Page 13 of Folds
And what I see takes me utterly by surprise. It’s sobright, vibrant green and neon blue and even some neon pink thrown in for good measure. The colors are all cast by glowing mushrooms, which light up the path. This appears to be merely the ground trail, while all the activity is happening on the platforms up above.
There are fairies everywhere. They bustle about on their dragonfly wings, flitting from one platform up in the trees to the next, stopping occasionally in the air to chat. Vines hang from the platforms, covered in lovely purple, pink, and white flowers. I’ve never seen anything like it—not on Earth, at least.
“Is this an alien planet?” I whisper to Selvanar.
He chuckles weakly. “No. We have merely created something else here, inside the barrier. Everything in the hive has magic in it.”
I keep that in mind as we wade deeper. At last, someonenotices us walking along the forest floor, and eagerly comes buzzing down. This fairy, too, is naked, with big, bountiful breasts, broad hips, and pink-hued skin. It has the same metallic sheen as Selvanar’s.
“My king!” the fairy says as she lands in front of us. “What has happened to you, Your Majesty?” She looks me over, expression suspicious. “And who is this?”
Selvanar tugs me closer. “This is Trisha. She was the one who brought me home. I need to see Calda right away.”
The fairy takes in Selvanar’s state, his skin angry and red, and nods before flitting off. In the meantime, other fairies have taken notice of us and start touching down all around. They come in a wide variety of colors, all with that same glittery sheen.
“Your Majesty, what’s wrong?” one asks.
“Oh my, who is that with the king? Is that a human?” another says.
I want to cover my face and hide, and I do my best to keep one hand over my breasts, but I know I’m not doing much to hide my nakedness. Besides, I am literally surrounded by other naked fairies.
The pink fairy from before returns not long after with two others, who appear to be carrying a stretcher made of leaves and twigs. Paying me no mind, other fairies gather around to help lift Selvanar off his feet and lay him on the stretcher.
Then, they rise off the ground, all their wings flapping at once.
“Selvanar?” I call out, watching him leave me. “Where are they taking you?”
“To see the healer.” He beckons someone closer. “Bring her, too. I want her with me.”
The fairy he’s just commanded, a big one with bright orange skin, approaches me. I squeal as he picks me up off my feet, and then jumps into the air, carrying me after Selvanar’s stretcher and into the sky.
selvanar
Most fairies know better than to question or second-guess me. Though they shoot Trisha suspicious looks, they won’t object to my order that she come along.
The healer, Calda, is an ancient fairy woman with many generations’ worth of knowledge. She has outlived even some of her students.
Shetsksas she examines the bumps all over my skin. “You should not have gotten near human soaps.”
I grunt. Yes, I know, but I was too enchanted with Trisha at the time. I am still enchanted with her, of course, but I will never touch one of her products again, no matter how innocuous it sounds.
Calda doesn’t spare the human in our midst a second glance as she busies about making her own medicine, sprinkling in plenty of pixie dust as she grinds and mixes. When she’s finished with her concoction, she raises it to my lips and instructs me to drink.
As I expected, it tastes abysmal, but Calda’s remedies always work. So I suck all of it down and wipe my mouth at the end, already feeling a bit stronger.
“I’m glad you brought him when you did,” Calda says toTrisha with a nod of appreciation. “I assume you are the one who made sure our king got home safely.”
Trisha holds up her hands. “I just drove here, that’s all.”
“And you hiked for two miles and ate a mushroom,” I add.
“I guess I did do that, yes.” She twiddles her thumbs. “But he was in trouble. I had to do it.”
Calda smiles at her, her eyes disappearing into her wrinkles. “I think this one is special, isn’t she, Your Majesty?”
I nod in agreement. If even Calda can sense it… I know I have found a unique gemstone in this human woman.
My advisors are all trying to get in the room, but Calda dislikes her patients being bothered and shoos out everyone except Trisha. Then she shoots me a mischievous look and departs herself.
