The Fall Of Magic

Chapter 3: Dixie

In the skies, there were no rivers and not many flowers. In the different islands connected by a huge network of wide glass bridges, there was nowhere big enough for Dixie and her imagination. Though she was hopeful, hopeful to see a day with rivers and grass surrounding her, a day where she could actually live the life she saw in her mind.

As she passed the crowded bridge, she strolled through the plain and refreshing grass, wishing her family would admire it just as much as her. Dixie's island, Pandoral, was one of the richest islands in the sky. It was glamorous and enormous, but not her type. She inclined toward natural over artificial. Instead, she visited islands that had more trees and fresh air. She honored the scent of freshly cut grass and unpolluted environments.

Spinning around in the clean air, she felt the flowers falling on her hair from the trees. She inhaled the beautiful essence and saved the flowers in her pocket. Who would waste such a fascinating and valuable gift from the healthy green trees? Often she stored the flowers and made her own scented candles with them. There was nothing like homemade, natural scents.

"Wheeeeeeeee!" She exclaimed, so loud that it echoed through the island and earned her a few more stares.

Mud splattered all around her brand new overalls as she leaped. Most weren't too delighted to see dirt across their body, but Dixie was different. She adored mud, it was worth her parent's lectures and it's not like she had an extent on clothes, she had racks full of beautiful clothes in her massive closet, including everything, from dresses to shorts to sparkly skirts (though she couldn't guarantee that they didn't have mud stains).

She tried her best to appreciate life as much as she could and life for her would've been perfect, if only the skies didn't have a limit on nature. You couldn't find a lot of fascinating gardens and parks around the islands, which was the reason Dixie always searched around for the islands that were the least pollinated and had the best air. Or in other words, islands with trees, flowers and plants. Islands with nature. She took a sniff through the refreshing air, something that she wished Pandoral had.

"Ahhhh," She whispered, acknowledging the rare atmosphere.

Frolicking through the wet brown mud, she made her way down to the road. Her parents always scolded her for walking on the road; it was dangerous, but she couldn't care less. What was life without a little danger? Other than guaranteed safety and a longer life, obviously.

The path led her winding through the city, over bridges, and through mud. It probably went all the way down to the furthest island, but she only knew part of it, up to the Locksley farm an island away. She found herself, time and time again, down at the farm, helping the workers there and sauntering around, pretending she was a royal princess like the stories. Of course, the workers who knew her laughed and played along. The workers who didn't, shook their heads at the childishness, but Dixie didn't care because she knew they would eventually join.

Locksley was actually quite a bit of a walk from Pandoral, maybe about three to four miles in the Old World. Dixie being an active teen, didn't mind the far distance, especially after being so used to it. Even on her lazy days, the farm was worth the walk, or at least a bike ride, maybe it took an hour or two to get there, but the trip was worth it. Oftentimes, when she started going to the farm alone, her parents worried, but after a bazillion stays, everyone was used to it.

If she wanted, she could've used bikes to travel, though she made a rule to not use her bike unless the distance was more than 6 miles, considering that bikes make the fascinating nature pass quicker. Her parents urged her to use her bike when younger and she remembered falling off that bike, leading her to get a bad sprain. Bikes had never been Dixies to go transportation, considering those two things.