A Faeries Love

Introduction

 

Before we start the story, let’s learn a little more about the world A Faeries Love takes place in and a little bit of its history, past, present and future. Most of what I will talk about here isn’t directly connected to the story, and if you don’t want to read this part, feel free to skip it.

A Faeries Love takes place on a world that will eventually become known as Thorn. Thorn is nestled in the middle of a nebula that obscures its light and keeps it hidden quite far into the future. As a consequence of this, very few stars shine in the night of thorn. Because of this, even though Thorn is the second oldest planet of the seven original founding members of the planetary conglomerate, it’s the only planet that never created spaceships. They use an alternative form of travel that will be explained in a different novel.

The first intelligent species of Thorn was the elves, descended from one of the species of fish that first crawled out of the oceans and could breathe oxygen and also had gills for breathing water. Much later, humans arrived on Thorn accidentally by the same method that the modern inhabitants of Thorn use to travel to different places in the galaxy.

At first the humans and elves lived peacefully, but as time went on, the humans started to take over the areas elves considered there lands, strip mining and clear cutting forests and driving the elves from these lands. This started a series of wars, the first of which drove many humans back to earth and caused the elves to destroy the means which the humans used to travel to Thorn, ceasing the invasion of humans to their world and causing Earth to have no knowledge of Thorn as a planet till what we would consider the near future.

The second war set which parts of the world belonged to the elves and which belonged to the humans. At this point in history one of the races decided to destroy the other completely and created a biological weapon which was meant to destroy the other race, but instead there was a disaster. A variety of rose that grew near the site of the disaster was biologically changed and the pollen from the species caused a severe allergic type reaction in any elves that it came in contact with and changed their genetic code, forcing them to become Goblins, but unlike the Goblins you would be familiar with, these were much more like elves, taller with pointed ears and armor and a tendency to be very skilled with magic, and with a much meaner disposition. At this point in time, a large group of elves, fearing this magical blight, fled to the first moon of Thorn and magically blocked access to this moon to everyone. On the planet Thorn, most elves were changed into goblins before they were able to contain and eventually eradicate the plants involved. The elves retreated deep into their territory and the humans and goblins eventually waged war, the first goblin Human war. One of the consequences of this war was wide spread enslavement of goblins, under the guise that they were too dangerous to be left to themselves.

With the majority of goblins enslaved by humans, they bred them into a not as aggressive species. Some goblin communities survived independent of this slavery and some lived near their elven cousins, though these goblins never knew what had happened to their brethren outside the elven lands. Eventually as the elves rebuilt their kingdom and their numbers, their learned about the mistreatment of the goblins and started the third human elven war. The consequence of this war was the end of war event, where everyone, elf, human, and goblin not involved in the fighting, formed the army of peace and forced a non-violent peace throughout the world of Thorn.

After this point, many sporting events became very popular and took the place of fighting to settle differences between any races and nations. One of the most popular was a version of baseball played across a large planet wide league.

It was some time after this event that the planet of Thorn discovered a human colony on a world other then earth and became involved in politics in the galaxy and helped become the stabilizing influence among the planets of the conglomerate, leading to the peace that existed.

A Faeries Love takes place after the second elven human war but before the first goblin human war.

 

 

A Faeries love

By Samuel Plahetka

 

 

Evelyn sat in the dirt. She was watching a red haired boy with a bat standing about fifty feet away looking around. He kept looking between the buildings. He ran over to Evelyn.

“They should be here by now. If it takes much longer, we’ll go somewhere you’d like instead, maybe the park to play,” he said. He was twice as big as Evelyn was.

“I’d rather have ice cream. But,” she picked up some dirt between her hands and let it fall to the ground, “Won’t they get in trouble if we leave and they show up Saliwyn? Daddy said if anyone was here to play we had to be with them?” Saliwyn smiled at her.

“I’m glad you remembered what father said little sister. You’re right. Hopefully they won’t take too long.” Saliwyn looked over and saw someone coming into the field.

“That’s better. Don’t worry, we won’t take all day,” he said.

“That’s okay, I like watching you play,” Evelyn said and smiled at her brother. He ran over to his friends coming onto the field.

“What took you all so long?” he asked.

“We had to gather the entire team, And Uessi got stuck watching his little sister, Eadalla,” The boy said, casting his gaze upwards.

“Don’t worry about it, she can watch with Evelyn. They look about the same age. Hurry up and set up the field.” He said. The boys flapped their wings furiously, but they didn’t lift into the air.

“Stop that, you’re just kicking dirt into the air,” he shouted after them, and then turned to the little girl.

“My little sister is over there; you two can watch the game and play until we are done. Go say hello,” he said, and then flew out to where the other boys were setting up. Eadalla walked over to Evelyn and sat down next to her.

“Hi, I’m Eadalla,” she said. “I’m Uessi’s little sister.”

“I’m Evelyn. Which one is Uessi?” she said looking out at the boys. Saliwyn was walking around the bases the other boys had put down, carefully counting his steps. Another boy followed him.

“The one following the boy counting the steps,” she said. “Have you seen this game before?”

“A few times. It’s exciting, watching them try to hit the ball as far as they can,” Evelyn said.

“I’ve only watched them practice. My brother said today he’s going to hit a homerun further then Saliwyn.”

“That’s my brother,” Evelyn said and giggled, “He always wants to win.” Eadalla giggled too.

“Mine too. He’s been talking about hitting the ball more and further then your brother all week,” Eadalla said. She looked out and saw all the boys lining up in the field and by the batter. She leaned over to Evelyn’s ear.

“Can I tell you a secret?” she said. Evelyn felt something in her stomach, a nervous type of feeling.

“Yes,” she whispered back.

“I only wanted to come watch them play because I was hoping you would be here,” Eadalla said. Evelyn turned to her and gave her a quizzical look.

“You’re not one of those noble watchers are you?” She asked. Evelyn thought back to when she started school and the faerie boy used to follow her to school, asking her questions about such as ‘How does it feel to be a noble?’

“You’re a noble? I didn’t even know,” she said. “But why should that matter? Nobles aren’t in power. They haven’t been for a long time. No, I saw you in school. In the lunch area. I…” Eadalla paused for a second and looked around at everyone playing. The boys were standing around the field at the bases and Saliwyn was throwing the ball towards a boy with a bat.

“From the first time I saw you I thought you were cute. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while. But the time was never right. Either you were eating, or talking to friends, or something and I always chickened out.”

“Cute? But my hair is such a flat brownish color. Your hair is much better, like the golden rays of the sun,” Evelyn said. She saw something in Eadalla’s eyes, a look that she didn’t see very often. She saw that look in her parents eyes sometimes when they looked at each other, and her brother had started getting that look for some of the girls she would see him talking to when he thought no one was watching him. She wrinkled her nose a little, realizing that wasn’t what she had wanted to say. Eadalla let out a sigh.

“I guess I shouldn’t have said anything,” Eadalla said and looked downwards. She looked a little sad. Evelyn felt a little ping somewhere inside her that started to grow outward.

“Don’t do that,” Evelyn said and put her finger under Eadalla’s chin and lifted her eyes back to meet hers. “Look, there’s an old brick wall near where I that belongs to no one. Do you know it?” Evelyn asked. Eadalla nodded. “Ok, let’s meet there tonight and finish this chat. I don’t really want an audience for this, even if they aren’t paying attention.” Eadalla looked over at the boys playing in the field. They were still fixated on the game and not paying attention. Eadalla leaned over and gave Evelyn a short kiss on her lips.

“Ok, tonight then, right after the sun goes down,” she said.

Neither of them had seen Saliwyn watching them from the corner of his eye as he had prepared to throw the ball.

 

Saliwyn carried his bat over his shoulder as he walked down the street. Evelyn walked down the street behind him somewhat, a little further back. He was whistling a little.

“Did you see me hit the ball further then Eadalla’s brother? It was awesome. He grumbled at me a little, but we talked some and he isn’t mad.” Saliwyn said. Evelyn barely noticed, her eyes were a million miles away.

Saliwyn stopped mid-step and turned around. Evelyn bumped into him, not noticing he had stopped. She looked up at him.

“Hey, what’s this about,” she said. Saliwyn looked down at her slightly.

“We need to talk for a minute,” he said. Evelyn groaned a little. She wasn’t sure what her brother meant to say, but it couldn’t have been good.

“Do you remember a few years ago when I disappeared one night and dad left to gout looking for me?” He said. Evelyn nodded. She remembered. It was way past her bedtime, but she had been woken up by her parent’s talking, saying that he wasn’t in his bed. Her dad had left to go find him.

“What you don’t know is dad and a guard had found me in an embarrassing situation with a girl. She was really upset at me and stopped talking to me after that. You don’t really want that to happen to Eadalla, do you?” he asked. Evelyn’s cheeks blushed a little. Had he heard them talking while they played their game? Was he going to try to stop her?

“I get that you’re concerned, but I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m just a few years younger then you. I don’t really know what’s happening,” Evelyn’s eyes met her brothers, “but I do know I haven’t really felt the way that dad said I would when he had that talk with me. And I don’t know if this has to do with that, but it might. And you’re not going to talk me out of it, or even stop me,” Evelyn said. Saliwyn sighed.

“You misunderstand me completely. I only want you to be happy, you know that. But I don’t want dad and a guard to come across you two somewhere,” Saliwyn said. “What I am proposing is to help you. Uessi and I talked about it a little. We’re not sure what our parent’s would do if they caught you, Uessi a little more then me, but what we are proposing is a little help. Instead of sneaking out, we tell our parent’s we are taking you out for star watching tonight, so they don’t run off looking for you two with the guards. To avoid an embarrassing situation,” Saliwyn said. Evelyn blushed a little more, her cheeks growing a bright red.

“Okay,” Evelyn said.

 

“I don’t see why you have to walk me to the wall,” Evelyn said to her brother who was walking next to her.

“Because, that’s the plan. Uessi and I are going to go talk some somewhere kind of nearby, far enough away that we won’t know anything but close enough that if something happens or someone dangerous disturbs you we can help. It’s usually safe here in the city, but sometimes things happen, and we’d both be very upset if anything bad happened to either of you. Not to mention the trouble we’d be in if it did,” Saliwyn smirked. Evelyn just shook her head, but smiled anyway. They got within eye sight of the wall. Saliwyn stopped walking.

“This is where I stop,” Saliwyn said. “Just yell if something bad happens,” he said before he started walking away down a side street.

Evelyn took a deep breath. Up until now, someone had been by her through this. First Eadalla, and then Saliwyn. But now she had to take the last few steps by herself and she felt that same strange feeling inside her, but intensified. Part of her wanted to run to the wall as fast as she could, but part of her wanted to run away back to her house. She could always come up with some excuse why she wasn’t with her brother.

But her feet remained planted where she was, unable to move. She knew she didn’t want to run away.

She took a step towards the wall and a strange new feeling started flowing through her. She found herself hoping Eadalla was there, that she hadn’t been teasing her, or just wanted to make her show up somewhere in the middle of the night alone.

She took another step and realized she wanted to feel Eadalla’s lips upon hers again. That made it easier and the steps became lighter, less strained. She almost felt like she was gliding towards the wall. The first two steps would forever be ingrained in her memory, she knew that, but she couldn’t remember taking any of the other steps. She was just there.

Looking around, she looked for Eadalla, but she didn’t see her. Maybe it was a trick. She sighed a little.

“Evelyn, is that you?”

Evelyn looked over behind the wall, where the street lamps didn’t reach their light. Eadalla was kneeling behind the wall, peeking over it. Evelyn felt a smile appear on her face and she walked over to where Eadalla was and sat down next to her.

“I wasn’t sure you’d show up,” Eadalla said.

“Of course I would. I suggested it. I wasn’t sure you’d show up either,” Evelyn said. They were silent a moment, then both giggled at the same time. That lifted some of the nervousness from Evelyn’s chest, but she found she couldn’t think of what to say next. She just looked at Eadalla. She leaned over and kissed her, lightly at first. Eadalla’s hand went behind Evelyn’s neck and the kiss intensified into something more passionate.

 

“Come on Saliwyn, I want to make sure they still have it,” Evelyn said, walking in front of him fast. Saliwyn was having trouble keeping up with his sister who was normally lagging behind him.

