Your Fault

Aileen and Darius haven’t spoken in four days. Their journey continues, their daily routines never change, but neither has been able to speak to the other.

At night, Darius struggles to sleep. The imminent future pulling tears from him; sadness that he will lose Aileen, and frustration at his own uselessness.

The Anubis River is still a few days away, but Darius has made the trip longer by slowing his pace. Still, no matter how much he wishes to, he cannot bring himself to speak with Aileen. He cannot think of what to say to her.

As they walk, Darius braces as a powerful wind brushes past him. It’s unnatural, and Darius looks to the sky to see who created it. He gasps, not at the sight of the dragon, but what it has made him realize.

“Aileen.” Darius whispers, his hands trembling. “I promise to take you to the Anubis River, but can I take a detour?”

Aileen responds after a few seconds. “I will not stop you, so long as you keep your promise.”

“Ok. Brace yourself.” Darius takes a deep breath, preparing his body for his next action.

Dust is kicked high, and the sound of Darius’s footsteps are heard far away as he dashes for his first destination in the far east side of the continent. Aileen holds onto the side of her chest as Darius runs much faster than she could have anticipated. He had mentioned that he was a man of decent strength, but he was being modest.

“We made it.” Darius drops to his knees after placing Aileen’s chest on a floating rock and pushing it forward.

Aileen gasps as she looks through her chest’s keyhole. Darius ran for hours, dashing fast enough for guards of every settlement they passed to investigate the loud disturbance passing by them. But now they’ve arrived in the floating gardens of Geb.

Large pieces of land float around the area, each filled to the brim with beautiful blooming flowers of every kind imaginable. The floating gardens are known for their name, but also for the strange phenomena that flowers are always in bloom. They die, but another replaces it in full bloom seconds later.

Aileen’s chest continues to float, the floating land turning with each simple wind spell Aileen casts. Darius now follows close behind.

At the center of the area is a pedestal with a single light blue flower. Magic flows from it like a blue mist, and each petal looks like they’re made of crystals. The pedestal has engravings that read: The most beautiful of them all, created by your beloved daughter. My friend, thank you for everything, I leave behind this for you.

“It’s so beautiful.” Aileen whispers.

Darius places Aileen’s chest on top of a ledge that overlooks multiple mountain peaks. Two days passed, and Darius took some rest at Aileen’s request as he ran across the continent once again.

“Where are we?” Aileen asks, surprising Darius as she doesn’t speak much anymore.

“You’ll see. Oh, I can feel the wind, it’s time.”

Darius grabs Aileen’s chest and sits it on his lap.

The mountain peaks in front of them are covered in clouds and mist, hiding what they look like below, and what lives on them.

A powerful breeze kicks up, sending the clouds and mist away, and revealing the mountains filled with plant life and colorful birds. Soon after, the creators of the powerful breeze are revealed.

First, a large blue dragon flies high into the sky, its body long and its scale glimmering with the moon’s light. Behind it follow many more dragons of all sizes, some normal sized, others known as miniature dragons. All of them follow their leader, enjoying a night stroll through the skies.

“That was amazing.” Aileen said, her voice filled with wonder.

“Excuse me sir, would you happen to know when the traveling circus will arrive here?” Darius asked a young man with a silver and emerald green eye.

“Traveling circus… hmmm.” The man said as he scratched his head. He snapped his finger before responding. “They should be here within a few hours. I hear they have a special plan for tonight.”

“Thank you!”

Later that night, Aileen and Darius find themselves watching the many shows of the traveling circus.

Performers leap through the sky, magicians use spells to create incredible illusions that take the stage and the crowd itself into the sky, under the ocean, and into realms that seem like more of a dream than reality.

Each show is spectacular, and Aileen can be heard gasping and laughing along with the rest of the crowd.

But the final show makes her cry.

The final show is somber and tame. A show of respect to those who fought in the war, those who protected others, and those who fought to end it. A single performer stands at the center of the main stage, waving their arms about.

High in the sky, names of those who fought to end the war, the shapes of every race who participated in the war, and depictions of each race coming together appear in brilliant light. This is followed by a brilliant display of light magic, flower fields of light are created, stars as symbols of hope float around near the crowd, and the show finishes with small explosions that send light down like snowflakes.

On their way back to the river, Darius takes Aileen to other places. A ride on the back of a miniature dragon, taste testing the culinary specialties of Hono, a trip to the waterfall of Isis, and anything else he could find on the way back.

But the time has come, they arrive at the Anubis River.

Darius’s hands shake as he places Aileen’s chest on the ground. He holds his tears back, but he no longer has any regrets. If nothing else, he will cherish their memories, and he hopes she will too.

“Aileen. I’ve never said this but thank you for saving my life. I fell in love with you, and though finding out you are a fairy did confuse me, I can still say that I love you. But I won’t try to stop you anymore. Even if you go now, I will never forget you, your memory will live on with me.”

Aileen doesn’t respond. Darius doesn’t find the strength to leave. He wishes to be with her at her last moment.

“This is your fault.” Aileen muttered.

“Hm?”

“I can’t do it. I can’t do it anymore because of you! Why? Why did you have to show me all those things, why do you care for me so much?! For so long, I was alone. I was hated. I had only you. It made me happy to know I helped someone, and that there was someone who I affected positively. I could die in peace that way… But now I can’t. Even if my village despises me, even if no one wants me to live, I don’t want to die. Why?”

“I want you to live.”

“Don’t say that! You love me, but we can never be together. We are fated to be apart, why would you want me to live when that would only bring you pain?”

“Even so, I’ll enjoy whatever time I have with you. I want you to live, so that we can continue to talk, so that you can go on and experience many more wonderful things, so that you can return home one day.”

“…Open my chest.” Aileen muttered.

Darius does as she asks. Aileen stands inside, tears streaming from her eyes, her wings spread wide and colorful, but she has a distraught expression.

“I’m not what you imagined, Darius.”

“You’re right. Just like I thought the day we met, you’re even more beautiful.”

“Stop.”

“If you’ll allow me, I’ll take you to your home village. I’m sure we can find a way for them to accept you again. Nothing you did was wrong. Even if they don’t, I will always accept you.”

“Even if I can never be with you? Even if I continue to burden you with my issues? Even if you must be with a fairy with no glow?

“Burden? Is that what you think this is?”

“It is.”

“It can’t be.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t remember a time when I’ve had more fun and been happier, this can’t be a burden. I’d do anything for you. Besides.” Darius holds his hand out, Aileen hops onto his palm. He walks her over to the Anubis River where she can see her reflection. “Who wouldn’t want a fairy this beautiful at their side?”

Aileen breaks down after seeing her reflection, flying into Darius’s chest where she can cry and feel safe. Not only have his words reached her, bringing her happiness and reassurance, but her glow has returned as well.