Darkened, icy clouds moved in from the west. They covered the sky, increasingly blocking out the sun, until it became an unreachable beacon of hope. The sun dipped behind the horizon and transformed the icy clouds into a kaleidoscopic wonder, painting the heavens with every color known to man. Eventually, only the underlining of the clouds held value; each one, an eternal soul floating in Styx above the gray forest. As the sun disappeared, a few of the clouds descended and gifted their fog to the trees. It was a last-ditch hope to please the forest because light would never bless this area with its brilliance again. The sun turned its back on the nightmare of this misfortune.

The forest swept with a frozen, chilled darkness and the true wonder within the magic appeared. Statues of creatures, ancient ones that should be lost, emerged from the soot. It was extremely subtle at first, a twitch in the status' eyebrow or an extension of a finger, but the more movement each fairy made, the more the forest changed as well. The sorrows of the clouds fell from icy altitudes and scarred the dilapidated forest in bitter descent. The tree's aged bodies, clothed in tarnished bark, shivered in the cold fog and the ground lay tattered with the decaying remains of dead plants. Scents of rotten moss and dirt, strong enough to taste, filled the air and made the forest inhabitants whimper in disgust; their cries smothered by the pounding rain. The fairies were no longer stuck in their statue curse and moved unaffected by the changing time.

There was one fairy, in particular, that was left with an odd feeling. Her name was Isabella and her heart, for a single beat, flushed with the magic of the mixing worlds. It warmed the cockles of her heart and forced her spirit to dance in the mysticism of existence. There was never a clearer vision of true sight. She, unknowingly, stood witness and was infected with an undiscovered magic. A true magic. The wonder lasted longer than a diamond disintegrating to dust, but once the heartbeat passed the knowledge vanished with it. Isabella took a moment to stand in her awkwardness, sensing something happened and tried to remember, but her mind was a desert and the oasis within her thoughts dried to waste.

Isabella continued on, toward her home within the great Fairy Tree; a sight of disgraceful wonderment. The ancient trunk, now lifeless, had grown with a wild ferocity in its youth. Gigantic, bare limbs now stretched far and wide, taking up space within the world and crowding the forest, while the force of gravity imprisoned the smaller branches to droop downward, along the ground to kiss the hardened roots below. Displaced from its past, the tree was dead and could bear no life. It stood as an immense grave marker to the forest known as Deadwood.

The wingless fairy, as all are, walked up a grand staircase to an entrance within the heartwood of the Fairy Tree, separating herself from the leering eyes of the forest. Isabella found her way to an assigned space she called home; a small, three-room area carved near the entrance. She placed her burlap satchel on a hook and her eye caught the mirror as she walked toward her bed. It reflected the obvious beauty of Isabella, a trait she was highly known for and her countenance attracted all. Her dark, auburn hair tied tightly back into a long ponytail and beautiful shades of emerald green bursting around her pupils made an intoxicating object to observe. Her features were attractive, but it was her lips, seemingly stained with the pink pigment of a Stargazer Lily, which gave her face a shimmer of excellence; a portrait of her beauty hung on the walls within the Royal Corridor alongside the portrait of the Royal Prince. The stress of the day weighed Isabella down and she found herself crash-landing on her bed.

Five minutes passed before Isabella burst from her blackout and moaned. Her internal clock knew she needed to finish work before complete darkness took over. She left her home, entering a staircase where a labyrinth of various tunnels branched into more various tunnels. It was not long before she made her way into a small shop. There were no flashing lights or bright colored paint to make the business stand out and the few decorations that hung on the walls could only be described as misfits. A single chair was paired with a small, brown desk and, in the corner, stood a bookshelf that housed an assortment of bottles. Each bottle was a slightly different shape and size, but contained the same ingredient. She was the owner of this thriving shop and made a living by selling the only edible product within the forest, Pure Deadwood Nectar. Tomorrow she would do the same.

Isabella was not nearly as dreadful as her career. In fact, had lived a life of luxury and ease at the expense of the Royal Family. She had been engaged to the Royal Prince, a heartthrob among all, but the closer their Union Day had approached the more she realized her heart felt stuck in a cage. Love should not have been measured in public etiquette and private quarrels; rewarding her for achieving the Royal ways and rewarding her as she cut away slices of herself. The Royal Family were not bad fairy, nor was the Prince, for they had grown by birth rite in a superior class. But all that excitement died and any ounce of joy that may have existed in Deadwood was forced into submission the moment Isabella returned her Union ring.

