Niu felt a dull twinge of pain.

That was the very first sign that she had regained her consciousness. She let the feeling dwell for a moment before her muddled mind realized that she was alive and awake.

“…iu? Niu?”

Now she could even hear voices and feel someone shaking her. The cold and hard sensation beneath her body probably meant that she was lying on the ground. She opened her eyes with a small effort and saw Gen.

“…Thank the Gods,” he mumbled in apparent relief.

“Are you fine?” asked Shaya, also standing nearby. She could also see Roah, but he only gave her a passing glance. Niu roused her aching body, but softly nodded. She then finally realized something about their surroundings was strange.

Her last memory was the small grove near the village, being surrounded by soft grass and low trees. However, now they were all standing on rough, dirty brown soil, with great, thick trees towering around them. This unfamiliar scenery brought a single question to her mind: where were they?

The strong light spilling from between the high leaves illuminated their bizarre surroundings. The attack came during the evening as the sun was beginning to set, but was it now morning already? Had they been knocked out for that long?

Also, it was deathly quiet. Much too quiet for Niu’s liking.

“Is all this for real?” Gen asked aloud. “I… where are we?” Judging from his words, it didn’t seem like everyone woke up much earlier than her.

“Doesn’t look like any place I know,” Roah agreed, his eye scanning the strange trees around them. “Might we have been taken to a different country?”

“A-a different country?” echoed Shaya, a hint of panic in her voice.

“I’m pretty sure only Sacrona has huge forests like this,” Roah said matter-of-factly.

“I mean, maybe, but… how did we get here in the first place?” Gen asked. “We, weren’t we just attacked by something? Then why—"

“Oh, it’s most likely that tentacle thing that took us here,” Roah casually pointed ahead. When everyone’s gaze followed him, Gen gasped and Shaya gave a small shriek. Niu also shuddered.

Lying on the ground like some discarded, festering fruit was the black… thing. It reminded Niu of some sea food she’d seen once. It looked almost artificial and it was no longer glowing. Its skin was ripped apart at many places, oozing out some sort of dark liquid to the ground. Whatever it was, it seemed dead.

“So you think this thing just, I dunno, picked us up?” asked Gen after these few seconds of revulsion and surprise.

Roah shrugged. “It seems like a logical conclusion. Well, I guess you couldn’t quite see it, but these flying tentacles were carrying those monsters along with them.”

Niu nodded; his explanation made sense. She herself had seen the multitude of monsters falling from the skies after the tentacles appeared.

“The only thing I don’t understand is how we’re still alive and well after being supposedly violently taken away by this thing,” Roah continued. “And it seems like some time passed as well.”

“This is so weird,” agreed Gen, glancing around.

“What are we, what do we even…” mumbled Shaya, her lips shaking, “are we just… stuck here?”

Wherever this was, it surely wasn’t anywhere near Hayden. Even Niu, who was pretty bad at geography and never went any further than her village or the town could tell that. And in the case that Roah’s first hypothesis was correct, the situation was even worse—for they were stranded in an enemy country.

“Calm down,” said Gen, probably noticing Shaya was on the verge of panic. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” He lightly bit his lips, brows furrowed.

Roah still scanned around them silently. Niu could barely stand on her own but she tried grabbing Shaya’s hand to reassure her. The other girl broke down anyway.

“N-no, we… I don’t want to…” her last words were choked into a sob, and then she just started crying. The surroundings were so quiet that Shaya sounded awfully loud, much like a baby crying in the middle of town.

“Shaya, I—"

Gen was only a few steps away, yet he froze in place as he stared at her breaking down. Instead, Niu knew that she was the one who needed to act. Niu knew how Shaya felt, being thrown into this bizarre situation right after their horrible experience. Niu herself also felt like crying like that, and it took all of her efforts to stop herself from doing so. But now she had another reason to stay strong.

As Niu wrapped her arms around her friend, Shaya choked in surprise to sudden silence. Niu held her softly yet firmly.

It’s all going to be fine. Stay calm. I’m sure we’ll be alright. We’ll figure something out. Just stay positive and you’ll see.

Niu mouthed these words despite being unable to voice them. She moved her lips as if in a lullaby. Since Shaya couldn’t hear it or even see Niu doing this, this action by itself shouldn’t have had any effect on her. And yet her tense body loosened more and more. Her breathing calmed down and her sobs were gone.

Even Roah was now watching, Niu could see. The boys looked at them awestruck.

