Cassie’s eyes snap open. Rustling noises came from outside her room. She pulls the blankets around her, making a nest from where she could safely identify who or what was outside. Tall, scaly lizard men with teeth sharp as razors; tens of thousands of black widow spiders crawling all over outside the room; shadow ghosts and boogymen leaped from her imagination.
“Get a grip, Cass,” she said to herself. “There are no such things as monsters. Nothing is out there. And even if there was, it is probably just someone on the night staff.”
A shadow appeared. It grew and crawled up the wall. Someone was coming. Cassie held her breath, gripped by fear.
“What do you mean, there are no such thing as monsters? Then it stands to reason that if they do not exist, then neither should we.”
Cassie sat straight up in her bed. She knew that voice. It was Hazel’s. And he was standing in front of her, leaning against the doorway. His deep voice was music to Cassie’s ears. She was saved.
“Hazel!” Cassie exclaimed, throwing off the covers. She jumped the bed and threw her arms around him. “I am so happy to see you.”
“Same here kiddo. Sorry it took us so long. We had no idea what happened, it was like you dropped off the face of Gaia completely. Stick had to go to the elders to get them to help us locate you. And it was no easy thing either.”
“They give me drugs. They cloud my head, and took away the visions and colors. I haven’t felt whole since mom and dad left me here. I’m not crazy. You are real.”
Hazel had not changed. His hair still messy and red. He wore black leather pants and his trademark white shirt. His eyes smiled, Cassie could tell he was happy to see her.
“So, where is Stick?” Cassie said. “And how did you get in here?”
Hazel smiled mischievously. “Ah, me lass. Faerie magic. ‘Tis the same thing we used to find you. Now come on, get your stuff, we do not have much time. Faerie magic may be powerful but it does not last too long.”
Cassie looked around her room. There was not anything she really needed. The books could be replaced. While she wanted to bring Bramble, she decided that wherever they were going was no place for a teddy bear. She went to her chest and grabbed her hoody and shoes.
“Will Bramble be okay if I leave him?” she asked Hazel.
He laughed. “Ah Cassie, you may be older but the child within you still exists. Yes you can leave Bramble here, he will be alright. As will the rest of your things.”
Cassie’s face flushed. She felt embarrassed for asking. But she joined Hazel. “So now what,” she whispered.
“We walk on out of here,” Hazel said.
“But won’t they spot us? We have to walk past the Control Room and I am sure there are two nurses sitting there waiting for us.”
“Boy do you have a lot to learn still. After all these years and you still doubt me?” he grabbed her arm and pulled her out into the Commons. The room was silent. Nothing moved. There were no sounds.
Cassie turned her head towards the Control Room. It was empty. No nurses, no Doctors. Nothing.
“But, but, there is always someone there.” Cassie muttered.
“Time is not what it always appears. You are right, there are two people in there. But they will not bother us tonight. They cannot even see us. We are moving faster than they and their monitors and equipment can detect us. Like I said, faerie magic is strong, but this doesn’t last a long time.”
They quickly made their way past the Control Room and down the elevator. Cassie did not see a single person as they walked out of Blackwell. The heavy doors to the entrance of the hospital flew open; hitting Cassie with a blast of cold air in the face. She stopped moving.
“Come on, it’s not that much further,” Hazel said turning towards her.
Cassie stood motionless. She did not say anything. Instead she closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. She was free. Her body shivered. It was cold outside. But it was outside. No windows, no bars. Free. The cold air filled her lungs with a renewed sense of purpose and when she was done exhaling all of the stale, hospital air from her body, she reopened her eyes.
She walked briskly, catching up with Hazel and they walked past Blackwell into the garden. He held her hand as he guided her past the building and out into the trees. The pines reminded her of the forest back home. They headed deep into the trees, away from Blackwell. Away from people.
“Hazel, it’s getting cold. How much longer?” Cassie said, shivering.
