Emi_the_Fairy

Hope you all enjoyed the Christmas special. From here on, we continue on with the main story. I don't have any other specials currently planned. Enjoy!

As always, be sure to follow me or jump on my Discord if you wanna keep nice and updated.

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/EnsjDF74vC

Snow stretched as far as the eye could see, shimmering with the quiet glow of the ancient manakrenia trees towering into the sky, their crystalline leaves and trunks sparkling in the sun. It was a rare and serene view that only those who could follow the flow of mana itself could see as they delved into the elusive depths of the forbidden regions of the Dark Forest. The crisp crunch of the snow and its vivid glimmer of the once sacred trees made it a gorgeous place and an even more beautiful home. One which was now captured in a fresh and stunning painting which hung behind a young elf, her wildly tumbling teal locks of hair bouncing around her. She rapidly flipped through multiple books, as the scenic subject shone beyond the window to her side. “Hmm?” she puzzled over a cryptic text, a now common appearance in this large house.

“So, if I…” she mumbled as she stared intently at the words upon the page, a fierce hesitant scowl claiming her face. “If that’s really how it works then...” she sighed wearily, a saddened look in her eye and her long pointed ears drooping down slightly. She continued to stare at the page when a sudden bang jolted her from her seat. The young elf’s teal hair bounced and her ears sharply pointed up in attention. Her eyes darted to the window where she saw a somewhat familiar sight, a woman clad in armor attempting to pry herself free from the blanket of snow. She took a deep breath to calm herself as the knight was approached by another woman, one wearing a dignified suit befitting a butler. She held a rapier, now resting in her grasp.

The two seemed to talk as the suited woman helped the knight, their voices hushed by the thick glass. While the elven girl, Mabel, was startled, she was not surprised to see this event unfold before her again. After all, the knight, Aria, had taken up the offer of their new witch allies to train in the ways of the spellsword. She now trained under Phordata’s familiar, Vert, who seemed to regularly defeat Aria with such dramatic results. It was a tad frustrating that their training would so often disrupt Mable’s own studies, although it did make for a functional alarm. Alas, there was little she could do about it now aside from take deep breaths to still her anxious heart.

As she observed them, she noticed Vert spying her, sharp green eyes piercing through the window, as the green bun of hair bounced on the back of her head from a stern nod. Mable could only stand and feel herself stiffen as she accepted the gesture. After a couple more moments, Vert began to lead Aria towards a door on the side of the window entering the library. “Apologies Lady Mable,” she announced with a professional tone. “I hope our training session did not cause any complications with your studies,” Vert bowed.

“N-no, you’re fine,” Mable shook her head. “I should probably stop for now anyway, I’m getting a little tired.”

“I think you should too,” Aria chuckled as she approached. “You’ve been studying a lot, which is good, but it’s important to exercise every so often,” she smiled warmly. “So, what were you looking at anyway? Something for a new magitech?”

“Something like that,” Mable chuckled back as she closed the book, exposing the darkness of the back cover.

“Well, I’m sure whatever it is, it’ll be incredible,” she said as she leaned over, and rested her arm on Mable’s shoulder to show her support.

Mable shivered and shook, Aria blinking in shock. “Ah-ah-ri-ah,” she shivered. “Y-you’re armor is c-cold!”

“Oh, uh, oops,” Aria chuckled hesitantly. “Didn’t mean to make you into an Elfsickle,” she chuckled some more as Mable pouted at her attempted joke.

“G-geez, j-just because you’ve learned how to cast a spell to keep yourself warm, doesn’t mean your armor stays warm too,” Mable huffed.

“I wish she showed as much success in her anchoring spell,” Vert sighed. “You need to learn to master your footing, or else me throwing you into the snow will be the least of your concerns.”

“Sorry, Master,” Aria said, scratching her cheek, as she deflected her gaze to a set of leaves on the wall. It was a peculiar arrangement, and one present throughout the house. An enchanted arrangement akin to the magical dials that had become a mainstay in many places across Gaia, necessary for their ability to tell time. Phordata called it a Time Teller, the positions of its assortment of leaves and their colors indicating the time of day. Right now, the largest leaf, colored a deep red, was pointing downward, and a medium sized one, colored a weak brown, pointed to the upper left, combined with the bright greens of their stems giving way to their darkening color, indicated it was slightly before noon of the Winter’s day. “Oh,” Aria started. “Those two should be taking a break soon too, huh.”

“Oh, yeah,” Mable said, looking up to the leaves. “Hey, how about we go meet them and see how their training is going?” Mable smiled as she pulled her book to her chest.

“Sounds good,” Aria laughed as the two walked towards the door, Vert lingering as she glanced around the library for a moment. “You coming, Master?”

“Right,” Vert nodded as she followed them.

