Nemesis and the Fairy of Pure Heart

by Ashley Du Toit

  “I’s sorry,” he said, although to go by the cheeky grin on his face, Bella was almost sure that he didn’t mean it. She laughed out loud. In the next minute, his hurried, harassed mother was right beside them, grabbing the tiny mite before he had the chance to run again.

  “Hello,” she said, “I hope you are okay.”

  Then, seeing that the laughing Bella was on her feet and obviously unharmed, she continued without pausing for breath. “Thank you for stopping my impish son. I’m Glenna, mother of Paten, the elfin who just knocked you over,” she continued on although Bella had yet to say a word, “You must be new in this part of the glen, it’s not often that we get beautiful fairies such as yourself wandering along our paths.”

  Bella smiled up at Glenna—she was slender and very tall, Bella had to crane her head back a very long way.

  Bella had never seen a more beautiful Elfin. Glenna’s long snow white hair was streaked with strands of silver, it hung straight down her back, the tips touching her bottom. Her face was a petite and perfect oval, eyes a clear ash-grey, small nose slightly uptilted, mouth a dewy rosebud. Delicate pointed ears peeked out from within the depths of her hair. Her hands were graceful, with long, slim fingers and neat, polished nails.

  Glenna’s cloak of deep purple edged with silver ribbon swirled down her body to end in whispers around her feet. Her only ornamentation was the clear crystal of the Elfins that complemented her graceful neck.

  Bella looked at the smile on Glenna’s face before replying, “I’m Bella, Fairy of Pure Heart. I’m looking for life’s wind. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?”

  The smile disappeared instantly from Glenna’s face. “Why would you be seeking life’s wind?” she asked in a serious tone.

  Bella explained her quest to save Arthur from Nemesis the Dragon. As she spoke, Glenna began to move forward and so Bella joined her on the path. They entered the Elfin sanctuary together. The first thing that Bella noticed was several elfin children playing with oddly carved pieces of wood. As they blew into one side, splendid misty colours would dance from the other, then disappear as if they had never been.

  When the elfins realised they had a visitor in their midst, they came to stand in front of her, some of them whispering, others just staring, fascinated by her face.

  The inner light that shone so brightly was a telling sign that she was of pure heart and would do them no harm.

  One elfin caught Bella’s attention. He also had straight white hair tinged with silver strands. He had not joined the others, but was standing to one side, watching her intently. The other elfins sensed he was waiting for them to allow him access and they moved aside.

  He stepped forward and introduced himself to Bella. “My name is Pirogues. I am husband to wife Glenna and father to son Paten. Welcome to this our humble abode.”

  Pirogues stared at Bella and then answered her question as if he could read her mind: “You saved us a lot of trouble, catching the son before he could go near to the water sprites. We owe you our thanks for that, which is why we have allowed you to enter our glen.”

  Bella smiled at Pirogues. “Thank you Pirogues, It was a pleasure to help catch your son before he could find himself in trouble.”

  Pirogues grinned at that, then became more serious.

  “I sense that you seek something, Fairy,” he said softly looking directly at her.

  “I do,” she acknowledged. “My name is Bella. I am the Fairy of Pure Heart, and I seek life’s wind in my quest to complete the Great Dragon Hunt, as bid by Yarg, King of the Trolls. I need this magical token to gift to Nemesis the Dragon so that he might set my heart’s desire free.”

  The other elfins began to talk among themselves, mumbling to Pirogues in their own language. Pirogues frowned as he heard what they were saying, and then he looked sharply at Bella.

  “They say that they have heard of a fairy who seeks to save one from the mortal realm. Are you this fairy?”

  Bella slowly nodded her head.

  “Then tell us more of this quest,” he said, and she began the tale of the adventures that had brought her to their glen.

