Chapter 7- Flight School
905 7 21
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.
Hi everyone. Forbidden Forge: Fourteen Moons has now been out for one month and with the addition of the last chapter, the story has exceeded 100 readers! Here's another chapter to celebrate, along with a second gift for anyone curious about the landscape of the world. I will be posting the map, adding characters, and lore that has been covered to the glossary as well. Thanks for reading the story, and I hope you continue to follow Evetta's journey.

Beaquide: bee-quide

 

Open the image in a new tab to see the map better.

Sleep last night was not what I expected. After I finished talking with Vestele, I went back down to meet up with the fairies and ask about where we would be sleeping for the night. They all looked at me like I was crazy at first, since I am a skryver and my wings radiate colors. They asked if I could build us a shelter for the night. I lied and told them that I was too exhausted to use the elements, and therefore could not build a shelter, which they thankfully believed. 

Zoelle explained that she could make one out of ice, but no one wanted to sleep in a freezing cold dome, so it was decided that we would sleep together to stay warm. At first, I argued with them about sleeping together, to which Koralesca said I was free to sleep alone in the cold. After  my failed attempt to fall asleep alone in the cold, I joined them. We used leaves as both pillows and blankets.

Staying warm was not an issue, since, much to my discomfort, they put me in the middle. I could barely sleep with them all moving around so much, especially Koralesca. I’m not sure how many times I ended up getting hugged by her, but every time I did, Vestele would get flustered and complain, making things worse.

Eventually I managed to fall asleep, but since I had a rough time getting to sleep, I slept until well past sunrise. None of the fairies woke me up, saying I looked too exhausted, so they let me sleep. Instead, they went out and got some food for us, and I awoke to the smell of cooked fish.

Thanks to Orianna’s electricity, the first fish that Faraine caught was burned, so they made a fire and cooked it more traditionally. Aside from the fish, there were also some nuts and several fruits such as strawberries, grapes, an apple, a peach, and some cherries. Honestly, seeing everything there was a big surprise, but Zoelle said they were not sure what I liked, so they gathered anything they could find.

With breakfast over, we all went over to the river to clean up. I tried to tell them that I could bathe on my own, but they refused and forced me to bathe with them. The whole ordeal was embarrassing, it was the first time someone other than Myrna has seen me nude, well, her and whoever changed me into my current dress. Additionally, there was Vestele, only making things worse as she continuously proclaimed her affection for me.

Lenadrea manipulated the wind to help dry us off, which was cold at first, but quickly felt refreshing. With our bath finished, we dressed ourselves and are about to leave.

“Alright princess, what’s your decision?” Koralesca asks, “Are we going to search for your elf friend, or are we headed back to Folian?”

“Please don’t call me that,” I complain.

“Sorry, no can do,” Koralesca states bluntly.

I sigh, then proclaim, “Please, guide me to Folian.”

A moment of silence follows my answer.

“Are you sure?” Zoelle responds.

“It might be some time before you see her again,” Vestele adds.

“I’m sure. I’m not fond of leaving Myrna, it hurts, but… I think if I go back to her right now, I won’t want to leave her again,” I reply, “So, for now, I’ll go with you guys, but, at some point, I want to see Myrna before heading to the spirit realm.”

“If you change your mind, let me know and I’ll alter our course,” Lenadrea speaks up.

Orianna flies over to me and says, “Princess, you’re going to have so much fun. I’ll show you all my favorite spots to play, and where the best nap spots are.”

Zoelle flies over and consoles saying, “If you want to talk to anyone, I’m willing to lend you an ear-”

“Okay okay, leave her alone,” Faraine interrupts, “Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah,” I confirm.

“Alright, since you’re sure, then we’ll take you there. If we’re quick, we might make it there by tonight,” Koralesca says, then shouts, “Let’s fly!”

Sorry Myrna, I’ll see you again, but right now, I want to learn more about fairies.

Altogether, the fairies start flying. Lenadrea leads from the front, as she seems the fastest. She scouts as she flies, zipping around to-and-fro. Behind her is Koralesca, while Orianna, Zoelle, and I fly in the middle. Orianna and Zoelle fly alongside me, keeping pace. Faraine pulls up the rear.

Damn, they’re fast. I fly with them, trying to match their pace as best I can. We rush through the trees, making our way quickly away from the grove where we camped. As we leave, the horizon opens up into a clear blue sky over the grasslands from yesterday. The morning sun shines down upon us.

“Sweetheart, I want you to cough once for yes, and twice for no,” Vestele comments.

Cough? What for?

“Do you understand?” Vestele asks.

