AN: Hello, thanks to anyone out there reading this, it is my first fanfic posted on this website so reviews are greatly appreciated. I like knowing what I can improve on, and because this was quite overdue, it's really long so enjoy :) oh and I will possibly post every three days(hopefully) if not once a week, so yeah just thought I'd mention that, I know how frustrated I get waiting forever for a new chapter coming out on a story I really like, and end up waiting for like two weeks for nothing so yeah, let's shut up my senseless babble for now.
Chapter 2
Skylar stared in wonder at the border of Autumn and Winter, stuck in her place behind an oak tree that loomed precariously towards the border, just reaching into the icy coldness, changing the leaves from a rustic red to pale blue and glistened in the pale rays of the sun. The urge to stand in that sunlight and let it warm her wings had her on her toes and peeking out further from behind the tree.
Her hand slipped into her bag unconsciously searching for her crown, gripping it tightly. She slowly pulled it out and slid down the tree, holding it in front of her face so that she saw her reflection in the glistening blue shard that was centred there, a piece of the shattered Moonstone from the Autumn Revelry. Queen Clarion had seen it fitting for her to wear a piece of the precious stone for it symbolised, she told her during a lesson she was paying attention to for once, the strength that revitalises the tree, and that that was what her talent was, to become the tree's most vital support when Queen Clarion was gone.
Skylar still had trouble believing that was all she was good for, and in all honesty, she had caused more problems for every pixie than anything good with her actions. Her hands slightly shook as she gripped her crown, screwing her eyes up to avoid tears. When she finally had her breathing in check she smiled and opened her eyes, seeing the excitement reflected on her face in the jewel. She shook her head slightly and stood, slipping the crown back in her bag.
"I'm ready." She spoke clearly to herself and came out from behind the oak in a casual pace as she made her way to the edge of the log that served as a bridge between the two diverse seasons. Many warm seasoned fairies lined up to enter the snowy world, all staring in shock as their Princess fluttered to the very edge of where Autumn meets Winter, landing gracefully in front, bypassing the line. Every pixie was at a loss for words as she experimented on how cold it was by sticking her hand in and quickly pulling it back. Even the administrator that was stationed at the border made no sound as to show any complaint and simply pulled the leaf in front of her as to block her site, ignoring the abnormality that their Princess was cutting the line and still hadn't crossed.
Skylar after several times of sticking her hand into the cold finally stepped in and the cold instantly bit at her skin, sending shivers coursing through her body. But despite the creeping sensation over her skin, she was at a loss at the fluffy white snow that surrounded her. She revelled at the feeling of falling snow and twirled in a circle, her arms spread wide out to try and capture more of this falling snow, snowflakes, Tinkerbell had told her and a wide smile spread across her mouth.
Her eyes opened to the greetings of two fairies dressed in blue leafed outfits and deduced that they must be Winter Fairies, considering how little they wore and they weren't shivering.
"Hi, what's your name? I'm Gliss, I haven't seen you before, are you new? Well welcome to the cold side of Pixie Hollow but no less friendly than any other season, the Winter Woods." The white-haired fairy blurted out in a rush and started fluttering all around Skylar, observing her, lifting her arms up in a searching manner. Skylar paid no real attention and continued to glance at her surroundings.
Another fairy with black hair just sighed at her over-excited friend and went to greet Skylar with un-interest written on her face that reminded Skylar strangely of Vidia. "Hey, name's Spike, I apologise for my friend's," she gritted out the word making Gliss come to a halt behind Skylar, "behaviour, so you know the drill?"
"Hmm?" Skylar answered not really listening at all. The fairy gave a sigh and, after rolling her eyes, finally acknowledged her friend's over the top signals to come have a look at Skylar from behind.
A warm breeze brushed Skylar's back, and her wings started to lift up in longing, the urge to fly too great to contain and swift gasps came from Spike and Gliss and many other fairies that still remained on the warm side of the border, waiting. Waiting to see what their Princess would do. Skylar's hands curled into fists, as her feet shifted and her knees slight bent.
"Whoa wait, what are you-" But Spike never finished her sentence as Skylar took off into the sky entering deeper into the white wonderland, never looking back once. She could hear the yelling from behind her and slightly glanced back to see Gliss and Spike trailing after to her. She could hear Spike talking about 'frosting her wings' while Gliss went on about how sparkly her wings had been, making Skylar smile.
