4 An Earth Fairy

"What is it this time?" Sel was carefully examining the face of the fairy that was making her friend go crazy. "How troubled can you be that my friend chose you over us?" she was still a little hurt about it. "Of course, if not for her, Sarya will not be able to help us… but still…" she glared at the unconscious fairy. "You better be worth saving," she looked up at Aldrin and smiled. "So far, she had never been wrong with the fairies she decided to rescue, right Aldrin?"

"Maybe," the bodyguard answered nonchalantly.

Sel glanced at Henry and smiled a bit wider, "Even the mortal she rescued had been so reliable," she heavily sighed and gazed back at Asuren. "How serious is his condition? Have you asked Healer Vanni?"

"She checked up on him earlier and told me that he only has less than three hours to live."

"He is dying?" Sel was surprised. "I don't see any fatal wound…"

"He is badly poisoned," Aldrin explained. "And the greenhouse ran out of herbs to make an antidote for him. I think she is holding on to that small possibility that he can still be saved."

"Well, that sounds like the normal Thea," Sel examined Asuren more closely. "But for her to ask others to assist her friends, she had certainly seen something different in this fairy. Is it his misfortunes that attracted Thea to him?"

"Thea…" Asuren muttered and his brows creased further.

"Wow… he is calling Thea in his sleep. Does he like her that much?" Sel could not help but giggle at the thought. "Is it love at first sight?"

Asuren gasped and writhed in pain while clutching his bandaged shoulder.

"Oh no… Is he going to die?" Sel was suddenly frightened. "Asuren!" the moment she grabbed his arms, he instantly stopped writhing in pain and opened his eyes.

Instead of feeling relieved, Sel was terrified.

His violet eyes were filled with loathing and glowing with murderous intent.

"Die..." he raised his hands, but before he could grab Sel by her throat, his wrists were seized by Aldrin. And in the following second, the bodyguard had rendered the poisoned fairy unconscious.

Sel had taken a few quick steps away from the bed.

"What happened to him?" her heart was pounding hard against her chest.

"Only Thea can answer that," Aldrin calmly put a blanket over Asuren.

^#################################^

Gia Mossgreen strolled joyfully at the abundant forest standing between the Northern Peaks and the Mortal Domain. She was filled with curiosity while thoroughly examining every foliage in her way, and with her gentle touch, any vegetation would glow more vibrantly. She was doing the same thing each time she sees plants but the pleasure in her hazel-colored eyes had never lessened even once. Studying each sprout, making them bloom, and sharing her energy with each flourishing vegetation seemed to bring a great deal of satisfaction to herself.

Juliann looked away from the earth fairy and hide behind the tree where he was quietly observing his supposed-to-be target. He slumped on the ground and asked the question he was recently repeating to himself.

How can she be an evil fairy when all she does is study the plants around her and make them bloom more beautifully?

Juliann sighed in frustration. All his life, he had been repeatedly reminded that Northern Peaks is a disgusting place filled with nasty fairies. And his mother was particularly hateful towards the Mossgreen family.

Before leaving Southern Peaks, Juliann strongly believes in his parents. For him, hating someone was as easy as breathing, and killing them had never been so difficult.

That was how he lived in a land filled with outlaws. If they will not swear alliance to any of the Nightgloom Sisters, they will be killed. But that was not the case in Northern Peaks. It was way different from what had been taught to him and nearly similar to the illusions he was hearing from his crazy cousin.

Is Ayhan telling the truth all this time? Is Northern Peaks closer to a paradise than hell? Or should I believe in Asuren? Can this be a product of a powerful spell? Did the earth fairy enchant me?

But it's been nearly a month! Can she hold someone under a spell for that long? I don't think that even Aunt Cloudia can do that.

Juliann ruffled his hair in confusion.

The first time he laid eyes on Gia, his resolve melted like ice thrown in a blazing fire. The earth fairy's love for the flowers reminded Juliann of his younger sister. Jade used to gaze at the flowers with the same enthusiasm.

Seeing that, Juliann decided to observe Gia. He wanted to witness something that would help him hate the earth fairy and gather enough motivation to kill her but the longer he watches over the Mossgreen heir, the lesser he wants to assassinate her.

His parents could not give him a tangible reason to slay a Mossgreen but Gia was continuously providing him reasons not to kill her. He wanted to befriend her instead.

How can I think of befriending her?!

After taking a few deep breaths, Juliann moved out of his hiding place and was paralyzed when he had seen Gia Mossgreen standing in front of him with a raised eyebrow.

"Why are you following me?" she curiously inquired.

"I... o-nly… w-want…"

"Do you want to be my bodyguard?"

Juliann was rendered speechless by that silly question.

She took his silence as a yes and said, "You're hired. From this point onward, protect me from anyone who wants to harm me."

