The Right Well (Whimsical Darkness #1)

Chapter 1

Genevieve

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My longing for her is endless, my first love, my first heartbreak. My sweet little sister. I miss her beautiful copper hued and royal purple hair, and her shimmering sage eyes.

Every time I look at myself in my golden mirror, I see a glimpse of her, a glimpse of us and all the memories we made, everything we’ve been through together. Every time I see my own eyes in my reflection, an image of her beautiful face flashes before me.

Not a second goes by without me thinking of her, she was my everything, she still is and will always be.

My life hasn’t been the same since her death, not only did it affect me but also so many other fairies.

She always danced through our little village, always the social butterfly and a friend to everyone. It was her softness yet extroverted persona that attracted the attention of others and drew people in without her having to try.

Almost a year has passed since we lost her and I still have trouble talking about it, speaking my thoughts about the day I saw her lifeless body before my eyes.

It broke me.

The feeling of someone pulling out my heart had never felt more real. It was almost like I could feel someone's sharp nails grab ahold of it, squeezing the flesh and ripping it through my chest.

No one knows the whole story of what really happened to her. One second she was there, dead, and the next, her body had vanished.

I love her with my whole heart, with every bit of myself. All I want, all I could ever wish for, is to get her back. I would do anything to hear her laugh and see her smile once again.

My sweet sister.

Esme.

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Putting down my turquoise and glitter golden diary which my mother got for me as a gift, I pet my baby frog who’s placed by my side, her green tone brighter than the other frogs living in the woods.

Everything felt heavy, my thoughts, my body. It was almost like I had to use all my strength to hold myself up. And I had to do it, because no one else would.

My sweet mother told me that I needed to let out all of my feelings and stop pretending that everything is okay. She says that everyone believes that I’m okay now, even though that’s far from the truth.

The truth is that you never get over such things, right? You mourn, you pretend. You learn to live with it, but it will never truly fade away. It will always linger in the back of your mind along with the thoughts that make you blame yourself.

Esme didn’t get to celebrate her nineteenth birthday before it happened. Her twentieth is right around the corner but I’m determined to get her back before that day comes around. I want her to be here and celebrate. I want her to feel the love that she has always been surrounded by.

Not long after she died, I found an ancient book in the old library, “The Magic Well”.

The tome holds old secrets, and it says that if you follow the map inside the book and find the magic wishing well, you will have one wish to use. And whatever you wish for will come true, as long as you follow the strict rules:

Tell the well about your wish, make sure to ask it nicely.

Drink its water as you visualize the wish in your head, then thank the well for its help.

But be feared! If you get lost on the way there, or tricked and wish for something in the wrong well, you will forget everything about the right one, and your one and only wish will never, ever come true.

Some fairies believe that this wishing well is only a curse which will ruin your life, not only for you but for the generations to come as well.

However, I don’t believe that it’s a cursed story.

I believe in the magic well and the power that it may hold.

And if it can bring Esme back to life, I’m ready to make sacrifices.

—

This morning, I chose one of the flowy dresses from my closet.

The dress is rose pink, shimmering with golden details.

It sits tight on my upper body due to the pretty corset, but gets wider from the hips and down.

The cream fabric around the arms flows as it wishes and the back leaves space for my wings, which makes it possible for me to use them freely.

The love I have for my wings is out of this world. They are a light pastel green, perfectly matching my eyes, and have small glittery hearts as details that are the same color as the pink stripes in my hair.

My long, blonde and curly hair with blush pink highlights nearly reaches the curve of my butt, today styled in a half down hairstyle, one of my favorites that holds two braids on each side of my head.

I clip them together in the back, using an emerald green and crown golden hair clip to make it stay in place.

Feeling done, my hand reaches for the pink colored ballet shoes, tying them around my ankles and lower legs.

With a final adjustment, I slip the small leaf-green and golden bag over my shoulder, feeling more than ready to start the day.

“Bye, Mom.” I shout as my hand pushes the wooden door open.

“Genevieve, wait, where are you going?”

A wave of uncertainty washes over me as I dwell on if I should tell her the full truth or just a part of it.

“I’m just going to the library, I’ll be back later. Bye, I love you.”

Sometimes I feel vicious, shitty, and rude towards her, knowing she’s fearful that something horrible is going to happen to me just as it did to Esme.

She’s paranoid, and I understand her, she has all the right in the world to be. Having already lost one daughter, there’s no need for her to lose her second one too. But I can’t sit inside our little house and do nothing for the rest of my life. And I know that’s not her deepest wish either.

I already hold a persona of shyness, staying inside and closing off the world around me more than I have already done wouldn’t be good for me, for anyone. There are days where I have to force myself to step outside and meet the sun. To meet with other fairies even though I would rather not to.

As I exited the front door, the warmth from the bright sun enveloped me, making a rush of hope spread through my body. And suddenly, I felt lighter. Hope was what kept me believing, kept me going.

Oh, how I love this, feeling the sun’s gentle touch on my skin, and smelling the scent of all the beautiful flowers.

My favorite flower is tulips. If I was a flower instead of a fairy, I could only see myself as a pink tulip, even having a beautiful love-spell pink and gilded gold tulip necklace around my neck.

Spreading my wings, I let the wind grab and guide me in the air. On my way to the library, I fly by a lot of the other fairies, greeting them politely as I always do.

