Chapter 13

    Tiny people stepped out of the vegetation. They were the height of young children, but with slender limbs and delicate features. Many of them had hair of strange colors and skin decorated with what reminded me of Amerindian warpaint. Most notably, their vibrant wings weren't feathered like mine or my friends'. They were translucent and insect-like, some more like butterflies, other like moths or dragonflies.

    "Fairies!" Aiden exclaimed, confirming my suspicions.

    We were surrounded, but the gryphon glared fearlessly at our assailants. One of them said something in a light, ringing language.

    Autumn swallowed. "Til?"

    A man covered in purple face paint stepped forwards. He studied Autumn with interest.

    "You speak the fairy tongue?" Aric whispered with a look of wonder.

    The fairy's rapid answer prevented Autumn from replying. Her eyes widened, and she turned to us.

    "He speaks way too fast. I only know the basics, like 'hello'. And I forgot how to say the word 'peace'. And 'friend'. And everything else." Her voice trembled.

    "It's okay," I reassured her, trying to swallow my own anxiety. "Don't panic. Come on, Autumn. If you can use your ambassador skills to befriend fairies, you'll be the most sought-after diplomat in the whole kingdom."

    The fairy took a step closer, but the gryphon opened his wide wings with a shriek. There was a moment of stunned surprise among the fairies. Then, they all bowed their heads, offering their opened palms towards the animal.

    Satisfied, the gryphon tucked back his wings, and let the fairies come closer.    

    "Excuse me? I thought your stupid chicken was going to help us, but nooo," Aiden complained.

    "What next?" Aric asked, his spear still held tightly in his hands. "They are more than us."

    "We can't do anything until we're out of this net." Chase glared at the fairies.

    "Vakil," a man with a long purple braid ordered.

    Something stung my neck, like a mosquito. I heard Chase swear as the world faded away.

***

    My eyelids fluttered open. My head was pounding, and I groggily tried to take in my surroundings as the dancing green spots around me became trees and bushes.

    "You're awake. Finally." A tiny woman with a blue pixie cut looked down at me. She was hovering a few feet off the ground thanks to her dragonfly-like wings.    

    "Hailey!" Chase exclaimed. He was sitting up against a tree just like I was. Thankfully, he didn't seem hurt. Autumn and Aric were both still asleep, slouched against their own tree trunks, but Aiden was nowhere to be seen. The peryton and gryphon were also missing.

    "Where's Aiden?" I managed to ask even though my tongue felt heavy and numb. I tried to get up, but my ankles were bound together, as were my wrists.

    "Quiet," the blue-haired fairy ordered. "Only speak when spoken to."

    "Wait, you speak English?" I realized.

    "Maybe; maybe not," She sang. Her features turned serious again. "Doesn't matter. Who are you? What is your business here?"

    "My name is Hailey Underwood," I replied. I could think more clearly already. Whatever they had used to make us pass out was wearing off. "My friend and I were just passing through; we didn't mean to disturb you. We're actually heading to the outpost, but we got lost."

    The fairy pinched her lips together and turned to Chase, who just shrugged. "It's the truth. I don't know why you wouldn't believe me. Now can you tell us what you did with our friend?"

    The fairy shrugged. "The shaman is coming. She will say."

    A fairy with a long white braid flew down from above, with a group of child-like fairies following from a distance. Her wings were butterfly-like, white with black and grey spots.

    Fairies flew differently than us. They didn't go straight to their destination but let the wind carry them where it pleased, occasionally doing a flip just for the fun of it.

    When at last they landed, the children a safe distance away from us though their giggles rang clearly through the air, the woman skipped towards us. She smiled to the woman who had previously been talking to us, and exchanged a few words in their light language.

    Autumn and Aric were waking up and trying to make sense of the situation as the shaman approached Chase. He watched her warily, and she flicked his nose with a mocking laugh.

    "The shaman says, 'look at that, the hunter was caught in a trap. Not so mighty, are we?" the fairy with dragonfly wings translated with a smug smile.

    The shaman strode over to Autumn, studied her for a second, said something else to the other fairy which wasn't translated, strolled by Aric, and stopped in front of me.

    I had always imagined a shaman would be old and wise, but the fairy didn't have one wrinkle, and her laughing dark eyes were complemented by full red lips. She looked at me and arched an eyebrow, then exchanged a few words with the other fairies. The children ceased their antics to listen, and soon shuffled closer to us, watching me curiously.

    I squirmed, wishing I could understand what they were saying, and looked towards Chase for support. His eyes were worried, but when our eyes met he relaxed and gave me a smile.

    "You," our translator said. "What is your name again?"

    "Hailey Underwood."

    The shaman said something in the fairy tongue.

    "Where are you from?"

    Chase shook his head almost unnoticeably.

    "From the kingdom of Aeolus." Chase was right, mentioning the human world might not be a good idea.

    The fairy relayed the information. "And who are you, there?"

    I could see Chase was just as at loss as I was. How would they react if they knew I was the princess? Would it help, or would things only get worse? I looked at Autumn, who only shrugged, an apologetic look on her face. Aric looked lost and most likely regretted coming along with us.

    I had waited too long to answer, and the fairies were looking at me with suspicion in their eyes. "I am related to the royal family," I admitted.

    Everyone looked at the first fairy as she translated the information, then at the shaman. The woman shook her head slowly, then said a few words. The children erupted into noisy exclamations, then all took off in different directions, still talking over themselves.     A few of them almost ran into themselves in their excitement.

    "Your identity will be verified before we take any further action," our translator said.

    The shaman opened her white wings, but Chase called out,

    "Hold on. Where's our friend? What have you done with him?"

    The questions were translated, the shaman answered and flew away. The fairy with the dragonfly wings turned to us.

    "You'll know soon enough, no need to be so impatient. Behave or you will be put to sleep again." Her eyes focused on the trees behind us, as if some fairies were watching us, unseen. Then, she fluttered her wings and was off.

    "Hey!" Chase called out after her, tugging at the rope binding him. "Come back! Where is he?"

    A dart flew right into the bark of Chase's tree, only inches from his head. A warning. He closed his mouth and looked back towards us.

    "I guess we wait." Autumn sighed.
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Hoped you liked it!
What do you think of the fairies so far?

Cover by @Star-lupin again :)