Word count: 957
(This story told in human form)
Let me tell you about the fairies.
It was the sound of wind chimes that woke Aalis that morning. It came from outside, carried through the crisp morning air to reach Aalis as she slept. Although it was not a sound that Aalis was used to hearing, she recognized it immediately. How odd, she thought, there are no wind chimes hung in my home. Perplexed, and incredibly curious, Aalis jumped out of bed to investigate the strange occurrence. Hearing the sound stirred long-forgotten memories of visiting her grandmother, whose cottage had been hung with a beautiful array of strange wind chimes, always putting questions in little Aalis's curious mind. “Why do you keep so many, Grandma?”, she would ask. “Let me tell you a story, dear child.”, her grandmother would respond, “Let me tell you about the fairies.” Aalis's parents believed that her grandmother had gone insane long before, but Aalis was an imaginative child who became entranced by her grandmother's magical tales. These memories spurred Aalis on as she left her house, chasing the sound of wind chimes that were leading towards the forest.
It must have been a fairy song
The forest was completely ordinary, far too ordinary, for Aalis's taste. She had come out here for adventure, for a sound that awoke memories of her childhood, and all she got was trees and dirt. The farther Aalis walked, the more lost she became. It was subtle at first, but the forest began to change around her. The ground beneath her bare feet became colder. The shadows became deeper as the branches above her wove together, their leaves obscuring the light. After a while, the wind chimes could be heard, closer than ever. A distinct tune could be heard, a bittersweet sound, instilling feelings of nostalgia and sadness. Aalis found herself constantly stopping her movements just to close her eyes and listen. She became entranced by the song, letting it influence her actions. And suddenly, someone began to sing. The voice was the most beautiful and alluring sound Aalis had ever heard. She understood that it must have been a fairy song. It sung things that seemed impossible to put into words. It's words were too beautiful for anyone to comprehend. It played with Aalis's emotions. It was signing feelings instead of words. Tears dripped lightly down Aalis's face as she listened, and she became drowsy. Slowly, she lowered herself onto the ground, curling up to a patch of beautiful green flowers, and she listened. She listened to the voice sing. She listened to the words, and the music. She listened to the sound of someone's heart breaking. And somewhere among all of this listening, Aalis fell asleep.
Aalis's grandmother told her many things. She told her about shy fairies, grumpy fairies, and trickster fairies. She spoke of nice fairies and warned of bad fairies. She shared her reason for the many wind chimes in her home. “The wind chime's song is a a sign that the fairy king is near.”, Aalis's grandmother told her. “Who is the Fairy King?”, Aalis would ask every time. Her grandmother would laugh fondly, and say, “The Fairy King is very mysterious, child. They say he is the most handsome creature alive. They say he is a generous monarch. They say his wings are enormous, and the purest shade of green. They say his voice is like sunlight, and if you are ever lucky enough to hear him sing, the sound will quiet your soul.” Little Aalis would stare at her grandmother, eyes wide in wonder. “Is there a Fairy Queen, Grandma?” A small frown turned down her grandmother's lips, and a crease deepened in her brow, “The King has never found his queen. They say she might not be a fairy at all.” Little Aalis became sad. “Oh no! Fairy King should find a pretty fairy to be his Queen. And I hope they live happy ever after!” Aalis's grandmother smiled the saddest of smiles at her sweet little granddaughter. “I hope so too.”, she agreed. But she didn't tell Aalis that the Fairy King could never have his Queen if she was human, because Aalis was just a child, and Aalis would not understand that humans could not live in the fairy's world. She would not understand the unfairness of the situation... not yet.
She felt like a fairy, too.
Aalis awoke in her bedroom. All around her were beautiful green flowers. They were on branches woven on her wrists and atop her head, and their petals were scattered across her bedsheets like little green teardrops. As Aalis sat up, she felt a weight pulling at her neck. The largest she had ever seen were woven into the hair at the nape of her neck. They were the purest shade of green. A minuscule version of the feathers lay on her bed among the flowers, as if left by accident. And yet, the others had been left on purpose, it seemed, by someone or something. Aalis brought the small feather as she stood and walked to a mirror. I look like a fairy, was her reaction to the image in her reflection. She felt like a fairy, too, or what she thought being a fairy might feel like. From then on, the feathers stayed like wings on Aalis's back, the smallest feather tied around her ankle, for she couldn't find it within herself to part with them. Now Aalis understood what her grandmother could not tell her; Aalis was the Fairy Queen, and she'd never know the Fairy King, because Aalis was not a fairy. Aalis could never fly, but with the weight of feathers upon her back, she could dream forever.
Word count: 498
(This story told in human form)
A cold Autumn breeze blew, and wind chimes sang a melody. All shapes and sizes of the instruments were plentiful, swinging with each breath of wind that passed them by. A young girl stood in awe, surrounded on every side by the hanging chimes, listening to their whispered song. This was the sound of the fairies.
A woman stood waiting in the cottage's doorway. "Come along, Aalis, you'll catch a cold if you stay out.", she called, her voice frail with worry. Little Aalis followed her grandmother dutifully into the modest home. "Will you tell me the story, Grandma? Tell me about the fairies, please?", Aalis's excitement was unmatched in her grandmother, but she could not resist her granddaughter's pleading. "Of course, dear." Aalis, bounced away happily to take a seat and listen. The old woman, sitting quietly beside her, began to tell her story.
For they herald the arrival
"It was a long time ago, but I remember it like yesterday. They were the most wonderful creatures I had ever met. They called themselves fairies. I didn't want to believe them, at first, but it was hard to dismiss the magic that happened before my very eyes. I visited them often. The fairies spoke of many things, magical things. Most interesting of all was when they spoke of their King. They loved him, you see, all of the fairies loved him. They told me about him, too. They told me of his his kind and gentle nature. He was very mysterious, and kept away from most of the fairies. They didn't seem to mind his absence. He would leave for the solitude. He loved to sing, you see, but he rarely let others hear his song. It was rumored to be the most beautiful sound, and to hear it was the greatest gift he could bestow...
The fairies loved to talk about his beauty, though they knew he was not for them. He was waiting, they said, for his Queen. And he had been waiting, for hundreds of years. Rumors were whispered, that his Queen was not even a fairy. If he heard, he paid no mind. His Queen was said to be the most beautiful creature in the land, but no one had ever set eyes upon her, not even the King himself. He was just as lost as his subjects. But he comes closer ever day." The woman stopped there, since her granddaughter long fallen asleep. Though the stories she spoke were of fairies, they were by no means fairy tales. Little did Aalis know, there were no happy endings to be found within them. Quietly, the woman began to hum, "...and he waits for you. Listen close, as the wind chimes sing, for they herald the arrival of the Fairy King..." Somewhere in the forest, a song was heard by no one, and the wind chimes around the cottage began to sing along.