Star Fairy Chronicles III

Chapter 16

(Co Written by Moth)

The sky was darker than a winter's midnight. A cold feeling shivered upon Blue and the others, a feeling of chilliness unnatural to the world above. It was as if several spirits of light diminished in a slow and painful death. Blue opened her eyes, laying upon a field of stale grass. She looked to her left and saw Percy sleeping peacefully. She eased her eyes forward and peered upon Artemis resting his head on her stomach. She smiled softly as she pet his head.

"We're here," she whispered to him. Artemis slowly opened his eyes, and after see where he ended up, he began to blush.

"Sorry," he said as he got up, feeling flustered, "How long was I sleeping there?"

"I, don't know," Blue replied, "I wanted you to rest a bit longer because you looked so cute, but we have more important matters at hand right now."

"Oh," Artemis responded, "Where are we right now?" Percy slowly got up and gazed at the black sky.

"Welcome to the underworld," he explained, "This is the Kingdom that Queen Helena rules, but now that she is free, she has control over multiple worlds. Stopping her is our top priority."

"But where do we go from here?" Artemis asked, "We seem to be in the middle of nowhere as of right now on the peak of a hill." Percy peered towards a small village just down the hill.

"We could head there," he suggested, "It shouldn't be too much of a walk from here and maybe we could ask the townsfolk there for some questions."

"What kind of people live down here?" Artemis asked, "It looks almost inhabitable."

"There is a race of beings called Nebula Fairies that live here," Percy explained, "Just as Star Fairies look like humans, Nebula Fairies look like monsters. I read it in a book once."

"Now Artemis won't feel so out of place in all of this," Blue said with a warm smile. Artemis blushed slightly.

"Um, yeah, I guess," he replied. They then followed Percy down the hill and into the village.

The village was darkened by charcoal engulfing the buildings of its alleged deserted stature. The only source of light was a well-lit torch in the center of the town. The place gave Blue chills down her spine as it spoke of sorrow and emptiness. As her feet made contact with the ground, there was a slight rustling of dust. There was a faint wind that implied the feeling of pain, suffering, and death.

"Weird," Percy observed, "I thought there would be at least some people here."

"This town gives me the creeps," Blue replied, "It smells like death in here." Suddenly, she heard footsteps to the left of her, causing her to jerk her head in that direction.

"Did you guys hear that?" she asked, "It sounds like we're not alone."

"You shouldn't be here," a young male voice called out, "This place has been abandoned for years." Blue turned towards the voice and beckoned her hand out.

"Come into the light," she invited, "My name is Princess Blue, and these are Percy and Artemis. We're not going to hurt you." The figure slowly walked towards them, revealing himself as a gray tabby cat monster. His clothes consisted of a red shirt with torn sleeves along with brown pants with mild tears near his bare feet. His striped tail was a bit ruffled along with his gray fur being a bit dirty as well. Ironically, he still smelled fine. Percy nearly gasped with realization.

"Could it be? The legendary Nebula Fairy that my father told me stories about?" he asked. The cat nod his head slowly.

"My name is Callus," he introduced, "I've been hiding from Queen Helena and King Darkmoon here for many years. The other Nebula Fairies are located elsewhere."