She continued deeper into the Winter Woods and started to feel colder than before. Her wings started to feel heavy as if water had been splashed on them when someone yelled, "Look out!" and Skylar went crashing into a snow-covered branch and she felt herself losing altitude quickly. She felt herself come in contact with something solid, catching the colour of deep amber, but went flying with it as she hit the ground, blacking out.
Kalin awoke to the sound of snowy owls taking flight in the early dawn, and a splitting headache. Not a good sign, he thought solemnly as he clutched his head in both hands, rubbing his temples gently. Something bad was going to happen today, that much he could tell, what though? He didn't know, as he slid a hand through his spikey blonde hair and stood to get dressed for the day. Once fully dressed he proceeded to glance at himself in the mirror, not caring if he looked like a mess, but still patted his hair down a bit to make it look like he tried and continued on to breakfast.
His food sat untouched in front of him and let out an exasperated sigh. His first day of training to become the next Lord of Winter. He scoffed lightly at the thought that he had been chosen for an honour like this, but when he thinks back to the day he was told, he could only think, why him? Why did he have to take such responsibilities? Many other pixies would have been better candidates for such a role, they would have wanted to do it, but instead they picked the sparrowman who actually didn't want that responsibility. Why him, he had found himself constantly asking in his mind the previous week till now.
Deciding to skip breakfast, he pushed the plate away and went to door of his home; one of many hollows in a great pine tree that held many other fairies and sparrowmen. He glanced back for only a second than pushed the door open and flew off.
Kalin encountered other winter fairies all bright and awake, looking forward to their day, and he greeted them with curt nods, despite the annoyance he felt about their happy moods and wide smiles which only seemed to darken his mood.
Despite the things he felt, he put up an authoritative front and came to a halt at the edge of the Pixie Dust Tree, gave a nod to the female dust keeper who giggled flirtatiously and greeted him, pouring a scoop of pixie dust on him. A familiar face caught his eye and he fluttered over to his fellow frost fairy, the white-haired fairy with her hair spiked up with her fringe parted in the middle, Periwinkle.
When she saw him, she waved with a huge smile and flew to meet him half way.
"Good morning, Peri." he greeted, the only time today he meant it.
"Good morning, Kalin, are you ok?" her face changed from sunny to worried in seconds and she was searching his face hurriedly. He let out a sigh he hadn't realised he'd been holding and his whole body seemed to slump, changing him from the cool, calm and collected sparrowman that he portrayed so well, to the tired, frustrated Kalin, Peri really knew.
"It's your first day of training isn't it?" she questioned as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him away to the Keeper's home, a place they both felt like they could go whenever they were feeling down or had questions they needed answered.
Peri looked up at the looming ice door for a moment then went in still towing, the now depressed, Kalin along.
"Keeper?" she called out, "Keeper, are you here?" Her question was answered by the muttering of Dewey and the clicking of his quill on parchment reaching her ears. A smile spread on her face as she made her way, manoeuvring around stacks of ice blocks, to his desk.
Dewey's head popped up at the sound of fluttering wings and a warm smile spread on his face as he realised who had come to visit, moving away from his desk and coming to meet the two fairies with open arms.
"Periwinkle, Kalin what brings you here so early on this fine mornin'?" He asked in that southern accent that made visiting Dewey pleasant and enjoyable. Dewey gripped his cane as he studied Kalin more closely, a frown furrowing his features. "What be the problem, Kalin?"
Kalin glanced up and let out a sigh and fluttered over to a nearby stack of ice, perching himself on the edge and hid his face in his hands. After a moment, he dropped his hands and looked up, frowning.
"Why do I have to be the next Lord of Winter?" he questioned disdainfully, resting his chin in his hand, his arm leaning on his knee as his played with a lock of his blonde hair that fell in front of his face with his other hand and focused his gaze on it. Dewey let out an exasperated sigh while Periwinkle flew over and rested a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. He didn't acknowledge the gesture and simply stared off into space. Dewey came over and made him look at him, focusing his eyes on his facial expression. It was of a fairy, Dewey realised, who didn't want this. Someone who would rather break a wing then take on the duties as the next Lord of Winter.
It was heart-breaking to see such an expression on one of the most gifted and appraised pixies of his talent. Then Dewey had an idea.
