Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Chaykeely ❯ Chapter one ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Two figures rode through a dense forest on white horses in the middle of a stormy night. Neither spoke a word for fear that one of the strange creatures that lurk in the forest would cast a spell over them. As they passed a mangled-looking tree on the right side, the traveler on the left noticed something strange out of the corner of his eye. He whispered in his horse's ear to stop and gestured for his companion to do the same. They walked over to the tree and gasped in surprise at what they saw.

"What is it? She's so tiny...she could almost fit in the palm of your hand." The other whispered, kneeling down to inspect the tiny creature they had found. "Is it..."

The first traveler shook his head. "She's alive. I think she's an elf...but she's soaking wet, she's bound to get sick..." He scooped the tiny elf into his arms and carried her to his horse. "She's asleep right now, but the forest seems strangely quiet tonight, doesn't it? Something's wrong. I don't think it's safe for her here. Besides, I smell the stench of death, and..." He glanced at his companion. "Witches."

She nodded and smiled sadly. "They've struck again, haven't they? How did this little one escape?"

The man shook his head. "Maybe she was just overlooked. Come on, we should hurry. He mounted his horse, and the girl did the same. They rode off through the forest, far from the little elf girl's former home.

Not far from the travelers lurked a small band of witches. They were celebrating their recent massacre of the faerie realm of Chaykeely. They laughed as they relived the deaths of the elf king and queen.

"Did you see him trying to use that wimpy spell on us?" One of the male witches asked. "He was so pathetic, thinking he could stop us. That was way too easy!"

"How about the queen? 'Leave us be, we've done nothing to you!' And then later, 'Won't you at least spare our children?' How stupid would we have to be to spare the children, who will only grow up to exact revenge on their parents' deaths?" A female witch added.

"Speaking of children..." The other male pondered.

"What?" one of the females asked.

"Well, the queen...she mentioned something about a daughter. That would be the princess, right? I don't remember killing anyone who looked like a princess."

The final witch, who was apparently the leader, shrugged. "We killed so many, it's hard to remember specific details like that. You know we didn't overlook any."

"Yeah! Besides, what can one little elf princess do, anyway?"

That seemed to settle everyone's nerves, and they continued chattering away into the night.


"An elf?" What seemed to be a very tiny dragon leapt onto the table where the elf girl rested. "How'd you find her?"

The girl who had helped find the little girl gently plucked the dragon by the tail and moved him away from the her. "Well...we just found her, Kael. She was in a hole in this tree. Somehow Nevan spotted her."

"Vampire eyes do that, after all," Nevan said, smiling. "But I think Keiran would have seen her, also, had he been there."

The boy seated on the floor in the corner of the room did not look up. "It was raining. I'm not stupid enough to get wet. Why did you bring her here, anyway? What good is that going to do? You've seen the trouble faeries cause."

"If you're talking about Aisling, that's only because she was born to cause trouble. I don't think she's a representative of the entire faerie realm. And if we didn't bring this girl back, she would have probably died when Donelle and her minions came back to make sure they killed everyone."

"Wait, what?" Everyone turned to see the pixie hovering in the doorway, looking confused. She flew over to the table and her eyes widened. "You picked up the elf princess of Chaykeely?"

"Princess?"Everyone asked. Aisling nodded and inspected the princess more thoroughly, hovering two inches about the elf's sleeping body. "Only three people in Chaykeely can do this. Someone put a spell on her. She's not normally this small. It might be wearing off, though. How big was she when you found her?"

Nevan shrugged. "I could pick her up and hold her in one hand."

"Well, notice, you couldn't do that now. When the spell wears off, she'll wake up and she'll be able to tell us everything that happened. Brighid, why do you look puzzled?"

Everyone turned to look at the girl who had helped Nevan bring the princess to the sanctum. "How...how do you know so much about her?"

Aisling laughed and floated to the ground. "Where else would a pixie live? I’m from Chaykeely. That's where I ran away from."

"Why did you run away?"

Aisling shook her head and flew out the door. "Don't ask me that, it's a dangerous question."

The others looked at each other wordlessly, then back at the princess, who had grown about six inches since they had last looked at her. "Maybe we should have asked Aisling exactly how big she gets," Nevan mused.