In response to her question, I cough once. What’s this about, she’s suddenly super serious.

“Good, for now just listen. So far, these girls don’t seem horrible, but you need to be cautious around them and all other fairies you encounter,” Vestele states, “Skryvers are capable of using a unique heart spyra that binds us to other fairies, turning them into what we call pages.”

Okay?

“All skryvers can have twelve pages, and once you pick someone, you cannot replace them. Don’t worry, there is a ritual that is performed between you and whomever you choose, so you won’t accidentally bind with someone,” Vestele continues, “But you should start considering the kind of fairies you want by your side in the future, after all, your pages, even if they are technically servants, are more like a family you pick. They are brothers and sisters that you will spend much of your life with. Do you understand?”

I cough once hearing her words. That’s a lot to take in at once, but essentially just don’t pick assholes or idiots.

“Good, if you have any questions let me know, okay?” Vestele proposes.

I cough once more and then focus on my flying.

Orianna and Zoelle are still flying alongside me. Orianna seems to be having fun, doing flips and rolls in the air. I wish I could fly like that.

Zoelle on the other hand seems much more nervous as she watches me fly. Glancing over at her, we lock eyes. Her icy cyan eyes startle me, causing me to look away. I look over at her once more, she is now closer, and has a concerned expression on her face.

I wonder why she’s looking at me like that?

During our flight, Vestele starts teaching me Zoic, so that I can better communicate with the fairies. Vestele reasons that, “Not all fairies will speak Annic or Parazic, so it’s best if you start learning.”

With two hours of flying over the grasslands, my breathing has become heavy. Sweat covers my body as I struggle to keep pace with the others, and I slowly fall behind. They’re going… too fast… I can’t… keep going.

Orianna, Zoelle, and Faraine notice how far I have fallen behind. Zoelle darts forward to the others and, within a few seconds, we start descending down to the ground.

I land on the ground and collapse instantly, laying on the dirt. My ragged breathing resounds throughout the grass.

“Are you okay?” Zoelle asks as she walks over to me.

“Yeah… just… tired…” I rasp between breaths.

“Sorry,” Lenadrea apologizes sullenly.

“It’s not your fault Lenadrea,” Koralesca reassures, “We’re all to blame for this. We shouldn’t have been going at our normal pace.”

Orianna walks over to me and asks, “Princess, may I lay next to you?”

“Sure…” I wheeze. I’m too tired… to complain this time…

The four other fairies continue their conversation as Orianna lays down and says, “You fly weird.”

“Huh?” I respond. I fly weird?

“Yeah, you make a weird face while you fly. It makes you look like you’re trying to poop,” Orianna laughs as she makes a ridiculous strained face, widening her eyes.

“Pfft…” I chuckle, “Do I… really… look like… that?”

“Yeah. You don’t use your hindwings either,” Orianna replies, “That’s why I was trying to show you how to use them.”

I start to regain some composure as my breathing begins to ease, I ask, “You were… doing all that… to show me something?”

“Sure, Zoelle and the others all used to suck at flying too. I heard the failure Faraine didn’t even learn to fly until she was almost five. But you’re even worse, and you’re ten!” Orianna chuckles.

Yeah, well that’s because I’m not actually ten.

“She’s right, your flying needs improvement, so don’t force yourself if you can’t keep up,” Zoelle adds as she walks over and squats down next to me.

“Right…” I pant as I sit up, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Orianna,” Faraine barks menacingly, “I think we should have a little chat.” She then runs at Orianna.

“Uh oh,” Orianna remarks as she gets up to flee. The two take to the air and fly around, Orianna avoiding all of Faraine’s attempts to catch her. 

“Get back here!” Faraine roars.

I laugh as I watch them. They look like they’re having fun.

Zoelle comments, “You look like you’re doing better. You seemed to be struggling earlier.”

“Yeah… I’m doing alright, just a little tired,” I reply, still worn out from the previous hours of flight.

Zoelle looks up at Koralesca. Koralesca, noticing the gaze, rubs the back of her head and sighs, “I guess we’re taking a break…”

Zoelle, turning back to me declares, “Before we leave, I’m going to give you some advice on how to fly.”

“Oh, okay, thanks,” I respond. Is my flying that bad?

Hey, I have a question. This might sound weird, but how old is everyone? Aside from Ve- my mother, I’ve never met any fairies. So, I’m just…” I ramble on.

“You’re not sure,” Zoelle finishes my statement, “It’s okay, we’re all like that at first. Especially since fairies age differently than people of the realms.” 

