Naxx woke up to the rustle of his sheets with an irritated sigh. The evening Sun painted his room in a hazy lavender, music wafted from somewhere far. Naxx sat up, looking for the culprit who woke him up.

"I was sleeping," Naxx said, picking up the white rabbit from his sheets.

"Why did you wake me up?" Naxx asked as the rabbit blinked at him.

"Spit it out." Naxx ordered when it kept quiet. The rabbit stared at him stubbornly. Naxx sighed before he pried open its mouth to retrieve the note.

"I'm going to roast you in the fire," Naxx said, shaking the bunny. It yawned before hopping away from his arms.

Naxx shook his head as he watched it hop around the room. At least it wasn't a squirrel, it would have been hell to retrieve the note otherwise. He still remembered the bite.

Naxx opened the note. He rolled his eyes before he crumpled the note and threw it away. He didn't bother with a reply.

"Aren't you going to the revelry, your highness?"

The sudden voice made Naxx yelp. He turned to his right to see Arcyrn perched on the vanity.

"When did you get here?" Naxx mumbled.

Arcyrn grinned at him, his incisors as long as a rabbit. Naxx gagged as he looked around for the rabbit.

"You didn't have to make me put my hand in your mouth!" Naxx yelled. Arcyrn laughed, jumping down from the table.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us, your highness?" Arcyrn asked, his clawed fingers reaching for Naxx's cheek. Naxx caught his hand with a sneer. He had learnt his lessons many times over, he wasn't going to let anyone touch him, let alone with their claws.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with Haleth?" Naxx asked, pushing Arcyrn's hand away.

"Your sister has sent me to escort you, your highness. In case you lost your way," Arcyrn said.

Naxx sneered.

"Again," Arcyrn added with a grin.

"Tell her that I won't be attending." Naxx scoffed.

"Are you scared, little prince?"

Naxx smiled at him, baring his teeth. He wished he could rip out Arcyrn's tongue, but then he would get in trouble with Haleth. Naxx's elder sister was very possessive of her belongings, he had learnt it the hard way. So, he had to sit and listen to Arcyrn's quips without lashing out.

"I can hold your hand if you're scared of the dark."

Naxx breathed out slowly, the room fogged up as he spun the theards of light to do his bidding. The change was gradual that Arcyrn was still teasing him without realising that the room was being swallowed by the fog. Naxx pulled at the threads, plunging the room into darkness.

Arcyrn screamed as Naxx sent tendrils of light towards him. He twisted their shape into snarling beasts with swiping claws. Naxx laughed as Arcyrn jumped out the window. He watched as Arcyrn hopped away from the castle, he had hoped the fall would at least leave a sprain. It was after all a hundred-foot fall but bunnies were good at jumping around.

Naxx gave up on his futile attempts to fall back asleep, the music was now too loud. Naxx walked over to the balcony, draping the sheets over him. He surveyed the people streaming to the tents outside the castle. He wondered how they never got tired of the parties even though it was the same every week.

Naxx sighed when he realised he was tapping his foot along to the music. The fawns were dancing around the fires with humans. Naxx bit his nails as he caught a glimpse of the pixies guiding humans to the revelry from their realm. Naxx watched the humans carefully, most of them won't make it back to their homes and the ones left behind won't stay alive for long. Naxx wondered why the fae played with humans, they didn't even have magic.

The music switched to a faster tune, enticing the humans to follow the unnatural pace. Naxx observed with morbid fascination as the humans who were caught in the spell tried to dance to the fae music. Naxx shut his window as laughter drowned out the screams. As a half human, he wondered why he didn't feel any sympathy for the humans.

Naxx shook his head, the humans were foolish enough to follow the pixies into a new realm. He changed his clothes as he shuffled downstairs, if he couldn't sleep, he might as well walk around the fires.

"Looks like the little frog had jumped out of its pond."

Naxx turned around as he heard his father's voice. He had hoped his father would be plastered to his mother's side to notice him as usual.

"Good for him," The unseelie queen said, her voice devoid of any emotion. Naxx often wondered if that was just his mother's voice. He could never detect any hint of emotion in her voice.

"Your majesty." Naxx bowed, now wishing he hadn't left his room.