“Not much further. The gateway is just over there.” He pointed towards a great oak. It stood tall, the moon casting a halo over it. A ring of mushrooms circled its trunk. The marks of faerie.
“Enter the ring and sit down in the center.” Hazel said. “Don’t say anything unless I tell you too. Do not be afraid, I will be right here. Next to you always.”
Cassie nodded. “Where are we going?”
“To meet the elders. I am taking you into the Realm.”
Cassie gasped. She never dared that she would enter Hazel’s realm. Faerie tales told stories about people wandering into the faerie realm. They stumbled in without knowing, many lost their way, swallowed by the world. Others, like her, were lead in by the fae. Some of them returned. The Brothers Grimm were such lucky people. Others, remained, becoming servants.
That Hazel wanted to take her into his world, made Cassie feel loved. She trusted him and somehow knew that nothing bad would befall her. She closed her hoody tight around her chest and sat down in the middle of the ring.
Hazel followed her. He reached down and pulled a set of pipes from a pouch. It was smooth and white. It seemed to be made of bone or a very light colored tree wood. He took a corner from his shirt and wiped the pipes clean and then softly covered three holes on top of the pipe with three of his fingers. He then rested his thumb on a hole appearing on the bottom of the pipe. Hazel drew air into his lungs and placed the pipe into his mouth.
Ethereal notes danced from his pipe into the air. Cassie watched them as they floated like bubbles from Hazel’s pipe. It was a sound she had never heard before. It was deep but windy, as if someone had taken the sounds from a violin, harp and flute and squished it down into his pipe. Hazel continued the song, the notes surrounding them. Calling forth a mist from the ground. The mist swirled, like smoke from a pipe and grew thicker. And thicker. Until Cassie was not able to see anything around them anymore.
“More faerie glamour,” Cassie watched as the trees and cold and night sky faded out of view.
Hazel stopped playing. The magic faded back into the dark. They arrived, wherever here was. Hazel lovingly slipped the white pipe back into its pouch. Cassie looked around. She could make out the tree shapes in the dark. It was still night time, and the moon cast halos everywhere. But even with the soft glow of the moon Cassie could tell she was somewhere else now. The oak that was behind them was still there. But in addition to the pines, willows also surrounded them. The air was warmer,
“Welcome to my world,” Hazel said. He helped Cassie to her feet. “As much as I’d like to take you to the Castle now, it’d be safer if we head out with first light.”
“Nope. We are somewhere they cannot get you. But that does not mean this world is free from things that want to hurt you. We have predators here, and there are bands of thieves here too. However, this is a protected grove so we should be safer here than if we were to start traveling.”
Hazel wandered over to one of the willows. He tugged on a branch and lifted himself into the tree. Cassie watched the tree rustle a bit, bending under what little weight the faerie had.
“What are you doing?” she asked him.
Her answer was a soft thud. Something hit the ground. “Well,” came from the tree, “I came prepared. You did not think we were going to just sleep outside, under the stars without tents or bedrolls now did you?”
He dropped to the ground and picked up two bags. “Here, one of these is for you.” He handed her a pack. “There’s a sleeping bag inside. While it may not be as cold here as it was where we just came from, it will get cold soon.”
“Thanks,” Cassie said, reaching into the bag. Her hand touched the softest fabric she had ever felt. “What is this made of? I have never felt anything quite like it before.”
“Um, unicorn fur and maybe cat? I doubt you ever will.” he said, “I did not make it. One of the town’s seamstresses did.”
After she unrolled the sleeping bag under the oak, she helped Hazel gather lose tree branches to start a fire. It took him a few minutes to get a nice blaze going. Cassie stared into fire, thinking about how fortunate she felt to have Hazel as her friend. The flames danced in her eyes, lulling her back to sleep. She looked up once more and saw that the moon had gone behind some trees, it too, was getting ready for bed.
As she laid down, and snuggled tight in her roll, she turned to him. “Hazel,” she said, “thank you. You do not know how happy i am that you found me.”
