Part 1

☠️Two Years Ago☠️

The young fairy prince gathered up the papers from his desk that he'd collected over the past couple of years.

The documents consisted of newspaper clippings about the recent circulation of honey gold. Black market ledgers from pawnbrokers on Halfway Point, and receipts from transactions involving the purchase of honey gold.

His findings all had one thing in common: Hive Island. It seemed strange to Luke that the Hivian's would start selling their honey gold to outsiders; they worshipped the precious gold like it was a god to them, and they didn't allow anyone to leave the island with their gold without dire consequences.

Hive Island wasn't apart of the United Islands government and was once allied with Fairy Land. They used to do trade deals all the time, which abruptly stopped without warning, and the alliance broke.

It was this sudden stop of trade which peaked Luke's interest in researching further. And the further he looked, the more honey gold he found. There was never any mention of Hive Island joining the United Islands, yet their honey gold had started to spread throughout the world.

It all seemed odd to Luke, and it became the beginning of his theory that Hive Island was secretly under King Mordred's rule. It wasn't until a recent article confirmed his suspicions that he was possibly right.

An investigative journalist from an independent newspaper wrote about a princess who lived with the King called his Red Flower, and the Princess would one day marry King Mordred when she came of age. It was believed to be an arranged marriage.

There was no picture or description of the Red Flower, but Luke knew that the Princess of Hive Island was called Azalea, a flower often found in red. Shortly after the release of the article, the journalist was found dead, and the newspaper shut down permanently.

This was all the evidence Luke needed to prove to his father that he was right, and hopefully, he would save Hive Island and the Princess.

He gathered up the last of his jumbled papers into his arms. It was like trying to juggle three balls at once. Luke sniffed and pushed his square glasses up his nose with the nudge of his right shoulder; he could barely keep the bundle of paperwork in his arms as he attempted to open the door to his bedroom.

Eventually, after much struggle, he managed to open the door with his foot and stumbled forward, bumping straight into his father. His gathered papers exploded up into the air and fluttered down around them like giant pieces of confetti.

"There you are son, I wanted to see you." Oberon helped his son to gather the papers he'd dropped everywhere.

"R...really?" Luke chimed. His dad hardly ever wanted to spend time with him.

Luke adjusted his white beanie hat to cover his jet black hair. He knew his father didn't like that he was a black winged fairy, so he tried his best to cover it up. He never showed his wings when around the council, and he always covered his hair with his favourite white hat. He just wished there was a way to hide his charcoal eyes, and then maybe he would have his father's approval.

"Yes, your mother wanted to speak with you." Oberon handed Luke back his papers without so much as glancing at them.

"Oh..." Luke looked disappointed.

He idolised his father, everyone did. Oberon was the perfect fairy with bright, neon green hair and wings, the colour of nature itself, a sturdy, muscular frame, and he was tall. He looked like a warrior, and even though he was married and would never betray Luke's mother, every female fairy in the land fell head over heels for him.