It’s been five months since I talked with Vestele. The things she said during our conversation are still bugging me. Her being my mother, the stuff about the different realms and worlds, the idea of there being vampires and who knows what else. Then she tells me that she is the queen of the fairies. As if that wasn’t enough, she warned me that if I fail to bring her back to this spirit realm, the world will continue to be besieged by massive natural disasters.

What a messed-up situation I’ve found myself in. Getting killed by a fairy, brought to an alternate world, and now I have to bring the one that killed me home or countless people could die. Pretty jarring, not to mention, I’m also her daughter? Vestele did say she made the body for herself, but if this body was supposed to look like her, then why do I look like a child? She did say that something happened, so maybe that’s why I look like this, but still, a child, a fairy, and a girl...

Before our conversation, I hadn’t cared too much about my appearance, but when Vestele told me that I looked like her when she was a kid it got me interested. Shortly after, I looked at my reflection while Myrna and I were out gathering water one day. Looking at my new face reflecting in the water gave me mixed feelings, but ultimately I was mesmerized by my new appearance. I have large white eyes, thin lips, a delicate nose, and pointed ears, just like her. Making different faces and seeing my reflection mimic them was weird to see. I agree with Vestele, I do look like a younger version of her, which is a bit disturbing. Remembering everything Vestele had told me, I want to talk with her again.

(NOTE: The outfit Evetta is wearing in the picture is not the outfit in this scene. Instead she is wearing an outfit she wears later on in the story.)

It took a month and a half after arriving in this world for me to talk with her, but how do I reach her? She said that she was in my soul, but how am I supposed to talk with her… Jeez, I can’t believe I actually want to talk with her… According to her, she’s my mom, but she’s also my murderer too… it’s definitely disturbing.

Aside from my worries concerning Vestele, I found out this new language is called Annic and have made considerable progress with my speaking abilities. I still struggle with a word every once in a while, but for the most part I think I am fluent enough to have a general conversation in Annic.

I also found out that Myrna can speak the English, which is the language that I originally spoke, but she calls it Parazic. However, she has not used it in several years, so I’ve been teaching her in return. Another fact I found out about Myrna was that she could not read, which seems extremely odd to me given her age. With what I gathered from all of my jokes and questions, I believe Myrna to be just over one-hundred years old. Which she claims is still fairly young.

I have been trying my best to get Myrna to open up to me a bit more; I believe I have progressed in this quite a bit.

Whenever Myrna goes out to gather food, or plants, I go with her. During those trips I ask her about all the different flora in the forest. When we get to a tree that has fruit on it, I fly up and pull them off, and she thanks me. I’ve also noticed that there’s a green fog that fills the forest, but Myrna is unable to see it. This green fog has a pleasant smell and seems to gather around my wings whenever I am nearby.

As of late, my ability to fly has improved tremendously. I can now stay in the air for at least an hour. My limit is around three, however, after which I simply want to go to sleep.

During our talks, I would ask Myrna if she knew anything about the other races and realms Vestele had mentioned. Unfortunately, Myrna does not know too much about them. She says that she does know about dwarves and beastkin, and that she has heard some stories about angels and demons. However, she refuses to tell me about them.

Myrna and I spend most of our days similarly. In the mornings we usually wake up and tend to Myrna’s garden. We then go around the perimeter of the house to check on this smelly rock formation she has circling her property. Unfortunately, I cannot stand the smell.  Myrna told me, however, that the smell helps to keep the beasts away. I’m curious about these beasts, but Myrna won't talk about them, even though she often worries about them.

Once we finish up with the yard, we come back inside for a bit to eat. Then we assault each other with questions about one another, and in my case, the outside world. Myrna is always asking about something different and complains when I refuse to answer her.

Yet if I ask something, she will usually answer with an “I don’t know.” or “Not telling.”. Honestly, she is a complete pain, but that does not mean I have any intentions of giving up.

In the afternoon we usually go out into the forest to gather any food or plants that Myrna needs, the smelly rocks assault my nose whenever we cross over them. On occasion, she will hunt an animal for something like clothes, or to make some tools. She has even made me some spare clothes as well, which given the differences in our physique, is quite surprising.

Most of what she makes me are all various kinds of dresses, but lately she has been getting better at making the clothing more elaborate. It’s pretty scary how well they are starting to fit me. When Myrna gets into clothes making mode, it feels like she thinks of me as some kind of doll for her to dress up.