  The elfins sat completely stilled, riveted by her words. As her tale drew to a close, Pirogues said, “Come, Fairy of Pure Heart, celebrate with us this morning’s glow, for I do believe that we may be of some assistance to you. For a fair exchange, of course,” and with those words he turned and began to walk towards a large building, the Elfin hall.

  The walls of the hall were steeped in rich elfin history. Enclosed in magical transparent gold panes of glass were huge sheets of elfin writing that chronicled the exploits of their ancestors, and paintings and portraits hung upon every space in between.

  In the centre of the hall were elfin-made tables, exquisitely carved from the heaviest, most lustrous of woods. As Bella drew nearer for a better look, she noted that each tabletop was carved with a unique story: here were the legends, deep-seated histories of generations past.

  Pirogues raised his hand, indicating to all that they should be seated. Another gesture and the tables were suddenly laden with food. While a fairy usually ate very small meals, and could go for some weeks without needing food, the marvellous smells that drifted towards her made Bella realise that she was quite hungry, and the sight of so much food was very welcome.

  The tabletops disappeared beneath the load of meats covered in rich sauces; plump, sugar-dusted cakes; scrumptious-smelling loafs of light honey bread; carafes of fresh sweet dew; flagons of elfin-made ale. Elfins took their places around the room, food was passed along by hands and glasses were magically refilled, everyone talked loudly, and laughter filled the air. A small part of Bella envied their closeness as she realised how much she missed her fairy brothers and sisters.

  When all in the hall had finished eating, Pirogues waved his hand again. Tables cleared instantly, revealing once more the legends for all to see. Pirogues looked at Bella as he stood up from his seat. The other elfins quietened.

  “Fairy of Pure Heart,” began Pirogues, “life’s wind is made up of swirling mists of thousands of different dimensions of colours, but only Nemesis and the elfins have the magic to see or command it. We can gift you with one of our elfin charms, with which you might summon life’s wind. But we require something in return.”

  Pirogues watched as Bella absorbed his words. Then he began his tale:

  “Across the river where the water sprites live there is a glen, not unlike our own. Eons ago we lived there, but it was stolen from us by the water sprites. They attacked in stealth, at night. As you know, immortals do not die from the effects of age, but our life force can be spent through harm. So we were forced to flee, with no time to gather our belongings, nor our treasures. Part of the essence of our elfin magic is a set of twelve light crystals. They are of great value to us, but of no use to any other magical realm. These also we were forced to leave; there was no time to recover them from their secret place.”

  He paused a moment, and Bella glanced around, the absolute quiet, the bowed heads of the elfin folk showing that this ancient sorrow was still very much alive.

  With a deep sigh, Pirogues continued: “The water sprites guard their stolen domain jealously from us. Should we try to return to our old home to regather the light crystals, I fear that we would lose many to our old enemy. Until you arrived, we despaired of ever seeing the crystals again. But you, Fairy of Pure Heart, they might allow to pass. So, in exchange for our light crystals, we will grant you life’s wind.”

  His words echoed through her head. She was frightened by the story, but she realised that she really had no choice. She nodded her head slowly in agreement. The hall had suddenly lost its cosiness and a small shiver trailed along her spine. Standing up, she made her way out into the sunlight.

  Teague was there, waiting for her. How did you go then? he telepathed playfully as he swoo
ped down towards her. He gently brushed his soft antennas across her face, teasing her.

  Despite her misgivings at the new task before her, Bella could not help but respond to his light-heartedness, and felt her spirits lift.

  “I have to go get something,” she said laughingly, pushing him away.

  What do you have to do now? he telepathed as he again tickled her face.

  “Across the brook lies a glen similar to this one. I must go there and find some special crystals.”

  Do you want me to fly you over?

  “I think that would be lovely,” she laughed, hugging him closely.

  “What would be lovely?” asked Pirogues, who had walked up to stand behind her.

  “Teague will carry me to the glen across the way,” Bella replied.