“Don’t worry. They rarely sell out of those. I’m sure it will still be there,” Saliwyn said as he tried to keep up.

Evelyn and Eadalla had started hanging out during school when not in their classes and whenever they could after school. Evelyn had learned a lot about Eadalla. They only had one class together, but besides that Eadalla was taking a lot of advanced classes. The more advanced the better her grades were. But by the same token, the easier the class was, the worse her grades were. Evelyn had been jealous of this about her at first, but after spending a little bit of time with her, she had started also going to the office when Eadalla would get called in and would listen at the door as the various administrators would talk to her. The dean and principle of the school would call her the smartest student in this grade, and she should have been valedictorian if she would just apply herself in all her classes, not just the challenging ones. But her counselors were always calling her Dumb and stupid and telling her that her grades in her higher level classes was just a fluke, and as soon as they figured out how she was cheating they would pull her from them. The jealously she felt disappeared after she heard them talking to her like that.

“It’s ok, they just don’t understand,” Eadalla told her after the first time. Evelyn felt her hand twist into a fist.

“No it’s not. They shouldn’t be able to treat anyone like that,” she said. She punched the wall, leaving a small hole behind. Eadalla looked ahead and behind to see if anyone had seen it.

“You shouldn’t punch holes in the walls, you’ll get in trouble if they had seen you,” Eadalla said.

“Better the walls then them,” Evelyn replied. Eadalla smiled at her and kissed her softly.

“Thank you, but it’s really okay. I don’t really need the grades for my dream, just the knowledge,” Eadalla said.

“Oh? And what dream is that?” Evelyn asked, her anger forgotten at the thought of finding out some new secret of Eadalla’s.

“I want to be a writer and a bard and Travel the world and tell stories where ever I go. See the sights everywhere,” Eadalla said. Her eyes looked off to a really far away place. “What about you?” she asked. Evelyn stopped walking for a moment.

“I don’t know what I want to do. I figured I would figure it out before I left school, but I haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Well, what do you love?” Eadalla said.

“You,” Evelyn replied quickly. Eadalla smiled.

“Okay, what do you love besides me?” she quickly added. Evelyn thought a moment.

“I love plants, and growing things,” Evelyn said after a few moments.

“Maybe you should start taking Botany classes. That’s everything you need to know about plants,” Eadalla said. Behind them they heard the steps of someone taller then them start down the corridor.

“Come on, they will see the hole in the wall,” Eadalla said quickly and grabbed Evelyn’s hands. The two started running down the hall.

 

“I just know what Eadalla would want, and I want to make sure I get it for her,” Evelyn called back to her brother. They reached the bookstore and went in. There were books stacked everywhere, not nearly as many as the great library that stood near the city hall building, but these were for sale and anyone could get them. She went to the one book she knew Eadalla would love. It was a set, a small black leather bound book that contained everything a writer and traveler would need, a larger brown leather bound blank book with a very large amount of pages, advertised as enough pages for two generations of writers with some pages left over for other things, and a magic writer that would never run out of ink. It was a little expensive, but Saliwyn said he would help cover the cost of it. He had gotten to know Eadalla, both through Uessi and when he would talk to Eadalla himself.

 

 

Evelyn’s hands tenderly caressed the roses before her. The field she stood in was bare brown dirt. Near the edges low grey brick buildings stood watch, surrounding the clearing. The clearing was almost a courtyard for these buildings, but they didn’t quite close in the area, leaving small passages between buildings that led to other places beyond sight. Grass crept inward at these passages but hadn’t moved into the clearing. The rose bush she lovening cared for the only obvious plant around. Its’ flowers were blue, white, red, pink, and 2 identical purple roses. She smiled upon the rose bush.

“You’re the only plant around here, but someday soon others will also grow here, nurtured by your own growth. Your beauty will inspire them to grow tall and strong, As if you were their queen and they your servants.” The flower seemed to move at this, straightening in the sun overhead.

"Good, very good, I had always hoped you would master the rare Purple flower, but I never imagined you would be able to do this," a familiar voice behind her said. She knew this voice, her older brother. She didn’t need to look at him to see his features. He had flaming red hair, something of a curiosity among her people. No one else in the city had any, and a sharp contrast to her own brownish-black hair. He’d be wearing his armor, mostly bright steel colored shining in the sun with purple on the shoulder pads, knee pads, elbow pad, and chest plate. On the chest plate there was a crest of their city dead center. Where the pieces fit together, he wore buckles imprinted with their family crest, though most people didn’t notice it. His wings were hidden under his armor, and had said outsiders had sometimes been confused and thought he was a short elf.

The fact that this was their families private clearing, only their family was allowed here, and their parents had given it to them long ago. In the past, when her brother was younger, he would invite his friends here to play a human game with sticks hitting a ball and running around bases, but not very long ago he no longer had time for that game, being immersed in studies or maneuvers with the people under his command in the defense forces. He had moved up the ranks and now had a position of great responsibility, but still he made time for his little sister whenever he could, visiting her as often as he could.

"I'm glad you approve," She said. She knew her place, not wanting to embarrass him in front of whoever may be watching. She picked up a pair of pruning sheers she had nearby and snipped the 2 purple roses off. Then she dipped them in a bucket next to her. She took one and placed it behind her ear, where it seemed to magically stay. She stood and placed the other behind the man's ear.

"Brother and sister should always have a special bond." Her green eyes looked up into his hazel eyes. She knew he was leaving soon for the human lands. The elves needed help in the war against the humans and had asked the faeries for help. He was to led several battalions and bring this senseless fighting to an end. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head against his chest.

"You better come back, I don't know what I'll do if you don't."

"You'll go on, just without me." He said to her, sounding confident, but he shaked beneath her grasp. His arm's wove around her and they stood holding each other.

 

“You can't die; you're all I have left of him.”

'I am truly sorry faerie child, but my time has past, I have felt the freezing cold 10 times and I can not bare another season. I have grown infertile, and I won't awake from the next sleep. Goodbye faerie child'

The rosebush, now brown and with no leaves or flowers, crumbled to dust. Tears streamed out of the green eyes of the young women watching. Another woman stood beside her.

"I'm sorry Evelyn; I know how much that plant meant to you."

Evelyn rested her head on her friends shoulder and cried into it. Her arms wrapped around her, trying to comfort her.

"It's just not fair Eadalla; she was all I had left of my brother. What am I going to do?" Eadalla watched her closely, her eyes looking red and puffy as well. It contrasted with her blonde hair.

Eadalla released Evelyn, looked into her tear ridden eyes, and took her hand in her own, "I'll always be here for you." Evelyn smiled. "Thank you."

Very slowly, the two walked back to the city, hand in hand.

 

Evelyn and Eadalla sat upon a precipice far outside the city, a lagoon was nearby, spread across a vast expanse. Two waterfalls fell into it, all from different heights and strengths. One of them fell mid up into a hot spring on the cliff before falling the rest of the way. It was calm there and Eadalla and Evelyn had gone there frequently in the past, more so since her brother had left. Across the lagoon the entire area opened up to the sea. Evelyn was still misty eyed. She looked out over the waterfall and beyond into the sea, and past towards something she didn't quite see. Eadalla watched her nervously.

"He's out there. He's still alive. I know it." Evelyn looked at Eadalla. A strange feeling had been building inside her. She knew what she had to do, but she didn’t know if her friend would help her or not.

"You said you would be there for me. Well, I need your help."

Eadalla looked at Evelyn; her wings glistened in the sunlight. Her pale skin seemed to dazzle with excitement.

"I didn't say that ideally, I'll help you however you want."

"I'm going to find my brother. He's out there"

"But, faeries who leave this island rarely return. We may not either."

"I know, but he's my brother, I love him and I have to find him."

"Eadalla looked around shyly, then into Evelyn's green eyes. She knew she couldn't resist her. "Yes, I'll help you, however you need help. Be brave little noble,” she said, and then winked at Evelyn. It had been their joke, because Evelyn was descended from a noble family and Eadalla from a common house. These days, besides military rank, no one really paid attention. Not since the king of the Faeries had surrendered his power and the people elected their ruler.

Evelyn looked out over the water, lost in thought.

"Isn't it remarkable how the two rivers around us join into one before reaching the sea?" Eadalla said as she laid her head on Evelyn’s shoulder.

 

It was late; the darkness had swallowed the light ages before. Evelyn lay in her bed, going over the plan in her mind. If anyone knew or even guessed it, they may have tried to stop them. She hoped Eadalla hadn’t mentioned it to anyone.

She stood up and put her giant faerie sized pillow onto the bed. As a finishing touch she took the goofy human doll she had with the too large head and the hair the same shade as her own and put it on the pillow, facing away from the door, and pulled her blanket over the entire thing, leaving the hair sticking out the end. She stood back and looked at her handiwork. She imagined herself still in bed and felt a bit strange, as if she was staring at herself, before feeling sad that no one would know what had happened to her. She shook the feeling off and grabbed her knapsack, filled with dried food, a sleeping bag, the magically preserved purple rose, and fire sticks in a sealed waterproof container, and climbed out her window. The large tree she had planted years ago stood next to her window on the first floor. She scuttled behind it and ran out to the street, careful not to let herself be even possibly seen from the house.

It wasn’t far to the docks, but she had to meet up with Eadalla first. Staying in the shadows so no one could stop her and ask why she was out this late, she slowly made her way to the meeting spot. No one was out on the streets this late. The glow from the magical bluish lights shone from above, making spots as bright as day time on the ground that dimmed farther from where the lights hits the streets. Evelyn stayed away from these spots, keeping to the twilight between these bright spots.

The city itself was not very large, and it took Evelyn about twenty minutes to reach the spot they had decided to meet. It also happened to be the spot where they first met years and years ago, long before her brother had left. There was a stone wall that ran up a hill and, as her and Eadalla had discovered through the years, ran around nearly the entire island and well outside the city. They had always thought it had been some ruin from deep in the past, maybe even from before humans had first been seen on the planet, but there were no records of its history anywhere in the cities library. Evelyn saw no one anywhere near the wall, neither Eadalla or anyone else, so she went over to the far less lit side and prepared to sit down behind it to wait. As she looked at the darkened side, she saw Eadalla, sitting back against the small wall, with her old large leather bound book open, writing stick in hand busy writing inside the book. Evelyn smiled, and sat down next to her. Eadalla looked up briefly then back down to the book.

“Just give me one minute to finish this passage and I’ll be ready,” she muttered, scribbling faster now.

“Something new or something old?” Evelyn asked. Eadalla was silent a moment, her gaze fixed on the book as she wrote. She stopped writing and read the passage she had just written.

“Something new, trying to remember this feeling and this place before we leave, just in case we never see them again.” She said as she closed the book and slipped the writer stick into a fold in the front cover. She slipped the entire thing into her knapsack and closed it up.

“I’m ready, let’s go.”

 

 

The dark sky obscured the vision of the 2 faeries they made there way to the docks. The magic lights were fewer as they walked, as nearly no one took boats out at night. Deep purple dark clouds filled the night and shadows from what little light was around in left an eerie presence. Both were frightened of being discovered, far too frightened to even speak. Evelyn had been sure there would be at least one guard by the ships, but as they approached the docks, there was none in sight. Evelyn walked out onto the wooden dock looking for a ship. She had sailed many times on the lake and knew what to look for in a fast vessel. Eventually, she found a sleek vessel, one that could slice through the water. Eadalla jumped onto the ship while Evelyn untied it from the moorings that attached it to the dock. There was a slight wind that helped, pushing it from the dock. Evelyn took the main sails and jib, while Eadalla took the rudder. They quickly sailed the short expanse of river left before the sea opened up to them. The current took them past the shores of there home until it was out of sight. The darkness was pressed against them and only the dim light of the nights purple clouds gave them any light at all. The wind became heavier as they left the shore behind, blowing feverishly against the small boat. The island behind them quickly disappeared and the wind became much more violent, kicking waves against the side of the boat. The faeries tried to keep her steady for as long as they could. Evelyn went to the front of the boat to drop the jib sail, hoping that would steady the boat. Before she could finish a giant wave crashed over the side. It knocked Evelyn off balance and pulled her into the sea.

"HELP ME!!" she cried out after the wave had swept her off. Eadalla didn't even think, she jumped in and swam towards Evelyn. She grabbed on to her hand and pulled her close.

