A Fairy Tale

A Fairy Tale

Roarin's House

"StrongOak! Get your butt down here, Now!!!"

I groaned and rolled over, successfully falling out of my bed.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes before standing and tossing my sheets back onto my bed. Stretching, I made my way over to the circular window of my second-story bedroom and peered out. Standing just outside my door, looking up at me, was Jonathon IronWood.

"Finally! Get out here StrongOak, we got a problem!" IronWood bellowed up at me.

If it were anyone else, I would have told them to fuck off, then gone back to bed, but General IronWood was one of those behemoths I mentioned earlier. A whopping 8 inches tall!

And he was my superior officer.

"I'll be right down sir!" I shouted back, saluted, grabbed my sword, then rushed downstairs to my armor stand.

About three minutes later I emerged from my house, fully armored and sword at my side. I looked around quickly and spotted the general moving briskly down the street. I had to jog in order to catch up.

"What's the situation sir?" I asked as I fell in step beside my superior.

"Our perimeter guards spotted a small army of Havocs heading in this direction. I plan on taking a force and stopping them at the river."

I grimaced. Havocs, as we like to call them, are corrupted fairies. Imagine a fairy with black skin, and then vampire-ize it. Vicious beasts. Sadly, they don't burn in sunlight.

"I assume I'm going with you, but who else?" I asked cautiously. When dealing with Havocs, it was always good to be over-prepared.

The general stroked his short black beard. "William and HaKeen are waiting for us at the front gates." He replied.

I nodded in approval. William ThornSpear would be a good choice, he was the strongest out of all seven of us generals, and that strength was transformed into pure destructive force through the huge warhammer he carried. HaKeen BlastSpore was another general who would come in handy in this situation. No one had fought as many, nor had as much knowledge of Havocs than HaKeen. There was even a rumor that HaKeen used to be a Havoc, but somehow miraculously purified himself. This would explain his darker than average skin. However, I knew it was because that HaKeen's parents were Oasiis (desert fairies) from the Saddle-Arabian desert, so they had naturally tanned skin.

We arrived at the front gates to discover the two other generals and an army of fairies (all female of course) armored up and ready to go. There was some last minute planning, before signaling the sentries to open the gate.

When the gate was wide enough, we spread our dragonfly-like wings and the entire army took flight. We would stop this potential menace before it got too close for comfort.

The River; North Side; Mid-Day

I sat on a small mound overlooking the river. This was never a favorite place of mine. It was a fearsome sight, that river. Fifteen meters wide and ten meters deep, (to a human being), all of it churning water and hidden rocks, winding its way through the forest, coming from and going who-knows-where. It held a reputation in our clan for being the one thing that had killed more of our fairies than any enemy we'd ever faced. A mis-flap, zoning out, fainting, any of these harmless actions could end fatally if one didn't recover fast enough. Even a general could become a victim of the river if he wasn't careful enough.

Now with the added threat of Havocs, the goal would be to see how many of us didn't die.

In an attempt to take my mind off the possibility of an early death, I pulled out my sword and began to polish it. An old habit of mine when I was nervous.

The sword was called Rüzgar fizyon, or Cleaving Wind if you translated it from the old language.* I had inherited it from my grandfather, who had supposedly used it to slice an eagle in half. A little more than four feet long, (to me) classifying it as a longsword, it had never once failed me in battle. Hopefully this would continue to be the case.

I was deep in thought, so I didn't register the footsteps as they approached me.

"You are nervous, my friend."

I jumped, then turned to see HaKeen standing over me, his tanned face scrunched up in concern. Out of all the generals, it was HaKeen I liked the most. He wasn't extremely muscular, but his speed made up the difference. He was intelligent and understanding, not to mention loyal. Although, I had never asked why a Oasiis fairy such as himself had taken up residence in a clan of Tree fairies.

I thought about lying, but i figured that HaKeen knew me too well.

"Yeah." I sighed. "Just wondering if today's the day."

HaKeen's frown deepened as he grasped my shoulders and pulled me around to face him.

"Listen my friend, if you think like that, then it will be!" His voice was deep, but whispered. "If you wish to live another day, then believe you will. It's how I've gotten through all my battles."

He was right. The corners of my mouth perked up in a small smile, and I stood.

"You're right." I said to him. "I apologize for such negative thinking."

