NOTE: Though this is still me story, Nevermore is taking over writing it at the moment because I have no time to devote to it right now. I'll still be contributing to it where I feel it's necessary, and I'll review each Chapter to be sure it stays the way it was intended to be written. Please offer Norm some feedback by emailing him at : ObiNorm@netscape.net
Thanks, please R&R.

Chapter 5
By: Nevermore

Trance walked slowly across the thick green grass, enjoying the cool feeling on her bare feet. While she had not missed her intra-family feuds or the close-mindedness of her people, she had never quite gotten used to being away from her world. There was something beautifully natural about it that had always captured even her imagination.

Every passing moment allowed her to calm down more, and by the time the sun was starting to go down she had all but completely forgotten how much her parents had irritated her. Unfortunately, she had also all but completely forgotten how she had arrived at where she was standing. "I couldn't be that far away from the road," she muttered, trying to figure out in which direction to start walking. She looked every which way, trying to recognize any landmarks that she walked past or could remember from her childhood, but saw nothing that she thought would help. There was only the deep green of grass on rolling hills in every direction. She looked up to the sky and could tell that it would be dark very soon. Already the deep orange sun of her world had dropped below the hills, sending long shadows across the grass. "Ok, so... I'm lost," Trance finally admitted to herself.

She sat down and allowed herself to relax, confident that there was nothing that would harm her. Avalon was a world all but devoid of dangerous species, and none of those that did exist ever ventured this far south during the summer. None of her people would harm her, either, as crime was not something to be found amongst her people. It was an idyllic world, where the one danger the residents could expect to face was getting lost while on a walk through nature. "I'll just wait here," Trance decided. "They'll come looking for me eventually."

Dusk gave way to night, and the soft sounds of crickets came to Trance's ears. When they had left their home on Earth so long before, the faeries had brought many species with them, and crickets were one of Trance's favorites. Their noise reminded her of her youth, and of happy nights spent with her friends. It had been so much easier then. As she reminisced, out of the corner of her eye Trance caught sight of a pale purple light, dancing in the night. It appeared to be a lantern. "I'm over here," she called out, assuming that she was seeing a search party her father had sent out. "Hey, over here!" she yelled once she noticed that the light was continuing to move away.

Deciding she was better off chasing down her would-be rescuers than waiting out in the middle of nowhere, Trance began to run across the field, confident that there were no obstructions in her way. The light danced along, always out of reach, no matter how fast Trance ran after it. Finally she started to slow down, and the light did, as well, constantly seeming to tease her and beckon her forward. "Hey, over here," Trance called out. The light moved briefly, as if it was coming to her, and then suddenly winked out.

"What the- " Trance wondered. "Hey, are you ok?" She took a couple of steps in the pitch darkness, and then suddenly felt a tight grip close around her waist. "Hey!" she screamed, her mind suddenly once again knowing the fear she had learned amongst the off-worlders. "Let go!"

A pale light burst into being, a soft, golden glow that seemed to radiate from the young man that held her in his grasp. "You should be more careful, young Miss," he said smoothly, pointing to a spot a few feet ahead of Trance. The field suddenly ended in empty space, and she immediately realized where she was - Sunrise Bluff. From this cliff her people could see one of the most stunning sunrises in the known galaxies, as their sun lit up a beautiful valley filled with trees and a cold, blue river. The mountains that surrounded the valley were made largely of quartz and silicate, which reflected and refracted the light in a stunning, multi-colored display. Often, especially during the warmer mornings during the summer, unicorns could be seen drinking from the river and chewing on the thick riverside grass that was still heavy with dew. Trance hadn't realized how far she had wandered from home.

"Thanks," she muttered with gratitude as she turned back to her rescuer. "Who are you?" she asked, unable to take her eyes from him. His skin was a pale ivory, and his silver hair glowed almost golden in his phosphorescent light. Glittering, silver eyes locked onto her gaze, and Trance suddenly felt completely warm and safe. Seeing magical creatures was not something new for Trance, but even her breath was taken away for a few moments. She had always thought it funny when she read some of the human stories that still spoke of faeries. Often they were completely exaggerated, speaking of a level of magic that Trance felt simply did not exist. Now, for the first time in her life, she saw just how magical her people could be.

"My name is Ali," he answered with a smile. "And you are?"

"Uh, my name is... uh... Mariel," Trance lied, suddenly feeling a desire to prevent Ali from knowing that she was the daughter of the king. "Yep, just plain old Mariel."

"There's nothing plain about such a beautiful name," Ali said with a sly wink. "Your parents chose splendidly, with a beautiful name that seems to suit you perfectly."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Trance said with a genuine smile. "So do you mind if I ask what you're doing out here?"

