With Eidgar and his companions gone, I turn to Faraine. “Hey, um… I could be wrong but,” I pause.

“What is it?” Faraine sighs as she sits on the table.

“Well, you say we should stay hidden, but then we reveal ourselves to the enōōfen,” I anxiously state as I follow her, “You say that we shouldn’t get involved with them, but then push for us to work with them. So, I’m confused…”

Faraine silently stares back at me for several seconds. Suddenly, she lowers her head, “We fairies are in a tough spot.” She raises her head and motions to both of us, “And our situation is even more precarious. Ideally, we should never interact with the enōōfen.”

“But why not?” I argue, my confusion slowly turning to frustration.

“Well,” she exhales out of her nose, “There are several reasons. The simplest being that we, as spirits, are meant to live in a different realm from the enōōfen.”

“Sure, but we aren’t currently, so why can’t we interact with them?”

“Another reason is also pretty boring but…” Faraine pauses and looks over at Rhys, Sana, and Shelly, “It’s because we have MUCH longer lifespans.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“You may not understand it now,” She looks at me again and chuckles, “Honestly, I can’t fully understand it either, but…” She looks at the elves once more, “…they won’t live as long as us.”

“That’s not-”

“Not what? Important?” Faraine snaps.

I furrow my brow and stare at her, taken aback. What’s got you all flustered?

Faraine sighs, “Could you befriend Shelara and grow up alongside her, sure. But after a couple hundred years, you’ll watch her grow old and die.” She turns toward me, her red eyes glowing slightly, “Would all those years spent together then be important?”

“But…” I glance at Shelly. She’d die and…

“Evetta, we as fairies live for thousands of years,” Faraine solemnly explains, “You could be friends with dozens of elves, watching them be born and live their entire life while you hardly age at all.”

“So it’s just to prevent us from getting heartbroken from watching our friends die?” I question, flustered, “Is that why?”

“Like I said, that’s only one of the reasons,” Faraine replies, “One of the major reasons is that, because we are spirits and live within our own realm, we shouldn’t interfere with the world of the enōōfen.”

I furrow my brows as I sit down, almost glaring at her, “What do you mean?”

“We, as spirits…” Faraine takes a deep breath, “We’ve already lived out our lives as enōōfen.” She sighs, then looks over at the elves, “We lived. We died. And we’ve been reborn. What right do we have to come back and interfere with the residents of these realms?”

“I…” I lower my gaze, “That never crossed my mind.”

“Regardless of whether they were our friends, family, lovers, or enemies, to them…” Faraine motions with a nod, “…we’ve already died and passed on. Even if we are alive again as a spirit, the person we were is dead.”

My breathing slows as I feel a pit in my stomach. I guess, but… “What if…”

“What if they’re complete strangers?” Faraine asks, “Like us?”

I look up and see her staring at me. “Maybe… I don’t know…”

She looks back at the elves, “There is one more reason we, as spirits, try to avoid interacting with enōōfen.”

“What’s that?”

Faraine faces me sternly, “Let’s say, hypothetically, Revus or myself were to kill an enōōfen, how do you think they’d react?”

I tilt my head and gaze up. What do you mean? Wouldn’t they be dead? How could they react? “Um… I’m not sure I understand the question. Did you maybe use a word I don’t know?”

“I doubt it,” Faraine replies, then clarifies, “I mean, how do you think they’d react after being reborn as a spirit?”

“Oooh… Oh,” I mutter, shifting my focus to her, “Wouldn’t they hate you or Revus?” Or whoever it was that killed them.

“And that is the primary reason spirits avoid the enōōfen,” Faraine states, “If something happened and they were reborn as a spirit, depending on what they were reborn as, they could cause catastrophic problems.”

“I see…” I murmur, “That explains why Revus has stressed not wanting to kill them.”

“Simply put,” Faraine sighs, gazing down, “this isn’t where we belong anymore. We may live in the same world, but we don’t share the same land.”

“Doesn’t that mean that the opposite is true though,” I argue fervently as I glare at her.

Faraine looks at me, “Opposite of what?”

“That if we help the enōōfen, like we’re trying to do with Eidgar and his kingdom. Won’t they have a better view of fairies after they become spirits?”

“Sure,” Faraine scoffs, then suggests, “We could declare their kingdom as a holy land for fairies and pledge to help them, but how would their enemies view fairies then?”

