Doubts and Promisses

Deep in woods where the trees are so thick that the sun pours through in rays and the vegetation is so dense that you can barely see the ground, is where the fairies live. and in the heart of the forest there grew a huge tree. this tree was much larger and taller than any house, and it was home to the fairies. and at the center of the tree in the center of the forest there lived the fairy queen. she was the wisest of all the fairies though she was only ten years old. fairies mature at a much faster rate than humans and so they age twice as fast as us. but this story is not about the queen or any of her friends, or any of her subjects really. this story is about a young girl named Automne. i suppose you are going to want a back-story.
there was once a young gentleman who was stumbling around the forest, lost. but as he continued on he found a trail leading through the heart of the forest. he supposed this would be the quickest way to get where he wanted to go, so he followed the trail until he heard a soft rustling noise. i suppose you might be accustomed to hear rustling noises in the forest, but he knew that this was a rustling that could only mean magic. he looked down to find a small fairy on the ground. he saw that her wing was broken and so he gingerly lifted her up into his hands and straitened out her wing.

he asked her "to where should i bring you, so you may be healed and cared for."

she replied" take me to largest tree, there you shall leave me to be cared for by my people."

he went on his way. little did he know that he was helping the fairy princess, the heir to the thrown and that this small deed would be greatly rewarded.

soon enough he made it to the tree and was greeted by many of the queens guards who brought her in and and thanked him. the queen came out to give the young man her thanks.

"oh, how much do i owe you for your generosity and kindness. for my daughter was lost and couldn't find her way back." said the queen, who's name was Solis.

for the only way for a human to find the fairy kingdom is to stumble upon it when they are lost, and consequently the only way a fairy cannot find the their way back to their kingdom is to become lost. for the young man being lost enabled the fairy to get home, for she was lost herself and couldn't find her way home.

"twas only a small deed done on my way through the forest." replied the man, who was called Davin.

"helping us in such a way is a deed that can only be repaid by giving you you're hearts desire." Solis told him. "what do want you so deeply, that we may grant you so you may be happy?" asked the queen.

"there is only one thing i have ever wanted and that is to fall in love and have a daughter." he told her.

"then that is what you shall receive it, but be warned, any doubts you have will cause you and you're family pain. " she said.

then the man went about his day and found his way home.

a year after his visit with the fairies the young man started to worry that he would not receive his wish because he feared that he imagined the whole encounter. But soon after he crossed paths with a lovely young maiden, they fell in love and three years later gave birth to a daughter who they named Automne, for she was born in the fall.
they lived happily together for five years, but unfortunately the mans wife became incredibly sick and died soon after their little girls fifth birthday. the man was heartbroken and Automne hating to see her father in such despair, left him to go search for a way to make him happy again. she went into the forest searching for something to bring happiness to her father.
there was only one thing Automne knew would help cure her father, a small yellow flower that only grew in the very center of the forest and bloomed in late fall. Automne made her way through the brush and onto the winding path that leads to the center of the forest. as she walked Automne began to daydream, she began to dream of the days when her father would be healthy and they would play again, when he might fall in love again so that she might again have a mother. when she grows up herself and falls in love and she has her own family to love and take care of. As she dreamed Automne drifted farther and farther from from reality until she found herself in a place unknown to her.
Automne was very worried she had never been lost before and she couldn't tell whether she was in the center of the forest, the edge or even all the way to the other side. she looked around trying to get her bearings, looking for the sun to know where she was, but she could not see the sun for the trees where too thick all she could see was the light pouring through the gaps in the trees and the rows of trees and vegetation growing ahead of her. she decided that she would just follow the path until she knew where she was.
as Automne followed the path she began to see an incredibly bright yellow light shinning ahead of her. She approached slowly and found herself in a small grove at the center of which grew the yellow flower, its light was so bright it looked almost magical, and then she saw it. a thousand tiny little fairies flying around a gigantique tree growing right behind the flower. the fairies flew in out of the tree and around the groove so quickly, going about their business. she was in such awe all she could do was stand and stare. finally she became so tired she had to tear herself away and she laid down and fell asleep upon the forest floor with visions of the bright lights of the fairies glowing in her mind and fueling her dreams.
Automne awoke to the singing of birds and the glow of the giant fairy tree. she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stood up. As she got up she saw the golden flower and remembered why she came to the forest to begin with. a sudden surge of pain and guilt washed through her as she imagined her sick dad laying in bed crying his heart out, she had to get back to him as soon as possible! there was only one problem, automne didn't know where she was or how to get home. oh well she though "ill just do what i did to get here." she thought. "it cant be that difficult to find my way home. "
so she went to pick the special flower for her father. Automne leaned down and was just about to pick the bright flower when she felt a thousand tiny eyes boring into her, and looked up. all the fairies where staring at her, a mixture of fear and awe on their faces. that's when the whispering started.
"how did she find us?" said one
"she has some nerve coming here and taking our things!" said a plump fairy to the fairy beside her.
"shes so young and beautiful..." came from someone near the back of the crowd.
"no one has ever dared to take our flower before!" said a young boy nervously to his father.
"the queen will be furious!" shouted a servant near the front.
just as she had said this a collective gasp came from the crowd, who parted to reveal the fairy queen fluttering towards her. cry's of "Your Majesty...", and "I'm so sorry." echoed as she flew past.she stopped right in front of Automne.
"What's your name darling?" asked the queen.
"My name is Automne, your highness." Automne replied. and after a respectful pause she continued. "I'm sorry that i tried to take your flower, i didn't know it was yours. you see my mother has died and my father is very ill and this flower is the only thing that will can cure him."
"its quite all right," said the queen "why don't you come in and we can have a chat over tea."
"Alright." said Automne, and she followed the lovely queen inside.
the queen took her to a large tea room where she sat her down at a long mahogany table set with tiny little tea cups and tiny little plates. all around her the servant fairies flew, doing chores and cleaning and caring for all the little things around their home. their were flowers and vines and plants growing everywhere all over the walls and the floor and roof. the place was breathtaking.
"i know its a to to take in, but we have very important things to discuss." started Queen Solis, Pulling Automne out of the trance she fell into in awe of the palace.
"sorry your majesty, continue." replied Automne returning to her polite demeanor.
"you see dear that flower that you you desire, is our very life source, if you take it your father will be healed but we will no longer be able to live here or anywhere at all, as it it gives us or power and keeps us safe from intruders. without that flower all of our magic will be gone and our tree of life will die." explained the lovely queen a look of dread crossing her face.
"oh!" Automne was so very confused and sad at how careless her actions were. she didn't know what to do, how could she heal her father now, she couldn't go and kill off an entire race of fairies just to keep her father healthy. now she knew there was no way to heal her dad and he would die alone and afraid and terribly morose.
"but.." the queen continued. and a spark of hope ignited in Automne's mind. "there is one way for you to receive the flower's power, and that is for you to become a fairy. if you become a fairy the flowers magic will become part of your very essence giving you its power. but if you become one with us and our flower you can never be a human girl again and you must live with us as the human world is much to dangerous to be a part of. you will be able to return to your father to heal him but you will not be able to live with him again. this i know is a very hard decision to press onto such a young gentle little girl, but i must do what i can to protect my kingdom.and i promise you that if you decide to stay we will welcome you with great joy and i will protect and raise you as my own. if not we shall part ways and we might never see you again. its your choice, i shall give you a moment to decide. meet me in the center of the grove."
Automnes head spun from from all the knowledge she just received but she knew she couldn't let her father die alone. she made herself get up so she could inform the queen of her decision. she hurried through the doorway and back out into the grove. she found the queen sitting softly against the petals of great yellow flower. she lifted her head and saw automne. she flew up towards the young girl.

