Hi everyone!! SK here.
I hope you've all had a good week- I have exams this upcoming week and I'm soooooo stressed but hey! Writing is a good way to relieve stress so here I am with an update for you all. I wrote an exam today (I finished with 1 minute left but I think it went well I hope) and I have an exam and a presentation tomorrow, but after that I'm finally done. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!!
Ash
It took me a full ten minutes to find the exit. Seriously, it took me that long.
I really need a map or something.
The greenery surrounding the fairy's home is absolutely stunning. I mean, I'm not obsessed with nature and plants and stuff, but I can still admire it. There are these little flowers that are growing close to the ground, in tiny little bunches of blossoms. They're mainly white, but there are these bigger ones- lillies maybe?- that appear to come in all colours of the rainbow. I reach over to touch one of the petals, and to my surprise they're softer than silk, if that's even possible.
Looking up, I have to shield my eyes from the distant sunlight that's shining down here. The trees here appear to be normal-sized, but everything else is fairy-sized... a little odd, but then I remember that magic exists here, so anything can happen. Except wait, no, that isn't correct, because there are some fairy-sized trees, and some normal-sized flowers and shrubs. Huh. As if this place wasn't odd enough.
"It really is beautiful here," I whisper to myself. A slight breeze blows through my hair, making me smile. Compared to the last couple years, this clearing is... well, it's extremely peaceful.
I decide to venture deeper into the woods, just to see what else I can find among the greenery. It appears to be the same types of trees, shrubs, and flowers, but I do notice that the vegetation begins to deplete the farther I venture away from the camp. Maybe it's because fairies don't come here often, so there's no magic to replenish the life of the plants?
...or maybe, it's something else entirely...
I suddenly hear a twig snap on my left side, and I turn to see a girl who appears to be murmuring to herself, looking crossed. I'm puzzled; I haven't never seen her before in the Light's camp. I mean, I know I haven't seen everyone yet, but when I first entered the place there must have been at least three quarters of the fairies there. Her clothing is different too; her dress is not as big as Serena's is; it has a similar shape but it's longer, and it's a darker purple instead. She also has these ribbon-like things floating away from her dress and she dark hair as well. Her wings almost look black, with faint hints of purple coming through. I wonder... who is she? I try to hide, some part of me thinking that she would run away if she were to see me.
Suddenly I remember that Serena said something about fairies being classified by their wings. Is this girl a Dark Fairy?
"Come out," she says calmly, but it still startles me. "I know you're there."
My breath hitches for a second, because I know there was no way for her to hear or see me, but I step out regardless. "Hi," I say rather awkwardly.
The new girl takes one look at me and a shocked expression appeared on her face. "You... you're the one he wants..." her eyes don't seem focused, and her breathing quickens, like she's hyperventilating. After a few seconds she calms herself though, clearly not wanting to seem flustered in front of a stranger.
I stand there, unsure of what to do and feeling confused. Confused... a word I've been saying a lot lately. Should I help her...? But she looks afraid of me... uh... what do I do? "I'm... the one?" I ask, deciding to start with that.
She nods ever so calmly. "It's nothing to concern yourself with."
Oh please, I'm more concerned than ever.
"What are you doing out here?" I question. "It's a little far from camp."
"Camp...?" she ponders, then shakes her head. "I could say the same for you. Well... if you must know, I'm waiting for someone," she admits crossly.
I cock my head. "Who?"
She shakes her head. "I cannot trust you," she says. "If H-" she quickly places her hands over her mouth, and I become puzzled. Who's H?
"H-He is not coming," she says curtly, though I can tell she's upset. "Good day. I'm sure to be seeing you shortly," she adds, and with that, she walks away. Huh. Weird... but why would she have to meet someone out here? Why not meet them in the Colony, wouldn't it be easier?
Before I have any time to react, I hear another rustle in some nearby bushes. A shadowed figure comes out and I instantly put my hand on Pikachu's Pokeball, ready to battle for my life. "Who are you!?" I demand, feeling a little scared.
The figure shows his face, and I can't suppress my gasp.
"A-Alain!?"
Serena
"Heliux, what's the matter?" I'm concerned as he pulls me into my chambers and shuts the door behind us. "I've never seen you this upset before!" I approach him cautiously, wondering if he wanted a hug, although I'd never seen him to be one for affection.
"Serena, this is something important to me, and I forbid you in telling anyone about this. Not Ash, not Brock, no one. Do I make myself clear?" I'm shocked to hear Heliux's almost angry tone, but I nod. He seems so lost all the time, and if this is the only way I can help him, so be it.
"Your Lightness, I... I wish to leave the Colony for a while." He states his demand plain and simple, but I can't help being confused.
"L-Leave the Colony? Why? When?" I can't stop my questions from coming forth. It's completely normal for fairies to come and go as they please, but Ministers- at least since the war's started- can't do that. They can go out, but for an entire day? Out of the question. If something were to happen, he needs to be here. The only exception is to train new fairies for their roles, but there are no new fairies in our Colony right now. Although I trust him with my life, I can't help but be a little suspicious of Heliux right now.
"Three days from now," he says, trying to answer my questions. "Only for a couple short hours. After that, I shall return to my position."
