Life is a Fairy Tale

Chapter 4

I picked some berries that I knew were safe and added them to my basket. I had brought enough food but didn't think about dessert. These would be a nice treat. I was just grabbing a few more when I heard a faint ringing sound. What was that? I wondered. I didn't hear anything, so I was going back to my berry picking when I heard the sound again. What could it be? A bell? But what would such a thing be doing out here? Maybe someone was in trouble. I couldn't just stand here if they were. Making my decision, I went to investigate the strange noise...

 I made my way through the forest and was surprised when I came upon a large buck. He was the biggest male deer I had ever seen. "What are you doing here?" I asked. He just looked at me. "Why aren't you fleeing?" I wondered, looking around him. I spotted the answer when I saw his leg was caught in a rope which was tied to a tree. Every time he pulled his leg, a bell sounded. It was a deer trap. "I have to help you!" I cried, quickly dropping my basket. I sorted around before pulling out my knife. The buck startled and I tried to calm him. "Easy boy. I won't hurt you, I just need this to free you." The buck quieted and I crouched down to cut him free. The second I did he bounded around in delight. I laughed. "You're welcome." The buck slowly walked back over and lowered his head. I gasped. Was he bowing to me? 

"Wow. That's surprising," a voice suddenly said. "Who's there?" I said, jumping with my knife in hand. The buck twitched his ears, hearing the voice too. "I could ask the same thing," the voice said. "You must really be something to earn such respect from my four leggeded friend." "Well I did free him, but that's besides the point. Who are you?...And more importantly, where are you?" The voice chuckled. "I bet you would like to see me." "Of course. I hate to kill you without seeing your face." The voice chuckled again. "You can't kill me, little one." "Show yourself!" I cried, getting frustrated. "Fine." I looked around wildly but suddenly saw a shape appearing. In seconds a man stood before me, but he wasn't like any man I had ever seen. His outfit was made of brown and orange leaves and on his head he wore a crown made of branches. Even more strangely, he had pointed ears. Who was this creature!?

 "You know who I am deep down," the man said, staring at me. "I can tell." "You're a...you're a fairy!" The man grinned. "Exactly." "But fairies don't exist!" "I hate to tell you this, but we do." "But you don't...you don't look like one! At least, not how I thought you would." The man scoffed. "Of course we don't look like how we are in stories. They're just made up." "But- "Relax. You might have a stroke or something." He was right. I had to calm down. I took deep breaths and tried to relax. 

"What is a human doing so deep in the forest?" "Well I hadn't planned on coming this far but I heard your friend here and- "Buck." "What?" "His name is Buck." I raised an eyebrow. "You have to be joking." The man shrugged. "I never said it was creative." "Fine. What's your name?" "Hawthorne." "Hawthorne" I repeated. "Nice to meet you." He nodded. "What's your name?" "Alexandria." The man stilled. "What?" "Alexandria." "Interesting", the man said, looking hard at me. "Not really. My friends call me Alex. Well, they would if I had friends." "Alex?" Hawthorne said, wrinkling his nose. "But that's a boy's name. I'm going to call you Alexa at least." "If you want" I hedged. "I will." "Do you know what your name means Alexa?" "No." "Well, it is the short and feminine form of Alexandrite, which is the birthstone of June." "Okay. So?" "It's just interesting that the humans would name you such a fairy sounding name. Who are your parents?" "They're completely mortal if that's what you mean." "Fascinating" Hawthorne breathed. "Why? "There's just something about you." "Like what? ""I don't know yet. Why did you say you were out here again?" "I heard Buck and- "No, why are you here in the first palace?" "Oh I said blushing, embarrassed. "I was banned." "Banned?" "From my village. Just for a week though." "A week!? They banished you to these dangerous woods for a week!?" "Yes but I would have survived." Hawthorne shook his head. "I doubt it. I rarely come here and I'm much stronger than you." "Of course you are" I said, rolling my eyes. "It's because you're a male." Hawthorne smirked. "Not just because of that but yes." "Why were you banned may I ask?" "You might as well. You've asked just about everything else." "Apologies my lady" Hawthorne said bowing. Did you just bow to me?" "Of course. Unlike your kind apparently, we treat our females with respect." "Oh" I said, not sure what else to say. 

"Why were you banned?" Hawthorne prompted. "Oh right. I um...I believed in you." "In me?" "In your kind. Fairies." "And that's not allowed?" "No. Not after everything that has happened. The war...disappearing females." "Disappearing females?" "Yes. Every year a girl from our village goes missing overnight. She's always returned unharmed, but it's a very scary time for everyone. No one is allowed to go out." "Oh. I can explain that one." "What? It's my fault that happens." "It is?" "Yes." "So it really was fairies." "Yes." "Why do you do it?" "I've been looking for someone. "Oh?" "My fiancé." I gasped. "Your fiancé?" "Yes. She was taken from the fairy world years ago and I haven't seen her since." "Oh. I'm so sorry." "It's alright. I'll find her if it's the last thing I do." "She must have brown hair then." "She does." So that explained why all the girls had a certain hair color. 

"What happens when you're done searching in our village?" "I'll move on to the next one." I frowned. That didn't sound good. I really didn't want other village's to go through what we have gone through. "Why search just once a year?" "It's risky to come to the human world," Hawthorne explained. "We want humans to continue to think we don't exist. Most do but the few that don't hunt us down." "They do!?" "Unfortunately, yes." "Wow. I'm so sorry. I've heard about the great human-fairy war all my life, but I never thought about it from the other point of view." Hawthorne nodded. "No one does." "If it's so dangerous though, why are you here?" "I was looking for this guy," Hawthorne said, gesturing to Buck. "He was trying to help me find my fiancé but just like usual, his good intentions don't always end well." Buck lowered his head and I felt bad. "Is there anything I can do to help you find her?" "No, I don't think so." "Okay...what is her name?" Hawthorne faltered. "Laverna. It means spring." "That's very pretty." Hawthorne nodded. "It is. So is your name." I blushed. "Thank you." "We should be on our way then." "Okay. I'll maybe see you around then." Hawthorne looked at me. "You're coming with us." "What!? There's no way I'm leaving you here on your own." "But I can't just leave! I'll get in trouble." "No one will ever know." "But- "No buts. Come." "What about my parents?" "What about them?" I angrily crossed my arms. "I am not leaving my family." Hawthorne nodded. "I'll bring you back at the end of the week if you desire." "I will...Where are we going anyways?" Hawthorne smiled and jumped up on Buck. "The fairy world." "The fairy world!? I can't go to the fairy world. Aren't humans barred from it?" "Normally yes." "Normally?" "I want to determine something." "Do I really need to go with you to determine it?" "Yes...unless you really want to stay here." I sighed. "Not really." "Then climb up," Hawthorne said, holding out his hand. "Fine. But if anything happens to me"-I gasped when I grabbed Hawthorne's hand. Something went through me and he must have felt it too by the intense way he was looking at me. 

"What just happened?" I asked. "I don't know. I haven't felt that way around anyone since...never mind. Come on up" Hawthorne said, pulling on my arm. I used all my strength to pull myself up on Buck's tall back. "Let's go to the fairy world and figure this all out. Hang on!" Hawthorne cried as Buck bounded away. I screamed and quickly wrapped my arms around Hawthorne's waist. He laughed as Buck carried us away. I looked back at the forest, glad I was leaving it all behind, but hoped I would be back soon for my parent's sake. Something told me I wouldn't be though.