This is for JFW's contest. This was written at about midnight-ish, so it's rough. It meets the requirements for her contest (I'm pretty sure). I'd like a quick review over it. It may feel rushed, but I'd like this posted before I forget. Knowing myself, I would.

I'm not planning on continuing it. I kind of left it hanging, but I have too much to do already. Let me know if you like it enough that you wouldn't mind if I lengthened it and continued it; don't plan that I will, though.

Fairytales Don’t Exist

“Where am I?”

“The land of Korlani!”

Ronnie jumped at the bodiless, high-pitched voice. She looked left, right, behind—no one was in sight. Brushing her red hair behind her ear, her gray eyes continued to search the surrounding forest. Her fist clenched her green skirt, lifting it from the ground so she wouldn’t trip as she continued walking forward.

Another squeak sounded, but she couldn’t make out the words that time. She stopped again and looked around.

No one was there.

Her heart picked up its pace for fear of not knowing where the squeak came from. Finally deciding it was a hallucination developed from her exciting travel, she continued forth. Her eyes were still adjusting to the darkness surrounding her, the glimmering moonlight lighting the dirt path she followed.

The ride to this place (supposedly known as Korlani) was one Ronnie would never forget. To be blunt, it felt like she was hit with a tranquilizer. She felt only exhaustion and relaxation, but her eyes must have been two tiny vortexes like in the cartoons when the characters were mesmerized. Her body didn’t move an inch, but her mind burst through a colorful tube of hypnotizing patterns as if some unknown source was calling her forth, brainwashing her.

And that adventure landed her in the middle of a forest. Her jeans-and-hoodie style was replaced by a fairytale-princess gown of green; her tennis shoes were swapped with a pair of leather boots. A single tiny braid hung in the back of her head in the midst of her red hair, bouncing against her neck every time she took a step.

“I said stop!” screeched that high-pitched voice.

Ronnie froze mid-step, holding her breath. She heard an exasperated sigh, and a tiny burden landed on her right shoulder.

“Hmph! Why was I cursed with such disadvantages?”

Ronnie situated herself so she stood on two feet and looked down on her shoulder. A tiny pink fairy pouted, her arms folded across her chest. Her lip protruded from her mouth, and her thin eyebrows were scrunched together.

“I’m always ignored,” the fairy continued, crossing her legs. “No one can ever see me, no one can ever hear me, no one can ever taste me—well, I’m thankful for that.” She leaned toward Ronnie’s ear as she said this last part. She resumed her pout. “Hmph. I try to help, and this is what I get.”

“Er…” Ronnie felt she should speak, but she didn’t know what to say to the tiny creature. In fact, the fairy shouldn’t even exist. Why in the world was there a fairy sitting on her shoulder? And what was with the dress? Ronnie despised dresses. No one would ever catch Ronnie in a dress back home.

“Well, I can rant later on.” She crawled onto her two feet, nearly tripping over the tattered hemming of her dress. Her blonde hair fell over her shoulder, some strands of hair slipping into the neckline, which reached to her mid-stomach. She held her arms out to shake the torn edges of her sleeves out of her hands, and she swished her thick ponytail behind her only to have it swing around to her other shoulder.

“So. Welcome to Korlani!” She raised her arms to indicate the surrounding area, her loose long sleeves falling down her arms. One hand bent to scratch the back of her neck, her face twisting into a nervous expression. “Well, this would be the Hildon Forest which sits just behind Korlani Palace. Why would they send you here? There’s no where to go except Korlani, and that kingdom is too rich for you.”

Ronnie pursed her lips, folding her arms.

“Don’t get me wrong! You’re a wonderful person!” the fairy squeaked, waving her hands frantically. “There’s just no wizard in Korlani. Hmm…Do you remember what you were doing before you got here?”

“Er…” Ronnie thought as hard as she could, her mind trying to push away from the dizzying designs and colors which continued to invade her mind. “I was reading something…Oh! It was—”

“You were reading?” the fairy said, confused. “Okay…The only other person I can think of that was reading before they arrived would be Professor Gutnip, but he’s really crazy. I don’t want to see him. Let’s go…”

“Hang on!” Ronnie said a bit more harshly than she intended. The fairy didn’t flinch. She didn’t even glance at Ronnie. She continued to think of where she was to take the new visitor.

Ronnie put her hands on her hips, glaring at the fairy. “Where am I?”

“I already told you,” the fairy said, waving the question aside. She still didn’t look at Ronnie. “Maybe Lianas. She’s amazing! But she’s so far away. We’d need someone to portal us there, but again, I don’t want to see Professor Gutnip. He has this thing with fairies, you know? He thinks we’re, like, good luck. Every time I pay him a visit, he insists on trapping me in a mug against the wall as if that would keep me there the rest of his life. You humans are so weird.” She shook her head with disbelief.

