Prologue: Fairy Hunter's Choice

On a journey to find more firewood for his family, the young, brown, black haired boy stumbles into a blue angelite forest. He’s unaware of how he got there, but his confusion gets clouded once he sees a blonde man with tanned skin lying on a tree.

The boy runs over to him out of concern and notices that the man is in a difficult situation that someone couldn’t possibly understand at a glance. The man’s skin looks almost transparent, as if he’s slowly fading away.

“Are you okay, sir?” The boy asks.

The man struggles to gasp for air and looks at the boy. His heterochromia eyes, gold on his left, and silver on his right eye, catches the boy by surprise. “You have some good manners, young one. What is your name?” The man asks.

“My name’s Arden. What is yours?”

The man sits up. “It’s nice to meet you, Arden. Thanks for your curiosity, but my name is not worth mentioning. You see, I’m disappearing.”

“Is there any way I can help you?” Arden asks.

The man shakes his head. “This is a heavy consequence of my actions. However, my reason for still being here is unknown.” The man stares at Arden for a while and realizes an unanswered question. “You look human, young one. How did you get here? -” The man stops as he notices something after asking his question. “Perhaps, it was to meet you. The reason both you and I are here.”

Arden gets confused but then takes off his backpack and pulls out bandage wrap. “Here, sir. Let me help you.”

The man watches as Arden wraps him in bandages as he fades more and more. “Hey, young one.” The man says, catching Arden’s attention. “Do you know what fairies are?”

Arden nods. “They’re those dangerous beings that fly, right?”

“That they are.” The man replies. “In fact, they’re so dangerous I don’t think humans can win against them. Well, against her… But, if there were a variable far more dangerous than them, it could even out the odds.” The man grabs the boy’s arm and rubs his wrist. “Because you are born with a gift, I wonder what sort of world you can create if you have two gifts?”

Arden looks the man in the eyes, but what was once visible was now a blur. Arden falls to the ground in fear. “Sir!... Your face, it’s… Gone…”

The man smiles as he fades even more. “That is because I’m a fairy, Arden.” He waves until he quickly completely disappears. “I’m leaving the future up to you.”

Arden panics and runs around to look for help, but after he ran as far as he could he eventually found his father looking for him in a normal looking forest, seeing the angelite forest nowhere in sight. Arden thought everything would be okay after that incident, oblivious to how that would only cause his life to go downhill from there.

A month later, a beautiful man walking in the street catches a ton of people’s attention. Arden however, noticed him for a different reason. “Dad. How come that man doesn’t have a face?” Then, Arden flinches remembering the man he watched disappear in the forest a month ago. “Is he a fairy? Is he going to disappear?”

Arden’s questions caused a ruckus amongst the town and rumors began to spread about the beautiful man being a fairy until it reached the ears of the kingdom.

After careful speculation, the beautiful faceless man did turn out to be a fairy. This would have people questioning how Arden, a boy only a little over 10 years old, could’ve known the beautiful man was a fairy. He immediately got the young king’s attention and was urgently called over to the royal castle.

“Good day, little boy.” The young 19-year-old king, King Tenic, says in a private room as Arden and his family enters.

“Good day, my lord.” Arden says while bowing his head to the king.

“Come sit.” King Tenic replies. Arden and his family lift their heads and occupy the four seats across from the king. “How about introducing me to your family?”

“I am Arden’s father, my lord.” The man beside Arden replies.

King Tenic scowls. “I don’t think I was asking you.” King Tenic scoffs and then looks over to Arden. “Now, tell me, boy.”

Arden flinches. “This is my dad. This is my mom. And this one here is my little sister, Saylor.” As King Tenic looks to Saylor, she grips Arden’s shirt tight and hides behind him.

“Saylor sure is cute.” King Tenic smiles and then glances at Arden. “And so are you. How old are you, Arden?”

“I’m 10…” Arden replies shyly.

“Oh wow! You’re at a perfect age to begin your training.” King Tenic says enthusiastically.

“Training?” Arden’s father questions.

King Tenic smirks. “Well, yes. He’s going to have to train hard if he wants any hope to be a victorious fairy hunter.”

Arden’s mother gasps, while his father gets furious. “You can’t be serious?” Arden’s father questions in an upset tone.

“What’s a fairy hunter?” Arden asks.

“Good question, Arden.” King Tenic says as he opens a door for two large men that are holding the young, faceless man from earlier hostage. “Fairy hunters are those who take the lives of dangerous fairies such as this guy right here.”

Another four giant men come into the room, and three of them hold Arden’s family down. “What are you doing?!” Arden’s father shouts.

“Calm down, big man.” King Tenic says. “We mustn’t let you three interfere with young Arden’s decision, but rather encourage it.”

The fourth man holds out a suitcase, where King Tenic pulls out a sword, causing the faceless man to start wiggling around. “Stop! Please give me mercy! I have a duty I must fulfill!” the faceless man screams.