* * *

A quiet home tucked in the furthest reaches of the Dark Forest. There a mansion-like abode stood, with walls that glowed with gentle swirls of purple and blue, not unlike a winter aurora, granting it an iridescent presence. The manakrenia trees that composed it were as ancient as they were durable and beautiful. The magic filling them seemed to obscure the boundaries of its premises. It was a splendid place one could spend hours admiring as they basked in the pleasant flowing energies filling it and noticing the unique attributes that seemed to come and go in the mystical light.

Within its walls, toward its rear, Northern facing walls, was a room covered in glass, rich greenery contrasting with the luminous white beyond its walls. It was a garden both well cared for and full of rare ancient plants that had long since vanished from the rest of the world. Standing before it were two women. One, the primary caretaker of her beloved garden, was the buna, Honey, who gleefully overlooked the rich greenery with glee as her soft pink hair bounced on her simple yet elegant mint green dress. Beside her was her niece, the young Saya, daughter of her wife’s sister, who wore a much more extravagant, cyan dress which seemed to ripple like water, much like the blue sphere which hovered above her. As she took a breath, the sphere shook with a ripple.

“Good, good,” Honey smiled. “Just like that,” she looked on excitedly as Saya slowly moved her arms, the blue sphere of water moving in tandem. “Now slowly release it.”

“Right,” Saya said as she let out a breath. “Grace us with your gentle downpour,” she whispered, prompting the bubble of water to begin to shift. Small droplets formed upon its shrinking surface before they began to roll off it and onto the soil and plants beneath it.

“Next...” Honey began to instruct. “Oh?” her train of thought abruptly ceased as her eyes set upon the bubble. The bubble began to move at a decent pace, traveling above the garden before them, releasing its nourishing contents upon the thirsty plants and earth, until at last, the sphere released its final droplets, vanishing from sight. “Excellently done,” she smiled. “You didn’t even need instruction or a chant for that part.”

“Teehee,” Saya giggled. “I have gotten rather used to this exercise,” Saya nodded.

“Certainly, but that refined movement is not some simple task. To maintain movement while releasing and dispersing the water so smoothly is no small feat. That and your improvements during target practice has been quite remarkable” Honey explained with a bouncy nod.

“You make it sound so special, but you and Aunt Phory are still far better than me,” Saya shook her head.

“Well of course we are. We have had years to hone our crafts. But your progress is still rather impressive for training only a few months. It’s exciting just how easily it comes for you.”

“Only because I have such excellent teachers,” Saya said with another giggle. “That said...” she began as she turned her head towards the upstairs part of the study, as the sound of a sharp hiss pervaded the air before a meager whimper ceased it. “Xenia...”

The study overlooking the garden was a busy space with several desks populated by unrelated books and papers, each devoted to a subject that Phordata had been preoccupied with at one time or another. Some were clearly in frequent use while other stations had a growing layer of dust, Xenia’s cape draping over one of the empty chairs. Around the room several plants had crawled up to the lower wall, blooming along the banister, some stretching even to the back wall. Honey would at times tease Phordata for getting too carried away and growing the plants such a distance on mere impulse, not that she minded it of course, as she had a deep fondness for the botanical beauties.

In the center of the room, beside several tables that Phordata had cleaned off for the purpose was Xenia and Phordata, the former staring intently at her hands. The former wore a deep crimson dress, the very same soul dress she wore when Phordata released the seal on her powers, now dyed with dyed with magic. It had changed from the simple white garb as her mana flowed through it these past months. Matching the dress was a pair of long red gloves, which seemed to cradle the air. Xenia focused on the air between her hands, as if trying to engrave her will upon it.

“No, no,” Phordata sighed as she shook her head as she observed Xenia in the upstairs area, her dark purple cloak swaying with her exasperated movements. “You’re trying too much to control it. You’re suffocating it with all that attention,” she explained.

“Understood,” Xenia nodded wearily as she sat in a wooden chair in her red gown. She returned her intent laden stare between her arched fingers, imagining the image of a sparking flame appearing above the tray before her. She had been over the process so many times. She needed to call the mana to her hands and will a spark into existence and then grow that into a flame. She was even wearing red gloves to help regulate her mana, similarly to Saya, although Saya had become capable of such feats without the soft cloth and no longer wore them for her training. She took a deep breath as she tried to relax. She thought through each step again. First, feel the mana. Second, pull it through her. Third, channel it between her hands. Fourth, will it into form, create a tuft of energy. Finally, ignite it with a spark and maintain the flow of mana.

“There, there,” Phordata grinned as the sparks began to appear. The sparks intensified and sizzled the air. “Now ease off. Tease the sparks and let the heat lick the tuft,” she instructed. Xenia nodded. However, the sparks did not last as they once more faded with a whisper. “Haaah,” Phordata sighed.

