Chapter Text
It was a picture perfect day; the sun was shinny up above, in a partly cloudy baby blue sky. This could easily be described as the ideal weather for a spring picnic. Maybe that is why the Fey family decided to have their family reunion at Silverwood park. It would be a waste to not take advantage of, not just a beautiful scene, but something so budget friendly. The space was also convenient for such a huge extended family. Besides, a park was a better place for all the little ones to play at, rather than a stuffy enclosed event center.
A particularly energetic one of these ragamuffins, was the always kind Lilly Fey. She had only recently turned five, and had always been a bit small for her age. The girl has curly dirty blonde hair pulled up in a pair of pig tails. She was clad in a pair of overalls covered in splatters of neon paint, and a jacket that almost consumed her whole. It had been a hammy down from Lilly’s older sister, and something she insisted on wearing everywhere.
While waiting for lunch, most of the kids decided to play a game of tag over on the playground equipment. Currently Pixie was it, she had let her little sister tag her like usual. Lilly wasn’t the best at sports and games that took too much energy, despite how hyper active she could be at times. Thankfully her amazing sister understood the pain, she actually had similar struggles. Being Eight and half just meant Pixie was mature enough to deal with them better. Someone had to look out for that little stinker after all.
Lilly dashed up the steps towards the park’s tallest slide, as she fell to her knees. Weezing and choking for air, she had already run out of breath. She found it annoying that this always happened when giving it her all, but what could she do about it. Though who could blame her, she wouldn’t see her cousins till the winter holidays; her parents always flew her and Pixie down to see everyone down in England for Christmas.
Trying to stay low and hidden, the girl shakily did a set of deep breaths. She was desperate for a sip of water, but wasn’t desperate enough to quit the game to get one. Her special Disney princess water bottle was all the way at the picnic table. The girl’s mother made her leave it, so they didn’t risk losing it this time. Lilly may have thrown a fit after accidentally leaving it at the zoo last summer. In her defense the girl was still just a preschooler after all.
Finally feeling like she could breathe normally again, the five year old was ready to immediately get back to running. It wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but that is what felt the most important to her in the moment. Standing up, even leaning onto her tippy toes Lilly made sure the coast was clear. She then went down the slide, unable to keep in her happy giggles, as she made it to the black top. The five year old dashed, making her way over to the teater toters. However she never reached her destination, but made a sudden change of course.
An adorable hopping bunny went past the little one’s seafoam green eyes. She watched the adorable little creature jump into a bush disappearing. Not even taking a moment to think, or call out to anyone Lilly ran after it. The girl immediately ran past the bush and into a grove of trees. She was still learning things like not to run off alone, the girl was just young and reckless. Even if she wasn’t, Lilly couldn’t even tell her rights from her lefts. The preschooler’s teacher said she was a slow learner, and just went by the beat of her own drum. Her father had his own theories on it, that is his daughter after all.
Lilly continued her diligent work of trying to track down that fluffy tailed bunny. She imagined in her mind maybe the little guy had a pocket watch, like the one from Pixie’s book. The older Fey sister had been slowly reading through Alice in Wonderland with their mother. Lilly loved listening in and imagining stumbling into such a fantastic world. She didn’t quite get why her older sister called it a whimsical nightmare. There was a teleporting moon cat, who wouldn’t want to see something like that?
As the girl was lost in her own imagination, like usual, she didn’t hear the distant voices call out her name. Her adorable pigtails bounced as she kept going deeper, unable to know the rabbit hole she would actually fall into. With a small sharp pain Lilly started having another caught fit, she did barely let herself rest since that last one. While trying to desperately catch her breath, the girl lost her balance. Her foot had got snagged on a tree roof, and tumbling forward she braced herself for impact.
Pixie had run after her sister the moment a cousin yelled about not going into the woods. She knew it was Lilly before even giving a glance. Almost screaming out for her parents, the older sister didn’t wait up for anyone. The young Brit had learned about stranger danger in school, despite how shaky American education could be. How could she waste time where there could be a wild animal or someone waiting to snag Lilly.
Entering the small grove of trees Pixie could hear Lilly’s loud echoing coughs. She pressed forward desperation beating through her veins, despite only being a kid. The older sister wasn’t even old enough to have her own small Ipod, yet she put so much into being an older sister. Her parents always saw it as cute and responsible, of course they encouraged it. How could anyone know what would have happened?
When the air became silent Pixie almost stopped her tracks, Lilly never recovered that quickly before. The sound of her parent's catching up did nothing to calm her nerves. When Pixie finally made it to where she thought the coughs were coming from, all the hope she had drained away. The only thing that was left behind was a single light up sketchers sneakers. It was as if her little sister vanished in thin air, without a single trace.
“...Oh Pixie…this isn’t your fault…” The eight year old heard her mother speak. Looking over the eight year old saw her parents look at the only clue, with heavy hearts. Both of them were obviously trying to keep it together for their daughters sake. However, they also didn’t try to immediately call a search party into action. It was almost as if the pair were too terrified to get their hopes up.
“We should look for the dangerous stranger!” Pixie shouted, as tears ran down her face. She picked up the shoe copying her parents in trying to be strong. The elementary schooler picked up the shoe holding it close to her chest. She watched the two share a look, before snapping out of their stupor.
Her father quickly grabbed Pixie’s hand, giving it a small squeeze. She remembered him motioning to his wife, and then seeing her mother run off to tell everyone. The kid was then led by her father to search through the woods for Lilly. He knew that they wouldn’t find her, that his baby girl would be another new statistic. However for pixie, the daughter at his side, he ignored reality and gave it his all.
Every detail of that day, from struggling to brush her hair that morning, to finding that lone shoe, Pixie remembered. How could she forget the last time she saw her sister? If she was gonna find her she needed to stay strong, and remember all the clues. Even if the search was futile, she could still keep hope alive from others; her dad taught her that much after all.