“Hold the show for just a minute!” Ronnie nearly shouted.

The fairy groaned and turned to face Ronnie, putting her full weight on one foot, hands on her hips.

“You better explain to me what’s going on! I’d like to know what I’m up against, you know.”

The fairy’s wings vibrated (A sign of frustration?), and she took a breath. “You were sent here for some reason by someone. All I’ve been sent to do is take you to someone who knows what’s going on—usually a wizard. I don’t want to see Professor Gutnip, though, so we’re going to visit someone else.”

“Then why did you ask what I was doing before I was sent here? And how did I get here exactly? I hate dresses, you know.” She plucked the green fabric of her skirt. The fairy rolled her eyes.

“This is an amazing dress you’re wearing, and any princess alive would want to wear it. Feel special.” Her annoyed expression changed to a simple look, crossing her arms again and pacing across Ronnie’s shoulder. “Concerning your questions, I asked you what you were doing because that usually tells me who sent for you. You got here through a portal a wizard had created, and that wizard pulled you into this world.”

“How does my reading tell you who sent for me?”

The fairy sighed. “Reading is an identifiable trait. I assume you like to read?”

“You assume correctly,” Ronnie said coldly, her formal words a sign of her irritation with the fairy’s rude behavior.

“Professor Gutnip does too,” the fairy said. “He believes the best wizard comes from one who studies well. Mistress Lianas, however—” The fairy’s face lightened up. “—says anyone who believes they can perform magic will perform magic.”

“Why do they pull people from the real world to this fairytale land?” Ronnie said, her gray eyes scanning the area again. “What ‘world’ is this, anyway?”

“This ‘world’ is real,” the fairy snapped. “And it’s called Ylanden.”

“Any reason I’d be needed in Ee-lond-en?” Ronnie said, pronouncing each syllable of the name and hoping she had said it correctly.

The fairy nodded absently. “Yeah, the prince of Korlani Palace was turned into a weird monster yesterday evening. The Palace is practically abandoned now. The prince lives by himself until someone can break the spell.”

“How does one break the spell?”

“Something cheesy like a kiss,” the fairy said, scratching the back of her head. “It’s not a kiss, but it’s something predictable like that.”

“Then how come you don’t know?” Ronnie asked, her brow cocked.

The fairy groaned. “I’m not allowed to tell you, okay? Its wizardry, and fairies aren’t allowed to know wizardry stuff. I guess I’ll take you to Professor Gutnip. Can you keep him a good distance away, though? I get claustrophobic fairly easily.”

Ronnie chuckled.

“You would too if you were stuck in a mug!” the fairy snapped, stomping her foot.

Ronnie laughed some more. The fairy stumbled on Ronnie’s shoulder, losing her balance as Ronnie doubled over. She lifted into the air.

“Be careful, would you? Flying gets tiring after awhile!”

“Who goes there?”

Ronnie’s laughter halted at the sound of the low growl. The fairy squeaked, her wings fluttering rapidly; Ronnie felt the breeze of her wings brush up against her ear.

“We gotta go!” the fairy squeaked, tugging on Ronnie’s red hair. “It’s the prince!”

“I know you’re out there!” the growl continued. “No one trespasses on my land and lives to tell the tale!”

“Now!”

Ronnie spun on her heel and raced after the fairy into the trees, a good distance away from the trail. She fell behind a bush and peered over it to find a huge lizard-like reptile. The moonlight glinted off his silver-green scales, his red eyes glowing brightly. The pair of pants he wore was torn in places due to his enormous size, but no shirt could cover the thick muscles of his broad chest without ripping to pieces. He sniffed the air with his wet nose like a dog and looked in Ronnie’s direction.

Her heart jumped to her throat. The reptile’s huge tail flailed excitedly, and he grinned, revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth. The fairy peeked through some leaves to see, standing on her toes atop a thin twig. Her wings shook violently, though that may be because of the air Ronnie exhaled above her.

The beast took one step toward Ronnie before the snap of a branch was heard further away. The reptile hesitated before deciding to run toward the other visitor. The fairy relaxed, then yelped, jumping back and flying right into Ronnie’s face.

“I said go away! I claimed this tree first!”

Ronnie jumped at the speaker’s deep croak. She looked around her, but saw no one. Moving a few leaves aside, she peered into the bush in front of her, the fairy moving out of her view. No one was there.

“But you left, leaving it free for the taking!”

The fairy resumed her spot in front of Ronnie, staring up into the tree. Ronnie hadn’t noticed the fair as she was checking behind her.

“It has my name carved into the trunk, though!”

“No it doesn’t! That’s my name!”

“What? You fixed it! And it’s pathetic too; anyone would know it originally said Toarn.

“It obviously says Faanin, Toarn. Go away!”

