The Fairies of Mystical Falls

Deep down, below the Earth’s surface, a secret world existed. It was a world of magic and mayhem, mystery and most importantly, it was the land of fairies. They all lived in the woods above the source of their magic, Mystical Falls. This was no ordinary waterfall. The water shimmered and sparkled constantly because of the crystals that covered the bottom of the falls. Wildflowers grew in bunches all over the hillside that connected the woods to the base of the waterfall. Clusters of vibrant blues and vivid purples, yellows that were as bright as the sun and pinks that mirrored the beauty of the sky at dusk just before moonrise.

Each morning, the fairies gathered on the bridge at the top of Mystical Falls. One by one they dived and flew into the glistening blue water below and absorbed the magic of the crystals. No other animals ever drank the water and the only creatures inhabiting the falls were the Fairy fish. They looked like fish you would see anywhere but they had little wings and could fly out of the water for short periods of time.

On one such morning, the fairies left their fairy dens and made their way to the bridge. They were skipping merrily through the woods, dressed in their beautiful, glittering dresses, when suddenly Emilia, the Queen of the Fairies, heard a noise behind the trees.

“Hold on,” she whispered. “I think someone’s following us! Quickly, everyone hide up in the trees.” The fairies zipped up and hid themselves behind the leaves. The Queen had to be careful her shiny lilac dress and her hair, the colour of sunflowers in summer, didn’t give away her position.

“Sophia, use your power of sight and look beyond the trees. I can feel the presence of something evil.” Queen Emilia gave Sophia permission to use her magic vision to look through the trees and see anyone who was trying to conceal their presence. The tiny fairy focused on the path behind them.

“I see them,” she gasped. “There’s at least three of them and it looks like one of them is Queen Mauvaisa of the Eastern Lands.”

“She wants the crystals!” Queen Emilia was angry. No one was allowed near Mystical Falls and Mauvaisa only wanted the crystals in order to spread her evil across this beautiful and peaceful land.

“We must not let them reach the Falls. Follow me!”

The fairies all flew out of the trees, barely ruffling the leaves with their delicate movements. Their flight across the skies looked like a beautiful dance, as they flew in unison, their wings occasionally reflecting the sunlight, the only indication of their soundless race to the Falls.

“Dive straight in,” she ordered the rest of the fairies. “We need to build our power before Mauvaisa and her henchmen reach us.”

The fairies reached the bridge and jumped off the hill without a second thought. For a few seconds while they were suspended in mid air, it looked like a wave of butterflies had descended on the cascading water. All you could see were shimmers of turquoise, lilac, peach, white and pink before they landed with a soft splash in the water below.

They all swam to the bottom and held a crystal in their hands. The power transferred to them immediately and their magic intensified tenfold. The Fairy Fish swam up to them frantically. “Queen Emilia,” they huffed and puffed. “Mauvaisa is coming!”

“I know. We saw them in the woods. Go and gather all the animals of the woods and have them surround the Falls.”

“Sophia and Zara go with the Fish and help them.” She waved her hand towards Sophia and her sister. “Make sure the animals form a tight circle so that the power is concentrated towards the bridge.”

“The rest of you, gather as many crystals as you can carry and place them all two feet apart. When the animals of the woods reach, they need to be able to grab the crystals easily.” The fairies flittered off, weighed down by the crystals and the enormity of the task at hand.

Queen Emilia flew up to the bridge and waited for Mauvaisa to approach.

“GIVE UP BEFORE ANY OF YOUR LITTLE FAIRY FRIENDS GET IN MY WAY!” Mauvaisa bellowed from the edge of the woods. “There’s no reason for anyone to get hurt,” she continued in a softer, but equally threatening voice.

Her trusty soldiers stood behind her, ready to charge ahead. Mauvaisa towered over the soldiers, her bony shoulders hunched together as she prepared to attack.

Queen Emilia had remained calm while Mauvaisa continued her ranting. She was just waiting for the right moment. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sophia and Zara fly back down the falls and smiled.

“We are NOT the ones who will be getting hurt today,” she proclaimed and then immediately shouted, “ACTIVATE THE CRYTALS NOW.” All around them, white beams of light shot into the sky as far as the eyes could see. The light formed a perfect circle and as Mauvaisa looked around in horror, she saw hundreds of animals holding the crystals and releasing the magic.

“These are our woods! And every animal, every fish, and every fairy will always stand for Mystical Falls.” She flew towards Mauvaisa, unafraid and proud. Mauvaisa and her soldiers were trapped in place. They felt as though their bodies had turned to stone and were stuck to the ground below. The magic of the crystals had actually made them unable to move.

“We may be small, but never think that we are weak,” she whispered in Mauvaisa’s ear. “Be gone!”

As one, the animals threw the stones into the Falls and a huge mist rose up. The mist enveloped the evil Queen and her soldiers and transported them far away from Mystical Falls.

“Hurray!” The fairies and animals all cheered together while the Fairy Fish fluttered around them. The fairies dived back into the falls to finally enjoy their afternoon swim and spent the rest of the day on the hillside with the rest of the creatures of the woods.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the secret world, Queen Mauvaisa shook her fist in the direction of Mystical falls and vowed vengeance. Those crystals would be hers one day!