"Eden! Eden! Where are you? Eden!" Her mother cried out, searching desperately for her four year old daughter. "Eden!" She searched the cottage in a panic, delicate wings fluttering, she had an eye on her just now, where could she have run off too.
Eden sat under a huge leaf, hugging herself in fear. The Elf Raiders were here again and she hated to see how her people constantly bowed to the tyranny of the blue skinned Elves but there was nothing she could do, nothing at all because Fairies were a peaceful kind of creatures who preferred to plant flowers and dance in the moonlight plus the fact that they weren't built for war.
The Elves were double the size of the Fairies so it made their situation look all the more hopeless.
So even though Eden was angry at the Elves for taking away their happiness, she was also terrified because the Elves had started taking Fairy children back with them from their raids. She had heard that the taken children were used as slaves, that was a horrific thing to have to happen to anyone and she definitely didn't want it to happen to her.
She hid in the backyard, behind the shed because the Elf Raiders would go around their town, breaking into house after house to carry whatever they liked, sometimes pretty children were a part of that list.
Her delicate wings were wrapped around her small body for comfort, she knew she was worrying her mother who thought the Raiders had already taken her only child but she couldn't make herself move, shivering under her plant who she named Xavier.
She had to plant him in a hidden place because, Fairies are supposed to like flowers not big green plants that looked like they could eat you.
"Xavier, do you think they're going to take all of the Fairy dust Mama and Papa struggled to make all year again?" She whispered to the gigantic plant that was hiding her from the chaos going on around, the fence surrounding her house was low and was more of a decoration that any sort of protection so indeed Xavier was protecting her by hiding her.
The plant waved gently like it was trying to comfort her and Eden placed her face in her hands and sobbed, she hated this, the raids, the helpless look on the Fairies faces as the Elves stripped them of what they had, year after year, after year.
When would it all stop!
Shaking, she cried herself to sleep, unaware when Xavier curled his big leaves around her.
Eden woke up with a start, a couple hours later. Magnolia Mariach had found her daughter sleeping under her favorite plant in the backyard. The raiders had long gone and the only thing left in their wake was dust and broken homes.
"Mama, are you okay?" Eden asked desperately, running to hug her.
"Yes, my love, I'm fine, your father and I are. He went out to get some supplies for the broken door and walls." Magnolia picked up her daughter. "Come, you need a bath, you're all grimy from sitting in the dirt for so long, even your wings are muddy."
"Di-Did anyone get taken by the Dunderhead Raiders?" Eden asked in a tiny voice, burying herself deeper into her mother's warmth.
"Don't call them that Eden." Her mother scolded sharply.
"You're right mom, they're worse than dunderheads." Eden said with as much spite as a tiny four year old's body could carry.
Magnolia sighed in defeat, her daughter was too assertive and it terrified her. Fairies are supposed to be docile and genteel creatures, who do not involve in brawling or strain of any kind.
"No they didn't and we're grateful to them for that." Magnolia said kindly, like she really meant it. Eden made a face, she definitely meant it.
"Come on now," Magnolia continued, walking into their bathroom. Fairies lived in quaint cottages, painted bright and cheerful colors. it was more than enough as a shelter from the weather but it couldn't protect them from the Elves steel weapons.
"The water is a little cool because I can't heat it up." The blonde woman said apologetically, placing her child on the wooden floor.
Eden averted her head and clenched her fist, anger boiling up inside of her. "They took all of the Fairy dust again, didn't they Mama?" She asked tightly, still looking away.
Magnolia sighed, what was she to do with her feisty child, it was unnatural for a Fairy to feel so much passion. "You know we have to give them or they'll cut off our wings and knowing that we make Fairy dust with our wings, I'd say it's a fair trade, I'd say it's a fair trade." She smiled angelically, placing a hand on her daughter's face to turn it around. "Besides I can always make more." She added cheerily.
Eden's eyes filled with tears when she heard her mother's words, why could nobody see it, this wasn't a fair trade, it was tyranny. It would be difficult for the Fairies to make enough Fairy dust to last them all winter because they needed sunlight to make Fairy dust and Fairy dust was their life force.
A Fairy without Fairy dust could grow ill and die so it was really dangerous for the Fairies if they ran out of Fairy dust in the middle of winter, starting from tomorrow, Eden knew that each and every Fairy would start to remake Fairy dust double time, trying to meet up. It was nearly a month to winter and making Fairy dust by flapping their wings quickly over a wide container was hard work, they would be exhausted and would barely have made enough to last them through the winter, then they still had to do all the other preparations in time for winter.
But Eden knew it, Fairies were weak and it would always remain this way and that was why the entire town of Flora was trying to get her to accept their lifestyle but Eden couldn't, she just couldn't.
As she sat in the tub of cool water and let her mother wash the dirt out of her inky black hair, she made a promise to herself that she would get strong, strong enough to defeat the Elf Raiders.