Hazel stuck his arm out and patted her back, “Anytime, princess. Now go to sleep. We have some hiking to do tomorrow.”
Cassie screamed. Flames shot out around him and her bed. She tried to move, but found herself tied down. Handcuffs strapped her arms and legs to the bed. The bed leaned against a wall, giving her a clear view of the room. The walls had no windows and there was no door in sight. She was trapped! The stench of human feces and blood filled her nose. She felt like she was going to throw up, the bile warm and thick in her stomach.
Fred and Beth chained to the walls, their gowns stained with blood. Heavy metal collars hung around their neck. Beth was drooling, her head patched with stitches. But they had changed her. Someone had taken some TV antennae and buried them deep inside her head. Fred rocked. His mouth was covered, screwed shut with a piece of metal over it. They were moaning.
Doctor Livingston bent over here, a huge syringe in his hand. Neon green liquid filled the syringe, and dripped from the largest needle Cassie had ever seen. A forked tail wagged behind him and he had lizard legs. Horns grew out of his silver hair and his moustache was all twisted, growing out into points. He cackled as he bent over her. “Time for your medicine, little one,” he said. Her eyes widened as she tried to escape from the daemon and needle. Before they did to her what they did to poor Beth and Fred. She did not want them to take her away, turn her into a drooling mess.
Cassie bolted straight up her sleeping bag. Sweat beaded her forehead and she had a death grip around the top of the sleeping bag. Her heart was racing. “Hazel,” she screamed.
“What? What is it? I am right here,” he said. He placed an arm on the bag.
Cassie looked around. Her eyes darting around. It took her a minute to realize that she was not at Blackwell and that Doctor Livingston was not there. She was outside, in a forest. Their campsite was seated at the tail end of a meadow, nestled between two groves of trees. The grass was lush and green, speckled with clumps of white and purple flowers. The sun was beginning to rise. Dusting the tops of the trees and mountains in the distance with paint-strokes of red and orange colors. Hazel sat next to her, fear and concern in his eyes and mouth.
Embers glowed dimly from the fire pit. The memory of their daring escape came back to her. She was free. Somewhere that they would never find her. She gulped and forced her body to calm down, “Nothing. I guess. I think it was a dream. I dreamt that I was back at Blackwell, and the Doctor wanted to do horrible things to me. He had this needle. It was huge. And they had already cut into poor Fred and Beth. Oh Hazel, it was terrible.”
Hazel looked at her. His friend had grown a bit older since he last saw her. She was still as thin as any faerie and her skin was soft and pale. Her hair was darker, redder than he last remembered it. The nightmare left her face flushed and even paler than the rest of her skin. Whatever they had done to her at Blackwell, terrified her. Her voice, shaken, still contained that childlike quality that drew him to her at first. “It’s okay. You were right, it was just a dream,” he said, trying to help Cassie calm down.
“I never want to go back to that place. It was horrible,” Cassie shivered and relaxed her body. He nodded in agreement.
“Well, if it were up to me, you would not have gotten there in the first place. Next time, if there is a next time. We shall be more careful with who you tell,” his eyes scolding here for having been so free with whom she had told about him and the faeries. “Hopefully the Elders can help you and keep you out of there.”
Sadness entered his eyes, leaving no trace of the scolding. His colors changed. Even Hazel’s wings folded and seemed heavier. Cassie knew something was wrong.
“What is it Hazel? What do you mean, if there is a next time? There is something you are not telling me.”
She got out of her sleeping bag and sat next to him.
“Well, it is why you are here,” he said. “I mean, once we found out where you were and what they did to you, of course I had to get you out, but that was not the only reason.”
Her heart shrank. So there was another reason. Her knight with gossamer wings had another reason for freeing her. She desired the storybook rescue, but should have known better. “That is okay Hazel. So what is wrong? You know I will do whatever it is you and your Elders ask of me, no matter what.”
