Jungle

Hello!  Yes, this is yet another of my fantasy creations, though it is unrelated to any of the worlds that I have written about before.  It is mostly told from Willow's point of view and if I left out anything important, let me know and I will rework the story to include that part.  Your feedback is always important and I hope you enjoy the story.

- Sky Traveller

***

The humid air filled my lungs and I closed my eyes with joy. I didn't often get to escape from my duties, so I treasured each moment that I could walking in this lush forest. I opened my eyes to take in the vibrant greens, at least one the exact shade of my blood. I ran my hand along a silky leaf and picked the thick, juicy one next to it. I raised the leaf to my mouth and I bit into it, my sharp teeth easily slicing through the leaf's fibers. The sweet flavor of the leaf filled my mouth and I felt stronger almost immediately, my magic tingling just under my skin. The first bite of a leaf is always the best.

I then felt a tugging on my shirt hem. I turned around and saw that my employer's youngest daughter was looking up at me with her huge brown eyes. I smiled down at her. "Sarah, what are you up to now?"

"I wanted to know what you are eating," she told me, changing her voice into the high-pitched one she reserved for adults. It was interesting that she classified me as an adult, but I did resemble a human adult.

"I'm eating a leaf. It is of the jungle plant myrrius dysphorius. It's not poisonous to humans, but you probably shouldn't eat it."

Sarah crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I don't wanna be a human. I wanna be like you."

I chewed on my leaf, carefully thinking over my next words. "Things are... difficult for my kind these days. I don't think it would be wise to wish to be like me. Why would you want to be like me?"

"I could eat all plants," she said. "And I would have cool magic."

I chuckled. "Humans have cool magic, too."

"And you're really smart."

"If you work hard, you can be just as smart as me."

"I like your ears."

"I like my ears, too." Involuntarily, one of my hands reached up and caressed the point of my right ear. I rested my hand there for a bit and then dropped it. Sarah was looking at me expectantly, so I ate the rest of my leaf and reached for another one.

"Do you eat flowers?" Sarah asked.

I made a face. "Pollen tastes bad. So no, I don't."

"You could wash the pollen out," Sarah suggested.

I considered this. "I could." This was actually probably a good idea. I decided to try it the next time I was confronted with flowers for dinner.

"Sarah? Willow?" came a woman's voice from the entrance of the portal.

Ah. One of my employers and Sarah's mother. Sarah ran to her mother and hugged her. "Hi, mommy," she said, looking up at her with a grin on her small face.

Her mother smiled down at her. "Come on, get ready for bed." Sarah then ran off. Sarah's mother then looked at me. "You okay there, Willow?"

"I'm fine," I replied automatically. "Just eating some dinner before I go back on duty."

Sarah's mother smiled at me, a genuine smile. I felt warmed by it. "Don't overwork yourself, sweetie. We appreciate what you do, but you don't need to work yourself to unconsciousness for us."

I chuckled. "We don't need as much sleep as humans do. But I appreciate the advice."

Sarah's mother nodded and then left, leaving the view of the secret room unobstructed. I then returned to my dinner, wishing for more moments like this one.

When I left the jungle through the portal, I saw one of the boys looking at me, a somewhat hostile expression on his face. It was Ivan, I recalled. I didn't see much of either of the boys around the house because usually when they were home I was either asleep or eating in the jungle.

"Dweeb," he said before leaving the secret room. I frowned after him. I could never figure out what he meant by 'dweeb'. I assumed it was an insult, but with Ivan one could never tell.

"He's so mean to you," Sarah said quietly, standing at the doorway of the secret room. Her room was right next door, so she probably heard everything that went on in here.

I shrugged. "I've been treated worse."

"It's still not nice," she insisted.

I sighed heavily. Maybe my employer was right. Maybe I was working myself too hard. "You can talk to him about it in the morning. Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

Sarah blinked once and was gone in a flash. I then walked out of the secret room, the door shutting behind me and locking the instant I was out of range. The door was specially charmed so it would only open if I were nearby or inside it. Besides storing the portal, it also held several charms that my employers would rather not have fall into the hands of certain individuals. I then made my way to my usual post in the living room, sitting in a comfortable armchair with its back to the front door, providing both ample cover and decent warning time should someone come crashing in uninvited. Of course, the consequence to having a comfortable armchair was the temptation to fall asleep. And this was one night where I wasn't going to force myself to stay awake...