Fair Weather

1

The sky was a silverish gray and clouds in the distance huddled together to form a monstrous dark horizon.2

A storm was coming certainly, and Juniper flew through the forest. Her feet skimmed the dead leaves and twigs on the ground.3

It was a winter storm.4

Juniper wasn't quite sure what had possesed her to venture outside today. Only fairies with powers relating to wind or rain dared to come out during such terrible months. 5

Mild weather was the best for flying and a sharp enough wind could tear right through her delicate wings.6

Juniper almost blended right in with the sky as she flew higher, above the trees. 7

Her hair was a pale blond, almost white and her skin was fair as well. But her eyes were like molten silver and they glittered against her light eyelashes.8

Her dress was simple, but showcased her power, her ability to work with metals. The embroidery that ran intricately through the dress was platinum thread and the buttons gliding down her back were made of pure white gold.9

Her silverish colors helped camoflauge her against the gray, cloudy sky. 10

Wings fluttering so fast they were almost invsible, Juniper tried harder to reach her home on the other side of the forest.11

Around her neck was a pouch, and the items inside made metallic noises as they jingled inside.12

They were the reason she had come outside today. A day when she had decided she just couldn't take it anymore.13

As luck would have it, the thin string holding the pouch around her white neck broke and the pouch spiraled into the forest below. 14

Juniper stopped, stunned, and peered into the trees, looking for the pouch.15

"Not here," she whispered and dove into the seasonaly dead woods, searching desperately for the little pouch.16

It was not caught on a branch and it was not on the ground anywhere in sight. 17

Juniper constantly murmured curses to herself as she darted quickly in between trees.18

However, after a minute or so, she spotted the pouch placed right in front of a large oak tree. A tad bit far from where it fallen, but Juniper scrambled to pick it up.19

However, a pale hand shot out and snatched it before she could. 20

Juniper turned wildly around, anticipating to confront the human who thought they could steal something from her.21

But she was not expecting the creature that stood in front of her.22

A boy, a young man he might look like to others, but Juniper knew better. 23

He was beautiful, that was for sure. His dark auburn hair shined like the rays of the sun were touching it, yet the sky was still gray.24

And his eyes were a magnificent shade of hazel. They were almost golden in their brilliance. 25

His skin was even paler than hers, and you could see faint blue lines from visible veins.26

Truly the most stunning sight she had ever laid eyes on.27

"Looking for this?" he asked, his voice like honey, like music. He smiled, and sharp, white fangs were obvious.28

Juniper took a step back, frightened and shocked. Vampires and fairies avoided each other. A vampire would die if they drank a fairy's blood, but they could kill a fairy quickly and easily all the same. 29

Yet she couldn't ignore her heart, that felt as if it would just rise up into her throat and choke her to death.30

How long had it been since she had looked upon that face?31

"Edmund," she whispered, her voice gentle and stunned. 32

Edmund grinned wolfishly at her.33

"How long has it been, Juniper? At least two hundred human years."34

Edmund's face fell into a frown, and he tossed the pouch from hand to hand.35

"What do you have in here? Anything interesting?"36

"G-give it back," Juniper stuttered weakly. Edmund raised an eyebrow, then unbuttoned the pouch with his pale fingers. He spilled the contents onto his elegant hand.37

Edmund's eyes widened and Juniper's face felt hot.38

In his hand were two rings, forged by Juniper's own hands. They were both silver, but one was significantly smaller than the other.39

There were engravings, but they were in a strange language Edmund hadn't ever understood, but Juniper spoke fluently. An old language, older than the mountains that lay beyond the forest. Almost as old as the very water that ran through the great ocean that was beyond the mountain.40

Translated roughly the engravings meant "Though passion fades, romance dies, and evil invades, love will always exist."41

Along with the two rings was a small piece of parchment, written on in Juniper's elegant script. 42

This language Edmund knew. However, most of the words written had been scratched out by the same pen. Only ten words remained at the bottom.43

Love is more complicated than I had thought, Edmund. 44

Edmund hesitantly raised his golden eyes to Juniper's silver ones. His were questioning, his arrogance gone and hers were terrified.45

Their eyes locked for a few long moments, but then Edmund broke their intense stare and grinned.46

"I cannot believe you kept these," he said mockingly, stuffing them back into the little pouch.47

Juniper wasn't sure how to respond.48

"I was getting rid of them today. Such unpleasant memories, don't you think?" She stood up straighter and crossed her arms. 49

"Yes, very unpleasant," Edmund said darkly. He held out the pouch and dropped it into her waiting, small hand. 50

He gracefully turned and made to walk towards the trees.51

Could Juniper really let that face go, now that the wound it had left so many years ago was reopened? Fresh and immensely painful? 52

"Wait!" she called, her voice chiming like bells. Edmund sharply turned his beautiful head to look at the silver fairy.53

