The Tale of the Darkest Faerie: Part One

     She had closed her eyes and for a moment a touch of youth and vigor glowed on that wise, aged face. Her red lips curled up in a smile, but it was more wistful than cruel. Her fingers refused to let go of the quill, of the mission that she had to complete. But her mind was dreaming of the past.

     -

     It all began when she entered the Dark Faerie Academy. Her family was of an old, noble rank and of course, she was obliged to attend. The little faerie named Delia sighed, for she did not want to be an evil faerie. All she wanted was to have some normal friends, but few dared to approach her of her heritage. She was alone, and she chose books and intelligence instead.

     Delia was a rather simple-minded dark faerie. She obeyed her family's wishes and went to the school of their choice. All her life, she had been a shadow, observing and watching everything. This was nothing different.

     She noticed a faerie that was different from the rest. She was aloof, alone, and unreachable. She had a pleasing outer appearance, pale bluish purple skin and raven black hair with a streak of the same hue of her skin. Each time that Delia looked at this mysterious Dark Faerie, she felt kind of happy. That faerie meant a lot to her... She seemed so powerful... But just like Delia, she was alone.

     Quickly Delia was labeled as a nerd. The little Dark Faerie who always observed was being watched, and she knew it. The fear of them haunted her and grew stronger with time. She knew that the group would strike when she least expected it, so she had to be prepared for the worst.

     But it came, at the safest time and place of all. Delia was sitting in the library when the dark faeries came. One of them had purposely tricked the Librarian, and now it was time.

     The leader clapped her hands, and all light in the library vanished. In complete darkness, Delia fumbled with her books. She knew that she was doomed and there was no way she would escape. If she tried to create a flame with her magic, they would see her. She decided that the wisest thing she could do right now was to hide.

     The little faerie got down on her knees and hid under the table, in hope that they wouldn't find her. She held her breath as the steps came closer and closer. Suddenly they stopped.

     Delia opened her eyes and saw a shadow. It was that mysterious Dark Faerie. The Dark Faerie seemed to have noticed her, but she continued walking. The little dark faerie breathed a sigh of relief.

     Suddenly she froze. Someone was behind her! She quickly turned around, and saw into a pair of dark, cruel eyes. A hand with painted nails grasped her shoulder tightly, and Delia had to summon all of her self-control in order to not scream. She knew that the moment she showed any sign of weakness, it would all be over.

     It was not unfamiliar, this thing called bullying... She had seen it many times before, but she had never dreamt that this would happen to her. Slowly the dark faerie that had grasped her shoulder got her away from the table, but Delia was still on her knees.

     "Scared, aren't we?" the faerie with the creepy eyes asked. Her eyes were cunning, calculating and cruel. Nails sunk into Delia's flesh as she tried not to cry, but her eyes revealed her pain. Small tears ran down her cheek as she bit her lips.

     "Don't think that tears will help," another faerie said. Delia hadn't been aware of it before, but now she realized that there were several faeries and not just one. She had seen it before, but her mind still wouldn't acknowledge the fact that she was the victim.

     "This will be fun," the first one said. "I wonder how long she will last..."

     "Not very long," the other faerie replied. "Really, she doesn't even deserve it."

     A third faerie grasped her right hand and twisted it. Not able to bear it a second longer, Delia screamed.

     They laughed.

     She screamed.

     They cackled.

     It was the same process, repeating again and again for a minute, which seemed like eternity to Delia. Finally the pain subsided as lights turned on. Blinded by the light, she assumed that those dark faeries were too. The little faerie quickly escaped, but was caught by a group member.

     "Help," Delia whispered meekly as she tried to free herself. "HELP!"

     A great wind blew through the whole library, and that dark faerie let go of Delia. A shadow was cast upon the group as all of the faeries looked up. There, on a windowsill, stood that mysterious Dark Faerie that Delia had observed so faithfully.

     "You've got to do something," that Dark Faerie said. "Just sitting there and watching them... it's twisted." Her face was full of contempt and scorn.

     "How dare you!" the leader of the group cried out, enraged.