"Hang on, I'm going to swim back to the boat" She screamed above the storm. But as she turned, the boat was already long gone. Evelyn had seen this and was starting to get frantic. Eadalla just kept saying, "Oh god" over and over. Water rushed over there heads. It became a struggle to keep above water. They grew tired fast trying to stay above the water. Soon, they passed out from exhaustion, First Eadalla and then Evelyn.

 

Evelyn awoke on the shores of an unfamiliar beach. Jagged rocks were cutting up from the ocean a little outward, like massive teeth. She tried to make her arms push herself up, but threw up instead. Somehow she managed to roll over. She didn't move for a while, her mind dulled from exhaustion.

"Eadalla, are you ok?" She asked, looking around. She didn't see her friend next to her.

"EADALLA???" she screamed as she tried to get up. Looking over the shores, she didn't see her friend. She tried to get up, but her legs and arms refused to let her.

"Oh, Eadalla," she whispered as her face hit the sand and she passed out.

 

Evelyn awoke from her deep sleep, and was for a moment in some lost world far beyond the reaches of mortals. But she drifted back to reality, took in a deep sigh and started to cry. Visions of Eadalla came to her, and she remembered.

 

Eadalla stood in front of a large audience, lute in hand. Evelyn was a few feet to her right. The sweat glistened on Eadalla's forehead. She looked nervously at Evelyn, who gave her a big smile. Eadalla took a deep breath and started to play. It was a gentle soothing beat.

"Many years ago, all faeries lived in piece with nature and with each other, all upon this island we call home. Food was plenty and we had feasts many times a year," Here Her playing become dark and foreboding, "Before Astroth arrived. He founded the ways of magic, and taught all faeries magic. But he focused on dark magic, and had a dark soul. He rallied the faeries that would follow him and left to wage war against the people of the outside world." Eadalla paused a second, too look around and see everyone reaction. Then she continued.

"The faeries that followed him became dark and corrupted. They slayed countless people on the outside, Brought down many of the nations mightiest armies. They were on the verge of taking control of the entire world. But then, on a small exhibition lead by Astroth himself, he made his way to the capitol to slay the king. He and his party made it across treacherous mountains, fast flowing rivers, and through the center of the densely populated kingdom. Then, outside the gates of the capitol city," She paused for a few seconds, looking around, letting suspense build," a pack of goblins sprang out of the bushes and ate most of the party, Including Astroth. Two warriors made it back to there encampment to tell the story. The faeries then took all they had accumulated, slaves, ships, food, and supplies, and sailed to a large uninhibited island and built an empire. They are still there today."

The Music stopped and the faeries clapped.

 

'Oh, poor Eadalla, you were too young, too full of life to die, I should never have taken you along.' She looked up, and she knew she had to survive, if only so Eadalla's life wouldn't have been taken in vain. She stood, and started walking inward, away from the sea. She walked along the sand dunes, and the beach looked as if it had no intention of stopping. The sun was high over head and beating down upon her. Her worn and weary body began to become warm, and dry all the water out of it. As she walked further inland, it became more and more difficult to continue. She lost her footing a few times, and fell. She felt her mouth dry up, her tongue swell, and she couldn't think straight. All she did was walk inwards. Soon, she collapsed.

 

"Evelyn, Evelyn, Wake up"

Evelyn slowly opened her eyes. She was lying in a bed, a wooden ceiling above her. Eadalla was standing next to her, looking upon her.

"Am I dead?" Evelyn asked.

"Only if I can be the grim reaper," Eadalla said with a smile on her face. She gave Evelyn a glass of water. "Here, drink this, the people of this village found you passed out in the desert, after I asked them to find you."

Evelyn took the water and drank it down quickly. She paused a second. "I thought you were dead."

Eadalla giggled. "No sweetie, I got rescued; I guess we came up on different beaches or something." Evelyn's arms went around Eadalla. She whispered into her ear, "I was so scared you were dead." Eadalla blushed and said, "I'll get you some more water." She took the glass and left the room. Evelyn noticed another in the room, a man, a human, sitting in a corner that she hadn’t seen. The entire room was made of the same wood as the ceiling. There was a table in front of the man and next to her bed a nightstand with some clothes folded up on them.

"Hello, I'm glad to see you survived."

Evelyn suddenly felt awkward, she noticed she was naked and grabbed the blanket around herself.

"Oh, no need for that, you have nothing to worry about from me." He pointed to the nightstand, "But when you feel better, there are some clothes in there for you. They are not what you were wearing, but I'd be honored if you'd take my gift." He smiled and then he left the room. Evelyn let the blanket drop, exposing her breasts. She turned to the nightstand to see what he had given her. It was a pair of shorts, she guessed about mid thigh or so, and a loose shirt, Perfect desert wear. It was all a pale brown, the same color as the sand she had seen earlier. She picked them up and put them on. Underneath, she saw her old clothes and a backpack. She picked it up and folded her clothes neatly and put them in. She then got up and got dressed. She looked around, and saw a mirror. She looked in it. 'It's simple, but I like It.' she thought. She turned, wiggled her butt and giggled. She heard Eadalla giggling too.

"Ah, how long have you been there?" Evelyn asked.

"Long enough, I brought a large pitcher of water this time." She went over to Evelyn and poured her a glass. She gladly drank it all.

"The people are really nice here, and there's someone I think you should meet when you can."

Evelyn made her way back to the bed and sat down. The room was turning yellow.

"Ugh, Not right now, I need to rest some more I think," She lay down upon the bed and everything started going dark. Eadalla went over and kissed her forehead.

"I'll be right here."

Evelyn smiled and then passed out.

 

Evelyn looked around. There was a large stone hill next to her. As she looked out she could see a forest all around her, but the color was wrong. The trees had yellow trunks and branches and blue leaves. Between her and them there was a clearing with blue grass. Nearby there was a cave. Suddenly she could hear loud clanging and yelling. Several elves and goblins were fighting. The goblins had nearly the same details as the elves, but were greenish colored and had scales. The Goblins had better weapons, and were overpowering the elves. But, even as the goblins hacked the elves, they did not die. One goblin stood out from the rest. His skin was red colored, and he fought with more skill then the rest of the fighters combined. But even as he struck the elves, they didn’t fall and continued to fight.

Evelyn ran to each of them.

“Stop fighting, you must stop,” she said, but no one listened. They didn’t even acknowledge her presence. She stopped and sat against the stones of the hill. The red goblin suddenly dropped his sword and turned to her.

“Only you can choose which side will win”

 

Evelyn awoke; Eadalla was next to her, holding her hand.

"You were screaming, what's wrong?" She asked. Evelyn saw her hand was shaking as Eadalla held it. She removed her hand from Eadalla's and crossed her arms.

"I'm not sure, I don't want to be alone right now, but I do." Eadalla saw a tear run down Evelyn’s cheek.

"Come on, I know some stuff you'll want to see," Eadalla passed Evelyn a glass of water, "Here, drink 3 of these and then we'll be off." Evelyn drank down the first glass slowly, then the second, then the third. She got up, but still felt a little woozy. Eadalla took her hand and whispered, "I'm here, and I won't let you get hurt." Evelyn smiled faintly and let Eadalla lead her.

The village was only about 15 huts made of wood, stone and packed mud. There were stone trails through the village to all the houses and shops. Eadalla and Evelyn walked along the stone trail, past many houses, shops, and a small in inn. Outside the inn was a long rail with a weird brownish creature with a hump on its back.

“What is that?” Evelyn asked. She got closer to it.

“I’m not sure, but someone was riding it earlier,” she said. Evelyn walked up next to it.

“Hello, what are you?” she asked. The brown creature turned to her and locked eyes with her for a moment. It moved its mouth. A moment later some type of liquid flew from its mouth and hit the sand in front of Evelyn’s feet.

“Its not very friendly whatever it is. Come on, what I wanted to show you is this way,” Eadalla said. They turned and left the grumpy creature.

They get to a small lake at the center of the town. The water was crystal clear yet you couldn't see the bottom it was so deep. The sides were rock as far down as they could see, and some fish swimming around. Little orange fish mainly. There was sand next to the lake, but Evelyn saw what Eadalla wanted her to see almost immediately. She ran up to a rose bush. It had just started to bloom, and the flowers were purple. It was a lot like the rose bush back that had been in her families clearing.

"You're brother was here. His rose caused the bush to grow, its part of the magic."

'Oh, what a familiar presence, I have felt you before, but from where?'

"Oh my, she recognizes me!" Evelyn said.

“Yes, I grew the bush who was your mother.”

'The faerie child? I have a message for you, from the red haired warrior.'

Evelyn turned white and dropped to her knees.

"Are you ok?" Eadalla asked.

"She has a message, from my brother, for me." Eadalla wrapped her arm around her.

“I knew this had to be his,” she said softly.

'His message is, "If you need to find me, I'm traveling to a port city to the south, Melager. I don't know where I'll go from there; I'll try to leave a message for you there, if possible."

"My brother went south, to somewhere called Melager. We need to go there." Evelyn tried to stand, but she suddenly became very dizzy and had to sit down.

"We can't, you're not in any condition to travel anywhere yet, and we have to wait for a way to get there."

"Ok, I guess I need more rest, can you help me back?" Evelyn asked.

Eadalla smiled. "Of course."

Evelyn smiled at Eadalla just before she passed out.

 

Evelyn woke up. She looked around and saw the room she had been in before. She looked wildly around, trying to find Eadalla. She didn't see anything, and all the colors started to swirl together.

"Eadalla, are you there?"

"Yes, I'm here" a voice said, but she couldn't see it.

"I can't see you, I'm scared."

"I'm holding your hand; I'm right next to you."

"I can't feel it, hold me tighter"

Evelyn started to cry. Eadalla climbed into the bed next to her and gently stroked her hair.

"It's going to be ok. I found a book store today; I bought a little book of human stories. I'll tell you one."

A tear ran down Evelyn's cheek, her eyes looked past everything to something far away.

"There are lots of different faeries. One is the Brownie. Brownies aren’t like there sleek and cheerful cousins. They are slow minded and not very pretty. There was a farmer on the Isle of Man who herded sheep upon the Snaefell Mountain. He had saved the brownie from a pack of goblins and the brownie offered to go get his sheep. The farmer was ecstatic and let him go and get his sheep. That night, the brownie returned with the sheep, exhausted.

"Whoo, that little ram of yours was trouble. I had to chase him three times around the mountain before he would come down with the other sheep."

"My little ram?" The farmer asked, "I have no little ram"

The farmer looked upon the sheep, and he saw a poor tired little hare. What a silly brownie for mistaking a hare for a sheep.”

Evelyn laughed a little laugh.

"That was a silly story"

"Yes my sweet, now close your eyes and go to sleep. You need to rest," Eadalla whispered to her.

Evelyn closed her eyes and mumbled, "Yes, sleep" before she feel fast asleep. Evelyn turned and held Eadalla close as she would a teddy bear. Eadalla let her legs and arms wrap around Evelyn. She could feel her soft skin rub against hers' as she fell asleep beside her.

 

Evelyn's eyes opened and she looked around the room. First thing she saw was the pitcher of water on the night stand next to the bed. Next was Eadalla in the corner reading a book in a rocking chair. Evelyn let out a yawn and stretched out her arms and legs.

"Hello, good morning. How did you sleep?" Eadalla asked as she looked up from her book.

"I feel one hundred percent better. Thanks for the story," she said as she smiled. "Where did you get that story?"

"Oh, this book, 'Stories from the Twilight', there is a book store in this town. It's on a trade route, so they keep a book store here. I got it there."

"But, we didn't have any money really, how did you get it?" Evelyn asked a confused look on her face.

"I tried to pay with some money I had brought, but they have never seen faerie money. Do you remember the story about Astroth? I sang it to the store owner for it. He arranged for me to sing in the inn later. In a few days, when you feel better so you can listen," Aedalla said and smiled at Evelyn.

"Have you decided which story to tell them yet?" Evelyn asked as she rose out of bed. She poured herself some water and drank it down.

"The one about the wind sprite I think, I like that one," Eadalla smiled to herself. "If you're feeling better, I have an idea on something to do today."

"Oh," Evelyn said as she filled her glass again, "And what might that be?" She drank her glass of water down.

"Oh, I want to keep it a surprise. You feel up to it?"

