The Dark Mirror

The Forest Fae

"C'mon Rowan!" Holly chirped happily, flitting through the trees on beautiful blue butterfly wings adorned with light flecks of color. Bright sunlight filtered through the branches, illuminating her excited face like a halo.
Behind the pixie flew a sprite with long, clear dragonfly wings who watched her with concern in his brown eyes. "Holly, are you sure you want to do this?" He gestured back, deeper into the trees from which they'd come. "It's not too late to turn back! I'm sure your father won't mind!"
Descending gracefully onto a thin branch of a pine sapling, Holly looked up at him and put a hand on her slender waist. "My father won't keep me locked in that village forever. I'm of the age now where a young pixie should be able to set out on an adventure! Just like Joan in our book!"
Landing nearby, Rowan stumbled, nearly falling to the forest floor, but caught himself. Readjusting his leather chest plate, he shook his head. "Joan was a human, and that was a human book, not one of ours. Pixies and sprites aren't like humans! They're big and bulky and... and..." he continued sputtering for a moment, grasping for the correct word. "Big!" He finally repeated, holding up his hands in exasperation.
"You already said 'big'," Holly remarked, "and it's good that we aren't big! We can be more unnoticeable; sneaking around and fitting through gaps a normal human wouldn't be able to!"
Looking down at the branch, Rowan knit his eyebrows and shifted slightly. "I don't think you could ever be unnoticeable." He whispered softly, a blush creeping onto his bronze face.
Holly cocked her head, causing her curly brown hair to fall around her face. "What?"
"Hm? I didn't say anything." He said quickly. "Anyway, we aren't built like they are! Humans can survive being hit by a troll! They would be worse for wear, yes, but they'd survive! We'd be killed by a single arrow from a goblin."
Holly gave him a huff and dropped off the branch, continuing her flight, hastily followed by Rowan. "I'd like to see someone try to shoot me with an arrow." She remarked, gliding through the leaves of a particularly dense elm. "We are mighty fey! We can do anything we set our minds to." Craning her neck to look at her companion as she flew, she smiled, looking at him trustingly with large almond-shaped eyes. "Besides, I know I'll be safe as long as I have you with me, right?" Hovering in place, she held up her arms and flexed dramatically. "Rowan: the brave and valiant bodyguard to the head advisor's daughter!"
Rowan put on a brave face and fought back another blush. "I guess you're right," he said reluctantly, though he still wasn't completely sold on this whole escapade. Between the two of them, he was the only one with any combat training as a bodyguard. She had been practicing with her lute, learning to weave magic into the notes she played and even with her melodic voice, but it wasn't anything especially powerful. Nothing compared to the wizards and warlocks he'd read about in the books their library had. Not only that, Holly was far too trusting of others. It was a quality that he loved about her, although he knew it would get her in trouble one day, and on an adventure out into a world dominated by bloodthirsty humans and savage monsters, Rowan worried it would get her killed, or have her suffer a fate worse than death.
Up ahead, he heard Holly gasp with awe, landing on another branch. "Oh Rowan, look! The human town!"
Setting down beside her, Rowan looked out through the leaves and over a large cobblestone wall surrounding the settlement. Stalls of wood with multicolored cloth roofs lined the bustling cobblestone street with vendors hawking their wares. The soft buzz of the crowd was constant, but not entirely unpleasant, and the delicious aromas of bread and stews wafted up from bakers and chefs serving dishes to their customers. The buildings were surprisingly tall, reaching up to two stories, and topped with dusty orange clay shingles with dark stone and wood walls. Some of the more extravagant houses even had glass windows.
"C'mon!" Holly exclaimed, grabbing Rowan's hand and leaping off the branch. Both their wings fluttered soundlessly through the air to the village, the summer wind cooling Rowan's face, which was tinted a light pink as he felt Holly's grasp in his own.
The pixie flitted from stall to stall, much to the shock of the humans passing by, dragging Rowan behind her. It was all so fascinating; the little trinkets humans sold, made out of glass and metal wire; boxes of clay beads lay on tables covered in colorful cloth; wooden toys and cloth dolls on racks. Everything was so well crafted and beautifully useless. The only things that they sold back in their old village were clothes, books, furniture, spell components, seeds, and seedlings. All useful, but nothing for leisure.