After we finish gathering whatever we need in the forest, we head back home. In the evening, Myrna tries to make some kind of meal that is more than just some fruit or berries. These meals are occasionally some kind of cooked meat, but it usually ends up being some kind of mashed fruit. Once we finish eating, Myrna and I go out to grab some water, however she does most of the work while I just follow along.

When we get back, Myrna fills a bowl with water for me to take a bath in while she washes herself. I am not completely comfortable with my new body yet, but I am not as reserved as I was initially.

My chest is flat, presumably because I’m a child. Thinking about Vestele, she had a fairly ample bosom, so maybe I will have some like hers in the future? As for the difference between my legs, that took some time getting used to. Going to the restroom is definitely a different experience, and it is much more difficult to hold it in. 

For the first two months I had Myrna wash me, which usually hurt. After too many painful baths, I had to give up on her washing me and began washing myself. At first, I would try to wash myself with my eyes closed, but after a couple of days I gave up and started washing myself with my eyes open.

Once nightfall comes around, Myrna and I continue to question each other about our lives. Myrna would act weird whenever I would say something about a subject that I should know nothing about. She would then ask me how I know such things, at which times I respond with an “I’m not telling.”. This is a way to get back at her for refusing to answer my questions.

On days when Myrna was busy making something, I used my time to practice flying. I’ve also tried using spyra, but since I have no idea what to do, I haven’t been making any progress. Occasionally, I get nauseous trying to use it, which is concerning. I’d like to talk with Vestele again, so she can help me figure out what to do.

Today, Myrna and I are going to go out to gather food to prepare for this month’s winter week.

“Hey Evetta, do you really need to look at the picture all the time?” Myrna asks.

Standing up, after sitting on the dresser in front of the picture of who I assume to be her parents, I turn around, flying over to where Myrna is and land on her shoulder.

“Well, I’m just curious about who the people in the picture are. You won’t tell me, so I keep thinking about who they might be,” I reply.

Myrna turns away from me. Looks like she still doesn’t want to answer me.

I continue, “I have some guesses. Parents, teachers, friends, siblings, lovers.”

Myrna starts to walk out of the house, remaining silent. She crosses over the smelly rock formation and out into the forest, still walking silently. I look down at them and cover my nose as I fly over. I hate this smell... 

I look back up at Myrna. “Myrna, you know. I’ve been thinking about leaving lately,” I say, dropping a bomb onto her to break the silence.

Myrna, stopping in place, turns to look at me. My eyes watch her reaction. She’s upset.

 I turn my head away from her. “I don’t think I can stay here any longer. So, I’ll probably be leaving after this coming winter has passed.” I say as bluntly as I can, trying to provoke a response from her.

“Why?” She asks quietly. “Why… why so suddenly!?” She exclaims right into my ear.

Ow, that hurt…but she took the bait.

“Well, I’m living with a complete stranger,” I say as Myrna interrupts.

“I’m not a complete stranger. You’ve been here for six months, so how am I a complete stranger!?” Myrna exclaims louder than before. “I thought we were…” Myrna trails off, whispering the rest of her sentence.

“Think about it from my point of view. You know a lot about me,” I say. Not really, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“But I know so little about you. I am thankful for everything you have done to help me out, but you don’t tell me anything.” I continue saying as tears begin forming in my eyes, emotions welling up in me.

I’m supposed to be acting, so why am I crying? Dammit. Tears now fall from my eyes.

Myrna continues to walk through the forest. She and I move toward our usual gathering spot. Both of us begin to calm down from the previous outburst.

Maybe I was too hard on her? It’s not like what I told her was a lie, I really don’t know much about her. And, I will probably end up leaving at some point.

Several minutes of walking continue, until Myrna breaks the silence.

“It hurts.” Myrna says almost too quietly for me to hear.

Huh?

“It hurts to talk about,” Myrna speaks up at her usual volume level, her voice trembling.

Myrna goes on, “I did want to tell you at some point, but whenever I thought about telling you. I got scared, I still do, just thinking about it,” her body starts to shake.

Ah, yeah, I definitely was too hard on her.

“Sorry Myrna. If you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll wait until you’re ready,” I respond, trying to calm her down.

“No, you’re right. It isn’t fair that I haven’t told you much, and who knows if I’ll be ready to talk about it before you leave,” She replies, her voice progressively getting quieter. She continues on, “I’m sorry, it’s not a pleasant story.