My firm resolve shatters as my glare shrinks. I look down, bring my knees to my chest, and wrap my arms around them. We’d…

“If gaining one ally means making tens of enemies, is it worth it?” Faraine inquires, then sighs, “Sorry. I know this is a lot but it's something that we’re all taught and…” She looks over at the elves, “…it should be easy to enforce, but with us taking refuge in the cardinal realms…”

“Are we going to get in trouble?” I whimper.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“What’s happened has happened,” Faraine answers, “My aunt will understand. We aren’t the first who have interacted with enōōfen, but limiting our interactions would be wise.”

“You say that but didn’t we just reveal who we really are?”

“Would you rather I did the diversion while you found Revus?” Faraine asks, then points at Rhys, “Maybe them? Would you prefer that?”

My eyes drift from her to the elves. Sana is seated in her usual chair reading a book to Shelly. Rhys is in the kitchen, warming up a bucket of water, chuckling at Shelly’s reactions. Their simple smiles, and innocent interactions show how much they care for one another. Asking them to risk their lives… “No, I wouldn’t want that. They’re already putting themselves at risk by sheltering us.”

“Yes, asking Eidgar for help does expose us to more enōōfen, but given the situation, I felt it was fine,” Faraine explains, “Since all they’re asking for in return is dealing with the elmite surges… something that we fairies are already doing.”

“The elmite surges are the big element storms, right?” I inquire.

“Yes,” Faraine smiles.

We sit there, silently listening to the elves go about their evening for a few minutes. As I continue watching them, I ask, “Those rules, is there nothing we can do to change them?”

“Who knows… truthfully, I hate these rules,” Faraine exhales as she stares at the elves.

I raise an eyebrow incredulously.

She turns to face me and says, “You could always try to change them.” She tilts her head, “Hmm.”

“What?”

“Maybe Revus is here to protect you from any troubles you face while doing that.”

“You think so?”

“Who knows, I know I’d help you,” Faraine states, then stands up, “Come on, it’s getting late. We should head to bed.”

“Oh.” Quickly, I get to my feet, “Um… Faraine, before we go to sleep…”

She looks back at me, “What is it?”

“I was… wondering…”

“If…” she continues my sentence.

I gulp, “If you would help me try to grace my soul again.”

She takes a deep breath, exhales, and says, “Sure. Let me tell Rhys and the others that we’re off to bed. I’ll meet you upstairs.”

“Okay,” I murmur.

We conjure our wings and rise off the table. As I head upstairs, Faraine flies toward the elves. I make my way to the second floor, fly into Shelly’s room, and enter her closet. Within, is a dresser that has a pillow resting atop it. I descend down onto the soft surface, dispelling my wings and lowering myself until I am lying on the pillow.

I sigh. I guess I know why she seemed mad earlier. I wonder if Faraine’s got someone she wants to meet from her previous life. I shake my head. No. Of course she has people that she would want to go see. I stare up at the dark ceiling. I don’t know where Svelta is but… If Faraine knows where she lived previously. I gulp. Being told you can’t go there, can’t go meet your old family and friends…

I sit up and bring my hands to my face, lightly slapping myself. Come on. Don’t get all upset. Like Faraine said, what’s happened has happened. For now, let’s focus on trying to grace my soul. I need to figure out what’s wrong with me, and in order to do that, I need to grace my soul again.

I manifest my wings and, as I glance back, see the white glitter descend around them. If only I could figure out what caused me to grace my soul last time. I sigh, close my eyes, and get myself into a comfortable position. Concentrate on my spīīr. I breathe calmly. Find my wings. I flap my wings in response. Send my spīīr into my wings and completely fill them.

Almost… I feel my back muscles tense up as I force my spīīr into my wings. Almost… I bite my lower lip as the pressure on my backside grows. Come on… I stop breathing as I concentrate, my wings feeling heavier. Just… a… bit… more… I take one more deep breath.

“Dawhhh!” I gasp as I collapse onto my back, panting heavily, “So… close…” I lay there staring at the ceiling for almost a minute, trying to catch my breath. Why…

“Are you already sleeping?” Faraine questions.

I sit up slightly and see her gliding down toward me. “No…” I pant, “Just trying… to grace… my soul.”

Faraine scratches her head as she looks down at me, “I know I’ve asked but, didn’t Revus explain how to grace your soul?”

“Yeah…”

“Okay, now,” she kneels down beside me, “describe to me what he told you to do.”

“Um…” I struggle to sit up. Faraine holds out her hands and helps me into an upright position, “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

“He… I’m pretty sure it was to just gather my spīīr, fill my wings with it, and then I’d grace my soul.”

“That’s it?”

“Um…” I look up, “I might be forgetting something, but I’m pretty sure that was it.”

