For Evelyn’s parents the first day of winter always began very early in the morning, because they were the first day of winter; without them the cold season could not arrive.
So long before the sunrise, long before their daughter had woken up Evelyn’s parents gathered all the winter elements inside a winter globe and started their journey. But before following them in their amazing voyage across the Land of the Crystal, I think it is time for you to discover some things about the Guardians of Winter.
As you already know, among the Lilyaneeks the ones that were gifted with magical powers were the Ghodianeeks, who received their name from the valley of the river their castles were situated in, Ghodi. The reason why these fairies were more special than the others requires me telling you a little story.
One of the legends of the Land of the Crystal is the birth of the first Fairy. According to the story, she was born on December the 25th, when the Saint Baby Jesus smiled for the first time. It was a gift the Lord decided to give the world, a gift that represented beauty and peace. From that moment on every time a baby smiled for the first time, a fairy was born. But in the beginning these small creatures did not have a name, so Mary, the mother of Jesus, decided to call them Lilyaneeks because she said they were as beautiful as a Lily.
As more and more Lilyaneeks were born, the Lord saw that they were not fit for such a grey world as the humans’ was, so He made them a special home, and in order for the fairies to live happily and not fight over useless things, such as land or fortune, He gave them each a characteristic which made them different from each other. That is how they were divided into Aquaneeks (Fairies of the Water), Timmerneeks (Fairies of the Forest) and Ghodianeeks (Fairies of the Seasons). The last ones were descendants of the first fairies, and as an obeisance to their ancestors, received the power to succeed the seasons in the Land of the Crystal. But even amongst the Ghodianeeks, there were only two guardians for each season. And every fifty years the Guardians changed.
At the time our story is situated at, the guardians of winter were Donella and Alston, and as you already know, they were also our heroine’s parents.
One of the things which I feel I must tell you is that the name of Evelyn’s mother was not chosen at random. In a language which has been long forgotten by us humans, Donella means beautiful girl with black hair. And indeed she had black curly hair; she also had blue eyes and pale skin, but her cheeks were red, just like Evelyn’s. Her husband was one head taller than the other fairies, had white hair and blue eyes, but he did not have one of the Ghodianeeks’ main characteristics: the pale skin. His skin was darker, very much alike the bronzed skin of the Aquaneeks.
Returning to the story, as you have read some rows behind, Donella and Alston left their castle very early in the morning.
When they arrived in the Emerald Forest it was still dark outside. Fortunately for them the winter globe was shining so brightly that they did not need the light of the sun.
In the silence of the morning they opened the globe and took some little cobs which seemed to be made of cotton wools. The truth was that they were clouds, and they were so white that you could spot them very well even in the darkness.
Alston and Donella blew them towards the sky, and the little cobs flew away, growing bigger and bigger until they covered the entire ether. The Guardians looked contended at the soft quilt which was covering the Emerald Forest. Then they released the wind, which in a second brought cold to the entire Land of the Crystal. For you see, the wind is unsteady and once given the chance to, he spreads into every corner he finds, until he takes control over the entire land.
Tiny little dots of hoarfrost came next, falling so beautifully from the sky that if you had seen it, you would have had the tendency to believe it was stardust. Unfortunately for the Timmerneeks not even the earliest riser has ever the chance to see the sight; the only sight he sees are the Winter Guardians flying away and the forest decorated properly.
At noon, after they finished their work with the Emerald Forest and the Ebony Mountains, Evelyn’s parents reached the Northern Gate, which separated their land from the humans’.
Alston looked fascinated at it before opening the globe. He had always been curious regarding what was it that spread behind it.
During the winter, the rocky wall on which the gate was carved in had beautiful winter flowers drawn on it. Now, you may not believe me if you don’t want to, but the paintings were nothing else but a gorgeous white, see-through tapestry which the Guardians stitched on the wall. And even though they were fairies, such a meticulous job was not easy to perform, especially because the tapestry was a lot bigger than them. But, as they had done every year since being named the Guardians of Winter, Donella and Alston performed their task beautifully. When they finished, they looked proudly at each other, then at the Northern Wall. Alston couldn’t stop himself from sighting.
