Krista was a servant in the castle that ruled her kingdom. She was appointed the wonderful task to deliver a message to a neighboring kingdom. It was a two-days walk from her home, but she knew very well enough not to go walking in the forest alone. She was taking the long road on her journey as she walked along the edge of the forest. She wanted to remain on a pathway where she could see other travelers and they could see her.
She very well knew that the journey was going to take her a lot longer than expected if she didn’t just cut straight through the forest. Krista wondered how the king was going to react when she didn’t arrive back when she was supposed to, but she was more concerned about her own safety. She had no idea why the king wanted one of his servants to be the messenger as opposed to one of his knights.
Krista couldn’t refuse the job, though. Even though she was scared and didn’t understand why she had been chosen, she had to accept the king’s request. Otherwise that wouldn’t have looked good for her. They might have kicked her out of the castle and then she would have no place to go.
As she continued to walk along the edge, she looked to her right gazing into the wooded area. The forest did look beautiful. It looked enticing. Krista wondered just what the forest was like. If she knew she wouldn’t get lost or if there were no bandits waiting around, she would have loved to go in there and explore. She used to be the adventurous type. Before she became a servant, that is.
There was something different about the forest, though. Krista squinted her eyes to get a good look. There, something deep in the forest was sparkling. She relaxed her face and opened her eyes wide. Was it treasure?
Krista looked all around her. No one seemed to be around so she entered the forest. This very well may have been a trap, but if it was treasure, she would be able to quit being a servant. That would call for her to leave the kingdom, but depending on how much money this was, she would be able to live anywhere on her own.
The sun was starting to set, so Krista started to run. She wanted to get in and out of the forest as quickly as she could. She had just hoped she wasn’t getting herself into any trouble. This was probably the stupidest thing she could have ever done, but she had to take the risk.
The shining object wasn’t as deep into the forest as she thought it was. Once Krista got close to it she stopped running breathing heavily. She looked over her shoulder. The entrance to the woods was still in view. She looked all around her. No one seemed to be around. Good.
Krista took a few steps towards the sparkles on the ground. As she got closer, she gasped and fell to her knees. There, lying before her, was a green fairy, no bigger than the palm of Krista’s hand.
“Are you… Um…” Krista stammered. She had no idea what to do. Could fairies talk? Was she allowed to touch a fairy? Was there even anything wrong with this fairy or was she just sleeping?
No, she wasn’t sleeping… Why would a fairy be sleeping in the middle of the forest like this? Didn’t they have homes? Didn’t they live in trees?
Krista scratched the top of her head. She had no idea. She didn’t know anything about fairies or anything that happened outside of the castle, for that matter.
The fairy opened her eyes and lifted her head. She stared at Krista, though Krista didn’t know if she was staring because she had never seen a human or if she was wondering where she was.
“I didn’t do anything, I swear. I just saw you lying here and I thought…” Krista interrupted herself. Fairies couldn’t die, could they?
The fairy pushed herself up from the ground and stumbled as she stood. Krista put out her hand behind the small being in case she fell backwards. The fairy gave her a strange look and Krista awkwardly brought her hand back to her lap.
“Are you lost from your home?” Krista asked.
The fairy shook her head.
“Well, are you okay then? It didn’t look like you were just sleeping.” Krista said.
The fairy looked all around her and then shrugged her shoulders.
Krista raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t entirely sure what that gesture was supposed to mean. She stood up and craned her neck to look way down at the small fairy. She didn’t want to step on her in case she was going to go on her way.
“Well, if you’re alright then, I guess I’ll just be going.” Krista said.
She walked away, but after three or so steps she looked behind her. She had never met a fairy before and she felt as though there was something wrong with this one. She felt strange leaving the fairy behind.
But when Krista looked over her shoulder the fairy was gone. She sighed and looked down at the ground to make her way out of the forest only to see the fairy sitting on top of Krista’s foot enjoying the ride.
Krista stopped walking and stared at her with wide eyes. “Um… can I help you with something?”
The fairy looked up at Krista, but she didn’t have any other reaction.
“Hey!”
Krista jumped turning around. A tall, broad muscular man stood where she had just been. He was pointing to her looking angry. “You took my fairy!” He started to run towards her.
“Is this a good thing?” Krista looked down at the fairy suddenly fearful for her life.
The fairy shook her head.
Krista bent down and picked up the fairy. Then she broke into a run.
I hope you enjoyed this story! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.