A Land of Flowers and Fae

Betrayed

Lavan was only about halfway to his lands before some of his people caught up to him.

"Lord Lavan!" A sylph called. As wind spirits, sylphs were the best messengers since they could fly through any weather faster than most fairies could even think.

"What is it?" He asked, opting to rest in the bough of a dogwood tree. Its leaves and flowers were browning and wilted. He had seen hundreds of plants like this on his journey to his region. Something was very wrong in Fairytopia.

The wind spirit ghosted up to him. She was nearly see through at the edges, but solidified when she landed in front of him. Dipping a quick curtsy as she gripped the edges of her wispy gray dress.

"I bring news from the Magic Meadow. The sickness has spread there too. Also, Guardian Ruby has gone missing, just like Guardian Topaz" The sylph's face was drawn with worry, her eyes wide. He straightened, clenching his jaw for a moment.

"Pass this news to Guardian Azura. Fast as you can. Bring me the status of her movement back to the Rainbow Palace"

The Sylph curtsied again "Yes, my Lord" she gathered herself into a gray cloud and zipped off. Disappearing into the ever-present green haze on the horizon.

Someone was taking the Guardians? Not just poisoning them like they had done to his sister. This must be what their true play was then. The Guardians had something the enemy wanted.

The tree below him shivered and green magic sparked and coalesced into a dryad.

"Dahlia?" He blinked in surprise. He had not instructed his apprentice to leave their region. She was to manage the hall while he was dealing with the issue of his sister.

"Master" She greeted with a prim smile.

"What are you doing out here? Did something happen?"

She smiled more brightly "Yes, some things have fallen into place. I thought I'd give you the news myself"

"Oh?" Something about her demeanor put him on edge. She was too sharp, too gleeful. She had a manic glint to her eye he didn't like.

She nodded "Ive been working very hard on a project of my own for a while now. But I will need your help to complete it. Are you headed back to our home now?"

"Yes" he answered. Strangely, he felt magic gathering around him. What felt like multiple dryads and toadstool folk gathering in the trees and the ground below. He looked around, most of them were hidden beneath the leaves or still concealed inside the tree stumps with their magic. Why were they hiding from him?

"Excellent! I did want to confirm your feelings on a few topics before you see what Ive been working on"

"Now's really not the time to have an ideological debate Dahlia. There's toxins being spread in the air across the country, the Enchantress has been poisoned and now some of the Guardians have gone missing"

"Yes! That's precisely what Ive been working on!" She said brightly, not a hint of surprise or dismay in her expression.

Without an exact reason he could pinpoint, sickness spread through his gut.

"Dahlia, why are you here?" He asked darkly.

Instead of answering him she tpped her chin. Her smile going even sharper."Do you remember when you took me in master? The tree I was linked to was killed, and none of the fairies in the Woodland areas would let me link to a new tree. You took me in, showed me that we creatures on the fringe of fairy society could have a place"

"I don't need a history lesson Dahlia, what did you do?" He asked darkly, his magic building behind his eyes. The tree below them shivering as his power gathered.

"Its important master. You also showed me that there's a reason other fairies fear us. Because we have power. All of the races other fairies see as 'dark'. The Dryads can bend the forests to our will. The sylphs can conjure storms. The firebirds could burn down entire regions. Even the toadstools, the fungi could poison every lake and river with their miasma"

"So we show them that we deserve to have a place Dahlia. We show them that despite the danger we're just like them" he answered, sharp, precise.

"No master, that's where we've always disagreed. We have power, so why do we hide it? Why do cling to our tiny slivers of this world?"

"Its not about power Dahlia. Its never been about that"

She scoffed, for once dropping her easy smile for a sneer. "Easy for you to say, when you've got power to rival the Enchantress. Why have you never overthrown her? Because you thought you couldn't right?"

She spread her arms wide, a wild glint in her eye "Ive found an answer master! Ive found a way for you to finally surpass her. For us to finally take our rightful place. All the fairies across the regions will flock to us. They'll finally understand who they've been ignoring!"

The longer she spoke, the wider his eyes grew. With shock, dread, and horror. Horror at what he'd never seen. What he'd never wanted to see.

"Dahlia. It wasn't, it couldn't have all been you?" but a cynical voice inside him screamed the opposite.

Her smile was back "And why couldn't it be master? The tools were all there. Poisons to make all the fairies in Fairytopia too weak to fly. With an antidote only we can provide. Poisons so strong to lay even the great Enchantress low. And when we have all the Guardians, we can use your royal blood to finally grow stronger than she could ever hope to be!"

His magic roared to life and the branches around them curled toward them. He had to stop her. But then the dryads in the surrounding trees started to move, and the fungi on the ground below started to crawl up the trees.

It was an ambush.

And he was a blind fool.

The trees answered his call and forced the dryads out, casting them to the ground. The bark curled and shook, shaking the fungi loose. Dahlia too was glowing, her light green magic burning in her eyes.

"Dont fight me on this master. I'd rather bring you back as my partner. But Ill bring you back as a prisoner if I have to"

He snarled "Go ahead and try"

She tried to wrest the plants around them from him. But it was like a puddle trying to fight an ocean.

He curled the surrounding branches and ivy around them. Forming a cage to trap her. If he enchanted the branches she wouldn't be able to escape into them. Dryad or no.

Then, a searing pain tore into his side. He looked down, at an arrow punching straight through his lower abdomen. His leg collapsed out from underneath him and his hold on the plant life faltered.

Now that he knew to look for them, more arrows whistled between the trees. He knocked them out of the air with vines shooting out like arms.

His vision started to blur around the edges.

"Poison, what a cheap trick" he growled.

Dahlia grinned. "Only the best for you master. Not to worry. It'll be horribly painful. But once we get you back to the hall I can treat you. I need you alive after all"

He managed to struggle up onto one knee, flaring his wings "Im afraid I cant allow that"

With one final heave of his power he ripped up roots from the ground, throwing clouds of dust and clods of dirt. Pelting everything in a storm of stones and grit.

Dahlia and all her followers yelled in surprise. With their vision obscured, Lavan shot into the sky, pushing faster than he'd ever flown before.

He had to get to Azura. He had to fix this.

"After him!" Dahlia screeched.

It would be difficult to hide from experienced dryad foresters. Then he heard it, the telltale sound of running water. This was going to be cold, and painful. The poison from the arrow was already wreaking havoc. He doubted he would be able to stand if he did have to land. But it didn't matter. He had to get away. And find a way to stop all this.