-This is a beautiful tapestry indeed! – said he.
The rocky wall did not look hollow anymore. The grey color which usually shined strangely in the sun, giving the wall a metallic appearance, was now covered by a curtain on which tiny little flowers and dots were painted. And when the sun finally decided to be more courageous and show his face up on the sky, the curtain shined more brightly than the grey color could have ever done.
Satisfied with what they had achieved, Evelyn’s parents marched on, heading towards the Twilight Sea. But the Land of the Crystal is not as small as its inhabitants are, so despite the fact that they left at noon, the Guardians arrived on the shores of the sea very late in the afternoon. That does not mean though, that on their way they had nothing to do, because as they flew towards the west, they spread some tiny little stars down below. These stars floated gently, melting away the lower they got; they were the spirit of Christmas, bringing joy to every single Lilyaneek on which they fell.
When they arrived, almost every single Aquaneek was gathered in front of the sea, waiting for them. They knew that the Guardians of Winter brought a wonderful sight with them and, unlike the Timmerneeks, they had always witnessed its creation.
Alston and Donella greeted them, before opening the winter globe once more. From it they took a bottle which had a shiny potion in it. They opened it; then as they were flying over the sea, they spilled its content in it. Right away the water began to freeze, until the Aquaneeks could not see anything else in front of them but a huge field of ice. Their first reaction was a terrified silence, because their only source of food was no longer available, but then, as they remembered they had provisions, they all started cheering and clapping the Guardians of Winter.
It was only here that Donella and Alston came down from the sky, and talked to the fairies. They were always saluted by the Leader of the Aquaneeks himself, an old Lilyaneek with a white long beard and the most beautiful wings from the entire western territory.
His name was Brokk and he was 134 years old. He lived on the highest sand dune from the beach, in a castle which looked as if it was built of sand.
He was always limber, despite his age, and had the greatest respect for the Ghodianeeks. He greeted Evelyn’s parents with a smiling face and warmly embraced them both.
-My dear children, here you are again! Bringing us the most beautiful season of all! – told he them.
Donella and Alston knew that Brokk did not believe that winter was the most precious season, but they also knew he did not intend to lie to them; he was only trying to be polite, just like Fae never intended to lie to Evelyn. So they thanked him for his words, and followed him to his castle.
The leader of the Aquaneeks always invited all the Guardians into his house, because he was anxious to find out stories from the Valley of Linah. You see, this kind of news rarely reached the shores of the Twilight Sea, because the Ghodianeeks did not travel a lot towards that part of the land.
After getting past the castle guardians which wings’ color changed from black to white when night became day, they entered into the great hall where Brokk always received his guests in.
The room was a giant chamber painted in white, with brown columns and different paintings on the walls. It only had one huge window on the northern wall, and on the southern, a great wooden double door. When you entered it, a hypnotizing smell of sea air and lavender made you want to never leave it.
The old Aquaneek sat on his silver throne, and Evelyn’s parents sat in front of him, on two white velvet pews.
-Now, please tell me what it is new in the South! – said Brokk.
The narration of the events which happened in the Valley of Linah did not last for long, to the disappointment of Brokk. He always put his palms one in another and placed them in his lap, sheltering them in the warmness of his soft blue robe, waiting for exciting stories to be told to him. But Alston knew the old fairy had asked the same thing from the Guardians of Autumn as well, so even if Brokk would not have minded hearing the same story twice, he only revealed news that had happened during the Fall.
When the stories were finished, just like he had done countless times in his life, the leader of the Aquaneeks begged for the guardians to stay a little longer.
-We are very sorry, but if we do not leave now, we will not manage to bring winter completely over the Land of the Crystal. – said Donella.
Seeing that his guests were about to leave, Brokk asked Alston to please repeat a story from those he had told him, because he had forgotten it. But Evelyn’s father smiled, apologized for not being able to do so and said good-bye to the old Lilyaneek.
Then he and his wife left the Twilight Sea and its leader longing for more stories.
As they were heading towards their destination, the Valley of Linah, they did not suspect at all what was waiting for them there.