Chapter 1

Eden ran harder, the muscles in her legs were burning from the strain and her wings kept on bumping on the ground but she refused to stop, pushing harder, fighting harder…

"You ran 10 meters this time!" Poppy tittered in excitement, flying over her panting friend that had collapsed from the ground.

"Ugh!" Eden let out a sound of frustration. "Why is it so hard to run?" She threw her hands up. "I mean how am I supposed to exert enough force while fighting if my legs have the same strength as sunflower nectar."

"Come on," Poppy knelt beside her, her short, curly light blue hair bouncing. "That was awesome, you're the only Fairy that can even run that far, I can only take little steps, if I even try to start running, my legs cramp up and I fall." 

"But why is that? Elves do it without a problem." She pouted, letting her best friend use magic to clean her up and drag her into the air.

"That's because they don't have wiiinnngggssss!!!" Poppy squealed, taking off, making Eden smile at her friend's excitement.

They were in the Gardens, technically it was a forest that surrounded the west side Flora Town but over time the Fairies living there had made it overrun with flowers so now it was like a giant garden.

Eden lived on the West side of the Town, it was big enough that it could be divided into four distinct villages, well that and the fact that Fairies weren't exactly large creatures.

The East Village was where the Water Fairies were, there were lots of ponds and rivers that the Fairies took care of.

Then the North Village had Light Fairies and the South Village had Fauna Fairies who had the abilities to talk to animals.

Eden was from the West Village, where the Forest Fairies lived.

"Come on Eden it's time to go hunting for nectar and honey." Poppy called to her friend and they made their way to the Outhouse.

The Outhouse was a large building where teenage Fairies helped to find and process the nectar and honey. Nectars went to feed the bees and the honey was packaged to be sold to the other villages who couldn't make honey.

"Late again I see." Hyacinth Hilde said, he was their boss, well more or less, he was the one who ran the Outhouse so they all called him their boss.

"We're sorry Mr. Hilde." They both chorused, looking down and trying their best to look sorry.

"Poppy is but I know you aren't Eden." The short, round man muttered from where he sat on his floating desk, signing them in for the day. "Plus I know you're the one making Poppy late to work everyday." He added sternly, looking at her over the top of his rimless glasses.

Eden winked and flew past him upwards, to the stables. "I promise to be here early tomorrow." She threw over her shoulder, her straight long black hair in a braid that laid down her back.

"You say that everyday." Mr Hilde fired back.

"I promise to bring her here early tomorrow Sir." Poppy said in her sweet voice that sounded like wind chimes, no one could stay mad at Poppy, she was too sweet.

"We have to be here early tomorrow." Poppy said to her friend when she caught up with her.

Eden waved a hand. "You always get us out of trouble."

"Yes," Poppy agreed reluctantly. "But my charms won't always save us.

Eden just shrugged as they flew past levels of buildings, the Outhouse was built in a circular way and the middle of it was empty so that Fairies could fly up and down easily from level to level. The space was walled in and painted in strips of colors, circular strips. Each strip notified the flying Fairies of the level they were at so they could stop and go in through sliding doors situated around.

They passed other Fairies on their way up and waved to some, they were heading to the highest levels where the butterflies were kept, the sunshine colored level, it was painted a mellow gold.

"Why do you have to dress up like we're really going to hunt?" Poppy wrinkled her face, dressed in a pleated skirt and sweater shirt, she looked like she was ready to go for a hillside picnic. "All we're doing is picking up the honey, our butterflies know how to get the nectar."

Eden hiked her pants up and adjusted the holster on her back, contrary to Poppy's complaints, her holster helped her to pick up more honey than anyone else in a short time but as usual the other Fairies frowned at her invention even though it was a really good one that saved time and energy.

"We both know I can get all my rations of honey for a day with this." Eden said drily, already flying up to her butterfly, Eon was easily bigger than most of the others and had black wings, patterned with neon green.

"Only you can lift that holster Eden, Fairies aren't made for that kind of grueling work." Poppy replied, getting on her butterfly, Apple, her butterfly was a peachy, pastel blue and was as adorable and quaint as her owner.

"Or we just don't want to try." Eden grumbled, getting on Eon, as a girl she was expected to sit side straddle but that meant she couldn't fly as fast as she wanted.

Poppy sighed, this was a really old argument and she wished that her best friend would give up on trying to get stronger than the Elves. "We do Eden but trying doesn't even make a difference."

Eden bit her lip at this, she couldn't deny it, Poppy was right and it made her blood boil and made her feel very hopeless.

  No matter how hard she ran, how much she tried to get stronger, it didn't make any difference. She had been running for nearly three years now and still could barely run a couple meters before her legs gave out on her and she collapsed, lifting heavy things was another Herculean task as well.

The thing was, having Fairy dust that could make things float meant that you didn't have to carry anything, Eden could barely hold up a sturdy stick long enough to swing it around which meant lifting weapons that the Elves waved around and threatened them with would be absolutely impossible.

But Eden couldn't give up, she couldn't. She'd made a promise to herself that she would get stronger than the Elves so no matter how many times she fell because her legs gave out on her or how many times she dropped the stick because her arms cramped up she would get up, pick the stick up and try again.

Because, no one else would so it was left to only Eden to believe enough for all the rest of the Fairies, that they would break free of the Elves' tyranny.