Evelyn smiled at Eadalla, "Ok, sure, let's go see."

Eadalla picked up a basket that was on the table. Evelyn poured another glass of water and drank it down. She then went over to Eadalla and followed her out. They took a different little path then yesterday that passed many houses. Most were very simple with little growing near them. Very quickly they left the houses of the town. The path broke up and they were walking along a hard dirt packed trail. After a few minutes, they reached a hill that had a tree over it, shading the hill. It wasn't a difficult climb. When they got to the top, Evelyn noticed the tree had a grape vane growing around it as well. The grapes were ripe and covered the vine. Eadalla opened the basket and took out a large blanket, which she spread on the ground. Evelyn sat down close to the grape vine so she could eat a few without standing. Eadalla sat the basket next to Evelyn and then sat down on the other side of the basket. Evelyn looked out and saw the village spread before her, surrounded by desert. She could see the sea far in the distance.

"Oh," She said, "It's, it is beautiful."

Eadalla Smiled as she watched Evelyn looking out across the desert, "I thought you'd like it." Eadalla started to lean over towards Evelyn, but then backed away. Evelyn turned and smiled at Eadalla.

"You couldn't have chosen better for today, Thank you," She smiled at Eadalla. Eadalla started to blush.

"We should start eating."

"Mmm, what did you bring?"

Eadalla opened the basket. "Let's see," She said as she looked into the basket. She pulled out a large container. It had a wicker looking top on it. She pulled it off; a deep red sauce was in it. Evelyn breathed in deeply.

"Tomato sauce?"

"Yes, they make it here with tomato's they buy from caravans. They cook this Meat in it, I think its goat, and they eat it with these." Eadalla pulled out a handkerif that was in the basket. She opened it and inside were many small round brown loaves of bread.

"It's a bread of some type, made from some local plant," Eadalla handed one to Evelyn, "Here, try it." Evelyn took a bite of it. "Mmm, It's good," she said. She took it and stirred the sauce with it, covering the bread with the red sauce. She ate a piece. "This is good, Thank you." she said and gave Eadalla a hug. They laid back into the shade eating the bread and sauce.

 

Eadalla stirred a bit, and opened her eyes. She scanned the dark room, Next to her, Evelyn slept peacefully.

"Oh, sweetheart, I don't know if I'd have the courage you do to sleep next to someone who you aren't with," Eadalla sighed and got up. She tiptoed to the table and sat down. She stared off into space, when she heard something rustling outside. She went over to the door and listened. Then opened it, ready to defend herself. A small boy tripped over a bucket that was right next to him that was under the window.

"What are you doing here?" Eadalla said, peering at the boy.

"I came to see the lesbian faeries make out" he said, in awe as he looked at her. Eadalla heard someone coming towards the door from inside. She leaned in closer to the boy and whispered, "You say that again to us and you'll wish you never learned that word. Get out of here." The boy scampered off into the night as Evelyn got to the door.

"What was that?" Evelyn asked, groggy eyed.

"Oh, Must have been the wind. Let's go back to bed," Eadalla said as she lead Evelyn back inside.

 

Evelyn was sitting in an inn, a cup of water in her hand. Eadalla was sitting nearby, a lute in hand. A large crowd of humans were around them. Eadalla's fingers strung across her lute making a soothing tune.

"Long ago, there was a sylph named Ariel. He lived on an island of melody and sweet winds. He was a michiously spirit, he slept in a cowslip bell and floated with the clouds. All his speech was song, and his singing could charm men, or even drive them mad. He could tie and dispel winds, summon great rains and roaring firestorms. But he was not immortal," Eadalla looked around, checking the response to her story.

"At the end of his long life, as he started to disperse back into the clouds from which he came, a powerful wizard binded him together and made him his servant. The Wizard was a former king of a nearby nation, but he and his daughter had been exiled to the island long ago. He forced Ariel to create thunderstorms to wipe the countries crops away and eventually tried to make him kill the king," Eadalla took a long breath, “or so he told him. The storm made the kings boat crash on his island, and the wizard separated the king from his men and his son from them all. He had planed to kill them separately, one at a time, but his daughter saw the son and fell in love and the wizard had a better idea. He kept the kings men as far away as he could, and put the king in the cave he lived in, and left the kings son and his daughter alone, giving them only mild disasters and pretending to be against this union. And they behaved like all children do, the more he said no the more they wanted to be with each other. But the king’s men wanted to kill the king and the son and return to the kingdom as its new rulers. The sylph Ariel was tasked with keeping the kings men away, and he preformed his job well. At the end, when the son and daughter announced their love and no one would keep them apart, and the wizard appeared and blessed the union, the king and most of his men’s heart’s warmed. The king promised his kingdom to the young lovers as a wedding gift and the wizard forgave the king for the theft of his kingdom so long ago,” Eadalla took a short breath, “but the king’s chief retainer, being the one who wanted the throne, vowed to kill them all and return to the kingdom alone. He pulled his sword and tried to attack them all. But the wind Sylph Ariel blew him away in a great wind and the wizard summoned a lightening bolt from the heavens that struck him down. The wizard felt shame at keeping Ariel his servant for so long and told him that his last command to him was to bring their boat to the shore, after which he was free to do what he wanted. Ariel brought the boat to the shore, wished them all well, and dispersed into the winds forever.”

Eadalla stopped playing. "Me and my friend," She smiled at Evelyn, "Are searching for her brother. We know we are strangers here, and are very grateful for the kindness you all have given us." She smiled upon everyone.

Everyone stood up and clapped. Eadalla went over and sat next to Evelyn and whispered, "Hey cutie, want a beer?" Evelyn started giggling.

An older man came and sat down next to them. "Hello, I loved your story. I hope you never stop telling them," he said as he put a handkerchief down next to them. He then walked away. Eadalla took the handkerchief and opened it. It was filled with several gold coins, 20 or 30 at least. She slipped it into her pocket and the two called the waitress over.

"Ye, I want a beer for the cute girl here and myself."

“That wasn’t how you told the story last time I heard it,” Evelyn said as the waitress brought two beers.

“Call it artistic license. If I tell all my stories exactly the same every time, people will eventually hear them all and grow tired of them.”

 

 

Evelyn woke up, her head was pounding. Eadalla was next to her, awake. Evelyn moaned softly and sank back down into the bed. Eadalla rose up slightly and touched Evelyn’s hair.

"Hey, are you ok?" Eadalla asked.

"No, I forgot how bad hangovers are. That is the last time I drink," Evelyn said as she clutched her head. Eadalla stroked her hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes, kill me now!" Evelyn said as she sunk back down into her pillow.

 

Evelyn and Eadalla were hand in hand, walking among big tents where people were selling goods. Not many people were around that day. Eadalla was buying mainly dried food and vegetables and had bought two large water flasks. They scanned the market for other things they thought they might like, Eadalla mainly for books, Evelyn mainly for another pair of clothes.

"I didn't think there would be so much stuff around," Evelyn said.

"Nah, I've heard of these. We just don't have any good market's where we live," Eadalla said. Her eyes fixed upon a book nearby and as she went to go see it, bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Eadalla said. She looked to see who she had bumped, and she looked almost straight up. A big burly Minotaur towered over her, He was dressed in what passed for clothes, though it wasn't much, and had a war hammer over his shoulder whose head was almost as big as Eadalla was. Evelyn went to her side and held Eadalla's hand behind her in both of her own.

"Who are you?" The Minotaur said.

"I'm Eadalla, and this is Evelyn."

The Minotaur eyed them silently for a minute. "You steal or you buy?"

"We buy food and clothes," Evelyn said.

The Minotaur suddenly started to smile. "Me Slash, You no steal, You Slash's friend. You come with Slash."

Slash walked over to one of the tents, Evelyn and Eadalla followed him. Inside the tent a middle aged man sat snoring.

"Brann, Brann, wake up, Slash bring friends," Slash said as he entered, the man stirred slightly and looked up.

"Oh, yes, Slash, I see. What can they do?"

"Friends buy food and clothes."

"Ok, thank you Slash, now go back and watch for thieves," Slash left the tent and then Brann sighed.

"You must forgive slash, he gets excited about people. I know your names aren’t friends, what are they?"

"I'm Eadalla, and this is Evelyn" Eadalla said. Evelyn was still holding Eadalla's hand.

"It's a little far for faeries, isn't it?"

Eadalla shook her head, "Yes, we came from the island in search of her brother."

"Oh, well, I assume you are in need of transport then. We'll take you to melager, on salary, for a small favor." Brann yawned a bit.

"We need someone to help us buy food and clothes for the journey, it needs to be enough for 50 people for about 3 weeks, and about 50 times 3 or about 150 sets of clothes. Thing you can manage that?" Bran asked.

"Oh, yes sir," Evelyn said.

"Ok, costs about a silver per meal and 3 a day for 3 weeks that's about, Oh, um, 63 or so, and 5 silvers per set of clothes, that's 750 plus the 63 is 813, Ok, here's 90 gold, whatever you don't use you can keep."

Eadalla stared at the gold. "We'll be back as soon as we're done," she said and hurried out.

 

Eadalla had a wheelbarrow filled with clothes and food. She took them as she bought them to the tent where Bran was at. Evelyn was buying the food and clothes from the merchants, haggling over prices and such. Slash watched them occasionally as he walked by. Finally, Eadalla was taking the last cart load of clothes back to the tent. She put the wheelbarrow next to Brann.

"That's it, all that you asked for," Eadalla said, breathing heavily.

"Good job, good job. We leave tomorrow, with the rise of the sun. Come back here then."

Eadalla nodded and her and Evelyn left.

"Wow, can you believe it, I thought we were going to have to pay to get there, and they are paying us to go there," Eadalla said.

"I don't know, something doesn’t seem right about it," Evelyn said, "But, for 30 gold and salary, I'll live with it," Evelyn giggled.

 

Eadalla and Evelyn were lying in bed, the lights were out. Evelyn turned onto her side and looked at Eadalla.

'How can I be thinking this, She's a women, I shouldn't have such thoughts about a women. Its evil, it's wrong, it's bad, It's...... quite arousing. No, I can't even let myself think it,' Evelyn thought, then rolled over and fell asleep.

 

Evelyn Woke up rustling sounds.

"Eadalla, what are you doing?"

"Packing, remember, we're leaving today," Eadalla said as she stuffed some clothes into the backpack.

"There, all done. I even filled the water flasks this morning."

Evelyn smiled at Eadalla. "I wouldn't be able to do anything without you. How can I thank you?"

Eadalla looked up at Evelyn, "If I wanted thanks, I would've been a healer," She said and winked at Evelyn. "Come on, we need to get moving."

Evelyn stood up, stretched, and then followed Eadalla out. They made there way along the stone path back to Brann's tent. They got there and saw they were packing it up onto a wagon of sorts.

"Ah, good show, good show, Glad you're here," Brann said, wiping the sweat from his brow. The sun wasn't even up and it was burning out.

"You two are going to steer this wagon," Brann said, pointing to the wagon they were packing up, "There are going to be four others. You are riding second to the last position. Slash rides behind, making sure we all make it, and I am riding point." He turned from them and started to pick up the tent that had been on the ground, but saw Slash had already put it away.

"Well, um, your wagon is all packed then. We'll give you 3 gold for every day we take. It’ll probably take us about 8 days to get to where we are going."

Bran went over to a horse that was nearby and mounted him. Eadalla and Evelyn climbed up onto the wagon. Eadalla took the reigns and waited.

"I can't believe we're doing this, I've always wondered what it would be like to travel by wagon," Evelyn said.

"Across the desert, I would imagine it won't be that much to see," Eadalla started to say, but then a whistle blew and the horses started going, almost as if they knew the routine. Evelyn looked back as they rode out of town, almost sighing.

The desert opened before them. The path they took was bumpy at places. Before long, the sun beat down upon them from above. Clouds moved overhead sometimes and gave them a few moments of coolness. Evelyn and Eadalla traded the reins several times that day. Slash Rode up a few times next to them, watched the two faeries for a while, and then fell back to the end of the chain of wagons.

They drank nearly all the water in there flasks before the first stop at an oasis. There was grass, and the water in the small pond was crystal clear. Many of the wagon hands drank from this pond, as did the horses, and many more filled flasks with water from it. The stop was only a few minutes long, and then they started forward again. The day dragged on, with little to make the day move quickly.

