Illara Chronicles: Swordplay

Sprig Lostleaf

Kelith woke to a tickling on his eyebrow, like little fingers combing through the light brown hair, but that couldn't be. His eyes fluttered open. There was a tiny ankle and foot that lifted off of his cheekbone, soft skin shifted, sitting on his forehead.

He shook his head, sat up and reached for the feeling but found nothing but his own face, and a swollen lump where his head had met the bottom of Malcoms sword.

Glittering elvish script, fell from above, the characters dissipating as they landed on the bed where Kelith was lying. Suspended in their midst were a pair of feet, one tucked behind the other and cream colored legs that were a bit pink at the knees. A red and yellow maple leaf, reached down just to her very high thighs, and up to stop just below a pair of delicate shoulders, and little arms. Noticing how he was gawking at her, she fluttered in a circle on a pair of small rounded wings, that beat quickly to keep her floating gracefully in the air. 

"It's n-nice to finally meet you, face to face." She spoke it like a question, as she tucked her dainty chin down into her neck, and twiddled her fingers behind her back.

Kelith managed to close his mouth just long enough to mutter, "You're some kind of pixie or, a sprite."

"Yes! I mean, close enough." Her soft pink eyes lit up at his recognition, "I am a fairy!" She flipped backwards higher into the air and then dove down to land on Keliths knee. She swept strands of short chestnut hair out of her eyes as she descended.

This isn't real.

As her toes touched down, she opened her mouth to speak, and the door to the room burst open.

The fairy immediately vanished, without the slightest trace. Not so much as a fleck of dust remained.

   "Good, you're up." Keliths father breathed heavily and perspiration made his blue tunic look black in places. "We need to speak right away."

"Alright...is everything okay?" Kelith recognized now that he was in his brothers room at his parents home. Books studying a variety of plants and animals piled up on the nightstand. A jar of birdseed sat on the windowsill over his desk.

"It depends on who you ask." Jaskier took his sons head in his hand and gently ran a thumb across his forehead and Kelith knew exactly where this was going.

I qualified. The warden has chosen me.

"How long was I out?" Kelith sat on the edge of the taller than usual bed. 

"Not more than an hour. Your mother told me that you fought bravely. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I could have done better."

"It was enough." There it was, despite the defeat he had still been chosen to be trained in Havenhelm for the Bladeward. Thoughts about his friends wafted at the edge of his mind, but it was hard for him to think clearly about anything but those tiny pink eyes. "You should decline the invitation."

Kelith stood off of the bed, and straightened. "I can't, Dad. I know what you would say."

"Well hear it anyways. This dream that you are chasing will not yield what you think. The wild beyond our borders are not like the lands in your books, and your mothers memory of her own travels are seen through lenses tainted by longing and nostalgia. The truth is that if you leave with the warden, you could die. All of your could."

"I have heard you. You have said your part, now let this conversation stop there and we can part on happy terms. I do love you, Dad." There was pleading on Keliths face.

His father produced an iron lantern casing.

"The blacksmith brought this by in the morning. Is this about her?" He threw it onto the bed.