The Frozen Moon - By J.D. Swinn

He was still shaken from the confrontation of sorts with Nameh. He ran as he had earlier, with his chest heaving and muscles in a blind fury. But now, they ran together like a pair of ghosts. The silent spells were still in effect, and their footsteps, which should have made heavy thuds against the pavement, made no sound.

They both shot sarcastic comments at the other, bandaging over unexpected feelings of empathy. His thoughts wandered to what she had said about love; he couldn’t help but take comfort in the fact that he wasn’t alone in feeling this way. He had always planned on being married to an amiable girl, but he wasn’t sure if he could imagine himself truly loving another. He forced himself to push down these notions and filled his mind with thoughts of battle. They were soon upon the place he was leading her to: Central Park. It had been a long run, and they were both tired, but it would be worth it, he thought. They paused, leaning on a tree and catching their breath. The sweat on their bodies gleamed in the silvery moonlight and made the pair look as though they were made of polished porcelain.

“There,” he pointed to a spot several hundred feet away, “that’s where it happens.” He finished, breathing heavily. She didn’t speak, merely threw him a bemused look. “The faeries and the pixies war every night, just beyond that bridge.” He explained.

“They have a war every night? I’ve never heard of that. But, then again, the Guardians don’t exactly keep us up to date on magical current events.”

“It isn’t current, per say,” he began with a smile, “it’s been going on for decades. Ever since the park was built, both groups declared supremacy over it, because it is technically nature. Each night, they battle, and the winner by dawn will rule over the other for the coming day.”

“A power struggle every single day? That seems crazy.” At this, she gave a small laugh full of rich and smooth tones, not the giggle of many girls that he found irritating.

“The problem is that the two sides are so evenly matched that neither takes enough loss to surrender. The truth is, humans aren’t so different. I come down here as often as I can and fight with the faeries. They’re the most likely not to kill me if we lose.” He said with his familiar smirk. He knew that as he described the history to her, she was probably wondering which kind of faerie was so keen toward the idea of war; pixies were constantly looking for fights, but not all faeries were this way. No doubt she had come across the Nature faeries, kind and gentle sprites who brought the change of the seasons with their water, earth, and light magic. They were the ones who hung the dewdrops and woke the morning glory flowers when the sun rose, and the ones who moved gentle breezes through the night air. Nearly all of them were cooperative with the Guardian laws.

“The faeries in Central Park are of a different breed than you’re probably used to.” He said, ending her suspicions. “They’re called Moon faeries. They usually don’t mean humans any harm, but they have the tempers of blackdragons. Altogether, they’re rather pleasant…just don’t piss them off. Let’s just say that these are the faeries that they don’t write about in fairytales.” He said with a grin, images of war dancing through his thoughts. He saw a look sparkle in her eyes, the same look he had seen the night they had fought the dragon. Fighting was just as much of a release to her as it was to him, he noted.

“So, we’ll be fighting alongside the creatures with the tempers of blackdragons. That makes me wonder what I don’t know about pixies,” she said, giving him a sidelong glance. He rewarded her with a small laugh, she really was funny, he thought. “Something tells me I’m about to find out.” She finished.

“Ladies first,” he said in mockery.

“Then, what are you waiting for?” she shot back without a pause.

“Ouch” he said, trying to hide the fact that he was impressed. Rarely did he meet someone who could match his wit, and he had never met one who was a girl. They walked down the path together, now able to hear faint sounds of battle. At the bridge, they were greeted by the Moon faerie general, Aksid. He was tall for a faerie, about