Finally, the sun started to fall, and the wagon's circled around for the night. A fire was lit near the center, and all the wagon hands sat around it. Food was distributed, and they ate and talked about event's long since past. Eadalla sat behind Evelyn, her arm's wrapped around her, they both felt safer in this strange place when they felt the other there.

Eadalla looked around and counted 6 men and 4 women sitting around the fire they shared. She saw Slash sitting apart from them all, very quiet. She let go of Evelyn and went over to Slash.

"Hey, you seem kind of lonely," Eadalla said to slash.

"Slash no lonely, Slash eat food. Slash talk, Slash's food no get eaten. Slash thank friend for talk, but Slash eat first," Slash said as he looked up for a moment then continued eating. Eadalla went back to Evelyn.

"Well, what did he say?" Evelyn asked.

"Um, I think he said he was eating and he'll talk later," Eadalla said as she shrugged.

"Have you memorized any new stories?"

"Yes, why?"

"I just love it when you tell them. Can you tell me a story?"

Eadalla nodded, turned her back to the fire, and started talking.

"Long ago lived a race of dark skinned elves, called the dark elves. They lived in the hot jungles that no longer exist; perhaps this very desert was one.

"They were a warrior race, gathering land by attacking and conquering neighboring towns and villages, including other elven towns. The elves had been seduced by demons whose names have long since been forgotten. The cruelness of the attacks forced the rest of the world to join together to destroy them," Eadalla looked around and saw many of the workers were now listening to her.

"There were many great magical battles that changed the face of the world, and caused the dark elves to retreat to the vastness of the underground's many connected tunnels."

"Once there, they regrouped and begun to war against the dwarves. They stole many magical artifacts and used them against the dwarves. They quickly stole much of the dwarven terroritory from the dwarves.

"Soon afterwards, fighting began to break out within the dark elves; Brother was plunged against Brother as the once undivided race broke into factions. Soon after, much of what they did disappeared to the light. Some say the elves destroyed themselves in a great magical. Others say they mad a pact with the devil himself and have since gone to reside in his hot palace," Eadalla looked into everyone's eyes.

"But, the worst faction of the Dark elves made a pact with there demon masters. No one knows what the pact is, that information has since passed to the other side of the curtain.

Eadalla looked around, everyone was in awe, and as they realized she was done, they started to clap.

"Oh, thank you, but I wasn't even trying," Eadalla said. Evelyn leaned in close to her.

"But you're so good, it just makes me want to squeal," Evelyn whispered to her. They both laughed. The crowd had started to disperse and most people were getting ready to go to sleep. Evelyn and Eadalla laid by the fire, holding each other close as they fell asleep.

 

A vulture screamed overhead, and Evelyn awoke. She was still holding Eadalla. Slowly, she let go and stood up. Looking around, she saw several people lying around the fire, fast asleep. Then she saw Slash, staring into the fire. She walked over to him.

"Why aren’t you asleep?" Evelyn asked him.

"Slash no need sleep. Slash guard wagon's all night."

She hugged him. His fur felt soft underneath her embrace.

"Why for you do that?"

"I thought you needed it," Evelyn said.

Slash relaxed a second.

"Thank you, But I don't need anyone like that; Besides, I thought you were with the other faerie?" Slash asked.

"What? I thought..." Evelyn started, but Slash interrupted.

"I know what you thought. I do it on purpose. It gives me the advantage. It's hard to keep up forever though," Slash said as he stared into the fire.

"Me and my friend are from far away, and we don't know anyone here," Evelyn said.

"I'm from far away too. But the way you two look at each other, the way you two touch, I figured you were... a couple."

"I didn't know we came across that way," Evelyn said. Slash nodded. Evelyn stared into the fire.

"I'm attracted to her, but I shouldn't be. It isn't natural," Evelyn said, her voice sounding distant.

"Who says? Where I come from, there are many couples like you. Most people think nothing of it," Slash said. Evelyn just stared into the fire.

"You won't... tell anyone I'm not like how they think I am, will you?" Slash asked.

"No, of course not," Evelyn smiled at Slash. "You're secret's safe with me."

"Slash grateful. Slash guard wagons, bash thieves on head," Slash said. Evelyn giggled. She waved to Slash and went back to Eadalla, laid down next to her, and fell asleep.

 

Evelyn and Eadalla awoke to the sound of a bell. They looked around and saw everyone getting up, so they did too. The sun hadn't risen yet. Drann was passing out food. Evelyn went over and got some for herself and Eadalla. It was dried something, they ate it, but it had little flavor. Very shortly after they ate, everyone got on there wagons and they started moving. Evelyn took the reins first, and Eadalla looked out into the desert. There was sand and sand and more sand. She stared for what seemed like an eternity to her, but still all she saw was sand. Then, she saw a great wall of dust coming at them. The wagons stopped.

"Dust storm, everyone into the wagon's" Drann said from up ahead. Evelyn and Edalla went into there wagon and closed the front and back. The wind buffeted against the sides of the wagon. Evelyn moved close to Eadalla and laid her head on Eadalla's shoulder. Eadalla held Evelyn close to her, and they sat in silence, waiting. The Wind whistled around them, like a wounded animal calling out for help. Eadalla closed her eyes' and thought about times long ago.

 

"Eadalla, Eadalla, I know you're out here," Evelyn called out. Eadalla was hiding in some bushes nearby. Evelyn looked around and around and soon walked off. Eadalla sighed with relief.

"Ah ha, I got you!" She heard from behind. Evelyn jumped into the bushes, touched her shoulder and said, "Tag, you're it!" and ran off into the woods.

 

"Eadalla, the winds stopped,” Evelyn said. Eadalla opened her eyes. A few seconds later, they heard a voice from outside.

"Windstorms over, everyone out. Let's get going."

 

The day was hot and slow. The miles of nothing but brown sand made for uninteresting sights. The occasional oasis became a sight of joy, if just to break the vast brownness that surrounded them. Every night, after they ate, the workers asked Eadalla to tell a story. This went on for 4 days, on the fourth day, the vastness was broken. Slash was riding next to Evelyn's and Eadalla's wagon.

"Wow, look there," Evelyn pointed. Many small round green plants were scattered around in front of them. As they passed, more of them came into sight.

"Wow, what are they?"

"Cactus, I've heard about them, they store water inside of them," Eadalla said.

The wagon's came to a stop and they took water from several of the cactuses. Evelyn and Eadalla filled there flasks with the water. Somehow, it was sweatier then normal water. After they started to ride again, a forest started to peak above the horizon in front of them. It was nearing dark, and soon they stopped, though this time it was at some ruins. They looked as if they had been there for a very long time. Another caravan was already there, the people sprawled out in front of a fire. Drann and Slash approached the one they thought to be the leader of that caravan. They talked for a few minutes, then came back and told everyone they could would stay here.

The people from the two caravans were nervous at first, but it soon melted away. There was a Bard among the other group, Devyn, who played for the group. Many of the people went and caught rodents or snakes and cooked them over an open fire. Eadalla and Devyn had a competition, each telling stories, trying to be better then the other. Much time passed before everyone started to fall asleep. Eadalla and Devyn talked and shared stories they each had. When they parted for the night, Eadalla found Evelyn and fell asleep next to her.

 

That morning, everyone was talking as Eadalla and Evelyn woke up. They all talked about the future and the cargo and such. Devyn and Eadalla talked for a bit. But, then, the caravans started moving. The other was headed north. Eadalla and Evelyn took there places as they moved out. Very shortly, they made there way into grassland. There was a lot of grass, at first it was all brown, and then it turned green as they went further south. Soon, trees started to litter the landscape, and they gradually became thicker. Before long, a forest had sprung up before them. Slash galloped up from behind them and started talking to Drann. Near the edge of the forest, Drann called for everyone to halt.

"We stay here tonight"

"But, we still have daylight," Eadalla mumbled to herself.

They took the wagons in the round horse fashion and a few of the braver men went into the woods. Evelyn rested her head on Eadalla's shoulder as Eadalla read her book she had gotten in the last town. She read it out loud very softly so only Evelyn could hear.

"One day, a bear wandered into a clearing where a man was, plowing.

'Hello kind sir,' The bear said, 'what are you doing?'

'I am plowing. I'm going to plant half this field in turnips and half in wheat.'

'I know how to plow,' Said the bear, 'would you like my help.'

'Yes, and if you help me, I will share half my harvest with you.'

"So the two began to work and they both worked hard and soon had the entire field plowed and sowed. They tended garden and when autumn came, they both went to the turnip field.

'Ok, now what do you want, the part that grows above ground or the part that grows below,' the man said. The bear looked at the lush green part above ground and said, 'I think I shall take the part that grows above ground.'

Evelyn giggled. Eadalla wrapped her arm around her.

"They harvested the turnips, and the bear got the part that grew above ground and the man the part that grew below ground.

"They now went to the wheat fields. The man asked again, 'Do you want the part that grows above ground or the part that grows below ground?'

"The bear looked at the plants and saw how dry and shriveled the part above ground looked.

'This time,' The bear said, 'I shall take the part below ground.'

"The man laughed into his sleeve and they harvested the crop, the bear getting the part below ground."

"One day during winter, the bear stopped by the man's house. He was fixing dinner and invited the bear to eat with him. They had baked Turnips first.

'Yum, these are good, what are they?' The bear asked.

'Why, they are the turnips we harvested this last season.'

"The bears' surprise was scrawled across his face.

"Next, they had fresh baked bread.

'This is good, what is it?' The bear asked.

'This is the wheat we harvested, which I ground and made into bread,' the man said.

'You know, my turnips and bread never tasted as good as this,' the bear said. The man burst out laughing, and the bear wondered why."

Evelyn was laughing into Eadalla chest. Soon, she stopped.

"The stories in that book are funny."

"Well, some are. There are some really bad ones in here too," Eadalla said. She looked into Evelyn's eyes. Just then, they heard some people crashing into camp. They both let go and stood up and looked in that direction. The one's who had gone out into the forest had come back, with a large boar on a stick. They set it up by the fire and started to cook it. Evelyn came over and looked closely at it.

"How'd you catch it?" She asked.

"Well," said the man who had set it up, "We were in the forest, watching for anything, when suddenly, this giant boar comes running out of the bushes. After a fierce battle, we slay the beast."

Eadalla had moved next to Evelyn. Evelyn leaned in close and whispered, "I like your stories more." To Eadalla. She giggled softly. The two watched the beast being fixed. When it was done, the man ripped 2 pieces off and gave them to Eadalla and Evelyn. They ate it. By this time, it was dark and everyone was getting ready to go to sleep. They choose a spot and Laid down. Evelyn wrapped her arms around Eadalla as she fell asleep.

 

"Don't ever leave me. I'd miss you too much," She said, staring into Eadalla's eyes. She took Eadalla's hands and ran them down her back, and placed them on her butt. Eadalla looked into Evelyn's eyes, trying to determine what she meant. Evelyn merely smiled at Eadalla. Her hands ran along Eadalla's chest, stripping her shirt off. She took her left breast in her hand, and ran her tongue over it. Eadalla moaned softly.

 

Evelyn woke with a start. Eadalla was sleeping softly next to her. Evelyn got up and Rested by the fire. Slash came over and put his hand on her shoulder. She hugged him and cried into his chest.

 

Eadalla woke to the sounds of a bell. She noticed Evelyn wasn't next to her. Everyone started to get on the wagons and she started to get worried. She walked around, looking for her, and saw her next to Slash. Eadalla didn’t intrude and went back to the wagon. Just before they left, Evelyn got on. Her eye's were all red and puffy, and tear tracks ran down her cheeks.

"What happened?" Eadalla said.

Evelyn laid her head on Eadalla's shoulder. "I just had a bad dream is all, I'll be ok." Eadalla barely heard her add on, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Evelyn cried into Eadalla's shoulder a bit, but soon she fell asleep.

The wagon's entered a forest, it was a light forest, and there wasn't any trouble going through. Slash and Drann made trips up and down the length of the train of wagon's frequently, at least every 15 minutes or so. Birds and jungle cats could be heard in the distance, but nothing seemed to be near them as they went by. The forest was long and hot, but near dusk, they entered the outskirts of a city. The smell of the sea floated above this town. Slash rode quickly into town.

