Twisted Faerie Tale (Story)

  

A butterfly the color of wet moss hovered over the scene ignored or just unseen by the participants below, its markings the color of red autumn leaves. Of course why would they be looking at her when The Princess stood before them, her stance proud and regal despite having been under the curse for so long. The butterfly felt her chest swell a little with pride at the beauty of the girl. She'd taken such care to make sure the Princess was never touched by the insects and animals, just as her mother and grandmother had done before her. She could tell that the soldiers were not yet aware of who the princess was, but if the old fool that happened to be in the ruined castle, did not settle down they would figure it out soon enough.  Mera watched as a familiar old man made the air crackle with electricity. His trickery was going to make the problem of keeping Aurora safe that much harder! The creature growled, the light sound lost in the breeze as she circled lower. She'd been alerted to the Princess' stirrings, but word from spiders never traveled fast enough and she had lost her chance to guide the Princess to safety and to re-introduce her to the world she woke to. No, instead Leon and his damnable bird had been there instead. The question of what had broken the curse lingered in the creature's mind but it would have to be pondered on at later date.

For now she glared at the old man and his decrepit bird as she circled ever lower toward the humans. Mera's colors darkened with her temper, how could he have let the princess linger so long in the castle?! He knew the dangers...she shivered just thinking about the dragon. Distrust of the old man ran deep in Mera's veins starting with her grandmother, Fauna had never liked Leon even though Prince Phillip had trusted him, and she had passed on her dislike to her daughter, Mera's mother, and because of the circumstances surrounding her mother's passing Mera had even more reason to distrust Leon, and his ugly pet.

Tense, Mera perched on a section of broken stone as close to the old man and the Princess as she dared for the moment and watched with intent eyes, already speaking words into the wind that only the birds would hear. They would be ready if the need arose, but she was hoping that The Princess would remember her affinity to the forest and would wish to return there rather than go with the soldiers that had come to deal with the pesky dragon, Mera would never be able to enter that castle, not with the King's Sorceress protecting it from magical creatures such as herself. Though she was grateful for the soldiers presence, she was also annoyed by them. Why now? What had sent them to this forsaken place to deal with this particular dragon...and on the same day that Aurora woke? It felt wrong to her, this coincidence as she watched the soldiers, who were now distracted from their task by the young girl and old man.

Mera sighed as she watched a note being handed off to one of the soldiers who had the Princess and the old man cornered, who the left in a hurried state. They would not be leaving without the Princess, Of this Mera was sure, poised ready to take flight she waited and watched the young girl awaiting her decision. The air was filled with unseen tension as all eyes seemed to be focused on the Princess as she turned and announced her choice to go with Leon rather than the soldiers. “The fate's have mercy.” Mera whispered as she took flight disappearing into the castle a few chosen words and a tiny flash floating on the breeze. Within moments a literal army of butterflies, dragonflies and hummingbirds descended on the soldiers and filling the space between the two opposing groups. Their colors bright and some even unnatural as they flitted and flew, only touching the soldiers to annoy them, strangely none of the creatures harmed the soldiers, the true goal of the mass of creatures was to prevent the soldiers from advancing and to obscure their view of Leon and the Princess.

A woman whose skin was tinted a light red darted out of the dark castle, her hair completely covered with a brown scarf, her dress the same color as the scarf and just as nondescript. She was as tall as the fair haired woman she was headed towards, but where Aurora’s size was delicate and almost petite, Mera’s was a bit curvier in all aspects, her heritage from her great Aunt Merryweather no doubt.

Her intent had been to grab the Princess’ hand but she stopped just short of doing so, remembering that Princess had no way to know that Mera had taken care of her for the past hundred years. “Briar Ro-” She stopped not sure the Princess would remember that name. “Princess, come with me, we must leave, the soldiers, they have no intention of letting you leave and my friends...” She gestured to the creatures hovering about shielding them from the men. “Can not stay for much longer.” Mera said in a gravelly voice that had an almost magical quality to it.“I know a way through the castle.”

