Dragon Blossom

Fae - The three wishes

Eri was very happy that morning. Dad had hunted a wild piglet for breakfast and had even let her use his own fire to cook the meat, something he hadn't done in a long time. Moreover, the night before, they had told her an amazing story, this time from Mom. Almost all the exciting stories were from Dad or someone she didn't know. She loved this one.

Early in the morning, they were taking care of the mounts. Peony seemed well-rested; people always felt better around her. She no longer spoke, which was strange, but Eri was sure she understood everything she said and still communicated with head gestures. That morning, for example, she was rubbing her head against Eri's affectionately. Eri gave her a sugar cube and ate another one herself without Dad seeing.

When the sun finished rising, they mounted again. In a few minutes, they were crossing the sky towards the fairy valley. Everything was much easier when you could fly.

The world was really beautiful from above, but Eri preferred to see it from the supply cart, lying in a tent and chatting with Koro. From so far away, you couldn't see the little animals or appreciate nature in the same way.

At one point along the way, Eri dismounted and used her own wings to fly closer to her parents. She stroked Mom's head, gave her a strengthening kiss, and challenged Dad to a race. When she got tired, Peony was ready to receive her. It was like another person always taking care of her, and she didn't have few of those in her life.

Dad, Mom, Mrs. Mera, silly Bestenar, Uncle Jim, Grandpa, Aunt Clessa, Koro, Mr. Pankoro, Mikorin, the gatekeeper, Mom's teacher who smelled bad, the awesome lady who was like Dad but a lady, the chubby king, Queen Eyren, all the people she liked to visit... At that moment, Eri thought about how happy she had been since that wonderful day when she came down from the mountain in Dad's arms. Her smile grew so big that she almost ate a little bug passing by.

Even so, there was something she wanted, but she could never talk about it. Some wishes were better left unsaid, and others were better forgotten. She had asked Mom once, and she had gotten sad.

A few hours later, they finally found the valley. She could even see the clearing with the pond, as if the trees were opening a path for them or indicating the place. Dad signaled that they would land right there.

The clearing looked like any other day. Eri didn't see the fairies and hoped she could hear Peony's voice again there. It had been hard, but she finally remembered that it was precisely there where she heard it for the first time, before she was born. It didn't happen; the unicorn remained silent.

"Eri, now you must return the spear to the pond," Mom said, placing a hand on her shoulder, but at that moment Peony began shaking her head very insistently.

"What's wrong, Peony?" Eri asked. "Don't you want me to return it? Should I keep it?"

The little unicorn shook her head again.

"So, are we in the wrong place?"

Another shake.

"Maybe..." Dad intervened, "we should wait. That time Eri came here at night and said she saw the fairies."

This time, Peony seemed to nod while pawing the ground with her right hoof.

The family then decided to wait until nightfall. Eri spent the day exploring the valley with her own wings while her parents talked about complicated things. She found fruits on some trees and brought them back to the clearing in several trips. She was a very strong girl, but if she took too many, they would fall.

When the sky turned the color of her strengthening fire, she hurried back before it turned the color of the flame that made her see strange things. Dad would be angry if it got dark, and she didn't return.