A Child

Epione soon awoke from her slumber fully clothed in a light and breezy dress with a backless design so that her wings would be free from any discomfort. She took the blankets that were on top of her and wrapped them tightly around her body feeling the chilly weather. A feathered person came into the abode with some food a hand, "Ah! Coltide! Oskar! The little one is awake now." They shouted outside the abode alerting the two individuals who were anxiously waiting for her to wake. Epione sat up with the blankets still wrapped around her.

A beautiful woman who had brownish blonde hair entered the abode but was quickly accompanied by an old middle-aged man and some other fairy, "Epione, thank the gods that you have awakened." She embraced the tightly bundled Epione who could only wonder who were these people surrounding her. But, the woman who was embracing her immediately stopped hugging her as tears fell from her eyes, "I had forgotten that you don't have your memories so you won't know who I am." The other fairy hugged the crying woman as if to comfort her about her sorrow taking her out of the abode so that she could cry outside. Epione stared at the doorway that the two walked out from before returning her eyes back to the middle-aged man who remained in the room. He began to approach her slowly as sat himself down on the bed, reaching out his hand.

The middle-aged man patted the confused Epione who only blinked her eyes before tightening the blanket around her body and rolling back on the bed, "Everything will come back to you in due time." The old man seemed to try to comfort Epione who couldn't understand why he wasn't going to comfort the crying woman when there wasn't anything sad that happened she could remember. There were no memories for Epione to relay on. All she knew was that these people called her Epione so that meant Epione was her name. Epione. To her, it was a pretty name but she didn't know the meaning behind it. It had a nice ring whenever people called her that name.

Epione sat upright before stretching herself out so that she could give some relief to her wings. It was pretty. But, she couldn't describe it. Her wings spread themselves out revealing that they were indeed very large but she felt that they weren't as big as before. She got out of the bed to see how big where they reached her calf but there was a feeling that they were so much larger that she would be able to reach the ground. She walked out of the abode to see the beautiful landscape high above and; the strange creatures that flew in the sky. They had wings like herself through the appearance of their wings was different. Like the feathered person that she first saw from waking up.

The two people who outside saw that Epione standing with her wings sprawled out to their maximum size. They were amazed by how big there were. It was definitely bigger compared to peers that would be the same age as her. Besides the sheer size of them being the most eye-catching features of her wing. The colours in the wings shifted in the sunlight even with the slightest movement which was mesmerising, to say the least. It was light being refracted from the surface of her wings causing the colour shift. It was like magic that conjured up the majestic sight that they saw was as if the gods favoured and wished the best for the girl, "Epione! You can't come out in weather like this if you are just going to dress like this!" Hel came out of the abode gently guiding the young fairy back inside since the temperature was much too cold for her.

Inside the middle-aged man had laid out an outfit for her to wear. Hel took the garments with her to help Epione get dressed. It was another dress but thicker in material and the same colour as the sky which was accompanied by a small jacket to cover up the neck. There were also tassels that hung from the jacket which emulated a wisp-like appearance. The back was still free so that the wings would be free. The wings were cold resistant so they acted like a cloak in the cold winters that they were currently in, "Thankfully, winter won't last for too much longer." The old man began to braid her long hair before placing a warm cloth cap that had flaps to cover the ears and neck which was fastened by a scarf. Epione felt warm and comfy in the clothes that the man prepared for her.

As she came out of the abode with the other two. Small white flakes came falling down. Epione reached out her hand to catch one to find it was cold to the touch as it melted from the heat of her hands. She went to the ledge to watch as more snow fell to the bottom of the ground before diving off from the ledge, "Epione!" All voices shouted after her. She unleashed her wings and the air around her began to slow down as she began to flap them. The wind underneath her began to swirl around her as she began flying in the air with ease as she landed on the ground which unfortunately was slippery from the ice. So, she fell to the ground. As she was trying to stand back up to only try to balance herself like a newborn deer.

The ice underneath her feet even began to cause her to spin causing her to freeze up even more as she was being moved unwillingly. She couldn't even launch off the ground. Sir Oskar and Coltide came to her aid as they lifted her off to the ground so that she could fly into the air, "I'm surprised that she could fly so well for her first time." The other fairy commented as she watched the young fairy hide behind the older man instinctively.

Epione held onto the old man, "No, not the first time." She was unknowingly fearful of the woman but she unconsciously knew that the wings she had on her back were not her first wings, "Longer! Bigger! Then this one." Epione's vocabulary was struck to the age before she was taken away by the Monciaux though she could perfectly understand them. This instantly surprised everyone since her wings were already so large and hat her old wings were much bigger than the ones that she had on her back. Her mind was no different to that of a child so it would mean that it would be dangerous for her to go back to the mortal realm if she couldn't control herself without her memories. The magic realm would be an easier environment which can withstand her powers.