I cross by arms. "That still doesn't tell me why."
Heliux looks at me strangely, seeming almost embarrassed. "Must I say?"
I nod. "Yes, yes you must say."
He sigh. "Usually we have at least one new fairy in the colony... that usually makes this simpler to do. However, you are Her Lightness. If you wish to know, I shall speak."
I give him a faint smile, silently urging him to continue.
"I have arrangements to meet someone," he says slowly, clearly choosing his words very carefully. "We have agreed to meet once every century, and have allotted a number of potential days to hold this meeting. She does not know it yet, but I am coming to see her on the date I provided you with."
I flash him a grin. "So, a girl, huh?"
My grin grows wider as I see a slight blush appear on his face- this is the first time I'd ever seen him flustered like this, and it's honestly adorable to see the oh-so formal man get flustered like me. "Y-Yes, Your Lightness," he stutters. "But please, allow me to attend this meeting."
"One more question- why can't the two of you meet in the Colony?" I trust him, but I still want to know the answer to this question.
"It... it is a complicated story," he admits. "However, I-"
"Heliux." I stop him, looking him dead in the eyes. "This is the first thing you've ever asked of me, and I trust you completely. Besides, I know the feeling," I add, looking down at my toes. "But, if she really is that important to you, I will let you go. A century is a very long time. However, I still wanna hear the story of how you two met," I joke. "I want to know how she thawed your heart of ice."
He pauses for a little bit, then nods. "Very well," he says. "As long as you swear to absolute secrecy, I will let you hear our tale. But thank you..." I'm a little off-put by the gratefulness and happiness in his eyes. "Thank you so much, Serena."
"Do not thank me," I order him, trying to look serious. "That is an order."
He smiles at me, then takes a bow. "As you wish, Your Lightness."
I roll my eyes at the name. "Wait, Heliux, before you go, can I ask you one last thing?"
"What is it you wish to know?"
"... she is a Light fairy, right?"
His smile fades, and he gives me one last look of sadness before he leaves.
"You said you have trust in me. Therefore... you should already have your answer."
He disappears and I sigh, wondering if I had made the right decision. I better go find Ash. I can't tell him about this, but at least he'll provide me with some comfort to hopefully reassure me that I made the right choice.
Ash
"You look surprised to see me," Alain says with a small grin on his face.
"I-I am!" I exclaim, rushing over to give him a hug. "I didn't see you at the Light Fairy camp, and it's been literal years..." he accepts my hug, which surprises me a little. He's certainly changed, I think to myself.
"So, your Initiation starts tomorrow?" he asks casually.
I nod. "It seems so."
"Everybody's been talking about you," he tells me after a second. "You've become quite famous, you know."
I flash him a grin, striking a pose. "I didn't know." Famous? Me?
He rolls his eyes back at me, the breeze shifting his hair. His wings were almost as dark as the other girl's wings. His clothes look black, but they have a wonderful blue sheen to them. I'm pleasantly surprised to see that he kept his scarf from before. "So, it's your birthday. In that case, I have something to show you. Tomorrow, meet me in this exact spot," he tells me.
I nod, a little puzzled, but excited to see what he's got to show me. "Of course!" I agree. "Hey, Alain, did you see that girl who was running back there?"
"That girl...? Oh, you mean her. She's been sneaking out since two days ago, but she always comes back empty handed, so why does she go? It's strange, really. She is very lucky I don't tattle on her."
"But... isn't everyone allowed to come and go as they please?" I'm confused- from what I had seen so far, that's how it worked.
"It is heavily shunned to see her leave," Alain says after a minute. "After all, La-"
"Ash!"
My heartbeat quickens as I hear Serena calling for me. I turn back to Alain, but he's already disappeared. Before I can process what just happened, Serena comes over and tackles me with a hug. "Wh-What's the big deal!?" I protest while laughing a little and shaking her off.
"I... I just wanted to hug you," she confesses while blushing a little as she tries to compose herself. "What were you doing in this part of the forest anyway?"
"Oh- uh, just exploring," I say innocently. I have no idea why Alain left, but he had to have had a reason for leaving, and I'm not about to tattle on him.
"Well, we should probably be heading back now," Serena says cheerfully. She begins leading me away from the spot and I find myself looking back, just for a moment.
Tomorrow... I can already tell so many things are going to happen tomorrow.
Well, that was the chapter, I hope you enjoyed it!! Lots of mysterious stuff in this chapter, I know.
Also, before I forget, shoutout to RahulKalosChamp and JDizzle149 for being super close with guesses last chapter. They are both amazing authors and people so definitely check them out!! JDizzle149, I'm planning to do your drawing challenge for this book's next update, so we'll see how that goes lol.
Speaking of drawings, as you know I've inserted a lot of OC characters into the book. When my exams are over, I plan on drawing them to give you guys a better image of their looks. I'm already planning to draw Heliux, and another important OC (you may have met her...???? *winks*). But, I realized that I gave a lot of the already-existing characters new outfits as well, so is there anyone you want to see? If so, please comment them here, and I'll work through them all as best I can!!
Anyway, that's it. I'll try to update Saturday, but it could be delayed. Have a good week, everyone!!