  “He cannot do that,” sighed Pirogues. “Since you cross the domain of the Water King, you must search him out and ask his permission. Your butterfly cannot breathe under the water.”

  Bella stared at Pirogues in astonishment. “I have to go before the Water King?” she whispered, only now realising what she’d agreed to. Then as the rest of his words penetrated, “But I cannot breathe underwater either,” she said.

  “Many ages ago, all immortals could breathe underwater, but most have not had the need to use it for thousands of years, and so the ability has passed from our consciousness. But when the moment comes, your body will know what to do,” Pirogues assured her.

  Alarmed as he heard this exchange, Teague forgot about being playful.

  Bella I don’t think this is a very good idea, he said urgently.

  “You know how important this is to me,” Bella whispered. “I have to help Arthur.”

  She sat down for a moment, her hand buried in Teague’s soft fur as she thought about what lay before her.

  “Teague don’t worry, I’m going to be just fine,” she said, her confidence renewed as she wrapped Arthur’s words around her again like a cloak. “Hey, you haven’t given up on me before—so don’t start now,” she laughed.

  Bella turned to Pirogues and asked him exactly how to get to the glen and where to find the crystals. Reaching forward Pirogues offered Justice a tiny parchment. She raised her eyebrows to him.

  “The ancient words that will allow you to retrieve the crystals,” he said simply as her hand closed over it.

  “Be safe, Fairy,” said Pirogues as he moved to stand beside Teague.

  “Wait for me Teague,” she whispered.

  She removed her hand from his fur and touched the bag of enchantments around her neck for reassurance. Turning, she walked out of the glen.

  7

  Life’s Wind

  Bella walked down a beaten path towards the stream. As she walked, she took a small green ribbon lined with blue silk stitching from her magical bag, and braided it into her hair. The ribbon would ensure safe passage across the river and the stitching would provide protection when she again reached land, in case the current washed away her fairy dust.

  She stopped when she reached the water’s edge. The water gurgled past, making small, overlapping swishing noises, as if all the creatures in the water were talking at once.

  The sun shone brightly in the sky. Bella guessed that it was almost mid-day, which would hopefully leave her with plenty of time to reach the crystals and return to the Elfins before night fall.

  She breathed deeply, drawing in the courage she would need, then stepped into the river. Icy water rushed up against her body and goose bumps appeared on her arms. Bella waded in further, she could feel the current pulling at her. The water churned around and past her in a hurry to escape this obstacle in its path. She struggled to retain her balance.

  Bella looked wistfully at the other bank. It looked so far away. She waded further into the river and the water slowly rose up her body, Bella willing it to warm around her. When the stream had reached to her chest, she took a deep breath and dunked her head under, then gasped as she cleared the icy water again, rivulets of water cascading down her face.

  Wiping her hair from her eyes, Bella lifted her legs and began to tread water, face angled to see within the depths. She could see that the river bottom dropped sharply away at this point, but she could not see more than a few metres into the depths. Taking another deep breath, she stepped forward.

  She drifted downward, making a conscious effort to trust that her body would know what to do. As she slowly descended, her lungs began to feel the strain of holding her breath. She looked back to the surface. Across her view, the sky stretched hazily, broken here and there by sunlight streaming through the water in soft-edged rays. The need to breathe becoming urgent, Bella began to struggle towards the surface. Her lungs bursting, she kicked out in panic. Just as she realised that she could not reach the surface in time, the elfin’s words echoed again in her mind. Opening herself to trust, Bella gulped in a breath. And realised that what Pirogues had told her was true. She was breathing under the water.

  Bella stopped struggling, and again began to drift downward. After a few moments, her feet gently sank into the bed of river sand and she could stand again. Her eyes now adjusted to being open under water, Bella blinked in disbelief. All around her were tiny gleaming homes shaped like raindrops and covered in shimmering splashes of swirling glitter that glistened with a myriad sparkles as the sun caught them at different angles. Gently swaying willowy plants grew in neat arrangements between the raindrop dwellings, and tiny bright stones nestled on the river bed in rows, as if they were pathways of a sort.

