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“Ameril.”
For some reason she knew the voice in the valley called her name despite the fact Ameril didn’t remember anything, including her own name, or perhaps she did; after all, the voice calling out her name started with the first memory of having no memories. She didn’t know what she sought, let alone whether she’d like what she’d find on her way into the valley; she did know the valley to be cool and welcoming.
In fact, the world remained grey in a way she couldn’t quite explain to anyone if she were to encounter a person on her way down into the valley, but so far nobody crossed her path. Perhaps describing the sensation as a half-sleep might be the apt way, yet even that didn’t describe what being without any memory while remaining capable of decerning ones environment around them, nor did it describe the beconning call from deep in the valley.
“Ameril.”
Her name, whispered on the wind, drew her further in, as if seaking to break some kind of spell placed on her. She arrived at the edge of the lake, deep down in the valley and found herself looking down into the water, her senses remaining greyed out. Upon arriving in the valley, she found herself looking at a beautiful lake, her eyes looking down at the shimmering water.
“Ameril.”
For some reason she reached down, her finger reaching out for the cool lake water, a golden color and other colors returning to her, almost as if she felt her emotions returning to her – had she lost them in the first place? She didn’t know as her finger gently glided across the surface, creating a ripple.
A voice, the voice which called out to her, giving her back her name in such a soft, warm feeling despite the coldness of the water and the coolness of the valley. “I know what you did last summer.”
For some reason, the words said by the lake held some kind of meaning, yet Ameril knew she needed to know. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, wondering what she should do in light of hearing the voice in her head. “What if I don’t like what I remember?”
“They want you to forget. They want you to forget something important from last summer, along with your name so that you can’t help that person out.”
“That person.”
“A dear friend, one might say.”
“How do I remember?”
“Come into the water Ameril. Come all the way in.”
Taking a deep breath, Ameril slid into the cold water, a shudder running up her spine. She felt the water cover her, the voice still in her head while she held her breath. Her eyes closed.
“You’re a Light Faerie.”
In the back of her mind, Ameril remembered looking in the mirror many times, but most recently into the lake, seeing the golden colors of her hair and eyes, yet no wings behind her indicating she was indeed of fairy kind. She almost took a breath – perhaps did, or perhaps time simply stood still while she was in the water.
Yet, in the very same vein of remembering the wings – she indeed remembered the golden wings behind her, she also remembered other things. Faerie kind were divided into the elements from which they were supposedly born, yet found themselves most at odds with the Dark Faerie. In the back of her mind, she wondered something about her current thought process.
“Why did I think we’re supposedly born from our elements?”
“Have you ever met a male faerie?”
“No.” Except the answer didn’t seem at all right, given the fact…
“Are you sure?”
“Nobody has ever seen a male faerie, which is why…”
“You went looking for one.”
It seemed counter productive to be honest, particularly if her kind were of a single biological sex, yet there remained this feeling that the explanations regarding how faeries came into being simply didn’t work. Then, there was the fact the voice tried reminding her of a dear friend, so to speak. Perhaps…
“You didn’t want to at the time, because it ran so contrary to what you came to know and believe your entire life, but with no new faeries appearing in such a time, it made sense to question the whole thing.”
In the back of her mind, Ameril remembered a small pink Ixi, a goat like creature which stood on two legs, yet said Ixi didn’t have any horns like an Ixi normally would; she also remembered the face of someone and she opened her mouth, feeling the air rushing from her lungs, making her realize she’d let her breath out finally.
“That person…”
“Chase. The human named Chase.”
“Was he human though?”
A memory flooded into her mind, of how faeries had a human form – a form without wings – and a form where they did, forms which looked slightly different so they might blend in with the humans of the world. Of course, she also remembered Chase changing, the appearance of the wings and the appearance of markings and eye coloring which indicated he was in fact a faerie – a Dark Faerie.
Ameril surfaced from the lake she submerged herself from, taking a deep breath, pulling herself into shore. She felt her wings, now out, dripping with water while she gasped for air, the panic and anxiety associated with Dark Faeries setting into the core of her being. She didn’t want to hear the voice anymore, and lowered her head towards the ground, frustrated with herself and feeling like a fool.