"You should go out more often. Play around with kids your age," His father said with a smile. Of course, he would say that, he knew nothing about fae kids. Being half fae may mean nothing to his father who was human, but Naxx had been tormented all his life because of that.

Naxx forced a smile. He couldn't scoff right at his father's face, he was still the queen's consort and by far the only human who had managed to stay in his mother's good graces for this long. Naxx often mused that his father must have made some deal to stay alive for this long. Most humans didn't make it past a week.

"Go play, the music is still lively," His father said, gesturing him to join the festivities outside.

The music would stay lively until the sun came about, Naxx thought as he walked away from his parents. Naxx's feet took him to the fire pit. He danced with the fawns, they usually didn't mind him. The music ebbed and flowed as the tune changed paces. The music was the only thing he liked about theses revelries.

Naxx was aware of the whispers around him, he was always followed by whispers. The fawns gave him a wide berth, even for a half human such as himself, he was still royalty. The shape changers hooted and howled as Naxx danced around the fire, blurring between the night air and the music as his feet spun faster than human eyes could follow. He was alight with joy as the music turned faster, drowning everything else.

Naxx yelped as he stumbled on a gnarled root stump. He looked around frantically as he realised he was alone. He had been dancing around the fire pit but he had let down his guard in euphoria. He had no idea where he was now. The music was too faint for him to follow.

Naxx jumped as laughter echoed through the forest. It was too dark and he couldn't find the source. Naxx tried to follow the music, trying to separate the illusions. He didn't know who had lured him away.

Naxx stumbled again as he walked around, trying to get out of the forest. He wasn't allowed into the wild, none of the royals were. The beasts that roamed the woods in the unseelie realm couldn't be tamed.

"Let me go," Naxx screamed.

Naxx blindly threw around some stones as laughter rang out again. Naxx groaned in frustation as he circled back to the same place again and again. He had lost count of how many times he had been circling around the same stump. Naxx screamed for whoever had trapped him to let him go.

"Poor Naxx."

Haleth's voice made Naxx's blood turn cold. Naxx always made sure he stayed out of Haleth's way. Most of his siblings ignored him except for Haleth and Venril. Haleth was seventh in line for the throne, just above Naxx. Though Venril was as bad as Haleth, he wouldn't do anything to harm Naxx. Haleth was as cruel as the faes usually were, a tad bit more savage since she had to deal with her half human brother.

"Are you going to let him go already?" Arcyrn's whining followed.

Naxx spun around, trying to find them. Even though he had better vison than humans, he couldn't beat the fae. He didn't think Arcyrn would go crying to Haleth for scaring him a little. Naxx hadn't even hurt him or anything.

"What do you suggest we do, darling?" Haleth crooned.

Naxx shivered as a sudden chill spread across the forest. He flinched as he heard the hounds growl menacingly. Haleth and her goons laughed at him. Naxx tried to run away again and almost fell face-first into the dirt as the hounds snapped at his feet. He had thought of them as an illusion but Naxx cried out in pain as one of the hounds caught his leg.

"Call them off, Haleth." Naxx screamed as he kicked away the hound. His sister's laughter mocked him as he kept running. The hounds belonged to his sister, and they would only obey her.

"Haleth stop it!" Naxx yelled again but the hounds kept snarling at him.

Naxx tried to weave the light but it was too dark for his magic. He lost sight of the hounds. Soon the mocking laughter also disappeared.

"Haleth let me go," Naxx screamed. There was no answer.

"Haleth," Naxx yelled.

Naxx gave up on calling for help and tried to escape but found himself in an unfamiliar path. Naxx yelped as he stumbled and fell down.

Naxx dusted his knees as he cursed the trees for tripping him. Naxx fell on his back as he turned around and found he had tripped on a skeleton. He swallowed his dread as he looked around. There was nothing else near him. He took off as fast as he could. Every warning he had heard about the beasts in the forest came back to his mind.

Naxx stopped in his tracks as he heard a low eerie growl. It wasn't anything like he had heard before. Naxx slowly backed away when he saw something move in the dark. A pair of feline eyes blinked at him before it pounced on him. Naxx jumped away, narrowly missing its claws.