  Bella was lost in contemplation of beauty, the like of which she had never seen before, when something moving at the edge of her vision brought her from her reverie. She turned to see hundreds of ethereal creatures swimming rapidly but silently towards her.

  Unsure whether she was in danger, Bella backed away towards the small community of houses. When she reached them, she turned to face the water sprites following her, and sank again to touch the bottom. She held herself still and a number of the creatures swam towards her, then began to swim around her in swift, dizzying circles. Frightened, Bella sank down low, dropping her head to protect herself from attack. After a long moment the water calmed around her and all was still.

  Cautiously, Bella raised her head and opened her eyes. To her dismay she discovered that she was inside a bubble, which she realised the water sprites must have been spinning around her. She pushed at the side, it was spongy and absorbed her touch, but did not move. Bella realised that she was trapped.

  She faced the water sprites. They were ugly creatures, with long, thin bodies, and webbed and scaly feet and hands. Coated in light, filmy slime, that caused them to glisten, they had tiny little spikes protruding from their spines. Their faces were thin and pointed at the end and something drifted upon the tops of their heads—she could only assume was supposed to be hair—streaks that didn’t form any real shape, a kaleidoscope of different colours meshing together, some short, some long, but all of them floating eerily towards the surface.

  “What do you want with me” she garbled out, her voice distorted as it travelled through the water and the bubble.

  The water sprites responded to her words with loud gasps and expressions of astonishment. Confused, Bella looked from one to another of the water sprites, willing each in turn to talk to her.

  One sprite came forward. From the bronzed shining crown on his head and large spear in his hand, Bella assumed him to be the King of the Water Sprites. His body was tinged green and purple. His huge round eyes were staring at Bella, a horrible scowl on his face.

  Trapped in her bubble, Bella was getting more restless, more uneasy with each moment that passed. She continued to look at the awesome creature before her.

  Not understanding what was happening, Bella tried a smile in his direction.

  The king opened his mou
th and spoke:

  “How is it that you use our language, the tongue of our ancestors, Fairy?” he demanded, his tone clearly expressing his outrage.

  “I don’t know,” she said after a moment, blinking in confusion. I was speaking another language?

  “Why do you trespass in our waters?” he demanded.

  Ignoring his question, she asked one of her own. “What is your name?” she queried in a firm voice, trying to sound as brave as she felt.

  “I am Zeis, King of the Water Sprites,” he boomed. “Why are you in our waters? Tell me NOW!”

  “I seek to cross to the other side of the river,” she explained with an outward calm, although she was far from feeling that way inside.

  “Who said that you may cross our domain?” he demanded.

  “No one,” said Bella, standing up. “I seek your permission, O King. Will you allow me free passage through your kingdom?”

  Zeis rubbed his hands together, an unpleasant, knowing smile upon his face, as if he held within him a great secret. “I think ... NOT.”

  Before Bella could ask why he would deny such a small request, Zeis had pointed his spear at her. A vicious storm began to form in her bubble. Bella raised her eyes to him and lifted a delicate eyebrow. The next minute Zeis was lifted and flung backwards to sit on the river floor. For a moment, his face showed shock. The water sprites watched them, unmoving.

  Bella could see that Zeis was very angry but he didn’t point his spear at her again. “Your magic does not work against me, Water Sprite,” she said softly, as he continued to watch her.

  “What do you mean, Fairy?” he asked in a dangerous voice.

  “My protection spell is far stronger than any spell you could use against me.”

  Zeis stared at her strangely, “What is your name, Fairy?”

  “My name is Bella, Fairy of Pure Heart,” she answered.

  The water sprites began to shout, Zeis spoke, “We have heard of you, Fairy of Pure Heart. We did not know that you would venture into our domain. Now that you are here, what should we do with you?”