“Well, I wanted to wait fro them to tell you. But you know me too well, and you sight is strong. Our world is sick, Cassie. We are dying. There is a plague out there and it is slowly eating us away. One by one. No one knows where it came from, or who set it free. But we are losing people.”
“The Elders do not even know what is going wrong. They sent for their most trusted and powerful seers. For days they scryed. For days they asked the cards and planets for guidance. While they have never failed us before, they came before the Elders after three days. No one had answers. No one had a cure. But there was one young seer, who came from the Coastal plains. She said that it was Mortal and only a Mortal would recognize the plague and find the cure.”
Cassie listened carefully, “So how come you chose me? There has got to be others. People more prepared for this than me?” She was afraid. The entire race of faeries, this world, rested in her hands. It scared her more than anything Dr. Livingston and Blackwell could ever do to her and her mind. “But what if I fail?”
“The Elders discussed it. At great length. This may surprise you Cassie, but not that many people know about us. Again, we asked the seers to divine a chosen one. And the cards picked you.”
“But what if I fail?” she repeated.
“Stick and I will be by your side at every moment.” Hazel ventured. “We know this place better than anyone. And we know you. We volunteered for this.”
She blushed. She was almost ashamed for feeling so terrified. After all, Hazel had place lots of confidence in her and the ability to solve his people’s sickness. She wondered just how much of a hero he made her out to be in front of the Elders. And hoped that she could live up to their expectations. “Well, it does beat staying at Blackwell and having to take all those drugs.” She smiled.
Add in more about sleeping.
“Time for breakfast,” he said. Cassie helped by gathering more wood. Using flint and steal, Hazel reignited the fire as Cassie dumped another pile of logs next him. Hazel gathered up some berries and pulled some eggs and a iron pan from his pack. They were blue with white spots and they looked like they were made from leather. Cassie had never seen anything like them before. She doubted she ever would. Mentally, she made a note to remind Hazel to tell her from what bird those eggs came from; she was sure they were not from any normal chicken. He cracked the eggs on the edge of the pans. They were more fragile than they looked and out came some whitish goo but no yolk. Despite their strange appearance, the eggs cooked just like normal eggs, and soon a sweet aroma filled the air. Her stomach rumbled.
“Mmm breakfast. Sounds good to me,” she said, putting a berry into her mouth.
They ate in silence. Cassie continued to look around her. The trees gave off a sense of familiarity and otherworldness. It was as if she was back home but it had shifted somehow to a different time or place. Pines stood proud and tall, creating a dark canopy. Fat oak trees stretched their branches wider than any oak Cassie saw. The willows hunched over, their branches bent, extending long slender wisps down to the ground. In the distance birds called out to one another, their songs harmonizing, and cheerful. The sky was a deep shade of cobalt blue, hardly any clouds appeared in the sky. The air was clean, not a hint of pollution existed. Cassie heard no cars, no voices other than the birds and saw no buildings appearing over the tree tops. And while she knew she was not anywhere familiar, she felt right at home.
“So how long will it take for us to get to wherever the Elders are,” she said finishing her eggs.
“We should be at Stonehaven by mid-day,” Hazel said looking at the sky. “So we should probably start walking.”
Cassie nodded.
They broke camp and started heading North. Hazel stepped out into the meadow, setting a brisk pace. Cassie felt out of shape as she tried to keep up with her friend. At the pace they were going, Cassie was not sure that she would have the energy she would need to listen and talk to the Elders when they got there. They crossed into another grove and started to climb a hill. She wanted to tell him to slow down, that she tired easily and wanted to take some time to memorize her surroundings. She had the feeling that this was going to be the first and only visit to Hazel’s world. And if that were true, she wanted to savor every moment.
Eventually, the hill got the best of her. “Slow down, please.” she pleaded.
Hazel turned and looked at her. “Oh sorry. I did not mean to go so fast. I just have a lot on my mind.” He slipped his pack off his back and reached into it. He pulled out a blue flask and handed it to her. “Here, drink this. It is water.”
