Kasis woke up the next morning feeling relaxed and refreshed. He had been so tired the night before that he hadn't even taken a good look around the room.
It was about the size of Kasis's home in the clearing, maybe a little larger. The walls were painted a light yellowish color. The bed he had slept in was nestled away in one corner, an elegant four-poster made of mahogany. It had a naturally draped curtain of Ivy that hung down for an extra level of privacy. To its right was a matching chest-of-drawers with gold hardware. A clear, shiny mirror hung on the wall above the chest, also framed with Ivy. A wooden horse hair brush, a stack of fluffy white towels, and a change of clothes sat on top of it. The oak plank floor was covered with a hand-woven rug, patterned with leaves and flowers. A little window allowed Kasis to see over the forest canopy and to a distant mountain range.
There was also a wooden door that Kasis entered, finding a little bench, a few hooks, and a collection of pots mounted on the wall, filled with unfamiliar plants that made the room smell especially relaxing. A big, elongated wooden bowl was placed against the wall with the garden. Two knobs and a spout were mounted on the wall just above the bowl. Kasis messed with one of the knobs, finding that it rotated to make water pour out of the spout and into the bowl. He felt the water with his hand. It was ice cold. He turned the knob the other direction until the water stopped and turned the other knob, confused when more water poured out. He felt this water, too, when he noticed steam coming off of it. To his surprise, it was hot, as if he had boiled it. Turning the other knob, he discovered that he could manipulate the temperature of the water by balancing the two knobs until it was comfortable. He noticed a hole in the bottom of the bowl, and a rubber stopper that was attached to it with a thin chain. He put the stopper into the hole and the bowl began to fill with water. He sat on the bench and puzzled over the bowl's purpose as it filled with water.
Suddenly he remembered the stack of towels and the clean clothes sitting on top of the chest-of-drawers, and the answer came to him. He waited for the bowl to fill with water, turned off the knobs, and retrieved a towel and the clothes. He placed them on the bench and began to undress, feeling proud of himself for realizing that the bowl's purpose was for taking a bath. He slipped into the bowl with a sigh and wondered where the water came from.
He laid in the water until his fingertips began to wrinkle, relaxing and enjoying some much-needed time to unwind.
When he had finished, he drained the bowl, climbed out, and dried off with the towel. Then, he dressed himself in the clothes the faeries had provided for him and went through the door, where he stood in front of the mirror and brushed his damp hair. He noticed that his wound was healing nicely. When he left his room, he was dressed handsomely in a soft forest-green tunic and a pair of black pants made of a material somewhere between cotton and silk in texture and quality. The faeries had even given him a pair of leather boots, having noticed he left his shoes behind in the Clearing.
He walked down the hall to the library, intending to see Philix. It was built inside one of the towers, tall and round with several layers of books only accessible by flight. Lots of natural light filtered in from the ceiling, which appeared to be made of glass. He found Philix leaning against a crammed wooden shelf, speaking with a man dressed in a disheveled blue suit. Kasis approached them, waving at Philix with a smile. Philix waved back and continued speaking to the man, who, upon closer inspection, had a kind face that must have normally been handsome, but he currently had bags under his eyes and appeared sad and desperate.
"Are you sure there's nothing? Not a single book, or even an article?" the man pleaded, sounding exhausted and defeated.
Philix shook their head. "I'm sorry, sir."
The man noticed Kasis, a confused look in his eyes appearing when he saw him. "Oh, are you the human everyone's talking about?"
Philix nodded.
"My name is Kasis," he said with a smile.
"Hello, Kasis. My name is Clement of house Arogen. Forgive my appearance. My son...he is very sick. Unfortunately there is no cure."
"What does he have? Is...is he going to die?"
"We call it the Blight," Philix said, "or Blackwing."
"Why is it called Blackwing?"
"Because of HOW it kills you. There are seven stages." They held up their hands and counted on their fingers. "The first stage, Contraction. The second stage, Fatigue. The third stage, Spread. The fourth stage, Slumber. The fifth stage, Dreams. The sixth stage, Torment. The seventh and final stage, Dissapearence. There are twenty-four hours between each stage exactly, giving the patient seven days to live."
"That doesn't sound good," Kasis remarked.
"Basically, your wings rot, you get really tired, you fall asleep, you have weird dreams, you have even weirder nightmares, and you vanish. You can't do anything about it."
Clement sighed. "Thank you for trying to help, Philix. I... I need to get back to my son. He'll dissappear soon. I need to be there..." He scrunched up his face, bit his lip, and turned to leave. "I'll see you around."
"Wait!" Kasis said as he grabbed Clement's wrist. "Can I see him?"
Clement frowned. "Why do you care?"
