Riddle me Fae

The chill in the air was blistering cold. Lurking shadows stretching out like hollow branches. Midnight could be calm and still or hiding figures with sneering teeth. Plotting creatures lying in wait to strike.

“Brrr-!” Amelia clutched her coat tighter around herself. A shade of green so rich it almost blended into the trees that surrounded her.

“Camping is great, camping is fun….yeah right it is.” Glaring at her companion, a man tending to the fire in front of her, his coat a sky blue.

“Please Amelia, stop your whining! I promise once I get the fire going you'll like it.”

“Jaxon please- the only reason I agreed was because you promised s’mores.”

To make her point a breeze whipped through her short strawberry blonde hair, nearly snuffing the tiny fire Jaxon had managed to coax up. Jaxon hunched over the fire, shielding it with his arms. “You’ll get your s’mores, just give me five more minutes, alright?”

Amelia huffed, stamping her boots into the dirt. “That’s what you said ten minutes ago. And fifteen before that. If I freeze to death out here, I want it on record that it was for marshmallows.”

Jaxon gave her a sidelong glance, lips tugged into a smirk. “You sure you don't want it to be somethin-”

A snap echoed from the treeline—sharp, sudden.

Amelia stiffened. “What was that?”

Jaxon paused mid-strike with the flint, the orange spark fizzling out against damp kindling. “Probably a deer…” he said, not sounding convinced.

Soon the crunching of leaves under foot began closer this time. Slow. Deliberate.

Amelia’s breath puffed in small clouds. “Just a cute-little-deer.”

Jaxon straightened, eyes narrowing at the darkness beyond their camp. “It’s probably another hiker. This spot isn’t exactly secret.”

“At midnight?” she whispered, her voice edged with unease.

“Midnight hikes are a thing.” Jaxon shrugged but his voice trembled slightly.

“To do what stargaze?...” Amelia was slowly creeping closer to Jaxon. Moving slowly to stand beside him.

He didn’t answer right away. The shadows around them thickened as the small flame flickered low. Then came a voice, soft and dragging—like leaves caught in the wind.

The fire finally caught.

And in the light, the trees seemed to lean just a little too close.

“Hello…” The voices came from all around them. Soft yet deafening.

Amelia screamed, jumping up into Jaxon’s arms. As if some ancient instinct came over them, he bolted practically half dragging, half carrying her. His only thought was to get away. Twigs, grass, and leaves all snapped and bit at his skin and face.

“What is that!” Amelia had a grip on him any other time, he would have thought it crushing. Now though he didn't think it was tight enough.

“Don’t know! Don’t care!” He gasped out. Heart pounding in time with his feet. Laughs echoed from behind, but what froze them was that it sounded like not one figure but multiple. Mocking laughter, as if their reaction was absurd. Jaxon tripped and stumbled down into a ditch. He tried his best to shield Amelia but he couldn't take the whole fall. He hit the ground hard. Air forced from his lungs. The world tilted, stars crossing his vision. Amelia landed with a thud beside him.

For a moment, everything was still again.

The laughter returned, closer this time. A chorus of voices, layered like mismatched echoes from inside a well. Both tantalizing and terrifying.

Amelia scrambled up, one boot skidding on the damp slope. “Jaxon—Jaxon, get up—come on, get up!”

His body felt heavier than it should. One leg throbbed beneath him, but adrenaline surged through his veins. He forced himself upright with a grunt, half leaning on Amelia as she tugged him toward a low gap between brambles.

“Damn it-” They both clutched onto each other.

Laughter reverberated from the shifting shadows.

A playful voice rang out, “I see you…” hinting at a mockery of kindness.

“Keep moving!” Amelia hissed, gripping his jacket with trembling fingers. Her green coat caught on a thorn, tearing at her hip. They pushed deeper into the thicket, branches slapping against their faces.

Jaxon’s breath heaved. “Do you still have your flashlight?”

“No, it was in the bag. By the fire.”

Of course it was.

