The First Fae Queen

"Dianthe..."

The woman was shocked awake, the darkness engulfing her bed of fall leaves, and a strange hush filled her ears. Instead of giving in to the urge to call out into the utter darkness, she decided to burrow herself even farther into the dry foliage that was crunching under her skin.

Even though she couldn't see very well since the crunchy leaves were rubbing along every crack, it was obvious that she was naked. She felt a tickling sensation and groaned softly, slapping at her thighs and buttocks in an effort to keep small flies from feasting on her. greater ones... She shivered at the thought.

She didn't move for hours, letting the shaking of her breath put her in a focused condition until the surroundings turned gray from the agonizingly slow rising sun. Before old tree trunks and shrubs began to appear around her, she was unaware of a second absence. She didn't know who she was or where she came from.

She carefully checked herself in the rising daylight and found no obvious injuries or markings on her body, save for a few minor bruises around her ankle. Before moving, she stood up and swept her hands over her body to remove any debris in the hopes that something might appear recognizable.

She staggered through the trees. Her feet constantly got scratches from sharp objects that were hidden in her path as she limped and groaned. She occasionally sank to her knees and crawled when the anguish became unbearable, but the discomfort quickly subsided. She looked down at her feet and saw that scabs had formed all over them. Her brow wrinkled as she poked and picked at the crusted blood and dirt on her soles.

Who am I, then?

Tall evergreens stacked high on damp soil seemed to be mocking her, their crowns dissolving into a shimmering mist above her. At first, it looked like she was walking straight, but after running into the same mossy boulder three times, she gave up and sat down.

Her soft fingertips bent and tore as she picked at the gray-green rock, creating a crimson imprint. She leaned her head against the cold stone, knotted an old, bendy twig, and hurled it into the brush with a grunt. She blinked as the branches and finger-painting lines caused her to suddenly have an original concept.

Jumping up, she snatched a few slender branches from a nearby pine, tying both ends together and making a loop. She marched out, beaming, after setting it atop the boulder in the form of a crown.

She made another round around a nearby tree to point the way, calling behind her, "I hope never to see you again, you bloody, mossy bastard!"

She cuddled up next to an old pine with an eight-arm-wide girth as dusk quickly set.

She sighed contentedly and crooned, "Goodnight, big guy," while awkwardly embracing the silky bark with one hand.

After a few hours of light sleep, she woke up startled at first light. She now realized why she was hearing whispers in her nightmares.

She squeezed herself tightly and exhaled, "My name!" beaming with satisfaction at having something of her own at last.

"Dianthe."

Dianthe stumbled onto a large, folded blue tarpaulin after some stumbling and happy whispering about her name. She stalked around it, prodding at the tightly wrapped bundle with a rotting stick. Once it stopped moving or making noise, she scooped it up and wound the frayed twine bow string around it.

Carefully hidden inside were half a dozen energy bars, an old t-shirt, and a big pair of men's pants. She turned one of the tiny, rectangular snacks she was holding and read the ingredients.

Fruit, dates, and peanuts Blah, blah, blah may have a range of colors and hard pieces. Avoid the sun's beams directly.

Dianthe thought about its security before shrugging and greedily stuffing the old-looking bar into her lips. Her eyelashes fell back as the flaky, moisture-free texture smothered her tongue in deliciousness. She stopped after the second one because she could feel her tongue swelling from the lack of water, realizing that it might be her sole source of nutrition for a while. She instantly pulled the tarp behind her and put on the unsettlingly soft garments.

Dianthe resumed her expert trail marking after the most recent incident from the previous day. She only created one complete circle before adjusting the distance between the marks. ten steps. "Ten modest steps will get me outside of here. wherever that is present.

The sky gradually grew darker that day, and Dianthe curled up to sleep behind her flimsy blue tarp. A few hours later, in a little clearing, she awoke. As she got ready to get up and find her bearings in the darkness, growls and hoots could be heard all around her. She halted, frozen in the foot-long, dew-coated grass, too far away to creep around invisibly. The woodland was now clearly on her outskirts.

As she laid on her back and looked up at the starless, moonless sky, she gasped painfully. She could see rough outlines, but nothing could have made the sounds she heard. Branches splintered and broke as the mysterious creatures prowled the tree line.

What the heck is going on?