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“After birth, fairies will age similarly to people of the realms, and will reach their prime around the age of thirty” Koralesca explains, “but once they reach their prime, they will stay that way for one to two thousand years, before they start aging again.”

“Yeah, so if you see any fairies that look old, they’re likely a few thousand years old. On the other hand, a fairy in their prime can range anywhere from thirty to a few thousand years old,” Zoelle continues, “Any fairies under the age of thirty will normally be considered kids, since we’ve yet to reach our prime.”

“Then how old is everyone?” I ask again.

“If you’re ten, then you’d be the youngest one here, followed by Orianna who’s thirteen, I’m sixteen, Faraine’s seventeen, Lenadrea’s twenty-two, and Koralesca’s thirty-one,” Zoelle explains, “But if you’re including our past memories, then Faraine’s the youngest at twenty-five. Orianna would be twenty-eight, I’d be thirty-two, and Lenadrea and Koralesca would be forty.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Essentially, one’s combined age is the time they’ve lived as a fairy, plus the oldest you can remember yourself being in your past life,” Zoelle elaborates, “Take me for example, I’m currently sixteen, and the oldest I can remember being is sixteen, so my combined age is thirty-two.

“Does that mean you died at sixteen?”

“It’s possible, but I can’t be certain,” Zoelle continues, “Memories attached to the spirit deteriorate over time, so the longer your spirit wanders before you are born as a fairy, the more memories that will be lost.”

 So the reason I can remember everything is because I became a fairy instantly after dying.

“What about our old names? I can’t remember mine.”

“None of us can,” Zoelle says, “Don’t ask why, because I don’t know.”

“Also, what happens to a spirit that isn’t born as a fairy?

“The spirit continues to deteriorate until nothing’s left, eventually dissolving into pure spyr,” Koralesca remarks, “That’s also what happens to fairies after they die.”

Damn that got dark...

“I see… Then, which age do fairies use?” I ask.

“Since the amount of memories retained varies, everyone goes by how long we’ve lived as a fairy,” Zoelle answers.

“So, Orianna’s thirteen? And you’re thirty-one?” I say, pointing at Koralesca. She looks like she just turned twenty.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Koralesca snaps. “I’m only a few years older than you.”

Zoelle gets up and walks over to Koralesca, pokes her in the stomach, and says, “Calm down, I doubt she meant anything by it.”

“She’s right you know,” Vestele adds, “Now that you’re a fairy, your lifespan will be at least a few thousand years, so you’re only a few years younger than her comparatively.”

Right, this is going to take some getting used to…

“What about you princess?” Zoelle asks, “How much of your memory did you keep from your previous life?”

“Ah… well-”

Suddenly, Orianna flies over our heads, turning up immediately before crashing into us. Faraine, following right behind her, fails to turn up in time and crashes into Zoelle and Koralesca. Orianna starts laughing hysterically overhead and smugly says, “Looks like you failed again.”

“Are you guys okay?” I ask.

“I’m not a failure!” Faraine roars from atop Koralesca, “Just wait until I catch you, you little-”

“Orianna…” Koralesca hisses as she pushes Zoelle and Faraine off of her and bolts into the air after Orianna, “Get back here you little shit!”

Faraine, not far behind Koralesca, joins in and they both begin chasing Orianna.

Lenadrea lifts Zoelle up and helps dust her off.

“Are you going to join them?” I ask curiously. I wonder if she’s angry at Orianna too?

“There’s no need to chase her, we all live in the same orphanage, so I’ll deal with her tonight.” Zoelle threatens, a dark smile growing on her face.

Right, let’s add Zoelle to my list of people to ‘never piss off’.

Once everyone calms down, we take a break and, with no major landmarks around, settle for staying in the grass. The tall grass looks more like a jungle at my size. The others tell me to take a short nap, so I find a spot in the warm, autumn sun, lay down on the ground, and shortly fall asleep, enjoying the comfortable warmth. This is nice…

---

I awake to the bright midday sun. Orianna sleeps next to me, while the others are slightly scattered about, all asleep too. Looks like I wasn’t the only one that was tired. Looking around, I see that Lenadrea isn’t here. Where’s she at?

Curious about where Lenadrea is, I wander off through the grass searching for her. Silence coats the jungle-like grasslands, not even the sound of wind can be heard. After circling our rest spot and not finding her, I start flying.

“Evetta wait-” Vestele shouts.

Unable to react to Vestele’s words, I reach the top of the grass, but something grabs my leg and pulls me down to the ground. Not a second later, a hand covers my mouth.

Standing in front of me is Lenadrea holding one hand over my mouth, while her other hand’s index finger rests on her lips. “Shh,” she whispers quietly, her head is turned, focusing on something else.