Setting down at a stall cluttered with glass jewelry, Holly marveled at the beauty of each piece. Picking up something that would probably be used as a bracelet on a human, she put it around her neck and checked the dirty mirror the vendor had nearby.
The bracelet was made of hemp with a single glass charm shaped like a flower. Bright red "petals" spread out from the center like a starburst, with dark green geometric leaves that shone in the afternoon light.
"Find somethin' you like dear?" Holly heard a voice ask from behind the counter. Looking up she smiled at the portly old woman.
She nodded, holding up the pendant. "Yes ma'am! It's beautiful!"
Noticing Holly's excitement, Rowan held up a hand. "How much is it?"
Smiling kindly, albeit with some alarm at the two small fairies at her booth, the first that she'd seen since she was a little girl, the woman nodded. "Only three copper, dear."
"Oh Rowan, you really don't have to!" Holly assured him, placing a hand on his arm.
Keeping his face as impassive as he could, he shook his head. "It's alright, I have the money." Placing a hand on his belt, he pulled out a coin sack and took out the copper, handing it to the woman who accepted it gracefully.
"Have a lovely day you two," she chortled, placing the coins in a small box. "And may I just say, you make a lovely couple."
"Oh, we're not-"
"We're just friends!" Holly said with an oblivious smile.
Rowan winced at her answer. It wasn't as if he didn't already know about it, but it hurt nonetheless. Taking the necklace from Holly he tied it loosely around her neck. Stepping back and giving her a sheepish smile, he looked at her. "You- it- looks beautiful. It looks beautiful on you."
Pointing at a pin, Holly turned to the woman. "How much for this?"
"Just a copper." The vendor said kindly.
"Holly..." Rowan began.
She shook her head before he could say anything. "No, no!" Picking up the glass dragonfly pin, she fastened it to his lapel and positioned him in front of the mirror. "I think it makes you look quite dashing, hm?" She turned to look up at the old woman.
"Oh yes, very handsome!" She agreed, looking down at them, and accepting the copper that Holly offered up, depositing it into her coin box. "So what brings two fairies to our little town?" She asked, curiously after a moment. "I haven't seen any folk such as yourself since I was just a little girl!"
Perking up, Holly looked at her. "We're here looking for adventure!"
"Adventure?" The woman said, taken aback for a moment, "I might know a place that can help with that." Leaning over the counter, she pointed down the cobblestone street towards a large, stately building- one of the ones with the glass windows and fancy bright red shingles. There was a wooden sign jutting out from the building on a wire reading "Adventurer's Guild". "I see a lot of people goin' in and out of that building- people like you, looking for excitement and treasure. Maybe you can find something there?"
Leaping up, Holly looked above the crowd toward the building. Sure enough, multiple people- humans, elves, dwarves, and some races Holly couldn't even name- were cycling in and out of the guild, well-stocked with weapons, armor, and equipment.
Knitting his brow, Rowan thanked the shopkeep and joined her in the air. "Are you sure about this?"
Holly nodded. Looking down, he could see her hands clenched into fists, a habit she had whenever she got excited. "I'm positive, Rowan."
He sighed, shaking his head and hiding a smile. He admired her dedication and confidence, even if it would probably be the (hopefully metaphorical) death of him. "Then I will follow you to the ends of the world, and any world we may face on our travels."
As her face broke into a grin, Holly shot into the air with Rowan following close behind. They sped over the crowd for just a few moments before diving and landing on an oak support beam inside the guild. It was full of strange people, each with various tools and weapons.
A muscular half-orc sat happily with a small halfling playing a game of checkers. A beautiful elf witch with purple robes spoke with a bumbling human knight. A half-dragon sat alone at a table drinking a pint of ale larger than Rowan was. Other groups milled about the space, stopping at a bar in the far left corner of a mess hall-like open room. Right in front of the door, there was a counter where a woman with a green shawl and narrow eyes stood, smiling happily. Above her was a sign that read "registration". To the right of the counter was a large board with various papers depicting pictures, short descriptions, and rewards for quests.