When Dianthe felt a slight growl in her stomach, she hurriedly pressed a hand to it, furious that she hadn't eaten all of the bloody energy bars. If she had, she wouldn't be in danger of obvious creatures being alerted by her growling stomach. Numerous low groans and huffs echoed all around her as she curled up into a ball.

Please go now! The sound of snapping twigs and swishing grass got louder, tightening her chest. She would have been satisfied to let her bladder leak its contents all over the place, so it was a good thing there was no water.

But in the instant it took Dianthe to close her eyes in terror, day had come to take the place of night, and she was again alone under the tarp and pine tree.

As she spoke, bile burst from her splitting lips, and as she leaned forward due to dizziness, her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight.

Dianthe was unsure of her circumstances, but she was aware that the event she had witnessed was impossible. But a well-known sensation gave her the chills.

We are not in the Earth's world.

The fact that the unexpected thought wasn't surprising perplexed her even more. She groaned and scratched her temples as she folded the tarp and tucked it under her arms.

The upshot of that day's disoriented wandering was loneliness. Dianthe ate two more bars, which she struggled to swallow, and sweated out the remainder of her body's water. She sat down and let the coolness of the moist patch of ground caress her throbbing feet.

Dianthe was observing the trees as they burst with silvery mist into the sunlight while resting on her back when she felt a dull discomfort in her chest. She gave it a short blink, then disregarded it for a few seconds before collapsing like a starfish on the ground. She was nervous, but she managed to hold back the tears. Instead, she gave her eyes a vigorous massage while pouting heavily.

Oh my God, sob!

She struggled to control her emotions until she thought she could hear the tiniest drip of water nearby. Exhaling, Dianthe slid onto her stomach and moved into some thick underbrush while creeping through the hard ground. She saw a sheer drop through the thorny bushes. From the base of the tiny cliff, she could hear a clear, quiet creek appealing to her.

Holy sh*t.

She smeared dirt all over her face as she casually threw her battered legs over the edge and dropped herself. She squatted down next to the river and peered down at the level area. Dianthe's brows furrowed as she scrutinized her odd appearance. Her colorless, probably silver eyes searched her face for recognition as she reached up and poked at her filthy cheeks. Nothing more, again. Her hair, which was twisted and in a nest on her scalp, was brown from her days of sleeping on the ground, and some of it was white from the root.

She made a cup out of her hands to smear her reflection as she groaned and smacked the water. She scooped up the cool liquid and drank as much of it as her stomach would allow. She took a few gasping breaths, once puked, and kept drinking when suddenly an ethereal, feminine voice murmured in her mind.

"Follow the river downstream."

"Mother?" Dianthe smiled into her wet hands at the command. That's what my mother told me.

She was hopeful because she could identify the voice, but when she looked through the holes in her fingers, she saw that the water was still calm. Completely still.

She let out a sigh and ran the cool brook water over her face. "Downriver does not exist."

"Dammit."

Dianthe got to her feet and walked over to the edge of the river, kicking it angrily.

Please make a move.

She kicked, sending a wave of tingling electricity down her body, causing the water to rush that way. Her bushy eyebrows reached her hairline.

"Woah..."

When bird music suddenly erupted all around her, she realized that it had been hours since she had heard any forest creatures. She had been fumbling through their house for days and was sure she couldn't be bothering them.

I might be being watched.

She felt her bones tingle at the thought. Dianthe realized it couldn't be the monsters from the previous night because of how loud they were, but she suspected it might be people. Despite the danger the approaching people posed, she shuddered.

Millions of stones in the shape of eggs lined the creek's side, which eventually grew to be a big body of water. She skimmed a few before frowning and turning back to look at the serene, lovely waters. Even the coast appeared still, as if the water were a huge pool.

You ask, What the hell is this place?

On the shoreline's pebbles, Dianthe sat and watched the sun gradually set. She stared as a steady streak of light glistened slightly to the right and sparkled repeatedly from the trees.

As soon as she waved at it, it started to flicker. It beat in time with her heart. She kept an eye on it for a while to make sure it didn't approach, and when it didn't, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She commanded the odd light, "You stay right there," and warily ducked below her poncho. She gave one last wink before letting her eyelids flutter shut.

She heard something coming from under her crinkling blue fabric that night as she woke up in the never-ending darkness. She wasn't sure if it was inside her head or in the forest.

Her mother's voice was stern and unpleasant. Despairing.

"Dianthe..."