poemtry and prose

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."

"Safer? You mean they can follow us here?" Cassie whipped her head around. She almost expected to see the nurses and Dr. Livingston to appear from behind one of the trees.

"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 travelling."

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 prepaired. 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, ikt 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 gossimer 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.

"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 familarity 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."