Demeter's Light

The dark fae had already crossed over. Their job was done, and yet she couldn't fathom where or how she should start. The silencing of a forest wasn't easy on any of the fae, dark or light. Yet it had come to this. The willow's shrubs had ceased to sway. The soft grass that so many of the fae had lounged against now cracked at the slightest touch. It was inevitable. From above birds didn't fly, while down below worms squirmed to be free from the coarse earth that surrounded them.

It had been their turn to guide the forest now that their seniors had joined nature to rest before being reawakened once again. The newest generation of fae had failed, and she'd been part of it.

She massaged the ache in her throat, yet she couldn't prevent her tears from creating a blur of the brown decay before her.

"I can do this." She whispered.

"Well, of course you can Lila."

Her grandmother's sharp ears never failed. Of course, she wasn't just her grandmother, she was Adina, grandmother to all the fae and well over a thousand years old.

"I shouldn't have too though. How could we have failed so grandmother? We, who were raised from your wisdom and power? This forest is ending and Demeter's Light has yet to be found. The worst part is, we can blame no one but ourselves. Not even the humans."

Adina placed a youthful hand on Lila's shoulder. Her long white hair glittered while the emerald's of her eyes brought upon the reassuring comfort only an elder could bring.

Lila bit her lip. She hadn't wanted to ask this of her grandmother. None of the new fae had for fear the truth alone would destroy them, but she had to know.

"Have any fae failed like this before? Or are we the first to not find Demeter's light?"

Adina's grip tightened but she looked away.

"Please grandmother. I must know. At least, so we know how to stop it next time."

"Perhaps my dear, it's better not to know what you ask. Tend to your duties. See that the forest rests in peace. The dark fae have already destroyed what struggled to survive. Now it's time for you to lead the light fae in the silencing, and then we shall move on from this tragedy."

Lila pulled away from her and let out what she promised would be the last of her tears.

"I can't believe the words you speak! Vile things. You who have nurtured the great fields for centuries. This forest is ending! Demeter's light has forsaken us, and you stand there speaking of surrender as if it should come so easily. What if this is the start of the end for us? What if this repeats among the next fae to rise? What if we, the future of nature, have lost the power to save the very thing we created? Who we are."

Her grandmother exhaled and looked away indifferently, but her regal posture faded away.

Lila cursed herself and was about to beg for forgiveness when her red wings fluttered against the breeze. It was the wind calling to her from outside their tree hole. The time had come.

"Go, my child." Adina said.

Lila stood on the edge of the hole and looked down. The tree's roots seemed so small from where she stood, and the grass so dark and far away. She took a breath, spread her arms and wings, and plunged on to the wind's mercy.

She didn't like how it felt to fall. Every fae with wings had learned to fly from the moment they took their first steps in the forest. Falling always came first. Yet she had never quite let go of her fear of it, so as she descended she closed her eyes. The ground came closer. Her body penetrated gravity in a moment of exhilaration and terror. And when death was imminent, the wind came and swept her up in the air. Lila flapped her wings against it, and when she felt safe enough to open her eyes again, she was rising.

She summoned her red glow to lift the shroud the night provided. Seeing her shine, the other light fae soon appeared all over the forest. They too turned on their glow. A rainbow of neon colors soon filled the sunless woods. She cleared her throat and began to sing:

With bright light we beseech thee

To bless the power of forest and sea

To cleanse and to heal

To end an era

We fly free

Lila waved her hands and magic sprouted from her fingers. Tiny sparks of light that morphed into shining rabbits, birds and other small creatures of the forest. They danced about and led other animals out of their nests and along the path to their new beginning.

She was about to motion again, when she saw one of the dark fae still on the ground. The troll was lifting rocks beside a fallen tree and peering underneath them. She assumed he was looking for dying survivors as was his job, but that had been done a day ago. The dark fae kind were supposed to be long gone. She halted against the wind and flew down to him quickly. She had already begun the ceremony to silence the forest, there could be no stragglers behind to disrupt the light fae magic.

"Hibbit, what are you still doing here?"

The troll dropped the rock he lifted and snarled. "Don't start with me. I told them all I'm not done here. That I did! Spent more time looking for Demeter's Light. More so than any of ye. If that throws things off...well... everything's dead anyway."

Lila grabbed him by the collar and raised him off the ground. Even though his hat had fallen backwards, she could barely see his eyes behind his bulbous pink nose.