“T-thanks,” Shaya finally mumbled, breaking the magical scene and the complete stillness once again. “I’m fine for now.” Niu smiled and separated her body from Shaya’s. The other girl sniffled for a second and wiped her eyes, but she was also smiling faintly.

Niu tried rising up after Shaya, but a sharp pain from her leg served as a reminder to her current condition. Gen also recovered from his earlier paralysis and stepped to assist.

“Maybe we should just walk around or something. We might find people who can help us,” he suggested, glancing around. Other than the dead tentacle there were no signs of any living being around.

“That’s a dangerous proposition. If we really are in one of Sacrona’s forests, we could get lost pretty easily,” said Roah, also scanning the surroundings. “Not to mention there could be bears… or worse, not-so-nice humans.”

“Crap… we need to at least find some sort of shelter,” mumbled Gen. “Or maybe we could—"

“Shhh,” Roah suddenly hissed, lifting a hand. He slightly lowered his body as if ready to spring away at any second. “I think that someone’s coming.”

It took Niu a moment to register the meaning of Roah’s words. She immediately started looking around fearfully, but the forest was too thick to see anything clearly. Roah probably noticed it with his superior vision.

“…We’re surrounded,” spat Roah from between clenched teeth.

When he spoke this, Niu could finally notice a certain presence all around them.

These were probably human and not monsters, but that didn’t make her feel better; perhaps it made her feel even worse. Were they actually thrown, somehow, to a foreign country? Were they going to be attacked, or just captured? Whatever happened, Niu doubted it would end well. She could see Shaya shaking yet again, but all of them stayed silent.

"—?"

A yell resounded from nearby. Niu felt a chill run through her spine when she realized it probably contained words she didn’t understand. Also, she could finally see the faces of the people surrounding them as they approached.

First of all, most of them didn’t look much older than them, but also obviously weren’t children, through mixed in with them there were also a couple that looked very bulky. Most of the dozen or so people sported all sorts of weaponry, ranging from swords to spears, so they were definitely not mere civilians.

And they were most definitely foreign. Whether it was due to the strange atmosphere or not, they just seemed different. Was it their relatively large eyes? Their very pale, almost greyish skin? Or perhaps it was the unknown language that they were still using to yell at Niu and the rest in slightly shrill yet firm voices.

Were they really in Sacrona? Niu never would have imagined it to be anything like this.

One person stepped toward them, blade raised. Shaking too, Gen stepped in front of the girls as if to shield them. The man (was it even a man? It actually wasn’t quite clear) spoke some further words.

“We don’t understand you,” Roah shook his head, hands raised. “We’re from Rumdon… is this Sacrona?” He stressed the words to catch their attention. Even he looked visibly anxious for a change, despite his usual cold demeanor, though probably still better than the rest of them.

Looking at the person’s face, Niu thought to herself. If they weren’t in a gloomy forest surrounded by foreign, weapon-wielding soldiers, would they have even been scared? The person in front of them was only slightly taller than Gen and had a soft and round face which made it hard to know if it belonged to a man or woman. They wore their hair short and their leather armor hid their body shape. Even the voice didn’t seem to indicate anything decisive.

Eventually the person shouted something to their comrades, still keeping watch on the four. Others also approached with their weapons raised, but for now they seemed to be waiting. Waiting for what, exactly? The answer actually came soon after they started wondering this.

“Do you… understand me?” There was a new, hesitant voice. Niu gasped as she realized that she did understand.

“Yes!” Gen called back in happy surprise. Well, since they were neighbors with Sacrona, it wasn’t a stretch to think that someone would know their language, after all.

The new person came into the light. Niu’s first thought was wondering whether they were a child since they seemed rather short even when compared to their companions. A girl? The face was as androgynous as the rest, but something about the soft voice and features gave a feminine impression above all else. With bright eyes and curly, golden hair, she (?) looked very charming. She even smiled at them in contrast to all the other armed soldiers. She wasn’t carrying any weapons either.

Yet that image caused Niu some confusion. She felt as if she was missing something. She’d never seen any Sacronian before (though many immigrants lived in Rumdon), so why did the girl in front of them look so strange yet so familiar?

“You really surprised us,” said the girl to them, “you are lucky that I can, ah, talk like you.”

“Sure,” Roah interjected, sounding impatient. “Is this Sacrona?”

The girl furrowed her brows in clear confusion. As if she didn’t even know that name. “Ah, this is Karmil, near Kalden,” she replied. None of those were names Niu had ever heard before, and judging from Roah’s expression, he probably hadn’t, either. “But never mind. I think there’s more important thing to ask.”