" so you have made up your mind I presume." said the queen.

"yes, I have. I will do what ever it takes to return my father to good health again, even if that means leaving him."

"wonderfull, darling. so here's what you have to do. sit down underneath the flower and close your eyes. think of what you love the most, hold on to that though and then let it go and let yourself daydream about all the wonderfull little things in life that make you happy. then imagine them swirling into even more wonderous beautiful things you have ever seen. "

automne thought of her father, too young and happy to have received such an illness like the one he has, too much to live for. she thought of all the things her loved about her father, his smile, his laugh and how he would always make time to play with her, even if he had chores to do or people to meet. she thought of the beautiful blue sky, and the trees and flowers and everything that's green, she thought of the golden glow of the sun and all the friendly forest creatures who would smile and laugh. then she saw them all dance together in a whirl of fantastical colors and she smelled rosses and lilies and fresh rain, there were new plants and trees and glowing golden lights and sparkling flashes that made her smile and then she saw the lights, the lights of the stars and the fairies above her as she had fallen asleep in beautiful groove. dust sparkling magical dust was falling into her hair and down her shoulders, she didn't see it but she felt it. then she felt a very sudden warmth rush through her. she opened her eyes to find herself floating above the ground.
her shoes were gone and she was a dress made from bright red green and yellow leaves. she looked up and saw the queen in front of her and smiled. the dust on her shoulder gleamed and shone and she recognized it as the pollon of the yellow flower she thanked the queen and flew upward and she saw that a trail of the magical golden pollon followed her as she went. she flew hurriedly threw the brush marveling at how fast her new wings let her fly.

soon she was back at her house in the woods. Smoke curled from the little chimney and drifted off into the sky. The door was locked but Automne flew hurriedly through the chimney smoke into the softly lit bedroom of her father. He was worse than ever. He was as pale as the the snow and his eyes were red as tomatoes. He was bent over coughing into his soaking sheets. His entire matrice was soaked with his tears. Automne could see the light slowly leaving his eyes as he lay on what might be his deathbed. She flew down to her father and kissed him on his forehead. Then Automne began to worry, she had so much hope that she could get the flower and cure her dad that she didn't even realize she had no idea how to cure her father of his illness. She was about to go back and look for the book when she saw her father sitting up rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He was cured! Automne was so over joyed she burst into tears. Her father who only just got up had no idea that his daughter was there let alone a little fairy, was scared out of his mind. He saw her and realized that she was his daughter and he calmed her and sat her down on his lap. Soon Automne was telling her father all about her wonderful adventure in the forest. But of course in her excitement she forgot about the deal she had made with the fairy queen. She suddenly remembered and told her father, she was so terribly upset that she would no longer be able to live with her father, but the father and daughter made a deal, that even though Automne had to go live in the forest that he would come visit her every week.

So Automne went to live with fairy queen and she became the fairy guardian of the fall. Her father came to visit her every week just as he had promised. And on one especially beautiful summer day the queen gave Automne the power of the sun, and she became the rightful air to the thrown, so that when she was eighteen Automne would now rule the fairy kingdom. She eventually had her own son and passed the thrown and the power of the sun to him. As for her father he never fell in love again, but he was always happy as he had his daughter still and on that same summer day that Automne received the power of the sun, he found a young boy, ten years old to be exact and raised him as his second child till the day he died of old age.