In Search of Auria (6 page)

He saw his weapons leaning against the wall
near the entrance. He fixed the shield on his back, his sword on
his waist and dashed for the door. As he neared his exit, the door
suddenly opened and slammed on his face. The fairy outside jumped
in shock. She was trying to enter when she hit something. She
slowly opened the door again to see Erik unconscious on the floor.
He had the door’s butterfly design printed on his forehead.

###

Erik woke up again… for the third time. His
forehead was swollen. It hurt like if a nail were stuck there. To
his surprise, this time he woke up on the mushroom bed. He looked
towards the table and the fairy was sitting there, staring at him
while eating an apple. Erik stared back.

“Did you do the Sear thing to me again?” he
asked while holding his head.

“No. You did that to yourself, trying to
open the door with your skull,” she replied. Erik breathed hard and
looked around the room. He eyed the door, the table, the walls, and
finally back at her.

“Is this like a torment chamber or
something? Because the moment I stepped inside, all I’ve done is
suffer.”

“I am very sorry for all that has happened
to you, but it was you who entered without permission.”

“… You mean I got all this punishment
because I didn’t knock? Then what is the crime for the death
penalty? Passing gas?”

She looked at him annoyed.

“You know what? I’m sorry,” Erik said as he
got off the mushroom bed. “I’m sorry if I intruded, but this was
the only place I found to escape the darkness from below. I only
wanted directions and food, but I guess I’ll find neither here. So,
I’ll take my leave.”

The fairy was rather stunned by this
peculiar individual, but she pitied him by all the mishaps he had
gone through.

“Wait,” said the Daystar, stopping Erik
before he exited the room. “I apologize for the hardship you have
endured at my home.” She reached for a bag beneath the table and
produced a peach.

“Have this fruit to quell your hunger.”

Erik thought about it, but in the end he
accepted the peach and thanked her. However, before having a bite,
he smelled it.

“Why do you smell it? It is not poisoned!”
she raised her voice.

In a few seconds, Erik gobbled the peach
with just a few bites.

“Um, can I have more?”

The fairy gave him an apple, then a prune,
and lastly some berries. Afterwards, her bag was empty.

“Sorry I ate all your fruit, but I feel much
better now. I thank you.”

She looked at the bag and shook her head.
Now she had to go and search for fruits all over again.

“Well, since we’re not clashing against each
other anymore, let me introduce myself. My name is Erik,” he
extended his arm to shake hands.

“Why do you open your hand asking for more?”
she yelled, “You already ate the whole bag!”

“What? No, no. This is a gesture of
friendship, a custom among my people when meeting one another.”

The fairy stared at him and then his hands.
“I do not think eating the food of someone else a gesture of
friendship, but very well. I am called Auria.”

They sat down and talked with each other.
Conversation was slow at first, but little by little they became
more trusting. He asked Auria about her people; if the legends were
true.

“We expose ourselves to the sun and absorb
the light,” she said, “It makes us strong with the ability to
create heat. But, if we do not, the sun will not consume the land.
That which gives us life will not kill us.”

She then asked him about the bottom land,
about how were the lives and customs. Erik gave a simple answer,
“We eat, sleep, work, and of course, we wage war”.

They continued talking for the next hours.
Every few minutes Erik remembered that he needed to return to the
base camp. But every time he had the thought, he pushed it away. He
felt so relaxed and joyful talking with Auria, instead of going
back to talk about war. And Auria herself felt delighted with
Erik’s presence and his jovial way of talking. They continued until
it was completely dark outside.

“Wow, would you look at that,” Erik
exclaimed, “It’s night already! I didn’t realize.”

Auria stood from the chair and walked to the
door, “I cannot tell you how to get to your destination, but I can
tell you how to not lose yourself.”

Erik paid attention like if his life
depended on it.

“The winds that hit the forest always come
from the north,” she continued. “They are strong up here above the
canopy, but at the bottom you will have to remain very still to
feel them. Sense the wind and you will find your way.”