Under the sunlight filtered by the trees around, the girl’s face seemed a mix of fantastical and eerie. And that was when Niu finally understood. She realized the answer, as ridiculous as it was, and would have blurted it out if she could. Instead, it was the girl who did it: confusingly, she asked the very same question that Niu also had in mind.

“Are you really faeries?”

All of them were probably shocked, but Niu was perhaps even more so.

Fairies were the stuff of legends—Niu liked to believe in them, but there was almost no historical evidence left of their existence since long, long ago. Also, she obviously wouldn’t think of those soldiers surrounding them as fairies. They seemed relatively small, for sure, but not as small as most accounts of fairies. Not to mention they didn’t have wings or other common features found in tales.

On the other hand, the girl that could speak their language did somewhat resemble the archetypical depiction of a fairy—and yet she then turned the question back to them. So was Niu completely wrong? No, in the first place, why would that girl think that they were fairies?

“Excuse me?” asked the befuddled Gen.

“Are you not?” she asked back, surprised.

“Err, no, why would we…”

At that point Niu grabbed Shaya’s sleeve and gestured at the girl ahead. Unfortunately, she had no way to write down her thoughts, but her friend seemed to understand her. It’s her, Niu mouthed desperately.

“Umm… I think she’s the fairy, maybe?” she spoke hesitatingly.

“What?” Roah looked back toward them, seeing Niu nod her head. He then turned his head back to the girl. “Of course… you’re fairies! But how is that possible?”

The girl tilted her head, “Why do you think that? It’s not—”

At that point, the nearest person spoke to her in their own language. Presumably to understand the situation, the girl started conversing with them. All the others were still standing with their weapons readied.

“Wait,” said Gen, turning to his friends, “what’s going on here? T-they can’t be fairies, fairies are, I mean… where are we?”

“…We might have gone farther than even I anticipated,” said Roah with a scowl.

“No, but… this can’t be… there’s no way this is Fairland!”

“I find that hard to believe, too,” mumbled Shaya.

Niu felt the same. Not to mention that they still couldn’t understand why the girl had referred to them as fairies. They had so many questions and so little information. The situation was a complete mess.

“Did you just say Fairland?” the girl interjected again. “That sounds familiar.”

“It is how, faeries refer to our world.” A deep voice emerged from right behind her.

Niu had noticed that person before; she thought before that these so-called fairies were small, but this was the exact opposite—a tall man (?) that towered couple of heads even above Gen. His huge body was covered by a dark, tattered mantle with a hood, concealing both his figure and his face. When he’d spoken just now, his voice was hoarse and jittery as if he was not used to the act of conversing.

Also, he spoke their language, too. Was it so they could understand him too?

The girl asked him something in surprise, to which the tall man merely nodded. “So you really are faeries,” she said, turning toward them again.

“No, b-but… we’re humans,” insisted Gen, sounding more and more confused.

“Don’t mind now,” she replied, “did you really come from there?” and she pointed up to the sky without looking.

The sky wasn’t fully visible through the mass of treetops, but the gesture itself was clear enough to all of them—just as they did themselves many times in the past while pointing toward the fantastical Fairland hanging in the sky.

“That seems like it for now,” said Roah, relatively mellow in contrast to the bewildering situations. Niu still had problems accepting this, and Gen couldn’t accept it at all.

“This is crazy, we couldn’t have just… It’s impossible… argh!” Gen held his head.

“Is it, though? We’ve been attacked by monsters that are obviously from another world. Is it really that surprising, then?” Roah asked.

This silenced Gen. Niu glanced again toward the remains of the dark, oozing tentacle nearby, also noticed by the surrounding soldiers. If Roah’s reasoning was correct, that thing had brought the monsters along with it, and then seemed to have done the same to them. Could it really have travelled such an unfathomable distance, though?

Meanwhile, the native girl once again conversed with the other soldiers for a while. Niu could imagine that this situation was as confusing to them as it was to her and her friends.

“So, ah,” the fairy started addressing them again, “you’re all coming with us. We need to ask you much, but this is not a good place. Especially not if those things show up again.”

Those things? She seemed to glance at the tentacle remains as she said this, so she was probably referring the to the mysterious monsters. Meaning, this place was attacked as well.

“U-umm, we’re not, like, hostages or anything, right?” Shaya asked with a shaky voice.

“Hos…tages?” the girl echoed, furrowing her thin brows. “Sorry, I don’t know that word, but we’re going to keep you safe. Don’t worry.”

