Dust

The colours world around us seemed to slush into each other and then wipe away leaving them all surrounded by white. When you’re a kid and you think of Fairies you think; small, flowers, wings, dresses made of grass and petals. Well that’s how they looked then! Annabel and Rhys looked at themselves in utter surprise and shock.
“Okay, before we go any further let me explain what this is,” she gestured with her hands at them and where they were. “Is what we call Anima cercando or soul searching. It’s a state of mind that Fairies can breech; all of us. Sometimes you can share it with others, like now, and other times just keep it to yourself. Many different Fairies have many different opinions of what this really is; exploring your mind, a very powerful daydream, or my own person belief, your soul. Like the name I believe that this is my soul and I am searching in it.” She smiled. “Anyway, I’ll explain how you do this later but basically, when your Anima cercando you are your true self, weather you like it or not, and it is believed that this is where the typical fantasy of Fairies come from. As you can see, we look kind of cliché.” She was right, they did.
Annabel looked down at herself – which was not hard seeing as she had somehow shrunk to about the size of what she guessed would be her pinkie finger in real life. She was amazed at what she found. She had a short light blue lilac dress on, which as far as she could work out was made out of petals…they looked like bluebell petals. It fit snugly to her figure, and had no straps and curled out at the very end; like a real bluebell petal. It ended just above her knees. The petals were tightly sewn together with grass, but that could only be seen if you looked with great detail. There was a very pretty belt made of, again, bluebells but also leaves and a few buttercups which divided the dress up nicely. Every here and there, there were little bells on the belt to, which laughed and sang merrily when ever she moved. Her shoes were the same colour but were only simple glittery dolly shoes. Her normally simple short brown hair had somehow amplified in length and had much glitter in it. It was tided behind her in a very curly pony tail. The most amazing part of it all was that she had wings! Actual wings! They were just like butterflies in shape but see through, apart from a light blue tint and more glitter. Annabel beamed ear to ear. Flip me, I knew it was gonna be a good day but this is… out of this world!
She looked at Rhys; wow! He was…shirtless. Drool! He was though, wearing long black shorts, made from an material that she couldn’t place and a belt, again made from leaves. This belt however was made from lots of long thin green leaves. It also held a knife. His wings were the same shape but had a black tinge to them; like his shorts. He looked…Annabel couldn’t find the right words to describe him.
“Hello six pack!” She winked at him.
“Hello!” He replied, putting his hands on his sides and grinning like an idiot. Annabel laughed at him.
“Okay so, ready to see some history?” Caroline was wearing a deep purple dress made from an iris flower. The purple clashed against her flaming red hair, but it somehow worked. Her dolly shoes were the same colour and her wings were light purple tainted too. She looked amazing!
“See?” Annabel asked confused. Caroline smiled, closed her eyes and clapped her hands. Next thing they knew they were flying.

Not literally. They were staying quite still, in precisely the same spot, but the world or the Anima cercando to be correct was moving backwards behind them; fast. Then suddenly it stopped and they were…basically, in the middle of no where. It was pretty though; Very pretty infact.
There was a giant waterfall and a matching giant plunge pool. A forest surrounded them but for about ten metres or so around the deep sparkling blue pool were a grass bank, filled with every wild flower imaginable. It was beautiful.
“This is the most sacred places for Fairies. More so for us still good than bad. This here, and inside there,” She pointed to the waterfall, which Annabel guessed hid a cave, “Was the first inhabitancies for the Fairies. We were different then though, which you’ll soon see.”
There was a faint drumming from inside the waterfall and singing too. It was a beautiful song, sung in a different language though so neither Rhys nor Annabel could tell what it meant. Still it was gentle and peaceful. The water then stopped falling then and a parade of Fairies left the cave. A beautiful woman led the parade. She was tall and had the most amazing pale multicoloured dress on. It was long and flowed like the water. Annabel guessed that this was Titania, the old Queen of Fairies.
Behind her were six Fairies, who were also elegant but not quite so as the first. They all walked hand in hand; each and everyone one of them singing.
“That is the Fairy council” Caroline told us, she also informed them that it was Titania who led them.
Many other Fairies emerged from everywhere then; some following the council, but most emerging from the forest around them, each and every one of them different somehow, but all with the same pointy ears. Annabel self-consciously felt her own ears; they weren’t pointy, not at all. They were different. They all sat down along the edge of the lake and looked expectantly at Titania. She had stopped on the edge of the cave. She took a leap out into the air. Annabel gasped as Titania’s wings fluttered and lifted her up into the air above the Fairies and onto the cliff where the water would fall from. She stood at the top and stretched out her arms.
“Welcome, my sisters, my brothers. I call you today to bring you some very grave news.” Her voice was both loud and quiet. It filled the land with power but also friendship, love, and kindness. There was a sadness in the voice to, which reflected in here eyes. “Kailen, a much loved member of our council has declared war upon us.” She relaxed her arms and looked down, a couple of tears fell down her face and down into the lake. The ripples danced across the lake in a mixture of pinks, purples, blues, and greens.
Then the scene blurred away and Annabel, Rhys and Caroline were back in the white nothingness.
“Titania was a much loved leader. It pained Kailen to go against her but his beliefs were strong. You need to understand that, he meant well in his own way. His ways were twisted and wrong but he was not in his right mind. The humans had killed his family and nearly his true love. He wanted revenge. He wanted to avenge the ones he lost.” Caroline’s eyes were beginning to whelm with tears and her voice trembled.
“Why do you feel so strongly about this, about him? I mean, I understand that he was lost and broken, but he went against everything a Fairy is.” Annabel was confused. What happened with Kailen was really affecting Caroline; it was hurting her which didn’t make any sense at all.
“Because I loved him” She breathed, hardly loud enough for anyone to hear, but they did hear her.
Minutes or moments passed but no one dared say anything. Annabel and Rhys stood there uncomfortably. The white nothingness turned into a black nothingness.
“So you’re like, really old!” Rhys said the genius. Annabel reached over and hit him. Caroline laughed.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” They all laughed, glad of the change of subject.
“Annabel, Rhys. I need you to know that I loved him long before he turned evil, and that there was much good in him. Please don’t judge me; you can’t help who you fall in love with.”
“Okay” was all they could both think to say.
“Good. Now, we have much more to see, many significant moments of ours pasts.”