“What did I do wrong this time?” Xenia looked at her with a frustrated stare.

“That time you gave it too much space and let it dissipate,” she frowned.

“If it is not one thing, tis another,” she shook her head. Each step had been a struggle. At first, she struggled to feel the mana. Then she found difficulty in pulling it through her. Channeling it was another barrier. Forming the sparks was still a chore. And now, finding a way to ‘tease’ the flames was something that eluded her. “I am not cut out for this am I? Not at all like sister,” she bemoaned.

“Now, now,” Phordata frowned. “Plenty of witches struggle. Even your sister has, and she’s bound to run into more in time. It may be difficult, but you are improving.”

“Not by any meaningful metric,” Xenia grimaced.

“No, no,” Phordata shook her head. “You’ve improved significantly. Although, it doesn’t help that neither Honey nor myself are particularly strong with fire magic. Not at all compared to...” she bit her lip. “Anyway, my instruction may be the flawed part.”

“Aunt Phordata,” she sighed. “Please, this is my problem. Do not pin the blame on yourself.”

“I am your teacher right now,” she huffed. “If my instruction is proving ineffective, then it is my role to find an approach better suited for you,” she said, only to be met by Xenia’s shaking head. “Regardless, your frustration will not help you improve further right now, so it’s best if we take a break.”

“Hey!” called a familiar confident voice from downstairs as Aria confidently walked in. “How’s the training going?”

“Aria!” Saya exclaimed as she ran toward her knight, though she quickly regretted it as she suddenly jolted backwards and held herself with a shiver. “Why are you so cold!?” she yelped.

“Heh,” Aria chuckled. “But you have to admit I’m quite the ice knight right now.”

“Geez, Aria, can’t you go five minutes without making bad puns?” Mable protested as Honey chuckled.

“Alas, her sense of humor is not something I can instruct her out of,” Vert lamented.

“Well, if our precious knight is so cold, I could find a way to melt her down into something more beneficial,” Phordata gave a sly smile as she and Xenia descended one of the curved staircases that led down from the alcove.

“Oh, like what? Plant food?” Aria glared.

“Ohoho, that is a thought isn’t it,” Phordata answered with a mighty tone.

“Must you two always go after each other?” Xenia sighed as she released her red dress, it now bouncing above her feet. She quietly fiddled with the fabric, still growing used to the constant vulnerability that her aunts had requested of her. Although she felt safe in her armor, Phordata and Honey had insisted upon the looser garb for both comfort and to aid in the channeling of her mana, not that knowing that was much of a comfort.

“It’s all in good fun,” Aria chuckled. “Isn’t that right, Phordata,” she said with a slight bite to her voice.

“Oho, of course,” Phordata grinned.

“Ehrm,” Vert cleared her throat.

“Ah yes, how has her training been progressing?” Phordata inquired.

“She still has a long way to go. Her best attempt against me today lasted just about a minute and a half,” said Vert.

“I must say, I am impressed. I had expected it to take another few months for you to do that well,” Phordata chuckled.

“No kidding,” Honey giggled. “Her wind magic surpasses even my own when she’s using her sword.”

“Tell me about it. Those first few days I thought I was going to die from the wind blowing me down alone,” Aria grimaced.

“You would not have been worth training had you died so easily,” Vert answered curtly.

“Oof,” Aria grunted. “So, uh, how about you two?”

“Well, Saya’s been progressing quite well,” Honey swayed forward, looking up at Saya with a proud smile. “Her control and response time has become quite fluid,” she grinned.

“I see what you did there,” Aria laughed.

“You two are incorrigible,” Saya giggled.

“Well, how about you Captain?” Aria looked at her expectantly as the witches each gave a soft frown. “Huh? Did I say something weird?”

“I apologize Aria. You said nothing wrong. I have simply been struggling,” Xenia lamented. “I can still hardly make a spark, much less a proper flame.”

“You’re certain she’s got an affinity for it?” Aria asked.

“Quite certain. After all, the wave of flames that erupted from her when I removed her seal were hot enough to singe the pillars downstairs,” Phordata sighed. “I’m certain we’ll find a solution to help her soon though.”

“If you say so,” Xenia looked away, evidently weary of the subject.

“Uh...” Saya quickly tried to think of a change of subject. “Oh, right. What have you been up to, Mable?”

“M-me?” Mable jumped a little. “I, uh, well. I’ve been studying witch magic like Honey proposed. I’ve been thinking about what kind of magitech to make after reading everything,” she explained as she clutched her borrowed book, Phordata and Honey, eyeing it. “I’m still trying to come up with ideas though.”

“I still think whatever you make will be incredible,” Aria pumped her arm excitedly. “I can’t wait to see your next project.”

