Chapter Text
Alexis Ness was a hopeless girl, by definition of everyone around her.
Her parents were scientists that had moved to the country to study some types of plants that she hadn't bothered to remember.
Meanwhile her older brother and sister had remembered. They'd worked hard to graduate the tiny school in the small town they lived in with high honours, went to Berlin and Munich for university and became a scientists themselves.
They traveled, and now her brother was in the UK, still working hard, and her sister was in Berlin.
Alexis was a legal adult now. She worked a part time job at the local bakery, believed in fairies, magic and all types of mythology, and a closeted lesbian. She was a complete failure, in other words.
She sighed, leaning on her childhood bedroom wall as she sat on the floor.
She passed school with average grades, getting them just good enough that she wasn't 'below average.' Still, her parents weren't impressed.
With every passing day, they kept asking her when she'd be going to university, where she'd be going to university, if she wanted to study physics, psychology or some other science degree. She'd just reply vaguely and nod quietly every single time.
"Alexis! Dinner's ready." She heard her mother's voice. It made her cringe even more as she remembered they still didn't trust her enough to use the kitchen alone, as she'd burned herself with hot water last time she tried.
"Coming!" Alexis called out, stumbling up, leaving her room to go to the dining room.
The dining room was not warm and welcoming, as she'd often seen in movies. Whenever Alexis saw dining rooms in movies or TV shows, they always looked so comfortable and friendly.
Her parents did not like that look evidently, as their house was monotone. The dining room had white walls and a plain brown table with nothing but a clear table cover over it. The only decoration were pictures of their family on the wall. One with her parents and her brother as a baby, one with her parents, her brother and her sister as a baby and toddler respectively, and finally one with all of them, with Alexis as a baby. The rest of the photos were continuous jumps in age.
It was so boring and colourless. Alexis's room was likely the only one with colour in it. She covered her walls with magenta pink, her favourite colour, and bright blue, her second.
She loved her room. It was one of the only places her parents let her so whatever she wanted.
"..Alexis." her father said again. He sounded exasperated. Apparently he'd been repeating her name and she'd been so zoned out she hadn't noticed.
"H- huh? S- sorry.. yes, Papa?" Alexis mumbled, her cheeks reddening slightly in embarrassment.
He sighed, his eyebrows furrowing in exasperation.
"I asked if you had considered any of the universities we've shown you so far."
Alexis stared at him blankly, trying to recall what universities her parents had shown her.
She said the first one she remembered.
"EPFL sounds fine." Alexis mumbled.
Her mother smiled, "Great! That's a wonderful university. Have you decided which degree you want to major in?"
Alexis shook her head, not remembering any of them.
Her father's gaze narrowed at her, "Choosing a university is all fine, but you need to actually put that choice to work, understood? Maybe you should watch me and your mother at work and see what we do."
Alexis shook her head quickly, "No no! Papa, I swear, I'll study a bit on what I'm interested in tomorrow. I promise."
She stared at her father desperately. She hated the idea of having to follow them around like a dumb five year old, stupidly nodding her head at whatever intelligent things they said.
Her mother sighed, "..Fine, but you better have decided by next Monday. We want you to start moving up in the world."
Alexis felt miserable, but she tried her best to hide it. She lowered her head so her fluffy bangs fell on her face, shielding her eyes from view. They were filled with embarrassed tears.
She quickly finished the rest of the food she'd been eating, excused herself, put her plate in the sink and practically dashed to her room.
It was dark, as she didn't like bright light. She did have fairy lights though. On one side of her room they were magenta pink, on the other side they were a cool blue. She adored the colour scheme. It comforted her. Calmed her down.
She breathed slowly, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her pink hoodie.
She really was so pathetic. God, she hated herself.
Alexis crawled onto her bed, hugging her legs to comfort herself as she stared out her window. There was a forest nearby. She had never really gone very far into it, but she had always wanted to. It looked like just the place that fairies and all those types of mystical creatures would live. Also rabbits. She just really liked rabbits.
