The Exo Dream Emporium (Exo Imagines)

Chanyeol |Thumbelina|

Chanyeol |Thumbelina|

Dedicated to @thisGirl_isCrazy

"Thumbelina!"

Ashleigh raised her head at the call of her mother's sharp and thin voice. Her book was half-read, but ignoring the call of her vicious adoptive mother would cause her consequences, like loosing her borrowed books into the trash can, and she would not want that. Sighing reluctantly, she set her books aside her bed post and ran towards the kitchen. Her aching feet grazing the rims of her flower dress as she ran.

"Yes, mother?" Ashleigh asked upon arriving the kitchen, "I heard you calling me."

"Ah, yes, My dear Thumbelina," a woman with grey hair and gleaming blue eyes made a gesture towards the chair in front of her, "You may sit, when I tell you what wonders you had done!"

Ashleigh flinched at the nickname Thumbelina. She was not use to her mother's sweet behaviour towards her. In fact, it only happened when something good had brought upon her, or when she needed Ashleigh to do something for her.

"Oh, my dear! You have brought sunshine upon our cottage!" Her mother continued, "Think of all those things I can buy, think of all those jewellery, those glory!"

"Wait, mother, I did not know what you are saying," Ashleigh asked innocently. Indeed, her mother could overreact in sometimes, but this time it seemed that something great had been happening.

"Why, of course, you didn't know!" Mother shouted, "You're marrying to Prince Charlie!"

"Clank!"

Ashleigh dropped her spoonful of honey back into the container again as she hung her jaws opened in surprise.

Prince Charlie, the prince of all Fairyania, was famous with his charms and good looks, and infamous too, with his snobbish character. Girls liked him for his charms, brainless girls of course. Ashleigh was never one of them.

"Mother, you can't marry me off to...that, the prince! You can't!" Ashleigh defended herself as she stomped her feet against the woody floor of the kitchen. Fairies flying by are beginning to get curious.

"Oh, can't I? Just wait and see, Thumbelina!" Mother hissed. She had always hated it when she throw tantrums.

"It's Ashleigh, Mother," Ashleigh retorted back.

"I gave you the name Thumbelina and you will have it that way!" Mother shouted, a frown was clearly shown on her face, "and you will be married of to the prince immediately by tomorrow!"

"What? But mother!" Ashleigh shouted.

"Enough tantrums for one day, Thumbelina! Now in you go!" Her mother slammed her fist on the kitchen table and pointed towards her bedroom. Ashleigh grudgingly obeyed.

But even as she obeyed, her mind was thinking of escaping to the outside world, even it means meeting and being squashed by a human on the way.

*****

Fairyania, a place where flowers gave birth to winged fairies. However, one of the flowers seemed to forgot about Ashleigh's wings, and in Fairyania, a girl without a pair of wings was very much like a little human of no use. Her blood mother had abandoned her a long time ago. Then her adoptive mother came along.

But she remembered the days, when she was a child. Her mother did not treat her like she should treat a child, no. She treated her like a slave.

Ashleigh sighed as she worked on the silk rope. She was planing to climb down from this silk ladder but she seemed to lack of one more rope. Her eyes wandered around and landed on her long, braided hair.