~*~
Katie had trudged back to the clearing and sat down to think on a fallen log. Ron had been swallowed by the forest. She could go try to find help, but who’d believe her? They would look for a hole in the ground, or something like quicksand, but she was sure the trees would just move their roots back into place like nothing happened. This was a force much bigger than adult humans could handle. Exhausted, bewildered and alone, she broke down and cried.
Her tears fell on the moss of the log she was seated upon. A voice startled her, speaking quietly between her sobs, “Are you lost?” She jumped up and spun around, looking for the source, eyes fierce and fists clenched, fear flaring her nostrils. “Who said that? Show yourself!”
“I’m right here!” the voice declared in a pitch barely above a whisper and a little glow appeared on the log. Katie had to inch closer to see. The tiny creature had a mushroom hat that was luminescent, wings, and delicate human-like features. “You’re a fairy?” Katie’s eyes squinted.
“I’m a sprite. Are you lost?” the illuminated sprite repeated and hovered closer to her face now that it wasn’t in danger of being squashed.
“No, I’ve lost my friend, Ron. He was taken by the trees.”
“Oh dear, that is bad. Do you want him back?” the sprite’s voice breathed.
“Yes!”
“Then you’ll have to hurry. Follow me!” She zipped off into the woods. Katie trotted after her, losing her more than once, but she always flew back to find her.
“What’s your name?” Katie called to her, “so I can call you when I get lost.”
“Call me Verdant.”
“Verdant, where are we going?” Katie was out of breath.
“To get help, we might still have time!” Verdant flew off at top speed.
Eventually they made it to another clearing along a stream. Katie did not remember seeing this area at all before with Ron. As she looked at the slow moving water she heard Verdant softly speaking to someone. Katie turned to see more than a hundred sprites with the same mushroom hats and wings as Verdant's. "How...what...when did you all get here?"
"No time for that, tell them the story you told me, especially the part about the trees." Verdant insisted. Katie told her story again and had to repeat the part about the tree roots a few times at the insistence of the sprites.
When they were finally satisfied with Katie's tale they looked to Verdant for their orders. "You know what we must do!"
All the tiny sprites swarmed her. Katie was soon cocooned by them and started feeling lighter and lighter. They were lifting her from the ground! She closed her eyes, hoping it all was a dream. When she opened her eyes, she could see the tops of the trees.
No sooner had she come to terms with what was happening, she and the sprites were in a nose dive back down through the trees and into the thick forest. Branches whipped past, dangerously close. She held her breath. The ground loomed closer every second. At this speed, she calculated that the impact would kill her. Katie closed her eyes as tightly as she could and braced for contact. For a brief moment Katie thought of her circumstances and realized she was trusting a group of flying mushrooms. She wanted to laugh hysterically but remained in control nearly convincing herself this was all a dream.
The nose dive suddenly stopped. Katie opened her eyes to find herself standing once again on the ground. The hundreds of fairy mushrooms all around her but no longer on her. "Wow! I didn't even feel..”
"SHHH!" whispered Verdant.
Katie looked in the direction Verdant was concentrating on to see the very spot Ron had disappeared into the earth. She gasped. Verdant again sternly whispered, "SHHH!"
Verdant slowly got down on the ground and lowered her ear to the dirt floor. In silent response, all of the other sprites also lowered their ears to the floor of the forest. Katie felt inclined to do the same but knew it was useless. Before the thought left her, Verdant flew into the air and disappeared into the forest. Seconds later the others followed.
The ground trembled and the tree roots parted to make a hole. Katie gasped and scrambled backwards. She stared wide-eyed into the dark hole watching for what she hoped would be Ron.
Instead a swarm of purple and gray skinned beings emerged. Katie looked around for the sprites, but they seemed to have disappeared. The tiny creatures advanced, their large eyes trained on her, eerily non-blinking. She continued to back up, and they slowly marched an advance. Looking over her shoulder she realized she was being herded into a thicket of trees.
“No.” She stopped. The creatures paused. This had never happened before. They took their eyes from her for only a second and she jumped sideways, taking off at as fast a run as she could.
For several strides, she imagined them right behind her, but in between heartbeats she heard forest sounds. She slowed her pace, and ventured a look behind her. She was alone. Through the branches she saw a sudden flash of green light. Curious, she made her way back.