I nod my head, and Lenadrea removes her hand from my mouth.

A moment of silence follows as I start to focus on any sounds in the vicinity, a light breeze, and a handful of squeaks from various rodents.

A moment later, a loud *KAW* screeches as a massive bird soars overhead.

*Boof* It sounds like something just hit the ground.

The loud squeaks escalate, then change to squeals. A heavy gust of wind blows the surrounding grass around. The squealing intensifies, then starts to grow quieter, and a moment later, everything is silent.

Is it gone?

“Okay, I think we’re alright,” assures Lenadrea, “Sorry about that.”

“What was that?” I whisper, still concerned about the threat of the winged creature.

“A beaquide, an apex predator that primarily hunts small animals. It pierces it’s prey with its beak, and then swallows them whole. They’re a big cause of death for many fairies in this realm,” Lenadrea explains, then turns to me and asks, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks,” I reply

“Okay, go back to the others, I’ll be right back, and no matter what, don’t fly,” Lenadrea says as she dismisses me.

“Wait, where are you going?” I ask before Lenadrea flies off.

Don’t worry, I’ll be right back. Now head back over to the others,” she answers, dashing off a moment later.

Damn, she’s fast.

As I start to walk back to the others, Vestele speaks up, “What a reckless one.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing. Anyway, how does it feel?”

“How does what feel?” I question.

“How does it feel interacting with others your size?” Vestele clarifies.

“It’s… different,” I mumble as I stop walking. I didn’t think about it before, but, yeah, being so small compared to Myrna and the others definitely was weird at times.

I start walking again as I continue, “It’s nice… not having to worry about being crushed at any moment, not that I was worried that Myrna would attack me, but ever since the incident with the fairy hunters, I’ve been more conscious of the size difference between me and the others.”

“Did you sleep well last night with the others? Was it any different than with Myrna?” Vestele asks.

“It wasn’t bad, just different. I didn’t have to worry about Myrna rolling over on top of me, while Koralesca and Orianna wouldn’t let me go,” I respond, “Faraine also kicked me a couple of times.”

I arrive back at our rest spot, the girls are all still asleep. 

Vestele chuckles and, as I sit down next to Orianna, says, “I don’t want to see you upset about leaving Myrna, so use this trip to Folian as a way to make some new friends.”

“Right, after all, I’ll be with them for longer than I will be with Myrna,” I respond glumly.

“Don’t be like that, once we finish everything up in the spirit realm, I’ll teach you how to manifest your own body,” Vestele consoles, “Then you’ll be able to visit Myrna whenever you want. Of course you’ll need some guards with you though.”

“Right, just because I’m going back to the spirit realm, doesn’t mean I’ll never get to see her again,” I reassure myself.

“Ugh… princess?” Koralesca mumbles as she sits up, “Who are you talking to?”

“No one, just talking to myself,” I reply.

“How do you feel?”

“Good as new.”

“Good, because we’re going to need you to be in top condition if we’re going to make it by tonight.”

“Why are you in a rush to get back to Folian tonight?”

“Simple, tomorrow’s the first of winter, and it’s freezing cold out here,” Koralesca groans as she stands up, “Unlike Zoelle, the rest of us will freeze being out in that cold.”

“Huh, but what about Zoelle?”

“Perks of being a wint, they never get cold.”

Wait, so then. Does that mean each fairy has something that’s unique to them?

“What about you? What can you do?”

“Me? Nothing extravagant, just seeing in the dark.”

“And the others?”

“If you want to know more, ask Zoelle or Faraine, for now…” Koralesca pauses, takes a deep breath and yells, “Wake up! It’s time to leave!”

Zoelle and Faraine bolt up at Koralesca’s sudden yelling. Orianna on the other hand still sleeps soundly next to me. Wow, I’m amazed she slept through that.

Koralesca walks over to Orianna, bends over, placing her mouth next to Orianna’s ear, and shouts, “I said wake up!”

“Gah!” Orianna screams as she springs off the ground, “Wha- what the heck I was sleeping.”

“Yeah, and I was waking you. Deal with it,” Koralesca barks, and, while looking around at everyone, says, “Now that everyone’s awake… wait where’s Lenadrea?” 

“She’ll be here in a bit, she just left,” I reply.

“Ugh… alright, then we’ll wait for her to return before leaving,” Koralesca groans.

“Good, then that means we can try and get you more comfortable with flying before we leave,” Zoelle exclaims as she jumps to her feet.

“Um, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I reply, “Lenadrea said that we shouldn’t fly ‘no matter what’.”