Nodding her head in thanks, she gulped from the flask. Fresh, cold water streamed into her mouth. She capped the flask, handed it back to him. “I understand that Hazel. I just have not been very active lately. They did not let us get too much exercise.”
“What a shame,” he said, an impish grin crossing his face.
She laughed, “You are so mean!” And stuck out her tongue.
Hazel pointed out the names of a few mountain peaks as they hiked. Two were long and pointy. They almost reminded her of Witches hats and she giggled at their names, Twin Hats. Both peaks were dusted with snow. She nodded with each landmark, amazed at how vast his world was. She didn’t think it could be so big. Their trail wove in and out of the forest, mingling with patches of meadow.
A noise startled them from their right, coming out from the edge of a forest. Hazel stopped and placed a hand on his pouch. His body went tense. Cassie held her breath and stood close to him. “What is it?” she whispered in his ear. He did not respond, his eyes searched the forest.
Hazel tracked the movement, then relaxed. He pointed a finger. Cassie traced its path to the brush. A white figure stepped out from behind the ivy and trees. Cassie gasped. A young unicorn buck, stepped out into their clearing. She grabbed Hazel’s shoulder.
“Is that what I think it is?”
He nodded. She almost pinched herself. She never thought she would be standing face to face with a real live unicorn. The two friends stood motionless, Cassie was afraid that if she moved, it would be gone. She wanted to savor the moment for as long as possible.
The unicorn stared at Hazel and bent its muzzle to the ground. It began to chew on a piece of purple clover. His horn gleamed pure golden, the hair on the unicorn’s back untouched by dirt. It glowed brighter than any star in the night sky. Magic dripped from his body. Hazel caught Cassie smiling out of the corner of his eye. a warmth filled his body. He enjoyed watching her, seeing how she reacted to every new wonder his world offered her. He would have invited her to his world sooner, had he been able to. The unicorn finished munching on its snack, glanced up once more. Then without hesitation, it ran off, leaping back into the forest.
Cassie relaxed her body. Childish excitement got the better of her and she jumped up and down, clapping her arms. “Oh wow. Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow. That, he… was amazing! Can you believe that? I actually, saw, a unicorn.”
Hazel smiled. He was torn. Part of him wanted to give Cassie all the time she wanted to explore his world. But he knew that time was not on their side and if they waited for too long more and more faeries would fall ill. He was a bit impatient to move on, “Just wait till you see Stonehaven. There’s lots more amazing things for you to see there. I hate to say it but we gotta move on, Cassie. The Elders, they are eager to meet you.”
They continued down the path. Cassie had fallen in love with the faerie world. The land was wild, untouched by humans and their destructive ways. It reminded her of what her world must have been like before mankind started forcing Nature to do their will. Strange animal sounds called and whistled from everywhere, even far off in the distance. Everything felt alive. Even the air, stirred, teeming with life. She knew that Hazel wanted to get back to Stonehaven as fast as he could. So that they could speak with the Elders and figure out how she could help heal his friends.
The path continued it’s steep ascent up the side of a hill. Hazel made sure to pause every now and then to give Cassie time to stretch her legs and catch her breath and drink some of the water from the flask. Trees surrounded them, thick and dense and it was all she saw. Vines and ivy wrapped around the huge trunks. They grew straight up in the air, blocking her view of the sky and sun. But it was not cold and she was thankful for that.
An hour passed. The trees started to thin out, marking a pause in their ascension. “I’m looking forward to going downhill,” she thought, adding, “That is, if we in fact do indeed go down this hill.”
The sounds of water gurgled near. She listened to the water but kept her eyes trained She thought it was impossible that a river, or stream could be so near without snow to feed it.
Hazel stopped, “Did I mention that we will have to cross a waterfall?”
Her eyes widened. “A waterfall? But where and how.” Cassie looked up from the ground. The path stopped going uphill. It flattened out and then dropped off from the other side. It appeared to be a dead end.