The hands of one of her hands open and closed around the ground, pulling up dirt from the lakeside while her head remained low, her mind filled with disgust regarding the fact she’d actually associated with a Dark Faerie of all things.
“Why? Why did I have to be born a Dark Faerie Ameril?”
Ameril recognized the voice – that of Chase. Her head tilted up, confused regarding why she found herself sympathizing with a Dark Faerie, her mind concluding somehow she’d managed to make friends with a Dark Faerie – that somehow she’d found what other said was in fact impossible.
“I wish I never found out I wasn’t human.”
“Of course.” Ameril sat up, letting out a deep breath while remaining soaked. When she met Chase, he definitely thought he was human, yet he wasn’t – which explained why the Faerie Queen sent him on the mission with her and Nixi – the hornless Ixi – in search of a male faerie. Chase was in effect what they were looking for. She stood up, attempting to remember why – how – she’d ended up here, by the lake without here memories, under some kind of spell which ended up erasing her memory of everything, even her name.
Names for faeries helped provide their power, with very few actually having the ability to strip the power of the name away – not without erasing the name.
“Where’s Chase?” Ameril glanced in the direction she came from, realizing suddenly something wasn’t quite right.
Taking a deep breath, she stood up, her body still soaking from getting drenched in the water, her mind suddenly wondering if the spell were based on a potion which covered her from head to toe. She started moving forward, wishing she remembered off the top of her head a spell which would in fact help her dry off faster; instead, she brushed off the physical discomfort and continued forward, her lips twisted together in frustration as her wings were wet, meaning she couldn’t fly to wherever Chase was.
The voice in her head definitely was trying to tell her Chase was in trouble, although she no longer heard the voice. She continued out of the valley, finally reaching the top and feeling the sun which powered her as a Light Faerie and she let out a sigh of relief, yet Chase was still not in sight. Turning, her clothes and wings still drying she carefully listened for anything. When she didn’t hear anything, she closed her eyes.
“Think, Ameril. You know a spell which can track someone.” Her eyes remained closed concentrating carefully. In the back of her mind, the first thought coming to her head was that tracking spells were far from easy, hence why people rarely used them unless the situation called for it, such as trying to navigate through a labyrinth where tracking the exist was a fixed point which didn’t move. Or, in her case where someone a person knew was in danger.
It required a great deal of concentration, but knowing the person well enough that they might connect with that person in a manner all of the text she’d read regarding tracking spells couldn’t quite put into words. Taking a deep breath she focused, then, in the back of her mind she felt a light – no, two. They were almost on top of each other, the lights which in her mind reflected Chase and Nixi, meaning that they were together, yet for some reason she felt some kind of shadow near by.
Taking a deep breath, Ameril knew she needed to act fast, particularly since another memory coming back involved the fact, despite an entire year passing from the last summer, that Chase still didn’t know much magic, given the fact he’d effectively struggled with the fact he’d learned he was in fact a Dark Faerie, something which literally crushed his soul, eating away at his entire psyche as someone who hated the idea of harming others.
She moved quickly, still unable to fly despite the sunlight basking her entire body. She came closer and first saw Chase, carefully clutching Nixi in his arms, leaning against the wall. She then heard someone speaking. “See. Your friend has abandoned you. I mean, it took an entire year for that Light Faerie to do so, but what else do you expect? You’re a Dark Faerie, and she was only acting like your friend because she didn’t want to look bad in front of the Faerie Queen, so come back with us. Come back…”
Taking a deep breath, Ameril launched a spell into the back of the Dark Faerie who wasn’t Chase’s back, sending them flying. She then hurried forward, grabbing Chase’s hand. “Let’s go.”
“You…”
“Did you really think I would abandon you after all we’ve been through since last summer?” Ameril let out a sigh. “If you did, you’re an idiot.”
“But.”
“I was under a spell/. I definitely wouldn’t have abandoned you, not after we became friends last summer. It’s not something I would throw away.”