The Moonlight Boy | Ferry's Tale # 1

The plan

Ferry tried to hide his head away from the moonlight as best as he could. He looked at the Moon, once so beloved. Its light was splitting the darkness of the sky like a sickle and Ferry thought that if he had reached out for it, he would have touched it. Yet, this time, the apparition of the night's queen didn't bring full joy to his heart as it once did. He could feel how everything around him was gradually charging with strange energy as if the whole realm was coming to life. He knew the Sun governed overTenalach, just as it gave vigour and energy to all the beings that inhabited those lands. And yet, the apparition of the Moon seemed to bring something special to them all. Since the event happened so few and far between, Ferry thought that caused the cheering and shouting in the village.

Now, to him, the Moon meant nothing but trouble. He needed to hide better from curious eyes. Besides, the time for finding the Fountain of Truth was getting shorter. He had no idea where to look for it, of course. But that was the smallest of his concerns. His biggest one was Matilda.

Racking his brain, Ferry hid behind the first bush that came on his way to look at the map once more. The problem was that he had no idea where he was. With the darkness falling, he realized that finding the way to the door between the worlds was even harder.

After a while, he heard the whir of wings above his head. He was almost afraid to raise his head. Yet, he felt happy he did. Because Baldie was flying above him, croaking. In the blink of an eye, he changed his shape into that of the raven-man and the other Protectors followed. At their sight, Ferry came out of his hideout and threw himself in Baldie's arms; that took the raven-man by surprise. He didn't quite know what to do with his hands or wings, for that matter. But he eventually let himself being hugged by Ferry, wrapping him in a gawky embrace.

"I'm so happy to see you, Baldie," whispered Ferry. "I'm sorry I ran away. It was so stupid of me..."

Baldie smiled, "I'm happy to see you, too," he said. He took out the raven's stone from one of the many interior pockets of his long coat. Up until that moment, Ferry hasn't noticed Baldie's many pockets and he surely would've loved to know what they were hiding. "I'm sorry I was watching you, back home. I promise I won't do it unless you ask me to. But until we leave this place, you need to keep it."

Ferry nodded and put the raven's stone back on.

"But how did you find me since I didn't have the stone anymore?"

"Well, we wouldn't have had if the moon hadn't been rising," said Shadow. "You're a Moon Fairy, the Moon found you. As it found you, it sent one of her rays to you. Everyone saw it. Some got scared. But others are coming this way. A Moon Fairy is a rare occurrence in this place."

"It's true," added Baldie. "We must go. And you'd better keep your head hidden."

Shadow sniffed the air, "Let's go, I can feel Matilda's scent that way."

They all took off, carefully avoiding the groups of magical creatures that came on their way; it turned out to be hard since the visitors of Tenalach were growing in number with the Moon rising. To Ferry's Protectors, it would've been a lot easier to fly. But since Ferry couldn't, they had to join him by foot. Every time the wind blew, his hair and the moon adorning his forehead shone, brighter than ever. As if they were made of moonlight.

In Tenalach, the spirit of the Midsummer Feast was growing. They could see the fair folk dancing and singing or drinking to everyone's honour, or simply enjoying the celebration from the sides. It seemed as the rising of the Moon made them feel more alive, more magical even.

Ferry tried to keep up. He looked at the places they were walking and found them so unfamiliar. The land of Tenalach was larger than he'd ever imagined. With each step they took, they were moving away from the door between the worlds.