"I don't mind at all," Ali replied. "I'm here to watch the sunrise."

"But the sun just went down," Trance pointed out. "I think you're in for a long wait."

"That's the whole point," Ali countered. "Waiting for something makes it that much more rewarding. Besides, seeing a sunrise as it banishes the night that has surrounded you for so long is more powerful a sight than simply waking up moments before it happens."

"Oh," Trance said.

"Why don't you stay and watch with me?" he offered. "I promise it will not be something you will soon forget."

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea," she said. "I should really be getting back home now."

"But I thought you were lost," Ali replied.

"How did you know that?" Trance could hardly believe he had known of her plight.

"Well, I heard you yelling out 'I'm over here,' as if you thought there was someone out looking for you," Ali explained. "I assumed you had grown lost."

"That light was you?" Ali nodded in response. "Then why didn't you help me if you knew I was lost?"

"I did help you," he answered.

"When?"

"I grabbed you before you walked off the ledge and fell into the valley," he reminded her.

"Oh yeah... that," Trance muttered. "But you didn't help me get home."

"I didn't know who you were," Ali countered, "and therefore I couldn't have known where you live."

"Can you help me get home now?"

"You'd have to tell me who you are first," Ali said.

"What?"

"Mariel is truly a beautiful name, but even as wonderful as it is, it still does not suit you," Ali said smoothly. "You're too beautiful for even that name to work for you." Trance was glad that the soft golden light was probably not bright enough to reveal how much she had blushed. "If you do not want to tell me your real name, however, that is fine," Ali added. "Your secrets should stay your own, if that is your wish. You know of the Barrow Road?"

"Sure," Trance replied, knowing that the Barrow Road was the route that most faeries who could not fly took out to Sunrise Bluff. It was the only real way out there, and still was a bit away from the cliff face.

"In the morning I will direct you to the road, and you'll certainly be able to find your own way home from there."

"Why not just tell me now?"

"Because as any faerie should know, it's rather easy to get turned around in the night. You could simply get lost again, and might end up walking over the edge next time. I'd much rather you stay here for now, where I can make certain you don't plummet to a most unpleasant death."

"And why can't you take me there, if you know the way so well?"

"Because I'm rather settled in right now," Ali answered. "I don't plan on moving about until sunrise. So once again, I offer the chance to stay with me."

"It doesn't seem like I have much choice," Trance admitted, trying not to admit to herself that she was glad she would be forced to stay with this mysterious faerie for the next several hours. He was the first one of her people, besides Normaf, that she had seen since returning that seemed interested in anything besides social status and gossip. He actually seemed like a real person, so to speak. "So what now?"

"You can tell me a little about yourself," Ali suggested.

"No, how about something else?" she asked, not feeling entirely comfortable with discussing herself. She could not imagine how she could tell any good anecdotes without revealing who she really was.

"Well, have you ever seen the northern lights?" Ali asked. "While I love the sunrises here, even they pale somewhat to the splendor of the northern lights in summer."

"In the summer?" Trance asked. "I thought it wasn't really safe to go north in the summertime. The dragons are awake then."

"So?" Ali asked.

"So they could eat you or something."

"Just like waiting, danger also makes a beautiful sight that much greater," Ali replied. "I wasn't about to let a few dragons stand in my way of a good time. Besides, they can be somewhat reasonable."

"Dragons? Reasonable?"

"In a way," he explained. "I'm not going to tell you that they landed on the ground next to me and invited me to the hatching of their latest clutch of eggs, but that doesn't mean that they were only interested in eating me, either. You have to remember that dragons don't see many intelligent species other than themselves, so if you don't get all haughty or threatening, like far too many of our people do, they'll be more than willing to trade stories."

"You spoke to a dragon?" Trance asked skeptically. She was suddenly reminded of some of the tall tales her grandfather had told her as a child.

"Yep."

"I thought they had trouble with speech," Trance replied. "Something about not being able to form the words properly without lips."

"They can't speak our language very clearly, that's true enough," Ali admitted, "but they can still understand us quite easily. They're very intelligent, you know. So when I spoke, they understood me, and since I happen to know their language, we were able to converse quite easily."

"You know dragonese?" Trance asked, now certain that Ali was pulling her chain.

"I most certainly do," Ali answered. "I can't believe you don't believe me."

"No one knows dragonese anymore."

"No, there you're mistaken," Ali answered. "There are people that still know the language, it just isn't taught at court anymore. Since our king no longer feels it's important to know, the people, like those animals from Earth.... what were they called... ah yes, lemmings... the people follow along, just like lemmings. So for a few generations no one has thought it important to teach dragonese, so most have forgotten. Some few still know it, and I'm one of those few."