Naxx unsheathed his daggers, holding them tight like how he had been taught. The beast lunged for him, Naxx escaped its reach again. He had no hopes of killing it. The beast was too fast for him. Naxx kept avoiding it as he ran away. He had no idea where he was going. The woods were unrecognisable. He didn't know if he was leaving the woods or running deeper into it.

Naxx used his magic to confuse the beast as he climbed up a tree. He was panting hard as he settled into a branch. He took a few minutes to calm down. The beast searched from him for a while and left when it couldn't find him. Naxx climbed down, cautiously making his way through the forest.

Naxx rubbed his palms together as the night grew colder. He had been roaming around without any path. Naxx gave up and crumbled onto the ground. His feet were raw and bleeding from all the scratches. He massaged his feet as he looked around for any sign of predators.

He closed his eyes for a second and jumped as he heard a roar. It sounded far away but his body shivered in fear. Naxx climbed atop a tree and settled on a high branch. He didn't know long he had been in the woods. The stories about the woods kept him awake even though he was exhausted.

Naxx hoped the stories weren't true. It was believed that the forests in unseelie realm were shrouded in eternal night, that the sunlight never made it inside these forests. Naxx shook his head. They would come searching for him. He was still a prince, half human but still a prince.

'Do you really think so, Naxx?' Haleth's voice crooned in his head.

Naxx covered his ears as if he could drown out Haleth's mocking voice.

'No one would know even if you disappeared.' Arcyrn laughed.

Naxx bit his lips, trying hard not to cry. His tears always betrayed him. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves and blinked as he got dirt on them.

'Poor Naxx.' Venril cooed, his laughter more sinister than Haleth's.

Naxx whimpered as more voices joined. He should have been used to all the cruel sneers but he had hoped they would accept him one day. He curled into himself as the night wore on.

Naxx became alert as he caught a flash of blue. Naxx sobbed in relief as he saw pixies dancing in the forest. He climbed down from the tree and followed the pixies.

Naxx's feet were numb by the time he was out of the forest. He thanked the pixies that had helped him. Naxx plopped down onto the soft grass in the clearing as the pixies danced around him. Exhaustion crept up like a vine as he surveyed the clearing. It was unfamiliar but there was no danger lurking around. Naxx closed his eyes to the whispers of the pixies and dreamt of a new world.

Naxx closed a hand over his face as bright light stung his eyes. He usually left his windows closed. He was mentally cursing whoever had opened his windows when he remembered that he hadn't made it back to the castle last night.

Naxx sat up, looking around. The pixies that guided him out of the woods were gone. The clearing was almost unrecognisable in the light. He flinched as he heard a high-pitched whine. He looked around startled, searching for the beast that had made that noise.

Naxx closed his hands over ears as he heard more growling noises. It seemed the pixies hadn't led him out of the forest but had sent him to the beast's den. Naxx ran away from the clearing, his feet protested. Naxx looked around frantically, the growling seemed to rise from every direction.

Naxx almost ran into a large beast as he left the clearing. The beast let out a high pitched-whine but stopped without causing him any harm. Naxx stepped back frantically as parts of the beast split apart and spat out a human who was yelling as he walked towards Naxx.

Naxx shivered as he ran away. The path was full of vibrant metal beasts that were bigger than anything he had seen before. The beasts had a yelling human inside them. Naxx was faster than the beasts, he almost crashed into them a few times before he found a building and ran inside.

Naxx tried to calm down. He had always thought the humans were defenseless and weak. He had no idea they could tame such huge beasts. The feline beast that had chased him last night was just a pup compared to the beasts that humans rode on. Naxx had even seen a serpent that spanned for miles move faster than anything he had ever seen before disappearing into a tunnel.

Naxx had only read stories of humans from books he had managed to squirrel away from the library. He mostly avoided all things human, lest he be made fun of for learning about them.

"Is anyone there?" A human voice boomed from the entrance of the building.

Naxx was momentarily amazed that the human spoke elven language before he realised he understood the human language. Naxx hid himself neatly, there was enough light for him to camouflage himself. The walls were a single shade of beige and texture was easy to copy.

Naxx breathed out in relief as the human left the room, still calling out. Naxx slumped onto the floor. He was stuck in the human realm. He wanted to go back to the castle. He wanted the familiarity of his room. Naxx sniffled quietly, pulling his knees to his chest. 

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