“Why?” Faraine asks.

“I’m not sure, but I think it’s probably because of the big bird that was here a bit ago. Lenadrea called it a... bekeede?” I respond.

“A beaquide?” Koralesca questions.

“Yeah, I think that’s what she called it.

“Dammit, a beaquide, now of all times…” Koralesca whines, “We really do need to wait for Lenadrea to get back then.”

“Ah, looks like we won’t be doing any flying until she gets back either,” Zoelle adds.

“Why not?” I ask.

“Because, if the beaquide is still around,” Faraine explains, “we could be in danger.”

“But what about Lenadrea then?” I ask, “She flew off right after it left.”

Everyone goes silent for a moment, and either looks down or away from me. I don’t like their reactions…

“Is she in danger?” I ask.

“She’s trying to keep us safe,” Orianna answers.

“Keep us safe?” I repeat.

“Knowing her, she flew out in front of it to draw its attention away from us,” Koralesca mutters.

“She’s in danger then! We need to go help her!” I shout.

“Unfortunately, none of us can keep up with her,” Faraine comments, “Sylphs are the fastest fairies. She’s the only one here who will have a chance at outrunning a beaquide.”

“But…” I continue, refusing to accept.

Zoelle walks over to me, and softly says, “She’s going to be okay. We all know that she’ll come back safe and sound, so we just need to wait for her. Okay?”

Dammit, I hate this, I’m so useless...

“Fine,” I mutter.

After calming down, we all sit in awkward silence around the spot where we slept.

“Um…” Faraine and I say simultaneously.

“Ah, go ahead,” I insist.

“No, it’s fine princess, what were you going to say?” Faraine responds.

“Please don’t call me princess, it feels weird,” I mutter, then ask, “Um… Could you answer some questions for me?”

“Sure thing. Princess,” Orianna smirks. Ugh.

“Okay, well first. Where’s the closest world vein?” I ask.

“Not terribly far, probably about two or three weeks away, going at our usual pace,” Koralesca answers, “However, it could easily take a month with how frequent the elements have been causing issues.” 

“I see, then how bad are things in the spirit realm?” I ask, “Ve-uh, mother only told me that she’s been away for a long time and that things are pretty bad.”

“Pretty bad?” Koralesca scoffs.

“My parents… they told me stories about how things were before…” Faraine says, trailing off.

“Before what?” I question.

“Before the collapse of the spirit realm,” Koralesca remarks grimly.

“Collapse of the spirit realm?” Vestele inquires.

Looks like we have the same question...

Koralesca sees the confusion on my face, takes a deep breath, then explains, “It happened before most of you were born, but back then, things were different. We lived in the spirit realm and things were peaceful. There was rarely ever an incident where the elements went out of control.”

Koralesca pauses for a moment, then continues, “I don’t know how it all happened, but one day the queen disappeared. The matriarchs then announced her disappearance, which if not for them, the patriarchs, and the skryvers, the spirit realm would’ve ended up in disarray.”

“So, they didn’t mention the battle…” Vestele mutters.

“However, around a year after the queen disappeared, problems started happening everywhere,” Koralesca hesitates, then says, “The queen’s pages, the matriarchs, along with many skryvers, were found dead.”

“Wait! What!? How!?” Vestele screams, causing me to cringe, “Evetta! Ask them what happened!”

“Ah, um, wha-what happened to them?” I stutter.

Wow, that’s the first time I’ve heard her scream like that.

“I don’t know… the patriarchs suddenly announced that they were dead, and then things began spiralling out of control,” Koralesca responds.

“No! They can’t be dead! Evetta, ask her again!” Vestele shouts.

“Um, are you sure they’re… dead?” I ask meekly.

“As far as I know,” Koralesca confirms.

“No way… them too…” Vestele trails off as she gets quiet.

“With the queen, her pages, the matriarchs, and most of the skryvers gone, the elements started going wild and the spirit realm became dangerous. At first, fairies were sent out to deal with the elements,” Koralesca elaborates, “However, things eventually got so bad that the elements spread into the other realms. Now the spirit realm isn’t safe enough to live, so almost all fairies have fled the spirit realm just to survive.”

Koralesca stops talking and glances at Faraine, then Zoelle, Orianna, and finally to me.

“Unfortunately, none of you even know what the spirit realm even looks like,” Koralesca continues,” Living here, in the physical realms, has caused so much pain and suffering for many fairies, and tragically, we’re the ones that have to deal with it.”

Pain and suffering… Meanwhile, I’ve spent the last seven months with Myrna living a fairly peaceful life...