There was still so much to ask, but apparently this was not the right time and place. The girl assured their safety, for now, but if there was another attack the situation could grow worse. They didn’t seem to have any choice in the matter, however.

“Come now,” said the girl, turning her back to them.

“Wait!” called Shaya. “She… Niu can’t walk, she’s hurt her leg.”

The girl turned yet again, furrowing her brows for a moment before realizing the situation as Niu flashed her a shy smile.

“Right. So better if… TriX, take them.” The last line she spoke toward the large man at her side, then said something to the other soldiers nearby. Hearing her order, the one apparently called TriX approached Shaya and Niu, spreading his large arms.

“I will take you, hold on to me,” he spoke in an uninflected voice, his face hidden by the shadows of his hood, though Niu noticed some strange glints from within. His arms, covered by sleeves and gloves, were large and thick. This made Shaya flinch for a second.

“Just do it,” Roah spurred them.

“Don’t push them,” said Gen to that. Niu sighed; this wasn’t the time for that nonsense. Fortunately, they were shut up by the appearance of yet another giant beckoning them to come.

Niu took Shaya’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly, slightly nodding.

“Fine, but how do we… w-wha—”

The moment she stepped forward TriX lifted her lightly, causing her to shriek. “Hold,” he curtly explained, then did the same to Niu. Somehow they ended up hanging from his back, each on a shoulder. He moved his arms behind to support their legs with his palms, then leaned slightly forward. Niu grimaced momentarily as she put a bit of pressure on her wounded leg, but soon had no time to even feel that.

They started flying ahead.

Not actually flying, obviously; but TriX was moving with such flowing and elegant movements that it nearly seemed that way. Trees and plants flared by Niu’s vision not covered by the man’s huge back and arms. They were rushing forward quite silently, except for Shaya giving a small shriek or gasp at times. Niu thought she also heard Gen groan something from nearby.

“Stay quiet!” came the hushed voice of the girl that spoke their language from somewhere. “No talking! No sound!”

The dash continued. Despite Niu’s constant need to firmly grab TriX lest she fall off, it actually became surprisingly relaxing after a while. His body felt quite warm, too, and she was also feeling the rays of the sun sneaking between treetops. In the relative silence she thought.

Was this truly Fairland? The residents weren’t the fairies she’d come to expect, but the world itself was enchanting enough. It was green, vibrant and yet peaceful; even the pitter-patter of the fairies moving on the ground seemed to be swallowed by the grass. They were all taken to an unknown place for an unknown purpose and had so many questions, doubts and worries on their mind, yet Niu somehow felt calmer by the second.

She was just about to fall asleep (she wasn’t sure if due to this calmness or general fatigue) when they stopped in front of a web of green; a tangle of wild, messy vines stood in their path.

Niu wondered if this was some unexpected obstacle for the party, but after a few moments they kept lunging straight ahead toward the vines. She cringed in surprise, preparing herself to be cut or worse, or at least try and use TriX’s body as a cover—but then the sea of vines parted.

In front of them was nothing but darkness and it swallowed them whole.

The air immediately turned stagnant and musty, a great change from the fresh, fragrant air outside. The temperature plunged, too, and they were obviously heading down. Meaning, they were underground: apparently the vines were hiding an entrance to a cave system of sorts.

Niu also realized that the place wasn’t pitch-black after all, as there were several sources of light twinkling all around them. She could see many small circles of light emanating from the ground, walls and ceiling, providing some visibility. As TriX started moving again—this time slower than before, thankfully—she saw roots, mushrooms and weeds growing in the cavern all around them, some of them glowing.

Niu’s pulse quickened. Coming from the magnificent forest into an underground dwelling… now it truly felt like a fairytale, despite their predicament. Ironically not sleepy anymore in the dark, she kept her eyes peeled open to see even the smallest of details.

Unfortunately, besides the various glowing plants and fairies walking nearby there was nothing but the cold, dark ground. Within a short time they entered a certain small cavern, upon which TriX lowered Niu and Shaya back to the ground. Niu nearby stumbled and fell, wobbling; it was weird standing once again on solid ground after being carried like that. The other large man, who had carried Roah and Gen, unloaded them as well. The four were finally reunited.

In the entrance stood the girl from earlier, smiling at them. Her face was lit gloomily by a radiant flower she was holding.

“So… welcome to our base,” she said.

By itself, the word “base” already told them a lot about the place, assuming its usage was correct—it was apparently a place used by soldiers, and was not a normal dwelling. That made sense to Niu. Fairies wouldn’t really live inside a damp cave, as magical as it seemed. Probably. Maybe.

