Fairy Garden/Story

Chapter I
"Is it just me, or does the air feel kind of tingly here?"

The wizard and Wiz were walking through an especially ancient part of the forest when they saw her. A young elf was standing at the edge of the trail, peering through the thick trunks. In the direction of her gaze, softly glowing motes of light danced in and out of the shadows cast by the verdant canopy.

"A fairy garden should be close."

Biting her lip, the girl explained that to reach adulthood, elves must be sprinkled with fairy dust after passing their trials.

The curious wizards decided to accompany the worried elfling. She gathered her courage, and the three of them stepped off the trial into the woods.

Chapter II
The old, thick trees suddenly gave way to a sunlit glade. Wiz, the wizard, and the elf Phina stepped out among the knee-high sunlilies and saw the fairy. Well, not Wiz. The flowers were so tall she could only hear laughter and rustling grass. The fairy was chasing and leaping after a butterfly. When she noticed her audience, she waved and started running toward them.

Phina squeaked and hid behind the wizard. Wiz clambered up and perched on the wizard's shoulder. The fairy saw Phina's trembling ear peeking out from behind its human shield.

"Hey! You must be here for your trial. Don't worry, it'll be fun!

The young elf would not loosen her grip on the back of the wizard's robe. The wizards decided to help her and face the trial together.

Chapter III
After being sprinkled with the first fairy's magic dust, Phina grew a little in appearance and power.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" The fairy was in mid-laugh when she gasped and sprinted into the trees. This time she was after a squirrel.

Where'd she go? What was happening? Wiz frantically tried to see over the surrounding flora, expecting an attack.

Phina giggled and started walking in the opposite direction the fairy took. Phina was still timid but took the lead.

Once they entered the forest, they found a path lined with rose bushes. A few yards down the path, Phina stumbled over a root that suddenly erupted from the soil. The rose bush beside the trail giggled.

"Uh oh, someone stained her dress. Actually, I think it looks a little better now." A fairy strolled out of the bush and winked at the elf.

Phina stepped forward and faced the fairy's trial.

Chapter IV
The second fairy cast her dust on Phina. She matured even more and looked like an adult now.

Phina admired her new appearance and thanked the fairy. Then she squared her shoulders, spun around, and extended her leg for a confident stride when her hair whipped around and got tangled in a low-hanging branch that had somehow escaped everyone's notice.

"Bahaha! I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. Good luck!" The fairy stumbled into a rose bush, holding her sides while Phina yanked twigs out of her hair.

The path led to a stream on which a fairy stood. She was twirling her staff to cause powerful streams of water to roar through the air.

"You may look like an adult, but you have the mind and heart of an ignorant child with much to learn. Do not be disappointed when you fail." The fairy lowered her staff, but the water stayed in the air, moving slowly around her in thick ribbons.

Phina stuck out her chin and stamped to the edge of the river, ready to show the fairy how wrong she was.

Chapter V
The elf's not a little girl anymore, thought wiz.

"You managed to impress me. Now go, follow the river." The stern fairy gave what must have been a rare smile before she parted the water to inspect the pebbles at the bottom.

The river eventually opened into a pond with a surface like glass that reflected the slowly drifting lights above it. A path of stepping stones led to an island. Above the island, several white boulders revolved in the air, like planets in orbit. Their star was a fairy, lovely and radiant, her wings and hair gently waving as if underwater.

"Well done, elven maiden. You have passed the trials of this garden and matured greatly." The fairy alighted on the moss below when the three stepped onto the island.

"Thank you! I can't wait to go back to my village and show everyone how much I've changed!"

"Not yet. There is one last trial for you to endure: prove to me just how much you have grown."

Phina accepted the challenge, confident and firm.

Chapter VI
Now that the final trial was over, Phina was truly an adult, inside and out. They crossed the stepping stones back to shore and returned to the trail where they met.

"I couldn't have done it without you two. Thank you so much."

Phina bowed deeply to wiz and the wizard.

"You didn't need us. You just underestimated yourself," the wizard said while Wiz rubbed her body against Phina's ankles.

Phina turned her beaming, beautiful face toward home, ready to show her village how much she had grown.