Identity (Editing)

Chapter 1

Footsteps, the crunching of fallen leaves nearly decayed from the length of time that had passed. The sounds filling the woodland were mine own as I trekked through the forest, seemingly unnerved by the identical looking trees. This forest was supposed to be a maze, impassable for the majority of those who dared to enter without specific invitation. My reasoning was founded, though, the letter clenched in my right fist signifying my belonging in such a protected and magical place. Creatures of all essences came from all over the world for a chance like this, a chance that had been so graciously given to me...

"One day?! That's all you have left!" The man standing before me exclaimed, thrusting a tensed hand through his already disheveled, dark brown hair. I nodded, frowning softly at his reaction.

"I know it's sudden, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime!" He held out his hand, cutting me off in a crude motion.

"Let me see the paper." His warm amber eyes met mine before averting to the small stack of papers tucked between my arm and side.

"But I-"

"Kylee..."

"Fine..." I let out a frustrated huff and dropped the letter into his hand. The paper was yellowed and had clearly aged a significant amount and yet not a single word had been smudged, the calligraphic writing seeming almost timeless in comparison. His expression remained masked as he skimmed over the pages, but the frown became increasingly noticeable with each paragraph. After what seemed like hours had passed, he looked up from the paper with a sigh. It was clear the man was stressed, wrinkles of tension prevalent on his normally flawless complexion.

"Andalo." I called out to him but he ignored me, clenching the edges of the letter as if ripping the pages in half would alleviate the pain of his mixed emotions. It wasn't as if I couldn't understand where he was coming from. I had been a part of this clan for years now and had come to see the majority of them as my family, especially Andalo.

"I can't stop you from going." He spoke slowly, filtering through the words as if concerned that he would upset me. From my perspective, I feared the reverse.

"It's the opportunity of a life time. I can train, grow stronger, and learn who I am." I paused at the last bit, seeing an expression of pain flicker across his features. My origin had always been a tender topic to discuss. All we knew was that I was found wandering through the forest as a child. After permission was granted by the queen, the clan prepared to take me in until they learned something or information came around about my family. After about a year of no news, the clan gave up searching and began to raise me as one of their own, convinced that my old family had either forgotten about me or believed I had perished. Still, though, I constantly dreamed of who I had been, what kind of family I had... And what happened to us. Since there was nothing to point me in the right direction, my mind just wandered through different possibilities. It was amazing how my imagination could run rampant without any logical constraints as if there was no limit to the possible extravagancies of my old life. However, despite the childish dreams, I knew that my old life wasn't special. The fantasies felt exactly like what they were, fake.

The weight of papers pressing into my hands snapped my attention back to the present and I looked up at Andalo wearily, trying to see through his masked emotions. He turned away, and I instantly felt the guilt welling up in my chest. He was closing himself off and I hadn't even left yet.

"Ohhh, Kylee what's that?" A small voice squeaked out and I looked down to see a small fairy trying to land on my hand. Her foot slipped and she dug her tiny fingers into my skin, feet kicking in the air and wings fluttering desperately as she tried not to fall. Stifling a laugh, I turned my wrist so that she was lying on the back of my hand. The fairy let out a huff and stood, smoothing down the ends of her dress and trying to act like nothing happened. I laughed and the small temper tantrum that ensued after only lasted a few seconds before she was once again distracted by the papers in my hand.