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The Tolling Bells
Chapter 1; A Simple Explanation

Chapter 1; A Simple Explanation

A girl sits on a small footbridge, long brown fading auburn hair pooling behind her, and what seems to be a full set of armor standing next to her. A small red dragon-fly circles her hand and flies in between her fingers. Her yellow dresses skirt hem almost skims the water of the small river under her, her feet dangling six inches above it. She lets out a long, breathy sigh, as if having trouble breathing, and the armor next to her takes a step forward and sits next to her, they’re iron feet stiffly bent to avoid touching the water. She raises her hand slightly, and the insect flies off, following the stream. The armor turns their head towards her. “Is the corset bothering you, Hazel?” She turns to look at them, her lips turning up into slight smile, then looks back down at the water. “Yes, I’m afraid it is.” “Do you want me to help you take it off?” “Well,” Hazel hesitates, looking around to make sure no humans are in the area. “Yes, just let me put my hair up first.” what corset... How does Joklas know hazel has a corset on? A man on the foot path, named Morson Rosedanced, wonders. Don’t get the wrong idea. He isn’t stalking Hazel, or even at an ill intent. He was the castle mage, and he was following his creation, Joklas, to make sure it didn’t malfunction. However, he has found himself stumbling onto a rather private conversation. He watches as she pulls her hair into her hands, twisting it on top of her head, a small blush tinting his cheeks lightly. Long, pointed ears dangling with chains and gemstones peek out from under her reddish hair. Hazel braids her hair into a bun, and three feet of it, and carefully unzips the back of her dress. The blush on Morson’s cheeks goes brighter. A strangely shaped board is attached to the back of her corset, a slight rectangle that extends into a larger bottom width. Joklas starts gently untying the strings securing the boards two sides shut. Once the final string has been pulled out, six large, fuzzy, tealish sage green wings flap open and extend out behind Hazel. Each wing is about six feet long and four feet wide, decorated with white and black spots similar looking to eyes. Morson inhales sharply and stumbles, falling backwards and landing on his butt with a thump. Hazels ears prick up, and when she turns around her bright green eyes are glowing with a blueish hue, causing them to be the color of her wings. Her ears twitch again, and she stands up slowly. Joklas understands the situation, and immediately stands to attention, just like they were trained to, but for the wrong reason. The humans were at war with fairies, that's why the king had ordered Morson to make Joklas. Why weren’t they attacking Hazel, then? And it sounded like this wasn’t the first time they were seeing her wings, either. Hazel flaps all her wings once, and she was standing over Morson, his face is a combination of fear and fascination. She’s bared her natural vampire like teeth in a snarl, her nose slightly more flattened than when she hides her form, her wings are splayed behind her, lightly flapping and all spread to full length. He stared at her, and once she acknowledges who he is, she lets herself relax. Her wings go back down and fold against her back, her nose goes back to normal, her fangs shorten, and her eyes don’t glow as brightly as she gapes at him in full shock. “Mo-Morson,” she stutters his name and her eyes well with tears. “Please, don’t go anywhere, I’ll explain everything, I’ll explain it, I promise,” she collapses onto his chest and sobs. It nearly breaks Morson's heart to see a girl he knew as so strong and brave collapse like he was seeing her do now. He watches in fascination as, instead of rolling down her cheeks and dripping off her chin, her tears turn into a slightly glowing teal tinted bubble and float upwards. Joklas visibly relaxes, then stands and watched, in what can only be assumed to be a concerned position. He takes a single step forward, then hesitates. Morson turns his gaze back to his invention, and glares at him sharply. "Go back to the tower, Joklas. I don't want you here." Joklas turns their head to look at the girl, and she just nods, her wings folded backwards against her. He starts marching away, stopping and looking back only once before he gets out of sight of the two collapsed humans. Hazel angles her neck and realizes she's right on top of Morson's chest, getting off in a rushed manner. He smiles gently at her, and sits up, but still eyes her up and down with a warried expression. She sits quietly, collecting the hem of her long skirt in her hands. "Okay. What do you want to know?" He sighs tiredly. "Let's start with this. Does her majesty know?" shaking her head, she responds. "No, only the king of our old kingdom." "And his wife, the queen?" "She knows too, yes." "How?" That's going to take a very long time to explain, Morson. That goes all the way back to my childhood." "Well, we have lots of time, don't we, my lady? Let's stroll through the woods and chat." she smiles sadly and nods at him. "Okay, my lord, lets stroll." "And while we do that, you will talk. Are you okay with my asking questions?" "Yes, i am. lets see.. we'd probably have to start with the basics of fae hierarchy, then get into species, and history..." She glances at Morson nervously. "Well then," he claps his hands together, then stands and helps Hazel to her feet. "Lets start from the top, hm?" She smiles and takes his hand, and they cross over the small footbridge and path, walking further away from town while her wings flutter slightly with each step.

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