War of the Fae

The Fairy Council

"NOOOOO!!!" I screamed as my mother disintegrated into a pile of ash. Everyone in the room stood frozen in shock.

"I'm sorry, Felicia, I didn't mean to-" Ashton began, but I cut him off.

"'SORRY' ISN'T GOING TO BRING HER BACK! HOW COULD YOU BE SO CARELESS?? YOU K-KILLED HER..." I sobbed, tears streaming down my face. He tried to hug me. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" I shouted, but he ignored me, hugging me anyways. "Letgoofmeletgoofmeletgoofme!" I tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let go. I felt trapped, like I was suffocating inside of this forced hug. "LET. GO. OF. ME!!!" I shouted, shoving him away from me and finally freeing myself. He tried to grab me again, but I wasn't going to let him. Does he not understand that I want to be as far away from him as possible right now???

I felt a cold rage build up inside of me from everything that had happened. I let out a chilling scream, sending icy daggers in every direction. Lets pretend I was thinking clearly and did that with stategic intention, but really, I just wanted away.

I darted out the broken window while everyone was distracted by not getting impaled. Then I went to my hollow and quickly took as much stuff as I could carry. I said my final goodbyes to the cute little hollow, then took a final glance at the breathtaking view before leaving. The phoenixes knew I lived there, so it was too dangerous to stay. They would probably try to recapture me. Besides, I need to take care of my sister. Cheryl is only 13 moons old, even though she looks younger and acts older. She must have a guardian until she is 18, when she can live on her own. While I don't always feel like it, I'm technically 19, so I can take care of her.

I went back to my childhood home. Cheryl was sitting inside embroidering a skirt. When she saw me, she set it aside, next to a matching top. Not saying anything, she got up and walked over to me, wrapping her small arms around me. She touched the cuts on my side and I flinched. She saw the blood and gasped. She didn't say anything, but immediately began healing me. She soon finished. I was too weak to heal myself earlier, and it wasn't particularly high on my list of priorities, but I feel better now. Besides, Cheryl is a much better healer than I am.

"I was worried about you," she finally said. I didn't say anything; I just hugged her.

"Where's... Mother?" she asked hesitantly.

"Cheryl..." I began. Tears rolled down my cheeks. "It was the phoenixes... She's n-not coming b-b-back."

She understood what I was trying to say, and began to cry, too. We spent the rest of the day curled up in each other's arms and crying into each other's shoulders, mourning our loss.

The next morning, I got up to the smell of pancakes. Cheryl had gotten up before me and was making breakfast. We ate in an understanding silence, then I left to go report Mother's death to the rest of the Fairy Council. I went to the Great Hall of Heavens, where the Fairy Council was held. They aren't there all the time, but I was lucky enough to arrive while they were in session. I formally requested an audience, specifying the matter was urgent. They immediately accepted, so I entered the Great Hall of Heavens. The five master's thrones circled the room.

Why is it called a hall if it's a room? Fairy architecture doesn't even include halls. We mostly just have circular rooms, stacked on top of each other if there are multiple rooms in a hollow. I suppose the Great Hall of Heavens sounds better than the Great Room of Heavens...

"Ahem," Lady Cornelia, the Fire Master, interrupted my thoughts.

"Sorry-er I mean, my apologies, my Lady..." I said, remembering to be formal.

Lord Byron, the Light Master gave me a friendly smile and said, "Please state your business."

I opened my mouth to speak when I was again interrupted by Lady Cornelia.