Suddenly, something zooms over the grass. A moment later, Lenadrea flies in and lands next to us, looking at us confused.

“I’ll tell you later,” Koralesca says as she stands up, “Anyway, is it clear?

“It’s clear,” Lenadrea replies.

“Alright, princess, we’ll slow our pace for a bit so that Zoelle can correct your flying. Once you figure it out, we’re going to pick up our pace,” Koralesca states, “It’s going to get colder since tomorrow’s the first day of winter, so I want to get back as soon as possible.”

“Right,” I respond.

The other fairies and I stand up. Lenadrea flies back out of the grass, Koralesca follows behind her. Zoelle, Orianna, and I once again in the middle, while Faraine trails behind. As we make our way over the grass, the afternoon sun shines down on us. Zoelle instructs me on how to fly, while Orianna continues her antics from earlier.

“Alright, first relax your body. You’re way too tense,” Zoelle instructs.

Following her directions, I try to relax, but I end up losing focus and I start to fall. “Agh!” I cry out as Zoelle catches me.

“Too relaxed,” Zoelle comments.

As I start flying again, Zoelle lets me go, continuing to watch me, she then says, “Princess, I noticed this earlier; your forewings are too stiff, and you’re not really using your hindwings.”

I’m not using my hindwings? I turn to look at my hindwings and see that they are barely moving.

“First, I want you to try and move your hindwings,” Zoelle advises, “It’s not going to be easy, but once you learn to control those, your maneuverability will improve drastically.”

“Okay,” I respond.

We continue to fly and I struggle to get my hindwings to move. After at least an hour, I have started to get them to move regularly, although they aren’t in sync with my forewings.

Well, you have the general idea at least. Now, look at the others flying and tell me what you see,” Zoelle orders.

Doing as she says, I look at the others. What am I supposed to be looking at?  “They all look like they’re flying to me?” I reply.

Zoelle chuckles, then clarifies, “Sure, but how are they flying? How are they moving their bodies and wings as they fly? How do they lean?”

“Oooh,” I respond. That’s what she meant.

I look back at them again, this time analyzing their movements. Lenadrea is leaning completely horizontal as she dashes about. Faraine and Koralesca are leaning forward to keep themselves airborne while propelling themselves forward. Orianna is using her hindwings to adjust her course in the air, reducing her need to lean as much.

“You must move your wings in order to fly, just as you must move your legs to run,” Zoelle explains, “When you run, you use your body to help maintain your balance. When you fly, you use your body to help guide where you are going.”

That makes sense.

“For starters, when you fly you shouldn’t lean too far forward, or you’ll end up descending quickly, which means you’ll have to put more effort into ascending,” Zoelle continues, “I’ll help you find a good position for you to fly. Once that’s done, I’ll show you how to lean to improve your gliding, turning, and stopping.”

“Okay, sounds good,” I agree.

“After that, it comes down to how much you practice using your forewings and hindwings, and improving your stamina,” Zoelle states, “Now, are you ready to begin?”

“Yeah, let’s do this,” I respond. This is kind of exciting, actually learning how to fly.

“Alright, and don’t worry about falling, if anything happens, I’ll catch you,” Zoelle reassures.

“Thanks,” I mutter.

Over the next hour or so, Zoelle helps me improve my form.

While I practice, Lenadrea speeds off. After several minutes, she returns with a couple of grapes. She hands them to us, then speeds off once again, repeating this process until everyone has their own grape to eat while we continue toward Folian.

Over the next three hours, I continue practicing what Zoelle taught me. With some advice from Koralesca and Orianna, who both also have hindwings, I make some progress on moving them  in sync with my forewings. However, I once again become exhausted and start to lull downward to the ground, collapsing the moment I make contact with the dirt.

“Sorry… for… being… slow…” I wheeze.

Everyone lands around me.

“You don’t need to apologize, you’re doing fine...” Koralesca responds, “Is what I’d like to say, but at this rate, we aren’t going to make it back tonight.”

“Was that necessary?” Zoelle asks.

“Hey, just because you don’t get cold, doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t,” Koralesca snaps, “I don’t want to freeze before we make it back.”

Faraine steps in between the two of them and says, “In that case, what if Zoelle and I carry her, and if it gets too dark, we’ll try to find somewhere warm to sleep for the night?” 

Somewhere warm sounds nice…

“Worst case scenario, we can always have the princess make a shelter for us,” Faraine continues.

Wait wait wait, I can’t use the elements though.

“Knock yourselves out,” Koralesca barks, “I just want to get back tonight.”