Then they hit something that felt like a wall before falling into it. As they crossed a threshold, a blaring sun was shining down on them. The coats they wore now only made them feel like polar bears in a desert. Midnight turned to day, crisp air became lush. The laughter became whimsical. Song flowed and pulsed around them. The sound of rustling leaves subtle against Amelia and Jaxon's pounding heart.

“What-” Before they could even wonder where, a voice came from behind them once again, only it sounded friendly.

“Hello travelers! May the sun shine on you!”

They whipped their heads around, adrenaline still pumping, ready to bolt. Suddenly, a great calmness came over them. It was strange but a welcome balm to frantic nerves. At first the figure appeared human. But it was almost too perfect. A mask, or a disguise? He wore a simple linen tunic and pants and wore no shoes. His hair was as deep as spruce bark.

“If you are wondering, you are safe here.” He smiled, it was dazzling and reminded Amelia and Jaxon of a bright sunflower in a field.

“They call me Orion, what may I call you?” Gesturing over to Amelia and Jaxon. Their jaws hung open from awe. This magnificent creature before them drove away all fear. His voice was enticing and welcoming.

“Uh-um-“ Amelia sputtered. Shaking her head like she was waking from a dream. …“A-Amelia,” she finally managed, though her voice came out more like a breath than a word. “And this is Jaxon.”

Jaxon blinked, like he’d forgotten how to speak, then gave a stiff nod. “Yeah. Jaxon.”

The smile on Orion's face only grew yet there was almost a satisfaction to him that didn't quite make sense.

“A pleasure.” Was all he said before he took up a small harp and played a tune of flowers and wispy spirits. Then he faded away, disappearing. Jaxon’s and Amelia’s mind could not keep pace with this new environment.They should have felt terrified, even unnerved. Yet the sun blazed down on them in between the trees.

“What were we doing..?” turning to Jaxon, Amelia’s voice was light and airy.

“I-uh don’t remember.”

Jaxon taking Amelia’s hand walked along a gravel path deeper into the forest. Time stood still and soon they had taken off their coats and shoes. Free and feeling the bare earth as they walked.

Laughter drew them to a river with a slow steady current and enchanting blue color. Within its waters lay a woman. Long golden hair and a silk dress that clung to her. She was playing with the fish that curled around her.

Looking up, the woman waved cheerfully.

“Hello friends! You don't mind if we play a game?”

Amelia waved shyly while Jaxon wrapped an arm around her waist. They felt so comfortable. Removed from all worries life brings, why not play a game with this unfamiliar figure.

“A game? What kind of game?” Jaxon raised his brow curious and not the least bit cautious.

“Oh! just a simple game, I ask you some riddles and you answer them.” She shooed at the fish around her as if they were hiding a secret.

“Sure, we will play. Sounds fun!” Amelia and Jaxon stated unanimously.

The woman smirked, flinging her long draping hair over her shoulder.

“Let us begin.”

Clasping her hands together she took a light and airy almost romantic breath, speaking in song.

“I’m often running, yet I have no legs. You need me, but I don't need you. What am I?”

A pause. It took only minutes before the answer came.

“Water.” Jaxon breathed out. Then confidence grew in his voice, satisfaction beaming.

“The answer is water.”

“Correct.”

The woman twirled around looking directly at Amelia a twinkle in her eye.

“I used to wiggle, but now I fly, my wings bright and filled with color. I crumble if held too tight, but float on wind where no birds can dance. What am I?”

Going into thought Amelia was still and quiet. Until a breeze lifted her hair. Looking up she saw it, her answer. Dashing in the bushes going from flower to flower.

“A butterfly!” Cheering Amelia pointed at the blue butterfly which was now perched atop a pink flower near the bank of the river.

“Correct.” The woman nodded encouragingly, but she seemed disheartened as her smile faltered.

“Last riddle.”

With bated breath Amelia and Jaxon waited. Anticipation thrumming through them deep into their souls and breath. They had solved the riddles thus far. Surely they could win the game.

“I am alive without breath and cold as death. I am never thirsty but always drinking. What am I?”

“Winter?”

The woman simply smiled. Before a moment passed they were looking up at her from the water in colors of green and sky blue.