A New Fairy Arrives

A couple of days later, Kassia was still hard at work in the village community garden. The progress was slow with so much work to be done and only one pair of hands. Nevertheless, every second of it was enjoyable for the gardening enthusiast. There was something very special about having a new, blank canvas to work with. She had never visited the forest village before Kiki and Maya had found her but she found the work even more rewarding, knowing it was for such a wonderful community.

With very few permanent dwellers near her house, Kassia had never really had a community around her. She had a few close friends near Blossom Pool, but it was nowhere near what was being built in Kiki Lane. Everyone in the village was so kind, welcoming and supportive. She had been greeted with open arms and they were already treating her as one of them, even if she had no plans to stay forever. It was definitely fulfilling work.

Back in the north of the forest, a plant fairy flew through the trees towards Blossom Pool. She was a beautiful fairy, with long green hair, the colour of freshly sprouted plants, pulled up into a high ponytail. Her fair skin had a gentle tan from being out in the sun all day and her sparkling pale green eyes glimmered with excitement. Her delicate wings fluttered behind her, slightly translucent in the light, but with a clear colouring of pale green, fading into a pale yellow on the tips. Small delicate vines wrapped around her legs, sprouting from her daffodil-yellow shoes.

The green fairy was very young, but there was something about her clothes that was very traditional. The style was one that had been common decades past, not the fashion of any recent year. Her dress was forest green and the skirt looked like it was made out of layers of large leaves. Smaller leaf shapes hung around bands on her arms and small yellow flowers were placed near the waist and on the skirt. Bringing the look together was a beautiful brown leather corset belt around her waist. It was handcrafted with intricate gold embroidery across the front with clear skill; a labour of love.

Willow darted through the forest hoping she would be able to find her friend Kassia up ahead. She had a very close friendship with the rabbit and they often spent many hours gardening together. There was a special bond between the two of them and they loved each other’s company immeasurably.

As she found herself in the clearing around Blossom Pool, Willow looked around in the hope of spotting some beige fur. To her surprise, however, there was no sign of Kassia or her wheelbarrow anywhere. Where was she? Perhaps she was still at home.

She slowly made her way over to Kassia’s quaint little house, still keeping an eye out for any sign of the rabbit gardening somewhere more hidden. As the building came into view, Willow began to notice something had changed. Many of the plant pots and tools that you would usually see outside the house were no longer there. Well that was strange, Kassia never left her home unless she had gone out to do some gardening, but there had been no sign of her. Was the bunny okay? Had something happened to her?

Landing on the ground outside the house, Willow called out “Kassia? Are you here?” but no-one replied. There were a few plant pots remaining near the door. Bending down to one of the small pots containing miniature daffodils, she gently lifted it and found a small brass key. It was a key that Kassia always left there waiting under the plant pot. The rabbit had always told her fairy friend that the key was there for her, whenever she needed it.

Turning the key in the lock, she entered the small building. Inside, the room was as neat as always, as if the building was waiting patiently for its owner to return. Willow let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding in. As she looked around, she began to understand her friend must be fine.

On the kitchen table, the young fairy noticed a folded piece of paper waiting for someone. As she made her way over she could see her name written on it in Kassia’s slightly crooked cursive handwriting. She took a seat on one of the sage green wooden chairs and slowly unfolded the paper before reading the letter Kassia had left behind.

Willow sat and read the words in silence, beginning to understand everything that had transpired just days before. As she read where Kassia had signed her name at the end, the plant fairy sat and thought about everything she had learnt, a small smile appearing on her lips.

The letter had began quite simply with the tale of Kassia meeting the fairies Kiki and Maya. When the mention of a garden needing help came up, Willow had known immediately her friend would jump at the chance to help. But it was the mention of the village Kassia had gone to that piqued Willow’s interest. Although it was now called Kiki Lane, Kassia had mentioned it used to be the fairy village Elmthrop and that made Willow’s wings flutter in excitement, or perhaps anxiety.

Although a fairy herself, Willow had never lived in the fairy village. She was born too late. It was only a few years ago when Willow was born thanks to the love Kassia had poured into all her plants. One morning when the bunny had visited her garden by Blossom Pool, she had found Willow lying on the ground with a ring of daffodils around her, with only a blanket of leaves and petals covering the fairy’s body.

It had been quite a surprise for Kassia to find a new-born fairy in her garden that morning. Thankfully, the rabbit knew of an elder plant fairy who lived nearby whom she had fetched to help. When Willow awoke, she was named and given clothes. For the next few years, the elder fairy had raised her like a mother would and taught her how to use her plant magic. They often visited Kassia together and so Willow and the bunny became very close friends. Things had stayed like that until the elder fairy passed away at the age of 488 when Willow was left to live alone.