"Say Peri, do you remember the time when we were very late in our preparations for Winter for the mainland?" He started and Peri looked up with a furrowed brow, her expression asking where this conversation was going. "Now who was it again, the pulled us through that?" Peri's face lit up in realisation and smiled.
"It was the Lord of Winter, wasn't it? Wow, I remember that. Without Lord Milori's leadership, we might not have been able to deliver Winter to the mainland in time without his guidance." Kalin seemed to perk up at this, but the only sign was that his wings slightly shifted.
But Dewey pushed on and continued, saying, "Without Lord Milori, we wouldn't have made it and everything would have been a disaster!" Peri nodded fervently and Kalin twisted his head slightly, eyeing the two with a narrowed gaze.
"Not to mention, every fairy admires him," Peri added and Dewey finished, "plus, he can use every Winter Talent." Kalin sat up straighter, listening closely.
"He's also the Queen's Mate." Peri finished smiling, and Kalin's face dropped with awe clearly plastered on it, which he quickly hid as he turned and started to fly towards the door.
"W-wait, Kalin where are you going?" asked Peri as she started after him. He sighed and turned back to the pair, a soft smile on his face.
"I know what you two are doing and I'm grateful that you care about me that much, which is why I'm going to give this a shot." The two stared at their now leaving friend and smiled. "Thank you very much for boosting my spirits, and for showing me that this might not be as bad as I once thought, so I will be off now. I'm pretty sure my first lesson will be soon, most likely midday so I'll see you two around later, bye." Peri and Dewey stared in silent shock as Kalin close the door behind him, leaving the two slightly bewildered as to their plan working, if not as well as they had hoped.
"Do you think he will be ok?" Peri worried as she turned towards Dewey. He fluttered up to her and patted her shoulder.
"Of course he will, it is Kalin after all."
Kalin spent the rest of his time wandering around the Winter Woods, waiting for midday to come around when found himself at the border between Winter and Autumn, a long thick root that stemmed over the centre of a river that was half ice and half melted ice, or as Dewey had informed him, water.
The sight that found his eyes shocked him into silent observation from behind a frost laden pine tree that was blue from the cold.
It was Lord Milori. But he wasn't alone. The other fairy that was huddled in his arms was a fairy every pixie knew and loved, that was the very life of Pixie Hollow along with the Pixie Dust Tree, Queen Clarion. Kalin watched them in silence as they shared words that he couldn't make out from the distance he was at and he strained his ears to catch any words that blew away with the subtle breeze that carried the nutty scents of Autumn.
As he leaned further out from behind the tree's trunk behind a leaf, he saw the two give one last loving glance and the Queen flew off in the direction of the Pixie Dust Tree. As he went to watch the departing figure of the Queen, the leaf chose then to break away from his hand, a loud crunch resounding around him, alerting anyone and everyone of his presence, including the person he didn't want to alert of his presence. He swiftly jumped back behind the tree and prayed he hadn't been seen as he snuck a glance back at the where Lord Milori had been.
His brow furrowed when he found the Lord of Winter missing, until he nearly jumped ten feet in the air by a sudden clearing of a throat. Kalin slowly turned and came face to face with the white-haired sparrowman, who had only just been ushering small words with his mate, and bowed so that his face was hidden from the penetrating gaze of the Lord of Winter's brown eyes.
"Good afternoon, Lord Milori." Kalin greeted, head still bowed.
"Good afternoon, Kalin, what brings you to the border?" He questioned, resting a hand on Kalin's shoulder, a signal to raise his head.
"Well I was actually looking for you, sir," he replied as he raised his head yet not meeting his eyes, "it is my first day of training, or so I have been told, and you are my teacher?" It came out more as question than an assured statement and Kalin mentally groaned for his hesitation. But when he finally plucked up the courage to meet his mentor's eyes, he was met with a warm smile that shocked him.
"I know you must be nervous, to be presented with such a responsibility such as this. But there is no need to fear Kalin; I will make sure you are fully capable of taking charge of the Winter Woods, while a being cool, calm and collected Lord of Winter." Lord Milori seemed to ramble on a bit, making Kalin lose interest until he was finally asked to follow him as they walked.