“Also, I didn’t tell my name, right?” the fairy continued. “I’m Seele.”

“Seele,” Gen echoed that one syllable, “uh, nice to meet you. I’m Gen.”

“I’m Shaya.”

“Roah.”

Seele’s eyes obviously moved over to Niu next, waiting for her answer. But she just shook her head—she currently had no way to express herself, which quite annoyed her, now that she thought about it.

“Oh, she’s mute,” explained Shaya.

“Mute?” Seele repeated. This was apparently another word that she didn’t know.

“It means she can’t speak,” explained Roah.

Seele’s eye momentarily widened. “Ah, I understand,” she replied, nodding.

“Anyway, she’s Niu,” Gen took the chance to introduce her. Niu waved her hand, wearing a thin smile. She wasn’t even sure if Seele could see her expression in the scarce light, though.

“Niu, right. So you’re Shaya, Gen, and uh… Roah, is that right? Good. I think I’m going to see you a lot from now, since I can talk to you,” Seele spoke slowly, making sure every word of hers was heard. “Do you need anything?”

“An explanation of this whole situation would be nice,” said Gen.

This troubled Seele, however. “I want to if I could. But we are confused just as well.”

“You were attacked as well, right?” asked Roah.

“Yes, a while ago,” said Seele. “Do you know anything about it?

As expected, it appeared that even the residents of Fairland were caught by complete surprise. Roah shook his head, and then said, “So you don’t know either. But you’ve seen those dark tentacles, right?”

“Ten…tacles?”

When Seele furrowed her brows, he lightly wriggled his hand. That actually made Niu smile; Roah was usually so serious, and he was still just as serious when he used that ridiculous motion to illustrate the meaning of the unknown word.

“Ah! Yes.”

“Well, we were probably brought here by that. At the very least, I can’t think of any other explanation for now,” said Roah.

“By this… tentacles? Hmm…” Seele sank into silence. “Well, this is weird. We’re already trying to find out what’s happening. I’m sorry… I don’t know what to tell you except wait.” She flashed a weak-looking smile. “But like I said, we will keep you safe.”

“Thanks,” said Gen, sounding a bit relieved. “We appreciate that. Really.” Niu bit her lips but nodded weakly.

Roah spoke again. “By the way, there’s another important question I’d like to ask—how, exactly, do you know our language?”

With everything that happened so far it was perhaps on a lower priority, but still a very interesting question, Niu felt. It seemed as if most of the fairies couldn’t understand them, so how come Seele and TriX could?

“I’m sorry,” Seele said after a short while of clear hesitation. “I’m not sure I can tell you right now.”

This caused the issue to be all the more mysterious. Roah merely looked at her without saying anything else; he probably realized there was no sense in pushing for an answer right now if she wasn’t willing. He seemed to sink back into his thoughts.

“So, ah,” Seele said after a short bout of silence, “is there anything you need right now? You must be… hungry, is that the word?”

“Yes,” mumbled Shaya.

“Now that you mention it, for sure,” Gen agreed as well.

Niu had no clue how much time passed for them, but it felt as if she’d eaten those delicious sweet buns ages ago. Now that she was less frightened and anxious, she could definitely go for some rest and sustenance.

However, there was something even more urgent. Niu waved her hand to grab everyone’s attention and then pointed at her leg.

“Right, you said the leg was hurt,” Seele said slowly.

Something about this annoyed Niu but she nodded. Roah also added, “I’m hurt as well, while we’re on the subject.” The makeshift bandage was by now completely dark, though at least outwardly Roah didn’t seem to be bothered by it too much.

“Ah! Right. Anything else?”

Niu started a new gesture—she closed her fingers as if holding something between them and shook it over the air.

“Ah… sorry, I don’t…”

“She wants something to write with,” explained Shaya. “Because… well, you know.”

“Ah,” now Seele nodded in understanding. “That may be… I will try. I’ll ask for what you wanted.” She turned around to go. “Oh, and don’t leave here. TriX is outside if you need something but for now stay inside. I’ll come back!”

And with that she broke into a run and vanished out of the cavern’s exit, leaving behind a solitary glowing flower on the ground.

“That went better than expected, I guess,” concluded Gen.

“Except for the fact we know practically nothing,” noted Roah.

Niu lightly slapped his arm, but then froze. She wanted to say that this wasn’t the time to be negative and dwell too much about their situation, but she couldn’t really do that with only gestures.