Arriving at our usual gathering spot, Myrna stops at a camp we had set up under a collapsed tree. Sitting together, Myrna takes a deep breath to calm herself before she starts telling her story.

“I used to be a slave,” Myrna reveals, pausing for a moment.

“A slave?” I mutter. Not quite what I had expected.

“Back when I still lived in my village, it was attacked by beasts. I was really young at the time, so I don’t remember much about what exactly happened. Screams…and blood. So many people…” Myrna says, her words trailing off again. Myrna stops and wraps her arms around her knees.

“I don’t know how I escaped, but when I woke up, I was in a carriage chained up. I was taken to a slave merchant where I learned to speak Parazic, and was later sold,” Myrna says,  pausing for a moment. Her breathing starts to become irregular.

“I-I was forced to do so many things. Pleasing my master, getting beaten whenever, fearing that any moment could be my last,” Myrna’s breathing worsens.

This isn’t looking good, I need to calm her down.

“Myrna, if this is too painful, you don’t need to tell me more, it’s okay,” I say. 

Myrna anxiously mutters about her past, “I watched so many others die in front of me, just because he enjoyed it. M-my friends, they all…” Tears flow from Myrna’s eyes as her breathing becomes ragged.

Dammit, she’s not listening to me. Come on, think. I look around for something to get Myrna to relax, seeing sticks, leaves, and some old apples from our last excursion into the forest.

That should work. I grab an apple and, flying above Myrna, drop it.

“Ow,” Myrna says questioningly, looking around to find me.

“What was that for?” She asks, still breathing heavily.

Okay, she’s snapped out of it.

“Myrna, you were freaking out,” I explain to her, “It was scaring me, sorry.”

Suddenly, Myrna begins falling, landing on her side with a thud.

“Myrna!? Myrna what’s wrong!?” I yell, my question falling on deaf ears.

I fly down to examine her. Well, she’s still breathing. I sigh aloud, releasing the tension in my body. Okay, definitely a bad idea to bring up the past. I look at Myrna’s sleeping face and then scan the room we are in. Let’s cover her up and let her rest for a bit. I fly outside the camp and grab a few large leaves, dragging them across the ground. 

Okay, now what? I look around the campsite again. Well, we did come out here to get food for the up-coming winter. Guess I’ll get to work.

I fly outside from the enclosed space of our camp, covering the entrance with a large leaf to prevent anything from seeing Myrna while I was out. The surroundings are littered with thick forest plants, ranging in various colors. Some plants have wonderous blues, purples, or reds, while others had roots that wrapped around massive tree trunks larger than Myrna’s house.

Unlike the forests from my previous world, this forest is much more like a maze. Fallen trees act like massive platforms, while the uneven ground hides several pockets that are covered with vegetation. Between the fallen trees and thick foliage there is barely any sunlight getting in, making the forest floor dark and ominous. The sky in this world is still a complete mystery to me as the forest has prevented me from getting a clear view of it. The massive trees’ height and thickness combined with Myrna’s warnings of bird attacks dissuade me from trying to sneak a peek of the sky.

I scan the forest to make sure it is safe before taking off. Alright, it looks clear. Heading from one tree to the next, I slowly scan the surroundings to make sure nothing would see me flying around.

I need to be careful. I need to make sure I don’t get lost. It’s so much easier doing this with Myrna. Looking around, I find the shrub we usually collect fruit from this time of the month.

I inspect the apples on the shrub. Alright, these ones look good. I pull an apple from the bush, carrying it by the stem. Flying from tree cover to tree cover, I continue making my way back to camp. This is a lot heavier when I have to carry it all the way back…

I repeat this process several times. Each time I arrive back at camp, I check on Myrna to see if she is awake yet and take a minute to catch my breath. Carrying a single apple makes me this tired? How pitiful have I become?

Looking at the number I now have. Three, four…seven…ten. Alright, let's get two more.

Pulling the leaf back I scan the forest again, determine the coast is clear and make my way from tree to tree, heading back to the shrub I was gathering apples from. I check the surroundings again. Oh fuck! What the heck is that!?

Peaking around the side of the tree, I see a monstrous beast standing in front of the apple shrub.

Standing maybe twice the size of Myrna’s house, its long body is covered in black fur. The beast stands on all four limbs, and has a long thick tail trailing behind it.

What’s it doing? “Agh!” I gasp as the beast turns its head, looking in my direction. I quickly pull my head back behind the tree. 

