Starla looked at me and I looked back to her, and I could see great depression on her face. It made me shudder at what her answer would be in some fear. Judging by the look on her face, what would likely happen to us was not something Starla wanted.
"We will be brought before the King and Queen of my people... though the Queen is the one who holds real power," Starla said slowly, "And we will be judged accordingly. For my stupid mistake, I will likely have my magic greatly weakened and left to live in the fairy world... and with my magics weakened, I could never create a human form, and would thus have to remain in the fairy world."
"That's not fair!" I interrupted, "Starla... you're my friend. My best friend. It was an accident! They can't do that to you!"
"If you broke a human law, and the police or the government knew you broke a law, they would have the power to arrest you," Starla answered, "I have broken a law of my people... and unlike humans who think they can hide from it... I know my people and my King and Queen will know I broke their law. If I do not return to take this punishment, I will be hunted down and stripped of my powers entirely. I have broken the law, Lillian..."
"It's a stupid law then," I decided.
Starla didn't immediately answer. She seemed to have accepted what her own people would do to her. I couldn't understand it. I was her best friend. I wasn't going to harm her or take advantage of her. Fairy or not, she was my friend. I was quite prepared to get my point across to these Fairies who had decided an accident was damning. However, Starla hadn't yet mentioned what would happen to me.
"A fairy's way is not a human's way," Starla sighed after a few moments, "you may think the law is stupid, but it's protected our kind from persecution by humans... wizards and others who want to manipulate a fairy for their own gains. That is why we have laws to make sure that we do not reveal who and what we truly are to humans... and I've broken that law and doomed us both."
"Both..." I said slowly.
"I will be stripped of most of my powers and thus "exiled" to the fairy world," Starla answered, "You will be judged by the King and Queen by whether or not they perceive you to be a threat..."
"I'd never threaten you! Starla, I still think we could hide this and no one would need to know!" I cut her off. Trying to think of some way to get her out of trouble.
"I know you aren't a threat," Starla answered and, with tears going down her cheeks hugged my ankle, "and it will not be too hard to convince the King and Queen of that."
"What will happen then?" I asked
"You'd actually then have a choice," Starla said slowly, "You can either return here, alone... or you'd be imprisoned in the Fairy world."
"I'd come back here... and find some way to save you... free you... let you come back and we can be friends again like this day never happened," I said quickly.
"If you return here, your memory of me and of the Fairy world would be erased completely," Starla answered, "You wouldn't know who I was and it would be as if we had never met."
"And if I stay in the Fairy world?" I wondered.
"You would be kept in a prison cell as a sort of pet of the King and Queen and used as a cautionary tale to young Fairies so that they do not repeat my mistakes," Starla whimpered, "but your memory of me and all the good times wouldn't be affected."
"That's not fair!" I protested, "Why..."
"Fair!" boomed a new voice making me turn around to see five male fairies, each armed with a spear in which the spear point was glowing a bright color, matching the hair color of the fairy wielding each spear, "tell that to Fauna Hollowwings, kidnapped by humans and tortured for no other reason but to steal her magic. Tell that to Oberon Yuletide grabbed by humans to steel the Fairy world's gold, to try and sate humanity's insatiable greed! Our punishment on encroaching humans is far TOO generous when compared with the crimes humanity has committed against us! Don't complain about being fair."
Each fairy there then activated their spears sending torrents of energy at me that binded me up like Gulliver being tied up by the Lilliputians, except some form of magical energy was used rather then actual rope. The male fairy that had voiced his outrage at me then flew up and landed on my foot.
"Starla Windrider, you are under arrest for breaking the First Law of our people," the fairy said firmly, "You will come with us at once!"
"Yes, sir," Starla said weakly.
I could feel as the other fairies that had come in lift me using magic and began to walk out of the bathroom door... though I couldn't see where they were truly heading. Starla only fluttered up to sit on my shoulder and began to cry. I wanted to say something, but the leader of the fairies that had tied me up and arrested my best friend flew above my head and looked down on me sternly. Like there was no way in his mind that I could be a good person. After a few moments, we appeared to have entered some sort of vortex.
"Wha..."
"A gateway to the fairy world," Starla said from where she was seated, "from there... we will be brought before the King and Queen and judged and meet our fates."
"Surely we can convince them of another way," I protested.
"You'd actually need to convince the Queen only," Starla sighed, "The King is only there for one purpose... to sire a fairy princess to succeed the present Queen in a few centuries."
"Well, surely we can convince her that there is another way," I spoke.
"The prisoner will be silent!" the leading fairy from the group that had come to arrest us growled and then lowered his own spear, creating a sort of gag that prevented me from talking.