     "We were just having a little fun," another faerie said.

     Delia saw her chance. She grabbed a leather-bound book and threw it at those evil dark faeries. The blood that trickled down her arm felt strangely cold as she watched the heavy book hit the leader right on the forehead.

     "There you go," the mysterious Dark Faerie whispered as she jumped down. The other dark faeries scattered, leaving the leader undefended.

     The leader soon got up, looked around, and gave a frustrated cry. Then she stomped off to find her disloyal minions.

     The mysterious Dark Faerie touched Delia's wounds and whispered some words. Immediately the wounds were healed, and Delia felt a surge of energy running through her body. She was amazed at the power that this mysterious Dark Faerie had.

     "Thanks," Delia said after a long silence, cursing herself to forget to express gratitude to her savior.

     "That was nothing," the Dark Faerie said. "But don't let them bully you like that."

     "W-what's your name?" Delia asked, scared but curious. At least she wanted to know the name of this fascinating faerie that had helped her in a dire situation.

     "Desdemona," the faerie replied. "And yours?"

     "Delia," the little faerie said and looked down. A feeling of embarrassment washed over her. She knew that she was weak, that she was only good for grades...

     Silence.

     Delia thought about this fateful meeting as she touched the places the wounds had been. But they were gone, and the skin felt fine and fresh. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she didn't say anything.

     The Dark Faerie named Desdemona started to leave.

     "Wait!" Delia called out, running after Desdemona. "Can I be your friend?" She knew that she had no right to make such an outrageous request, that it would be hopeless since they had only known each other for a few minutes... But there was this feeling inside her, this hope, and she had to at least try!

     Desdemona stopped. Delia could feel Desdemona's eyes looking at her, looking beyond the well-mannered exterior, looking at the little, naive girl inside. She looked down, feeling ashamed of the things she hadn't done. But if this worked... She would be friends with an amazing person like Desdemona, a faerie who was strong, clever and powerful...

     "Yes," the Dark Faerie said. Delia smiled as she ran towards her new friend.

     "No touchies though," Desdemona warned. "I have my own rules, and I can only compromise to a certain degree."

     "I see," Delia said and slowed down.

     -

     From that day on, the two outsiders formed their little group. Desdemona was the leader, the only, and Delia was her shadow. The little faerie didn't mind, since she got to be close to this wonder all the time. She was also greatly relieved when Desdemona stopped all attempts at bullying.

     But sometimes Desdemona was gone. Sometimes she had entered places where Delia couldn't reach. Occasionally she'd mumble about things that Delia had no idea about. She realized that despite the fact that they were friends, Desdemona didn't share everything with her. Sometimes it would make Delia wonder if they really were friends...

     "What do you plan to be?" the little faerie asked on a clear day when they were sitting at that windowsill in the library. They rarely ever talked, but when they did, Delia could feel the power radiating from Desdemona. She was sure that her friend would be something amazing when she grew older.

     Foggy mist drew across Desdemona's eyes as she drifted off to that land beyond Delia's reach. The little faerie felt very desperate, wondering if she wasn't good enough to go to that world too... But she realized that it was best so. Wise for her age, Delia was aware that perhaps Desdemona wouldn't be so amazing and mysterious if she knew all of her secrets...

     Suddenly the Dark Faerie's eyes glowered, and she smiled at Delia.

     "The greatest... The best of them all!" she said with a wicked wink. "The Darkest Faerie of them all!"

     -

     The dripping had stopped. Dipping the quill into the bottle of ink, the faerie started writing. Spidery, elegant handwriting filled the pages as she thought of what had happened when she was young. Yes... It was such a long time ago, and she would've loved to forget some of it.

     But she couldn't. She couldn't forget anything... She couldn't live a normal life. She had to carry on, try as she may, and complete this task that she had been given. She knew that she had been selfish enough, living alone for a few centuries. It was time to step into the light and reveal the truth, as she knew it.

     The dark faerie sighed as she formed a glowing ball of light. That would keep her company. She shook her head, picked up her pen and continued to write.

To be continued...