“A Natural Illness”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

“Corri!”

I turn at the sound of my name. A smile breaks out across my face when I see my best friend, Fiona, fluttering towards me.

“Fi!” I greet her. She lands gracefully on the branch beside me. “What are you doing here? I thought that the Faeries of Change weren’t due back here for another few moons still.”

Fiona is part of the Faeries of Change, a group of elite Faeries who travel around the world and help Mother Nature will her seasonal duties. Because of her job, Fiona is only able to visit the Tree of New Life once every year.

Her smile falters. “Dorian told me to fly ahead,” she explains, her tone grave. She takes a deep breath before saying, “Mother Nature is ill.”

My eyes widen and I release a small gasp. “How? That isn’t possible! Mother Nature never gets ill,” I squeak.

Fiona shakes her head. “Dorian suspects that it’s something in the water,” she says. “Haven’t you been experiencing anything strange here?”

I think for a moment. “Now that I think of it,” I say slowly, “I remember speaking to Wilfrid last moon about a portion of the Tree that was wilting slightly. However, he said that it was nothing to be worried about.”

Fiona starts kicking at a piece of peeling bark and she frowns. “The Tree of New Life has never experienced wilting before,” she says. “Why did Wilfrid not think that it was a big deal?”

I sit down heavily and look out over the horizon. “What should we do?” I ask finally.

Fiona leaps from the branch and hovers in front of me. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to figure out what’s going on,” she says, that fierce determination that I’ve gotten to know so well showing in her eyes.

I grin at her and push off from the branch. “Well, I’m coming with you,” I tell her. “Where to first?”

Fiona turns to me, her expression grim. “The root of all problems,” she says. “We start at Blackwood.”

Final Comments: Honestly, this one wasn’t very natural to write. The leaf picture immediately gave me fairy (/faerie) imagery, but I wasn’t too sure where I wanted to go with the story after that. In general, I think that it could’ve flowed much more naturally.

Overall Rating: 😓