Evelyn started to wake up, groggily asking, "Where are we?"

"I think we are at Melegar. We'll soon see," Eadalla said. They rode straight through town to a big ship. Two people came over.

"Hello, we're your replacement's," The young man said. The two faeries got off and allowed the men to take the wagon aboard. The walked over to Drann.

"Ah, I see it's time you left us. I wish you didn't, you two made this normally boring route fun," Drann said.

"Well, we have to find her Brother." Eadalla said.

"Well, here's your pay as stated. 3 gold a day for 7 days, that's 21 gold," Drann said as he handed them a pouch filled with gold. Eadalla put it in her pocket.

"Good luck you two, Oh, if you ever need help with anything, Look for anyone wearing this," He gave a amulet to Eadalla, "We'll help you out, as long as you wear it."

Eadalla gave the amulet to Evelyn and she wore it around her neck. Drann boarded the ship and shortly after it took off.

"Well, what do we do now?" Evelyn asked.

"Ok, let's go find an inn, listen to some rumor's, if nothing else, we'll head south tomorrow," Eadalla said.

The wondered the street's, it was already dark and the only light came from the lamp posts that had lighted up. They passed several places till they found a Tavern. They walked inside. Smoke filed the room, and several people were scattered around. Eadalla went to the one behind the bar, Evelyn followed her.

"Have you heard anything about a red Haired Faerie?" Eadalla asked the bartender. The bartender shook his head.

"Ok, then we need a room for the night," Eadalla said. The bartender turned around, pulled a key out from a nook, and said, "That'll be 2 gold." Eadalla put the gold on the counter. The Bartender handed her the key.

"Room 208," He said, then turned to serve more drinks. They turned and walked up the stairs. They entered a long hallway with room numbers along the doors. Eadalla counted the doors off, until they reached 208.

"I've seen the red haired faerie," Someone said. Eadalla and Evelyn looked around. A blue haired man looked at him. He was small, for a human, but still was a good half foot taller then the faeries 4 foot and 4 foot 3 inches tall.

"Where?" Evelyn asked.

"Aren't we impatient, Meet me downstairs at about 9, be ready to travel." He said, and then took off down the hallway. Evelyn looked at Eadalla, and then they opened the door and went in.

Inside, There was only one bed, It was a single, but it had sheets on it and a blanket, which is more then they had for the past few nights. Eadalla stretched out, and undid her hair, letting it fall out of the braid it had been in. She pulled her Shirt off, reveling her breasts that had been underneath. Evelyn was sitting on the bed, watching Eadalla, though Eadalla did not see. She took her shorts off, showing her pink panties. She took the shorts and the shirt and folded them. She placed them on the backpack and got into bed.

"Evelyn, turn the light off when you're ready to go to sleep."

Evelyn nodded. She got up and removed her shirt, reveling a black lace Bra she was wearing. She Slid her shorts down her legs, reveling she was wearing nothing underneath. Eadalla had been watching, and couldn't take her eyes off of Evelyn. She closed her eyes. The bright light she could see from under her eyelids suddenly went dark. She opened them to see Evelyn slip into bed next to her. They stared at each other a minute. Then Evelyn wrapped her arms around Eadalla and smiled at her. Evelyn's eyes were heavy and they soon dropped. After a few minutes, she felt a kiss, on her lips, but she didn't know if it was a dream or real.

 

Evelyn awoke to see the sun shining in through the window. She heard a shower running in the other room. She got up, picked up her clothes, and put them back on. Shortly after, Eadalla came out of the shower. She was completely nude except for a towel, which was drying her hair right then. Evelyn started to stare, but turned her head quickly. Eadalla dropped the towel and went to her clothes.

"Did you kiss me last night?" Evelyn asked, abruptly. Eadalla paused a second.

"No," She said. She picked up her clothes, but Evelyn saw she was shaking. She started to get dressed, and sat on the edge of the bed. Evelyn moved next to her.

"It's ok, I can understand," Evelyn placed her hand on Eadalla's shoulder. She could feel Eadalla's skin crawl beneath her. She turned toward Evelyn and hugged her.

"I'm scared," Eadalla whispered to her.

"It's ok, I won't leave you."

 

The two walked down the stairs and to the bartender, handing him the key. They looked around, and saw the blue haired human sitting at a table. They walked over and sat down next to him.

"Now, tell us what you know."

"Ah, I should tell you, my information dose not come cheep. I want five gold for what I know," The blue haired one said. Eadalla put 5 gold coins on the table, her hand over them.

"Here is your five, you shall get it when we hear if your information is good," Eadalla said.

"Ah, well, the red haired one traveled south, looking for a band of faeries that lives there. For extra ten gold, I can take you there, or as close as I can." Eadalla pulled out 10 more gold.

"Take us there."

 

The blue haired one led them through the outer streets and past a gate into a cave. It went for a short time and they were outside, in a dense forest. A small trail led away from the cave, and the Blue haired human bounded down it. The faeries followed. There were many fruit trees along the path, Apples and oranges, even a plum tree or two. Evelyn wanted to pick some, but the blue haired one never slowed for a second. Eventually, deep in the forest, he stopped. Eadalla and Evelyn stopped behind him.

"Now what?"

"Now," He said, Turning around, Dagger in hand, "You give me all your gold. Don't play hero, I don't want to hurt you."

Eadalla frowned and threw him the gold.

"Ah, it's been a pleasure doing business with you," He said as he backed away. A faint rustling came from some bushes behind him. He turned around quickly.

"Who's there?" He said. No answer, he waited a few seconds, dagger at the ready, and when nothing happened, he relaxed slightly. As he did, Several Faeries jumped out from all around him, hitting him with clubs and logs. By the time they had finished, His hair was red. They took the dagger and the coins from his body. They walked over to Evelyn and Eadalla.

"I think these are yours," The female Faerie said. Eadalla took the dagger and the coins. She put the coins in her pocket and gave the dagger to Evelyn. It had a curved blade, and an ivory dragon hilt.

"Thank you," Eadalla said.

"You are not of our tribe, who are you?" The female faerie said.

"We are Eadalla and Evelyn, we come in search of her brother," Eadalla said. Evelyn had gone over to the body. She took the scabbard and belt off the thief and wore them around her waist, putting the dagger back in its sheaf.

"He's red haired, have you seen him?" Evelyn asked.

"No, no I've never seen another faerie in these woods before. Come, you must come back with us." She said. She saw the reluctant looks on Evelyn and Eadalla.

"My name is Rilrae, if anything should happen to you, I shall bare it with you." Evelyn and Eadalla smiled at each other and followed. They started to fly, merely a few feet off the ground, but enough that no trail would be left. They passed several statues, some of whom Eadalla realized were the ancient god's, some she did not know. One was a marker stone. Soon after they passed over it, they entered a clearing. It was filled with faeries, Young and old, playing, talking, a few were practicing swordplay. They all stopped and ran towards the new comers. One of the faeries with a sword came forward.

"Ah, I see you have captured some of the evil faerie that are told of in our legends. Good job, I will take them now," He said as he advanced towards Eadalla and Evelyn. Two of the Soldiers that were near him grabbed the two. One took the dagger.

"Sir, Look what I found," He said, handing it to the first faerie. He looked at it and turned it around in his hand.

"This is from the assassin guild. Rilrae, how could you allow them to keep a weapon on them?"

Rilrae peered intently at the soldier and said, "These are not prisoners, give them back the dagger and release them."

"But, Assassins are our enemies," He said.

"DO AS I SAY!!" She yelled at him. He quickly motioned to his soldiers to let them go. He handed the dagger back to Evelyn, who reshefed it.

"My Apologies, I had no idea you were guests," He said to Eadalla and Evelyn. He motioned for his soldiers to follow.

"This isn't over," He whispered to Rilrae. He then walked off.

"What is with him? Evelyn said.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later."

They started walking again, northward. The village was huge, a lot bigger then Eadalla's and Evelyn's home village. After several minutes, they approached a large temple like structure. It was built of stone and gold, and very majestic. Two guards were outside, guarding the entrance. They bowed as they walked in. Inside was a vast chamber, and several people were inside, many were on chairs in front. Someone stood.

"Ah, Rilrae, welcome, what business do you have here?"

"I have come across 2 strangers in the woods; they were robbed by a human thief. I brought them here and request that they be given quarters for the duration of the stay and supplies for the trip after they leave."

"You ask much for strangers."

"I have given my word"

"Very well, They will recieve quarters. The supplies will come from your surplus." The man wrote down something on a piece of paper. A messenger took it to Rilrae. She bowed to the man and then left.

"What was that?" Eadalla asked after they left.

"That's the council, They take care everything having to do with the city."

"They said from your surplus?" Evelyn said.

"Yes, you see, the city is split into several different districts. I lead the military district. That charming man you met earlier was Valas, he runs the guard district. Unfortunity, we don't get along very well at times," She blushed as she said this.

"Anyway, this note is a address, I'll take you there. Valas is likely to set a curfu tonight with you in town, don't get cought after dark on the streets."

They took alot of twists and turns and eventually came to a small house.

"This is it, not very big, but it's what they decided to give you," Rilrae said.

"Oh,. that's ok, after what we've had lately, it's very nice," Evelyn said and giggled. Rilrae bowed and left. Evelyn and Eadalla went inside. It was dark, and they could barely see a candle on the table. Eadalla lite the candle and looked around. It was three rooms, a bedroom, with a queen sized bed, a dining room/kitchen, with a ice box in it, and a bathroom. They looked in the ice box and saw it had some fresh fruit in it, Strawberries, grapes, raspberries, banana's, oranges, and a few others they didn't reconize right off. Also, on the table was a map. Eadalla picked it up and looked in it.

"Hey, wanna go out on another picnic?" Eadalla asked.

Evelyn shook her head. "Not today, I just wanna rest, the past week or so has been exhausting." she said, sitting down on the bed. Let's go tomarrow, around noon. She said as she curled up into a ball and fell asleep on the bed.

 

Eadalla and Evelyn woke up to the sounds of fighting. Looking outside, They saw armed guards fighting in the streets. They watched as men sley other men with a total disregard for life. Eadalla and Evelyn watched in horror till they left. Evelyn went over and sat on the bed. Eadalla sat next to her and they hugged, silently.

 

The sun shined into a window and onto the bed where Evelyn and Eadalla were asleep, holding each other close. Eadalla was the first to wake up. She got up, put on her clothes, and looked around the house for a basket or container. She found a backpack in one of the drawers, it was green, unlike the one they already had which was brown. She packed alot of the fruit, and 2 flasks of some type of drink she found. Shortly after that, She heard Evelyn wake up. She went and layed next to her. Evelyn stared at her for a few minutes, and wrapped her arm's around her.

"I don't care if we're guests, I want to leave," Evelyn whispered to Eadalla.

"Where shall we go?"

"Anywhere, I don't care, south."

"Ok," Eadalla said as she nodded. Eadalla packed up the rest of the fruit into her backpack, tossing a orange to Evelyn and keeping a plum for herself. Evelyn pealed it while Eadalla swing this backpack over her shoulders. They left the building and started to travel towards the south gate. Very few people were on the streets.

"How strange, wern't there more people outside yesterday?" Eadalla asked as she took a bite of her plum.

"Yes, I think so." Evelyn said as she poped a orange slice in her mouth. Just as they finished there fruit, they reached the south gate, which was sourrounded by a patrol of guards.

"Halt, no one passes by order of captain Valas."

Evelyn gave Eadalla a worried glance. Eadalla took Evelyn's hand and they turned around and started to walk back.

"Don't worry, You're leaving, we'll just have to take a different approach," Eadalla said. They walked back to the house. Evelyn layed down on the bed. Eadalla sat next to her.

"So, what's your plan?" Evelyn said.

"I don't know yet."

Evelyn sighed. Suddenly, someone was pounding on the door. Evelyn and Eadalla looked out the window, it was Rilrae. They quickly opened the door and she came in.

"We have to leave, now," She said. "Valas took control of the city last night, All the members of the council were murdered. He declared martial law and vowed to find who did it by sun down. He'll prob implicate you two and me."

"Ok, we're all packed, have been for a while, but the guards have the gates sealed off," Eadalla said.

