If I Didn't Have Wings Chapter One. By EternalSenshi. I don't own SM. Please R&R.
The moon shone down brightly upon the mist-covered Lilly Field, bringing out the sparkling frost on every leaf and flower bud. The moon's reflection glittered in the small pond, and little lights danced upon the water's surface. The lights spun around in their little natural ballet, leaving trails of rippled on the skin of the pond. More lights flocked to the field, dodging and tearing through the iced leaves. The frost spread through the field as a few of the tiny lights touched the slick surface of the green leaves. One light sat upon a leaf, as if admiring the scenery around it. Suddenly, it flew up towards the big cherry tree, stopping on a branch amid the twigs. It spoke. "Serenity! What are you doing up here?" The light faded as it stopped on a branch, leaving behind a small female fairy with brown hair, green eyes, and shining jade green butterfly wings. She was dressed in a small green frock tied neatly around one shoulder, the tiny dress stopping just above the knee. Her tiny hands were on her hips in disdain.
A tiny fairy with pale alabaster skin and silver hair sighed as she sat, lounged on the branch. Her hair was tied up in two small buns, laving the rest of the silver strands to flow past her feet. Her dress was small and golden, glittering with the moonlight's rays. Her silver-blue eyes were shrouded in discomfort, making the green fairy's heart twinge in pity. Serenity's wings were of the brightest silver color, and they were as stiff as if they were frozen to the tree. "Sitting," she said.
"You have a job to do! As the snowdrop fairy, it's your job to open them up to the moon tonight!" the green fairy persisted.
Serenity stood up, brushing off her dress. "Maybe the snowdrops don't want to open, Juno."
"Of course they do!" Juno cried. She sighed. "Are you still thinking about what Madame said?"
Serenity winced. "She can tell me all she wants to, but-"
"But she'll be taking you to Our Lady if you're not careful. Our Lady is not always as kind as she seems to be. She can be downright harsh."
Serenity sighed. "I don't want to be put on another jurisdiction. I've been the snowdrop fairy since fairies were created." She turned and stared out at Lilly Field, watching the beads of light dance their way across the frosted pavilion of green. "The snowdrops won't open. I can't even coax them to listen to me. They know."
Juno listened carefully. "Then come dance with me," she said, holding out her hand. "Among the grass in the meadow. To get your mind off of it. After all, you still have two more weeks."
Serenity smiled. Juno was so good to her. She took the fairy's bronzed hand, and they flew out of the cherry tree, joining the other fairies at their game. The two skipped and jumped about, until someone crashed into Serenity, sending her tumbling and whirling into the ground. She hit her head with a huge thump, giving her an immediate headache.
"Got you, you dumb fairy!" a small male imp called out to her. He rolled up his sleeves on his white suit, sneering.
Serenity coughed as she sat up in the dirt, her head feeling woozy. "ARTEMIS!" she called out.
Juno angrily shoved the imp. "Why don't you stop showing off?" she cried.
"You know that imps are better than FAIRIES," he smirked.
Juno grabbed one of his wings and yanked it roughly. "I ought to pluck off your wings right here and now!"
"OW! OW! Juno, I-" Suddenly, there was a complete silence.
"Artemis!" Serenity cried, angry that he'd spoiled the good mood Juno was trying to restore in her, and that he apparently stole her away. "Juno!" There was no answer. "JUNO!"
A gust of cold wind blew harshly through the stalks of the grass, sweeping her around on the ground like a limp doll. She cried out as she again hit the damp ground. "JUNO! ARTEMIS!" Serenity cried, calling out desperately. She lifted herself off of the ground and flew out of the grass, her wings lit with a bright golden hue. "Goodness! Artemis, I'm going to-" She looked around, seeing the field empty. Her wings, as bright as they were, could not help her detect any other fairy, imp, or brownie. "J-JUNO!" Serenity called, frightened. "Artemis! JUNO!" she cried, hugging her arms around herself. She flew around wildly, looking for at least one familiar face. Her head ached, making her thoughts impaired. "JUNO! MADAME!"
Juno slapped Artemis angrily over the head. "I'm going to make sure you receive the harshest punishment from Our Lady. This is the last straw, Artemis!" The two were standing in the cherry tree with all the other fairies imps and brownies that were out that night.
"Hey, I got you out of the way. If Serenity was smart, she would stay on the ground," he said nonchalantly.
"Yes, you're right," Juno replied, letting go of his wing. "For once," she mumbled.
"JUNO!" she heard faintly. She turned, her mouth agape.
"What?" Artemis asked.
"Serenity!" she gasped. She flitted down to another branch that gave her a better view of what was going on in the field below. One golden light flew chaotically around, with a dark shadow coming across the field to her direction. "SERENITY!" Juno called out.
Serenity looked around, trying to find her friend's voice. Her eyes ached as her head felt worse. "JUNO? JUNO!"
"SERENITY! HURRY! FLY!"
Serenity looked around, confused. She felt dazed after the hit to the head when she fell, and was unsure of what to do. Juno watched Serenity struggle around, and glared at the shadow. There was only one thing to do. "I'm coming," she murmured, and flew out of the tree like a bullet.
"Whoa! Hey! Juno, what are you doing?" Artemis called after her.
