A/N: *’Leira’ is pronounced as ‘Leer-a’
**Faeries live longer than people and age more slowly, but it would be very confusing to create a new age system, so when I mention the ages of any of the faeries I won’t be too specific. When I mention that Lilium is in her ‘late teens’ later on, and any other times I might mention age, just imagine that their appearances and maturities correlate to the age I have stated.
By the time Lilium had awoken from her sleep, the moon had floated to the very top of the sky. Moonrise of the 2nd night, she thought. Hybris had said that she would return by the moonrise of her 2nd night away from the Hollow, right here by the entrance. Lilium stretched her body and limbs, without rising from the surface of the branch. She looked around her environment, but the brown haired faery was nowhere to be seen. This did not alarm her, as she knew that Hybris would be back, there was no doubt about that. Hybris was extremely skilled, nothing out there could harm her, not even the Poxies had a chance.
After Lilium waited for another while, she decided to just move on and do something else, as there was no sign of Hybris yet. She’d be back soon anyway. Looking one last time at the beautifully white orb above her, imagining a time where she would be free, she flew back inside the Hollow.
The Worship Chamber was empty, as it usually was at that time. It was the only room in the whole Hollow that looked like there had actually been effort put into it. The walls were adorned with gems and crystals of every variety, and there were samples of the forest throughout. Prayer and meditation took place here, meditation being Lilium’s second favourite pastime. Nightfaeries were very spiritual and religious, with many deities, the main being the Goddess. When Lilium could find the time, she would come here and lose herself in deep meditation. She sat on a patch of moss on the ground, and relaxed.
A few hours later, Lilium was sitting in the library. There really wasn’t anything to do in the Hollow at all, her days consisted of the same thing, over and over. This time, Lilium was reading books on magic, for beginners. After all, she needed to start somewhere with Inanna. She inwardly groaned.. She really didn’t want to train her, and she wished with all her heart that she hadn’t have been chosen. Of course, she was the one who had already started making plans for when she was free, and she was one who was chosen to train a new warrior. How inconvenient.
Time went on, hour after hour, the same boring thing, one after another. She ate, she washed, she read, she ate again, and let the the day go by the same as every other. It felt like nothing would ever change. Now, the sky was beginning to lighten up a little, turning from midnight blue into a azure colour. Most of the Hollow would already be asleep at this stage, but Lilium could not sleep yet. She had expected Hybris to be back by now, surely she must have finished by now. As much as she tried not to, Lilium was beginning to get a little worried now. Hybris almost always returned on time, even if she was late it was never by a full day. She’ll be back by morning, she must be. Lilium knew it would be unwise to sit by the entrance so close to sunrise, as Nightfaeries were not supposed to be out in the sun, but she had to wait for Hybris, to be sure she was safe.
She tiptoed to the entrance, to make sure nobody heard the flapping of her wings. When she got to the entrance, she almost died of shock when she saw somebody sitting at the entrance. It wasn’t a Nightfaerie, which was evident from the long platinum hair, and leafy green clothing that belonged to the stranger. Nightfaeries only had black, brown and very occasionally ginger hair. Their clothing was always dark, so they could blend into darkness easily. Lilium approached cautiously, ready to defend herself if the intruder were to turn hostile. How did she get in? She thought. There was a protection spell around the Hollow to stop anything that was not a Nightfaerie, how could the stranger have bypassed the security? Lilium stopped dead in her tracks as the stranger turned around and looked at her. The strangers eyes widened momentarily, but then she smiled friendlily. This puzzled Lilium, the faery was smiling at her yet she had never even seen her before. How could someone be so friendly towards somebody who could turn on them at any second? Lilium would have no problem, if she needed to. But somehow, she doubted that it would be necessary. While this was odd, the stranger did not look hostile. Still, she would not let her guard down.
“Hello!” spoke the other faery. Lilium did not respond, she just eyed her uneasily. The faery continued, “Oh, I apologize. You don’t know who I am, but I was just so excited to see you. It’s been so long since anybody has seen a Nightfaery, after all.” What was she talking about? Everybody knew that Nightfaeries only came out at night. So that’s what Lilium said. “We only come out at night.. Who are you?”
“Oh, I know that, but we still used to see some of you. That was years ago though, I am told. Oh yes of course, you don’t know who I am, sorry again. I am Leira Rose, Princess of the Sunlightfaeries. I am the daughter of Queen Rosaline.” She said it as if she had not just breached security, as if she was expected and not just an intruder. Why was she even telling Lilium this?
“I do not understand,” started Lilium, still tense, “Why are you here? And how are you here?”
“Well…” said Leira, “I’m not really supposed to be here. But I just had to know, I’ve never seen a Nightfaery in real life before, and everybody, mother included, has been wondering why you never come out anymore. My mother and your Queen were close once, supposedly. But then, one Summer, your Queen and the rest of you stopped coming to the Summer Solstice celebration. Mother tried to visit your Queen here, but she was told to go away and never return. Nobody ever knew what happened, and barely any of you have been seen since. So I just came, because I was so curious, and wanted to know what happened.. Even the Elves don’t seem to know what’s happned, and Elves and Nightfaeries were once almost family. That’s all, really.”