Kalin had to admit, walking was a strange action to get accustomed to, but he ended up quite enjoying it as he felt himself paying more attention to his teacher explain about the different talents of Winter and how important they all were. He would occasionally pause and ask questions, testing Kalin's knowledge and he would reply, much to his mentor's surprise, with replies that seemed to answer more than he had asked of, and Kalin felt himself smile inwardly at the praise he would receive, feeling grateful to spending so much time in Dewey's vast collection of books in his spare time, and actually learning a thing or two.
They had reached a small clearing where fairies and sparrowmen were laying fresh snow along the limbs of branches, when he heard it. Well, heard them. Spike and Gliss, his fellow frost fairies, were in a frantic state as they flew towards them, but when he followed their eyes to see what they were tailing in their flight, he gasped.
He called out instinctively, "Look out!" But the fairy that had been speeding away, glancing back at her pursuers, realised too late and collided straight into a tree branch, sending her in the direction towards him and his teacher. She was coming into quick for him to dodge and he met a flash of deep blue before Kalin felt himself flying backwards with the impact.
It took him a moment to settle his swirling view and when everything finally stopped spinning, a sharp pain proceeded to follow it, and he rubbed at the back of his head, wincing. When Kalin went to push himself up, he felt something pushing against him keeping him down on the ground. Confused, he slowly lifted his head and his eyes widened. A fairy, no the fairy that had crashed into that branch, lay passed out on top of him, snow draped along her back and wings. Her deep brown hair hid his view of her face and was messed and decked with snow. Her wings lay lifeless along both her sides, half hidden in falling snow, and he didn't know what it was, but something screamed strange at him as he at least tried to sit up on his elbows.
That was as far as he got she started to stir all of a sudden and he froze as she let out a deep groan and muttered incoherent things that couldn't quite reach his ears.
The strange fairy dressed in deep blue sat up and blinked her eyes, rubbed her forehead, which now boasted a red mark, and started to stare all around her, excitement replacing the confusion she had only just momentarily felt.
Who in the name of Neverland is this fairy? Kalin questioned in his head as he looked her over. She definitely wasn't a Winter Fairy, he would know her than, was she a Warm Season Fairy then, he wondered as her wings spread up shaking off snow. His breath caught at the beautiful sight.
Every fairy and sparrowmen had wings. What made them different were the patterns that adorned them. Kalin knew this well but he had never seen wings like these on a fairy before, not even in Dewey's books. Instead of your typical fairy wings, they were like a dragonfly's wings, long and narrow, but pointed at the ends like a pixies. And there were two for each side, instead of one long wing matched with a small round one like normal.
It was obvious he didn't know this fairy; he wouldn't forget someone so different. The thing that suddenly struck him as weird though was the blue shimmer the fell off of them, instead of a gold. And they almost seemed to be made of pixie dust like Queen Clarion's.
Except they were blue.
The exclamations of the unusual fairy pulled him out his thoughts as she took in her surroundings, still sitting on him. It occurred to Kalin that she had no idea she was sitting on someone and he cleared his throat to get her attention. She glanced down at him and blinked once until a huge smile spread across her mouth.
"Hi." She simply said and went back to her observations. Kalin rolled his eyes. How stupid could this fairy be, he thought in annoyance.
"Excuse me?" She looked down at him again and cocked her head slightly, confusion clearly portrayed.
"What?" The odd fairy asked innocently and he sighed.
"If you would be so kind as to?" He gestured to himself and her, and she frowned slightly.
"What?" She questioned again. His head dropped and he felt his patience snap.
"Get off of me!" Kalin yelled at her and a hint of shock passed over her face, realisation over it a second later. She fluttered up immediately and he felt himself momentarily transfixed by the sight of sunlight reflecting off her wings until a hand stuck out in front of his face.
"Oh my, I am really, really sorry. Here let me help you." As he grabbed the fairy's hand, he froze slightly as she pulled him up. Her hands were freezing cold and it was safe to say, Kalin thought, that she was not a Winter Fairy.
"Who are you?" He immediately questioned, but the fairy had already turned away, walking in the opposite direction from where she had come from.
"Oh my gosh, are you ok?" Gliss and Spike came to a halt in front of Skylar, checking her over quickly. Kalin scoffed and brushed himself off and walked over to his mentor who had surprisingly stayed quiet the entire time just watching.
"Lord Milori, do you know who that stupid fairy is?" he muttered rubbing his arm, as the fairy was bombarded with questions from Gliss, while Spike just shook her head. When his mentor didn't reply, he glanced up and his face changed from annoyance to surprise.