In the years she was alive, the elder fairy had told Willow many stories about the fairy village when it was at its prime, and how everyone subsequently had to leave. Hearing the wonderful tales of life in the village, Willow had always wished she had been born earlier to have experienced what it had been like. There was a part of her that felt like she was missing out. She had realised over the years, however, that she was proud to have been born from Kassia’s love of nature and she wouldn’t change anything about the life she had led so far. It was full of love, friends and excitement.

Realising the village was growing again, ready for her, she understood it was her chance to go and see where her ancestors lived. She could finally visit the place she had heard so much about in stories. Without a second to rethink, she skimmed the letter again and found the directions Kassia had left her before heading out the door, locking it, and setting off towards Kiki Lane.

The green fairy flew through the forest with ease. She summersaulted and twisted in the air as she manoeuvred through the branches. She loved flying through the forest, it was always such fun and there was so much to see. Every now and then she would notice a plant in need of some help and she would dive down, using her magic to encourage it as she continued through the air, before soaring up towards the tops of the trees. The forest was her home and she loved it dearly, along with all the plants it housed.

Soon, a small sign caught her eye and she noticed buildings appearing one by one in the distance. She had arrived. Quickly turning on the brakes, Willow descended to the ground and took everything in. She had never seen so many wonderful buildings in one place. They were all so beautiful and unique, just like her mother had described. Her wings twitched behind her in excitement. What was she going to find?

As she walked through the street, Willow was amazed by everything she saw. Trying not to get distracted she followed her magical sense which could guide her towards areas with lots of plants or ones that needed help. With the village situated in a clearing, this would hopefully guide her straight to the community garden Kassia had mentioned, and hopefully to where her friend was.

Soon she found herself standing outside what she assumed was the garden. It was a bit run down and in need of help, but she could spot a muddy cream rabbit’s tail poking out from behind a bush and immediately knew this was the right spot. Walking into the garden she made her way over towards her friend.

Jasper the tiger was working hard building a fence nearby and quickly noticed Willow, a fairy he hadn’t met before, and called out to say hello. Hearing the tiger talking to someone else, Kassia quickly looked up from the flowerbed she was creating and noticed Willow standing nearby. The garden fork in her hand quickly dropped to the floor as she bounced over to see her dear friend.

Kassia was so pleased to see the young plant fairy standing in the community garden. She had specifically left the letter on her kitchen table in the hope Willow would decide to visit. Kassia knew how much it would mean to Willow to be able to visit the fairy village she had longed to have been a part of. There was also a part of her that desperately needed some extra help. Willow had always helped her with the plants since she had control of her magic and this garden was in desperate need of her impressive magic if it was to be finished soon. And the vegetable garden. That was definitely something Willow was needed for.

Pulling the green fairy into a hug, Kassia could sense Willow was excited and nervous to be here. Knowing what needed to be done first, Kassia called over to Jasper “Would you mind fetching Kiki, Jasper?”. The tiger gave a swift nod as he placed down his tools and set off to the library to find Kiki.

“I’m so glad you made it Willow” said Kassia as she squeezed her friend tightly. “First we need to show you around but then would you like to help me with the mess going on in here?” continued the beige rabbit. Pulling away from the hug, Willow nodded with a large grin before looking at the work Kassia had started.

As she was looking around at the markings Kassia had made on the floor for different flower beds, Jasper returned with a slightly confused Kiki. As the tiger picked up his tools and got back to work, Kiki’s gaze landed on a beautiful young fairy she had never seen before.

With her spring green hair and nature-themed outfit, Kiki could see straight away that a plant fairy stood before her. Excitement and shock flowed through her as Kiki looked at the green fairy. She had never seen the fairy before, and she was so young. Realising the smaller fairy must have been born after the village had disbanded, hope swirled inside Kiki. There might be more fairies who had been born since.

Looking at the purple winged fairy who had just entered the garden, all of Willow’s nerves washed away and she was left with only pure excitement. Feeling a small push on her back towards the other fairy, Willow looked at Kassia who was nodding at her, encouraging her forward. “Hello! I’m Willow” beamed the green fairy as she stepped towards the blonde haired fairy.

“Hello, I’m Kiki. It’s so lovely to meet you, Willow. Are you friends with Kassia?” inquired Kiki looking over at the rabbit gardener. Kassia nodded in response before picking up her garden fork and continued to work, realising Willow would be okay from here.

 

For the rest of the morning, Willow happily told Kiki about how she was born and about the plant fairy elder who took her in. Kiki listened attentively, pleased the young fairy had had someone to raise and tutor her despite the village moving away.

Kiki slowly began to understand more and more about the green fairy as the day went on. As Willow became more and more confident she slowly introduced her to the other fairies in the village, much to Willow’s delight. Everyone was as equally pleased to hear new fairies had been born and hoped the green fairy would stick around for longer.

As evening fell, Willow joined Kassia at the inn where they both discussed garden plans late into the night. They were both excited to work together to make this place just as wonderful as the area around Blossom Pool.