Isabella sold a bottle of her sweet nectar to a faceless customer for three Forest Shells. (The fairies collected the empty shells from along the forest ground as they went about their daily life.) The customer gave her thanks as she left the store and caused Isabella to be, once again, alone. She put her hands under her cheeks, rested her elbows on the small, brown desk and allowed the weight of her body to center itself accordingly. She rested in such a position for hours at a time and gazed at the painting of a sunflower which hung on the opposite wall. The beautiful, illuminating sun and a sea of grass were painted behind the flower. She never saw anything in real life that mimicked the painting, but always dreamed of visiting such a place. She wanted to feel the warmth of the light and the touch of a sunflower, but the sun never exposed itself near the forest and sunflowers did not grow in Deadwood; nothing beautiful grew in Deadwood.

The sunflower was often imagined throughout the day as Isabella did her tasks. Outlines within the bark of trees, fragile, life-supporting veins of leaves, and even mixing ingredients she used to make nectar sometimes aped the image of her favorite flower. The painting had no emotion, but she knew the plant must exude happiness to the world around it; after all, the simple, hanging art of such an amazing flora put a smile to her lips. Once, in a dream, Isabella had grown beautiful, golden sunflower petals for wings and soared higher than the birds while a bright sun chased after her. High in the sky, she tasted the scent of her missing essence, freedom. If it wasn't for the dismay of her gloomy reality, Isabella would have pledged the dream to be a true experience due to the trace of realism it left in her mind.

Several fairy folks walked into Isabella's shop, each carrying a pouch. One held flower pollen, another held sweet nectar, and the last kept his seemingly-empty pouch closed from preying eyes. Isabella put away her dreams, took a chest from beneath the table and set it before her. Opening the chest revealed a slight fortune of Forest Shells. She gave the first fairy five Forest Shells for their flower pollen and, then, she gave the second fairy five Forest Shells for their sweet nectar. Having been paid handsomely, as payment would have been reduced by three at similar shops, the two fairies emptied their pouches into separate chutes within the wall, leaving Isabella in the company of the last fairy, who still covered the contents of his pouch. "I'm sorry," he spoke softly. "This is all I could find."

He untied his satchel and pulled the top flap open to expose a single, miniature berry resting at the very bottom. The crimson fruit glowed with questions and lured the attention of gazing eyes. It was an extreme quirk that any berry would grow in Deadwood, much less one that seemed a red misfit amongst the common, gray flora. The intensity of Isabella's stare upon the berry displayed its importance. "It's wonderful! Thank you, Dorian," she replied, then handed twenty Forest Shells to him and gestured the fairy to leave.

Isabella hid the berry in a cloth and closed her shop. She quickly made her way back home, placed her new treasure inside her burlap satchel, regathered her hair into a massive ponytail, and left the room just as quickly as she had entered. Berries were outlawed in Deadwood and all were to be brought to the Royal Sector for disposal: a true desire for the immoral. Having to consciously slow herself down to avoid alerting other fairies of her unlawful possession, it would be several minutes before she could deliver her new gift!

Astounded by the berry and annoyed by Royal "leadership", Isabella ran out the fairy's dwelling and into another tree. Instead of being filled with fairies and hollowed-out halls, this tree's center was completely excavated and filled with literature. Books, books, and more books! At the center stood an eloquent, giant table with the most intelligent fairy, Rachel. Her prompt attitude towards life influenced her appearance. She kept her hair pulled tight, high in a bun probed with two writing utensils and another held in her hand. It was clear her intent was to learn, understand, and create all things related to logic. The clockwork of her mind turning could be seen within her beautiful, all-telling sapphire eyes.

The sight of Isabella's rapid entrance into the Archive Hall led Rachel to quickly halt her work and hastily make her way to her friend. Partly because it was their job, but mostly because Isabella and Rachel had a tendency to attract trouble, the guards standing around watched as the two fairies interacted. They gave each other a strong, forever-friend embrace and when they pulled away, Isabella's satchel ended up around the shoulder of Rachel. Their trickery had worked as none of the guards noticed the exchange. "It's wonderful to see you, Isabella," shouted Rachel! They both took a seat next to each other around the desk.

"What have you been up to," asked Isabella?

"I've been reading a lot more," replied Rachel. She lowered her voice and continued, "I've been reading the walls."

"What do you mean reading the walls?" Isabella thought her friend finally lost her mind.

"Remember when I cleaned behind all the bookshelves and I showed you those strange markings?" Isabella nodded. "Well, I think they might be a message. Of course, I could be wrong. They might just be scratches in the walls, but I've read everything else in this place and decided to focus on deciphering the markings as a code."

"How exciting! Do you have any ideas, yet, as to what they might be?"

"Not yet. I've just finished writing them all down. It's actually what I was working on when you arrived. Do you want to see them?" Without waiting for a reply, Rachel shuffled a few papers together and gave them to Isabella.