This new information was new and alarming to Lilium. Leira must have been lying, trying to manipulate or confuse her, but why would she even do that? Lilium had never even heard of a Summer Solstice Celebration, especially not with the Nightfae-They couldnt go out during the day! And the Summer Soltice signified the longest day of the year. Very curious. Additionally, she struggled to believe that their Queen could be 'friends' with anybody given her evident callousness, and sense of superiority. Indeed, she had heard of her making public appearences, a long time ago.. What on earth was this girl talking about? Also, why would this Sunlightfaery, Leira, even care what happened to the Nightfaeries? Why was it her business?
“Why do you even care?” Asked Lilium.
“Well… In a few years, still quite a few actually, since I am the Princess, I will become Queen of the Sunlightfaeries. And when I do, I want to reunite all the faeries, and create a society of all different species, where we can live together in peace and harmony!” She spoke with childish wonderment and naivety. But she couldn’t have been a child, because she looked as old as Lilium, in her late teens. Were all Sun-fae so optimistic? Lilium had no other encounters to compare. She decided simply to ignore what she had been told, despite some odd curiosity that flickered briefly, before dissapating. Instead she asked, “How did you get in here?”
“I flew in, of course!”
“But.. There is a protection spell that prevents outsiders from getting in. How did you bypass the security?”
Leira’s brow furrowed, and she looked very confused. “Protection spell? I didn’t encounter any barrier on my way in.”
No barrier? That wasn’t good news, that meant that anybody could attack, including the Poxies. Lilium would notify the Queen as soon as she could to rectify the situation.
“I see…” said Lilium. Part of her ached to question the faery, but some undetermined and subtle resistance halted her. “Well, I’m afraid that I cannot give you any information. It looks like you’ve been lied to, because I have no idea what you are talking about. The Hollow has always been this way, and the reason the connection between the elves stopped is because they stopped taking an interest in us altogether."
“I see then. That’s rather peculiar. Why do you need a barrier anyway?”
How could she need to ask? Wasn’t it obvious? There were many creatures in the night that could attack them, so it was important to have some kind of protection.
“The Poxies of course. If they got us, we’d be done for.”
Leira’s eyes widened in shock.
“The poxies?” she asked, confused.
“Yes,” said Lilium, frustrated, “The Poxies.” That reminded her of Hybris, and how she still hadn’t returned. The sky was steadily brighning, and Lilium would need to get back into the Hollow before the sun rose. Oh, Leira had been flying through the forest, maybe she had seen some sign of a brown haired faery? Asking was better than not asking, thought Lilium.
“Speaking of which, have you seen a brown haired faery anywhere in the forest? My friend Hybris went out on a quest, two nights ago, and she still hasn’t returned. I’m beginning to worry.”
Leira still looked extremely confused, “A quest? For what?”
“For hunting Poxies, of course. What else could it be? They’re so dangerous, we need to control them somehow. I wanted to go too, but our Queen wouldn’t let me.”
Leira looked very worried now, and she stood up, “No, I’m afraid I haven’t. Why don’t you go looking for her yourself?”
“I can’t now, it’s almost sunrise and I can’t go out during the day. I might this evening though, if she still hasn’t returned.”
Leira looked like she was ready to fly away now. Had Lilium said something that had made her uncomfortable? She didn’t care if she went, she had made Lilium feel rather uncomfortable, but her sudden change in mood was still perplexing.
“W- well…. I’d better go now.” Stuttered Leira. Lilium had made her uncomfortable somehow, but how? “Well…bye then.” Said Leira, before fluttering away.
What a crazy faery! Lilium had never met somebody like her in her life. Then again, most faeries in the Hollow had no personalities at all, but still. And why on earth had she gotten to uncomfortable? It was strange, but it didn't bother her for long. Her head had now become flooded with worry for her friend, she was extremely late now, and Lilium was beginning to think that something might have happened to her, as doubtful as she had originally been. What was she going to do? She couldn’t risk going out now, the sun would be up very soon, and being in sunlight was something that Lilium couldn’t afford to risk. Hybris would do it for you. A voice whispered in Lilium’s head. She looked out into the forest, and back into the safety of the Hollow. Hybris was her best friend, and she was worth the risk. You’re in for it if you get caught. She shook the thought away, and got ready to fly out into the forest. She guessed that she had half an hour. It would be enough, she just needed to look around for a little while, that was all. She took a deep breath, and putting all doubts to the back of her head, she shot into the forest, as fast as she could manage.
Increasingly further from the Hollow, Leira was flying back to her own Hollow. That faery was so strange… She thought. And what was she talking about? Leira just couldn’t understand. Since when could night faeries not come out in the sun? Yes, they preferred the dark, but they weren’t sun-sensitive. According to the others, nightfaeries used to occasionally appear during the day. But the Poxy situation was even more confusing. The last of the Poxies had been wiped out over 15 years ago, after all…