Did it see me? Oh, please no. What if it did? Dammit, should I run? I don’t know if I can outrun this thing. Even if I can, where do I go? I can’t lead it to Myrna, or the house.

Sounds of sticks snapping come from behind the tree, a low growling sound pierces my ears.

My heart starts to race. Oh no, not now. Fear takes hold of my body and pressure builds below my stomach. Please don’t pee! I need to hold it in. Please go away.

The beast’s short snout peeks from around the side of the tree, gusts of air coming from its nostrils. The warm air blows against me.

Go away, go away, go away, go away… I press myself as close to the bark as I can get. The rough wet bark rubs uncomfortably against my wings.

Suddenly, a loud terrifying screech blasts throughout the entire forest. The beast's snout disappears from my sight. Aaaaaaaaagh, what the… I place my hands over my ears to try and protect myself from the ear-bleedingly loud screech.

Moments later, the screech finally goes silent. What the heck was that? And what happened to the beast? I listen for anything coming from behind the tree. The forest, however, is completely silent.

I don’t hear anything, maybe it’s gone? Moving slowly around the tree trunk, I peek around to see if the beast is still present.

It’s not there. Seeing the beast gone, the tension leaves my body. I glide down to the ground and sit, catching my breath.

What the hell? That thing was huge. I thought that smell was supposed to keep beasts away. No wonder Myrna’s always so careful when we go out. Not to mention that loud screech. I don’t even want to know what made that noise… Warm…

No longer feeling the pressure coming from my bladder, tears begin falling from my eyes. Dammit. I don’t like this anymore. I want to change back. I can barely carry an apple, I just peed myself, and I can’t stop crying! I want to change back…

I lay there on the forest floor, crying to myself for several minutes until I finally calmed down.

This is stupid. I wipe the tears from my eyes. It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t cry every time something happens…Stupid emotions.

Sitting up, and looking around,  I sigh aloud. At least no one was around to see.

I stand up and stretch. Okay, let’s get these last two apples, then wake up Myrna. I want to head home before anything else happens.

I fly over to the apple shrub. Well…this complicates things. The apple shrub is completely ruined. I descend to inspect the fruit to see if there are any that are still edible. Man, none of these look good anymore. I guess I have to find a different one.

Flying off, I stay relatively close to the trampled apple shrub so that I don’t get lost. Scanning from the backside of trees, I look for any nearby apple shrubs.

“Whaaa!?” I scream. What the heck is this? A face? Peaking around from a tree, I see the face of a person wrapped up in vines hanging in the air.

A person? Out here? Looks like a guy. His ears aren’t pointed, so a human?

I examine the person. He has black hair hanging in front of his eyes. His body is being held up by the vines, while his limbs dangle in the air. He is wearing thick looking leather clothes that are covered in blood and have several large cuts in them.

Blood, it doesn’t look like it’s coming from him?

“Hello? Can you hear me? Are you okay?” I ask, not expecting an answer.

No response. Well, guess I’ll get Myrna and see what she thinks.

I fly off back to camp, taking extra care to make sure it’s safe as I travel. Arriving back at camp, I yell, “Myrna! Myrna! Come on, wake up.”

No response huh.

“Myrna. Come on Myrna, there’s a guy out there. I think he’s injured. Come on Myrna, wake up!” I yell again trying to wake her up, transitioning between lifting her eyelids and pulling her hair to try and wake her.

Looking around, I see the apples I had gathered earlier. I could drop another apple on her.

Flying over to an apple, I lift it up, flying up to the ceiling above Myrna’s head. Here goes. “Sorry Myrna.” I say, letting go of the apple. I fly down alongside it as it falls.

The apple hits Myrna on the head. Really… nothing.

“Argh, you hard-headed elf. Wake up!” I exclaim, landing on the ground, sitting down next to Myrna.

Well, now what? Looking around, I see that I still have pee on my legs. Guess I’ll head to the river to clean up. Hopefully, she’ll be awake by the time I get back.

I fly off, deciding to take a bath in the river. I am very cautious about where I take my bath because the water is freezing cold, and I don't know what unknown beasts could be lurking in the water.

I find a small creek that leads into the river, a shallow bank snakes alongside it. Soaking myself, I remove the dirt, sweat, and pee off my body.

Brrrr, that was freezing. Okay, done. Time to head back.

After putting my dress back on, I start making my way back to camp. Finding a spot to clean up took a bit longer than expected.

