Swear Not By The Wings

My heart drops when I see Theoden getting dragged off of his white stallion. What is he doing here? Elio throws the fairy to the ground. Freya, Elle, Arden, Savvy, Chance, and Malachi all rush to the scene. Malachi and Freya snicker at the brawl, while the rest of us watch with worried eyes.

"Arden, that's the fairy that saved me from the ghoul fairies!" I say to the crafts fae. Arden gawks at me with wide eyes.

"You ran into ghoul fairies? How did you survive?" He questions. I slap the boy on the back of his head.

"That's not the point!" I hiss. The fairy looks at me confused before I explain further.

"We need to save him! He's a good guy!" I shout impatiently. Malachi then joins the conversation.

"That kid is on his own. Elio doesn't stop for anyone. It'll be foolish to intervene."

I scowl at the bunch before looking up to the trees. It would be foolish for a human to break up a fairy fight. Would it be foolish if it were the woodland to break it up?

"Arrietty, do it," Ellowyn whispers to me. I nod to the girl before whispering to the woodland.

"A little help would be nice, magical forest," I mutter. A great wind rips throughout the area. The trees bend at the force and soon everyone is staggering and trying to keep a steady hold of the ground. I kneel on the floor and smirk. Something's happening. I'm getting better at this magic stuff!

Out of nowhere, chilling growls sound from all around us.

"Elio, behind you!" Freya warns her friend. The winter fae whips around only to be tackled by an Amorak. The huge wolf seethes in the face of Elio while the fairy cowers underneath the animal.

I take this as my opportunity to run to a limping Theoden. The fairy sees me approaching him and clutches me. I lead Theoden and his stallion away from the harm.

"Arrietty, I heard about everything, " he says. I look down at my feet.

"I'm sorry for Adriel. He's a good guy, but very lonely. He means well," Theoden tries to convince me.

"He cut my chances of making it back home in half," I tell him plainly. Theoden nods in understanding before pulling me into another hug.

"Did Elio hurt you badly?" I ask to which the fae shakes his head.

"I'll be fine, don't worry. But Arrietty, I'm here to warn you. Adriel has a group of powerful fairies lined up to defeat you in the fae tournament, " reveals the kind fairy.

"I think I know who you are talking about. They attacked our village a couple of days ago," I say. A chill runs through me when I think about my situation. Adriel is really setting me up to fail. I would slap the king if he were here! This isn't fair! How dare he try to take my family away from me.

"Arrietty, you must promise me to be careful! Between me and you, I want you to be in the care of your mother again," Theoden notifies me truthfully. I smile back and nod my head. I have to be more than careful. Skilled warrior fairies will be coming for my head soon!

"This world is too messed up for you to be living in it. You deserve better," Theoden lets out to me seriously. I look straight into his deep brown eyes before replying,

"I know that winning the fae tournament is far from my reach. But I'm ready to see my mom. Not even the king of fairies is going to keep me from being with her again," I say. Theoden looks proud when I declare this.

"You've grown since the last time I saw you. You're not the same scared human anymore," he concludes.

"There's no time for fear!" I laugh, but it is the truth.

"Say, was that you back there?" Theoden wonders, referring to the Amoraks. I grin,

"You save me, I save you," I promise. Theoden ruffles my red hair before climbing onto his horse.

"I will see you tomorrow at the fae tournament. Good luck Arrietty! I believe in you," the fairy tells me before riding away. I wave at his retreating figure. Wow, someone who believes in me. It's a promising feeling.

"So, you're the reason I almost got killed by that Amorak?" I turn around to meet the glare of Elio.

"You were hurting my friend," I snap. Elio looks at me in disbelief.

"And what are we?" He consults. Now it's my turn to stare at Elio like he is crazy.

"You tell me. Ever since that night, we haven't spoken. You've been avoiding me," my voice comes out strong yet broken. Elio has really hurt my feelings by ignoring me. I realize this more than ever now that he is standing in front of me.

"I never meant to hurt you," Elio replies, sincerely. I scoff,

"All you ever do is hurt me. And now, you're hurting my friends!"

"He didn't belong here!"

"He came here to see me!"

"Oh, so you like him?"

"Why would you care?"

"Because I love you, Arrietty Spring!" Elio screams at me with a face red with anger. His response was not expected. I would be lying if I said that my heart didn't flutter inside my chest. However, I already made up my mind about Elio the second I saw him lay hands on Theoden.

"Elio, we can't keep doing this," I finalize. I was anticipating hostility or softness from the boy. I couldn't have been more wrong. The winter fae looks at me with eyes I never anticipated to see.

His gray orbs well up with crystal clear tears. His once red face is now pale white. I watch as his hands ball up into hard fists before releasing. Elio doesn't say anything but nods his head in awareness. He slowly turns his back on me and disappears into the endless sea of trees that surround us. A single tear falls from my eye.

It's done.