“Me too,” Saya added. Mable only gave a hesitant nod.

“Master!” a small voice called out, as a small sprite emerged from the hallway, her blue maid outfit flowing around her as she made her way for Honey. “We have a problem!”

“What is it, Apsi?” Honey answered as she cupped her hands around the feet of the tiny fairy, the fairy’s blue glow lighting up her fingers as her deep blue hair settled into Honey’s palm.

“We found a leak in the pantry, and some of the water got into our remaining flour. It’s already gone moldy,” Apsi frowned, her wings fluttering anxiously.

“I see,” Honey frowned. “Aria, could I ask you to go to Hollow and order us some more?”

“Sure,” Aria nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve wanted to update Fiona and the others anyway. It’s been a couple weeks since I checked in on them.”

“Oh, can I come?” Saya asked.

“Wait, but I thought that you’re supposed to stay here?” Mable asked.

“Well I...” Saya frowned.

“Actually, I think it might be good for you,” Honey smiled. “I think you’ve grown adept enough to go to Hollow at least. What do you think, Phory?”

“Saya going to town, huh?” Phordata wondered aloud as she approached her and Honey. “Well,” she continued. “If you think she’s ready, then I’ll just have to agree,” she said as she wrapped her arms around Honey’s stomach and leaned toward her long ear, nuzzling it. “Your judgment is always excellent after all.”

“Hehehe,” Honey giggled as the others looked on with a variety of embarrassed expressions, Saya giving a giggly smile.

“Saya, I think we both agree that you’ll be fine with some limited travel. Just be sure to stay safe and not attract undue attention, alright?” Phordata grinned.

“Thank you, Aunt Phory, Aunt Honey,” Saya smiled, inspiring a similar albeit more prideful smile to form on Phordata’s lips as Honey bounced happily in place.

“Well, if we want to make it back before nightfall, we should prolly leave now,” Aria chuckled. “Would that be alright with you, Saya?”

Saya’s heart fluttered as Aria’s voice rang in her ears. “Of course,” she smiled as the two headed out towards the foyer.

“I guess I will go unwind in the library then for now,” Xenia sighed.

“Oh, I’ll go with you,” Mable giggled. “I’ll show you some of the books I’ve found.”

“That would be lovely,” Xenia smiled as they followed Saya and Aria outside, leaving Honey, Phordata, and Vert behind.

“Master, do you have a moment?” Vert asked as she approached the two witches.

“What is it, Vert?” Phordata looked at her with suspicion.

“It’s about Lady Mable. I am certain you noticed the book she was holding.”

“I did,” she grimaced. “A book on demon magic…” she held her chin, her forefinger curling around it. “So, she’s researching that?”

“Phory, if she’s looking into that then she may be reaching the same conclusion we have,” Honey frowned.

“We can only hope that whatever she discovers is something she finds helpful,” Phordata frowned.

“I’m just worried. After all...”

“I know. An elf who lived in a human castle, and she’s become intrigued by a book like that,” she mused as the air of unease filled between the three.

* * *

“Wow, it sure has been a while since I have been this far out,” Saya giggled as she pranced across the snow, her fluffy white cape bouncing on her fuzzy light pink coat. She was overjoyed to finally enjoy such vibrant garb in the open. She had many opportunities to revel in her newfound identity since her departure, but much had been limited to her time at Phordata’s. She was unrecognizable from how she was when she left, a shy afraid child, and the bold charming knightly royal before that. Her heart bounced with joy much like her cape and body as she quietly thanked the world for such wonders as Aria’s laughs echoed behind her.

“Yeah, I think the last time was when we went into the forest so you could paint,” Aria grinned as she continued to plod forward after Saya’s bouncy advance. She wore her armor as she had before, her newly enchanted inner lining keeping her body nice and warm as the white armor seemed to glow from the snow’s radiance, the red trim gleaming in turn. The numerous embellishments, like the featherlike ridging on the gauntlets remained as entrancing and bold as ever, sending a clear message of power to those who beheld it. In a sense she too was changed like Saya. More comfortable and confident, emboldened by the blossoming of her beloved Princess. “It was a very pretty painting too,” she blushed slightly as she recalled the sight.

“Not quite,” Saya chuckled. “That was closer to the house, though I can see why you were confused. It all does seem a little similar from here.”

“Good thing we have the charms Phordata gave us to navigate back to Hollow. I can barely believe we used such a slow path last time.”

“Gee, the last time I was there was when...” she gazed at Aria, her mind drifting to the pleasant night they spent at the festival together before giddily giggling.

“Heh,” Aria chuckled. “Remembering something nice?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, let’s not drag our feet too slowly now. We do want to make it back before sunset.”

“Right,” Saya nodded as they continued further into the snowy woods, eagerly awaiting meeting their old friends.