The Green Guardian

Chapter 1: The Fairy and the Basilisk

Song: "Home" - Vince Staples

Sixty years earlier

        The gentle whispering of warm wind brushed the Paperblank Forest's treetops like the wisps of fairy wings. Golden rays of sunshine danced through the leaves and scanned the forest bed. Deep in its heart was a single shrine. Vines and flowers decorated it from top to bottom, and a stone staircase was in front of it. The shrine was home to the Green Guardian. Her house, made from leaves and branches, curled around the shrine's front legs. It blended in well with the vines as if it had the gift of camouflage.

Euphorbia woke early to check her flowers. Only two inches tall, she was a member of the fae–the fairies. She wore a long, green dress woven from leaves that had a deep green belt tied around her waist and emerald ballet slippers on her little feet. Her wispy, red hair flowed in the sunshine while she flew. Blue and green fairy dust sparkled in her clear butterfly wings. She listened to the Paperblank Forest's morning announcements and tended to her plants.

Forest creatures: deer, squirrels, birds, and rabbits emerged from within bushes. They stepped onto the shrine's stone path, seeming to smile at the fairy. The rabbits' button noses twitched, and the deer moved their ears. Like Euphorbia, they listened to the forest's wise words:

"Euphorbia, you must fly. You are not safe."

Euphorbia joined her animal friends and peered up at the treetops. Confusion flashed across her face, like the lens of a camera. She sniffed the fresh air. It smelled no different. So, why did the forest tell her to fly?

She gasped when the animals scattered. They rushed back into their holes, nests, and bushes, leaving her all alone. A low hiss came from deep within a cluster of ferns. Red eyes appeared on top, seeming to stare at her.

Euphorbia inched closer to her home, startled by what was happening.

A deep, booming voice caused her tiny head to shake like a record player. "There she is–the Green Guardian."

The creature in the ferns hissed, "Indeed," to his master.

Euphorbia tried to fly, but it was already too late. A puff of blue-green smoke escaped the ferns and encased her whole shrine in a cocoon. Instantly, she felt weak. The glow in her wings faded, and she sank to the ground. Nevertheless, she stayed strong. The petals of her flowers waved goodbye as she fluttered out of danger, only to find herself in even more trouble.

The creature from the bush and his master followed her. After all, they were eager to get their paychecks.

***

"Little boy, what are you doing this deep in the forest?"

Sam jumped when he heard the voice. He peered up from his sketchbook and hopped off the rubbish log he had been sitting on. No longer under the cool shade of the tall oak, he looked across the small, rushing stream in front of him. The section of the forest he was in had enormous trees, and all of their branches curved like arches. The dirt under his shoes felt like sand on a beach. Oh, how he had the urge to take them off.

Directly in front of him stood a young woman. She was about twenty years old. Her white dress reached for her ankles, and there were pink and purple patterns on the hem of it. Her lace-up boots dug into the dirt. Over her elbow was a picnic basket. "Are you lost?" she asked.

Sam shook his head of medium-length, brown hair. Two tufts hung in front of his ears. "No, ma'am," he said. "I was just trying to find a quiet place to draw." The sun's rays sparkled in his blue eyes.