Our little village is full of big willow trees, bright colored moss and flowers. But the best part is all the animals, they’re adorable, truly, and all I want is to pet and take care of them all.

It’s impossible to ignore them when their eyes are filled with so much love and gentleness.

“Oh my goddess, is that a baby fawn?” I gasp out loud as I see something moving behind a few tree stems further away.

Genevieve, focus, please. You have one job today, go to the library, get the book, and take the map.

You can do it! I tell myself, feeling way more terrified than I’d like to admit.

Who am I trying to fool? This is not like me. I’m not the girl who does stuff like this, steals books with magic maps to go on scary adventures. I just fly around and smell the flowers, pet the animals, and make sure everyone is smiling.

At least that’s who I was before Esme passed. I haven’t been the same since then.

Arriving at the library, Caspian is the first to greet me with his big and generous smile. “Hi Genevieve, welcome home.”

Caspian has worked at the library for as long as I can remember. Today he’s wearing moss-green dungarees and a white loose t-shirt. His moon-white hair is all over the place, as usual, and his big pointy elf ears are sticking right through the thin strands.

The best part of his appearance is his small round silver glasses that sit crooked over his big nose.

It’s impossible not to like, even love him, when he has the kindest soul and the most innocent, silly jokes.

I’m almost always at the library, making it my favorite place, my second home. I love books and I read all the time, mainly to escape reality, and even my own thoughts sometimes.

”Can I help you with anything today, my lovely child?” His voice spoke, and the unstable wobble made me realize that he was really getting older.

I can’t lose him too.

“Not today, Caspian, I’m just going to look through the dusty old shelves and see if I can find something that will grab my attention.” I answer him with a small smile plastered on my lips, feeling awful. How could I lie to him like this?

“Okay, you know where to find me if you need anything.” He says and stokes my shoulder gently.

“And I can not forget to tell you, I will receive some new books in a few days. I would love for you to look through them with me before I put anything out on the shelves.” He finishes off his sentence with a giggle before walking back to his dark wooden desk.

This ancient building has been kept well. The walls, painted a creamy light beige, reminded me of whispering dunes, curving gently with a rounded form. The few doors and door frames you can find in here are bent as well, but instead of beige, they are in a deep chestnut-brown.

It’s a palette that brings stillness and mystery, making you feel drawn to look deeper into its unsolved secrets.

As I’m flying to the gently hidden bookshelves back in the library, where all the old and ancient books are placed, someone comes into view, making my body abruptly stop.

A figure with broad shoulders stood before the shelf I was desperately aiming for. His dark hair swung around his head, and in his hands, he held the old story of The Magic Well.

Flying closer to him, I try my best to press down all the nervousness bubbling inside me and act normal. But it didn't take long before I started questioning what normal even was.

“Hi? Excuse me, I think you’re holding my book.” My book? Where did that come from? Was I hearing myself right?

“Your book? I thought this was a library, which means that I can hold whatever book I want. Little sweetheart.”

It’s impossible to ignore that my cheeks start to tingle and the way my whole body becomes warmer as the last two words roll off his tongue.

“Okay, I apologize for my mistake.” I hesitate. “I truly need that book and it would be lovely if you could be kind enough and hand it to me.” I say, and the anxiety follows.

“No.”

“I understand, sir. I just truly need it.” I try to keep calm while his strong yet handsome presence intimidates me just enough to make my fingers play with the fabric of my dress.

Breathe.

“Aye, obviously I do too.” His deep accent comes through his words.

“Those pages hold extreme value to me. So, I beg you. Please let me have it, just for now. I promise to find you and bring it to you after I’m done reading it.” Liar.

He stands there, staring at me with those icy blue eyes. And for a moment, I felt compelled by something I couldn’t quite place. Was it a spell or a curse? Was it one full of love or evil?

I try to reach for the dusty book in an attempt to grab it from his hands, but he’s too fast, moving away from me in a split second.

And why was I so drawn to his handsome yet scarred face? It was a face I could never bring myself to forget. I already knew that it would be burned into my mind for the rest of my life. His beauty was nothing that could be lost, not even his scars could make it go away.

“Listen, sweetheart, this is so called life. You can’t get whatever you want just because you live in some delusion and think that everyone likes you and will give you whatever you point your finger at. So, stop begging with those doe eyes because it’s not going to work.”

I guess beauty could be lost, but only due to one’s behavior.

“Stop giving me nicknames. And what do you mean by ‘everyone likes me?’ Stop being such a jerk.” My tone was harsh and my body language stiff as I tried to stand up for myself.

“Stop calling you sweetheart? ”

“Yes, stop it please. Thank you.”

“And yes, it seems everyone does like you except for me. But I’m not one to be impressed by a sweet smile and soft eyes. Especially not from fairies like you who are always sooo positive.”

“I’m not always positive.” I frown as he looks at me with a semi hard expression. “You don’t even know me.” I argued, feeling small waves of anger washing over me.

I couldn’t let his words tear me down.

“Maybe, maybe not, but at least that’s what everyone thinks of you. A good reputation never hurts, right?”

His words left me in disbelief.

“That’s enough of your nonsensical drivel! There is no need to be this unkind when all I’m asking for is the book in your hands. So please, give it to me and stop being so troublesome.”

“Here sweetheart, enjoy.” He responds while handing me the old tome of secret spells and magic. And I notice the hint of sarcasm in his voice as the word sweetheart leaves his mouth.