"Yeah...um, guys? What happens when she outgrows her blanket?" Kael asked. The others stared blankly at him. "I mean, uh...if she's wearing clothes, they'll also be outgrown, so..."

"Oh...oh!" Brighid exclaimed, realizing what he meant. "Okay, I'll get a bigger blanket then, and some clothes." She ran out the door and down the hall to her room.

The remaining people looked at each other and sighed. Keiran stood up and walked over to the table to stand with his friends. "Now what do we do? Just wait?"

Nevan shrugged. "I guess...but Kael, it's almostraining."

"Really? Okay, I'll be back soon!" The dragon flew off down the hall in the direction Brighid had gone.

Keiran gestured to the elf on the table. "She's aboutfeet tall now. She's growing rather quickly now, isn't she? I hope Brighid gets back soon."

As if on cue, Brighid stormed through the door carrying a bundle of clothes. "I'm back!" She looked around and, not seeing Kael, asked, "It stopped raining?"

"Yeah," Nevan replied. "Keiran, let's go, just in case she wakes up soon. We don't want to infringe on her privacy."

"Can you try to find Aisling for me, please?" Brighid asked. "She seems to be the expert here, since we're all clueless."

"We'll try," Nevan answered. "Come on, Keiran. Let's get something to eat. Keiran nodded and they both left the room.

"Merli..." The elf girl mumbled, squeezing her eyes closed more tightly. "Ferli..." Her eyes opened and she looked dazedly up at Brighid. "Nama kutip hir du me?"

"Uh...I'm sorry, I don't understand." Brighid looked helplessly toward the door, hoping Aisling was there. She wasn't. Brighid handed the elf the clothes she had taken from her room, which now seemed far too large for the elf, who had grown to a height of only three feet.

"Yinip hunid nama?" She took the clothes and put them on, then looked down at them questioningly. "Kula naso mine..." She tugged at the pants, which were about to fall down, and looked up at Brighid again. "Teru gosa?"

"Um...sure." She nodded unsurely, hoping she hadn't agreed to something dangerous.

The elf girl smiled gleefully and closed her eyes. As she did so, the clothing Brighid brought her suddenly fit. "Janit naso mine!" She jumped off the table and landed on the ground next to Brighid. She tugged on Brighid's pant leg and looked up at her. "Girano sui."

"You're welcome?" Brighid offered, still clearly confused. She heard laughter from the doorway.

"Princess Arietta." She walked over to the elf girl, who held onto Brighid's pants protectively.

"Fulri kusan? Aisling?" The princess looked down at her feet. "Hire nota..."

"Speak English so that Brighid's not left out,” Aisling ordered.

The elf princess wailed and stomped her feet. She stopped as suddenly as she'd begun and mumbled, "Meanie."

"Ari, why are you...younger now?" Aisling asked. She seemed to have been struggling for a good way to word it.

"You mean she's not supposed to look like this?" Brighid asked.

Arietta shook her head. "I'm 165 years old!" She smiled and twirled around, running around Brighid's feet.

"Really?" Brighid was shocked.

"Ari, stop that. Don't try to make Brighid tired with that spell." Aisling looked at Brighid. "Yes. It's kind of the equivalent of being sixteen years old in human years...not four, as she'd have you believe."

Arietta's face dropped and she grew an additional twenty-four inches. "There is no Faerie Realm anymore, Aisling. It's gone. The witches destroyed it. I hate witches. She's a witch, I can tell." Arietta was pointing at Brighid. She narrowed her eyes and said angrily, "You killed my parents. I hate you."

"What? I didn't...I was excommunicated from those witches long ago...I never hurt anyone, I swear."

"Liar! Witches are evil! All of them! Die! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" She pointed a finger at Brighid and narrowed her eyes. "I should curse you on this spot!"

"And what happens if she is evil, Ari, and she is stronger than you? You'll be dead in an instant. In fact, she'd have already killed you, and me, and we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Arietta turned to face Aisling with a look of pure hatred in her eyes. "And you. I hate you, too. You left. You left, and so you survived, and all of the loyal subjects of my father's court, as well as my parents themselves, died. I hate you more than all of the witches in the world. I bet you helped the witches findShe turned to the door, and seeing that it was wide open, fled from the room.