Erik thanked her. He put on his equipment
and walked to the door. But, before he stepped out, there was one
more thing he wanted to ask that didn’t come up in the
conversation.

“Um, before I leave, remember when you had
me tied on the table and my head was scorching? Why did you come at
me with a knife?”

Auria smiled. She went beside the bed and
returned with the knife and an odd looking weed. “This is the
coolmis herb. Its extract has chilly and soothing properties. I cut
open the herb with the knife and used the extract to treat your
pain. The Sear I afflicted you with is a scalding sensation that
spreads and escalates into burning fire. If it had enveloped your
head, you would have died.”

Erik nodded with a blush. He owed his life
to her; she fed him, saved him, even though she was the cause of
his pain, and now gave him the trick to go past the Forest of
Agony. He wanted to show his gratitude.

“Thank you for everything. Next time I pass
by, I’ll promise to return the favor somehow.”

To this, Auria reacted by lowering her head
in gloom.

“You cannot come back here again,” she said.
“I sheltered you for you are interesting to me. But if others
notice you, they will throw your wingless body down to the roots.
May your life be good, land dweller Erik.”

And with that, she closed the door. Erik
stood there, wanting to say something else, but it had been a clear
goodbye. He went back down through the spiral stairs. The staircase
and the environment outside became darker and darker with each
step. Near the end, he had to feel his way down for it was
completely black. When he finally reached the bottom, he passed
between the giant roots and looked back up towards the dim canopy,
where Auria was. He really wanted to see her again.

He then shook his head and sighed, “What am
I thinking? Better head back to camp. This place is making me
weird.”

By feeling his way through, Erik cleared the
roots and stood still, following Auria’s advice. He remained
motionless until he felt a slight breeze coming from his left. If
the wind came from the north, that meant east was to his front. He
set on forward, struggling through bushes, carefully circling
trees, but with the fairy always on his mind. He couldn’t stop
thinking about what had just happened.

“Daystars are real. They really exist!” he
said to himself. “And Auria, she’s one good looking… What the hell
am I saying? I just discovered a legendary fairy specie and all I’m
having is fuzzy feelings. I must be out of my mind.”

After he argued with himself again and
again, Erik saw a twinkle of light at the distance. It was the
torches that hung from the camp’s wall. He had done it. He crossed
the Forest of Agony and reached the other side! Erik picked up the
pace and ran with all his might.

Dashing out of the treeline, he triggered a
sound trap; dozens of small bells attached to a low wire. The
moment he tripped it, all the bells sounded with loud clangs. The
wire got tangled on Erik’s leg and got ripped off the trees. He
dragged it as he ran, creating even more noise. He didn’t bother to
release them for he just wanted to reach the camp. Suddenly, a row
of torches lit and revealed a dozen archers at the top of the
walls, ready to release their arrows. A man with blonde hair and a
pointy nose spoke, “Who are you? This is a restricted area. Stop or
you shall be shot to death!”

“Oh, shut it, Godfrey. I’m back, let me in,”
yelled Erik.

“What? Erik, is that you? Quickly men, open
the gate!”

#

After washing up and being praised by his
colleague for surviving the battle, Erik went to see his superior.
He would normally report to Captain Gregor Tolbert, but after his
tragic death on the battlefield, the title fell to his son,
Raymond.

When Raymond saw him alive and well, his
heart filled with joy. He asked Erik what had happened after they
parted ways at Tally. Erik explained everything, from the fight
with Sebastien “The Beast”, to the moment he emerged from the
Forest of Agony. He told him the whole thing,
except
encountering the fairy. He wanted to keep that to himself. He knew
that if he told anyone about it, the word would spread and soon
everyone would be urged to find the legendary fairies. Raymond then
explained how Erik’s victory against Sebastien crippled the
frontlines of the balorian army and that they were losing their
evil grip from Somber Petalia.

