The Fae Princess

 I got directions to the dining room after changing into a deep blue tunic with gold embroidery and matching pants. It was different than I was used to, but it was better to fit into this new world than to stick out like a sore thumb. When I entered the dining room, the first thing I saw was an extremely full table of different, steaming foods. The smell alone made my mouth water.

 "Nimre!" Madeline smiled. "Here. Sit here." She pointed to the end of the table. It was across from her father who waited patiently. Why did he wait for me? Wasn't he a high lord or something? Why would he wait to eat until I got there? I sat down at the end of the table, my eyes finding his. The feeling that I felt before when we were outside shot through my body and tugged at my heart. I jerked slightly at the unfamiliar feeling, pulling my eyes from his. 

 "Nimre." His deep voice spoke. The way he said my name sent tingles through my body. I looked back up at him. "Madeline is convinced that you come from the human realm." I waited for the question.

 "Can you tell me about it?" He placed his elbows on the table, his hands up by his mouth.

 "Madeline says you've both been to the human… realm…." I straightened the plate in front of me.

 "It has been a few hundred years." His golden eyes studied me. They were so intense that it made me swallow hard. How could I prove that I wasn't from this world? And a few hundred years? How old could faeries get? Does this mean they visited during the time of slavery?

 "Well…. There aren't as many colors. My world is… dull compared to here." I started. They both looked at me, intrigued. "I would think that the human world has changed since you were there. It's more… civil." They waited for me to continue and I found myself sweating. I spent my whole life there yet I had no idea what to say. I reached into my pocket and pulled an object out. My phone. I had looked at it earlier. Obviously, the time was unsynced and there was no signal, but it had most of a charge. I held it up.

 "Whoa! What is that?" Madeline stood and placed her hands flat on the table. 

 "It's called a cell phone. It can do many things like take pictures and call people that are far away." I explained. 

 "Ooo! Show me!" She clapped excitedly. I couldn't make a call so I took a picture of her and showed it to her. "Woooow!" She began swiping. 

 "Who are these people?" She turned the phone back to me.

 "My mom, dad, and little brother." I pointed to each. 

 "Daddy, look!" She showed her father. She studied the picture, his eyes widening slightly. He recognized someone in the picture.

 "Very interesting." He said when she sat back down. 

 "We also have electricity. Lights and other electronics like my phone." I looked at Madeline as she played on my phone. "Once the… electricity… the power in my phone runs out, I will have to charge it in order to use it again." They were both quiet. 

 "If your world is so sophisticated, why do you hunt?" He questioned. 

 "My parents wanted me to be able to survive if something happened to our world." I shrugged slightly, refixing my plate out of awkwardness. He was quiet again.

 "Come. Let us eat." She shifted and food appeared on my plate. It was steaming and the meat looked juicy. It looked like the food from where I was from, but… better. It tasted better, every bite melting in my mouth as I ate. When I physically couldn't stomach another bite, I pushed my plate away a little. Golden eyes that had been watching me the whole time flicked. Daring to look up, I met his eyes. 

 "That is all you're going to eat? Did you not like it?" Madeline sat so that she could see my plate over the steaming food on the table.

 "I loved it. I just… don't eat a lot." I replied, my mother's voice in my head.

 "If you keep eating like a pig, you'll end up fat like one." My mother had told me when I had reached for seconds one time. She always gave me small portions to eat and whenever I wanted more, I received an insult instead. 

 "Well, that is why you are so skinny! You must eat more to be healthier." Madeline nodded, sure of herself. I blinked out of the memory, giving an awkward smile. 

 "Where do I clean my plate?" I reached for my plate and it vanished. A metallic taste entered my mouth as I looked up at Madeline's father. 

 "You'll never have to clean up after yourself here. The servants do it." Madeline smiled. I frowned slightly. 

 "I am fully capable of cleaning up after myself."

 "But you don't have to."

 "Having servants doesn't mean you should never clean up after yourself. They're people too and I doubt they always want to be cleaning up messes." I crossed my arms. 

 "They're happy to. They get paid to do it." Madeline's smile became confused. 

 "Have they told you that?"

 "We don't make a mess just for them to clean up." She looked at me. "Why are you so upset about this?"

 "Humans have a long history with slavery. Please do not assume that the servants here are unwilling to work. They are paid well and are cared for." Her father informed me. I gritted my teeth.

 "I will retire to my room." I stood from my seat and left the room.