The Watcher Chapter 5 Part 2

As the day wore on the rain stopped, and as the sun came through the clouds I could see a rainbow in the sky. Unlike the rainbows of home, often dim and transparent, this rainbow was bright and vivid, each color distinguishable from the next. It was a painter’s rainbow, and with the sight of it my mood brightened. Epona seemed to sense the change in my mood, and she hastened to an energetic trot, tail flagged, as we continued on our way.
The direction in which we were traveling seemed to be heading straight for the rainbow. Laughing to myself, I wondered if we would meet a leprechaun. I was sure we would reach a point where the rainbow would disappear, or at least be so close it was invisible to us, but this was not the case. We came right up to the rainbow, touching down in the grass. There was no pot of gold at the end, nor were there any leprechauns. I pulled Epona to a stop and leaned over, running my hand through the rainbow. When I pulled my hand back, it glittered in all those same colors found in the rainbow. Epona suddenly pulled forward, and we found ourselves standing inside the rainbow.
I could see and feel the glitter falling around us, coating us. I stretched out my hands and waved them, watching the glitter float and swirl all around my arms. Epona shook all over, and the glitter fell from her body in a cascade of colors. Shielding my eyes, I looked up into the rainbow, and it was like looking up into falling snow.
When Epona took a second step forward, we were once again outside the rainbow, but on the other side. As we stepped through, I felt something flying all around us. It was as fast as a hummingbird, darting from one spot to the next. I began to realize there was more than one; in fact, there were three of them. And, with this realization came the knowledge that these were the same creatures as the one that had fooled me into thinking I saw my grandfather.
Upon this realization, I began to swat at them, shouting “Get away!” angrily. They flew off out of arm’s length, and then one approached while the others hung back. This one flew right up to my face, and I could see it clearly. It was a fairy. Her body was the size of my middle finger, and her pink wings fluttered on her back. I could not distinguish her features, but I could see that her hair was blond and she was wearing a tiny, sheer dress that sparkled like the glitter in the rainbow.
“Hello,” she said, in her tiny, twinkling voice.
“Was it you who tricked me?” I demanded angrily. I thrust my face closer to her to show dominance.
“It was not me,” she answered. “We mean you no harm.” Her friends flew up beside her at this comment.
“A fairy tricked me earlier today, taking the shape of my grandfather, who is dead.” I told her. “How did she know my grandfather?”.
The fairy covered her mouth in obvious dismay, and then she answered “She has read your mind, a trick some fairies know. It was a cruel trick, and we are sorry.” Her friends nodded in agreement.
Epona turned and looked at me, and I could see from her eyes she believed them, and felt no concern over their presence. I dismounted and stepped Epona a few steps away from the rainbow, which was slowly disappearing. The fairies followed.
I pulled my bedroll from the saddle and sat down on it, ready to talk with my new friends. Epona wandered off to graze, but would look up from time to time as I talked with the fairies. I took some bread and cheese out of my pack and began to eat. I held out a piece of cheese in offering to the fairies, but they shook their heads and giggled.
“What are your names?” I asked.
“I am Shaylee,” the first fairy answered. The next said, “I am Shea,” and the last said “I am Sebille.”
“I am Morgan,” I replied. “I am named after a fairy from one of the books in my world.”
“We do not know Morgan,” Shea said in confusion.
“It is a pretty name,” Shaylee offered sympathetically. I smiled, thinking them very sweet and polite.
“That is Epona,” I pointed. “I am traveling with her to the Island of Horses.” The fairies turned to look at Epona, and then back at me.
“Only horses can go to the island,” Shaylee warned. “The Island of Horses is sacred, home only to those white horses of pure blood who will carry the heroes when a destruction threatens the worlds.”
“I feel it is my purpose to travel with her,” I said simply. While I could sense they did not agree, the subject ended there.
“How did you come to Gaia?” Sebille asked.
“A white stallion came to my world, and Epona followed it here, bringing me with her,” I explained, deciding to leave the details for another time.