Descending into the chaos, Holly and Rowan tapped down on the desk. To her credit, the attendant wasn't surprised in the least and smiled. "How can I help you two?"
Pulling out her coin purse, Holly smacked five silver onto the counter. "One quest please!" She chirped, confidently.
The woman chuckled, placing a hand to her mouth to unsuccessfully hide an amused smile. "Oh sweetie, that isn't how that works here."
Giving her an embarrassed grin, Holly recollected her silver and absentmindedly brushed off her leafy skirt, composing herself. "Alright then, what's the process?"
Pointing over to the paper-covered board, the woman addressed Holly. "Simply select a quest from the board, and tell me its assigned number. Their difficulty is dependent on the number of gold leaf stars next to the number: one star is the easiest, and ten stars are the most difficult. Usually, the more difficult ones take longer as well." Bringing her hand back and tapping her chin, she cocked her head. "Is this your first quest?"
"Yes," Rowan affirmed, nodding.
"Then you should probably go ahead and go for the less difficult quests." She suggested. "They are shorter, but it's much less dangerous."
Rowan nodded, flying to catch up with Holly who was already browsing the quest options. Following her as she flitted from paper to paper, Rowan began to speak. "What are you thinking of doing?"
"Well, there's this one where we go clear out a dungeon..." Holly muttered, pointing, "But that one..." flying up towards the top of the board, "we can save a village from raiders. Oh!" She shot back down to the bottom of the board. "This one is saving a dwarven mine from a blue dragon!" She picked up a final piece of parchment and held it up. "Or this one we can-"
"Holly, these are all seven stars or up, don't you think we should tone it back a bit?" Rowan said, gently taking a side of the paper. "It's our first quest, we don't want to overwork ourselves here."
From behind him, Rowan heard gruff laughter. "Better listen to your friend here, Poppy," a burly human said, coming up behind them. He had read and white paint smeared across his square face and down his neck. On his chest, he wore a sturdy-looking metal chest plate engraved with various swirling designs that pulsed softly with magic. A massive sword was strapped to his back that seemed far too big for a normal human to wield. Rowan figured it had to have some sort of spell placed on it like the man's armor. "I don't think your cute fairy body could handle a quest like that one." He snatched the paper out of the two fairy's hands. "Why not let the big guys handle it?"
For a moment, Rowan saw something on Holly's face he hadn't seen for a very long time: anger. Gliding forward, Holly placed a finger to her lips and whistled sharply. A bright shock blasted the man's palm, causing him to drop the paper which she deftly caught with a hand.
"Actually sir, my name is Holly. I do have an aunt named Poppy though." She gestured behind her. "This is my friend, Rowan," rolling up the parchment, she placed it behind her back and leaned forward, "and may I just say, I've been out of my village for less than a day, and I've had every single human I've come across treat me as a novelty- and while some of them have been very nice about it I'm starting to find it quite tiring! So, with all due respect sir, I'm sure you're a very experienced adventurer but I think my friend and I will be taking this quest." Turning, she began to glide toward the counter but paused for a moment and turned. "You're welcome to take it as well, though I do believe it'll be a waste of your time. Hardly a fortnight will have passed before we finish with it, and with that oversized sword of yours it'll take a whole week before you even get to the counter."
Slamming the paper onto the wooden desk in front of the attendant, or throwing it as hard as she could being two feet tall, Holly gave her a confident look. "One quest please!"
A large fist slammed down next to her. Looking up, Holly saw the smug grin of the human from before. "I'll take a copy too." He growled with an amused look at Holly.
"I'm sure you're both aware of this," began the attendant, smiling politely, "but only the first person that brings back this..." she looked down and skimmed the sheet, "mirror, will get the reward, right?"
"Oh, I'm counting on it!" Holly said with her own confident look.
The human nodded.
"Well then!" She said, clapping her hands, and turned to pull out two more sheets of paper and placed them in front of Holly and the human. "As the leader of your parties, please sign here. I'll keep your names on file as the adventurers assigned to the quest. Would you two like to close it from here on out?"
