Moondust: A Dark Faerytale

Chapter 3

A/N:  *’Leira’ is pronounced as ‘Leer-a’
          **Faeries live longer than people and age more slowly, but it would be very confusing to create a new age system, so when I mention the ages of any of the faeries I won’t be too specific. When I mention that Lilium is in her ‘late teens’ later on, and any other times I might mention age, just imagine that their appearances and maturities correlate to the age I have stated. 

By the time Lilium had awoken from her sleep, the moon had floated to the very top of the sky. Moonrise of the 2nd night, she thought. Hybris had said that she would return by the moonrise of her 2nd night away from the Hollow, right here by the entrance. Lilium stretched her body and limbs, without rising from the surface of the branch. She looked around her environment, but the brown haired faery was nowhere to be seen. This did not alarm her, as she knew that Hybris would be back, there was no doubt about that. Hybris was extremely skilled, nothing out there could harm her, not even the Poxies had a chance.

After Lilium waited for another while, she decided to just move on and do something else, as there was no sign of Hybris yet. She’d be back soon anyway. Looking one last time at the beautifully white orb above her, imagining a time where she would be free, she flew back inside the Hollow.

The Worship Chamber was empty, as it usually was at that time. It was the only room in the whole Hollow that looked like there had actually been effort put into it. The walls were adorned with gems and crystals of every variety, and there were samples of the forest throughout. Prayer and meditation took place here, meditation being Lilium’s second favourite pastime. Nightfaeries were very spiritual and religious, with many deities, the main being the Goddess. When Lilium could find the time, she would come here and lose herself in deep meditation. She sat on a patch of moss on the ground, and relaxed.

A few hours later, Lilium was sitting in the library. There really wasn’t anything to do in the Hollow at all, her days consisted of the same thing, over and over. This time, Lilium was reading books on magic, for beginners. After all, she needed to start somewhere with Inanna. She inwardly groaned.. She really didn’t want to train her, and she wished with all her heart that she hadn’t have been chosen. Of course, she was the one who had already started making plans for when she was free, and she was one who was chosen to train a new warrior. How inconvenient.

Time went on, hour after hour, the same boring thing, one after another. She ate, she washed, she read, she ate again, and let the the day go by the same as every other. It felt like nothing would ever change. Now, the sky was beginning to lighten up a little, turning from midnight blue into a azure colour. Most of the Hollow would already be asleep at this stage, but Lilium could not sleep yet. She had expected Hybris to be back by now, surely she must have finished by now. As much as she tried not to, Lilium was beginning to get a little worried now. Hybris almost always returned on time, even if she was late it was never by a full day. She’ll be back by morning, she must be. Lilium knew it would be unwise to sit by the entrance so close to sunrise, as Nightfaeries were not supposed to be out in the sun, but she had to wait for Hybris, to be sure she was safe.

She tiptoed to the entrance, to make sure nobody heard the flapping of her wings. When she got to the entrance, she almost died of shock when she saw somebody sitting at the entrance. It wasn’t a Nightfaerie, which was evident from the long platinum hair, and leafy green clothing that belonged to the stranger. Nightfaeries only had black, brown and very occasionally ginger hair. Their clothing was always dark, so they could blend into darkness easily. Lilium approached cautiously, ready to defend herself if the intruder were to turn hostile. How did she get in? She thought. There was a protection spell around the Hollow to stop anything that was not a Nightfaerie, how could the stranger have bypassed the security? Lilium stopped dead in her tracks as the stranger turned around and looked at her.  The strangers eyes widened momentarily, but then she smiled friendlily. This puzzled Lilium, the faery was smiling at her yet she had never even seen her before. How could someone be so friendly towards somebody who could turn on them at any second? Lilium would have no problem, if she needed to. But somehow, she doubted that it would be necessary. While this was odd, the stranger did not look hostile. Still, she would not let her guard down.