“Just on the other side of that flat area,” Hazel pointed. “Do not worry, it is safe. We use it all the time.”
She nodded. And climbed the last few feet to the flat part. There on the other side of the path was the most spectacular waterfall she had ever seen. She was standing just above it. Not even the waterfall at the bottom of the St. Helens Ape Caves could top this one. The water was blue, purple bubbles rose from where the bottom of the falls met river and ground. The river, carved a smooth tube from the land. A tree stump lay across the top. It was covered in yellow and green moss, the roots frozen straight out, gasping for air, displaying the battered remains from where it was lovingly torn from the soil it once called home. A hole appeared in the ground, marking where the tree had once stood proud and tall. She guessed that the tree died from natural causes, it’s ghost of a shell making a natural bridge for the faeries, carrying them across the fifteen foot waterfall.
Cassie looked down to the bottom of the falls. The water roared as it hit the ground forming giant waves, foam spitting at the tops. Purple bubbles pushed outwards from the foam, the byproduct of the water hitting the ground with such force. She stared at the water, something moved beneath the surface. At first she thought it was the golden color of the sun’s rays hitting the water just so. But as she squinted, the golden color took form.
Hundreds of tiny gold fish hopped in and out of the bubbles. Their fins wiggled and waved as they jumped from water to air, floating. Seconds later, they splashed back down into the water leaving no wake or ripples. The fish seemed to be interested in the purple bubbles. One would leap into the air, float near a bubble, pop it with their mouth and then fall back into the water. Then another one jumped and started the process all over again. Every now and then two fish leapt into the air at the same time, their bodies colliding. Their scales mingled in a friendly way, as if the fish were acknowledging one another, greeting them in a fishlike fashion. She could almost hear them laughing under the roar of the water. It was as if they were playing a game, using the bubbles as their balls.
“Hey, what are those fish doing?” she asked.
“Those are goldmuppies. They live at the bottom of the falls. They eat the bubbles, or whatever gets captured inside of them.” he replied.
Cassie nodded in acknowledgement. It was the oddest thing she ever saw. She wished she had her sketchbook with her, or a camera, so she could take pictures of them to study for later.
“Cassie, come on,” Hazel called to her. He was standing on the edge of the tree. “Are you going to need my help?”
Cassie scrambled over to him. And looked over the edge of the waterfall. It looked like a good ten to twenty feet drop down to the bottom.
“Uh, uh… yeah. Actually now that you mention it,” she started. “I think i may want some help getting across this.”
Hazel bent down on one knee and extended his arm out to her. She reached out with her hand and grabbed a hold of it. With a small jerk he pulled her up on the log. The log shifted a bit under their combined weight. But it held.
“I guess it is too late for me to tell you not to look down,” he asked.
Cassie smiled and focused her attention on him. “Yeah, I guess so. I am fine as long as I focus on you. Just do us a favor, okay?”
“Anything. What?”
“Do not slip and do not fall,” she said, ushering him to start walking.
Hazel carefully and slowly walked across the log, helping Cassie avoid the slippery moss and wet bark. He hopped off the log and then turned to pick Cassie up off it and onto the ground with both his arms.
She giggled as he did it, “You know, it has been a long time since anyone did that for me. Thanks.” They watched the goldmuppies feed for a few more minutes before heading down the hill.
The trees were not as dense on this side of the hill as they were on the other. Cassie was thankful that they were going downhill. Childhood songs filled her head and she started skipping, playfully bumping into Hazel. The sun was almost directly above them and Cassie’s stomach reminded her that it was nearing lunchtime.
Smoke rose off in the distance. It was too thick to be naturally made, so Cassie presumed they were getting close to their destination. The trees shrunk, to shrubs and bushes and then to grass. They walked out into the open. Hawk-like birds circled above them, reminding Cassie of the hawks dancing outside her window. And then she looked outwards. And gasped.
