Introduction: Faire Exchange
A new serialized children's fantasy!
Fifth Grade’s new exchange student is out of this world!
Jeremy is terrified of the new girl. Zoe despises her. Martin got hit by one of her spells. Gregg can't take his eyes off her. Nadia accidentally became her best friend. Halley looks up to her. Her fellow Faire Folk can't stand her.
Tsarina "Rina" Algruent—that's Lady Rina to you—is one of many children from the realm of Faerie sent to human schools as part of a new exchange program to restore relations with Earth. But when she joins Mrs. Horn's fifth grade class, Lady Rina quickly begins terrorizing her classmates with magical pranks. While other kids at other schools are enchanted with their new guests, Rina's behavior is so cursed it threatens to cause an interdimensional incident.
Faire Exchange is a complete story that was serialized here on Word Associations, with every chapter illustrated by the author himself. Every chapter is free to read, but paid subscriptions are more than welcome! You can also purchase the collected edition, with revised text and updated illustrations, at the following links:
Table of Contents
Cast of Characters
Tsarina "Rina" Algruent
The daughter of the Duke of Frangont, sent to Earth as part of the Exchange. Spoiled and arrogant, she hates having to spend her days with ordinary humans, and she shows it with her magic. The teachers have no way to stop her, so what are the other kids to do? Unless she learns to show a little kindness toward other people, she risks causing more and more problems not just for her classmates, but for the rest of the Exchange… and herself.
Jeremy Vlachos
A boy who sits in front of Rina, and tries to deal with her the best he can. Loyal and protective of his friends, he feels powerless to help them when Rina targets them. Has a crush on Zoe, which he hides by making faces at her; he doesn't realize she hates this.
Martin Caesar
Jeremy's friend. Sits next to Rina, and becomes the first victim of Rina's magic when she arrives in class. Lives with his grandmother, who has instilled in him a strong sense of right and wrong. So then what is the right way to respond to Rina?
Zoe Walters
An active and fiery girl who loves soccer more than anything. She tries to befriend Rina, only for that to be thrown back in her face, along with a volleyball. This sparks an intense hatred that only grows as time goes on. Her younger brother Paul is in Halley’s class.
Gregg Herron
Jeremy's friend, a piano player with an interest in mnemonics. Develops a crush on Rina as soon as he sees her, in spite of her awful behavior. On one hand, he wants to hang out with her and get to know her better; on the other, he's terrified of her. And how the heck is he supposed to explain any of this to his friends?
Nadia Xu
Gregg's friend—they have the same piano teacher. Just got her first smartphone, which leads to her accidentally befriending Rina, which in turn leads to all her friends except Gregg abandoning her. However, she finds herself the only one with the opportunity to try and nudge Rina toward better behavior. But even if Nadia can, will it bring her friends back?
Halley Pennington
A third grader who admires Rina and becomes her willing henchman. At first, she’s totally hyped to see somebody push the fifth graders around for once, but as the week goes on, Halley begins to wonder if Rina's really setting the best example. Her dad certainly wouldn't be happy about what they're doing.
Papu Hargo
Another girl from Faerie, who attends another school. She appears in Jeremy's hall closet after getting lost while teleporting, and proves much, much, much kinder and friendlier than Rina. And Papu doesn’t like Rina, either, so she tries to help any way she can.
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