Juno wasn't listening. She flew as fast as she could to reach Serenity, so she could pull her out of harm's way. "Fly!" she called out.
The shadow closed in upon Serenity, covering the shine of the moonlight on Serenity. She froze, knowing that that dangerous mortal was behind her.
"SERENITY!" Juno cried, fearing that she was too late.
Serenity didn't hesitate any longer. She flew, just as the shadow tried to catch her. She zigzagged around, her head feeling fuzzy. Her tiny heart sped up their beats, her mind having only one thought - FLY.
"Serenity!" Juno cried, giving her friend some sense of direction.
Serenity swerved, trying to fly to Juno. She saw something come between them, but she was flying too fast to stop. She hit the bottom of a glass jar with her head, knocking her out. She fell limply to the side of the bottle, her wings flapping pitifully as her glow faded away.
"Serenity!" Juno gasped as the shadow stood up straight and covered the top, twisting the lid on tightly, enclosing the poor snowdrop fairy. "SERENITY!" She felt a pair of arms pull her away from the field as the shadow began to walk away. "Get off! Serenity!"
"Ease up, Juno," Artemis said, trying to pull her back to the tree. "She'll be back. Your Lady will save her. She has to."
"Why did you pull me back?"
"Because you're a tough fairy, and those fairies are okay with me," he said. "She was a dumb fairy."
She yanked her arms away from him. "She is not a dumb fairy!" She sped away towards the direction the shadow had gone, until an old fairy, dressed in heavy royal blue robes stopped her. "M-Madame!" Juno stuttered. "I'm sorry, but I have to-"
"Our Lady wishes to see you," Madame of the Bluebells said plainly. "Now."
Juno bowed her head. There was no arguing when Our Lady summoned you. "Yes, Madame."
Madame turned her sharp gaze on Artemis, who squirmed uncomfortably. "Your Lord wishes to see you too. Now."
Both fairy and imp sighed as they followed Madame to where Lord and Lady lay in wait.
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Serenity moaned slowly and opened her eyes, blinking a couple of times. Everything looked hazy and swirled, and somewhat...glassy.
She sat upright, feeling a wave of dizziness and pain overcoming her. She held her head as she lay back down and studied her surroundings. She was alive - there was no way she really could die, not that she knew of - in a glass jar, high upon a shelf. The sun was shining high in the sky outside the far window, her beloved Lilly Field nowhere in sight.
She willed herself to sit up, nudging her pain to lay dormant. She pulled out a small pouch, and looked inside. Only one piece left, she thought. Gosh, I am a klutz. She pulled out the last piece of Madame's Toadstool Bread, and shoved it hungrily in her mouth. Immediately, she felt her head had been relieved, and she could stand up inside the jar.
The door opened, and looked to see a man with muddy overalls and a dirty jacket walk inside. He poked his grubby face right in front of the jar, making her jump and scramble back to the other side of the gall. He gave out a loud, hearty laugh at her fear, and turned towards the door. "See, Darien? Come look!"
"Look, Fiore, you couldn't have caught a fairy," said a voice as the door opened. Serenity looked to the door to see a tall man walk inside. Her breath caught in her throat. His hair was darker than the darkest blackberries, and his eyes were as blue as the bluebells in Lilly Field. No mortal could ever be so handsome, she thought, her cheeks flushed. The only handsome imp was Their Lord, and he was an imp in any case. Never had she seen anything so beautiful.
"I'm telling you, Darien! I caught her last night! Mind you, I believe I saved her. She was flying around like she was dying."
Darien sighed and walked towards the jar. Thinking nervously, Serenity's wings fluttered on their own, causing her to glow brightly.
"See?" Fiore said excitedly. "It's a fairy!"
"All I see is a firefly, which is odd for the winter," Darien said, sounding bored.
"Look closely!" Fiore persisted.
"Give it a rest, would you?" Darien grabbed the jar and untwisted the lid.
"NO!" Fiore cried.
"You can't keep a poor bug in a jar for the rest of its short life," he said, slamming the open jar on the table, making Serenity fall over, her wings still flapping. "There's no such things as fairies. They don't exist."
Serenity flew out of the jar and, looking around, landed in Darien's pocket. She kept her wings frozen, putting out their golden glow. This mortal is kind, she thought. Maybe he can help me back to Lilly Field. Even if she didn't find it, she'd like to see who this mortal really was. Her curiosity was getting the better of her, as it usually did.
"Darien! You've ruined my research!" Fiore yelled angrily.
Darien scanned the cabin quickly, and clapped a hand on his deluded friend's shoulder. "You need to stop drinking at night. Then maybe you won't see any fairies." He looked at the now-empty jar. "See? It flew away. It's probably very happy I let it go."
"I'll say," Serenity murmured.
"Darien, I-"
"Just- what happened to you?" Darien asked. Watching Fiore unable to come up with an answer, he turned on his heel, hugged his coat tightly around him, and walked out of the cabin, unaware that Serenity was tucked safely in his pocket.
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This is the way I envision fairies and things, so I don't want any flames of "That's not like that because I said so." There are many different things on it, and I just came up with another.
Anyway, I hope you all like this. Please review if you read.
Happy Holidays! EternalSenshi.