The young man with purple eyes and hair as dark as raven's feathers landed safely into the ground. The cold night breeze blew against his skin, sending shivers down his spine.
Into the night he chased after the small flicker of light, as the fairy run away from the manor.
His heavy boots crunched against the luscious grass. While his warm breath started forming small puffs of mist into the air.
As he followed the light, he eventually reached the woods. The sound of crickets, frogs, and the haunting hooting of owls echoed inside. All the while, nothing but the faint moonlight shines the path for the young man.
Darius runs as quickly as he can, trying to close the gap in between. Swiftly and accurately, he maneuvered through the woods not losing sight of his target.
Back in the Wilson manor, Brennan watched as Darius jumped off of the balcony in awe.
'That was amazing' he thought. Just like what he would read in the books that he would borrow in the local library.
Snapping out of his daze, Brennan went back inside the manor. Only to find a chaotic situation.
The maids are trying to calm Lady Wilson as she struggles against their hold. Ferociously forcing her way to the changeling, "I will kill that monster! Leave me be!" she screamed angrily.
All the while the nanny cowered away in the corner as she held the baby closer, trying her best to hide the infant from the raging woman.
"Madam please!" the maid cried out, begging her to stop while suppressing her own tears.
"You can't kill it!" Brennan stepped in. "Even if this is baby is not your own, it is still an infant! It doesn't have any idea that they had been abandoned by their parents. Can you see? This changeling is just as innocent as your own child." He defended.
"No! I want my child, I want him back! They stole my precious child!" Lady Wilson screamed her heart in agony for the piece of her that was stolen away.
"We will find your child, I promise that. But please refrain from hurting the changeling." Brennan knelt in from of Lady Wilson, who had collapsed on the ground. Her tears are flowing down like rivers.
"I just want my child back," she cried clutching her heart. Her hair fell, covering her face.
"Please bring her home, please keep her safe." She begged, her shoulders trembling as tears continued to fall from her eyes.
"I promise… we will do everything to bring her back," he said before standing up. Running out of the nursery to fetch his bow and arrows.
Darius continued his pursuit until he reached four trees about a meter and a half tall. Standing side by side, the trees formed an archway as they twist together on the top.
Under the dim light, it shines faintly. Surrounded by bushes of wildflowers and thick grass it looks so mystical. Especially with the glimmer of light around it.
He was certain, this is where that fairy went.
Putting a hand forward, Darius reached out creating a sort of ripples in the archway.
'Go inside,' a voice commanded.
"How come you suddenly reappeared after being silent for more than a month?" Darius retorted.
Making Ravana chuckle, "What can I say… things are starting to get interesting."
"Besides, do you genuinely expect me to stay around and watch your pathetic training?" she added emphasizing the last bit to insult Darius.
The purple-eyed man clicked his tongue, which gave Ravana the satisfaction of seeing his annoyance.
"Where does the doorway lead?" he asked.
"Where else? The kingdom of the fays, obviously."
"And what made it interesting… exactly?"
"Hah! And I thought your taking lessons from your new master," Ravana mocked.
Darius only sighed at the woman's endless insults.
"But I have to say if you're lucky enough, you might meet Titania…"
"Who?"
"Enough! Your trail will grow cold if you continued to ask these pointless questions. Just find your little friend first and enjoy this little game of playing hero."
"That not!" Darius was about to protest but another person came.
"Darius!" Brennan called out. "What happened? Where's the fairy?" he asked, stopping in front of his friend.
"In here," Darius turned back in the archway. His hand was still placed in front of him. Just like disturbed still water, the air within the archway created ripples as he moved his hand.
"Is that an archway?"
"Yes, one that leads to the Kingdom of the fays."
Without any hesitation, Darius entered the archway. As he passes through, he could feel the chill in his back intensifying. Yet in his face, he could feel the warm summer breeze along with the scent of lavender and lemongrass.
The sudden flash of light forced him to close his eyes, but once he opened them once again… he found himself transported into a whole new world.
The sun was up in the sky, illuminating a bright beam of light. Luscious grass grew everywhere, covering all the land as far as eyes could see. Flowers grew in thick bushes, spreading different colors everywhere.
Standing atop a hill, Darius could see everything well enough. The thick forest ahead, the small village at the edge of the forest but most importantly… the huge tree that stands in the far distance.
It was so massive its trunks could easily be compared to an entire city, while its roots spread far and wide. While the leaves and branches are high enough to touch the sky.
"That's amazing… I never thought I would have the chance to see the world tree with my own eyes," Brennan mumbled behind Darius.
"We should chase after the fairy that took the Wilson baby, for now. We have to focus on the task at hand." Darius said as he started walking away from the archway.
"Did you see where it went?" Brennan asked but Darius could only shake his head.
Silence filled the vast space on the hilltop, once again they met a dead end. Without any clue on what to do nor any idea where to begin.
"Say Titania… the Queen of the Fays lives near the world tree does she not?" Darius asked.
"Well according to the books she is… but we don't know how accurate that would be."
"That's enough to go on I suppose, I say, we head to the world tree. Surely we can find some clue over there… somehow…"
"If the stories of her kindness are true then, she will help us," Darius muttered.
He knows that it will be a gamble and possibly a waste of time, but what else can they do?
"But if push comes to shove, we will have to use force." He said loud enough for Brennan to hear, purple orbs looking down at the village below.
Brennan remained silent.
Darius is a man that stands in the twilight zone, he is not inherently evil but he can't be labeled as good either. He will sacrifice what needs to be sacrificed to meet the desired goal. Because he is not burdened by the heavy cape of heroism.
Brennan wanted to disagree, but there's no other way to find the Wilson baby.
"I suppose that will be fine, but promise me that it will only be a last resort," he looked at Darius will a particular spark in his eyes. As if a fire is blazing inside.
"Yes, only as a last resort." Darius agreed.
With that settled, the duo went further on.
The forest looks normal enough, the fauna and the flora were just similar to the ones in the world they are used to.
The same old oaks, pines, and willows.
The same kind of grass, flowers, and bushes.
Even the animals appear to be the same.
However, even with the forest consisting of the same plants and animals. This one appears to be more… enchanting.
Maybe it was the warm breeze or the sparkles in the tips of the leaves, or maybe the way the sun resonates from the sky.
It was so similar yet somehow, it was so different than what they're used to.
"There's a humming," Brennan pointed out.
"Pardon?" Darius asked, knitting his brows.
"There's a humming in the breeze, whenever it passes by."
"Do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing?" Darius started looking around, trying to sense any danger that may come their way.
"I'm not sure… it's just that, the sound was so calming. It terrifies me, what if it's a trap?" Brennan asked.
'Well it is good to know that he could be wary,' Darius thought. Because for the past month he was with Brennan, the young man had been acting like a naive child. But it is good to know that he knows when to put his guard up.
"Then let us hurry, the last thing we want is to find out what that humming is actually about."
On that note, the young men hurriedly sprinted through the forest.
The sight of the clearing brings them a feeling of relief.
Ah yes, they are finally out of the forest.
As the forest grows smaller into the distance, the village grows bigger.
Finally, they can see the village more clearly.
All the houses looked so uniform with their white walls, red roof, and small patches of flowers all over the place.
Just like in the children's book, the world of the fairies is like a paradise.
Well… a paradise where the inhabitants kidnap other family's babies and replace them with their own offspring.
"Let's go," Darius said, a hand wrapped around in the hilt of his sword.
Brennan nodded, completely missing the change in Darius's attitude.
His voice was somewhat lower and his eyes are hooded as they cast a dangerous shadow.
But how can he not be wary? If he's about to enter the territory of the twisted past.