"Are you crazy?" Juliann finally managed to speak without stuttering. He could not believe that the Mossgreen heir will easily hire some random stranger to be her bodyguard.

Gia was having the same thought as the stranger. She must have gone crazy to hire him as her bodyguard. It was not even in her set of options when she decided to approach him. She only wanted to know why he was following her for days. He could be a mere stalker or an exhausting assassin but most probably it was the latter.

She could sense that the fairy was powerful yet he was not as aggressive as the previous assassins sent before him. His strangeness made the earth fairy more curious than anxious and maybe… a little hopeful.

Gia never thought that she can be as optimistic as Thea when it comes to the fairies trying to slay them. For Thea, some of them can still be redeemed but for Gia, Riz, and Sel, all of the assassins were the same.

Only now had Gia sensed some difference and when she caught the strange fairy off guard, that little hope increased generously.

In his dark blue eyes, Gia caught a glimpse of grief, hate, desperation, and uncertainty.

There was a high possibility that she was only imagining things because the fairy in front of him, though lacking in composure, was no doubt good-looking. His short, black, and curly hair was a little untidy. Some of the strands partly covered his forehead and the right side of his face. He had a tall and lean body. He was wearing a grey overcoat, navy blue pants, and a pair of black boots.

But imagining things or not, Gia already offered him that bodyguard position. She cannot back down on her words.

"What's your name?" she inquired but the stranger only stared at her with sheer confusion. "Hey! I should know the name of my bodyguard. Tell me your name."

"Why don't you tell him who you are, Juliann? Or are you going to betray us like Asuren did?"

"What did you say, Emil?" Juliann glared angrily at the newcomer.

It was a tall and muscular male fairy. He had long black hair that was falling elegantly down his waist. He was wearing a striped black and lavender vest that revealed his tattooed arms, chest, and torso. A lavender cloth belt was wrapped around his waist. Hanging from the belt down his hips was a black piece of clothing. It barely concealed his pants and had the same color as his vest. On his feet, he was wearing a pair of indigo boots. His brown eyes were sharp and ominous which made Gia a bit uneasy.

"Your cousin betrayed us," the newcomer coldly replied. "Lady Cloudia already sent Tanya to punish him. If you don't want to end up like your cousin, do your task well."

"If Asuren betrayed us…" Juliann grabbed Gia by her hand, dragged her away from the dangerous-looking man, and shouted, "…then I will follow in his footsteps!"

Gia was utterly flustered.

Emil looked furious but he did move an inch. Or there was no need for him to move at all because, out of nowhere, a tall and thin silhouette appeared in front of Gia and Juliann.

Its head was like a balloon. It had no ears, nose, and mouth. Only a sharp pair of red eyes can be seen on its face and it was staring at Gia and Juliann with murderous intent. Its incredibly long and thin arms were holding a huge scythe.

When the silhouette attacked, Juliann quickly pulled Gia to the left, but before they could run, another silhouette had materialized and blocked their way. Its scythe was raised and ready to strike them dead.

Juliann pushed Gia flat on the ground and covered her with his body. The scythe pierced the back of his left shoulder, passed through the front, and narrowly missed the right cheek of Gia. The edge of the blade got stuck on the ground but the second silhouette was already on its way to stabbing Juliann at the back of his head. Gia touched the ground and it instantly formed a solid stone shield over Juliann. But even without that shield, the second scythe will not be able to hurt them.

A tall and lean fairy had intercepted the scythe with his sword. He was wearing a striped red and black overcoat. His long black hair had been elegantly ponytailed. There was a scarlet bandana wrapped around his head. One end of the bandana was hanging on the right side of his head down to the back of his shoulder. There were tiny flames woven in it. The only fairy who can wear that kind of bandana was the tribe leader of Crimsonflame Peak, one of the four highest summits in Northern Peaks.

Gia was certain that their savior was Kali Crimsonflame.

The Tribe Leader easily hurled the scythe away, and with another wave of his sword, the second silhouette had been cut in half and melted into a cloud of smoke. The remaining silhouette hastily pulled the scythe from the ground and through Juliann's shoulder. It rushed to stab the Crimsonflame Leader, but the latter dodged it smoothly and vanquished the remaining silhouette.

As it turned into a cloud of smoke and gradually dissolve, Gia ripped a portion of her long overcoat and tied it over the wounded shoulder of Juliann.

"I'll take you to Mountain Fairy Hospital," Gia offered but Juliann shoved her hands away.

"I need to make him leave," Juliann winced when he raised his right hand and released a glacial blue light that revealed an elegant bow carved out of ice.

Another pair of silhouettes appeared out of thin air. Juliann destroyed one with his ice arrow while Leader Kali destroyed the remaining silhouette. But as soon as the formless smoke faded, another four had materialized behind Emil. He was now marching towards Gia, Juliann, and Leader Kali.

"This is unacceptable!" Emil was furious. "How can you betray your own mother?!"

