“There!” Captain Parow points at the map, then to the mountain peaks.
We have set sail from pirate’s bay to an island believed to be inhabited by fairies. And if you capture one, the queen will grant you 3 wishes for the release of her fae child. But the Capitan’s plan was to capture the queen herself and force all the fae of the island to give us all three wishes in order to release the queen.
It was a risky plan, but when you’re a pirate being hunted and hanged by the royal navy force, then 3 wishes are a miracle. But many of the crew were not confident in this tall tale. There had been many myths of the sea from Mer-folk, to sea monsters, to Blackbeard’s treasure buried on Deadman’s Island. But an island of fairies? Fair to say why the men were skeptical.
The plan was to lure the queen out with flowers that were not found on her island. The fae here are supposedly in touch with nature and have been dubbed as mother nature themselves. So, they consider any plant that is indigenes to their island a gift.
We drop anchor and sail. Some of the crew remain behind and the rest of us climb into the lifeboats and row to the island. The water is clear that you can almost see the ocean floor. The island itself is beautiful, with lush green vegetation and colorful flowers. There are many birds flying high in the sky.
The life boat hits the beach and we jump out to hull the boat onto the beach. I bend down and take a handful of sand, like I always do when we mount onto land. The sand is white and soft to touch. The very air smells sweet. Strange, the island has gone quiet. No animals’ noises, no bugs, no crickets?
“They know we are here.” The Capitan says holding the basket with the gifted flower in it.
“Keep your eyes peeled, lads.” Our first officer says.
The beach is a short distance to where the vegetation starts and I see in the shadow’s movement of small scared but yet curious faces. They seem almost to blend into the vegetation themselves. I smile a warm smile to show that I we are not a threat. They ordered us to move forward and the faces disappear deeper into the thick vegetation. I decide to keep this to myself. The last thing I want is for us to scare the fae or let them see us as dangerous creatures. Which unfortunately we are, and we are here to force them to grant us wishes. Something tugs at my heart. My conscious? I mean, I would love to make a wish or 3 but do I really want to force a powerful species into doing my bidding?
We make our way through the thick lush bushes but my heart aches at every swipe that is taking with a blade to clear a pathway for us to walk. This is not right. We should not be doing this! What if these trees are actually fae folk and we are killing them? Won’t this anger the fae queen? She could very well command these plants to attack us.
“Captain!” I call out, feeling another ache.
“What?!” He spits, looking at the map.
“We should not be here. We should not be chopping the plants.” I state, clutching my heart.
“Shut up maggot!” The captain spat, smacking me against my head.
I tried to protest again, but the first mate held a sword to my throat. I gulped hard and kept my mouth shut. They pushed me aside and carried on chopping the vegetation. Sharp pain stabbed at my heart, the plants, the fae folk. I stayed behind until I lost sight of the crew before taking off in the other direction, knowing for a fact they won’t stop and look for me. I am just a low-class crew member and there are always other pirates looking for a ship to sail with.
I come to a stop at a beautiful waterfall with crystal clear water. The flowers are bright and the songs birds sing the most amazing melody. In the shadows, I see small faces again and this time I move towards them. They stay in place and I bend the knee.
“Please worn your queen. My people, the pirates, they mean your queen harm. They want to kidnap her and force you all to give up your wishes. Please protect your queen.” I pleaded, feeling the tears brim at my eyes.
The palm leaves of the trees moved aside, but I stayed frozen in place as a beautiful fairy emerged from the shadows. The queen! I realized. They had woven her crown with leaves and flowers, with bees and humming birds feeding from the nectar. Her skin was a light green with small leaves on branches snaking up her arms like winding tattoos. and her dress was of flowers, grass and moss all woven together with small creatures living in them. She is the true definition of walking earth, mother nature herself.
I bowed lower. “My Queen.”
She lifted my chin with her hand. There was a snake wrapped around her arm, its face nested in her palm. My heart stopped for I know this species of snake to be deadly, but the snake just rested in her palm, eyes on me, tongue flicking the air.
“You give up your own kind? What sort of trickery is this?” She demanded in a musical but harsh tone.
“It’s not a trick. They are wrong to do this.” I protested as she gripped my chin tighter and the snake rearing up.
“Lies.”
“I felt their pain.” I spluttered.
The queen and snake stopped. Both searching my face for any trace of lies.
“You felt the death of my children?” She asked in a strangled voice.
I nodded. “It tugged at my heart with every swipe of the blade. They were fae, weren’t they?”
She nodded. I felt guilt and sadness for the loss of creatures I did not know. A tiny grey fairy flew to the queen’s ear and whispered something. She looked at back me before releasing my chin.
“You will become fae folk for the sins of your people. You will serve me for the rest of your life.” She commanded.
“They are not my people, not anymore.” I stated firmly. “But my Queen, I belong to the sea. I was born on a ship and my feet call to the sea if I am on land for too long.”
“You become the island’s guard then. You shall guard the shores and beach from anyone, anything that dare set foot on these sands. I will grant you access to the waters, but you will not leave beyond the breakers.” She instructed.
“I will accept my queen.” I said with a smile.
It is true I get agitated if I am on land for too long, the sea latterly calls to me, I am a sea rat.
“What will my queen have me do?” I asked, bowing.
“Protect your fae folk, protect your queen, make the intruders wish they never set foot on this island.” She commanded, touching my head.
The snake reared up, but I closed my eyes and felt a sharp pain in my neck. I trusted my queen and know that the snake bite would not kill me but transform me into the guardian that I need to be to protect my queen, fae, and new home.
I felt sharp pains course through my body as it slowly begins to transform. My skin becomes hard like tree bark–Armor, my hair sprouted branches with leaves to protect me from the sun. My body harden and gained muscle in places I didn’t know were possible. I stretched my hands out and poisonous veins shot out of my fingers. The queen took my arm and turned it to so that my palm faced upwards and transferred the snake over to me. It wrapped itself around my arm.
“Now go.” She commanded, pointing in the direction of the pirates.
I bowed, then stretched my hands out and used the veins to swing from the trees, calling all creatures to my aid with a special war cry. The entire island came to life, birds screeching, bugs chirping and the floor vibrating with hooves and paws of the animals running. The pirates screamed in fear as they tried to run back to the lifeboat, but I had the crabs destroy it. These pirates will never see their ship again. I will leave one crew mate alive to tell tales of the horrors that he witnessed on this forbidden island. No one will ever come in search of the fae again.