Homecoming (vignette)

A short vignette I wrote using this image (From game, 'Child of Light') as a prompt. Using prompts to write short pieces of fiction is a great way to stretch the imagination and practice writing. Enjoy!

"Nearly there," I whispered breathlessly as I reached the crest of the hill. I let the tip of my father's sword drop to the soft soil as I took in the sight. Home. I had not seen my home in hundreds of years. My floating wispmate flipped beside me in excitement, a blue glowing orb which I named Blitz. I smiled in agreement. My parents would be pleased… they would be. Right now the royal guards would be searching for me in order to bring me back to Haven, what was supposed to be a 'temporary' living arrangement. It had been temporary for the last 500 years. This here was our true home; the tower city by the name of Celestine, with her royal palace among the clouds. How I longed to once more watch the sun rise from my room that appeared to float atop their downy whiteness. My hand clenched around the hilt of Storm Bringer. My father, the fairy king, would not be happy that I took his sword for this mission. But it would be over soon.

The landscape around Celestine was not how I remembered and it placed a dampener on my excitement. The city used to be surrounded on one side by a crystal clear lake filled with colourful dragonire fish and merhorses. The lake was now a dark ink blotch covered with a layer of grime. You could smell the dankness from where I stood. The waterfall that used to fall in to the lake all year round was not running. The forest of ancient giants used to be a marvel to behold, where shrikedoves with their long whip-like tails would soar above the cloud-brushing tree tops. They would call down to the animal friends who lived in their hidden burrows among the giant root maze. Now, the forest had retreated back from the city edge, an expanse of huge tree stumps and fallen logs now where it had once been. A tear rolled down my cheek despite my determination. I couldn't have expected it to be the same, not with those murderers living within the towers of Celestine. The city itself appeared to weep where grime seemed to slide down its once glistening towers.

I could not stand by and let this happen to my home as my parents had done. They had told me to give up, rebuild in Haven. They deserted Celestine. I was going to be more a queen than my mother and I would prove it here by taking back the city. The problem was, now that I was here, I didn't know how. Blitz hovered beside my face, his light seeming to pulse gently with his mirrored anxiety. My gravity-defying pink frizz of hair drifted across my face and I swiped at it in irritation. I curled my toes, feeling the soft soil move aside. If only pushing aside the Blighters would be as easy. Well, without action nothing ever got done. A lesson I could teach my parents with all their lectures and council meetings. Suddenly my energy returned and a grim chuckle emerged from my throat. I'll show them all the might of the fairy princess. Transparent wings buzzing from my back I rose and sped towards Celestine, gold crown flashing in the dawning sun. At least that still looked the same.

Image from game, 'Child of Light'