"Oh."

"If only I would be able to teach it to you," Ali said wistfully.

"And why can't you?" Trance asked, grabbing a hold of one of her childhood dreams. She had always wanted to meet a dragon, and knowing their language could help her make her dream come true.

"Well, I presume tomorrow morning you will return home, and I will not see you again," Ali said. "It's hard to conduct language lessons under those circumstances." He smiled, and Trance could not help but follow suit.

"I guess that would be tough," she admitted.

"So what was the most amazing thing you ever saw?" Ali asked.

"I'm not sure," Trance replied honesty. She had seen so many wonderful things in her life, and most of them had been off her homeworld. If she mentioned any of those things, she might give her identity away, as there were very few of her people that ever left.

"Well, you've never seen the northern lights," Ali said. "Have you ever seen the maelstrom?"

"Yeah, I have," Trance replied. The maelstrom was a huge whirlpool in the middle of the ocean. According to legend, it had been created when a pair of twins wished to punish a faerie that had stolen from them. He had fled out to sea, and the brothers had created a whirlpool that swallowed him forever. The whirlpool had never gone away after that.

"And what did you think of that?"

"It was great," Trance answered. Just remembering the maelstrom brought all kinds of other memories into her head, all associated with Avalon. She had forgotten how truly wonderful her homeworld was. Almost without thinking, she dove into conversation with Ali, discussing more and more of their world's wonders - the migration of winged horses, the rebirth of a phoenix, and centaur jousts. They never ceased talking until Trance felt Ali's surprisingly warm hand grasp hers.

"It's almost time," he said, his voice suddenly little more than a whisper.

"For what?" Trance asked, suddenly wary and on guard. Ali's only response was to nod up toward the sky. The slightest streaks of gray were beginning to form in the eastern sky, and a pleasant grin came to Trance's face. "Already? It seems like we only just got here." She could hardly believe that the night had flown by so quickly. Neither one spoke as the sun began to rise toward the horizon, finally breaking over it and sending orange rays of light that immediately began to reflect off of the surrounding mountains. A multi-colored display illuminated the valley into a sight beyond words, and Trance gasped when she saw a herd of unicorns in the valley, completely oblivious to the beauty of the multi-colored light twinkling off of their horns.

Time began to fly by even more quickly, and finally Trance began to realize that the sunrise was over. She had to admit that Ali had been right - the sunrise was certainly better after staying up all night to see it.

"We should probably get going," Ali commented. "Your father will likely have search parties out all over the place, so it will not take long to get you back home."

"What?" Trance asked, suddenly surprised at Ali's demeanor.

"Come now, Trance," he commented, "did you really think that one as well-traveled as I would not know the king's daughter - our very own princess - on sight?"

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked.

"You didn't seem to want to speak of it," he replied. "I know you went away from us for quite some time, and you've probably gotten to like the anonymity you developed. I wasn't going to take that from you. Besides, would you have enjoyed yourself so much if you had known that I knew who you were?"

"Of course I would," Trance replied.

"No, you wouldn't have," Ali corrected. "You would have been uptight all night, worried about saying anything that could have gotten back to the wrong ears. You would have spent your time being overly proper, even though you would have hated yourself for doing so. This way, though, you were able to enjoy yourself. From the look on your face, I think you needed it."

Trance could not respond. She simply stared at Ali, amazed that he had seemed to already develop such an accurate impression of her personality. As much as she hated it, he was right.

"So, let us go, shall we?" he asked.

"Sure," Trance replied.

"After you," Ali said with a flourish of his hand. "All we have to do is go to the top of that second hill. From there we'll be able to see a copse of trees, and just beyond that is the Barrow Road."

"That doesn't sound like it's too far," Trance commented. No reply came from behind her. She turned around, and saw that Ali had disappeared, seemingly into thin air. "Goodbye," Trance muttered, hoping that he would somehow hear her. She began to walk in the direction he had indicated, all the while wondering if she would ever see her new friend again. He had made her feel special, as no other faerie ever had. "Only Harper ever treated me like that much of a real person," she said to herself. At that thought, however, she tried to push all thoughts of Ali from her head. The last thing she needed was to start getting confused. She already had a fiancée in addition to her true love. A third man would only make things terribly confusing. She found, however, that the more she tried to think about anything, or anyone, other than Ali, the more fervently her mind returned to thoughts of her newest acquaintance. She could not even imagine what she would do about this.

Let us know what you think.

Chapter 6 coming as soon as Nevermore gets it done and I look at it. Muhahahahahaha. So, really...who knows. And don't bitch at Norm for not getting it posted quickly, cause i'm the one that looks em' over and posts them.

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