"I...recently lost my family. I know how it feels... and I would feel bad if I wasn't helping someone else through that." He shook hid head. "It's weird, I know. It's okay if you don't want me there."
Clement's face softened with a tiny smile. "Thank you. Of course you can see him."
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Clement's son was in the healer's ward on the second level of the village. When they arrived, two women were already present, gathered around a hammock where a small body lay.
One of the women, who seemed to be the healer, had fluffy brown hair and wore a deep blue coat with golden buttons. The other woman had hair so blonde it was white. Tears streamed down her face as she held the hand of the boy who lay in the hammock to her face.
Kasis approached the hammock. The boy laying in it could not have been older than nine. He was wrapped in a soft blanket, and his faded black wings were wrapped around him. He looked a lot like his father, and had his mother's white hair. His face was scrunched in pain. Kasis brushed his wings gently with his fingers, finding the texture to be similar to that of a crunchy autumn leaf.
"M'not...a prophet," the boy muttered in his sleep.
The healer felt his forehead and glanced at the sun. "He's fading. Say your goodbyes. When everyone turns away, he'll dissappear."
The white-haired woman bowed her head, trembling. Clement kneeled next to her and wrapped his green wings around her, his eyes shining with tears.
"Arthur," the woman whispered. "Talk to me, dewdrop. tell me it'll be okay."
The healer told them it was time and led everyone out of the ward, which was built like a treehouse, so that Arthur could dissappear. His parents went back inside a moment later, and Kasis could hear the woman's wail of grief.
Leaning against the trunk of a tree was Philix, who seemed uncomfortable. They had accompanied them to make sure Kasis stayed out of trouble.
"Where did he go?" Kasis asked.
"Only the Ivy knows."
"Is there not anything that can be done?"
"There's no cure. It's plagued the village for eleven years. The king sends out adventuring parties to seek a cure, but none have returned."
"When is the next one leaving?" Kasis asked as an idea boned in his head.
"Pretty soon. They need one more person, but no one else will volunteer. I'd go if I didn't have to take care of the library."
Kasis smiled and started walking back to the palace.
"Wait... where are you going?"
"On an adventure!"
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Kasis jogged almost the entire way to the palace, a spring in his step. He could be useful! This was the perfect chance to learn loads about the Ivy and keep people from dying in the process.
He entered the throne room and bowed deeply, a confused Philix on his tail.
"King Eausykr. Queen Strea."
"Oh, Kasis! How have you been? Have you been finding everything agreeable?"
"Very much, your majesty. I love being here."
"Good, good! How can we help you today?"
"I want to join the party that seeks the cure for the Blight," he said confidently.
The king raised his eyebrows. "How did that even come up?"
Kasis briefly explained why he wanted to help. The King appeared concerned, and the Queen seemed supportive.
"Well, Kasis..." Eausykr explained, "I was actually thinking that, well, you have to return to the Clearing eventually."
Kasis's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach, and stood perfectly still, shock registering on his face. "What?"
"Er...I think it's for the best--"
"NO! I can't go back. I can't." He trembled slightly as he covered his face with his hands. He knew it was too good to be true. He'd wanted to die, but the Ivy had given him a second chance. He'd felt hope for the first time in years. He didn't want to die anymore, because he thought he'd be able to stay in the Ivy forever. Kasis felt his dreams slipping through his fingers like sand.
"Eausykr," the Queen said, "don't be so harsh. I think we should let him stay here, if he wants to."
"But, Strea, dear, he'll always be different. I don't want him to stay here and regret it later. The older fairies are... hesitant to change."
Kasis heard all of this as his panicking brain tried to piece together some kind of plan. He stood for a few minutes tuning out the world.
He was jarred back to reality by Philix, who placed their hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
He looked up at the king, green eyes full of fear. "If I prove myself on this adventure... if I help find the cure... will you let me stay?"
"Elaborate, please."
"Well, when I was a kid, my father made sure I always 'earned my keep.' I'd do my part, so I wouldn't be punished and kicked out of the house."
"Your father is the worst parent I've ever heard of," the queen remarked.
"I thought maybe if I went on this mission, I'd earn my keep. Help out. And if you need anything else after that, I can help with that, too! I'll pledge my services to you and the faeries, forever. All I ask is that you let me live in the village. I don't even need to stay in the castle! I'll find myself somewhere else to live, if you'd prefer."
"It seems reasonable," Strea remarked.
The king thought for a moment, the air thick with suspense. "Very well. You have my word, Kasis of House None. You shall go on this adventure, and I shall permit you to remain in my village."
Kasis sighed in relief and grinned ear to ear. "Thank you very much, your majesty. I swear you won't regret it." He bowed as low as he could to express his gratitude.
"The party departs three sunrises from now. Be ready with a mount and supplies at dawn, and don't be late."