Mera stopped and shot a glare at Leon and his bird, he would know who she was, their histories were intertwined in ways that Mera couldn’t forget. She only wished that she could take the princess without the old man, but that would not be possible, not today, she doubted that Aurora would leave without him anyway. She looked at the red bird and held back her personal feelings. “Leon...” His name was bitter on her lips but she continued. “You know we must leave. They will not let her go and you know we can’t go with them to protect her.” This wasn’t exactly the way she had wanted the princess to meet her but it was not to be helped. She could only hope that Leon would set aside his feelings for her and her family and encourage Aurora to come with her. “Hurry! You must decide now!”

But before  a decision was made a roar filled the sky, a roar that shook the grounds of the decrepit castle and caused everyone to lose their balance. Mera was thrown back against a crumbling wall in the opposite direction of the Princess and Leon, her breath was knocked from her and she could only watch in silent horror as the ancient dragon appeared and with one sweep of its mighty wings, ended the life of the dear Princess. Mera screamed, but it was too late already the Princess' blood was staining the ground. The old man laughed and with a sweep of his tattered cloak he was gone; leaving the carnage and Mera to the mercy of the dragon. The red hue of her skin grew darker, almost glowing with the emotion that surged through her, it was pure unadulterated hatred for the old man. Even as she stared at the spot where her charge had been, her army was rapidly dissipating, the moment the Princess was gone the creatures had been released from Mera’s orders and had dispersed almost as quickly as they had arrived, leaving the fairy alone before the angry soldiers, her skin glowing red like a new rose. Her hazel eyes, her most human like feature, were wide as she felt the stirrings of fear mingle with her anger, and sadness.

It had been many, many years since any of her kind had come in contact with humans, they had done all they could to remain hidden from them, especially after what happened here, at the castle. And so as her eyes went from one face to another she was almost sure that none of them would know that she was Fae. Which only made it more dangerous for her, for fear caused men to make rash decisions. Instinctively the words to transform herself were on the tip of her tongue, though reason reminded her that she could only change her form if she trusted those that she stood before, and it was obvious to her and the powers that be, that she clearly did not trust the men before her. Her fear kept her from being able to calm her skin to a more natural color, and she raised her hand to her head unconsciously, thankful for the scarf that hid her hair.

Scrambling upright, she stood there her mind whirling, aware that she was wasting precious moments, before the shock wore off of the soldiers. She knew she couldn’t run through them, they would grab her quickly, she shuddered, recalling the stories her mother had told her of human men and what they did to Fae. Her gaze flicked to the castle, it was her only chance...that is if she didn’t become trapped inside by them. She hesitated only a moment more before grabbing up her skirt and darting inside, not daring to look back and see how close behind her that they would be.

It really was a shame that Mera had never explored the castle beyond Rose's tower room. But she'd had no need to travel the dark stairs and haunted rooms. She really could have used that knowledge now as she skidded past a mound of stones. Her breath already a bit labored as she fought against panic that made her heart feel as if it might explode, she kept a tight hand on the scarf that covered her hair and tips of her ears, if she'd been confident enough that she wouldn't be caught she would have paused to enchant it but as it was she had no time. The men had left their horses behind following her more quickly than she'd anticipated. She was, after all, the less dangerous fleeing creature to follow. She heard a voice echo in the cavernous castle for the men to separate and that they were not to harm her. But to catch her and imprison her...that alone would harm her far beyond anything they could do to her with their hands or swords. She continued on, turning and twisting looking for stairs, for all stairs led up and if she could reach the the one remaining tower she'd be safe.

She let out a soft yelp as she tripped over a rock and stumbled, reaching out instinctively to break her fall she felt a sharp pain in her palm, and sucked in a deep breath as her knees hit the stone floor. But she didn't have time to focus on the ache in her knees or the wound on her hand, she could feel the blood running down her arm, but she stood and continued on, finally running straight into a set of stairs.

