‘Now are you sure you three have everything?’ Sith asked, fussing over the three children.

  It was late in the morning on Sunday, almost noon. Vivian, Aiden and Felix were standing in front of the cottage, waiting anxiously for their fairy guide to arrive, clutching the straps of their rucksacks as they glanced at the sun above, noting its movement across the sky. It’d been decided to change the location of their meeting from the bookshop to the edge of the woods so as to make it easier for him, and yet Irie was still fashionably late. So Sith had taken the extra time to fuss over them, going over a checklist in her head over and over again as she peered into their bags to make sure they had everything they needed.

  Vivian clasped the beastman’s hands in her own before she could perform another round of checking, forcing her eyes to focus on her. ‘Sith, for the last time, yes we have everything.’

  ‘Leave them alone, Sith.’ Peri let out a wide yawn from where he was seated on the front steps of the cottage. ‘You’re going to make them nervous with all that fretting.’

  ‘I’m surprised you actually woke up to see us off.’ Felix grinned. ‘You’re coming around to us, aren’t you, you big softie?’

  Peri glared at him before a mischievous look entered his eyes. ‘Sith, you should check to see if they have taken any bandages or medicines, just in case. You never know what could happen.’

  ‘Oh, that’s right.’ Sith tugged at Aiden’s bag while the boy shot an angry look at Felix, who in turn shot a betrayed look at Peri. ‘Open it up, let me see.’

  While Sith checked the contents of their bags for the umpteenth time, Peri let out a short, sharp whistle, like one does when calling a dog. ‘Vivian, come here for a moment.’

  ‘I’m not a dog,’ Vivian grumbled, as she let Sith take her bag from her as well and stepped towards Peri.

  ‘No, but you’re my dogsbody, and that’s close enough.’ Peri reached behind him and pulled out a dagger, the same dagger he had given to her right before she was captured by the Sentinels.

  ‘I thought I lost that,’ Vivian said.

  ‘And I found it during the chaos of your escape.’ He held out the handle towards her for her to take. ‘Do try to keep a good grip on it this time. I hope you won’t have reason to use it, but one can never be too careful.’

  Vivian carefully tucked the dagger into her belt. ‘And here I thought you didn’t care,’ she gave him a teasing smile. ‘Felix was right, you are becoming a big, old softie.’

  ‘Well, you are officially my ward. If something happened to you, do you know how much paperwork I would have to do? Not mention the interrogation and investigation I would have to suffer from the Council. So, keep yourself safe out there, for my sake.’

  ‘How nice,’ she said dryly. ‘I don’t think I’ll have a reason to use it. I do have the entire woods on my side. Do you really think I could get into trouble?’

  ‘Knowing you, I’m sure you’ll find a way.’ Peri leaned back on his elbows. ‘After all, you did blow up the lake on your second day here.’

  ‘Why does everyone think that that was – You know what, never mind.’

  Peri snorted. ‘Take care of yourself... and keep an eye on that Felix. Boy’s more trouble than you. In fact-’

  ‘I heard my name,’ Felix interrupted, popping up out of nowhere. ‘What are you two talking about?’

  ‘Nothing!’ Peri said hurriedly.

  ‘He was just telling me to keep an eye on you.’ Vivian gave Peri a cheeky smile. ‘Make sure you were safe.’

  ‘I don’t remember saying that last part.’

  ‘I’m... what’s that word, I just read it yesterday... ah yes, paraphrasing.’

  ‘You should know, I liked you better when you were dumb.’

  Felix had put a hand on his heart, a look of absolute joy on his face. ‘You were worried about me. That is so sweet. I always knew we had a special connection, you and me.’

  Peri glared at him and then at Vivian. He stood up with a huff and stalked off towards Sith, who was currently fussing over an exasperated Aiden. Vivian and Felix followed close behind, grinning like maniacs, leaning in as Peri spoke to Aiden.

  ‘If you somehow manage to lose those two in the woods,’ Peri rubbed his fingers together. ‘I’ll make it worth your while.’