Sir Oskar gently held onto Epione's hand before gently squeezing as if to reassure her that no harm would come to her, "Are you hungry?" He went to guide Epione away from the other fairy knowing that being involved with her would only bring more unnecessary trouble than it was worth, "You have been in the cocoon for a very long time." He motioned her towards the abode that they once were to be invited to a sight where both meat and plant dishes were grandiosely displayed on a table that was not there before. Epione sat down on the table before she grabbed a bowl filled with a hot liquid filled with vegetables. She began to blow on the hot soup before tilting the bowl to the edge of her lips, drinking the delicious soup. It instantly warmed Epione from the inside freeing her of the chill of wintry weather.

She was joined by Hel's family and Sir Oskar who would often top up her bowl so that she could regain her energy from being in that cocoon for nearly three years, "Is it yummy?" Hel asked as she spooned more meat into her recently hatched child who was squawking as it was trying to get Hel's attention so that Hel can fill its belly. Hel's partner, on the other hand, was laying on the ground completely exhausted having to look after the child for the first half of the day. The child was in an unbelievable pit where no amount of food would satiate it, "I can't believe how much this child eats." Hel was amazed and exhausted from the needy child which had to be fed very often and with very large quantities of food. Thankfully, all the resources of the magic realm would never be depleted of food or resource for care for the young.

If it weren't for the hard work of the first High Fairies that reconditioned the magic realm to be like this then there would have been no home that would welcome the magic realm. Unfortunately, those high fairies have long since passed since the portal was open to evacuate the magic race to this realm where nothing had inhabited it. The current high fairies were only living off the glory of the first High Fairies which only inflated their ego but they still did their work to continue to condition the magic realm to supply energy for all lifeforms of the realm. Epione was also one but she didn't grow up in a high fairy society so she did not develop an egotistical personality.

But, she was a gentle soul that was tormented by the people in the mortal realm; oppressed, stripped and deprived of all the pleasures of life. She had no idea how to live her own life outside of what she knew. Hel knew this because she saw Oskar in a trance as he held Epione's memories, viewing and experiencing Epione's life as if he was her. Every now and then he would flinch as if being hit or scream out of terror from the sights he was witnessing. Once he had finished witnessing her memories completely breathless and shaken as he fell to the ground, "How can't return such terrible memories?" He was immediately aided by Hel who went to calm him using a spell that was mainly used on other beasts who had been afflicted with madness.

Hel was surprised to see Oskar so erratic. It was very hard to shock Oskar who had lived a long life of bitterness and suffering, "She has never been able to live a proper life!" He was about to smash the ball of memories before Hel smacked him on the head. Battering him up before taking the memories for herself as a safeguard so that Oskar couldn't break them and would be lost forever. Hel held onto the ball where the cold surface of the memories was imminent however what radiated from the inside was warm and gentle humming almost like a lullaby as if saying that it didn't want to be forgotten in the universe, "I can't believe she had to grow up like that!" He could only be frustrated that Epione who was a descendant of High Fairies to be treated like an animal on display.

Forced to submit when she couldn't even resist. Deprive of her magical heritage, her birthright. Subjugated under the rule of a tyrant of an idea of a long-forgotten glory and fame. His mind couldn't process such a humiliating act against such a lovely girl who cared for the few that did care for her. Hel, on the other hand, could understand why Oskar didn't want to return the memories to the girl who would go insane with madness from receiving those horrible memories once again. If it could make an experienced High Fairy this much then there was no way that she could handle it, "You know she will want all of her memories whether they are good or bad." Hel stored the ball of memories in the pockets of her robes for safekeeping so that it wouldn't get damaged, "When the time comes you will have to control her somehow." She placed it into the abode where her child had never been allowed in since he was prone to breaking things once he had them in his hand.

Epione currently was feasting on her meal in front of her but her table mannerism was very elegant, unconscious behaviour from a lifetime of human noble training. She was placing some of the side dishes on Oskar's plate as well as a form of appreciation. It wasn't long until Epione was placed under the training of Oskar and Coltide to learn both magic and swordsmanship. Unfortunately, Epione wasn't talented with swordsmanship but her skill level was enough to be able to outmatch many of her peers who only focused on magic. On the other hand, Epione's magical abilities were extraordinary with the ability to conjure, evoke or enchant any spell with relative ease. She was taught the basic culture of magic folk since she was part of them. She spent the majority of her time at Hel's abode helping out with the growing child who seem to have an extreme fondness for her.

As soon as it was able to walk which wasn't long it would follow behind Epione who was training under Oskar who was healing his own wings. Though it was excruciatingly frustrating for Oskar to see how slowly the wings would heal over the time they spent in the magic realm. He knew that his own body was still acclimating to the magical realm but sometime he would think that it was impossible to heal. Yet, Epione was the main supporter in helping him keep the focus on the task of healing so that they could fly together. The baby phoenix, Idris, was toddling around the abode completely bored out of his mind before he made his way to a section of the abode that he had never explored since his parent often guide him away from it.

He wandered into a cave-like structure which housed many trinkets of the magical kind before he was entranced by the ball which had magic swirling within it. It had the same energy as Epi, a shortened name for Epione. He went to flap his tiny wings, taking a flight to air to grab at the magic ball, "You can't be in here." However, he was immediately grabbed by Epione who had noticed him wandering into this part of the abode. She coddled him close before she stared at the same magically ball that Idris was staring at.