Downfall

Chapter One

The stars, glowing like fireflies over a lake, were shining in the midnight sky. Small clouds were thinly spread through the sky, passing over the moon very lightly. Not a single light was lit; the whole of Clifftop Village was in complete darkness; except for the fireflies, which lit up the area. The old, wooden houses were silent, as they were either empty, all the fay villagers out waiting for the meteor shower, or all the inhabitants were asleep. A peaceful calm had settled over the whole village. The mud paths had empty carts on them, having been emptied earlier in the day.

Very few of the elven had remained awake to watch the stars, and so the streets were mostly empty. A few young faeries were up on their balconies or staring out their old, dirty windows. Most of the houses were old; so old that some were no longer inhabitable, so people spent a lot of their time outside, and in the forests.

That night, the forest was in complete darkness. Most people didn't dare to venture in, in fear of being lost, since it was dark, and there were many stories of young faeries who had ventured into the forest, and had not been seen since.

One young Pixie had gone against the beliefs of everyone else. She had practically grown up in the forest. She could navigate her way around Clifftop Forest with her eyes closed, and she would have no trouble. Being in the forest itself was not of much use if one was searching for the stars, but the pixie, Fyra, knew of a beautiful clearing, near the edge of a cliff, with a view of an enchanting lake so clear that it reflected the stars, and a really old, but really strong and beautiful Oak tree. Fyra claimed it as her tree, as it was her favourite place to be, and nobody else really knew about her clearing, nor her tree.

She watched the stars, fiddling with the hem of her long sleeved navy dress, waiting for the shower to start. She was determined to keep watching for the meteors; they were theoretically a very big event. They passed by only once every 100 years, on the same day, and Fyra was hoping to be lucky enough to watch it. Her bright emerald eyes shone as she looked up at the stars.

Smiling, she thought about how important that clearing was to her. She had found it by herself, but she had heard her aunt talk about it in the stories that she was told. She was only a child when her parents had died, so she never really knew them, but from what she was told, they really loved each other, and the clearing where she was sat was the place her parents met, and it was their spot, until they died.

Staring out from under the old oak tree, her pale white blonde hair blew behind her as the wind brushed across her face. The autumn leaves were falling occasionally, resting on the ground around her. A small rabbit scampered past, its ears pricking up as it hears a sound, its nose twitching as it searches its surroundings. When it reached Fyra, it kept its distance before scampering away in the other direction. A small screech owl flew overhead, before landing on a nearby branch. It looked around, searching for prey, before flying off, as it heard the sound of soft footsteps crunching on the fallen leaves, heading towards the tree where the grey owl was perched; where Fyra sat, gazing up at the stars.

Fyra looked down from the inky blue sky, and her emerald eyes lit up and she smiled up at the Elven boy before her. In the dark, his regularly cobalt eyes looked darker than usual, and his scruffy brown hair appeared to be almost black. He returned her smile sitting down next to her.

"Hey, Fyra."

"Eric... Glad you could come." Fyra rested her head on his shoulder, looking out over the cliff.

"I wouldn't miss hanging out with you for the world."

She looked out to the stars with a giddy smile on her face, oblivious to the fact that he was looking at her. He kept looking at her and when she finally noticed his intense stare, she had to hold back a blush.