Flying through the green fog-filled forest, the place seems to have returned to complete peace, as if the incidents from earlier in the day had never happened. The fog disappears as I move through it. Why can’t it always be this calm? Suddenly,  a sound breaks the silence of the forest.

“Evetta! Hey, can you hear me? Evetta! Where are you?” Myrna yells, her voice travelling through the forest.

Finally, she’s awake! I pick up my pace, flying even faster. The air pushes against my face; the wind in my wings. This feels great.

Seeing Myrna in the distance, I begin dashing toward her, calling out to her, “Myrna!”

Slowly stopping, I press up against Myrna’s cheek, hugging her to the best of my abilities.

“Where’d you go!?” Myrna exclaims.

“I’m sorry Myrna,” I respond, “But right now, there’s someone that needs our help.” I fly away from her face. “Come on, follow me, I’ll explain as we go,” I continue, trying to get Myrna to follow me.

“What do you mean someone needs our help?” She asks, trailing behind me.

“Earlier while I was gathering apples, I was attacked by a beast,” I explain.

“WHAT!?” Myrna yells, clasping her hands over her mouth after realizing how loud she was. “What do you mean?” She asks again, more quietly.

“Nothing happened, but after it left, I went to look for a new apple shrub because it destroyed the one we’ve been using,” I recount, “Then I found a guy hanging in some vines. He’s still breathing, but I think he might be hurt. We should try to help him.” 

Myrna is silent for a moment. “I don’t think we should,” she finally replies, stopping in place.

Realizing Myrna was no longer following me, I turn around and fly back to her. “You don’t think we should help him? Why?” I ask, now in front of her.

Myrna looks away from me. “Does it have something to do with your past?” I speculate.

Myrna nods quietly, holding her right hand over her left shoulder. She rubs it back and forth over the scar.

“You know, even though you look really tough, you’re actually pretty soft,” I mumble aloud.

“Fine, if you won’t help him, I’ll just have to do it myself.” I tell Myrna as I turn around and continue flying to the man’s location.

“Wait,” Myrna says, raising her voice.

Flying off, away from Myrna, I go from tree to tree again recounting the way to get back to the man.

Seems like she’s still upset from earlier. I sigh to myself. Now, how am I going to carry this guy?

Rounding the last few trees, I arrive at the man’s location. Good, he’s still here, and he’s breathing too.

I begin trying to pull him, lift him, and push him, but nothing works. After several minutes of struggling, Myrna shows up.

Myrna shouts up to me, “You know, even though you act really strong, you’re actually pretty weak.”

She did not just say that? My face starts to feel warm.

Flying down to Myrna, she continues, “Your face is all red, are you embarrassed?”

“NO!” I respond immediately. Jerk.

“Oh, is that right. Okay, well, since you seem to have everything under control here, I’ll just take a seat and watch,” Myrna says, moving over to a tree, she sits down in front of it.

Really! Elf, more like a demon. I look back up at the man, then back to Myrna. Dammit, this is so unfair!

“Can you please help me carry him back?” I mutter quietly.

“Huh, did you say something?” Myrna responds, sarcastically.

You know exactly what I said, you jerk.

“Can you please help me carry him back!?” I yell at her.

Myrna starts laughing uncontrollably.

“Sure, I still don’t want to, but… Never mind. Just get him down, I’ll catch him,” Myrna says, wiping a tear from her eye.

I smack my cheeks to try and shake off the embarrassment and begin flying back up to the man.

Okay, so how to get him down? These vines are as thick as a tree from Earth, so cutting them is not going to work.

I pull on them to see if there is any slack, and the vines slightly move. I do this for each vine.

Alright, this one has the most freedom. Well here goes nothing.

Grabbing the vine as best I can, I begin flying as fast as possible, pulling the vine down toward Myrna.

“Here,” I groan, struggling to hold onto the vine.

Myrna grabs onto the vine, then gives it a strong pull. The man rises up along with the vines. Myrna lets go and the vines drop back down, some tearing in the process. The vines release the man, and he falls onto Myrna.

“Ugh, that hurt,” Myrna mutters, trying to regain her stance.

“This guy’s heavy,” she continues, groaning while trying to move.

“Can you carry him back?” I ask.

“Yea, just give me a moment,” Myrna responds. She takes the man and puts him on her back.

Myrna’s dragging his feet. A chuckle escapes from my mouth.

“What’s so funny?” Myrna asks, as we make our way back home.

“Nothing,” I respond, happy that she was back to her old self.