“He didn’t explain anything more than that?”

I purse my lips, shrug, and smile, “Maybe he did…”

Faraine sighs defeatedly, “No wonder you’re struggling so much.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why wouldn’t he explain everything to you?” Faraine murmurs, “That doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t make sense?”

She focuses on me and bluntly states, “That gracing your soul is more than just filling your wings with spīīr.”

“Then please,” I put my hands together, “Please, please, please, explain it to me so I can understand. Think of me as someone that knows nothing.”

Faraine blinks at me once, then sighs. “That might be a bit much, but alright.” She straightens her posture, focuses on me, and remarks, “Gracing your soul isn’t some crazy thing. Most fairies can do so within a few months of being reborn.”

I turn away from her and whine, “Thanks for hitting me where it hurts.”

“You said to explain it like you knew nothing,” she chimes, then continues, “The purpose is simple. Create a doorway that allows you to enter the innermost parts of your soul.”

I look at the blue-haired fairy sitting next to me, “That’s it?”

“Obviously, there’s more to it once you’ve succeeded, but gracing your soul is just the beginning,” she explains, “Currently, you’re wandering around in the dark trying to find that door, and you’ve already found it once.” In the dimly lit room I can still see her point at me, “What we want is for you to find that doorway again, and remember how you found it.”

“So how do I find it?”

“That’s why we fill our wings with spīīr.”

“Uh huh…”

Faraine taps her chin, then says, “Let’s try this. If I asked you where your mind is, where would you point?”

I furrow my brows, “Is this a trick question?”

“I’m serious, come on, answer.”

I sigh, “My head?”

“And where is your heart?”

I look down at the left side of my chest, and hold my hand over it, “Here?”

“Now, without pointing to the previous two spots, and picking a single location,” Faraine emphasizes, “Where would you say your body is located?”

My body? I furrow my brows again. “Um…” My eyes scan my body. “Wouldn’t it just be everything?”

“But if you had to pick a single point,” Faraine reiterates, “One spot that signifies the body, just as the head is the mind, and the chest is the heart.”

One spot where the body would be? I scan my arms, move down to my stomach, and lower my gaze to my groin. Instantly, I feel my face heat up. No… She wouldn’t be referring to… I slowly look up and, as my eyes meet hers, look away. “Um… my…”

Faraine smiles, “That’s one of the two correct answers.”

“It is?”

“Depending on the country or religion, some believe it to be groin, while others believe it to be the stomach.”

I gulp. “Right.” I bring my gaze up to meet hers, “What spot do you think would be for the body?”

“Personally I think it’s the stomach,” Faraine claims, “Those that think otherwise are more fueled by sexual desires.”

“Is that so…” I murmur, “Um… So why did you ask those questions?”

“Oh right. So, with the head, chest, stomach,” Faraine restates, “where would you say the soul is?”

“Uh…” I survey my body once more, “This one I have no idea.”

Faraine smiles, turns away from me, and displays her bare back. Her blue, red, and black wings sprout from her back, red glitter falling from them. “The back. That is the spot that holds the soul.”

“That… isn’t what I was expecting.”

“Truth be told,” she chuckles dryly, “depending on your country and religion, the soul is argued to be either the back or the stomach. Actually, some think that the location of the body and the soul depend on your species.”

“I see.” So our soul is in the back but… “Why is that important?”

“Because that’s where your wings are,” Faraine answers. “You’re trying to funnel your spīīr into your back, then into your wings so you can access the inner depths of your soul. Instead of just arbitrarily filling your wings with spīīr, think of them as a doorway or… even a path, that connects you to your soul.”

I manifest my wings again and glance back at them. A doorway to my soul. “So…” I yawn, “I should think about creating this door as I channel my spīīr into my wings?”

“If that helps you then yes. At the end of the day, there isn’t one correct way to do it,” Faraine explains, “Whatever method makes you comfortable and helps you access your inner soul is the correct answer for you.”

“Hmm… I think I understand,” I mutter, then look at Faraine, “And thanks for explaining that. It’s easier to understand than what Revus said.”

“It’s difficult to imagine why he wouldn’t explain it to you in detail,” Faraine sighs, “My best guess is he didn’t know how to explain it to you.”

“Who knows,” I grumble, “But I feel more confident after hearing this.”

“Don’t stay up too late,” Faraine comments as she crawls over to her usual sleeping spot and lays down, “We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

“I won’t,” I smile as I turn away from her, taking a deep breath. Using my new information, I attempt to grace my soul once more.