Maybe to avoid her parents she could wander around in there tomorrow. She could claim she was working out, because her parents always said that she needed to at that age.
She glanced at her drawer. She had the biggest urge at the moment to piss her parents off. Make them angry, make them think that they couldn't trust her if they let her be independent. That way she wouldn't have to leave.
She'd bought a packet of magenta pink hairdye a while ago. She'd been ecstatic about using it at the time, but had quickly lost confidence (as she always did).
This was the perfect time. She'd just dye the ends of her hair magenta pink. Her beige-brown hair was so boring anyway, surely some pink would make it look cuter.
She opened her drawer, taking out the packet. She had no idea how to dye her hair, but YouTube would help.
Ness crawled off her bed, eagerly rushing to her en suite bathroom. She stared at her appearance for a moment.
She was wearing an oversized pink hoodie and black cargos. Her hair was beige-brown and fluffy. She looked plain though. Alexis didn't particularly like staring at herself, but she was confident magenta pink hairdye could fix that. She had never liked her hair colour, so surely if she added a colour she did like, it would work out, right?
Nonetheless, she found a video instructing her how to dye her hair, eagerly ripped open the packet and started.
It took her a while. A long while, but she ended up figuring it out. Her fingers were dyed pink for the time being, but the ends of her hair looked great. She was happy with it.
She'd washed her hair and somehow had made the magenta not look too washed out. It was bright enough and faded seamlessly from her boring brown hair.
She adored it.
Alexis quickly dried her hair before giddily rushing to bed. Her parents were going to kill her, but it was fine, she was a legal adult; she could do what she wanted with her hair.
In the morning, her parents had already left the house.
She didn't particularly want to go to work today.
Alexis sighed, quickly texting the woman who owned the bakery that she was feeling a bit sick and couldn't come in whilst brushing her hair.
In the golden sunlight, the magenta hue was even better. She was sure dying the ends of her hair magenta pink was one of the best decisions she'd ever made.
But anyways, she happily got up from her bed, having a day of freedom and no responsibility until her parents would come home and yell at her for dying her hair.
Alexis slipped on a top that she'd bought in secret and only wore when her parents weren't around because they'd likely say she looked like a prostitute (it was a flowy shirt that had been limited edition Hello Kitty merch, her sister had seen it and bought it for her so of course she wore it too much). She grabbed her black arm warmers and pulled them up onto her arms, pulled on some black tights, as it was beginning to get cold, pink shorts over the tights, pink leg warmers and was happy.
Now she could indulge in her plans of finally exploring the forest she'd always found so alluring.
Alexis knew rationally that magic and mythical creatures didn't exist, but that didn't mean she didn't hope they existed. That forest was totally the sort of places little sprites and fairies would live in! Maybe one of these days she could make a little fairy house and find somewhere to sit it in the forest, and she'd check it every few days.
Alexis's face reddened in embarrassment as she realised the type of childish daydreams she was having. Her parents would just shake their heads and sigh. She really did hope, much like her parents, that she'd grow out of these 'quirks,' as her parents put them, but she also knew to do that she needed to put actual effort into that. She didn't want to. Believing that fairies and magic existed made everything so much more colourful to her.
Alexis grabbed a small bag, her phone and earphones, dropped them into the bag and left.
She pulled on her Doc Martens, figuring that the extra height would help if there was mud or water anywhere, as it had rained yesterday.
Alexis couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed at how excited she was about this silly little idea she'd had at the middle of the night, but really, she'd had no entertainment for the past few weeks, and she could really do with a break in the forest.
Alexis went the back passages to the entry of the forest. Once she reached it, she kept walking, not stopping at any noise or anything that would usually scare her back. She had decided that she wanted to be in the forest today and that is what she would do.
