They left the town in silence before the sun had even risen above the mountain range. They could still see the moon and stars far above them. Leon’s arms felt tighter around her, more protective. Elizabeth found it comforting and secure.
“We need to make a detour,” Leon finally said after about an hour of riding towards their destination.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJtxksRD1Q
“Why?” Elizabeth asked, her voice soft and meek. She still felt the shock and guilt of having killed someone, even though it had been to protect her own life. Self defense or not, she had manifested Eloise’s powers and killed someone with them. She wondered what dangers could set her off in the future. Luckily, Leon seemed immune to her power — she couldn’t imagine how she would have managed if she had hurt or killed Leon.
“You are manifesting Eloise’s powers finally; we need to help you control them,” Leon explained. Elizabeth just nodded, too tired to argue for once.
They soon reached a split in the road, and Leon navigated the horses to the south, no longer following the path towards the nation’s border among the mountain ranges. The path they followed instead headed deep into the woods.
Elizabeth could barely see the sky once they had entered under the forest canopy, almost instantly darkened, even as the sun had begun to rise into the sky. She began to worry that if they were attacked, they wouldn’t be able to see their enemies hidden among the trees. After her attempted assassination, she had become a bit paranoid about someone trying again. Without control over her powers, she couldn’t be assured that she would be able to protect herself again — and it was unfair to assume Leon would always look after her. She was an adult and needed to be able to function on her own.
“Who are we looking for, and where are they?” Elizabeth asked eventually.
“Eloise’s mentor,” Leon replied bluntly.
“Really?” Elizabeth was surprised. “They’re still alive?” It suddenly struck Elizabeth that she didn’t actually know much about Eloise’s death, such as how long ago she died and how. She didn’t think it would be appropriate to ask Leon to relive those painful memories, though.
“She is not quite… human, to be honest,” Leon replied.
“What is she then?”
“You will see shortly; she lives a half day’s travel out of town.”
“Through such a creepy forest?” Elizabeth asked incredulously.
“It is the fastest route,” Leon replied bluntly.
They continued on with casual small talk off and on for the rest of the morning. Dappled sunlight was filtering through the breaks in the tree canopy, highlighting parts of the woods as they passed. Elizabeth looked on in amazement and disbelief as Leon pointed out plants and wildlife that she had never seen before back on Earth.
She saw an over-sized plant that resembled a venus fly trap, but instead trapped small animals by luring them in with sweet-smelling nectar.
She saw flying squirrels that could legitimate bat their wings and swoop through the air, not just glide on the air currents.
Leon pointed out a great tree, the trunk as wide as the Inn they had just stayed in the night before. It’s branches spread out and wrapped themselves around the surrounding trees, as though holding on to them. Leon explained that rumors spoke of faerie trees, which fairies would inhabit, able to pass in and out through the tree because of its nature. As they passed, Elizabeth reached out a hand to brush along the trunk. The wood itself felt almost soft and pleasant to the touch, but it was indeed solid and she couldn’t see any way that a fairy could pass through. Perhaps it was nothing more than a rumor, but Elizabeth had seen enough magic by now to become a believer in the fantastical and amazing.
By noon, the sun was directly overheard, but barely viewable through the thickening canopy. The deeper they went into the forest, the darker it become — despite knowing it was the middle of the day and the sky had been clear of clouds.
“We are almost there,” Leon said.
“Where is ‘there’?” Elizabeth asked, incredulous that anyone would choose to live in such darkened woods.
“You will see,” Leon replied casually. Elizabeth frowned at his cryptic answer but didn’t press the subject. She now knew him well enough to know when he wouldn’t give information freely.
The forest canopy began to thin out as trees grew further apart from one another, allowing sunlight to finally filter in and lighten the world to their sight. They soon came upon a clearing. A beautiful meadow lay before them, filled with wild flowers and tall grasses. Directly in the center of the clearing stood a gigantic tree that towered even above the other grand fairie trees. Its branches spread out in all directions, tangling itself up with the faerie trees that encircle the clearing, creating pathways among the trees large enough that Elizabeth herself could easily walk across. The trunk itself was as large as a city block, and the branches as thick as a normal sized tree.
“We have arrived,” Leon stated.
“Where? There’s nothing here,” Elizabeth snorted.
“Where you see nothing, many make their home,” he replied.
