Trapped in the Featherlands

Awakened Back Home

Lilly stirred awake to a familiar cloud of softness beneath her. The scent of the air warmed her senses. Her eyes fluttered open. Around her, homey walls held up posters and decorations of her own design. The bed sheets surrounding her were hers. The soft fibers grazed her skin in a way unmistakable. Her pillow smelt of home and serenity. Sunlight basked in from behind her window, blinds lifted as she had always preferred. Lilly rubbed her eyes and pushed herself up off of her bed.

The girl threw a shroud of blankets off of her. Her clothes were the same lavender pajama set with which she had initially gone to bed. Lilly swung her feet over the edge. The carpet pressed against her soles and between her toes was her own. It was still, and while Lilly recoiled slightly in a ticklish squeak, her carpet made no attempt to tickle her. She looked around the room. The furniture was all in the same place. Her closet still held all over her clothes. The door was shut amidst academic accolades hanging on the wall around it. The familiarity crept slowly back to her as she adjusted from having been gone for so long.

Before she could stand, there came a knock at her door. Upon standing to answer it, she glanced down at the nightstand next to her bed. The only thing she knew was not there before sat atop the table. It was the crystallized flower, Erica's birth bloom, shimmering back at her in the pouring sunlight. Lilly paused and retrieved the flower. Images as fuzzy as dreams came back to her as real memories. She pictured the magical realm of tickling and its sinister counterpart. She imagined all the smiling faces of the people she helped save. One face came back to her more vividly and joyfully than any other. With the flower in hand, Lilly thought back to Erica, the fairy that had saved her life and stolen her heart. Lilly smiled as she walked the flower over to the door.

On the other side, Silvia stood in her pajamas and messy hair. She looked back at Lilly with wide eyed mystery. Lilly was sure she was giving the same expression. Before one could speak, Silvia glanced down to the flower in Lilly's hand. Her smile stretched so big that it contorted her face into one of teary jubiance. Silvia dove into Lilly with stretched arms. Lilly fell to her knees and hugged her sister back.

"We did it," said Lilly. "You're home." Silvia clung her tiny fists to her Lilly's pajama top as she sobbed into her shoulder. Lilly remained on the floor, holding her sister for as long as she needed.

When Silvia pulled away, a permanent smile rested across her face. She wiped her runny nose and eyes. Lilly smiled back at her. "You're safe," Lilly said.

"Th... thank you," said Silvia.

"I just... I can't believe all that was real," said Lilly. "Wow..."

The sunlight began to dance with shadows across Lilly's bedroom wall. The girls looked to the window to see several figures floating by from outside. The shadows danced by, streaking across her walls quicker and in bigger numbers as their seconds passed in awe. Lilly walked up to the window. She looked out and turned back toward Silvia with a wide smile. "Come on," Lilly said, grabbing Silvia's hand.

The girls rushed down the stairs they had so many times before. Lilly brought Silvia up to the front door and flung it open. The two stepped outside slowly to stare up at the sky. Floating across a breeze high above them, feathers by the thousands flew through the air. Clean, white plumes danced around one another as they rode upon a toying wind. Thousands of feathers poured through the sky from across the tree top horizon of their neighborhood. Lilly and Silvia stood slack jawed, hand in hand, staring up at the display. Quills painted the air like dandelion seeds coursing a breeze. Some shined with color, pinks and yellows, while most glowed a bright white. One feather fluttered down and kissed Lilly on the tip of her nose. The girls laughed. Lilly took the stem in between her fingers and blew the feather free, free to join her sisters in the sky beyond.

"We did it," Silvia muttered. Lilly clenched the crystal flower in her hand, holding it up against her heart. The two sisters stood in their front yard, watching the parade of feathers sing their praises to the proud queen and warrior.

"We really did."

~~~~~

The End.

*A/N: First off, I just wanted to say thank you to all that have read through this story of mine. Writing this was such a growing experience for me. I have loved exploring these characters and hearing all of your feedback. It really helps me keep going and makes me feel good knowing that I have so many wonderful people supporting me through my passion for writing. This was one of the first stories I started years ago, long before I even uploaded the first part to DA. Going back, it's not hard to see the differences in style and direction from how it began. A lot of this is contributed to how long it actually took me to get through, but I see it as a process of me growing as a writer. I could go back and fix all the problems I have with the original chapters, but instead I'm going to leave it as it is as a way of showing you, and myself, how much I have learned and grown. I'm not always 100% satisfied with my final outcomes, including this story as a whole, but growing is about accepting the mistakes of your past to learn from rather than to spend so much time rewriting them and living in them. This was an incredible journey for me. Thank you so much for taking it with me. I have so much planned for more stories that I hope to share with all of you.

Thank you so much again! I really hope you've enjoyed this adventure with Lilly, Silvia, Erica, and Paul as I put them to rest...

... for now.*