Love Knows No Limits

Chapter Two

And so the couple perched on a boulder near the lake, swinging their legs back and forth and gazing at each other as if their presence was surreal. Lavender rested her head of white hair on Everett's shoulder and entangled her fingers with his. They sighed blissfully, staring up at the sun which barely peeked over the horizon. Here was their only place free from harm, free from war, free from judgement; here they were free. Everyone was too caught up in war to see the awful need for liberation from the lack of equality in Japonica. Laws and government bound the citizens with rope and sealed them off with a ball and chain dangling from their ankles. All the occupants were reprimanded because of unreasonable coveting from an assemblage of people.

"Can I just say, I apologize on behalf of my species," Everett said after a lingering minute of silence.

"It's okay, it isn't your fault, or even your species fault. It's just the few that sparked it," Lavender reassured. She placed a slender hand on his arm. "Few" was an understatement. Thousands had gathered in the scientist's mob in egotistical desire of the fairies' magic. However, the fairies were clearly unmoving from their position. Three years of intense war had raged on and they hadn't budged, although their species' economy was awfully wounded from the fighting. Wounds weren't a problem because many of the fairies were capable of performing healing rituals, and death wasn't an issue for obvious reasons. But the humans weren't as lucky- their technology could only get them so far. "Let's just enjoy our time here and pretend this horrible war isn't happening."

"Agreed," Everett whispered, stroking Lavender's frizzies down. Their correspondence over the past few months was only through letters, one about every three weeks. The two just sat wrapped around each other tenderly, staring down at the glimmer of the pond and occasionally muttering a little "I love you." Their plan allowed them to spend the entire day together like they used to. For one day they could pretend things were normal.

"I'm famished," Lavender murmured. "What food did you pack?" she asked, pointing to the basket he brought along.

"All of your favorites. Of course, they're all vegan just for you, honey-pie. Let me see here..." he said digging through. "We got blueberry pancakes and OJ for breakfast, the classic sandwich for lunch, and a hearty pot pie for supper."

Lavender smiled. "Sounds delish," she said, sticking her hand in to grab the container with the pancakes and a fork. She poured out her orange juice and neatly sliced up her meal, eating with pleasant etiquette while still grinning up at her beau. He ate his meal as messily as you'd expect any sixteen year old human boy would. They small talked about current events and family life until breakfast had finished. Lavender suggested they go for a dip in the pond, since she had packed bathing suits for both of them in preparation. They slipped into the chilled water and rested their elbows on the rocks lined around the border. Their legs bobbed up and down softly and made ripples as they kicked a bit. Lavender waded towards Everett happily, and floated beside his lap.

"Well hello there," he said with a playful smirk. She smiled back at him and inquired how his life had been.

"Hmm... Pretty boring without you, to be honest. Half of my friends have gone off to fight, and the other half is too busy to ever talk anymore. It's sort of depressing," he admitted. "What about you?"

"Um, Mom went off to work as a healer for the army. Dad is mostly at work all the time, as usual. Everything's so expensive- this dress is like, three years old," she stated, glancing down at her tattered attire.

"You still look beautiful," Everett whispered as he sweetly kissed her temple. She laughed a bit and grabbed a steady hold of his hands.

"Ready?" She asked. Before he had the chance to answer, thin silver-lined wings spurted out of Lavender's back. The wings didn't tear through the dress as they should've; the fairies were intelligent enough to enchant their clothing. Lavender levitated up from the pond, keeping a tight grip on Everett. She took to the air with a soft giggle, kicking her petite frame into the sky with a simple flutter of her wings. Everett stared down at the tips of the evergreens, now miniature, with terror and tried not to fidget in his girlfriend's arms. The two became one with the birds, swiftly ripping through the fluff of the clouds and circling the perimeters of the Safe Zone. Sadly, they couldn't travel onward through the like they used to, because of the constant danger of getting shot down or caught. But it was satisfactory to just feel the wind lick their cheeks and to venture into the pastel blues. It was an indescribable feeling, to defy the forces of gravity and float above land. It was amazing.

Then, suddenly, the two halted in midair as a flying silhouette zoomed in towards them.