Okay, so Alexis kind of regretted this. It was 5pm now, and she had left the house at 10am. Her parents were likely home, and probably had called and texted her nonstop. Thing is, her phone was out of battery. She was sure she'd be fine.. probably.
Maybe not.
It was getting a bit cold, and rhe trees seemed to be closing in on her in any direction she went. Alexis sighed, getting a bit anxious. She was thirsty, and a bit hungry. She hadn't really expected to get this far or stay out so long... She was quite lost.
For a moment, she found a tree to sit against and sort of crouched against it, thinking about what to do.
She sat like that for a while, contemplating. She knew she probably shouldnt've done this, but Alexis tended to just daydream and romanticise things by accident. The forest had looked so pretty during the day, but now that it was getting dark, she felt a bit scared.
She was probably alright, she concluded. She knew bears didn't live in Southern Germany, so it wasn't that dangerous..
Suddenly, she saw a vague light in the distance. Alexis squinted, trying to see the cause of the light.
There wasn't one.
That got her both excited and nervous.
It was fluttering, and it only brightened when Alexis looked away for a moment.
Alexis figured she'd follow it. If it was just a lantern or something, she'd give up and go back to her tree. But.. what if it was a fairy? She couldn't help but get incredibly excited at the thought.
Alexis tentatively stood up, brushing off her clothing from any specks of dirt they might've picked up.
She slowly walked closer to the small light, and it only got farther and farther away from her. As if it was leading her somewhere.
It was a fairy, she was convinced. How could this not be? This wasn't natural. Alexis pulled her phone out, seeing if she could take a picture, but the light didn't appear on her phone. It was completely dark.
She was fascinated. Alexis followed it more confidently now, wanting to see where it was trying to lead her.
She still didn't know where she was going, but she figured it was alright, because she didn't particularly like the idea of going back anyways.
Alexis felt thrilled from this freedom. It was amazing.
After a long while of following it, she was lead to a hollow.
It had a small stream running through it, large, smooth stones and a small cave at the back.
It looked like a shelter. Did the fairy light lead her here to help? Maybe. Nonetheless, this was a better location than her previous one.
Alexis decided to approach the cave. She could sit in there for the night, and it'd shelter her. That was alright.
"Hi."
Alexis jumped, nearly screaming.
That.. was a woman's voice. Certainly not her voice. It sounded deeper than hers, but not by much. It sounded.. amused.
"H- hi?" Alexis eventually replied, a bit anxious. It was alright if it was a woman, she figured. She felt safer stuck in a forest with a woman.
She froze as she heard someone behind her, and she slowly turned around to see a tall woman, staring at her.
She was beautiful. Enchanting. Alexis couldn't take her eyes off of her.
Her skin was completely clear and unblemished, no marks or any discolouration. She had choppy bangs, but somehow they looked good on her. Blonde hair, but faded into a bright blue. The exact blue that Alexis liked. Her eyes were a harsh blue, with red eyeliner accenting them. She had a.. tattoo..? Maybe? But nonetheless, she had a blue rose on her neck, with vines going down her left arm and a crown on her hand. She'd never seen a tattoo like that. It looked cool, at least. She was wearing a flowy looking dress.
"You done staring?" The woman murmured, smirking.
"..a- are you a fairy?" Alexis asked immediately, staring at her with wonder in her eyes.
"Mhm. I am indeed. And you, are a lost human, yes? Well.. I know that already, I lead you here after all. You followed almost immediately. Most people tend to at least wait for a while or just don't." The fairy smirked in amusement.
Alexis nodded, still in awe.
"You're beautiful."
"I know."
"Wh- what's your name? Or do fairies not have names? Sorry.. I don't know. I've always wanted to see a fairy." Alexis stammered, a bit nervous. She felt like a stupid teenage girl meeting her celebrity crush. Except her celebrity crush was a mythical fairy who was probably internally laughing at how pathetic Alexis looked.
"Do you know anything about fairies?" She looked smug.