  Aiden raised a questioning eyebrow. ‘You do know that Vivian is our sole guide in there, and if she’s not making it out, neither are we.’

  ‘A loss I’m willing to bear.’

  ‘He also has more money than you,’ Vivian pointed out unhelpfully.

  ‘And he’s bit of a stickler for the rules,’ Felix added. ‘A real knight-in-shining-armour character.’

  Aiden stared at them in annoyance for a moment, before turning to Peri. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

  Peri ruffled his hair in fondness. ‘Good lad,’ he said ignoring the sounds of protest from the other two.

  Aiden was still combing his fingers through his hair to revert the damage Peri had caused, when a ball of green light came meandering out of the woods, making its way towards them. The light dimmed as it approached, revealing a yawning Irie, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes and looking like he just rolled out of bed.

  ‘Good morning,’ he greeted as he hovered in front of him, his six-inch frame slumped over and suspended only by his wings.

  ‘Morning?’ Vivian held out her cupped hands so that Irie could plonk down into them. ‘It’s almost afternoon. You’re unfashionably late.’

  ‘We’ve been waiting for more than two hours.’ Aiden crossed his arms. ‘Where were you?’

  ‘In bed. Asleep,’ Irie replied unabashedly. ‘It’s my one day off. I deserve some extra shut eye.’

  Peri nodded in understanding. ‘I can respect that.’

  ‘Not when he told us to be ready by morning.’ Vivian let out a loud sigh. ‘Fine, leave it. We should get going now or we’ll lose even more daylight.’

  ‘Right-o then. You have the bribe?’ When Vivian patted her bag in confirmation, Irie stood up in her hands and pointed towards the woods, like a captain at the prow of his ship. ‘Then follow me to the Grove.’

  ‘We’ll be back before dark,’ Vivian said, giving Sith’s hand a final squeeze before stepping away, followed by the other two.

  ‘Don’t you worry Peri,’ Felix called out as they moved further away. ‘I’ll make sure to come back safe and sound!’

  ‘Oh joy,’ Peri mumbled under his breath.

  Aiden grabbed Felix by his collar and pulled him forward. ‘At the rate you’re needling that man, you are going to get us cursed.’

  Vivian called out a greeting to Loher as they passed by him who rustled his leaves in offence.

  It’s Loherangrin! Loherangrin Glendale the third, son of Hoel Glendale, Late Count of Mergrand, you imbecile!

  The three of them moved deeper into the woods until both Sith and Peri disappeared from view. Now they were surrounded by tall druscans on all sides, roots creaking and branches swaying as they followed Irie to the fairy village.

  ………

  ‘Quaint,’ Aiden commented as they stood at the entrance of the Grove. ‘Bigger than I imagined.’

  The Grove was hidden deep inside the Druscan woods, overshadowed by the cliffs that rose up around the clearing it was nestled in. It was packed with small grassy, earth mounds that came up to their hips, with doors at the top of the mound through which fairies flitted in and out. In the centre of the Grove was a large tree with white gossamer threads handing from its branches, a tree species that Vivian had never seen before. It seemed to function as the central gathering space for the village, similar to the village square back in Andam. Streets snaked their way through the village towards the centre, small ones that forced the three of them to slowly and carefully walk in a single file down them, checking before they made every step so as to not crush anything underfoot by accident.

  The group shuffled past the earth mounds towards the tree where most off the fairies had gathered, who were watching them as they moved through the village. Vivian gladly stepped off the street and into the village centre, happy to have made it without breaking anything. On a raised dais in front of the tree sat a wrinkled, old fairy, his wings drooping around him, having lost their strength and lustre with age. It seemed rude to tower over them so Vivian knelt down so as to bring herself closer to them. Aiden and Felix hesitated for a moment before following suit.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  Irie jumped out of her hands and flitted towards the dais. ‘Elder Dairin, these are the children me and Vyn were telling you about. That’s Felix and Aiden.’ Irie pointed them out as he introduced them. ‘Oh, and this is Vivian, the girl who can talk to the druscans.’

