Fairy War

Chapter 3

"That is the seat of the royal family," Arcturus said, a hint of awe in his voice. "I could attempt to describe the beauty of it, but you can only fully understand if you see it for yourself. It is one of the few visually appealing things left in our realm."

"How old are these paintings?" Mickey asked dreamily, as though the mural had put him into some kind of trance. "These look like they're fading slightly."

"Even the newest is many decades old; we have neither the skills nor the magic to create these anymore," said Arcturus sadly. "The number of fairies who could even create this has dwindled greatly."

I sighed as I stared at the city. My mother – being an amateur painter, herself – had taken me to numerous museums and art galleries while I was growing up, and had consequently taught me to appreciate art, so the prospect of these paintings being lost forever disturbed me greatly. If the fairies died out and so did these, what would be left of their own world?

We stood there for a second longer before Naarin and Arcturus set off down the tunnel again, the three of us following close behind.

As we made our way further into the tunnels the passage became much taller and wider, meaning we could walk together in a group of five, side by side. In the darkness, with no way to tell the time, it seemed as though we were walking for hours, and just as I was about to ask how much further we had to travel I saw two figures standing at the end of the tunnel. As we approached I realised they were two fairies, leaning on spears and carrying shields that had small spikes at the bottom. Their clothes were mostly hidden under long, dusty brown cloaks.

They crossed spears as we reached them, blocking our way, and they peered at me, Crystal, and Mickey with an air of suspicion.

"What are you doing bringing their kind down here?" one of the guards asked the fairies as he moved towards me, his sword drawn. "Defending this place is difficult enough without helping the enemy find a way in!"

"They're with me," Naarin replied, stepping in front of us and causing the guards to visibly cower at the sight of royalty. "Do you think I would be stupid enough to help our enemy? I'm taking them to the Queen on urgent business."

"It's their fault we're even in this position," the other guard spat at us, a look of pure hatred in his eyes. "Why are we asking them for help? The days of humans and fairies living together are long gone."

"It's that kind of typera attitude that will be our downfall, soldier," Arcturus replied, rushing forward and forcefully pinning the guard against the wall. "These children can help us, and we will need their help. Now let us pass."

The guards reluctantly stepped aside, opening the door as we passed between them, the looks of distrust still clearly visible on their faces.

Crystal – who'd gone on ahead of me – gasped as she saw what was on the other side of the doorway, and as I rushed to keep up, my jaw dropped.

In front of us, laid out amongst the endless blades of grass and spreading as far as the eye could see, was a magnificent city that seemed just as colourful and mesmerising as the dress the princess had been wearing. None of the houses were just one plain colour; each displayed a whole variety of colours from golden yellow to every imaginable shade of green and purple. Fairies could be seen both walking through the streets and flying through the air, adding to the rainbow of colours. I could hear hundreds of chattering voices – almost loud enough to ensure I couldn't hear myself think – with the faint sound of metal clashing against metal only just audible above all the voices.

"They're still discussing the events of the picnic," Naarin said, smiling slightly at the cacophony. "They're mostly annoyed they never got to finish their meal, I expect." He laughed. "Right, that's where we want to get to," he added, pointing above the roofs at the largest building in the whole area, on top of which a spire rose up, circled by vines and other plants, giving it a tree-like appearance. Windows dotted the outer surface of the spire, glittering as if parts of the structure had been clad with mirrors.