HaKeen's face broke out into a grin and he nodded at me. Then his face became serious again as he looked to the sky. We stood there for a few moments, silent as the grave.

"There is a storm coming." He said finally.

I nodded. Despite there not being a cloud in sight, I had learned never to doubt HaKeen when it came to the weather.

"Perhaps you should inform General IronWood." I suggested.

"I will try." HaKeen agreed with a nod, before heading back towards the camp.

I watched him go, and then turned back to the river. I began scanning the opposite bank, just in case the Havoc force decided to come calling.

It was sundown before there was any sign of action. I had not moved from my post on that mound, and was scanning the opposite bank for probably the hundredth time of the day, when I made eye-contact with something peering out of the foliage across the river. With the coal black face, the sharply hooked nose, and the long pointed ears, I knew exactly what I was looking at.

But before I could sound the alarm, something dropped onto me from the branches above. Both me and the thing hit the ground and began rolling around in a wrestling match. I felt the sharp claws clawing at my armor, felt the beating of its bat-like wings, and listened to the thing screeching in my ear.

I cried out as something sharp scratched at the back of my neck.

Suddenly, the thing gave a gurgling, strangled sound and let go. I rolled away from it and leapt to my feet.

Lying on the ground where I had been earlier was a dead Havoc, a knife embedded in the back of its head.

"Are you all right, my friend?"

I turned to see HaKeen rushing towards me.

"Yes, thanks to you." I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. Luckily, I wasn't bleeding too badly.

Our conversation was cut short by another screech, as another Havoc dropped from the trees. This one was dispatched by me while HaKeen grabbed his war horn and blew.

http://youtu.be/pNVvtvmpl-g

(You can choose which one you want it to sound like)

Almost immediately there were shouts and the sound of other horns echoed throughout the surrounding area. We watched as our forces took to the air and began engaging the emerging Havocs, the battle taking place over both banks and the river itself.

HaKeen and I nodded to each other before joining the rest of our forces.

I cam not recall much, as can be expected during all the action of a battle, but I do remember that, at some point, true to HaKeen's prediction, a storm swept in and decimated the battlefield. Fairies and Havocs alike were being swept away by the wind and bashed into branches or rocks, or dropped into the river and drowned.

Eventually, there was an unspoken agreement between the two armies that there was no point in fighting each other in the presence of a more powerful enemy, and each broke away to opposite sides of the river to seek shelter from the pounding rain and wind.

I was at the back of our retreating force, keeping a lookout for stragglers, when I heard something.

"My friend! Please! Help me!"

My blood froze and I twisted around wildly, attempting to get a lock on my friend.

Finally I saw him.

HaKeen was in the river of all places, using all his strength to cling to a small branch that had been wedged between two stones.

"HaKeen!" I screamed out, and charged down, dodging a few leaves that blew my way. Despite the wind, I was eventually able to reach him.

"Can you fly?!" I shouted above the wind.

He shook his head. "Took some Havoc claws to the wing."

"Damn. Hold on!"

I ignored his weak chuckling and flew behind him, wrapping my arms under his armpits, and attempted to lift my friend, but he didn't budge. There must've been something underwater that was holding him in place.

"Sir, can we help?!"

I turned and saw that a couple of soldiers had, despite the dangers, flown down to us and were offering their help. I nodded.

"Yes!" Hold his arms, and be ready to fly him out of here! I'm going to dive down and free him!"

I sensed they were ready to protest, as I was a general, and too valuable to lose should something go wrong, but I didnt give them any time as I released my hold on HaKeen and dove into the water.

The current was incredibly strong, and it took all my strength to grip onto the rocks. I looked around and spotted HaKeen's foot, wedged between a couple of smaller rocks.

I surfaced, took a deep breath, then dove down again and grabbed one of the rocks that trapped the general's foot. I pulled, using the force of the current as extra leverage to remove the stone.

Slowly, the rock slid towards me, until finally it was well clear of the trapped appendage.

Desperate for air, I shot to the surface, gasping.

"Go! Go!" I gasped.

The two soldiers pulled with all their might, and succeeded in lifting HaKeen out of the water. They then took off towards the camp for medical attention.

I pulled myself out of the water and shook my wings to dry them, but before I could takeoff, I was struck in the forehead by either a stock or a stone, I can't remember which, and I fell backwards, quickly losing conciousness.

The last thing I remember was the booming voice of General IronWood screaming out my name, before I submerged and blacked out.