"Um..." Brighid started to call out to her, but Aisling shook her head.

"She's a spoiled brat. Don't even bother. She'll come back eventually because she can't do anything on her own."

As she said that, both she and Brighid heard a scream coming from the kitchen. Aisling sighed and flew out of the room. Brighid did the same. When they arrived in the kitchen, Aisling couldn't help but laugh.

"Is that...a squirrel? You're eating a squirrel! What kind of sick demented creature are you?!" Arietta was pointing at Nevan, who was getting ready to bite through the neck of a squirrel.

Nevan was confused and tried to speak. "I..."Keiran stared at Arietta wonderingly. "And what do you propose he do? Suck the blood of a human?"

Arietta turned her glare to Keiran and yanked the still-alive, but terrified, squirrel from Nevan's arms. She whispered something to it, and it chirped back. She glared at Nevan once again. "She's a mother. She has children. And you were going to kill her." Then she shook her head. "Besides, if you kill a squirrel, I will kill you. There is no other animal for which murder is so heinous. If you must drink blood, which I assume you do, as I also assume you are vampire, drink the blood of any other animal, but make sure they do not have a family. And believe it or not, many would be willing to sacrifice their lives to serve you, if you only ask."

Keiran looked at her as if she was crazy. "And how is he supposed to do that, pray tell?"

"Like I said, ask." They still stared at her, and she let out an exasperated sigh. "Just say, 'I seek the blood of a woodland creature willing to serve an immortal.' That is all. They will come running toward you. And then you may drink. That should eliminate the murder of innocent woodland creatures. And never, ever drink the blood of a squirrel, under any circumstances, or I will hunt you down and kill you."

"Um...all right..."Nevan nodded, turned, and went out the door that led to the outside.

"Okay, Ari, you need to calm dow--" Aisling started, but Arietta whirled around and glared at her.

"Aisling, you need to understand. My parents are dead. My friends are dead. Your parents, your family, they're all dead. My kingdom is dead. You abandoned it, and you get to live. I live by some cruel, twisted fate. I'm suffering here, and you couldn't care less."

"Once again you assume things about me. This is why we never got along. I don't feel emotion. I care only for myself, and having things my way. And don't act like you're not the same way. It comes with the territory. Faeries are selfish beings. All of us. Especially spoiled elf princesses like you. You never cared about your parents. You just wanted them to keel over so that you could take the throne. You're upset that your kingdom was destroyed, so even if you become queen, you'll never have anyone to serve you."

Arietta gaped at Aisling. She closed her mouth and tears came to her eyes. "If that were all true, why would people serve the king and queen in the first place?"

Aisling raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? Faeries were always making fun of you and your family. Of course, you never knew that. We put on the facade of actually serving you because we feared your parents. They were very powerful. And now that they're dead, I don't have to even pretend to like you. So I won't."

"You're lying." Arietta scowled and stormed out the door.

"You just don't want to face the truth!" Aisling called after her. "You're just a spoiled brat, and now that the kingdom is gone, you'll never be queen!"

Brighid shook her head. "Aisling, how can you be so cruel? Her parents just died..."
"I explained. Weren't you listening? Faeries care only for themselves."

"What, they don't feel love for others, compassion? She obviously cared when Nevan tried to drink the squirrel's blood."

"She's an elf. She has a direct connection to the squirrels. She faces death every day as part of her job and she's never been affected."

"What? Her job?" Keiran looked up at Aisling, who was flying near the ceiling at this point.

"Yeah, she sings songs for the dead forest animals. It's a duty thing. She'll be out there soon, singing for whatever Nevan kills."

"She sings dirges?" Keiran asked. He seemed somewhat interested.

"Dirges. Yeah. That's the word. An animal cries out for her, she comes, sings for the deceased, and then burns them."

"She doesn't bury them?" Brighid asked.

"Burying them takes too much time, and if another animal digs in the spot and finds the remains, it may shock them. Incinerating is more efficient. It takes only a few seconds...although it uses up my energy pretty quickly." Arietta spoke from the doorway. She looked very depressed, and would not look at anyone. "I'm going to go now. There's a rabbit who needs my services." She walked past Keiran, who stared after her, and headed out the door.

