Advent Story 2012: The Fae World: Alder: On Earth (part 1)

[k_a_webb]

Willow

Alder watched the door. He couldn’t help it, because he knew that Willow would eventually step through it and when that happened… The elders were still uncomfortable, knowing they had very little power over their new ruler, so they were hoping that the King would wake from his coma. As though that would change what had happened. It seemed as though they believed that the King would be able to take them back to their old world, even though their population was one third of what it had been because of their dithering, but once Willow was on Earth he knew for certain that there was no going back.

The elders were uncomfortable with him too, but Alder was the eldest of his family and they wouldn’t be able to kick him off the council, because he was, technically, the only true elder. He couldn’t help smiling at that, even though… Shaking his head he thought of the fae who had travelled to Earth. He’d known what had happened, it was impossible not to, but he hadn’t realise what it meant. Not exactly, not until they began the evacuation and then… It was… Breathing deeply he glanced around himself at the camp. There were so few of them left, with the bulk of the fae being under 100, and seeing what the elders had made happen was infuriating.

Finally Willow stepped through the door. Alder breathed a sigh of relief, smiling at her, before turning to the book that was on a plinth next to him. It held the name of everyone who had come through the door and he wrote Willow’s name in. He knew she was the last of her family, because no one believed the King was going to wake from the coma he was in. Alder was almost the last of his family, but his younger sister had survived and two of his young cousins, so he had more than Willow did. Feeling sorry for her, for more than one reason, he told himself to focus on what needed to be done. The Princess could look after herself.

Yawning, Alder ran a hand through his hair. It had been early morning on their world when he stepped through the door, even though it had still been the middle of the night on Earth, and he’d done a lot of work to set up the camp, without using too much magic. He hoped that the humans would be able to replace the magic the fae used, but there was still nothing more than a theory. Earth definitely had more magic. From the moment he’d set foot in the place of magic he’d been able to breathe properly for the first time in moons. Being at the door meant he’d seen the same sudden feeling hit everyone, even the elders, and knew what a relief it was to feel alive again. The elders had all looked at each other, a couple had headed for the medical tent, and he knew they’d realised what a terrible mistake they’d made, even if they never would admit it.

Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.