  ‘Yes, I figured that out from context, Irie.’ Elder Dairin’s voice was coarse with age, and yet held a sharpness in it that time wouldn’t be able to dull. ‘It’s not every day a human comes along who can speak to druscans. At least I hope not.’

  ‘Elder Dairin, it’s a pleasure to meet you,’ Felix said, bowing his head slightly in greeting. ‘My partners and I wish to thank you for allowing us to do this. I’m sure that this will be a profitable venture for all of us.’

  Elder Dairin snorted. ‘Profitable, my foot! This whole thing is nonsense. We fairies are creatures of the wild.’ He puffed out his chest with pride. ‘Nature provides us with everything we need. What would we even do with money?’

  ‘What about those creams puffs you like?’ Irie asked. ‘Nature can’t provide that. Only Lynn’s Bakery can.’

  Elder Dairin turned red and spluttered. ‘I-I do not-’

  ‘Sure, you do,’ Irie’s voice had a teasing lilt to it. ‘I’ve seen the gleam in your eyes whenever Vyn brings one back for you.’

  Elder Dairin looked absolutely cross now, his face red with anger. ‘That is not- I do not enjoy eating the food of shapers.’

  Irie simply smirked and gestured at Vivian. ‘Is that so? And here we went and bought you some cream puffs, hoping you would accept it as a gift.’

  Vivian pulled out the cream puffs wrapped in paper that they had purchased that morning out of her bag. The smell of freshly baked bread and sweet cream filled the air. The Elder’s wings twitched reflexively as if they had a mind of their own and was trying to get his mouth as close to it as possible. Still a bit red in the face Elder Dairin cleared his throat.

  ‘Very well, you may show them to the Changing grounds.’ He said, mustering as much authority in his voice as he could before adding in a whisper to Vivian, ‘Leave the puffs.’

  Stifling a giggle, Vivian placed the paper bag that was almost as tall as Elder Dairin next to the fairy on the dais. He tried to look nonchalant as he peered into the bag, an act that was fooling no one as several fairies around them snorted in laughter before quickly hiding their mirth behinds coughs and clearing throats. Irie, however, made no attempt to hide it and simply barked out a laugh, his mirth growing even more when the Elder turned to glare at him.

  Vivian bent down and prodded Irie in the back. ‘Um, Irie. How about we leave now? Before he changes his mind…’

  Irie wiped a tear from his eye. ‘Alright, alright let’s go. I tell you; it was worth waking up in the morning just to see this.’

  The three of them with Irie flitting ahead, shuffled their way out of the city, heading west. It only took a few minutes of wading through undergrowth before they reached the mouth of a cave in the cliffside. Into the cave they went, following Irie’s glowing green form through the darkness as he led them forward. The sound of trickling water reached their ears as they ventured deeper and the smell of moss hung in the air as it covered the rocks below them, causing them to slip and slide as they walked. Finally, a hint of light broke through the darkness. Up ahead the narrow passage opened up into a wide cavern. An opening in the roof let sunlight into the cave, shining down on moss covered rocks and a glittering stream that snaked its way through the cavern. Several trees had managed to take root amongst the rocks, their thin branches reaching up towards the sun. These trees were draped with thin, white threads, handing off the branches like broken spiderwebs. The fairy silk.

  ‘Here we are, the Changing grounds.’ Irie settled himself on boulder in the centre of the cavern and let out a wide yawn. ‘Do what you came to do and wake me up when you’re done.’

  Without wasting another moment, he lay down. After a count of five, he was already asleep.

  ‘No way.’ Vivian waved her hand in front of him. ‘That’s amazing. He’s already asleep.’

  Aiden leaned forward to peer at the fairy as well. ‘How did he do that? I can never fall asleep that quickly.’

  Felix rubbed his hands together, a look of glee on his face. ‘So, we finally made it here. Shall we get started.’

