Labyrinth: Saving the Fallen City

Caught in a Dream

The kingdom grew closer and closer as Desben led me down the middle path. Breeze swirled around my dress and I closed my eyes. “Are you alright?” Desben asked me. “Yes, just embracing the calm and peace I had been denied for so long” I said. Desben grunted and continued down the path. When we reached the outskirts of the city Desben stopped his movement and turned to me. “Would you like to walk alone?” He asked. “I would prefer the company if you don’t mind” I replied. Desben bowed his head slightly. I refused to admit that I asked him to come because I wasn’t sure what was to happen in the kingdom.

               The small buildings lined the dirt streets. The old, sturdy, wooden buildings were surrounded with life of plants and creatures. Fae walked around with a certain glow about them. I studied their elegant movement and how the interacted. The fae looked a great deal like humans but they had smaller frames and their skin, although they varied in color, were pale. Sun reflected from their skin and their hair took on such vivid color that I wasn’t even aware of such rich color. Their faces held sharp angles that their long hair couldn’t even cover up. Most of the fae had pointed noses and thin eyebrows.

               One fae in particular caught my attention. She was smaller than me but her long green dress made her seemingly uncommon fire red hair stand out. A male fae appeared beside her. He was quite a bit taller than her. He smiled to her and took her hand. She smiled as here twirled her in a circle to see her entire dress. Bending down, he kissed her hand and refused to let go. The girl, a little surprised, stood still until a large smile spread over her face. The boy offered her something that I couldn’t see. She nodded and took the object. The two ran to a house and ran inside.

               “Bunch of childish nonsense” Desben muttered bitterly. “What happened?” I asked him. “When a male fae is young he must choose a female fae to be what you say in your terms a wife. When he approaches and offers the girl his most prized possession, she can accept and agree to bind themselves for marriage when they come of age, or she can refuse. Normally, the female doesn’t refuse because the male must come to her earlier and start the bond by understanding her. They go to the kingdom counsel and test to see if they deserve each other. Fae bond for life, so the decision to bond is stressed greatly to be equally desired. Should the two be deemed unfit for the benefit of the kingdom they will be separated. To a female, to be chosen early is an honor. Creating a family is a high honor” He stated.

                “Why is it such a high honor to have a family? Wouldn’t overpopulation become an issue because of your immortality?” I asked. “For fae, conceiving a child is very hard. Not enough can accomplish having a child, so when they do, it is said to be an honor. Fae are immortal to an extent. We can live forever but that does not limit us to being killed” He said. I nodded and looked behind me at the house that the couple had run in. “Does everyone follow the guideline of the bond?” I asked. “For the most part yes, some choose unwise decisions such as running off and when their bond proves weak, they are disgraced from their family because a fae only bonds once” He said.

               “What happens when they decide to complete their bond?” I asked as we continued down the street. Fae started to become more abundant as we neared the center of the city. “They propose it to the families one last time for their blessing. Tonight I suppose will be a celebration for the bonding of the two fae. When they reached the age of complete bonding, they will hold an even grander celebration to show the kingdom their bond and that they are submitting themselves to the Underground as adults. Even though you are considered an adult after maturity, to bond is the final step” Desben explained as yelling of sales people and wild laughter of others reached my ears.

               The center of the kingdom was a market place. Mostly fae were all around yelling from their set up stores. Other creatures walked around among te faes. Some of the items being sold were strange looking food, alcohol, beautiful jewelry, elegant dresses and clothes, and crafted wood work like furniture. Desben strode through the market with ease because of his sheer size. I bumped into the fae and had to push through others. Desben looked behind him to me and recognized my struggle. He pulled me up beside him and made sure I didn’t fall behind. We wondered around the market for a while watching the fae hurry around with overflowing arms.