"Yes?" his musical voice was monotone.54

"Perhaps...we should get rid of them together. It could be...closure," Juniper suggested, trying anything just to keep him there a little longer.55

"Closure?"56

Juniper nodded.57

"How were you going to get rid of them?" Edmund asked, folding his arms as he strode towards where she was standing.58

Juniper racked her brain for a less dramatic option than the way she would have done it had she been alone.59

"Pelt them into the Great Ocean, over the mountain," she replied matter of factly.60

Edmund cocked his head at her.61

"You were going to throw them into the Great Ocean?" he questioned. He sounded disgusted by the idea.62

All Juniper could do was nod.63

Edmund seemed to consider this for a moment.64

"Very well."65

Juniper could not understand why it was that today of all days she had to run into the first love of her life.66

And presumably the last by how things had been going so far since thay day she had left.67

Juniper had left Edmund, that much was true. But for the reasons she had not given him. 68

Juniper's gifts for metals were quite rare and exceptionally treasured among many races in this land.69

Juniper could almost "sniff out" real metals in the ground or wherever they were. She could mold them into whatever she wanted.70

She would have been a wonderful assistant to a jewelry merchant or to a particularly greedy person.71

For this reason, Juniper was always under siege by people wanting to use her gifts. 72

Fairies are not much use for fighting. They are slightly smaller than humans, and they are delicate creatures.73

Edmund, being a vampire, could easily defend her from many a creature, but it had felt so very wrong of her to use him as a protector. She should be equally as strong, but she was terribly weak.74

Furthermore, Edmund's choice of being with her was astounding when compared with all of the other women who threw themselves at his feet. Why Juniper? 75

Fairies were supposed to be devestatingly beautiful, but Juniper was only mildly so. 76

So why her?77

There was also the tiny little reason that one of the most powerful vampires, Cerise, said she would kill Juniper and then Edmund if Juniper didn't leave him.78

Juniper wondered if Edmund and Cerise had ever ended up with each other. She wasn't here today.79

"I'll race you," Edmund said, giving her another wolfish grin, a fang displayed against his pale, bloodless lips. 80

Then he sped off, so fast Juniper couldn't even see him anymore. 81

She smiled and dove into the air, spreading her delicate wings and soaring through the sky faster than a bow from an arrow.82

"Oh!" Juniper yelped as a droplet of water hit her nose.83

That wasn't good.84

It was as if all of a sudden the heavens opened and started pelting the fairy with rain.85

Juniper was almost to the mountain, if she could just land on it, then it would be okay.86

But she could already feel her wings start to falter underneath the weight the water brought. If her wings became completely drenched, they would be useless and she would plummet the two hundred or so feet to the ground.87

Juniper was almost there, she could almost reach out and touch the mountain, almost...88

But a strong gust of wind sent her tumbling backwards through the air.89

And then she was falling, diving straight towards the ground. 90

Juniper reached out her hand, desperate to grab something. Soon she felt smooth rock and then...91

"Yes!" she cried out in relief. Both of her hands were now clinging to a piece of jagged rock that stuck out about two feet from the mountain's side. 92

Her bare, white feet dangled in the air, about a hundred feet over the tops of the trees. 93

Now that she had stopped herself from falling to her death that time, Juniper now had to find a way to get herself down the mountain without losing her grip on the jagged rock. 94

It continued to pour rain on top of her head and Juniper cursed.95

She could see no way to move herself safely. 96

But then again, maybe it would be better is she just fell. If all of her bones were broken and she longer breathed?97

No, she had stayed withouth him for two hundred years. She could survive this and meet Edmund on the other side of the mountain. She could give a proper goodbye to him. It was the least he deserved after she had left with no explanation. 98

However, the smooth marble was becoming slippery with the rain, and Juniper's hands were sliding slowly off the rock.99

She struggled with all of her might to pull herself up, but her left hand slipped and she was dangling by her right hand's grip on the ledge. 100

Juniper cursed loudly and swung her legs, trying to grab onto the rock with her feet. 101

Her attempts weren't successful and the wind blew her fragile body in every direction as she desperately clung to the rock with one hand.102

"Juniper? Where are you?" a voice like honey called out, his voice loud and clear against the thunder that crashed onto Juniper's ears at the same time. 103

Juniper couldn't respond, she was too busy focusing on trying not to fall. 104

Her hand was slipping quite fast now and she tried to grab on with her left hand.105

"Juniper? Jun-" Edmund's beautiful voice was cut short by a roar of anger from his own chest. Juniper could've sworn she had never heard anything so exquisite in her entire life.106

Juniper's hand slipped.107

She screamed loud and hard as she plummeted towards the ground, her dress picking up in the wind. It would've been a beautiful sight to anyone not emotionally attached to the situation. 108

Juniper hit a tree first, the branches scraping her body, and a larger branch smashing her right wing. She felt a huge laceration occur across her face and felt the bone in her left arm shatter.109