"I think you should rule out scratches. They're too detailed to be accidentally made."

"Yes. You're right."

"You're done," shouted a guard. "The Archive is closing." Isabella and Rachel rolled their eyes as he commanded too much attention. They gave each other a hug, said farewell, and Isabella walked past the guards. "Wait! Didn't you have a purse when you walked in?"

"I suppose I did," replied Isabella without surprise that the guard had paid so much attention to her. He walked towards the desk and picked up Isabella's satchel from the floor. He walked back, stood in front of her, and opened it to see what was inside. Isabella held her nerves tightly around her lungs. The guard gave her a horrid look, turned the satchel upside down, and shook it to make things fall out.

"Why do you carry an empty purse? You're so stupid." The guard tossed Isabella's satchel to her and walked away. With questioning eyes, Isabella gazed at Rachel, who replied with a wink and waved goodbye.

Isabella turned and left the Archive without another moment passing by. Somehow, her friend had taken and hidden the berry without anyone acknowledging: and rightfully so, since Rachel was the one who would be experimenting with the illicit item. The last thing Isabella wanted was for her best friend to be apprehended and banished from Deadwood per King's law. It would mean complete and total termination of any interaction between the two. She would be devastated!

Isabella continued towards her home within the Fairy Tree. As she walked, she took the peace around her into her soul. As late as it was, nobody was around between the Archive and Fairy Tree. A common thought crossed her brain, nothing living ever seemed to be around the Fairy Tree. Sure, fairies ran in and out of the dwelling, but other creatures, not even bugs, crawled near it. The ground was cold, she felt it through her sandals; every step kept her awake and aware of the loneliness she felt.

Isabella looked to the sky, the darkness had not completely taken over and the robust clouds reflected a debauchery of damned souls taking pleasure in their state of being. She wondered if there was anything beyond the clouds or if they truly continued on forever, as books in the Archive stated. "Where are you, sun," whispered Isabella to the sky? "Where are you?"

It didn't take very long for Isabella's legs to carry her all the way home while time escaped her in thought. She walked into her living quarters and made her way to the bottom chute openings which started in her shop. She pulled a bucket below and opened the first chute. Pollen fell slow, like grains of sand. She carried the bucket to a separate room and tossed its contents into a small pool of water. Some of the pollen slowly sank, but most of it remained floating. She undressed and placed a toe in the pool, slightly stirring the surface. Without reason, the water began a slow whirl, the pollen melted, and the temperature rose until the pool became filled with a slightly steaming, golden liquid.

The liquid gold acted as healing waters upon Isabellas skin. She rubbed the water on her chest and used it to polish her hair until each strand sparkled in the dim light. It was as if the water took pleasure in bathing the fairy. The golden coloring dissipated and blessed Isabella clean with a magnificent glow. She left the waters and the pool looked as it did before it had become enchanted.

Isabella brushed her hair with a prickled pinecone and reflected on the Archive markings her friend had found. What an interesting find and odd that they were only discovered recently. The Archive Tree don't have a recorded creation date which meant it had to be extremely old. She imagined the news as the start of a grand journey; it was a means to bring excitement to her life, but it was all a fantasy that would never come true. The markings were probably made by young fairy folks while the Archive was being excavated. Regardless, she found it fun to let her dream continue. Making her way from the dark, dank forest to a sultry, sun-filled garden, like in her painting, was a desire she felt would never become real.

She lay her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes hoping to dream of an escape. All her wants and wishes for another world filled her mind as her eyelids became heavier and heavier. She fought a little as her top and bottom eyelashes touched. Her vision closed behind her lids and new colors appeared as her dreams took form. The first to appear was a giant, yellow dot that morphed its way into the shinning sun. Then, blues and greens appeared and painted a beautiful, bright sky with luscious earth. She walked within her dream along the blades of grass, which she had never seen. She dropped and hugged the ground with her body. Her exposed shoulders allowed newly formed sunflower wings to take her high into the sky where she greeted the sun with a warm kiss. She felt a familiar presence behind her and turned to look. It was Rachel! Together they flew in circles, chasing the wind and dancing under the sun.

Their happiness turned to bitter mayhem when a dark shadow crawled its way towards them screaming, Banished! You are banished!" It lunged forward, closer and closer, to engulf Isabella. It grabbed her by the hand with a tar-like paw and would not let go. She fought with all her might, but it was useless. The shadow wrapped its sticky body around her and everything became complete darkness. Isabella sprung from her slumber and leaped from her bed. A cold sweat dripped from her forehead and she removed it with the back of her hand. The clamminess irritated Isabella, but she had a bright idea. A plan to escape her life and have a true adventure, but she could never come back. It would mean sacrificing many things, few of which were important. Isabella was going to get herself banished.