Valerie knelt in the bushes, keeping as still and quiet as she could. Her eyes darted back and forth, searching for her prey, as they had been for hours now. Val was sitting next to a well-used roadway, but none of her cages contained their quarry. The hunter frowned; something was wrong. Her prey wasn't stupid, and if Val had been spotted, not only would no prey come down the trail, but she could be in very real danger.

Barely had she though that when two males fluttered into view. Valerie readied herself and picked up her net. Her prey moved closer, and just as Val began her lunge, a small voice piped up next to her.

"Wacha' doin?" Valerie jumped at the noise, which coupled with her attack, caused the hunter to fall out of the bush, net in hand. The two male fae flew away, stopping well out of Val's reach. The pixie who had ruined the hunt was in her young teens by Val's eye, and she was hovering over the bush with an angry glint in her eye.

"So, you're the one who's been stealing us away?" She asked, but Val didn't bother with a reply as she stood up and dusted herself. Three fae weren't enough to stop her, but the surprise would be lost. She would have to find new hunting grounds. Fortunately, there were plenty of fae cities around. Val would be fine. "Well, aren't you gonna answer me?" In reply, Valerie swung her net at the little nymph, who easily dodged, but remained defiant. With a smile, Val turned and began down the trail. She didn't move more than two steps before a fae flew into her path. Val's hair stood up as she glanced about her. A hundred more were revealing themselves. Val could be in trouble now, but she wasn't about to give up.

The once-hunter surged forward, blindly throwing her net before her. If she could make off with a few of the little bugs, all the better. Valerie broke through the slim line of fae and didn't look back. But her instincts screamed things weren't right, and they were proved correct when Valerie hit a fist full of Pixie dust. Val's view blurred and she slowed down, and finally collapsed not 100 yards from her hiding place.

It was night when Valerie came to, her head throbbing, and the sight before her did not help any. All about her was a ring of nearly white stones, forming what Val knew to be a Faerie Grove.

"How much money did you make selling our people?" Val spun around to face the voice, which came from a Fae with a long beard.

"I lost count a long time ago."

"So, you were good at hunting?"

"One of the best. I even caught one of your princesses."

"When?" The fae perked up.

"Around five years ago."

"Sisenti," he breathed.

"If that was her name," Val shrugged, "I never bothered."

"How much did she put into your pockets?" He was suddenly angry.

"2,000 pieces." Val proclaimed.

"Nothing compared to what you will go for."

"What?"

"Did you not notice? Your hair, your cloths, your ears. You lay in a Faerie Grove, yet you move." The fae laughed gleefully as Valerie inspected herself.

She wore a short blue dress with white, puffy sleeves, white hose embroidered with stars and moons, and curly-toed slippers. Her hair, once a straight blonde, was now a frizzy white, and Val's ears now came to their pointed end almost an inch over her head. And her wings . . . Valerie's wings reflected all the colors in the moonlight, and fully spread, spanned the length of her arms and reached from her knees to almost a foot over her head. She was speechless when she looked back to the fae.

"Congratulations, Kistali, you're the largest fae that ever lived." Val felt sick as she calculated her next words, and her worth.

"Kistali?" she asked weakly.

"It's a fae word. It means hunted. Consider it your new name."

"This won't stop me from coming after your people."

"True, but we accounted for that, as well."

"What? How?"

"Stand up, Kistali." As soon as he said those words, Val shot up into the air, standing ram-rod straight.

"You see, if a fae wants, they could command you, and you must obey." Val blanched. Never had she dreamed of such a development. Then again, she never thought she would get caught.

"I hate you. I hate your whole race."

"So, do you hate yourself, as well? Large though you are, you and I are of the same people."

"I'm not a faerie."

"Your appearance says otherwise, Kistali, and one day, you will, too. In any case, I will leave you now. My affairs with you are over." With that, the fae sped off into the forest. Val watched him go, and thought of leaving, too. But the Faerie Grove offered her protection from other hunters. So, Valerie lay down, though she could not slip into the dreamworld. She began to chant in her mind 'I'm still human. I'm still human.' All the while, she felt her wings on her back.

---

Valerie looked down from her tree perch on the fae people singing and dancing within the grove. They were laughing and happy. Val, on the other hand, was curled into a ball; arms wrapped around her legs, wings folded neatly behind her, and chin resting on her knees. In the past months, she had come to know more of the fae people than she really cared to. But she really had no choice. Other people were too dangerous, and Val hated to quiet she being alone offered. The fae, though, were surprisingly tolerant of her. Probably because they felt she would be captured anyway.

"Kistali!" A small, familiar voice broke he thinking, "Oh, Kistali! Kis-Tal-I!" It cried, but Val never responded to that accursed name. The owner of the little voice fluttered around Valerie. "You know, you're 'sposed to turn around when someone says your name, Kistali."

"My name is Va-"

"That's what your name was, Kistali. Honestly, if you're gonna hang around all the time, you should use your new name."

Val snorted. "What do you want, nymph?"

"And Nymph is not my name. I'm Nellis."