Ronnie turned back, noticed the fairy, and looked up at the bickering voices. Two brown-skinned critters sat on a high branch. One wore a dress of green moss while the other only wore pants. They both had wild dark hair, and their bulging eyes gleamed yellow. They paid no attention to Ronnie and the fairy.

“Those are Wood Elves,” the fairy squeaked. She whispered, though Ronnie doubted any volume control was needed for the tiny fairy. “My sister met a Wood Elf once and was nearly eaten because she landed on his tree—and she only needed a rest. Flying really is exhausting!”

“Aren’t there plenty of trees to choose from?” Ronnie whispered as softly as she could.

“Shh! Don’t talk so loudly! Do you want them to eat you?” the fairy hissed. She promptly ignored the question and tugged her red hair again. “Let’s get out of here.”

The female Wood Elf threw an acorn at the other. “I said go away, Toarn!”

“And I said get off my tree!” He threw the acorn back at her.

“It’s mine now! You left!”

“Your brother wanted to see me!”

They continued tossing the acorn back and forth, arguing over their tree. Ronnie finally gave in to the fairy’s continual tugs, deciding she would rather stay away from the raining acorns. The two Wood Elves continued to bicker.

“Watch it!” squeaked the fairy.

As Ronnie spun around, she nearly ran into a four-legged animal nearly as tall as she was (and she was never considered short back home). It looked like a panther, showing off his sharp fangs. Drool dripped from his gaping mouth, his purple eyes glaring hungrily at her. They were practically nose to nose, its hot breath pouring over her like waves of an ocean.

“Run, Ronnie!”

She took a few cautious steps away from the panther before turning tail and running like mad. The fairy kept pace easily, the buzz of her wings sounding as irritating as a bumblebee. Ronnie looked back to see the giant panther chase after them.

“The tree, Ronnie!”

Ronnie looked in front of her and gasped as she caught a glance of the oak tree before running straight into it. She hesitated, holding her pained nose. Blood seeped from a rough scrape on the top, and she groaned.

“Ronnie!”

Ronnie jumped at the sound of her name and looked for the panther, but there wasn’t much searching needed. The panther had already leapt into the air to pounce on her. Ronnie shrunk against the tree, digging her face into her arm and thinking of how much it would hurt for the panther to eat her alive.

Another growl sounded. More growls followed. The panther brought friends! They would feast on her as their midnight snack. She was going to die and all because she was reading the Beauty and the Beast.

“Ronnie! C’mon!”

Ronnie peeked from beneath her arm. The panthers hadn’t touched her; in fact, no animals were attacking her. She straightened and gasped when she saw the reptilian prince feasting on the giant panther not too far away from her. He hadn’t noticed her, but Ronnie didn’t necessarily want him to. She located the soft pink glow of her fairy friend and hurried away.

“Watch where you’re going this time!” the fairy grumbled, arms crossed.

“I’m sorry,” Ronnie said irritably. “I wasn’t aware of the number of living things in the forest. You could’ve warned me about that.

“I thought it was obvious things live in the forest,” the fairy snapped. “The prince was a surprise to me, however. I didn’t expect him to show up. It must be really late. He always comes out at night for a snack. Since he has no cooks to make him food, he’s on his own for dinner.”

The fairy was quite the talker, and Ronnie listened, though she found herself a little paranoid. She looked all around her as they walked, keeping an eye out for any more creatures threatening to eat her or attack her with acorns.

“I said get your own tree!”

“That acorn has my name on it, though!”

“Then take your stinking acorn and go away!”

They were running back to the Wood Elves? She stopped, clenching her fists and crossing her arms. It took a moment before the fairy realized Ronnie hadn’t been following her anymore. She looked back at her. Ronnie tapped her foot impatiently.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Professor Gutnip’s, of course—”

“We were here before,” Ronnie argued.

“When you ran from the panther, you ran the wrong way,” the fairy parried. She folded her arms, knowing she was right and Ronnie was wrong.

Ronnie sighed. “What will Professor Gutnip—ouch!” An acorn hit her in the back of the head. She massaged the area and glared up at the Wood Elves behind her who paid no attention to her. Ronnie rolled her eyes, grumbling something unintelligent. How long could an argument like that last?

“C’mon, Ronnie.”

“How do you know my name anyway?” Ronnie muttered, walking toward the fairy. “I don’t even know yours.”

“Well, fairies don’t have names,” she replied. Her face seemed to lighten up every time she started answering Ronnie’s questions as if she enjoyed explaining things. “We never need names. All we do is fetch people like you for the wizards. Some of us have many names while others have none. And I know yours because fairies can find out anything just by standing on one’s shoulder.”

“My shoulder?”

She nodded. “It’s all in the ears.” She tapped her ear, her expression pleased for knowing things Ronnie didn’t. The grin wouldn’t go away. “We just look in your ears, and the information is practically written right there in your head. It’s very easy. You humans haven’t seemed to figure that out yet.”

