| CHAPTER THREE - ENDLESS SLEEP |
Chelsea approached slowly the door of her home, noticing it was slighty open; she peeked in carefully, noticing a small shadow moving. She felt something... a strange sensation, like electricity flowing in her own veins... her senses were warning her.
Yes... there was something in her house. And whatever it was, it wasn't a human.
She peeked in, cautiously. Every of her senses were wide awake, her body ready to move, her mind calm. In this kind of situation, her soldier's training resurfaced. She was ready to exterminate whatever threat was in her home.
When the shadow moved, approaching the door, she was ready.
Without even making a small sound, the Alpha dashed forward, her eyes wide oped, the pupil narrowed, like a cat's one. Her hand grabbed something small and soft, and in less than a second, her weapon -a sickle- was dangerously pointed at the intruder's face. A... very small face, she realized the istant after, blinking surprised: in front of her, shaking with pure terror, was a little, strange creature, similar to an human, but incredibly tiny, with pointed ears, big eyes, and strange red clothes on him.
Chelsea didn't let his cute appearence to decieve her, though, and she didn't let go of him. He could've been a dangerous demon, even If he was so tiny... appearence is a deceiver, after all.
But the little one didn't move a inch: he was shaking, and big tears were appearing on his eyes. His small mouth was open, and his eyes were full of fear.
« P-Please, don't hurt me! I'm not a t-thief, and I didn't mean to scare you, really! I w-was just trying to surprise you... p-please... »
Chelsea stared at the tiny creature, still remaining vigilant. She turned away her weapon from his face, making it disappear, but she didn't let go of him.
« Okay, I won't hurt you. If you tell me... what are you. Are you a demon? »
She asked, with a cold tone in her voice, but the little one just shaked frenetically his head, trembling.
« No, I am not! I am an Harvest Sprite, and my name is Coral! Do I look really l-like a demon to you? Please... let me go... can't breath... »
She let him go, just to grab him again, this time from his clothes, picking him up and looking at him like a cat would look at a really little, scared mouse.
« Harvest Sprite, you say? Are you some kind of lower demon? I never saw something like you before. Mhn, I wonder... »
Coral was, indeed, scared of her. But her words seemed to make him also angry, because he started to struggle against her firm grip, screaming.
« Shut up, shut up, shut up! Don't call me a demon! I hate demons! Demons made these islands sink and they just ruined eveything! You gotta believe me! You have to help me... ! You are a supernatural being yourself, right? But you're not a demon, I can tell... »
Chelsea's eyes widened in surprise, and the young Alpha let the harvest sprite go, carefully placing him on the kitchen's table. Then, she sat on the chair, staring at him.
« Calm down, little one. Did you say that demons ruined this place, right? My name is Chelsea... I am here to exterminate the demon that made those island sink. Do you know where I can find it? »
Coral quickly wiped away his tears, adjusting his funny, red hat on his head, and stared at Chelsea with hopeful eyes.
« R-Really?! You're really here to help us? That's... perfect! I am all alone, and I don't know what to do, and... ! »
« I said, calm down. »
Chelsea patted gently his head. He seemed pretty powerless, now that she looked at him better; his eyes were still all red and puffy, and he seemed so agitated... he was kind of cute, too.
« First things first. Do you know where the demon is? »
To her disappointment, he shook his head.
« I am sorry, I don't really know... but I can tell you what happened when it suddenly appeared. Maybe you can figure something out to help us! »
« I guess finding it so soon would have been too easy, huh? Well, can you tell me what happened, then? »
Coral simply nodded, before starting to tell her his story.
« It started one year ago... the islands were peaceful, and blooming with happiness. Then, that... that thing, appeared, like a shadow. I didn't see it clearly... » he paused for a moment, before continuing « It was horrible. Earthquakes started to strike down the archipelago, and the earth shaked so strongly, that many buildings and houses collapsed. The Harvest Goddess and us, the harvest sprites, tried to stop it with our magic, but... we failed. »
Chelsea interrupted him with a single gesture of her hand, scratching her head.
« Wait a moment. Harvest Goddess... ? What's that? »
« You don't know? The Harvest Goddess is a deity of the nature, and a guardian of those islands. She... she fought with all her strenght, and we tried to help her as much as we could... but the Harvest Goddess is a deity who creates, she isn't able to destroy or hurt... and the demon... it was too strong for us... »
« What happened to her, and to the rest of you? »
« ... About three months ago, the demon managed to sink the Mystic Island... it's the island in which the Harvest Goddess lived. Before it sinked, the Goddess fell asleep, and no matter what we did, she wouldn't wake up... soon after, all my friends started to fall asleep too... I never saw them again... they were all stuck in their endless sleep, when the island sinked... »
« So they were... on the sinked island? Then... did they... die? »
She asked carefully. She didn't mean to break Coral's hopes, but... well, how are supposed to be still alive, If they were stuck for months at the bottom of the ocean? Or had they gills... ?
« How stupid! The Harvest Goddess is... well, a goddess! She's immortal, she can't die... and I'm sure with her remaining magic, she protected the harvest sprites, sending them somewhere else! We just have to find them! I'm sure with your help, we could do something for the Harvest Goddess... she was the only one to know where the demon is! »
Chelsea started to massage her temples with her fingers. The situation now seemed more complicated than before and, even If she knew deities existed, just like demons, she still wasn't sure If she could trust that little sprite's words. But then, what was to lose, at this point?
« So, how we do it? »
« Huh? »
Coral raised his face, watchig her with a perplexed look.
« How do we find your friends, anyways? And how we're supposed to save this Harvest Goddess, If she's on a sinked island? »
Silence followed her question and, by the look Coral gave her, she understood he didn't know either. The little sprite clenched his teeth, and stared down. Chelsea sighed, and patted his head.
« Well, don't worry, We'll figure it out sooner or later. For now, I still have those seeds to sow. You can stay here, If you want... until we find your friends. »
The little guy seemed to lighter up, because he smiled and nodded, grabbing her clother, and climbing up to reach her shoulder.
« Thank you very much, Chelsea! I'll tag around, so you can tell me something about yourself? Honestly, I never saw someone like you... you emanate a very strange kind of power... I immediately felt you weren't a simple human! »
« Ugh, I don't really feel like talking about me. I'll help you to find your friends, because that's the only way I have to know where my target is, but that's all. »
Coral didn't seem disapponed, because he patted her back, determined to not let her go, while she was walking outside, the bag of seeds in one hand, and a newly materialized hoe in the other.
« Aww come on, we have the same goal, so let's get along and be good friends! I want to know how in the world are you able to materialize those tools, too... !»
Chelsea sighed. She now had the impression her mission would turn to be more difficult an annoying than she had planned...
AUTHOUR'S NOTE
Dum dum dum...!
So, sorry, It wasn't a demon, but just Coral. We now know what happened to the Harvest Goddess and to the other Harvest Sprites of the archipelago. And now, to find the demon, Chelsea have to save the Harvest Goddess first!
I know the first chapters aren't really so good, because we have to explain so many things, and because I'm too lazy to write longer chapters. But I assure you, the good part will come soon! Chelsea will soon have to deal with a lot of strange things...
Again, a big thank you to the ones who are reading, following or reviewing this story!