  Vivian nodded. ‘Right, who has the spools?’

  The three of them got to work, carefully unwinding the silk from the branches and winding it around the spool. It was delicate work, as the threads were quite fragile and could snap easily, as demonstrated by both Aiden and Felix simultaneously.

  ‘You two… are really clumsy, aren’t you?’ Vivian wound the end of an unbroken thread around her spool and set it aside in a basket.

  ‘This is harder than it looks,’ Aiden grumbled, his fingers snapping another thread. He groaned loudly. ‘Are we done yet?’

  ‘Not yet, but why don’t you take a break,’ Vivian suggested, smoothly winding the threads around her spool without even looking. ‘I don’t think we can afford any more of your help.’

  Felix snorted, the action causing him to snap the thread in his hands. All three of them stared at the broken string in his hand, a silent message clearly being passed between them.

  Felix cleared his throat and stood up. ‘I think I’ll take a break as well.’

  The two boys wandered off, exploring the cavern, while Vivian worked quickly in spinning the threads onto the spools. It went a lot faster now that she didn’t have to keep one eye on Felix and Aiden.

  ‘Look,’ Aiden called out from one end of the cavern. ‘There’s a tunnel that leads out from here.’ He peered into the darkness of the tunnel. ‘I think it branches out further down.’

  ‘There are others here as well,’ Felix added from the other side of the cavern. ‘I think it might be an entire underground network.’ A glint of dangerous curiosity entered his eyes. ‘I wonder if the fairies have explored it. Perhaps we could take a look…’

  ‘No, we can’t. We’ll only end up getting lost.’ Vivian set the last spool into the basket and closed it. She stood up and dusted off her clothes. ‘I’m done. Let’s go.’

  ‘Aren’t you even the least bit curious as to where these tunnels lead?’ Felix asked.

  Vivian pointed at the basket of fairy silk dangling from her arms. ‘The only thing I’m curious about is how much this basket is worth now. Besides, I’m sure Aiden doesn’t want to go, so it’s two against one. Right, Aiden?’

  Aiden looked back into the tunnel, avoiding eye contact, the same dangerous curiosity gleaming in his eyes as well. ‘I’m sure a small peek wouldn’t hurt.’

  ‘Really?!’ Vivian exclaimed. ‘You decide now of all times to not be an introvert.’

  ‘I am not an introvert,’ Aiden said sternly. ‘I am simply particular about the company I keep.’

  Felix snorted. He gestured at himself and Vivian ‘And the two of us made the cut? I know I’m offending myself here, but you’ve set the bar very low.’

  ‘What are you doing?’ Aiden asked, genuine confusion showing on his face. ‘I’m trying to be on your side here and you’re making it very difficult to do so.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter what side you’re on,’ Vivian said. ‘We. Are. Not. Going.’

  ‘Isn’t it your responsibility to document the woods?’ Felix countered. ‘These tunnels are part of it, so technically, exploring them is part of your job.’

  ‘As much as I hate to admit that he’s right, he’s got a point.’ Aiden shrugged. ‘We’ll have to explore and document them at some point, so why not right now?’

  Vivian sighed. She was outnumbered. She really had no desire whatsoever to go looking for trouble, and here these two were dragging her into it. If anything happened, it would be her fault, since she was the one who brought them here. Moreover, since they were in the Druscan woods she couldn’t just leave on her own either, as she was the only one who could lead them out.

  ‘Fine,’ she relented. ‘Five minutes, and then I’m leaving whether you’re coming with me or not.’

  ‘Yes!’ Felix rejoiced. ‘You won’t regret it.’

  ‘I’m sure I will.’

  Aiden pointed to the tunnel closest to them. ‘Let’s try this one. The stream flows out this way, so we can follow it back.’

  Vivian placed her basket next to the sleeping Irie. ‘Shouldn’t we tell Irie before we leave?’