“We have never met a human,” Shea said. She fluttered closer, as if to examine me. “We know humans only from the stories of long ago, when the fairies still lived on Earth.”
“Why did you leave?” I asked. “Why do all the magical creatures live in Gaia?”
“Earth became too dangerous, too evil.” Shea replied sadly. “And we have seen the Earth change a great deal in our lifetimes.”
“There are so many of you!” Shaylee whispered in amazement. “The Earth cannot hold so many creatures, and we see the plants and animals are dying because there are too many humans.”
“There is still good,” I pointed out solemnly. The fairies looked at each other before Sebille asked,
“Where can we find this good?”
“Many people in my world do good,” I began. I thought for a moment and added, “There are people who help others with nothing in return, and some very wise people who teach us important lessons. There are hospitals, schools and libraries. There are people who risk their lives to make our world better, such as policemen, firefighters and the military. For all the evil, there is good as well.”
Coming from someone who had no desire to return to her world, I felt the citizens of Gaia were mis-represented in their ideals of my world. I thought of my grandfather, who epitomized goodness to me, and shared with them the love he had given me, the kindness he had shared, and the many things I had learned from him. While the seemed doubtful, I knew they would later consider what I had said to them, and perhaps not be quite so disillusioned by humanity.
I also decided to ask them about a concern I had in Gaia–the white buffalo calf. It still worried me that he had disappeared, and I was concerned for such a small and helpless creature. When I told them about meeting the calf and later losing it, Shea replied,
“We have not seen such a creature, but we will look for him, and care for him if he is to be found.” She smiled at me reassuringly. I nodded, and then stood. It was time for me and Epona to be moving on, before darkness once again fell over the land and left us waiting for another day.
I said my good-byes to the three fairies and Epona and I began walking once more, always looking ahead as we kept our destination in our minds. The sun was already beginning its descent from the sky, and I felt as if we were walking right into the large, orange orb.
When night fell we rested in an open field, and like many times before I lay on my bedroll looking up at the night sky, my mind full of thoughts and questions. In all my studies, in all my endeavors in my world, my body nor my mind had ever been so busy. Although we had only been in Gaia for a couple weeks, I felt so changed, so different, than my old self. The human world seemed more like the fairy tale to me now, or a dream almost forgotten.
That night, long after I had fallen asleep, a whooshing noise woke me up. I made out the image of something very large in the night sky, and followed it with my eyes until it was directly in front of the full moon. It was a dragon, sweeping back and forth above us like a vulture ready to light down upon its prey. Epona was watching it as well, and several times stomped the ground and snorted in her excitement. It was circling us, coming closer and closer, and fear clutched me as it made a dive straight for us. I screamed, wrapping my arms around my head for protection. I felt the force of air as it came so close, within inches, of my head. The tip of its pointed tail pulled a strand of my hair as it made its ascent in the sky, roaring loudly.
It was several minutes after it disappeared before I allowed myself the liberty of moving. I had sat huddled in fear, afraid it would return, until I could begin to see Epona settling and relaxing. Far from feeling sleepy, I considered the dragon. I had already learned in Gaia that appearances can be deceiving, that beauty does not always hold goodness. I remembered the cyclops, and how horrid they appeared, but how kind they were to me. I had not discussed dragons with anyone during my time here, and even if I had, another lesson I had learned was that each type of creature had good and bad in them, just like humans. Vertha had told me that the minotaur, Fimsal, must have been bitter, because she had heard great stories about the heroism of the minotaurs. So I could not assume that the dragon meant to hurt me, although his behavior had seemed threatening enough.
I eventually tried to rest, urging my mind to rest as well, but my sleep was fitful and when dawn came again I felt tired from my lack of sleep. I ate some of the never-ending food from the elves before mounting Epona to begin riding. I felt entirely too tired to walk, and Epona didn’t seem to mind having me on her back. She also didn’t seem to share my weariness, stepping out briskly as we continued our journey