Jeez, someone’s in a foul mood. Not that I can blame her, I don’t really want to be out in the cold either, especially not in this dress. Please let us make it back tonight, or at least find somewhere to sleep.

Zoelle and Faraine pick me up, each taking one of my arms and placing them over their shoulders, lifting and then carrying me through the air. We continue on for a few more hours, and after I recover, I have Zoelle and Faraine let go of me. Even with my break, I struggle to keep up so Zoelle and Faraine have to support me again to improve our pace. The afternoon sun starts to descend, for sunset will be upon us in a couple of hours.

Lenadrea flies ahead of us again to try and find somewhere we can rest for the night. Even with Lenadrea gone we continue heading toward Folian. Koralesca is confident that she will catch up to us regardless of where we were.

With Zoelle and Faraine supporting me again, I fall asleep, too tired from the continuous flying. When I wake, I still feel sore, but I insist that Faraine and Zoelle let me go. I want to lessen their burden, even if only a little.

Lenadrea is still gone, and the evening sun is starting to sink below the horizon.

“Hey, will Lenadrea really find us?” I ask.

“Of course,” Faraine answers, “Even if she has to search for us, she’ll find us.”

As if hearing me, Lenadrea returns. Apparently, there is a tree that has a hole that we can sleep in for the night. With Lenadrea leading the way, we alter our course, and make our way to the tree.

As we approach the location of the tree, the ground starts to slope upward, with the grass changing to shrubbery. We arrive at a large tree with thick branches expanding out over a large distance. Lenadrea guides us to the hollowed-out part of the tree. The space is big enough for us all to fit inside.

Even though I have taken two naps today, the moment we get inside, and I’m able to sit down, I fall asleep without saying a word to anyone.

---

Hmmm…so warm…

I sluggishly open my eyes and try to sit up, but something heavy prevents me from doing so. My arms and legs are also restrained.

“What’s going on?” I mumble, still half asleep.

I look around and see Faraine, Orianna, and Lenadrea asleep next to me, each with their arms wrapped around my body. Asleep behind Faraine and Lenadrea are Koralesca and Zoelle, Zoelle being the closest to the opening in the tree.

What the hell? Do they have to sleep with me like this?

“Hey, can you guys move?” I ask while trying to escape. No one responds to my words. “Come on, I can’t move…” I yawn while struggling to free myself from their grasps but miserably fail. I can’t move… I sigh silently. Fuck it, I’m going back to sleep.

---

“…ess…incess…princess,” A voice calls out.

“Come on princess, it’s time to wake up,” Zoelle whispers softly, “We need to leave soon, so you need to get up.”

“Hey wake up!” Koralesca shouts, “Come on, time to get up.”

Jeez you’re so loud…

“Ugh… I’m awake…” I murmur.

Free from my shackles, I sit up, my back sore from yesterday’s flying.

“Owww,” I groan. I look around and see Zoelle and Koralesca at each other’s faces while Orianna is still asleep at my legs.

“Did you really need to yell?” Zoelle snaps.

“You said you’d wake her up, yet we’re about to leave and she’s still asleep,” Koralesca barks. She pulls Orianna from my legs and drags her over to the opening.

“I said wake up!” Koralesca roars as she throws Orianna out the hole.

“Waaaaaaaaaah!” Orianna screams aloud.

“I know that we needed to wake her up, but you still didn’t need to be so forceful about it,” Zoelle chides.

I interrupt, “It’s fine, you said we’re about to leave, right?” I stand up and stretch out my back by leaning forward. Ah, that feels better.

“Sleep well?” Vestele asks, low-spirited.

I begin to respond, “Yeah, are yo-”

Zoelle and Koralesca turn and look at me confused.

Crap, I just answered Vestele while they were here.

“Y-yeah, I slept well. How about you two?” I hastily say.

A few seconds of silence pass as they both stare at me.

“I slept fine,” Zoelle responds cheerfully.

“Hmph, let’s get ready to leave,” Koralesca snorts as she storms out of the hole, “Not right now you little runt!”

A moment later Orianna lands inside the hole and asks, “What’s her problem?”

“She’s just upset because we have to fly in the cold,” Zoelle comments, “Come on, let’s go, we don’t want to keep her waiting longer than needed.” Zoelle flies out of the hole, followed by Orianna.

I make my way out of the hole and see the grasslands blanketed in snow and a faint cyan fog. A rigid cold fills the air, and snow yet falls from the sky, making flight more strenuous than yesterday.

As we make our way to Folian, Lenadrea goes out to gather breakfast. Unfortunately, she is unable to find anything edible this time. Two hours in, and I am again struggling to keep up. Faraine and Zoelle support me once again, the two carrying me for about an hour.