"Kalin, that fairy happens to be-"
"Lord Milori!" The fairy quickly fluttered to the Lord of Winter, wide-eyed and surprised. "Umm you are Lord Milori right?" She questioned now, hesitation in her voice. Lord Milori only laughed at the fairy, while Kalin remained silent. Not for the fact he had nothing to say, no he had plenty, but for the simple fact that he was shocked at the easy way his mentor addressed the strange, constantly emotion changing, fairy that still hadn't apologised for crashing into him.
"Why yes I am, and you must be Skylar, yes?" she gave an enthusiastic nod and then looked over at Kalin. She tilted her head slightly as he turned his head away to avoid her eyes. He snuck a glance over at her only to have her right up in his face and stumbled backwards at the sudden closeness.
Spike and Gliss laughed at this along with Lord Milori showing a faint smile as he backed away apprehensively while she studied him with mere curiosity. After a moment, she stuck out her hand and smiled and his panic seemed to fade.
"Sorry I crashed into you, I wasn't watching where I was going, but I swear I'm much better than that any other time, trust me, ask anyone," as she paused slightly looking for a reaction from him, he narrowed his eyes, but gripped her hand in his. She shook it and continued, "name's Skylar by the way."
"Kalin." He murmured until a sudden truth clicked in his head. "You're freezing and your wings!" He exclaimed in shock, and quickly flitted to behind her. He winced at the sight of ice caught on her wings, weighing them downwards as if to rip them. Kalin gripped the pulling ice and knocked it off and proceeded to frost her wings. She gave a startled yelp and swiveled around, almost hitting him with her long, thin wings.
"What was that? What did you do?" She exclaimed, and he realised again, just how little she wore.
"Are you stupid or something?" He asked crossing his arms in front of his chest, and her eyes widened at his statement, "For a Warm Fairy to come to Winter, they must get their wings frosted so that they don't snap." He noticed her cringe at that thought and her gaze had grown slightly solemn, almost contemplative. "You also must have acorns for brains, just flying in here with nothing but a scarf to keep you warm."
Skylar's head snapped up at this comment but a slight redness crossed her cheeks. So she didn't even know any of this, Kalin thought, scanning her now shivering form. She closed her hands into fists and glared at him which caught him by surprise.
"Well I'm sorry I'm so uneducated about Winter and all its stupid rules." Skylar scoffed crossing her arms across her chest and looking away. He was taken aback by this statement and somehow offended.
"Well I'm sorry these rules are in check so that you Warm Fairies don't go breaking your wings and freezing to death." He countered smugly, until a wave of confusion hit him. Where had that cruel sentence come from, Kalin wondered. Skylar had let out a gasp of shock, and pierced him with the meanest glare she could muster.
"Oh yeah and I suppose you're all Mister Hotshot when it comes to all the Warm Seasons, huh?" She snapped, placing her hands on her hips. He glanced at her and paused. He was angry yes, and she was as well, but he couldn't help but slightly chuckle at the way she slightly pouted and her messy hair that was, only minutes ago covered with snow, fell all around her face as if she'd flown over all of Neverland. Face contorting in confusion, she looked at him, not really knowing what kind of face she was making, but it was certainly not impressed.
"What?" she questioned, her anger fading quickly. He looked at her again and slightly smiled.
"You look hilarious when you get mad." He burst out laughing, and he saw her stamp her foot in anger. His laughter ceased immediately along with Skylar's anger when Lord Milori rested a hand on her shoulder, making her look up at him, confused.
"Skylar, don't you think it's time you returned to the Pixie Dust Tree?" he asked softly, and she whipped around and started off back towards the border.
"Your right, boy am I gonna get it. Thanks for reminding me Lord Milori and it was nice meeting you." She beamed and turned and took off into the air followed closely by Gliss and Spike. Kalin watched her flying form leave, when she momentarily paused and glanced back at him. If he thought he could be surprised anymore today he was wrong, as she broke out into the biggest smile and waved at him and, loud enough so that probably the whole forest could hear, she called, "Bye Kalin, it was fun fighting with you."
She was gone the second her last words left her mouth, and he felt himself lower his hand that he had unconsciously put up to wave at her. He stared at it for Neverland knows how long and felt something prick at him from the inside. He concluded that today had certainly been different to what he was expecting but not all bad.