The three left standing in the room were silent for a moment. Then they heard a cough from the doorway, and turned to look at Kael, who was now in human form, wearing only a pair of pants, and using a towel to dry his hair, wet from the shower he had just taken. "Keiran, you know there's a full moon tonight?"

"Yeah. Is the elf princess staying here? I don't want her to see me transformed."

"Why? She didn't seem shocked by Brighid's witchiness or Nevan's vampirism...well, despite the obvious hatred toward Brighid and shock at Nevan trying to drink a squirrel's blood." Aisling shrugged. "Actually, you're the only one she's met who she didn't hate upon seeing."

"Let's keep it that way." Keiran turned and walked out of the room. Kael looked at Aisling questioningly.

"So, tell me about the Nevan thing...and where our little elf girl is right now."


Arietta knelt down on the wet ground and scooped up the lifeless body of the rabbit from which Nevan had fed. She smiled slightly upon inspection of the body, noticing that Nevan had sealed the puncture wound caused by his fangs. She began her song, soft and low, and several other rabbits peeked out of their burrows to listen. As the song progressed, it became higher, and louder, until she was surrounded by animals. From their refuge, Brighid, Kael, and Aisling also listened, joined after a moment by Nevan. Keiran was nowhere to be found.

"It's beautiful," Kael said, clearly in awe. Brighid nodded.

"I feel guilty for having killed the rabbit,I had no choice, really."

Aisling shook her head. "It's not really a song of mourning. The rabbit sacrificed itself. She's singing about its ascent into the afterlife...or whatever you people of the mortal realm believe."

"So she's...celebrating?" Brighid asked.

"More or less. But I stand by what I said. Elves, as with all faeries, care for none but themselves. This is just her job."

"But...if the Faerie Realm no longer exists, why is she still obligated to do this?" Kael asked.

Aisling shrugged. "To make us think she cares."

Arietta gently laid the rabbit down on the ground, spreading a circle of buttercups around it. As the other animals watched, she closed her eyes, murmured a few words, and the rabbit became a small pile of ashes in an instant. One lone rabbit hopped over to her, and nuzzled her hand. She gently stroked its fur and scooped up the ashes. A bird chirped in the distance and she smiled, putting the ashes into a jar and closing it with a lid. "Yerili flure ton shui." She then started to walk away, and gasped when she saw Keiran watching her.

"I wanted to make sure you didn't leave," he explained.

"Where else would I go? I have no home." She began to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm.

"I don't believe Aisling. You obviously cared about that rabbit, and the other animals too. She's wrong, I know it. I'm sorry about your parents."

Arietta said nothing, but pulled her arm away and continued walking. Keiran followed her. After a while, she turned around. "Girano sui."

"What?" Keiran was confused.

Arietta smiled and laughed gleefully. She began to run toward the house, much too fast for Keiran, even in his other form. He sighed and followed her warily. He caught up to her just before they reached the house, where she was waiting. "Let's go in," she said, still clutching the jar of ashes.

They walked in to see the others all seated at a table. "What are you going to do with those ashes?" Kael asked.

"First, who are you? Actually, who are any of you? You're Aisling, of course, and you're Brighid, but I don't know the rest of you."

"I'm Nevan."

"I'm Kael."

Arietta turned to Keiran. "And you...?"

"Keiran."

Arietta smiled. "Okay. Now, Kael, as for the ashes...I'm going to conduct a ceremony and spread them to the wind. I've never done it alone before, but I'm going to try."

Brighid looked up. "I can help...I've done it before..."

Arietta shook her head. "I do not trust witches." She looked around the room, eyeing the door. "I don't suppose you have a place I can stay...a place with privacy where I can conduct the ceremony."

Nevan cocked his head to the side and stared up at the ceiling. "Hmm...well, I suppose I could share a room with Keiran..."

Keiran jerked his head up. "Not now! Not for the next few nights!" Then he bowed his head and mumbled something incoherently.

"Don't worry, it won't be a problem. I won't hurt you."