Roah surprised her by more or less understanding what she wanted to say. “I know,” he said, “we’re safe for now, and that’s the most important thing.” There was something peculiar about the way he said this, however; not like he was being sarcastic, but more like an undertone that indicated he wasn’t completely serious. Like always, Niu was completely unable to decipher his feelings and intentions.

Despite their safety and small reassurance, for a while there was an awkward silence.

Perhaps an hour or so passed without Seele coming back. This led to a gloomy atmosphere. Could they do anything but wait? Perhaps TriX could be asked some questions as well, but for now they simply discussed the situation among themselves.

“I keep wondering about these monsters,” Roah said. “What were they?”

Niu didn’t even want to think about it. She’d never heard of such beings even in the darkest of fairy tales. Fairies seemed to actually exist, but what about those dark beasts? Had any of them ever heard about such things? The answer was apparently no.

“I have no clue,” said Gen, frowning. “I’d never seen anything like that… and they fell from the sky…”

“Reminds me of that meteorite a few years ago,” Roah said, rubbing his chin. “I wonder if that’s related.”

“Wasn’t that just a rumor?" wondered Shaya. “They didn’t find anything in the sea, right?”

This was way before Niu started going to school, so she didn’t know about it from that time, but apparently one night, something fell from the sky and into the sea that separated Rumdon and Sacrona. There were some eyewitnesses but nothing was ever found, at least on Rumdon’s side.

“I don’t really think that has anything to do with it… probably just a coincidence,” said Gen.

“Maybe.”

Perhaps it didn't matter at all, but even if they weren’t related, where had these monsters come from? If they came from outer space as well, there was only one possible conclusion—

“I’m back!” A familiar voice echoed and Seele appeared at the entrance of the small space, smiling. Accompanying her were two fairies with long hair. “They came for you.” Apparently they brought people to take care of them, so Niu and Roah complied.

Only now that her leg was being examined did Niu notice that her shoes, already worn-out and tattered in the first place, were now almost completely ruined. Her socks were also ripped as well as drenched in sweat and even some blood; apparently her leg suffered minor lacerations at some point. The sudden pain made her grimace.

The other fairy checked her leg and spoke to Seele in their language. Niu was slightly worried about how she’d be able to communicate if they asked her about her injuries, but that appeared to be unnecessary. Seele spoke to her while the other reached for some supplies.

“Good, so he says that you just… hmm. I don’t know the right words, but your leg will be fine. Just try not to use it too much for a few days.”

Niu nodded. Meanwhile, the other fairy took some elastic band and wrapped it around Niu’s leg, also inserting a small pack of ice into it. She flinched at the sudden cold but it also somewhat eased the pain of her swollen ankle. Next to her Roah was also being treated.

“Oh, and this isn’t much, but I also got this,” said Seele slowly. She handed Niu a small rectangular stone slate and what looked like another piece of rock, perhaps some sort of chalk.

That was a bit disappointing, but then again, even back in their world paper was uncommon; Niu only had her notebook in the first place because the school provided it to her. Still, it was much better than nothing, so she nodded with a smile.

Thinking of something, she also grabbed the chalk and started writing, which was quite hard with the tools she’d been provided. She tried writing in small letters to preserve space but then recalled something. Grabbing Seele’s attention, she pointed at her and then at the slate, moving her head as if to look down at it, and then tilted her head.

“Ah, are you asking if I can… yes, I can read a bit.”

Niu nodded and turned the slate toward her.

Thank you for everything. Also, there is no need to speak so slowly to me; I am mute, but I can hear you just fine.

She could see Seele’s eyes widen in understanding. For some reason, many people did this upon first learning of her condition. She’d grown annoyed by it, but at least outwardly she gently corrected them.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” said Seele with what looked like an abashed smile. Niu just returned her smile.

“So she’s fine, yeah?” asked Gen, glancing at Niu’s now-wrapped leg. The other fairy had already left after finishing this treatment. He didn’t even look at Roah.

“Yes. Anyway, I’m going again! Don’t worry, food is on its way!” Seele announced, then waved at them and dashed away.

There was another somewhat awkward stretch of silence. Niu lowered her eyes to her slate, thinking of a way to break the ice. This, however, only served to focus her attention yet again on how limited her ability to communicate now was. Would she ever be able to see her notebooks again? There were many memories, drawings and even completely meaningless chatter contained within them, all perhaps lost forever.

Despair and anxiousness tugged at her softly until a voice pulled her back.

“So,” mumbled Gen, “those fairies sure were weird, huh?”