"Kind of." Alexis replied honestly.
"Then if you think about what you just said, you know that you already did something stupid." The fairy laughed at her.
Alexis stared at her, confused, thinking back to what she said, before realising.
"..I said sorry?"
"Mhm! Now you owe me. After all, your question irritated me. What's your name? Full name."
Alexis vaguely knew that you weren't meant to tell a fairy your full name, but this was to repay a debt, right? She had to. Fairies were tricky.
"..um.. Alexis Ness." She mumbled nervously, "Can I know yours?"
"..Michelle." Michelle hummed, walking over to Alexis. She tilted her head up.
"I wouldn't mind having you as a little servant." She remarked.
Alexis sputtered, "Wh- what?"
"You gave me your name." Michelle sighed.
"S- so?"
"..I have power over you now. See?" Michelle smiled amusedly, showing her index finger and moving it a circle, which made Alexis spin around briefly.
"AGH-!" She yelped loudly, unable to control her legs until Michelle stopped, causing her to nearly fall on her.
Michelle laughed, finding this entertaining.
"You're bound to me now." She murmured, a condescending look in her eyes.
Alexis didn't really know what that entailed, so she kind of just nodded stupidly.
"You're lucky I'm one of the nicer fairies. Here's the deal. I'll get you out of here and back to your town, but you'll come back tomorrow. I'll lead you, don't worry. It'll be the same as I did today." Michelle ordered, the forceful nature of it dulled by the fake sweet smile she had on.
Alexis blinked, "Oh, um, okay. Yeah, I can do that."
She hummed, "Good."
Alexis eagerly followed Michelle as she started walking in some direction, completely confident and relaxed. Alexis figured this was the way out. She didn't have a way to contradict Michelle on it, so she just had to follow.
After a while of walking, Alexis eventually spoke up.
"Why'd you choose to be nice to me? I've heard stories of fairies tricking people, but you haven't."
Michelle didn't stop walking, but she still replied.
"You're pretty. I don't trick pretty girls. I think it'd be a shame if you happened to starve to death in the forest just because I lead you deeper in."
Alexis felt her face heat up. An enchantingly beautiful fairy called her pretty. That did wonders for her ego.
"I think you're beautiful too." She murmured out, unable to do anything but stare at Michelle's soft-looking, shiny hair.
"I know, Alexis. This is the second time you've said that." Michelle laughed amusedly, "I quite like you. You've made me laugh several times."
Alexis liked the sound of that. Michelle liked her, so that meant she wouldn't get thrown away as quickly. Michelle would keep her around. It was so... wonderful, to be around a fairy. She felt entranced by Michelle's everything. Her face, her voice, the faint glow that radiated off of her, the warmth she felt around her.
The forest around them seemed to morph into a dark blob of nothing to Alexis as she kept staring at Michelle. She nearly tripped by how her eyes didn't look away.
Finally, unfortunately, the walk ended.
Michelle pet Alexis's head, "This is where I leave you. Keep walking straight.
Alexis keened into the touch, eyes still on Michelle. "Okay."
"Be safe, Alexis. I'd like to keep you around." Michelle murmured, before walking away and with one blink from Alexis, Michelle was gone. No trace of her.
Almost in a daze, Alexis kept walking straight. Just as Michelle had said, she'd reached civilisation once more.
She didn't stop walking, her legs on auto as they moved her home.
Finally, she opened the door to her house, to be met with a fuming mother and a concerned father.
At seeing how off Alexis looked though, her father immediately took her to her room and told her to get to bed.
She knew she'd probably be yelled at in the morning, but it was fine. She'd met a fairy today. The most beautiful creature she'd ever seen. Nothing mattered.
The entirety of Alexis's childhood had been consumed by embarrassment, loneliness and a desperate hope that everything she believed in was real. And it was real. She smiled as she was about to fall asleep, phone forgotten in her bag, still not charged.