Fairytale •Reddie•

U N

"It's okay baby. I'm with
you and that's all that matters"
★♡★

Eddie first heard it from Stanley, one of his two only friends in the sinfully boring tree. Stan (being a fairy) could travel in and out of anything, with items in his small hands or with nothing but pure gossip. It was one of the qualities of a fairy, they do adore to pass along news. That morning Eddie had been counting the days he he had etched into the bark of the tree. 3634 white marks, 2 days until his 17th birthday, 16 days until another year.

~
Stanley fluttered in with a grimace plastered on his glowing face, his arms crossed awkwardly across his chest. Eddie's face lit up immensely as he held out his hand for Stan to land on. Stan reluctantly landed and Eddie gently placed him next to his side on the cushion, giving him enough space to size up. Yes Stan can change sizes as can all of the other fairies in Gold. Stan expanded upwards to about the size of Eddie.

Eddie grinned excitedly. "I didn't know you were coming today Stanny! Are you staying for dinner or-"

"A girl died Eddie."

Eddie's smile disintegrated. His bottom lip started to quiver. "Wh-wh- for....was she trying to-"

Stan nodded and let his curls fall into his eyes.
"The Obsidian nymphs attacked her. They tore her to shreds."

The nymphs are non human spirts that take on the forms of different things in nature. They can either be tied to the evil land or the good, never in between. Golden nymphs are tied to plants and trees, meanwhile Obsidian nymphs are tied to cliffs and dirt, they are spiteful and nasty creatures with a cruel demeanour. They are often torn away from Obsidian to be used as security guards, or in this case, obstacles in a race to free a prince.

Stan tucked his translucent pastel yellow wings behind his back and rubbed Eddie's shoulder gently. Eddie looked up at him with pain stricken eyes. "What was her name?"

"Something like...Elizabeth..Rip-Something."

Eddie gasped slapping a shaking hand over his mouth. "They killed Betty. They Killed Betty Ripsom." He stood up and took long, choppy strides. A beautiful boy with chocolate brown eyes morphed from within the tree, plopping his muscular body next to Stan.

"Have you guys heard yet?" He puffed out. The boy had a mint green tint to his pale skin and forest green streaks in his light brown wisps. He had a cherry tree leaf crown tucked over his hair, and vines wrapping all along his arms and legs. Stan looked a him with a silent warning. The strange boy understood and put his hands in his lap.

"She was my best friend until I got shipped away. We went to s-school together." Eddie wheezed in the middle of his sentence, pinching his arm to check if it was a dream. He noticed the other boy sitting crisscross next to Stan. "Oh. Ben! I'm sorry...I didn't see you." Ben gave Eddie a sweet smile.

"It's okay Eddie love, I just got here anyways." Eddie noticeably calmed. Ben always made him feel safe, like nothing was wrong. He thought of Ben as a big brother, and Ben felt the exact same. Eddie sighed sadly and walked towards Ben, Stan scooting over so Eddie could lie down next to him. Ben put his hand on Eddie's forehead, working his magic.

Ben was apart of the Golden tree nymphs. All nymphs have their own individual trees that they are connected with. When Ben was born, his mother and father both left him to go to the far side of Gold, never to visit him or see him again. He was found on the ground by a motherly villager. She raised him as her own until he was 7, and he started feeling as if he needed to be dragged somewhere.

His adoptive mother sent him off to find his tree, and told him to visit everyday. He set off, travelling for many days and many nights. When he finally reached his destination he felt whole, but he heard small sniffles from inside his abnormally large tree. That's when he and Eddie ended up bonding and teaching each other how to have relationships with other people.

Ben, being a nymph and all had discovered that he had a gift. He could calm someone with a touch of his finger. He could make everything wrong go away in seconds, or any anger harbouring in a soul evaporate.

Eddie let a few tears slip down his cheeks. He closed his eyes, trying not to see Betty's lifeless body being torn and thrown around like some sort of toy. His anger had gone, instead replaced by an undeniable exhaustion. To the other boys he seemed to have grown tired and empty. Eddie opened his eyes, looking up at his friends. "I think I'm going to get some rest. You guys must return tomorrow. I still have to get some schooling in before I shut off."

He lightly smiled and kissed their cheeks, Ben giving him a nod as he morphed back out and Stan waving off as he got smaller, eventually shooting out through a hole in the wood. Eddie sighed and shuffled to the scrolls and schoolbooks on the small bookshelf.

His father wanted him to get a Silver land education while he was in the tree, just in case he got out and something changed. Frank had gotten a full education and so had Elisabeth Ripsom's father, so they decided to put both Eddie and Betty in the same classes. Although once they both hit 7, they were on totally separate paths. One path much shorter than the other.

Eddie grabbed one of the hundreds of books off the obscenely large bookshelf, this one happening to be in biology: year 11. He settled himself into a corner and started to read. So many cells. It takes trillions and trillions of cells to make up just a fingernail on a person. Eddie wondered, if I'm just sitting here...in this tree...isn't that a waste of cells? He shook his head and folded his page, deciding that he was too tired to do schoolwork.

He slunk over next to the wooden bookshelf where the cushioned ledge was set in place. He gathered the white woollen blanket Stan had (unknown to Eddie) stolen from his old room in his old castle as a present when he was 12, and he laid down. He didn't close his eyes, not wanting the guilt of Betty's death to haunt him like a ghost in the ni-

Crack

Crack

Crack

The wooden tree was splintering. Someone had managed to make it to the tree. Oh Eddie was so delighted. He was still in his day clothes so he didn't panic about his looks, he just wanted to see his new wife. He imagined curly black hair, slim, fair skin, freckles, someone who would compliment his every feature. A girl who was kind, smart, witty, and char-

Crack

Crack

Crack

Eddie sat up, brushing off his clothes, a huge smile on his soft face. He could see through the tree, it was beginning to have an opening. Eddie's smile only brightened. Suddenly the tree's front snapped off with a loud crack. He was free! And the person looked exactly like he described.....except for one...minor detail.

Eddie's smile turned into a dropped jaw.

What the hell is a boy doing here?!?