She yelled in agony as she tumbled through the tree. 110

However, her dress caught in the branches and her body slammed into a rather big branch. She could hear the cracking of at least one of her ribs. 111

All she could was moan her pain, but in the back of her mind she was rejoicing. She was alive! Alive!112

Maybe not for long, her vision was spinning and black spots were appearing and when she coughed, she saw blood splatter across the tree branch in front of her. 113

All the while she could hear angry snarls and roars throughout the forest. What a pleasant sound it was.114

She didn't even hear crackling leaves when he appeared. She just knew he was there. His presence was overwhelming, and Juniper was jubilant that if she had to die with someone there, that it was Edmund. 115

"Juniper..." his breath was soft against her face and his hands were cold against Juniper's bloodied face. She wondered when he had gotten into the tree with her.116

"Juniper, no, no, no..." he kept whispering against her ear. Why was he acting this way? Juniper had never deserved him and they had been seperate for two hundred years only to reunite to bring closure.117

Juniper felt her body being moved, but could not see anything but the blinding light from the sky.118

She screamed at the sight of the sun and the pain she felt from being lifted into Edmund's arms.119

"Juniper? What's wrong?" his voice was anxious. 120

She didn't answer. 121

"I am taking you to your healers. Do not fall asleep, Juniper. You have a head injury," Edmund's voice was stern, but still a whisper. 122

"B-but I want to sleep," Juniper stuttered, starting to close her eyes. "It hurts."123

"I know it does, love. I know it does." Edmund cradled her closer to his cold chest. 124

"Tell me a story, then," Juniper was slurring her words. Not a particularly good sign. 125

Edmund sighed.126

"I can tell you about the first time I ever saw you." 127

She gazed up at him with a tortured expression, but nodded. 128

"I was on the...hunt. I was following an older male human's scent. He was on a horse and I was running through the forest quite fast to head him off at the river."129

Then I come up to this little clearing. There's the most lovely creature there. She had stunning silver eyes and the most beautiful pale blonde hair. She looks straight at me and with the sweetest voice says "What do you want?"130

I am enraptured by her beauty, I had never seen a fairy before. It takes me a while to realize that she is talking. To me, of all people! Then she recognizes what I am and makes to run away. I tell her that I mean her no harm and merely wish to speak with her some more. She gives up on trying to escape from my evil clutches and I end up asking her rather ridiculous questions about fairies. I had thought they were extinct."131

Then she says she has to leave. I am heartbroken, but then she promises to meet me tomorrow at the same place. I knew I was already in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her."132

Edmund looked down at Juniper who was still staring at him with pained eyes.133

"Tell me what hurts," he whispered anxiously.134

"It hurts all the time, Edmund. Ever since I left, it has hurt."135

Edmund, worried that she delusional, sped up. He was so fast the trees blurred around them. 136

"Don't worry, Juniper, we'll get you there soon. Then you can sleep," he promised the fairy in his arms, who kept fighting to keep her eyelids open. 137

Juniper nodded. 138

Edmund came upon the largest willow tree in all of the forest. It sat across the massive pond. Everything was peaceful until he stepped into the water. Edmund stopped and surveyed the fairies' faces that were now staring at him.139

A stunningly beautiful female fairy stepped out from behind the willow tree. Her hair was a deep chestnut brown and her eyes a stunning ocean blue. Her dress consisted of a short top the skimmed the top of her bellybutton and billowy pants that cinched at her ankles. Both made of shimmering ocean blue material.140

"What are you doing in our land, vampire?" she asked.141

"H-h-he's wi-" Juniper stopped to cough, blood appearing on Edmund's dark shirt. His face turned dark and he looked truly fearsome.142

"I come bringing you one of your own who is severely injured, and this is the reception she gets? She needs a healer right away!" Edmund snarled.143

"I am the healer, and I would like to know what she is doing with a vampire," the same fairy replied, her lips pursed.144

"I won't stay. Just help her, dammit!" Edmund strode forward in the knee deep water until he was face to face with the beautiful fairy. He held out Juniper towards her.145

"Help her or you shall severely regret it," Edmund's voice was low and dangerous as he spoke, giving every fairy that listened the chills. 146

"You will tell me how she got like this, though." 147

"She fell."148

"I'm sure she did," the healer fairy said smartly. Edmund snarled but placed Juniper on the stretcher that had appeared. Confident that she would be taken care of, he turned to leave.149

"No!" 150

Juniper's voice was suprisingly strong. 151

Edmund whipped around, looking for anything that might have caused her to scream.152

"Do not leave," she whispered, her voice desperate.153

"He cannot stay here, he is a vampire!" The healer fairy was surprisingly rude towards a creature that could kill within a second. 154

Juniper didn't even look at her. 155

"I could not bare it if you left. If this is even similar to how you felt when I left, than I am truly sorry. But, please, don't leave. Once I get better, you can go, but please..." Juniper trailed off.156

"I will never leave you," Edmund promised.157