"How dare you speak to me in such a way!"

"Oh I dare! I dare! You flying fae don't scare me one bit!"

"Hibbit, you must leave. We don't have time for any of this!"

"Oh that's right." His voice cracked. "No one has time. That's why the bloody forest is dying. You all didn't check everywhere for Demeter's Light! Our magic can do but so much! I told 'em! But never mind Hibbit. I'm just a troll."

She released him. "What do you mean we didn't check everywhere?"

"The grotto! The grotto! I told them the grotto wasn't checked. I tried to go but I can't fly." He sniffled. "It made me late. Now I'm going as fast as I can. But I can't leave any of these poor beetles behind. So tell your friends to stop with the singing and give me time."

The fae had already started. There was no stopping the silencing ceremony. The life force of this place was dissipating quickly and nature's creatures could not linger much longer. But if there was a chance? A place they hadn't looked? Demeter's Light could change everything. Restore everything that was lost and make it anew. It was a gift to the fae from the gods and their last hope.

"Ye've got a funny look on your face Lila." He snapped his fingers at her. "Lila?"

She bent down and kissed Hibbit's cheek. "I'm going."

"W-wait! Hold on!" He pleaded.

She spread her wings. There was no time to discuss it further. The light fae couldn't finish without her, and if she found it there... they wouldn't have to.

"Lila! It's dangerous to go far into the forest now! The decay can kill you too!"

She heard Hibbit calling and knew what he said was true. Yet this failure was one she couldn't live with anyway. She had led the light fae as her mother did before her. She was young, and had an eternity of resting and being reawakened just like her, but the thought of rising every time, knowing that the death of this once timeless woodland began with her reign was... unbearable.

Lila pushed through the wind and summoned more of her magic to go faster till the grotto was in sight. She whipped through dry leaves, dodged thorns, and almost knocked over other fae who gave her curious looks. She was going in the wrong direction and they knew it, but no one dared to question her.

The heavenly grotto had been completely transformed from what she remembered. The cave was still open, but the stream of water running through it was now nothing more than a puddle. She didn't hear the waves moving, or the soft croak of frogs serenading their mates against moss laden rocks. There was just an unearthly silence.

Death had already taken its place here. Her lungs tightened as she took another step inside. The air was heavy and it labored her wingspan down, but she kept going further. She climbed over the bones of a mother bear and shamefully coughed at the foulness of her dead young.

Her body ached from the dread of this place. Her red glow dimmed to a muted orange at her weakness. Had Hibbit misled her on purpose? Was all of this for nothing?

That's when she saw it. The faintest hint of light at the end of the grotto. She silently prayed for the wind to help her again and gritted her teeth as she rose against the unnatural force that pushed her down.

Demeter's Light would not fade from her grasp. Even if it cost her life.

As the last of her glow began to fade, she reached the end of the grotto and her face brightened. The light was getting stronger. Hibbit had been right all along!

She threw herself against the wall but with a heavy heart realized it was just the moon shining through a hole in the grotto's walls. She wanted to scream but she could barely breathe. This was what the end felt like.

"The rest of the fae will die here now if I don't finish the silencing for them, and the forest will suffer even more. I, Lila of the Fae, seal the forest and silence the trees. Let it be done."

Her last bit of magic shimmered out of the grotto to join the rest of them.

She laid down to greet death like an old friend, when a green light sparked in the corner of her eye. Something vivid and strong. It was the size of a river stone, but it floated towards her weakened body. It pulsed with energy and smelled of flowers, the river and soil. Although she had never seen it before, there was no denying that this was the true Demeter's Light.

The green light grew until it exploded in the grotto and out to the forest. Lila collapsed on the grotto floor and drifted into the darkness.

When she woke the birds chirped and the sun warmed her skin. Her body rested against the fresh bark of a tree branch, and soft hands held her. It was Adina.

"You did well my child."

"The forest is restored? Demeter's light... It worked."

Light and dark fae fluttered below in celebration. The grass was vibrant again. The sky was blue, and Hibbit was down below tending to his beetles.

"Yes it did. By letting the forest rest at last, you set Demeter's Light free so it could begin again. It's the way it’s always been. But something you all had to learn."

Lila sat up. "You knew how to find Demeter's light all along?"

Adina smiled and caressed her face.

"Sometimes, the only way to save something, is to let it end. Now it will start anew, stronger and brighter than before. "