Unfortunately she reached the stairs at the same moment that one of the soldiers did, she was already turning when  she heard heavy breathing and footsteps behind her announcing the arrival of another of the soldiers. She was trapped, her skin still red now started to glow eerily from the power of her fear and she stared with wide eyes at the man before her, he was clearly the leader, the one that had tried to convince Rose to go with them.

Unlike Leon, Mera couldn't hurt them, her powers could only be used for good. And besides that, the castle was cursed by Dragon magic, and only one friends with a creature with dragon's blood could she use magic within the walls...everywhere but the Tower, that was the only place she could have used such magic, to enchant the men to forget her. But...they didn't know what she was and she was about to use that to her advantage. "Don't touch me!" But her words were drowned out as she heard the Dragon; it's deep mythical roar drowning out all sounds, she could understand what it was saying, it was threatening the soldiers declaring them dead where they stood.

Mera scowled at the dragon's words which had the power of turning the situation for herself even worse than before by now making her the soldier's protectors. Really? She thought to herself, even as she felt a calm descend over her confirming her fears. She closed her hazel eyes as the calm swiftly covered her like a blanket, causing her skin to fade to an almost human color, the red tint almost invisible. She could feel the change come over her, a wind blew around her, biting at her dress and scarf, before all stilled. She could tell that she had been joined by more than the first two soldiers. A soft sigh left her lips, it really wasn't fair that she was now bound to protect these men from the dragon, knowing that they would not let her go once the danger was gone. But the Fate’s had decided, and she had no choice. No one had ever even thought to defy the Fates, much less act upon such defiance.  

She slowly opened her eyes, aware that they were now a rich green color, ringed by reddish glow. She turned slowly and faced the one who'd been acting as leader. "The dragon means to fight you, and eat you." She said even her voice was different, lower and she spoke as if she were singing. "The castle is its resting grounds. It wishes to sleep." She paused her head tilting slightly as the dragon landed and then roared causing rocks and dirt to dislodge from the walls around them. "I can protect you and remove us all from the grounds to a safe place, but you have to will it M'lord. Fighting the dragon within these walls would not be wise and would not be a fair fight for you. Dragon magic has rested here for three hundred years. You would not win." She stopped speaking and waited for the man's decision, if he chose not to accept her protection she would be released, if not then she would be bound to take them from this place, though Mera had no desire to save these men, she had taken a vow over a hundred years ago when her magic was bestowed upon her, to protect those that the Fates chose and the Fates had chosen these men to offer her protection to.

Mera had been hoping that the soldiers would be too proud to allow her to rescue them, but of course their desire to live overruled their pride, and their fear was more than their mistrust and misgivings. As the command was given for her to get them the hell out of there, her eyes slid closed, and Mera began to chant soft words that seemed to wrap around the group like a rope of satin, binding them all together. Her voice gradually grew stronger as the castle seemed to twist and distort around them. She could feel their fear ripple around her like a snake, ready to strike, and her chanting faltered for only a moment, causing the walls around them to come back into sharp focus. Steeling herself against the fear, theirs and her own, she continued, her voice growing stronger and louder with every passing moment.

The walls around them faded into a gray nothingness which in turn was slowly replaced by a deep blue morning sky, and a meadow, peppered with glorious blooms, that spread out around them. And as everything around them came into focus there was an audible 'snap' as the magical cord that had bound Mera to the men broke. Every man had been moved to the meadow, many miles from the dragon and their own homes. Each was still in the same position and health as they had been before...All but Mera that is.

The moment the bond had broken the Fae woman had crumpled to the ground, unconscious. She had never before, moved so many lives and the effort had stolen her energy and almost her life.  She lay, unmoving and surrounded by the soldiers who had chased her and that she had saved. During the shifting of places the pins that held her scarf in place upon her head, covering her hair had been dislodged. The scarf was now tugged away by the wind, as her long wavy hair splayed out around her like a fan. Revealing it's shocking color...Her hair was green, darker than the grass on which she lay, a rich color that seemed to glimmer, as the sun shone down on the mysterious woman. The Fae lay amongst the circle of the men, her chest barely moving with her breaths, with her red tinted skin and dark green hair, her fate now resting their hands.