The human gave her a curt nod, and after a confused look to either of them, Holly followed suit and accepted an inked quill. After gracefully signing her name with neat, looping letters, Holly handed the quill to the man who aggressively scratched an "X" on the paper. Taking each piece, the woman deposited them in a folder and traced a finger on it in a circular motion. A bright yellow spell circle appeared before engraving itself on the surface, and she placed it under her desk. "Godspeed to each of you!" She said happily, bowing. "And I pray that you both don't die in Shadowfell!"
Rowan, who had watched all of this in helpless silence, went slack-jawed at this. "Where?"
"Ever heard of it, little man?" The human chortled, turning to walk out of the building, quickly followed by three other burly humans dressed and armed similar to the way he was.
He was quickly followed by Holly, who dragged her friend behind her. "Of course he has, now c'mon Rowan! We gotta find a way off this plane quickly!" As the two shot out of the guildhall, Rowan could hear the amused laughter of the burly men behind them.
"Holly, what was even on that sheet?" Rowan asked, trying to keep up with her. Pixies weren't exactly known for being speedy, but Holly was going faster than anything Rowan had ever seen. In her large brown eyes, he could see burning determination.
"It was quite simple!" Holly said happily between breaths. "All we have to do is go into Shadowfell, go to a dungeon somewhere, and get a cursed mirror!"
Pinching his nose with the hand that wasn't gripping Holly's, he asked, "Where's the dungeon?"
"I don't know!" She said, not one bit of confidence leaving her voice. "The sheet didn't say!"
"Okay," he muttered. That would be a problem, but maybe they could ask for the mirror by how it looked? "What did the mirror look like?"
"I don't know that either! The sheet had very little information on it."
"What? Holly!" He slowed to a stop, dragging Holly with him. "Okay, we don't have any information on the quest at all? We don't even know where we're going!" He huffed, gesturing to the large town around them. "What was the rating on the sheet?"
Giving him a sheepish look, Holly tapped her index fingers together, embarrassed. "Nine and a half stars."
At her words, Rowan closed his eyes and took a long breath in. After a long moment, he tugged her hand. "C'mon, we're going back to the village."
Yanking her hand away, Holly shook her head. "Rowan, no. We aren't going back there. I'm not going back there."
"Why not, Holly? Your father-"
"My father hasn't even talked to me in over a month, even when he comes home at night! It's like I don't exist anymore to him."
"He's just busy!" Rowan reasoned, shaking his head. He had noticed this lately to an extent. Her father had been... distant, but it seemed like he was just tired!
"It's not about being 'busy' Rowan. I couldn't leave the house before without sneaking out because he wanted me to stay safe. But I don't want to stay safe anymore! I want to live!" Spreading her arms and spinning in the air, she gestured to the village and surrounding dark green forest, pointing to a set of mountains far in the distance with white-capped peaks, and a massive lake with shimmering blue waters. "Look at this world, Rowan! We've been outside for less than a day, and don't you already feel more... you than you have your whole life? Sure, this quest might be partially spurred on out of spite for that foul human, but it's also about me, about us, being able to see how big this world is, rather than reading about it in storybooks left by strangers in the woods."
He looked at her incredulously for a moment as she spin before smiling. "O- okay. Okay." Reaching out, he took her hands, stopping her spin. "Holly, do you remember my promise to you? The one I made when we were kids?"
Smiling knowingly, Holly nodded. "Tell me anyway." She said after a moment.
Leaning forward, they each touched foreheads. "No matter where you go, I will follow. From the gates of Elysium to the depths of Hades, I will stay by your side no matter how far you tread from the forest path." Holding up a pinkie, he bit back a laugh at the childlike sealing of the pledge. "I promise."
"But Rowan!" Holly gasped, hiding a giggle as well. "What kind of promise would you seal with that finger?"
Breaking into a grin, he chuckled. "I pinkie promise."
Taking his finger in her own, she laughed lightly. "I pinkie promise too, brave knight." They stayed hovering in the air for a moment before Holly pulled away. "Now let's go find a wizard to get us to that dastardly dimension."
"And maybe some spell scrolls to get us back as well," Rowan added quickly.