The Midnight Readers discussion
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Let’s write a story!
ok cool! :)A blinding light streaked across the night sky.
Alya fixed her gaze upon it as she finally crested the mountain. When she reached the summit, she let out a breath of relief. Finally!
She had been running for so long. Running from her past, her family, even from herself
Another flash streaked across the sky and Alya held a hand over her eyes. Her legs wobbled but that didn't matter because she was finally free.
She bent down and clutched her knees, her breaths appearing in translucent wisps.
She was exhausted, but there was a feeling of excitement, a feeling of hope inside her. She had run away, and was now ready to start over.
She gazed out at the dark valleys before her and tried to think, but her mind was whirring in circles.
Realisation hit her...she was free and was finally welcome to start over, but she had nothing to start over with. Her past was behind her but she had nothing to build a future with.
Alya dropped her satchel and began rummaging through it. She pulled out a newly inked map and traced out the black line to a spot labeled in calligraphy: "Briar's Haven".
Alya inhaled. Briar's Haven hadn't been on the map before...how did it suddenly appear?
She had drawn the map herself since she had knowledge of most of the land nearby, but had never heard or written of anything called Briar's Haven. The ink seemed to have a golden sheen to them, something that only a noble would have access to.
Alya's eyes went wide...she had taken the wrong map.
But whose map was this? Certainly not from the place she came from; that was a place filled with vermin, animal and human alike.
She traced her memory. What towns had she passed on her way to the mountain? Was her map stolen? Did she trade it in?All of these facts put together overwhelmed Alya. Tears pooled her eyes.
She felt so overwhelmed she could have sworn she spotted a fairy, inspecting a flower. She rubbed the tears out of her eyes, oops. It was a butterfly. Or was it?
Alya crept closer to the flower. It was a beautiful blue flower with bright red speckles.
It was so peculiar, yet so magnificent all at once. She had never seen such a thing in her life.
But what was it doing in these lands so far from where all the stories had come from?
Entranced, she reached over to the flower and began to pluck it. Immediately, the pistil erupted into sharp fangs that began gnashing at Alya's face.
Screaming, Alya clawed at the flower. Suddenly, an explosion shattered into the night and scorched the flower. Alya reeled back, curling up into the fetus position.
After a couple minutes, Alya relaxed a bit and got up. She glared at the flower, and then turned around. Oh my God, there was a whole field of these flowers!
A hand rested on her shoulder, and Alya yelped."Careful," a voice breathed, barely skimming her ear.
Alya screamed turned around, aiming to punch the speaker. But as she turned around, she gasped. There was a fairy, floating there, with a mischievous smile.
It cocked its head and said, "A human?" Alya stumbled backward, nearly falling before the fairy began to grow to the height of a human and caught her mid fall.
She got up and started to walk away... but she couldn’t.
She was entranced by the fairy's grey eyes, hypnotic and dangerous. The fairy began as if he were lecturing a toddler, saying, "Don't you know that Wraith flowers bloom when the gods shine their light on the earth? You truly are a foolish thing if you plan on hiking the terrain with so little knowledge of the beings that lurk here."
Alya was taken aback. She scrambled onto a tree root, her hands digging into its rough bark. She couldn't lift her feet. Her face shot up at the fairy's. Ayla looked around frantically. The fairy laughed at her. No, no, it can't be.
Alya shook her head. She was hallucinating. She bumped her head in the explosion. She was NOT looking at a fairy. Besides, what the heck he talking about? Wraith flowers? She then whisper asked, "Who the heck are you?"
Another flash of white filled her vision and when her surrounding reappeared, the fairy was next to her, peering curiously at her face. "You look dirty and afraid, certainly not a foolish hiker. A foolish runaway, you must be! Hah! Where do you plan to go, little girl? No place in the woods will welcome you."
She shook her head angrily and pushed herself up, heading away from whatever it was that she was talking to.This is all in my head. This is all in my head. This is all in my hea-
"You'll need some help getting out of Briar's Haven."
Alya turned back to see the fairy holding her map in its porcelain hand. "What are you talking about? I'm not even in Briar's Haven, wherever that place is. I just went up Grove Mountain."
The fairy began to fall to the ground, convulsing with laughter, its iridescent wings fluttering with delight. "Child, you've been in the Haven for a long while. Do you even know what Briar's Haven does to you? It warps your perception of reality and time. I'm surprised Briar hasn't eaten you by now."
The fairy began to fall to the ground, convulsing with laughter, its iridescent wings fluttering with delight. "Child, you've been in the Haven for a long while. Do you even know what Briar's Haven does to you? It warps your perception of reality and time. I'm surprised Briar hasn't eaten you by now."
"You're a liar," Ayla seethed. Anger surged in her veins. Curse these stupid people, stupid lands and stupid flowers. Briar's Haven does not exist. Yet it seemed Ayla was trying to convince herself more than anything.
"I certainly am not, you foolish child. How do you suppose you're seeing me right now?"She glared at the fairy.
"You're not real," she snarled.
"I am too," the fairy replied, sounding like a toddler. "I can't believe you are supposed to help liberate Briar's Haven. I mean look at you! You were crying just a second ago!"