They were in a tower of a castle. It was dark, night and the stars were out. Titania was stood by the only window in the empty room, her back to them. She wore black cat suit, which doesn’t really describe it that well but it was armoured. Like she was ready for war or had just been in one. A blade was put in the sheath at her waste. Then a figure appeared in the doorway, a simple black silhouette. It moved further into the room and towards Titania. Annabel could begin to register the features and discovered it was a male, a Fairy. He was stunning. Tall, muscular, he had jet black hair and a perfect face. He moved elegantly and gracefully toward Titania, who turned.
For a moment they just stared at each other, and then the male raised his hand and the blade in it. The sword glistened in the star light. It was beautiful. Titania removed a matching blade from her own sheath.
“Why must we fight Kailen? We can over come this; I do not wish to harm you.” Titania voice was as smooth as chocolate sauce, it oozed confidence. A liquid confidence.
Another figured moved into the doorway then. This time Annabel was sure it was a female, for it had long flowing hair. It lingered in the door. Titania eyes flickered to it for a split second. Kailen didn’t notice it though; he had his back to it.
“You will not let me rage a war against the humans, and without you on side how can an adequate amount of warriors? With you out the way, the council will be forced to choose a new leader. Of course that will not be me now but Caroline. She has a strong chance of being picked, she is your right hand women so to speak, and seeing as we’re paired…my influence on her could…” He left the sentence unfinished he didn’t need to end it. Annabel’s eyes glanced to Caroline stood beside her. She took her hand and squeezed it gently.
“And why would you do that? You love Caroline, you’re paired. True lovers don’t do that.”
“It is regrettable I admit but all the same, it is the way it is.”
“Fine kill me, if you really think it will get you anywhere near to what you desire.” She dropped the blade and stood very still. Her eyes closed. “Good will always overcome evil.” She whispered.
Kailen stood there, still in the stance, tears running down his eyes. “I still love you my leader, but life must change.” He ran at her and drove the blade through her heart. She dropped lifeless to the ground. He then knelt down beside her and cried.
The other figure entered and walked across to her passed leader. The light hit her and Annabel gasped as she recognised her to be her own godmother. Rhys took her other hand tightly. Caroline – the historic one – cried aloud over Titania’s body.
“How could you?” she cried. “Why? Our own leader. A leader of peace, and love and joy. No one will ever compare to her.”
“You can, I know you can.” He went over to her and lifted her. She stood in his arms and cried into his bare chest. He stroked and kissed her hair.
“So you can influence me to do wrong? I will never go against what we are. I’m sorry, I still love you but we are good.”
“I am also sorry then.” He removed his arms and took up the blade that had just been in Titania. He was about to swing in down when Caroline took her own and sliced it through him.
He gasped in air and fell to his knees; his blade fell to the floor and shattered. Caroline took him in her arms and sat with him.
“I love you” she whispered.
“I love you more” he whispered back and then died.
Both Caroline’s wept as the colours again blurred into each other and Annabel, Rhys and Caroline found themselves back in Annabel’s living room.
“That enough for tonight, go sleep. More tomorrow.” Caroline’s voice was shaky. Annabel and Rhys swiftly got up and made their way to the door. They left her, not quite knowing what to say, they were some what grateful though. They were both exhausted and need some sleep.

Annabel feel asleep in Rhys arms that night. Something that she had dreamed off ever since the first day she clapped eyes on him. Good day…