The Colors of Fairies and Dragons

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. Once upon a time, fairies, elves, and monkeys filled the valley, but that time has long since passed. One day, a knight errant from one of the kingdoms of man slew a powerful dragon, and the dragon’s young fled. The knight gave chase and smote the dragons one by one until only three remained. Those three hid in the valley where they were protected by the plants, animals, and fae that called the land their home. The knight scoured the land for the dragons, but his efforts bore no fruit. He returned home, and the valley knew peace again for a time.

However, this peace was short-lived, and the knight returned with others and began to burn the valley. The valley-folk defended their homeland with the powers of color and sound, but the humans were too numerous and too adept in draining magic. The once vibrant colors of the valley faded, and those who still stood were cut down with ease. The humans overwhelmed them, and two of the three young dragons were slaughtered. Only the youngest and the smallest of the brood survived; a group of fairies harnessed the anti-magic that was used against them and drained the dragon of all its color before doing the same to themselves. Without color to feed them, the fires soon died out, and the fae and the dragon blended with the grays of the now dull forest. After a week, the humans assumed the dragon escaped and returned to their kingdom.

Years passed, and those who remained in the valley never returned to normal. The dragon and a generation of valley-folk grew in a world without color and lived with muffled sound. It might have seemed like a miserable life, but to them, it was just life. Many were uncertain how to feel about the dragon, who had unintentionally brought so much destruction with him, but the young took such a liking to him that it was decided he would become one of the valley-folk; he was given the name Branch.

Branch grew slowly, as most dragons do, and the gray forest was all he’d ever known. The white light of the sun, the dark and lifeless coloring of the forest floor, and the multitude of gray provided by the flora were the only colors Branch knew of until his sixth birthday. On that day, Branch tried leaping out of a tree only to trip and fall. He crashed in front of a family of fairies, who soon began to help the poor creature up despite him being the size of three of the six inch fairies put together. When the youngest fairy, a tiny three-year-old child with wings that had just barely started to blossom, reached out to the dragonling, her wings bloomed and revealed themselves to be ruby red and in the shape of rose petals. Branch’s eyes immediately locked on the wings, and there they lingered as the color began to dissipate and return to its unnatural gray.

Branch was transfixed, but no one else seemed to notice the wings until they had already grayed. However, the blossoming of any fairy, especially one so young, was a special event, even if they knew not of the sudden coloring, and the family soon began to cheer. From that moment on, Branch and the young fairy, who Branch later learned was named Faith, would be life-long friends. Nary an adventure could be entertained without the both of them being involved. Before they knew it, forty years passed, but moments when the color returned only occurred sporadically. There would be times when Branch saw the colors and times when Faith saw them, but only once did they both witness the magic returning.

On Faith’s 43rd birthday, the sun fell and the moon replaced it; since the graying, the only difference between the light of the sun and the light of the moon was the brightness. On this dim night, Faith took to the skies before resting on the highest branch of the tallest tree in the Colorless Valley. She folded her rose petal wings in before laying down, relaxing her wrinkleless face, and gazing at the stars. Despite her years, Faith looked to be in her early twenties. Before Branch sought refuge in the valley, all fairies seemed to age this way, but now Faith was the only one who seemed to be ageless. She wondered what the world looked like before the graying: if what she was told was true, if colors were as pretty as everyone said, and if sound and music were really so powerful.

Faith’s stargazing and deep pondering was cut short by the tree shaking and nearly throwing her off. Faith grabbed hold of a twig before it was too late and pulled herself back up. She gave a defiant stomp, ready to fight whatever disturbed her peace, when she saw Branch silently flapping his wings in the air. He pulled his scaly lips back to reveal his sharp teeth in the draconic equivalent of a smile. Faith gave a quiet, distant giggle and smiled back. Branch’s stupid smile always made her laugh.

“How do you fare, young faefolk?” asked the gray dragon. His voice was like a whisper, no matter how loudly he tried to speak.

“I fare quite well, but I fear I am no longer young,” laughed Faith, her voice equally quiet.

“Perhaps not according to the modern fae, but the elders talked about the longevity of your ancestors at length,” Branch paused. “You look the same as you did on your twentieth birthday.”

Faith giggled and scarlet suffused her cheeks. Branch took note of her blushing, but he said nothing. He so enjoyed when the color would return, but knew her awareness would likely bring it to an early end. So he simply smiled as she continued the conversation.

“You’re too kind, Branch. If only everyone in the valley could be like you. My birthday was so drab this year.”

“Perhaps we could do something to liven it? We could find some animals to scare,” Branch paused for a moment. “Or we could find a challenge for ourselves.”

“What sort of challenge?”

“Have you ever been to the kingdom of man?”

“Branch!” Faith exclaimed. “That might just be the most stupid question I’ve ever heard. Did you forget what happened when you first arrived?”

“I…I did not forget,” Branch’s quiet voice was almost inaudible.

Branch closed his lips, lowered his head, and began to descend. The color faded from Faith’s cheeks as she watched him fly off, uncertain of whether or not to follow. In the end, Faith knew she should make amends and followed. She flew to the ground and walked toward Branch, but he did not look at her. Instead, Branch was focused on the mossy ground they stood on. Faith placed a hand on Branch’s back. Despite how many years had passed, he still hadn’t grown at all. Branch didn’t react.

“Branch…”

He held still for a little while longer.

“I don’t remember, but the elders always made sure I knew what happened. The death, the destruction, and the draining of magic.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea. Humans are dangerous.”

“But, all we’ve known our whole lives is the gray. Don’t you ever wonder what life was like before? Don’t you wonder if life outside the valley has color and true sound?”

Faith took her hand off of Branch’s back and turned away from him. She stood there looking over the forest of the Colorless Valley. It was stupid, dangerous, and ridiculous, but there was something deep inside her that yearned for it, something she didn’t know existed until Branch brought it out. She looked back at Branch, and her eyes glowed violet.

“Let’s go.”

Branch’s eyes turned gold before his lips pulled back into his peculiar smile. They stood for a moment, entranced by the color of each other’s eyes, before they turned to look east, in the direction of the cities of man.