Alya blushed and turned away. She murmured, "Just who do you think you are? And what are you even talking about?"
The fairy, ignoring the last question, responded, "I am Conifeir, born from the trees! And who might you be, ugly human?"
The fairy, ignoring the last question, responded, "I am Conifeir, born from the trees! And who might you be, ugly human?"
Alya stiffened, "I am Alya, ugly fairy. Now tell me what this haven is. What must I do? Why did you choose 'an ugly human?'"
"I didn't choose you. Why would I ever choose a girl as ugly as you? People have been talking about a runaway human, though. They've said that you'll free us from Briar. But now that I see you, I can tell that they're very wrong!" Conifeir said and smirked.
Alya huffed, "Well, if they're wrong, I'll be on my merry way." She turned around to walk away, only to find two more fairies behind her. But they weren't like Conifeir. There were translucent.
"You are just beyond the valley of the dead," said Conifeir as he glanced at the now approaching fairies "and if you continued on the way you were, you would have walked right into it. Briar's Haven is only a few miles from here, did you really think you were free? All paths lead back to it."Alya glanced back towards the hills she had been trekking on for what felt like days, squinting her amber specked eyes at the sun gleaming at their highest point. "What do you mean all paths lead back..,"she said, voice quiet and filled with dread.
Conifeir glanced again at the map, then back at Alya. "What I mean," he began, "Is that you truly are an ugly human, much less a not very bright one if you believe this map for a second. It was going to take you right back to Briar Haven. It's bewitched."
Infuriated, Alya smacked the odd fairy with the palm of her hand, sending him and the map in opposite directions. "that will show him," she thought to herself with a proud smirk.
Conifeir sighed. A drop of blue liquid dripped down from where she had hit him."I really did not want to do this, you pathetic human." He made a vague motion with his hand.
The two translucent fairies grabbed her by the wrists.
"Hey! Let me go!" Alya cried.
"Sorry, what was your name again? Alya? Sorry, Alya. We just need to explain some things to you...without you, you know, smacking us in the air. We promise we'll try not to hurt you."
Alya let out a screech but was muffled by a clear hand on her lips.
"We can't have Briar hearing you, can we?" Conifeir said as he stared into her eyes. Alya felt her eyelids begin to fall and her vision darken. Soon she was fast asleep.
Alya let out a screech but was muffled by a clear hand on her lips.
"We can't have Briar hearing you, can we?" Conifeir said as he stared into her eyes. Alya felt her eyelids begin to fall and her vision darken. Soon she was fast asleep.
He dreams were not peaceful; she was haunted by nightmares— no memories, but they weren’t hers...
She woke up with blurry eyes and a white hand tapping furiously at her face with a voice crying out, "How do you wake a human?"
Alya let out a cry of pain as she adjusted to her settings. A forest area surrounded by stone walls covered in moss and flowers she had never seen before. Translucent fairies peered at her face as if she were a deformed monster. The white hand tapping her head belonged to Conifeir.
Alya let out a cry of pain as she adjusted to her settings. A forest area surrounded by stone walls covered in moss and flowers she had never seen before. Translucent fairies peered at her face as if she were a deformed monster. The white hand tapping her head belonged to Conifeir.
Ayla scrambled out of the bed. "Definitely not like that," Ayla answered. Beside her, lying on the bedside table were multi-colored tonics, she didn't dare ask what they were for. All Ayla knew was she needed to leave Briar's Haven and this dream behind, or nightmare Ayla supposed.
"You can't leave this place. Not yet. For one, you'd die out there if you went on your own. And we also have things we need to tell you." Conifeir said as he stepped in front of the wooden door.
"Why do I need any explanations? I ran away to find a better life, not to go on a fairytale adventure and be a "chosen one" in an imaginary land!" Alya snapped. "Just lead the way out of this place and I'll go on my merry way."
"Why do I need any explanations? I ran away to find a better life, not to go on a fairytale adventure and be a "chosen one" in an imaginary land!" Alya snapped. "Just lead the way out of this place and I'll go on my merry way."
Conifeir smirked, "You're hilarious. You do realize if you don't save us, you will die as well, right? Because you are part fairy. Your mother was the ruler of our kind until of course she had you, and resigned."
Alya scrunched up her face and laughed. "Okay, okay. This really is a fairytale, isn't it? My parents were abusive nobodies who were planning on trafficking me, not anything "magical" and not anything near royalty."
Conifeir scrunched his eyebrows and rubbed his temples. "Look," the fairy sighed. "I'm going to go easy on you because you're new and I'm forced to. But if you aren't willing to listen and piece things together we're all going to die, not to be too dramatic."
Ayla rolled her eyes.
"When your mother resigned, Briar took her place. Now you see, Briar isn't a fairy. They're...well, simply put, they're Briar. We'll leave it at that. But Briar knew that when you, Alya, came of age, they would have to resign and give the throne to you. They killed your mother and father and, we assumed, killed you as well." Conifeir looked solemn then, as if remembering a painful memory.
Hope you enjoy;)!
I’ll let someone else start.