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“Why are we here again Illia? Its freezing and I need to study for the runes test tomorrow!” A small, gingered short hair fairy cried. She clutched her arms with her hands and rubbed them quickly in an attempt to warm up. The one she called Illia chuckled as she held a small ball of magical light in her hands.
“You’ve complained about that Runes test for days now Ly. I’m giving you a boost by asking the Lady of the Lake.” Illia remarked, stopping to look at her fairy friend with a mischevious smirk. Illia’s golden hair glittered in the light of the small magic ball, illuminating her pale face to show the full extent of her smirking expression. “Now come on, its almost midnight and we can’t miss the awakening.”
Ly shivered again, groaning along with Illia’s order but following since she really had no other choice. “Who is this Lady of the Lake anyway? Why can’t we just be in our rooms and talk to her there?”
“Are you crazy?” Illia snapped behind her again, surprised how her fairy friend didn’t know about the Lady of the Lake. “You’ve been here for two years Ly and you haven’t heard of the-” She stopped, and with a heavy sigh she began to speak the legend.
“Well, the Lady of the Lake is said to either be the Guardian of Alphea or the lost soul of a fairy who drowned herself in Lake Roccoluche over 70 years ago. She stays in this lake and her ethereal form is seen every night at midnight. It’s said if you offer her a gift, she’ll bless you for exams and tests!”
Illia smiled happily before lifting up a small bag with a golden and silver fish swimming around.
“This,” Illia continued, “Is a Lynphean Koille, is a beautiful sanctuary fish. It’s going to be our gift to the Lady of the Lake!”
“This sounds like an old wives tale,” Ly answered, sounding very unimpressed, “You brought me out here in the dead of night in the woods we shouldn’t go to in order to fulfill a myth?”
“It is not! My friend Mira said that her friend Lucas’ brother saw the Lady of the Lake!”
“Mhm...sure”
“Oh shut up Ly, I’m going to prove it to you and you are going to thank me for passing your test.” Illia grumpily continued onward with Ly near the back, still shivering from the cold. As the two fairies approached the lake, Illia looked at her watch with anticipation.
“Alright, its midnight, let’s begin.” The airy put down her orb of light on the grass and reached for the bag of the Lynphean Koille, raising it up to the sky before beginning her chant.
“OH GREAT LADY OF THE LAKE” Illia began, “ACCEPT THIS GIFT FROM ME ILLIA VON GERTRUDE, FAIRY OF CORAL AND-” Illia turned to Ly, waiting for her to continue.
“And..Ly OImer, Fairy of Quartz…”
“OFFER THE GIFT OF A LYNPHEAN KOILLE FOR THE PASSING OF TESTS THIS FOLLOWING WEEK WITH YOUR BLESSING” Illia puts the bag in the water, freeing the Koille as it frantically swam away into the middle of the lake. Suddenly, a strong wind blasted through the opening in the forest, water lapped in waves, the trees bent and curved. A golden like shined from the bottom of Lake Roccoluche and a stunning golden figure rose up from the waters. The woman was gorgeous, a beautiful golden body with a loose, long dress fitting with a complex golden mask. Her hair was tied back in an irregular shape, her curls dangled over the mask on either side and large ribbons dangled from her wrists and flowed elegantly.
The woman looked towards the fairies who were gaping at the stunning etherial myth in front of them. Both of the girls were in awe, their mouths gaping open in fear. The woman came closer to the girls, the wind dying down by a wave of her hand and she began to speak her voice echoing around them.
“Little fairies, go back to your rooms. Now is not the time to be up, especially if you have a test.” The woman stated, she looked almost stern at the two fairies.
“But please,” Ly began to plead to the woman “I have a runes test tomorrow from Griselda! Do you know how hard those are?”
“I have heard the same from those before you child, now go. The woods become dangerous at this hour. GO!” The woman’s voice boomed and the wind from before howled once more, swirling around the lake and the girls nodded in fear before running away. The wind died down after the two girls were gone, and the woman sighed looking down into the lake. She waved her hand again and a large bubble of water rose with the Lynphean Koille swimming peacefully inside.
“You poor creature, you shall return soon.”
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Epilogue
Bloom, Bloom…!
Bloom opened her eyes in a white void, the sound of her name echoing in her mind. She looked around, she was flying her fairy form lifted her into flight. The small blue and light blue wings carried her forward as an inky landscape began to blot itself into existence.
Bloom..Come here Bloom
The voice beckoned for the Fairy of the Dragon Flame to come closer into the cattails surrounding Lake Roccaluce in the night surrounded by groves of evergreen trees with Alphea in the background.
“Hello Daphne,” Bloom smiled as she looked behind her to see her sister, Daphne, in her usual golden ethereal form.
“Hello, little sister” Daphne hugged her sister happily before letting go. “I wanted to show you something, girls came to me again.” Daphne went back down to the surface of the water and began to create a sphere of water.
Bloom giggled. “Again? Isn’t it the third time this week?”
“I believe so, I had so many come through for years I’ve lost count. They gave me this as their...offering.” Daphne went back up to where Bloom was and showed her the gold and silver fish. “It is a Lynphean Koille, it’s a rare species that is apart of old Guardian Sanctuaries on Lynphea. I would like you to come here and return it when you awake tomorrow.”
“It’s beautiful..” Bloom whispered as she observed the Koille swim. “How did two girls get their hands on this?”
“I have no idea, but it shouldn’t be in the lake. Your friend Flora should know what to do. Rest now, goodnight my dear.” Daphne smiled as she placed a hand onto Bloom’s cheek before fading into the lake once again.
“Goodnight Daphne” Bloom whispered before closing her eyes and waking up to the sound of girls laughing in the living room of her dorm.