I sighed, adjusting the pack that was heavy on my shoulders. It had been such a long journey; three days of walking through this forest that never seemed to end on this winding dirt pathway that constantly twisted and turned. It had been a long trek, but I was almost there. Home. A small cottage in a tiny village. My mom would be there, probably baking something, and the aroma would fill the house. My mouth watered at the thought of her cooking. Oh to be home and not in this wilderness! I knew I would be there soon, and the thought made me walk all the quicker, even in my tired state.
I couldn’t tell what time of day it was; the trees created a complete canopy overhead, and nowhere near enough sunlight made it through. My pack was growing almost too heavy for me to carry. I set it down and decided to sit down as well, leaning against it. I pulled out my flask of water, thankful that it wasn’t completely depleted yet, as I had found a stream with clean water just the day before. I ate a small snack before setting off again, groaning as I put my pack back on. “Just a few more hours,” I muttered to myself.
Luckily, it was only an hour or so before I reached the crossroads I had been longing to get to. If I turned right, it would lead me right back home – exactly where I wanted to be after so much time out in the wild. If I turned left, I would travel even deeper into the forest, away from my little village, and to a land that was rumored to be enchanted and inhabited by fairies. I stood at the intersection for a moment, ready to go home. But for some reason, my feet led me the other way. I had no idea why, but I decided to turn left. Never in my life had I gone this way. Still, my feet led me onwards.
I expected the path to look different, for some reason, but it didn’t, other than the fact that it was clearly much less traveled. All around me I could hear crickets chirping and birds singing; the smell of dirt and honeysuckle drifted through the air. The occasional rabbit or squirrel would hop across the path, fleeing as soon as they saw me. It was calming in a way that the road back home wasn’t. I breathed in the smell and listened to the sounds of the forest as I navigated my way on the overgrown path.
However, I noticed something strange up ahead. Abruptly, the tree line ended, and there was a vast open area, though it still appeared to be wooded. As I approached it, all of the sounds of the creatures that I heard ceased. It was strange and slightly startling. When I reached it, the only sound I could hear was the wind whistling through the leaves of the trees around me. I stepped into the clearing, and my only thought was that it was beautiful. All around me were gorgeous trees stretching all the way up the sky. Each of them had little glowing lights in them in every color I could possibly think of. There was a large pond in the middle, surrounded by butterflies. On the side of it was a stone structure that held a bowl filled with water; a stone fairy rested on top of it. I walked around, looking at my surroundings with awe. I glanced back to where I had entered from, but suddenly I couldn’t find it. I was completely surrounded by trees. While I was certainly concerned about it, I decided to just enjoy the moment. I gently placed down my pack as I made my way to the structure.
It was beautiful. I reached my hand out to touch it, but suddenly I was slapped away by an invisible force. “Do not touch,” a voice commanded.
I looked around me but could see no one. I was definitely a little frightened now. “Where are you?” I asked timidly.
The voice laughed a little bit, and a small, glowing purple light drifted down. After just a moment, I realized that it had a body much like mine and wings. “Are you…a fairy?” I asked.
The light laughed again. “Of course I am! You didn’t think you could wander into the realm of the fairies and not encounter one, did you?”
I stood, mouth agape, looking at the fairy. I glanced around at the trees surrounding me again and realized that those thousands of lights were tiny fairies just like this one. “I’m sorry,” I stuttered out. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I was just exploring; I really didn’t expect to meet a fairy. What’s your name?”
The fairy smiled at me. “I am Aelin, keeper of the realm. Who are you, human?”
“I’m Emmalyne.”
“It is a joy to welcome you to our realm, Emmalyne.”
Suddenly, all of the lights flew off the trees and into the air. I watched with wonder as more fairies than I could possibly count raced in circles around the clearing. I couldn’t help but laugh with joy. “You are the first human to have been welcomed fondly, Emmalyne. No one else has received a greeting like this. Perhaps you will win favor in the eyes of our queen, even if you are technically an intruder,” Aelin told me.
I looked over at her and saw that she had a small smile on her face. She waved to me before flying off to join the swarm of fairies around me.
After just a moment, the greeting (at least, that’s what I assumed it was) ended just as abruptly as it started. From the highest branch of the tallest tree, a pink light came floating down. She took her time as she made her way to hover in front of me. I noticed a crown on her head and realized that she must’ve been the queen. A slight gasp escaped my lips, and I knelt in front of her. “No need for such formality, dear,” she said, surprising me. Her voice was gentle and motherly, and it instantly set me at ease.
I stood up slowly.
“You are Emmalyne, are you not?” she asked.
I nodded.
“I am Queen Aethel. You seem to be a genuine person, if I can read your heart correctly. One small test can prove that. One small test, and you shall receive my blessing or curse that shall follow you for the rest of your life.”
I didn’t know what she was talking about, but I was scared.
“Do not worry, dear. It is but a small test. If your heart is as I think it is, you will have no trouble passing it.” Queen Aethel smiled at me and drifted upwards and away. I watched as two other fairies drifted down in her place. One was blue and the other was gold. “Hi!” they exclaimed excitedly.
I could tell from their voices and appearances that they were young, probably only children. “Hello,” I replied sweetly.
“I’m Ansel,” the blue one told me.
“And I’m Theo!” the other one said.
“I’m Emmalyne,” I told them.
They floated around me. “Will you play with us?” Ansel asked.
I laughed at the young fairy. “Of course I will,” I responded.
“Yay!” he exclaimed, doing flips in the air.
“What do you want to do?” I asked him.
“Tag!” Theo yelled.
“Okay,” I replied. “You’re it!”
Ansel screeched and flew away, darting this way and that to avoid Theo while I ran around, not wanting to be tagged (because, well, who does? If you’re going to pay tag, you have to do it right). Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an opening appear in the tree line. A small but probably still dangerous fox crept its way into the opening. It eyed Theo, clearly making ready for the pounce. Without even thinking I ran over, tackling the fox before it could jump. It bit my arm, and I cried out. I held onto it, though, and shoved it into the trees. My arm couldn’t go through, for some reason, but the fox did. It vanished out of sight. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at my arm. It was smeared with blood, and it really hurt. I touched it and let out a slight moan of pain.
Theo and Ansel rushed over to me. “Emmalyne, are you okay?” Theo exclaimed in concern.
“Yeah, of course. Don’t worry about me,” I replied. “Why don’t you two let me rest for a few minutes, and then I’ll join you again.”
“Okay!” the two responded in unison, flying off.
I sat down on the ground, ripping part of my tunic off in order to bandage my wound. Before I could bind it, though, Queen Aethel appeared in front of me. She danced around my arm, and I watched in shock as my wound closed up and stopped bleeding. “I think it is safe to say that you have won our favor,” she said.
“Was the fox the test?” I asked.
“No. That was purely a danger you saved us from. I just wanted to see how you would interact with Theo and Ansel, as many people did not treat them kindly. Some people even tried to hunt them. But you saved them from the fox. Come, stand and follow me.”
I obeyed her, and she led me over to the stone statue where I first met the fairies. “Wash your face with the water in the basin,” she commanded me.
I did as I was told. I looked up at her when I was done. “You forever have our blessings,” she told me. “You are a friend of the fairies. You may stay or return home, but you will always be welcome here.” She gave me a small smile before floating off.
Several fairies flew down to talk to me, including Aelin. “See, I told you they’d like ya,” she said to me.
I chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so.”
You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.