The Fairy Prince

I hope you all enjoy this quick flash fiction. It is more fantasy then most of my pieces. However, I enjoyed the chance to step into an Enchanted Forest, and tell the folklore of the fairy prince, Avery. This is completely a YA piece. ©Misty Harvey 2013

 

The Fairy Prince

By 

Misty Harvey

Moonbeams bathed the woods in light. Tiny yellow specks danced around tree trunks. Forest animals chattered as they prepared for their winter slumber.

 Brilliant colored leaves flittered down from the canopy. Soft crunching of them could be heard whenever an animal skittered about. Gentle tapping joined the chorus as rain started to fall.

Genavive loved this time of year. The forest so awake with hurried activity entertained her for hours. She would sit on a fallen tree deep in the forest. Sometimes she would read, but mostly she’d just watch.

Her grandmother used to tell her stories of this forest. She called it The Enchanted Forest, stating there was always a magic about it. That as the seasons changed from one to the next a fairy prince could be found overseeing these changes.

As much as she loved these tales, taking special heart to the mystical aspects, she knew they were only that. Just grand tales meant to entertain Genavive for hours, still that didn’t stop her from making trips into the forest each season change.

Not once had she run into a fairy prince in all the years, but she had learned an appreciation for nature’s beauty. On that aspect she supposed the fairy tales had given her so much more than simple entertainment. It had given her a lust for life unmatched by any other.

The rain pattered down faster setting a chill into the air. Genavive pulled her cloak tighter around herself. The green velvet hood kept her head free of the rain. It wouldn’t be much longer and she’d have to start her journey home.

Her long fingers reached for the gas lamp on the mossy ground. They froze as her eyes caught a movement to the right of her. The gaze of her bright green eyes trying to discern what had drawn her attention.

Moonbeams appeared to gather in a great mass between two oak trees. The bright light caused Genavive to turn away. It had only taken moments to die down. Yet when she looked back, surprise rang through her.

There between the two oaks stood a man. His skin the color of morning frost. Long snow white hair danced around his waist, and the pale blue of his eyes held her captive in their gaze. Exposed hard muscles glittered in the night. They led into a loin cloth created of large leaves, before falling away to long legs. The man stood barefoot among the forest, regardless of the coming winter.

“Why do you sit in the rain, young one?” His voice like hot cocoa on a cold winter’s day warmed her insides.

“To catch a glimpse of you.” Genavive’s voice sounded small even to her own ears.

The smile that crossed his lips lit up his entire face. It only lasted a few precious moments, but it was breathtaking. A glow remained just beneath the surface of his skin.

“Who are you?” came his next question.

“Genavive. My grandmother has told me many stories about you, but I never believed them.” She stood to meet the fairy prince as he approached.

“I see much of my darling Agnes in you.” His gaze drifted over Genavive, watching the gentle shiver that followed.

“Is it true that you two spent a lot of time together?”

“Indeed. I loved Agnes more than everything. I offered her a place in my home, and in my heart. Yet, she gave up immortality in favor of your grandfather. Why she’d choose to die is beyond me,” the fairy prince spoke.

“It isn’t a choice of death, but rather of family.” Genavive giggled shyly.

“Ah, yes. The human need to procreate.” He watched her closely.

“Yes, that is it.” She smiled at him.

“I doubt I will ever understand it. Alas, that is the past. My name is Avery. Welcome to my home.” His muscles rippled as he opened his arms wide.

“Thank you.” Genavive’s smile came instantly to her lips.

“Come with me, Genavive. Let me show you around.” Avery held his hand out to her.

“It would be my pleasure.”

Her hand fit into his perfectly. The heat from Avery’s skin warmed her. No longer did the chill of the night soak through her clothes.

They spent hours wandering in the forest. He would stop them to point out tiny details that would go over looked otherwise. Conversation flowed easily between them. They shared their love for nature, creating a bond between them.

Still their time in the forest couldn’t last forever. Their footsteps came to a halt at the edge of trees, and for the first time they grew silent. Neither of them moved as they stood on the brink of society.

Genavive’s heart sank. She’d spent her whole life trying to catch a glimpse of Avery. Now she’d succeeded, she didn’t want to leave his presence.

“When will I see you again?” Genavive turned to Avery.

“You can find me here at the birth of the first spring flower.” He gave her a smile.

“I do not want to go.” Tears wavered in Genavive’s eyes.

“You must, your family will worry if you do not return, but we will meet again.” Avery swept a falling tear from her face.

He closed his palm, reopening it once again. Where her tear had been sat a beautiful gem. The opaque gem carried her tear drop shape. Avery placed it within her hand.

“When the moon shines bright, and you feel alone, just look into the gem and I will bring you home.” Avery leaned down, brushing a gentle kiss across her lips. His feet crunched in the leaves as he walked back into the forest.

Genavive watched him until she could no longer make out his figure. She clung to the gem tightly while walking home that night, but she visited Avery often.

“It is said that when the forest came back to life that spring that the two wed in the clearing where they had first met,” the old woman spoke to the gathering of girls. She held up a tear drop shaped gem for them to see. The light shining through it. If they all looked hard enough they could see the fairy couple standing within it. The story about the fairy prince finding his princess gave each girl there a giddy sense of happily ever after.