The first moment I get, I try to talk with Vestele.

“Hey... Vestele,” I mutter quietly, “Are you okay?”

“...Yeah,” Vestele responds glumly

“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask.

“I’ll be alright, I just need some time,” Vestele replies, “Thanks. We’ll talk more once we get to Folian.”

“Okay,” I whisper. She must be pretty upset, she didn’t even tell me to call her mother that time...

After that, Vestele goes silent and I continue keeping pace with the others.

The cold air is a constant drain on our stamina as we make our way to Folian. The sun provides minimal warmth during our journey. Whenever the wind picks up, it sends shivers throughout my body. I hate this dress… It looks nice and all, but it does nothing to keep me warm. Wait… did I just compliment my own dress?

The battle against the weather continues for the remainder of the day, with me flying for about two hours, then either Faraine and Zoelle or Orianna and Koralesca carrying me for an hour. The cycle repeats continuously as we endure the cold and hunger.

After about our seventh hour of continuous flight, Faraine’s stomach starts to growl endlessly, making everyone conscious of the fact that we have no food. We continue to fly, exhausted, for another three hours, no one saying a single thing during the last three hours.

We are no longer flying over the grassland. Now, instead, we ascend a mountain littered with barren, leafless, dark-brown trees and white snow. Once we started flying up the mountain, Lenadrea went ahead.

*Growl, grrr, gurgle*

Everyone’s stomachs sing together, reminding us of how hungry we are.

Orianna and Koralesca lead, while Faraine, Zoelle, and I are at the rear. Koralesca is completely silent, and Orianna is no longer doing any crazy maneuvers.

“Hey… h-how much farther is it until we r-reach Folian?” I whisper to Zoelle, shivering from the cold.

“We should be pretty close,” Zoelle answers unaffected by the cold, “Just hang in there a bit longer, okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m f-fine,” I say as I put on a strained smile. *growl* My stomach howls as if in disagreement.

Zoelle chuckles, “Don’t worry, we should be close.”

“How are you f-feeling?” Faraine also stutters from the cold.

“A-aside from b-being hungry, s-sore, exhausted, a-and cold, not too b-bad,” I whine, “Thanks for h-helping me so much t-today, and yesterday, b-both of you.”

“Of course, p-princess,” Faraine replies.

“You’re welcome,” Zoelle responds.

“Hey! You five enjoying yourselves?” A gallant voice shouts.

We all look up and there, alongside Lenadrea, are several other fairies, all with red wings and hair.

A male fairy, the first I have ever seen, flies over to Faraine, Zoelle, and I, carrying several jackets. Wow, he’s gorgeous...

The fairy has short red hair brushed to the side, and blood red eyes. He is the tallest fairy I’ve seen so far, and has a muscular figure. He has a handsome face, with a defined jawline, tan skin and bright smile. He is wearing a thick, dark-blue, long sleeve shirt, a dark-yellow bandana around his neck, and dark grey pants. Heavy looking gloves and boots cover his arms and legs. He has greatly exaggerated wings, the largest of any fairy I’ve seen thus far. The veins are all a crimson red, while the membrane is various shades of red and orange making his wings appear like they are on fire.

“Here you are ladies. Glad you all managed to make it back,” the man says, “Especially you, princess.” The man hands me one of the jackets.

“T-thank you,” I say as I take the jacket and put it on, warmth instantly embracing. Was the jacket heated?

The man turns around, and his wings start to glow. A moment later, heat starts to radiate from his wings.

“Awwww,” I sigh. So warm…

“If you ladies follow us, we will escort you the rest of the way,” the man says as he starts to fly ahead.

“Looks like they sent some wisps to bring everyone back,” Vestele comments.

We follow after him, and within a couple of minutes we cross over a ridge. Down at the bottom of the ridge is a lake with a tree-covered island in the center of it. The trees on this island, unlike those in the surrounding areas, all have their leaves. In the middle of the island, is a massive glowing tree that dwarfs the ones surrounding it; its figure in the distance is both impressive and imposing. I have worked with many trees, and this one is by far the largest, and unlike any other,  I’ve ever seen.

Zoelle looks at me and says, “Princess, welcome to Folian.”

Hi again, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Do you think Evetta made the right decision? How do you feel about the fairies so far? Any thoughts about who the matriarchs are? Was Vestele's reaction fitting? Do you like the map? Overall, I liked this chapter. Look forward to the next chapter as we meet more fairies in the Folian Sanctuary. Thanks for reading, see everyone next week, have a good weekend.

21