"Shut up," Juliann released another arrow towards Emil but one of the silhouettes destroyed it.

"Kill the girl," with that merciless command, four silhouettes advanced towards Gia.

Leader Kali attacked the deadly shadows while Juliann tried to hit Emil. He was releasing arrows at a surprising speed but it was not enough to keep up with the velocity of his fairy opponent.

While evading the arrows, Emil successfully advanced towards Juliann. When he was only a few feet away, he pulled a dagger from the back of his belt and aimed for the unscathed shoulder of Juliann but Leader Kali caught the blade with his sword.

"You can never save the girl," Emil smiled ominously as the silhouettes kept on regenerating.

Leader Kali decided to fight Emil and leave the silhouettes to Juliann.

The injured fairy was doing a great job destroying the silhouettes every time they reappear but Gia could see that his stamina was deteriorating. He was overusing his wounded shoulder and he was losing a lot of blood because of it.

Another pair of silhouettes had materialized and surrounded Leader Kali, helping Emil to slip away and charge towards Gia.

She and Ground were ready to block the attack but before they could put up a shield, an arrow had punctured the weapon hand of the enemy.

"TRAITOR!!!" Emil shrieked in anger and aimed for Juliann's head.

Gia noticed that Juliann could no longer lift his bow and his eyes were already half-closed. He was on the brink of collapsing.

Before she could put up a shield in front of Juliann, Leader Kali had already deflected the blade of Emil. He relentlessly pounded his sword against the blade of the enemy until it cracked and broke in half. Leader Kali immediately aimed for the neck of Emil but the latter managed to evade it in time, pulled a seed of transport from his pocket, crushed it in his hand, then instantly vanished.

Juliann fainted and Gia quickly caught him in her arms.

"You should bring him to Mountain Fairy Hospital before he loses more blood," Leader Kali was alarmingly serious when wielding a sword.

Gia could only nod then the ground underneath her and Juliann raised by a few feet and rushed towards the Mountain Fairy Hospital.

^####################################^

Gia was expecting the fifth floor of Mountain Fairy Hospital to be either empty or occupied with fairies she was barely acquainted with. But to her astonishment, she knew all too well all the fairies and even the mortal within that floor.

The human was Henry. The three fairies were Sel, Sarya, and Aldrin.

Sarya and Henry were soundly sleeping. The fairy healer named Winfred had carefully lay Juliann down on the empty bed next to Sarya. On the opposite row of beds, Sel and Aldrin were guarding a fairy that was suffering from a terrible poison.

"Who is he?" Gia asked as the Crimsonflame Leader strictly demanded, "Who brought a human to our realm?"

Gia failed to notice that Leader Kali had followed them to the hospital.

"Me, Father," Sel quickly answered despite her nervousness. "Don't worry. He is a close friend of mine and he saved my life. I cannot leave him alone in the mortal realm. Assassins will surely come after him. I should keep him safe."

"He is also my friend, Leader Kali," Gia added and that seemed to put the Crimsonflame Leader at ease.

"I will ask your mother to give him a protection amulet, but until then, he cannot leave this floor. Most fairies hate humans. This is the only safe place for him."

"Thank you, Father," Sel breathed with relief and embraced her father.

"Thank you for saving us, Leader Kali," Gia gratefully bowed towards the Crimsonflame Leader.

"No need for that," a small smile finally curved on the lips of Leader Kali. "It was Monsoon who asked me to help you. He said that Thea is busy with an important matter. I think you should check out with your friend. It was a bit alarming when Thea becomes too busy to help her own friends."

"We will do that. Thank you, Father," Sel led his father towards the fifth-floor landing.

"Be careful. Our enemies are getting stronger," Leader Kali seriously warned before spreading his translucent dragonfly wings that had a strong shade of crimson.

Gia settled beside Sel and asked, "Henry saved you? How did that happen? How did Sarya get wounded? Is it because of Thea? Do you know where she is?"

"Yes. Henry saved me. But I don't know how it happened," Sel let out an anxious sigh. "I don't want to think about it. Not right now. Sarya got wounded not because of Thea but because he helped us," she shook her head and changed the subject, "How about you? Why did Father need to save you? Was the assassin sent to you this time more powerful than the previous ones? And who is that gravely wounded fairy? Did the enemy use him to take advantage of you? Our enemy… are they really getting stronger?"

"His name is Juliann," Gia glanced at him with more curiosity. "That is all I know about him. Like Sarya, he had been wounded because he tried to help," she also sighed, shook her head, and glanced at the poisoned fairy. "Aldrin, who is that fairy? Why is he badly poisoned?"

"You are great at mixing herbs!" Sel eagerly grabbed Gia's hands. "Can you make an antidote for Asuren?"

"What?" Gia was dumbfounded. "Did you just say… Asuren?"

^#######################################^