King Tenic looks at the two men holding the faceless man down, and points at his own mouth, hinting for them to hold the faceless man’s mouth open. “Obnoxious fairies like you should learn to stay quiet!” King Tenic shouts, while cutting the faceless man’s tongue out. “Now Arden… We learned that you must have some very special ability to be able to detect fairies. Isn’t that right?”

Arden steps back, while looking at the tongue in King Tenic’s hand.

“WAHHH!” Saylor starts wailing at the gory sight. “His face! Put it back! Put it back!” She shouts.

Arden, however, was confused. He understood why Saylor was screaming, and why it would be traumatizing… If the man were to have a face… But Arden couldn’t see the man’s face, so he didn’t see how it was gory. Then, Arden came to a realization. He was the only one who couldn’t see the man’s face. The only one in town, and in this room.

“Arden.” King Tenic says as he puts the sword in Arden’s hand. “All you have to do is kill that fairy. Can you do that?”

“Kill him?” Arden looks at the faceless man and his heart drops. He could tell even without seeing his face, that the faceless man was terrified of dying. “No!” Arden shouts. “I don’t want to kill anybody!”

“Is that so?” King Tenic frowns, unhappy with Arden’s response. “Well, that’s too bad. But good thing you have so many family members. Because in the end, someone will always be killed depending on your choices.” King Tenic pats Arden’s back and stands up to look at the men holding Arden’s family members. “Kill the dad.”

Arden looks back and the fourth man pulls out another sword, and in an instance stabs Arden’s father. “Daddy!” Saylor screams.

Arden freezes after he sees his father fall to the ground, slowly losing his color in his eyes. Arden didn’t know what was going on among all the noise and cries in the room. He just collapsed next to his father and touched his stomach. “Father?” Arden lifts his hand and sees nothing, but blood that paints his hands red. Arden’s heart pounds loudly and after realizing, he lets out a loud scream. “Ah… AHHHHHHH!” Tears fall onto the floor as Arden tries to shake his father. “Father! Father stay with me!”

King Tenic picks back up the sword. “It’s up to you, Arden. Choose to kill the fairy, or it’s your mother next, and then your sister after that.”

Arden looks over to his mom and sister who are still being held down and are crying over his father. Consumed by fear, Arden takes the sword and goes over to stab the faceless man many times until he’s finally dead. Arden gasps for air as he realizes what he’s just done. “I’m a murderer.” Arden mumbles.

King Tenic smirks. “Good boy.” King Tenic whispers in Arden’s ear while gripping Arden’s hand that’s holding onto the sword. “Now remember, this is your life from now on. Every moment, every life, they’re all dependent on your choices.”

Arden looks at the sword in his hand and takes a bite of those words 25 years later holding the same sword and facing this choice again. With his mother’s head in a bag, and a sword in his hand ready to behead her.

“Don’t do it Arden!” Saylor screams from the audience, while being held back by the King’s knights. “Please! Choose me instead!”

Arden trembles, as tears pour down his face. “I’m sorry, Arden.” Arden’s mom says in a quiet enough tone for only him to hear. “I love you.” And with one swing, she was dead.

Arden drops his sword and falls to look at his beheaded mother. “It’s all my fault… Because of the choices I made…”

Later that day, Arden is called to meet with King Tenic in the same room his father was murdered. “It is your fault your mother died.” King Tenic says. “And it’s your fault that your sister has now ended up crippled.”

“I know.” Arden says in a low voice.

“I’m glad you’re aware, Arden.” King Tenic says while looking at Arden with disappointment. “It is time to face the consequences of daring to keep your sister alive even though she’s committed a serious crime.”

“I’ll accept any punishment, my lord.” Arden responds in obedience.

“Very well.” King Tenic starts writing on a piece of paper. “You will lose your title as the legendary fairy hunter… You will confiscate all your riches… And finally, you and Saylor will be banished to the outskirts.”

Arden flinches. “But there’s many deadly diseases out there! With Saylor’s current condition, she certainly won’t survive out there!”

“Exactly!” King Tenic smiles. “Your punishment shall be watching her slowly die as a result of your choices.” He shrugs. “I did warn you all those years ago, didn’t I? Besides, she would’ve died today anyway if I didn’t happen to be in a good mood. You should be thankful she gets to live any longer.” King Tenic glares at Arden. “Or did you want me to execute her right here and now?”

Arden trembles and then bows to King Tenic. “Thank you for your generosity, my lord.”

After 5 years, Arden remains a traitor to the kingdom, he remains poor, and he remains in a small house in the outskirts taking care of his paralyzed sister. Once Arden returns home after he went out searching for herbs to cure his sister’s illness, he opens the front door to a quiet house like always.

“Saylor?” Arden looks into the house and finds that she’s not in her wheelchair. “Saylor?!” He runs out seeing no one around and when he returns over to her chair, he finds a letter. “A letter from the king?” Arden questions.

He opens it and reads it aloud. “We have taken your sister into our custody for treatment. If you want her to keep receiving treatment, then come back to the castle in three days to finish your job as a fairy hunter.”