“Who is ‘they’?” Elizabeth asked, now curious. Who would live amongst a giant tree. As soon as the words left her mouth, she looked up and saw that someone stood on one of the lower branches, staring down and meeting her gaze. Soon, others appeared amongst all the branches, watching the interlopers far before their home.
“Who are they?” Elizabeth whispered the question this time.
“They are often referred to as ‘The Forsaken’, though that name was not chosen by them — only given by outsiders,” Leon explained.
“So what do they call themselves?” Elizabeth asked curiously.
“The Forlarren,” Leon replied.730Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUunznWlagd
“Sounds pretty,” Elizabeth noted.
“Indeed; far better than the uneducated name given by humans,” Leon scoffed.
“And just what is wrong with humans?” Elizabeth turned as best she could in the saddle to glare up at Leon, challenging him. Leon seemed un-phased.
“For starters, you live very short lives,” Leon chuckled, humoring her, “Secondly, you are all so very emotional and sensitive.” He smirked and Elizabeth turned away from him again.
“Ass,” she hissed under her breath. Leon didn’t seem to take notice. “How do we get up there?” she asked in her normal tone.
“Just wait,” Leon replied as he began to dismount. He then helped Elizabeth down and she dropped unceremoniously onto the ground. Leon led the horses slowly across the field towards the towering tree. Sunlight illuminated the flowers and Elizabeth realized they sparkled and glowed in the light — they were beautiful and unlike anything she had ever seen before. “Starflowers,” Leon said, noticing how distracted Elizabeth had become. Elizabeth realized she had stopped following him as she gawked at the beauty surrounding them.
“What?” she asked, snapping to attention.
“Starflowers. That is what they are called,” Leon explained, turning to face her. His eyes met hers, piercing as though seeing through her. Sometimes Elizabeth wondered if he saw Eloise in her, but she shook the ridiculous notion away. She wasn’t Eloise, she would never be Eloise, and she didn’t care if it upset Leon.
“That’s a pretty name,” Elizabeth noted as she began to follow her companion again.
They stopped at the base of the trunk and Leon looked up, as though waiting for something to happen.
“What are we doing?” Elizabeth asked, annoyed at the delay in their quest.
“Just wait,” Leon repeated.
Just as Elizabeth was about to protest, sure enough, something happened. The part of the trunk in front of them seemed to phase from existence, leaving a gaping hole into the tree. However, the inside appeared to be hollowed out, and allowed for them to pass through the doorway. The doorway itself was big enough even to accommodate the horses.
Within the tree itself, Elizabeth felt as though she had stepped into a city. The base of the tree was filled with someone that resembled a market square. Stalls were set up in intricate mazes like a street market back home and Elizabeth wondered what sort of currency was used in The Other Realm. The roof was a good two stories high, and a spiraling staircase ran the perimeter of the inner trunk, leading up and through the ceiling, likely to a second floor. Elizabeth marveled at the sight, the brightly colored fabrics and gold adorning each stall, the lotus flower shaped lanterns that floated above the city, and the fairies. Everywhere she looked, glittering wings fluttered in the non existent breeze, shimmering under the colored lotus lights. Fairies, the size of children and appearance of adult, drifted from stall to stall, browsing and shopping for wares. Some paused and watched Leon and Elizabeth’s approach, but most continued about their own personal business without a care for the outsiders.
“What is this place?” Elizabeth asked in wonder, spinning around to take in every sight. She noted the doorway disappeared behind them.
“Welcome to the Faerie Market,” Leon replied.
“What is it?”
“This is where the faeries purchase and trade goods. Many live within the Life Tree, but some travel from far off woods in order to come here,” Leon explained.
Elizabeth was fascinated by the marvels before her. Everything shimmered, glittered or shone with light and beauty. Orbs of light floated high above the pavilion, cascading light like waterfalls over the market. Elizabeth thought could spend an entire lifetime here and never get tired of seeing the fairies and their wares.
“Come on, she will be expecting us,” Leon said as he led the horses towards what appeared to be a stable. He spoke briefly with a halfling sized female fairy. He handed her what appeared to be a few gold coins and she took the reigns from him. Leon double checked that Elizabeth was still with him and grasped her hand. “Do not get lost,” he warned as he began to lead her through the throngs of people in the market square.
“Who’s expecting us?” Elizabeth asked.
“Lady Nefeline,” Leon replied, “Eloise’s mentor.”
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