A Story of Fiction

(Prompt taken from here.)

A scout fell to our feet, out of the dark night, screaming that his Queen had been taken away by the Giants, like us, only just different Giants and we must must must help her right this moment. He lay gasping, eyes rolled up in their sockets, nearly frothy at the mouth from the urgency.

My Queen’s Knight propped him up. With a snap, Knight granted him our normal size so we could converse like civilized beings before smacking the scout hard across the face to bring him to some sort of sense. Sir Knight let the scout speak his tale.

The basic information we could gather from this incomprehensible little…deva…grew into a tale of how he and the rest of the court followed their lovely Queen out for a fly on a beautiful moon-lit night. The flight was an intricate part of their Summer rituals, as far as I could manage.

Apparently, their scouts were useless as the entire troupe flew directly into the line of fire of…humans and their offspring. Running towards them with glass jars open, the young children joyfully collected the very beautiful ‘fireflies’. This fine fellow and only a few other tremulous others had fled quickly enough that they were yet free. Their queen had not been quite so lucky.

My queen rolled her flashing emerald eyes, grinding her teeth. Why did they continually come to HER for help in these situations? Were there no others who cared enough to save these creatures? I hid a smirk beneath my hand. This seeking of aid had been getting out of hand for a bit now.

Oh, for sure, many sects and species exist for this exact issue. Their life mission is to save any and all in need, supposedly. However, my dear queen had been in these woods far longer than those. She was trusted to honor her oaths. Being beholden to this court, to my queen, though tricky, was more desirable than the precarious and unpredictable manners of those others.

My queen nodded her head towards her Knight. He chose three, me among them, and off we flew.

How long had it taken the tiny deva to reach us? We arrived at the location and saw the flickering jars set upon windowsills. Yet, all the humans had drifted into their dwelling, by the smell of them. I had secretly hoped that these would be the type of humans who released their prisoners before going inside for the night. Alas, not these.

Sir Knight motioned to me. Of course, he had to choose me. Cloaking myself and sliding into my own magic, I slipped into the house through the cracks. I hummed to myself, preparing the other part of the magic I would be using soon.

The muted cries of the devas drew me on, down a hallway, beneath a bedroom door, past piles of stuffed dolls and piles of books.

There were five jars, stuffed with these nature devas and loads of grass and leaves for them to ‘eat’ while they were ensconced within the jars. I saw several of these devas with faces buried in hands, heads to knees, sobbing woefully. I saw not a single one trying to help themselves. I shook my head.

There was no reason to reveal myself to them, so I simply began to weave my magic within the threads of my song. If Sir Knight had come in, he would have demanded the removal of the lids, perhaps the destruction of the jars. Not for me. Such things could cause a cacophony that would bring the humans running. The thick dull creatures were easy to enchant, but the amount of energy it took to encase them made my head ache any time I had to do it. Then again, perhaps it was their cologne.

I pulled the devas out of the jars through the pores of the glass, gathering them up beneath a fine web of veiling. Instead of leading them outside to the others in my own group, I flung my magic out far enough to scoop those up as well…and land all of us at home, at the foot of my beloved queen once more.

I released all my cloaks and spells and all I held. I bowed deeply to my queen, to the deva queen, and to the rest of the party. I crept back to my space in the recess of the room, a corner created specifically for me so that I may maintain the energy needed to do the work I do.

My queen nodded. Now came the bartering for the price of their release. It was time to barter with the other queen. I closed my eyes and left them to it.

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