“Right.” Ronnie couldn’t find any logic in that method, which explains why humans haven’t thought of that method at all. Doctors looked in ears to check on the eardrum and whatever else was in there. Ronnie never cared for the doctors. Her ears twitched at the thought of them peering inside her ear with their mini flashlight.

“So Professor Gutnip will be talking a lot more than he needs to,” the fairy warned, “and half of what he says will probably be him thinking aloud how he could capture me without my knowing. I don’t know why a wizard would want wishes, but he does, I guess. My sister was forced to give a knight a wish because he saved her life from one of those huge fairy-eating spiders. It was about this big!” She spread her arms far apart so the invisible spider looked three times her size. “He wished my sister was a human because she was so beautiful and kind.” The fairy rolled her eyes at this. “She was always the most liked among our siblings. Of course, wishing a fairy to become human wasn’t allowed. So instead, he wished to become a fairy. Nothing was against that, so now he and my sister are married.”

“Sounds like a fairytale,” Ronnie muttered.

“Psh, it’s real. Fairytales are things like giant metal people and flying things and weird devices that allow you to talk to someone else on the other side of the country. Oh, and that one thing that seems to know everything, and all anyone has to do is stare at a box with a glass…screen, maybe? And they press buttons—I dunno. Those are fairytales. That stuff is ridiculous. No one can make that stuff.”

Ronnie chuckled at her descriptions of robots, telephones, and computers. She instinctively reached for her pocket to get her cell phone and realized she was wearing a dress. Nothing was with her, not even her cell phone. She suddenly felt lost in the world with no means of contacting home.

“Watch out for the Fronk!”

Ronnie immediately looked down and dodged a creature with the tail and twitchiness of a squirrel but the ears and teeth of a rabbit. It hopped toward a bush and peered beneath the leaves. Ronnie found it kind of adorable until a fierce growl (like that of a tiger cub) erupted from its tiny throat. Birds darted from the nearby trees; other more normal-looking squirrels and rabbits ran away. The squirrel-rabbit (a Fronk supposedly) pounced on a squirrel and dug its teeth into the flesh of the poor creature. Ronnie quickly looked away, disgusted.

The fairy shook nervously, hovering a good distance away from the Fronk. Ronnie was about to ask the fairy what was wrong when she resumed her composure and cleared her throat.

“Professor’s house is just up ahead.”

They continued their journey in the forest. Ronnie’s eyes darted from tree to bush to ground to treetops, keeping a wary eye out for any more creatures she could trip over. She found herself zoning out again, though, not paying attention to her surroundings.

“You need a name,” Ronnie said, though she was really taking her mind off the Fronk and its prey.

“A lot of people say that,” the fairy said. “None of the names are to my liking, but you may call me anything you wish. It’s not like we’ll see each other again.”

“We won’t?” Ronnie said, slightly depressed.

“I said I deliver people like you to the corresponding wizard. This is my job. This is how I make a living. While people like you go off and save the prince, fairies like me are forced to actually work to live decent lives. My sister was lucky when she married a knight. He now works for the fairy queen. My name doesn’t ever come up when my sister speaks with the fairy queen, though. I’m on my own.”

“Elina.” Ronnie hadn’t been listening to the fairy, thinking of a name the tiny pink fairy would actually like.

“Who?” She looked at Ronnie at the sound of the name with slight interest.

“Do you like it?”

“Well, yes, actually. It’s a very pretty name. Who is it?”

Ronnie smiled. “You, of course.”

The fairy stopped mid-flight, and Ronnie turned around. The fairy stared with disbelief. “You gave me that name?”

“Of course! You must have a name you like if I’m going to call you it,” Ronnie said. “That’s why people call me Ronnie, not Veronica.”

Elina hesitated another moment, her wings fluttering at a rather quick pace. Her hands reached for her ponytail, and she absently combed her hair with her fingers. “You’ll really call me that?”

“Well…yes, that was the plan,” Ronnie said, not quite understanding the big deal. She really stole it from her little sister’s fairy movie. The main character wore pink, had blonde hair, and used her head in times of trouble.

“It’s so…beautiful, though,” she muttered.

“Watch out for the Fronk!”

“Where?!” Elina shrieked and burst away from her spot into Ronnie’s hair.

The squirrel-rabbit made a leap ten times its height and snapped at where Elina originally was stationed. When it landed, the Fronk growled at Elina. It didn’t dare approach the giant human Elina accompanied, though. It turned and pranced off.

Elina gulped. “Let’s go. Professor Gutnip’s just down the hill over there.”

“If you insist,” Ronnie said and turned around to continue the walk for the wizard’s place, Elina buzzing next to Ronnie’s ear, no doubt reading her mind.