"Ok, that's not a problem. Come with me," Rilrae said. She looked outside, then took off, Eadalla and Evelyn followed her closely. She wondered through many twists and turns, eventually reaching a large building. They walked in and Rilrae locked, bolted, and barracaded the door.

"That won't last long. Valas is planning on raiding this building and burning it later tonight. We have to hurry." Rilrae took them along many passageways and eventually to a bookcase. She pulled a book off and pushed a button behind it. The bookcase slid aside to revel a passage way. She replaced the book and they desended. It was a natural cavern.

"This is a closely guarded secret of the militia. The tunnel was for if we ever needed to evcaute the entire city quickly, and also leads to our secret training grounds and store rooms," Rilrae said as she pressed on. The Cavern was long, and they could feel the hours going by. Eventually, they started to asend a set of natural stairs. As they reached the top, a wide not so natural cavern opened up. A vast city made of dark bricks was scrowled across the cave for them.

"This is the training grounds of the militia. We keep all our suplies here, as well as all personal not essential for defending the city." Evelyn stared across, in awe.

"Why keep it secret?" Eadalla asked.

"There's a old myth about how the evil one's lived in a city of black rock in a huge cave. we didn't want people to think we had found that city, or were the evil one's," Rilrae said, "Anyway, everyone is gone, we've moved all personal out and left traps behind for when Valas's troops get here. Follow me, carefully."

Evelyn and Eadalla followed Rilrae, same stepping as she did. After quite a long time, they reached a door. They opened it. As they stepped through to the other side, they entered a natural cave, very small, and when they looked back, the door was gone. Up ahead, light shined in. They exited to find themselves ontop of a mountain, looking down into a vast forest. Rilrae looked around for something, then started off to the east. Rilrae took a rope and stringed it between all three of them, tying it around each person's waist. Much of the climb down that followed was quite dangerious. There were many sheer drops and many rock laden paths. Soon, they reached a river, and started down upon a path next to it. It seemed like clear sailing, till they reached a waterfall, and the path disappeared. They climbed down a drop of more then 150 feet. When they reached the bottom, the path came back. Soon afterwards, they stumbled into a encampment. Everyone was posed and ready to fight, but when they saw Rilrae, they lowered there weapons.

"Captain, good to see you," one of the men said.

"Good that I escaped with these two safe and sound. All that's left is our spies that are still in the village. They will return when Valas announces who killed the councilmen," Rilrae said to her men, "Till then, I want everyone to practice, and be on the lookout for anything which may be dangerious."

Rilrae Took Evelyn and Eadalla aside.

"Now, if you two are to help me, I'm going to need to be able to be sure you can defend yourselves," She said as she watched them. Evelyn looked nerviously at Eadalla.

"We never said we would help you," Eadalla said, "But, there are ways you can get us to help."

Rilrae sighed. "Ok, how much is this going to cost me?"

"We want to know about anyone going through who might even remotely know about her brother," Eadalla said.

"Give us a night to think about it," Evelyn added quickly. Eadalla turned and looked at her, a questioning look on her face.

"Ok, we'll assign you to a tent. Um, tent 2b, visitor quarters," Rilrae said. They both took off, looking for tent 2b. Evelyn's body moved slowly underneith her, as if in slow motion. They got to the tent, and they sat down on a bed. Evelyn layed down.

"Why did you say that?" Eadalla asked. She looked over at Evelyn to see she had fallen asleep. She smiled at her and layed down next to her.

 

Eadalla woke before Evelyn did, and she quickly stretched out and got dressed. Evelyn got up a bit later.

"Well, I didn't think you would actually get up," Eadalla said, a smirk across her face.

"Ah, come on, I like my sleep."

"Well, can I tell Rilrae yes now?"

"Sure, let me get dressed," Evelyn started to say, till she noticed she was dressed. She started to laugh.

 

"We've decided to accept, with the terms as said before," Eadalla said.

"Ok, that can be arranged. But, can you defend yourselves?" Rilrae asked.

"I can, She can't," Eadalla said. Evelyn nodded.

"Ok, I don't want to seperate you two, so you'll both be trained by my knife expert." Rilrae went outside and started to look around. Eadalla and Evelyn folowed. They stopped before a huge man.

"Hey, Shar, I need you to show these two the basic's of daggers."

"Hey, no problem, I can teach them anything they need to know." Rilrae smiled and left them with Shar. Eadalla sat on a rock watching Evelyn take lessons with Shar. She didn't hear most of it, she was too busy watching Evelyn. The first few stabs she tried were clumsly, and Eadalla laughed. Evelyn turned to her and frowned. As the afternoon wore on, she became better, untill finally, she could preform a few simple dagger strokes. Eadalla was smiling at Evelyn. They went back to Rilrae.

"Ok, now, it's getting to be dark, so you should get some sleep," Rilrae said, looking through some papers she had.

Eadalla nodded and the two started to walk off.

"Evelyn, may I speak to you, alone," Rilrae said, glancing at Eadalla.

"I'll go find the tent," Eadalla said. She quickly left.

"I can see you two are close. Can I ask how close?" Rilrae said.

"Why?"

"Hmm, let's see if I can put this delicately. I like you, you've got a certain something that makes you special. If you're spoken for, I won't persue."

"You don't even know if I would be intrested in a relationship with a women," Evelyn said.

"Yes I do, You don't get to be captain of the militia if you can't see the obvious."

Evelyn started to swet. She stammered for a second.

"Yes, I think we are."

Rilrae pondered for a second. "Ok, You can go, have a nice night."

Evelyn walked out, her head in a blur. She walked around aimlessly for a while, thinking about Eadalla. A tension built up inside her. Finally, she made it to the tent. Eadalla was sitting on the bed. Evelyn sat down next to her.

"What did..." Eadalla started, but Evelyn put her finger to her lips. Her hand brushed her cheek and Eadalla smiled at her. She leaned in close, amd kissed Eadalla softly on the lips, just for a second, and backed off. She looked into Eadalla's eyes, and saw a warm invitation to continue. She kissed Eadalla again, and as Evelyn kissed her, many alian thoughts raced through her. It seemed like eternity before they stopped, yet when they stopped, it seemed like they had kissed only for a second. Evelyn wrapped her arm's around Eadalla and laid her head on her shoulder.

"I don't know how to go on, I am so confused." Eadalla put her arm around Evelyn.

"It's ok, it'll pass with time, don't rush it."

 

A bell woke Eadalla and Evelyn. Evelyn stared into Eadalla's eye's and smiled. They slowly got up and got dressed. Evelyn took Eadalla's hand and they went outside. A group of people were around Rilrae.

"...that he did not know who killed the councilmen, but untill he did, the town was under marshall law. One of our spies tried to meet with him, the other's report she never came back," Rilrae speached. She turned to Evelyn and Eadalla. She sighed a little and nooded her head at Evelyn.

"What was that about?" Eadalla whispered to Evelyn.

"I'll tell you later."

"We're not sure," Rilrae said in a loud voice, "what happened to our spy, but she might have been tortured for information of our whereabouts. We need to keep a close eye out. The two new commers," She turned to Eadalla and Evelyn, "along with 3 other people, will guard at the forest area, across the lake." She pointed to three people. "You three, go with them."

"Yes sir," They said. All five of them went to the edge of the lake. A small wooden boat floated by the side. After they had all climbed, Two of the soldiers started rowing. The river was calm, and they paddled swiftly to the bank opposite of the camp. They all disembarked and started a march into the forest. A soldier lead the way, Eadalla then Evelyn followed, then the other two soldiers. They marched in silence a few miles out, then came to a stop and sat down in the bushes. The soldiers were spaced apart evenly, and Evelyn and Eadalla shared a bush. Evelyn sat between Eadalla's legs while her hands massaged Evelyn's neck and shoulders. Many hours passed, and the chirping of the birds was all that was heard. In the distance, a crunching sounds creeped up to them. They listened, and it got closer. Soon, they heard tree's being pushed over. A giant 8 foot tall metal being appeared, followed by several 5 foot purple and black metal things and several soldiers in black and red. One of the Faerie soldiers got up and ran.

"Rebels, 5, 3 males, 2 females, Target defined, destroy target," The larger red one said. One of the Purple started to fly just inches above the ground and ran off after the one escaping. A few seconds later, they heard a scream.

"1 target destroyed," a far off voice said.

"Comfirmed, 2 males, 2 females, target defined, new orders, capture and intergate," The large red one said.

"Let's go," Eadalla said to Evelyn. They quickly stood up and started to run.

"Location lock, 280 degree's from my position, 2 females, capture and intergate," The large red one turned to Evelyn and looked right at her. She could feel a strange pressence. She turned around and started to run again. They heard a noise, Like the wind but many times louder.

"Target's locked, preparing grapling hook," A voice from behind said. Eadalla looked back, and saw the thing pointing something at Evelyn. She heard a bang, saw something rapidly going toward Evelyn, and she jumped. A burning tore through her, and she looked down to see it had plunged deep into her chest. She felt the world draining away.

Evelyn looked behind her when she heard Eadalla scream. She was lying on the ground, something lodged in her chest and blood flowing out of where it had entered.

"Eadalla, come on, we have to go," Evelyn said, Kneeling next to her, tears running down her face as she pulled on her arm.

"No, go, before they get you too. This is my gift to you, freedom, don't forget me," Eadalla said as she slumped over.

"Target lock broken, secondary target destroyed," The metal being now over them said.

"Capture target, retrive secondary target and preserve for upgrade," The voice of what she knew to be the red one said. Evelyn tried to get up and run, but her feet didn't want to work. She looked back to see the the metal being reaching for her. She let out a long drowned out scream.

 

"Evelyn, Evelyn, wake up." Evelyn opened her eyes to see the tent and Eadalla. She reached out and pulled Eadalla close.

"It's ok, It was just a nightmare," Eadalla said as she wrapped her arms around Evelyn.

"I don't want any part of this. Let's go," Evelyn whispered to Eadalla. Eadalla looked at Evelyn, the confusion in her eyes obvious. "Don't ask, I don't wanna say right now."

"Ok, For you."

 

"It's a shame, We could use all the people we can in this fight," Rilrae said.

"Nah, we're just two lost faeries, We wouldn't be of any help," Eadalla said.

"Ok, well, You can have a canoe and you'll float down the river. Eventually, it leads to the edge of some human kingdom to the south somewhere." Evelyn and Eadalla got in the Canoe. Evelyn turned to Rilrae.

"Be careful, Be alert, I feel something awful is gonna happen soon," Evelyn said as they pushed off. The current was fast and steady, and they floated down the river with little paddling. They saw many fish swimming by, and the jungle crept right up to the edge of the water. The sun was high in the sky, but a cool breeze swept by the river all day. They passed a clearing late that day that was right next to the Faerie village. After that, the water became swift. Another river joined them and they were swept into a huge lake. They let the current sweep them along, but soon, the sound of rushing water alerted them. They were approaching a waterfall. They paddled backwards depersitly trying to escape the current, but it was too late. They were swept over.

 

A low moan vibrated around. Evelyn heard it, and wondered who could be letting out such a moan. She slowly woke up, and realized the moan belonged to her. Her sight returned, and she could see Eadalla near her, sleeping, or maybe uncounsious. She tried to get up, but somehow couldn't.

'Don't try to get up, rest,' a voice said. It sounded female.

'Who are you?' Evelyn asked.

'I am the guardian of this temple. The energy that flows through us all is strong here, and I maintain this place.'

'Where are you?'

'I'm speaking to you from the chamber above you. No harm will come to you, I control everything that happens inside this temple.' There was a pause, Evelyn could not tell if it had been minutes or days.

'You and your friend have a intresting destiny. If you want, I will share some of it with you.'

'No, my destiny must not be reveled to me, if I am to know what will happen, I could change it.'

'As you wish. Your friends love for you is strong, but I see temptation in your future. The future is always in motion, I can't see guarantee's, I see probilities. When you are well, My servents will take you to the chamber above you.' The voice grew quiet and Evelyn fell asleep.

 

"Evelyn, Evelyn, Wake up," Eadalla said, shaking her friend. Evelyn opened her eyes and looked around. She was still in the same room as before, except Eadalla was awake next to her and 2 people were nearby.