“They’re not quite what I imagined,” admitted Shaya.

“Niu seemed pretty excited, though,” now said Roah, turning his eye to her.

Well, there were many moments of shock and uncertainty, including right now, but perhaps she was rather excited about this whole thing. She’d spent so long daydreaming about these fantastical beings that it was unbelievable to think she actually met them. She almost felt as if this was fate—as clichéd as that sounded. Regardless, focusing on these positive new experiences caused her to smile.

“Also, was the one taking care of you actually a man?” Gen asked. “Seele said ‘he’, so I just wondered.”

“That fairy looked rather feminine, but I saw no breasts,” Roah said nonchalantly.

“…Pervert,” said Gen, to which Roah merely shrugged.

Shaya added, “Seele doesn’t speak too fluently, so maybe it’s just a mistake. Or maybe it’s just how fairies are. Actually, isn’t it usually like this even with our version of fairies?”

Shaya turned to Niu, who nodded in confirmation; fairies were depicted as beautiful children without any clear gender. She was surprised that real fairies were both like and unlike those depictions. There was also another major exception, though; Niu quickly wrote it down.

What about the big one?

“That tall guy? Right,” Roah said. “Definitely wouldn’t have called him a fairy.”

“TriX… was it? Seele pronounced it somewhat strangely,” said Shaya.

Gen looked toward the cave’s entrance. It was too dark to see, but Seele had told them before that TriX was standing watch there. “Should we call him?” the boy asked.

But just as they wondered what to do, the person himself stepped inside, followed by Seele.

“It’s time to eat!” she announced happily.

With his large arms TriX carried a tray loaded with wooden bowls and cups of all kinds. A sweet smell tickled Niu’s nose and she could see that some of the dishes were steaming.

“I didn’t even realize how hungry I was until now…” Gen said, eyes wide. TriX lowered the tray and the four of them huddled around it.

There were what appeared to be fruits and vegetables, grains, a soup and more—all of it looking similar to, and yet slightly different from, Plainland cuisine.

“We didn’t know what you like, so we got different things,” Seele explained. She then watched them all expectantly.

Roah took the first move. He grabbed a fork (pretty much the same as any fork back home) and stabbed a slice of what looked like some sort of pastry, inserting it in his mouth. He was always rather indifferent so it was hard to gauge his impression until he spoke.

“Nice,” he concluded, and so the rest also joined him.

There were juicy, delicious fruits, a soup with a nice mix of sweetness and saltiness, pieces of fresh bread and other baked foods; pretty much the only thing missing was meat. Some of it did taste somewhat strange and novel, for sure, but most was just the way Roah had described it. Not that Niu was a picky eater anyway, and especially not when she felt so hungry.

Seele giggled. “Good, I was worried faerie food would be too different from our, but you seem to like it.”

“It is actually a bit surprising you’re eating so well… this is some sort of base, right?”

“Ah, yes,” Seele replied to Roah’s question. “We just grow many good things here, so we know how to make the best of them. But in Kalden it’s much better!”

“Kalden?” asked Shaya. That name sounded a bit familiar to Niu; she was pretty sure that Seele had mentioned it before.

“That’s our, how do I explain it… our main city? I don’t know how to say it in fairy language…”

“Capital?” Gen suggested.

Seele looked unsure, but TriX spoke for the first time in a while. “That is the word.”

“If he says he knows,” concluded Seele with a smile.

“By the way,” said Gen, putting down his cutlery, “I’m still really confused by you calling us fairies.”

“What is there to be confused about?” spat Roah.

Gen furrowed his brows. “I didn’t ask you.”

“Ah…” Seele interjected, probably unsure how to respond to their sudden bickering. “Is that a problem? According to our stories we all lived together in your world until we were cast out. And you do seem to know us.”

“Yeah, but you’re the fairies here… or so I thought.”

Seele was just as confused. “Maybe a problem with the language?”

“It definitely is just a matter of semantics. Not that complicated,” said Roah, earning him another angry look from Gen. “It’s just a word. Meanings change with the years and different contexts.”

Niu could more or less understand what he was saying. She didn’t even know the etymology of the word “fairy”, after all. As far as she knew, in the ancient past it might have been used to simply mean “the other kind of people” or something of the sort and that was why Seele used it like that.

“Incidentally,” added Roah, “how do you refer to yourselves?”

“Oh?” said Seele, as if surprised by the question. “We’re humans, of course.”

