Fairy War

Fairy War Chapter 1

"Change?" I asked, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"I'm... not sure," the fairy admitted. "I'm not sure what the signs in your world would be exactly." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Have you seen anything in your world changing, people acting differently... perhaps seeing strange things that aren't there?"

I almost laughed. "Not that I... wait... actually, there was one thing," I said, thinking back to the night before. "I was looking in my mirror yesterday when I could've sworn I saw something over my shoulder." I shrugged. "I don't know what it was, and when I turned to look there was nothing there."

For a moment the fairy said nothing, although after a bit of fidgeting he announced, "I'm not sure how to explain it by myself, but what you're seeing are the effects of a great war between the forces of light and dark."

"A war?" I repeated, frowning. "I haven't seen anything on the news; they'd have reported..."

"No," the fairy said, shaking his head. "This isn't a human war. You're only seeing its effects because the forces of light are losing... badly... and that's not the worst news, I'm afraid." The tiny creature took a deep breath, something that sounded like a high-pitched sneeze. "If we can't turn the tide of this war, it won't just be a problem for the fairies; the humans will lose too. That's why I need your help."

I bit my lip as I tried to think of some response. In all honesty, I was dumbstruck. "But why come to me?" I asked eventually. "You could go to the U.S., the President could help you stop this, I'm sure. I'm just a sixteen-year-old kid from some boring town on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. What help can I possibly give you?"

"You don't understand," the fairy said, a slight tinge of anger in his voice now. He paused for a moment, evidently trying to calm himself down. "I assume you've heard the stories of people who've claimed to see fairies before?"

"Yeah," I said, wondering where this was going.

"Well, we've tried to contact your kind before – I can't even guess how many times. – but each time the person we found vanished afterwards. My coming to you is one of our last chances to try and change things for the better."

"No pressure then," I mumbled under my breath, trying not to focus on the word 'vanished'. "But I still don't get it. Why me? What have I ever done that could possibly make you think I can help?"

"It's not what you've done, Clint, it's what you can do... what I'm afraid to say you'll have to do before this war is over."

"How do you know my name?" I asked, a slight chill running through me. "And I still don't get what you think I can do."

"The children we've tried to contact all had one thing in common, Clint: their birthday. Your birthday. All children born on that day have one thing no one else in this world has." The creature paused, peering up at me with his wide eyes. "I don't mean to pressure you, but... well... you could be the difference between us winning and everyone losing."

For a moment I had no idea what to say. I was completely dumbstruck again, both by the creature in front of me and by what he was saying. I could scarcely believe what I was seeing, just a foot away, let alone all this stuff about a war. Could he really be telling the truth? Is there something in the air causing me to hallucinate? This is all to strange.

Just then, my thoughts were interrupted by a shout from the kitchen. "Clint, I'm making lunch! Do you want something to eat?"

My heart sank. Whatever my mother had been painting in the attic had either been finished or put aside for a break, meaning she was no longer occupied by her artwork. I knew I couldn't take Naarin inside to show her, but I also knew I had to reply to her before she got suspicious and decided to investigate what I was doing.