"I was beggining to wonder if you'd ever wake up." Eadalla said, grinning. But her eyes reflicted great concern. Evelyn struggled to her feet. As she stood up, she realized she was wearing nothing. Eadalla too was wearing nothing.

"Hey, I'm ok. Now what have you gone off and done while I was sleeping?" Evelyn said, looking at Eadalla's naked body and then her own.

"You've got to see this place. They have all sorts of intresting things here," Eadalla slipped her hand into Evelyns. "I'll show you."

Eadalla lead Evelyn out of the small room and up a flight of stairs. They emerged at a walkway going across a great indoor lake. There were no hand rails and the water looked deep. Great brass braziers were at regular intervils along the walkway. A earie green flame burned within each. The reached the end of the walkway, 2 stone heads were pouring water out into the lake below. They climbed a small stairwell and reached a platform. In the center was a large pool, with water running down the sides creating a gently stream. Both Evelyn and Eadalla waded into it. They're bodies relaxed as soon as they entered the pool. Eadalla sat down near the edge and leaned back on the side. Evelyn, still holding her hand, sat down on her, and wrapped her legs around Eadalla.

"I feel rested, and unencoumbered," Evelyn said and smiled at Eadalla. She kissed Eadalla softly on the lips.

"I thought about you, about us for a long time," Eadalla said. Evelyn rested her head on Eadalla's shoulder. She could feel herself growing excited. Eadalla's lips touched her neck, and softly kissed her. Evelyn let out a deep sigh. The water around them now felt warm.

"Ahemm," Someone nearby said. Eadalla and evelyn looked up.

"Master wishes for her guests to join her in the main chamber immidiatly," a servent said. He had two sets of clothes in hand. Evelyn looked longingly at Eadalla and got up. Eadalla followed as they left the pool. The water seemed to dry up as they touched the air. Evelyn felt the past few minutes fade away, as if it were a dream.

The servent handed them their clothes.

"Put these on," He said. They slowly dressed. Evellyn's eyes lagged behind, watching Eadalla's body as she slowly dressed. She let out a soft sigh as Eadalla finished dressing. The servent motioned for them to follow him. They walked in silence into a large room. Evelyn looked up to the ceiling and saw a half circle, facing her, cut into the ceiling. She saw the same on the floor. In the center of it there was a young girl, no more then 13 years old. She sat on the ground, her eyes closed.

"Have their belongings brought here," She said. The servent quickly took off. She opened her eyes and stared at the two of them. Evelyn gasped as she looked at her. Her eyes were as blue as the clearest ocean and glowed with a soft blue light.

"The fates weave lives in strange patterns," She said. "The paths both of you are headed down are different, but they both lead to the same place." She turned and smiled at the servent who just rentered the room.

"I don't meen to be rude, but this is a special place. Powers flow through here that no mortal was meant to weild. By just being here, things about you have changed, Your destinies have changed. You must leave." Eadalla and Evelyn stood there, confused by what the girl had just said. She turned to her servent.

"Please, escourt them out," She said. The servent bowed, then he walked back the way he had just come from. Eadalla and Evelyn followed him in silence. He lead them to a door and motioned for them to leave. He gave them their things as they passed through the door and into the bright outside. Evelyn raised her hand, shielding her eyes from the sun. Eadalla turned and saw the door they had stepped through was gone.

"Which way do you think we should go?" Evelyn asked as Eadalla handed her the green backpack.

"Let's try that path," Eadalla said, pointing to a path leading away from the building. A small hill blocked them on the right as they walked down the path. It was very well worn, no grass growing on it or objects blocking passage. Evelyn was walking fast, almost faster then Eadalla could.

"Hey, why so fast?" Eadalla asked. Evelyn stopped and turned towards her. She watched her for a second, then started again, walking just a little faster.

"Ok, what's wrong?" Eadalla asked. Evelyn stopped and faced her.

"Why do you ask that?" She said. Evelyn could feel the tension rising in her stomich and through her chest.

"You seem to be running away from something. I'm here if you need me," Eadalla said.

'Yes, I do need you," She thought to herself. She blushed slightly, then said, "No, I just need some time, that's all." Eadalla nodded and they started walking again. After a few minutes, they saw the roof of a house sticking up over the tree line. As they followed the path, it got closer. Soon, they entered a clearing. A great big apple tree stretched it's arms up to the sky, it's branches filled with apples. Evelyn stared skyward, trying to see it's top. Eadalla nudged her and they both walked over to the building. The door was wide open and they could hear someone talking inside. They walked in.

"Hey, have you come for the show?" A man behind a counter said.

"No, we were lost and wanted to get directions," Evelyn said. The man smiled.

"Good, the entertainment tonight isn't any good. We've got a young man from the far side of the world telling stories tonight." He paused. "He isn't very good. I expect I'll have to pay everyone their money back after he's done." He sighed.

"Hey, My friend here is good at story telling. How about you let her go up on stage and show you," Evelyn said.

"Hmm, she can't be worse then the guy whoose there right now. Ok, come on," He said. They followed him into the hotel a ways. Farther down the hall, they heard a lot of booing. Soon, they saw curtains and a skinny man standing at the front of a stage. The man they were following motioned for eadalla to stay there. He went out onto the stage and tapped the man on the shoulder.

"Give me a second, I'm almost to the good part," He said.

"Nope, get off the stage." The man hung his head and walked off.

"Ok ladies and gentlemen, I know how much you've wanted to be entertained today. That first act showed you just how bad bad can be, now, for the real star of the show, this young faerie will astound you with her stories. Let's all have a nice round of applause for the real star of the show," The man's face lit up and he started to clap, as did everyone in the audience. Eadalla smiled and walked out onto the stage. She approached the center and the man dropped back behind the curtain and waited next to Evelyn. Eadalla stared out into the audience for a second before starting.

"Rumors and fantasies litter the world like apples on the tree out front, but what I am about to tell you will astound you not because of it's epic propotions, but because it is the truth," She paused, gauging the audiences reaction to her.

"Many years ago, a elf named cronan wandered the countryside. He hunted for people who had prices on their heads, chopping off as many as he could and collecting large rewards. Unlike most bounty hunters, he was a dark elf, and not a very nice one, He was himself wanted in many places, the price on his head was vastly greater then most of those he hunted. On that particular night, he walked into Nickolous's," She said, using the name of the bar they were in.

 

Cronan walked across the bar room, scanning it for any sign of the guards that had been chasing him that morning. With none to be seen, he sat in the corner, obscured by darkness.

"Barmaid," He yelled. She walked over to him.

"Yes? What can I get for you?" She said.

"Get me a sunset," He said. She nodded and walked off to the bar. His eyes widened as he heard the door slam and saw who walked in. The guards that had been chasing him for 3 days stood at the front door. They talked to the first person, asking him something Cronan was too far off to hear. The man turned and pointed directly at him.

'Oh shit,' He thought quietly to himself. The guards approached his table and he readied himself for a attack.

"Excuse me there," A blonde haired elf said. He swaggered away from the bar where he was sitting. The guards turned and faced him.

"Yes?" One of them said.

"Hey, I knew it was you!" He said, swaggering around. "You still owe me 30 gold from that one night."

"Hey, I don't know you and I don't know what money you are talking about," The guard said. As he did, the elf gave the man in the corner a sober look, telling him to leave while he distracted them. He quickly got up and slipped out the door. The elf peered at the guard. "Maybe you're right, Ok, I'll let you off this time," He said, patting him on the shoulder.

The guard shook his head as he turned around to continue towards his suspect. The three got closer to the darkness and saw he was gone. He turned and saw the blonde haired elf was gone. A low growl eminated from him.

Outside, the two elves hid in the ally next to the bar. Cronan turned to the blonde haired elf.

"What do you want?" He asked. The blonde haired elf shrugged.

"A adventure, a few good times, and some beer. Names Deblin," the blonde haired elf said, smiling. "Well, deblin, people around me die, you'd live a much longer life if you stayed away," Cronan said, a snear scrolled across his face. Deblin's smile disappeared.

"It seems to me I just saved your life. It seems to me we work pretty well together." Cronan shrugged.

"Ok, you can go with me if you wish."

"Cronan and Deblin adventured together for a long time. They became a good team, and close friends," Eadalla said. She scanned the crowd, watching them as they sat forward, all quiet.

[rework this part]

"But, like all things, they went their own ways, parting in melager. Cronan eventually joined the assassins guild. Deblin continued to bounty hunt and got some very excellent contacts in the local militia. two years passed. Cronan became involved with a young female assassin. Deblin felt his life without excitement, a type of boredom crept into his life. He yearned for the return of his friends company. He joined with a guard whoose sole purpose in life had been tracking down the guild. Together, they hunted down a female assassin and cought her killing a ex convict. Deblin runs after her, out distancing everyone else. he get's up to her and tries some cop bullshit. She smiles evilly and slits her own throat and bleeds to death at Deblins feet. Deblin freaks and runs off into hiding. Cameron freaks and goes on a killing rampage. they meet somehow, fight, the guards men take Cameron into custady, Deblin acts cool, durning a intergation session, Deblin breaks in and kills everyone except Cameron. They escape and eventually make up."

[rework last part]

After Eadalla stopped, the audience held it's breath, anticipating more. After a few seconds, they broke into cheers and applause. Eadalla smiled. She looked back and saw Evelyn smiling also.

"I'd love to give you a regular show," The innkeeper said. Eadalla smiled.

"I'm flattered, but my place is at her side," Eadalla said, slipping Evelyn's hand into her own.

"We have to find her brother."

"Well, ok," The innkeeper started, scratching his head, "But, anytime you're in the area, you two can spend the night here, free of charge."

The path Evelyn traveled slopped downward, her eyes focused on the ground benith her feet. Eadalla walked behind her and put her hand on Evelyn's shoulder.

"Ok, what's wrong? You haven't been yourself since we left the other faeries." Evelyn looked up into Eadalla's eyes.

"That story you told at the inn, it was marvalious. I loved it. I always love your stories."

"Thank you, but don't change the subject," Eadalla said. Evelyn turned her head away from Eadalla.

"Why didn't you leave me? I thought every bard wanted to preform?" Evelyn asked. Eadalla softly touched Evelyn's cheek and turned her head back towards her. Tears welled up in Evelyn's eyes. Eadalla smiled softly as she raised a finger and wiped the tears from Evelyn's eyes.

"I thought it was obvious why I haven't left you." Evelyn looked up into Eadalla's eyes and smilled softly. She could feel her heart racing in her chest. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain. Everything went black.

Evelyn opened her eyes. She couldn't move. Looking around, she saw she was in a dark wooden building. It was completely bare except for a door on the far side of the room. Chains were wrapped around her and some kind of piller. She could feel the chains tighten and loosen.

"Whoose there?" She asked, fear echoeing in her voice.

"It's me, I'm chained up behind you, on the other side of this piller." Evelyn felt Eadalla's hand and slipped her hand into it.

"You should have taken the job at the inn," Evelyn said. She felt Eadalla's hand squeeze her's softly. She waited for what seemed like hours for a response.<use cttkoff.wps, except the end, the mage is calling a demon to destroy the kingdom. It comes forth and knocks everyone out. The magus laughs, and the demon is ready to kill the girl. Chrono steps in front of her and is killed, cyrus destroys the demon but dies himself.>

Eadalla listens carefully for any response from Evelyn.

"I couldn't leave you," Eadalla said.

"I...don't know what to say," Evelyn said. "I was always told feelings like that were wrong." Evelyn sighed.

"When we were in the faerie camp, Rilrae asked me if we were together. I wasn't sure how to answer." Evelyn paused, taking a deep breath."I've been having dreams about you. They are pleasurable and disturbing at the same time," Evelyn stopped, unable to continue.

"I've been having dreams about you for years," Eadalla said. "I.. wasn't going to tell you. I thought you didn't feel that way about me, I guess my own feelings were in the way, that I couldn't tell what your feelings were."

Evelyn squeezed Eadalla's hand."I didn't even know what my own feelings were. I've been so scared to say anything. These feelings were wrong, that You would leave me all alone in this strange land if I told you."

"I will never leave you," Eadalla said. A smile came across Evelyn's face.

 

Imprint

Text: Samuel Plahetka
Publication Date: 06-09-2016

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To God, through whom all things may happen, and to Drew Hayes, who helped with the background behind the story. I wish we'd been able to work on this as we'd intended.