  ‘Let’s not,’ Felix pushed her forward towards the mouth of the tunnel. ‘What if he says no?’

  ‘Sounds like a good reason to tell him,’ Vivian mumbled, but stepped forward anyway, entering the tunnel.

  Aiden and Felix pulled out torches from their bag and with a few strikes of their flint they got them burning, letting light wash over the moss-covered walls of the tunnel. Slowly the three of them moved deeper into the tunnel, occasionally slipping on the rocks below. The air got colder and damper as they moved further in. The tunnel narrowed and widened as they moved through it, sometimes becoming so narrow that they had shuffle sideways to pass through. Vivian kept checking to see if they were still following the stream, which had grown wider as they forged ahead.

  The stream beside them had widened to the size of a river, the waters flowing deep and fast, the sound echoing through the tunnel which was once again widening. The tunnel opened up and they found themselves in another cavern, similar to but larger than the Changing grounds. Despite the sunlight streaming in through the ceiling, it was barren, with no signs of life. Something niggled at the back of Vivian’s mind, something her brain was failing to pick up on, but her instincts noticed.

  ‘This place is creepy.’ Vivian rubbed her hands on her arms as a sudden chill shot up her spine, even though there was no breeze blowing through the cavern. ‘Can we go now?’

  Aiden and Felix didn’t seem to hear her as they stepped further into the cavern, their torches held up high to examine the space. Felix placed a hand on the wall and rubbed the surface with his palm.

  ‘I think some parts of this cavern are man-made.’ Felix held up the torch to closely examine the walls. ‘See how these surfaces are so straight, like it had been chipped away with a pickaxe.’

  Aiden leaned to examine them as well. ‘Also, there’s no moss growing on it,’ he added. ‘Which means it was made recently.’

  A compressing silence descended on them as the implications of that observation sunk in. It was in that silence that Vivian’s brain caught up with her instincts, that she finally realized what was off about the place.

  ‘Can either of you hear the river flowing anymore?’

  Three heads swivelled around trying to locate the river they had followed all the way here. They scurried over to where the tunnel opened into the cavern. Just a little ways away from the entrance, the river’s flow had been stopped with a dam made with large boulders and branches tied together with wild vines and ropes. The water had stagnated in a pool about ten feet wide with large wooden pipes draining the excess water. The pipes snaked their way across the rocky floor, disappearing into the darkness.

  ‘A dam and pipes? Who would build a dam down here?’ Felix asked no one in particular, voicing out loud what they were all thinking.

  ‘I think the more concerning question is why?’ Aiden corrected. ‘Why would someone be living in an underground cavern in the Druscan woods?’

  ‘And how did they even get here in the first place?’ Vivian shuffled nervously, her skin breaking out in goosebumps. ‘I thought I was the only one who could walk through these woods.’

  A lot of questions with no answers, but one thing Vivian was sure about was that it was no longer safe to stay there. In fact, they should’ve never come here in the first place.

  ‘We should leave. Now,’ Vivian stressed, already edging backwards. ‘If there’s some stranger creeping around in these tunnels, I really don’t want to run into them.’

  ‘I agree,’ Aiden said. Felix and Aiden’s earlier curiosity had faded into caution as they too started stepping back the way they came. ‘We shouldn’t be here.’

  The three of them had just turned around to enter the tunnel once more, when they heard it. It was a single sound in the darkness, but there was no mistaking it. It was the sound of a shoe scuffing against the rock as someone slipped on the moss-covered floor.

  ‘Please tell me that was one of you,’ Vivian pleaded. Aiden and Felix shook their heads in response.

  They weren’t alone.

  ‘RUN!’ Felix yelled, just as a hand shot out of the darkness, grabbed his collar and tossed him onto the floor. The torch in his hand went flying, rolling a couple of times before coming to a stop. The flames flickered for a moment before burning brighter, the light washing over the cavern floor, revealing a looming figure glaring at them with a sword held in their hand. Their intent was clear.

  They weren’t leaving this cavern alive.