"That's not quite what I meant...I mean, I'm sure you're well-fed from the rabbit, but...I don't want to be around people at night..."

Kael raised his hand as if he were in a classroom. "Ooh, ooh, me, pick me! I know!" He grinned and stood up. "Nevan can room with me tonight!"

Nevan raised an eyebrow. "We tried that before, Kael. It started raining and you transformed, then I woke up to find you staring at me in the morning. Way too creepy."

Kael shrugged. "Well, you shouldn't be sleeping at night anyway. I always thought you vampires were nocturnal."

"I'm a half-vampire, Kael." Nevan looked at Aisling and Brighid. "Can you two share?"

"No. I hate her," Aisling said, pointing at Brighid. "And her," she added, gesturing to Arietta. "I would rather kick one of them outside. If it rains, it'll be even better."

"Or we could kick you out, Aisling," Brighid suggested. "I'm fine sharing, but I think Arietta would prefer not to share with me. Right?" She looked at the princess, who nodded.

"Yes. I don't care where I am, I just want to be alone. And I need a window, obviously. I need privacy."

Keiran nodded. "All right, I'll share with Nevan. You can have my room." Nevan nodded as well.

"I'll show you Keiran's room." He and Arietta left the kitchen and headed down the hall.

"I'm still hungry," Keiran mumbled. "It's about lunchtime now, right?"

Brighid nodded. "Yeah. What do you guys want?"

"Meat!" Kael shouted. "Something dead and meaty!"

Keiran smiled. "Ditto to that."

Aisling wrinkled her nose. "Yuck. A salad. That's all. Um...give me an apple, too."

Brighid nodded. "Okay. What would Arietta want?"

Aisling shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. Probably a salad though. Definitely nothing that once breathed."

"If you need anything, call for me, okay?" Nevan said, opening the door to leave Keiran's room.

"Yeah. Sure." Arietta was distracted, opening the lid of the jar of ashes. She poured the contents onto the lid and held it in front of her face. "Milora hisu riha fenira. Plorit hinu cera. Tokuri." She closed her eyes, and blew the ashes off of the lid. They swirled in the air for a moment, and then floated through the air, in all directions. She smiled and closed the window, then walked over to Keiran's bed. She sat down and stared at the wall, when an idea came to her. She stood up and walked over to the shelves on the other side of the room. "I might as well find out all I can about the people living here," she thought to herself, "After all, there must be a reason they live out here, away from civilization."


"Lunch is ready," Brighid announced. "Here you go." She set out a large plate of steak and set it on the table, next to a bowl of salad and one apple.

"Didn't you make yourself anything, Brighid?" Kael asked, taking a slice of the steak and chewing it greedily.

"Um...no, not yet. I'm just getting some soup, that's all. I'm not hungry yet. She left the room and started into the living room, but bumped into Nevan. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

"It's no problem. Um, I want to talk to you." He gestured toward the living room, and Brighid nodded. They both entered.

"I have a weird feeling, Brighid." Nevan whispered, seeming to be paranoid about something. "I think they know about us."

Brighid looked down. "Yeah, they might. I have that feeling, too. Especially with the elf girl here...what if they know she's alive, and they're looking for her? The fact that they destroyed a kingdom so close to us...that's scary."

"Well, it's not really close, since the faerie realm is an entirely different world altogether, really." He went to the doorway, looked around, and closed the door. "But how could they overlook her, when we didn't? I mean...their powers are so much greater than ours."

Brighid nodded. "Maybe her mother or father did something, some sort of spell, to keep her hidden and it was wearing off when we found her. I mean, she was a lot smaller when we found her. Maybe she was too small to see before."

"But then why wouldn't they do the same for themselves?" Nevan shook his head. "Somehow, I'd think the witches would realize they missed the elf princess while they were on their killing spree."

Brighid bit her lip. "You know what really scares me?"

"What?"

"We were so close to the witches. You could smell them. I sensed them, they were so close to us. Even in the rain you smelled them. We almost died, .” She looked at her hands. "What if they do find us?"

Nevan said nothing, but he took Brighid into his arms and hugged her tightly as she softly wept. "I don't know," he whispered.