Fairy-Born -Chapter One

It was a dark night in Fay Wood. Owls hooted, and lizards crept along the rocks, and the fallen branches. The moon was full, so it lent a bright white glow which shone through the wood. This light illuminated a slight figure, dressed all in black, hurrying through the trees.

The figure slipped between the trees fluidly, but quickly. They wore a long, black cloak, with a hood which was pulled up, concealing the face, and a pair of small, black ballet pumps upon her slender feet.

Just then, a quick gust of wind blew through the wood, and the hood of the cloak fell back, revealing the figure's face - it was a young woman, of only about nineteen or twenty. Her long, blonde hair looked silver in the moonlight, and it tumbled down her shoulders, cascading onto the small bundle which she held in her arms. Her eyes were wide with fear, and her hands shook.

She glanced about her, nervous as a bat, and seeing no-one, she continued, hurrying through the trees. Every little sound made her jump with anxiousness - the hoot of an owl, the slurp of a lizard's tongue, even the cracking of a branch which seemed like the bang of a drum in the silence.

Finally she reached her destination - a circle of willow trees surrounding a small grove in which there lay a small pond. The pond was full of clear water and smooth pebbles, which covered the bottom of the pond. The young woman crept out of the trees, and looked around her in wonder. There was flowers of every type, not a single leaf on the ground, and the trees were in a perfect circle.

The woman lay the bundle down on the ground gently, and pulled the top of the blanket back for one last look. It was a baby, of only two days old. The baby already had a tuft of blond hair sticking up from its head. It was sleeping soundly, and the young woman's heart filled with regret, but she knew she had to leave the baby here. She bent down, and kissed the child lightly on the forehead, then whispered, "I am your mother, Thelma McKee. I love you." With that, she stood up, and following one last sad look at the baby, Thelma ran off into the wood, leaving the child lying on the ground beside the pond.

Just a few minutes after Thelma had left, the baby awoke. When it couldn't find anyone, it began to cry. The cry carried all the way through the grove, through the trees, and it eventually reached someone's ears.

Titania was the queen of all the fairies, along with her husband Oberon, who was the king of all the fairies. They lay in their willow tree bed, side by side, and both were sleeping. Suddenly, Titania began to dream of a small child reaching out to her from beside their enchanted pond. She awoke with a start, and quickly gained her bearings.

The dream was so real! "Oberon? Are you awake my love? You should have seen the dream I have just had! It was so vivid.... so real..... but it couldn't be real, because we have no child." Titania spoke out loud, trying to make sense of her dream.

To calm herself, Titania pulled on her robe, and flew down to the ground. Just then, she heard a noise - a baby's cry. She walked out into the grove to investigate. There she seen a baby, wrapped up in a brown blanket, and bathed in the moonlight, lying beside the pond. She flew over quickly and knelt beside the child.

She lifted the baby gently, and as she did this, the blanket fell open, revealing that the baby was a boy. A baby boy. Titania suddenly felt a rush of love for this baby, and tenderly covered him again with the blanket. Just by being held by such a gentle person had made the baby stop crying. Titania sat there, by the pond, cradling the baby, and she said softly to herself, "Where is the mother? Oh dear.... what should I do? He looks so cute....." fretted Titania, gazing down at the child nuzzling into her breast.

Just then Oberon awoke and came down into the grove. He saw Titania sitting on the ground, cradling the baby. His first word, was, "No."

Titania protested, "But.... Oberon! It is just a sweet little baby, with no mother to look after him! What would I be if I just left him out in the woods? A monster, that's what! Please......" She put a sad expression on her face, making Oberon falter at his abrupt response. He could never refuse his beautiful wife anything when she looked like that.

"Oh, alright. We will raise him together, along with the rest of the fairies. I have one condition though." Titania nodded, prompting Oberon to continue, "When the boy turns eighteen, we give him a choice - he can either stay with us in these woods, or leave us and never return, and find his birth parents. Deal?" Titania agreed, and rose, still carrying the baby.

"His name shall be.... Rozon. My darling Rozon, welcome to the world." Just then, a spark of light flashed through the air, and struck the baby on the hand. When it faded, there was a silver mark in the shape of an "R" on baby Rozon's hand. He was one of the fairy kingdom.

(By the way, this story is also available on my page at www.storywrite.com(link is external) )