Peering ahead, she came upon a fantastic sight. The sprites were assembling in groups of four and building a charge they then fired at the purple beings. The beings had grown in number and angrily swatted at the sprites, but they were ill prepared for battle.
Then there was another rumble and another hole opened in the earth at the foot of a large maple. To Katie’s surprise, Ron emerged! But holding tightly to him was Elrond and holding tightly to him was Silas.
“No!” screamed Elrond, his eyes were squinting in the dusk, his arms grappled around Ron’s waist. “You can’t go! You must stay!”
Silas dropped off of Elrond and cowered, covering his eyes. “Elrond, don’t anger the sprites! We have a treaty!”
“Katie!” yelled Ron when he spotted her. He bolted out from Elrond’s grip toward her. Forgetting all formalities, they hugged each other. Before either of them could speak, the forest trembled. Elrond was glowing a pale blue and pointed a long finger at the humans. “You must stay in the forest, FOREVER!” he screeched, the trees again uprooting themselves and sending strong vine-like appendages towards the children. Ron’s eyes glazed over, he went slack in Katie’s arms.
“Ron! What’s wrong?” Katie saw the same glow in his eyes that Elrond had in his. She grabbed him by the forearms and shook him. She felt something on his arm. “What happened to your arm?” Katie pushed his sleeve up. The back of his arm was covered in bark! She tried to scratch it off, but he yelped.
“Look at your arm!” Ron’s eyes remained glowing, his posture slack, leaning on Katie for support. Vines wrapped them together, held in place. Katie heard an evil laugh.
“You can’t fight it!” screamed Elrond, “He is slowly becoming one of us!”
“Ron! You’re turning into a tree!” Katie stared at him, then turned to face the sprites, who were peering out from behind leaves and logs. “Help him!” she pleaded. Ron groaned as he felt the changes inside him. “Ron, wake up!” Katie could not stop what was happening to him.
“And you are next!” declared the taller of the two figures.
She felt herself becoming entrapped now up to her waist, but still Katie pleaded for her friend, “Please!” Then a thought occurred to her, “Take me instead!”
The terrifying sound of bark splitting made her cower, burying her head in Ron’s shoulder. Elrond slowly began growing a birch-bark skin. He rose, growing taller, his arms elongated into branches, his head sprouted twigs and leaves. “Dryads!” gasped Katie.
Verdant flew up to eye level of Elrond, in danger of flailing twigs should he desire to flick the tiny sprite away. “You have gone too far, Elrond!” Verdant shrieked. “Did you hear what she said?! She is willing to trade! Is not one enough for you?”
The sprites flew into a swarm, flying faster and faster until they became a ball of light. They floated over to Ron’s arm, encasing it. A sweet song floated toward the heavens, mesmerizing all who heard it. The enchanting melody soothed the frazzled nerves as the spritely magic reversed the effects of the salve.
The light dimmed and Ron stared at his newly healed arm, turning it this way and that. He laughed out loud, a short titter of amazement. Elrond shook his branches in anger, pale leaves fell to the ground.
“You violated our contract, Verdant!”
“You violated the laws of the universe! Enough is enough, Silas, will you witness?” she looked at the smaller pale creature. “We break the contract.”
Immediately, a gathering of trees behind the two dryads began to move. Branches reached down as roots sprang up even as those holding Katie and Ron in place loosened. Silas and Elrond screamed. Katie closed her eyes and Ron threw a protective arm over her. The sprites rushed in, too few to carry two humans, so they pulled hair, prodded, poked, and did whatever they needed to do to encourage the two humans to move as far away from the scene as possible.
“Ow! This is why you have a terrible reputation!” Katie frowned at the magical helpers who had become stinging pests.
“Go, and forever hold your tongues, or the sprites will steal your dreams and haunt your days!” Verdant hissed at the humans, hoping to scare them from this place forever.
The two ran until they left the forest behind. Breathless, Ron looked at Katie. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just.. winded,” she wheezed. The two panted until their breath came easier. “I’m glad you are okay,” she finally said.
“We’ll be okay when this night is over.”
“You think she was serious?”
“What?”
“Verdant, the sprite, about haunting us?”
“I just want to forget it ever happened.” Ron started marching away determined to end this night in safety.
Katie turned back. Though the green lights of the sprites were far away, she almost wished she could have captured one. She peered into the trees. The nearest one swayed ominously towards her and a cold gust made her shiver. She frowned up at it.
“Come on Katie!” After a few more seconds, she jogged to catch up.
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