Erik asked him about his father. Raymond
replied that he was saddened by the loss, but that he had to work
through the pain and lead his men. He would stay and fight.

In the end, Raymond wanted Erik to return to
battle and lead his own battalion. But knowing what his friend had
gone through, he let Erik rest for a couple of days before
returning to the fight.

The next day, Erik asked permission to
wander the forest to see if he could find his way back to the other
side. His excuse was that it would be an advantage for the army if
they could attack Balora from another area, but in reality he
simply wanted to see Auria again. With Raymond’s reluctant consent,
he set off into the forest. He did not go empty handed. Other than
his sword and shield, he carried two bags; one full of fruits, and
the other with a sunflower he “borrowed” from Raymond’s room. He
wanted to repay Auria for her hospitality, even though she told him
never to return.

Since everything looked the same in the
faint forest, Erik did the same thing he had done the night before:
he felt the weak northern wind and travelled in a straight line.
This time, towards the west. The hike continued for three hours
until he noticed a familiar looking rock. It was the rock he had
sat on beside Auria’s tree. Seeing the curtain of ivy on the bark
confirmed it; he had arrived. Without any rest, he went straight to
the stairs. One would think he’d be tired from all the hiking, but
with each step he took, the more energized he’d get. Just thinking
about seeing Auria again gave him an overflow of happiness. And
somehow he knew she would feel the same thing for him. He went from
walking to jogging up the steps; and then from jogging to dashing.
He was that enthusiastic.

He finally reached the door at the end of
the stairwell and opened it. He was blinded again, but this time it
was not the light of the sun that struck him. All the daystar
community was flying around the forest canopy, soaring through the
air with their burnished wings. He saw fairies flying from the
bottom of the forest carrying baskets full of berries, mushrooms
and herbs. Between the giant branches he saw young daystars playing
catch, some floating and others sitting. And high above, on the
highest parts of the canopy, male fairies darted through the skies
hunting for birds. The windows and balconies of their homes were
riddled with vines, purposely bent and twisted to make ornate
patterns. And the branches that connected the trees had been
painted with strokes and curls of white and yellow. It was a whole
race untouched and free from the world of man.

Erik walked to the front door of the house,
but before he could knock, it opened from the inside. It was Auria.
Her face turned blank when she saw Erik standing there. He was
about to say hi when she thrust her palm to his chest. The hit sent
him straight to the stairwell door and down the steps.

“What the hell, Auria!” Erik grunted when he
landed on the steps. With an angry pace he climbed back to the top.
Auria was still standing, but with a fearful expression. She knew
Erik wasn’t going to hurt her, so why did she react that way? Then,
a voice spoke from within the house.

“Girl, what are you doing?”

Hearing the voice, Erik immediately closed
the stairwell door, leaving only a small gap to peek through.

“Oh, it is nothing,” Auria said, faking a
smile, “Just trying to scare one of those disgusting mosquitoes.”
An old fairy came out of the tree house. He was hunched and walked
with the aid of a polished wooden cane. He did not have wings
anymore because of his old age, but he still had the sproutings on
his back.

“Mosquitoes at this height?” another voice
spoke, “They must be the strongest of their kind to get all the way
up here.” Out came a kid fairy with black, punky hair.

“Well, Auria,” the boy continued, “we will
see you later.” He grabbed the old man under the arms and carried
him away, flying to another tree. When they were finally gone,
Auria went to Erik, “What are you doing here? You are not to be
back!”

“Calm down, woman,” he said while rubbing
his chest. “Why did you push me so hard? I could’ve fallen off the
landing.”

“You are crazy to return. If any of the
others see you, they will do just that. They do not appreciate land
dwellers.” She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him inside the
tree house.

“Now, tell me what you are doing here?” she
demanded, like if scolding an infant.

“Well, we met under the most painful and
confusing of circumstances. You know, with the burning, knifing and
dooring.
I just want to apologize for all the trouble I
caused you.”

As Auria listened to him, her face
softened.