Now that they were well-fed and somewhat rested, a certain gloom settled once again on the four friends, and perhaps the gloomiest of all was Niu. There was so much she wanted to say and ask, but almost every time it rose to her mind, she realized that it would be too troublesome to bother. Using the faint chalk on the rough, small slate took too much time and effort.

They were again left alone after their brief conversation with Seele. More importantly, however, they were tired.

The fateful attack had occurred somewhere near evening, so time-wise it was surely at least the middle of the night in Plainland, if not the following morning. Despite being on a different world, where it was perhaps midday, their bodies were still adjusted to their home. The earlier excitement and anxiousness kept them awake, but now they felt it in full.

Roah was lying down with his hands crossed behind his head, but the others sat close together. After all, this was a cave with hard, cold ground; not exactly a perfect place to sleep in, no matter how tired they were.

They’d mentioned this to Seele, but she was gone again. They were even too tired to try speaking with TriX who’d returned to his post at the entrance, and they’d been forbidden from leaving the place anyway.

On the one hand they were safe, but they were also trapped. They were completely at the mercy of this newfound world and its inhabitants, and lacked so much information. They dreamed of going back home, but was there still a home to be back to? And how, exactly, would they do so? Niu was sure that all of them thought of this, yet none of them dared to voice it out loud.

In the end time merely passed. They couldn’t even gather the energy to hold a proper conversation anymore.

Niu realized she’d somehow nodded off to shallow sleep when she suddenly awoke with a start and noticed movement around her. A few fairies were running around and carrying a bundle of… Niu wasn’t sure what. When these things were rolled on the ground, they resembled carpets made out of grass.

However, none of the workers spoke to them. Gen tried inquiring one of them but was met with a shaking of the head. Seele or TriX were nowhere to be seen. At length the fairies left the room.

“These might be… some sort of bedrolls?” said Roah.

Niu patted one of the thick “carpets”. Its surface was soft to the touch, mostly smooth and smelled somehow fresh. She tentatively set her body down and found it quite comfortable and not as scratchy as she imagined.

“I think that—” started Gen, but had to stifle a huge yawn, “that you’re right.”

Shaya giggled. It was a bit of a strained laugh, but perhaps their first one ever since coming there. She then said, “Good night,” and just lay down.

“Good night. I’m sure we’ll figure out something tomorrow,” said Gen.

Roah said nothing and Niu couldn’t say anything, so she simply lay down as well, putting her precious slate and chalk next to her so-called bed. There were no blankets or pillows, but the underground wasn’t cold. The small lights around were also faint enough to not cause any issue.

Most of all, she was simply dead tired—and so quickly sank into sleep.

Seele had just returned from scouting duty. It was still late afternoon, so while the faeries were sleeping, the others were still at work all around the base and outside of it. The faeries might have not noticed it, but there was still much chaos and disorder over the recent and unexpected attack. There had been some casualties, too. Yet Seele’s heart was pounding for a different reason altogether.

While wondering whether to check on how the faeries were doing, TriX appeared. They were longtime partners, but TriX also had much work to do in the current state. Most of it was standing guard over the kids—which was why Seele was surprised to see TriX there.

“Is something the matter? Some news, perhaps?” In contrast to Seele’s somewhat apprehensive tone while speaking the faeries’ language, each and every word was clear and purposeful now.

“I just wanted, to speak to you.” TriX, on the other hand, spoke just as stilted no matter the language used.

“Oh? What is it?” They were alone in the dark corridor lit only by the occasional glowing mushroom. TriX cast a faint shadow on the nearby earthen wall, the already-large frame magnified even further.

“Do you believe, all the legends?”

Seele’s eyes slightly narrowed. “About the faeries, you mean to say?”

“Yes.” Naturally, this wasn’t a subject often breached in conversations with TriX.

“Well… honestly, I have no idea. It was surprising, or rather shocking, to find them. I still wonder if I’m dreaming right now. We’re so lucky to be here right now.”

“You seem to be, enjoying this,” said TriX. The monotonous voice made it hard to discern whether TriX was posing a question, an assertion or an accusation about the matter.

“Well, I won’t deny that.” Seele’s smile widened. “But why wouldn’t I? There’s finally some sort of change. The Stroba are definitely not going to stay silent about this, but something’s finally starting to move, after all these years.”

Perhaps having lost its radiant properties, the next flower on the wall was not emitting light and so the pair entered a small patch of darkness. Seele giggled.

“So, one could say I expect some great things from them. Things are bound to be interesting!”

The sun will sink as we unite

A brand new world as of tonight