Shouts were heard in the dark forest. The leaves were stained, the water turned crimson with blood, The stars above them hid from the fierce battle, disappearing into the dark night, the way it mirrored the darkness in the fey's eyes. The beautiful, ethereal forest had now turned into a bloodbath. Weapons clashed and magic was sent in furious sparks and waves.

"You!" A tall, authoritative woman stood, cold eyes blazed with fury, one long, slender finger pointing at a man. "Your faeries have led a dozen of demons into our river, you killed four of my people in that stupid attack. You will pay for what your people did to mine!" With a furious cry, she sent a boiling jet of water towards the man. He nimbly dodged the attack and sent a flurry of sharp thorns towards the woman, causing a few gashes on her arms.

"I never sent any demons to your waters. Maybe you should've told your people to be more careful." He said coldly, now sending a bunch of leaves that were turned sharp by magic towards the woman while hissing in pain at the ice that froze his feet.

"Aurora! Its too much, we have to get the others, it's too much for us alone to handle!" A young man's voice rang out through the bloody battle. He ran towards a woman who was struggling to hold up a water wall to protect the river. The battle had slowly descended near the water fey's home, and the young ones were told to stay inside their dens.

A young girl, at the age of 5 was huddled against her sister who looked about 11. The younger sister looked at the battle with wide, scared eyes. "Orion! The children!" Aurora cried out, collapsing under the pressure, and the protective water wall was down. The wall had took a lot of energy out of her to maintain it, and she strained to stand up and continue fighting, but before she could do so...

A horrible, hoarse cry was heard. Orion stopped in his tracks and stared in horror at Aurora, who was stabbed in the belly with thorns from a forest faerie. She fell to the ground, clutching at her stomach, coating her hand with red. Orion rushed over to help her, not noticing the forest faerie behind him, ready the sink his sword into Orion's back...

Blood pooled around the couple, splashing the den with red. The two sisters stared silently, before they reacted and ran towards their fallen parents.

"Freya, why won't Mom and Dad wake up? The battle is over!" The younger sister asked her sister while desperately shaking Aurora. The battle had calmed, most of the faeries surrounding the broken family. Silent tears rolled down Freya's face, she wiped them away quickly not to let her sister see. Trying her best not to let her voice tremble, she replied quietly, "Lilith, they... they have gone to the stars." Lilith slowly took in the words, eyes hollow and void of any emotion while streams of tears rolled down her face.

The battle had ceased and fey leaders were collecting the fallen and began to treat injuries with magic. A tall man wearing an armour made of enchanted leaves and wood approached the woman, eyes as cold as ice, and said, "Do not ever accuse my people again of something yours are in charge of." The woman glared back and moved away, cleaning up the messes and keeping the water untainted. The river was how young faeries get their power and getting decided if they are a water bender, which go into battle as warriors; a river guard, setting enchantments to protect the sacred river; a healing faerie, to treat wounds and aftermaths of a battle.

The woman sighed heavily, feeling a weight on her shoulders looking at the sight of fallen water faeries. So many had been lost in this simple battle. Being the leader of the water fey, responsibilities were heavy on her heart. "Catarina?" A voice called out to her. Catarina looked right and saw one of the healing faeries looking up at her patiently.

"Yes? What is it, Coel?" Catarina asked the young healer. "I think you should see to Lilith and Freya Whitewater, they may not bear physical wounds, but their heart may be shattered... magic can only do so much to those with broken hearts." Coel reported, and left to the river to continue patching up other water faeries.

Catarina recalled that Aurora Lightlace and Orion Whitewater, two fiercely loyal and brave river guards were slain by the forest fey in the battle earlier today, and putting the pieces together, she assumed that their daughters probably witnessed them joining the stars. She had a deep look in her eyes, thinking carefully on how to help the young faeries deal with the loss. She started to walk towards the Whitewaters' den.

Huddled inside the den, Lilith and Freya sat together, Freya desperately trying to soothe Lilith and to bring her back to reality, while Lilith's eyes were hollow, empty orbs. The memory of her parents falling in front of her, the blood that pooled around them, their empty lifeless eyes... she repressed a shudder.

Just then, Catarina walked into the den, carefully approaching the dissociated sisters. She sat down next to them, trying to find the words to comfort them, to tell them it's okay to grieve, to tell them that their parents are safe among the stars... but words died in her throat. She silently sat with them, showing them a comforting presence and someone that they could talk to.

Freya's eyes hardened and she seemed to take back any emotion that showed before. She was 11, a water faerie in training, and one important feature in a faerie is that they must not show emotion. Emotions were like secrets, made to be hidden and concealed, showing your emotions meant exposing yourself to the enemy. One small moment of panic, fear, anger, could be the mistake of your life.

Catarina was mildly surprised by the young girl, but understood immediately. A strong warrior she will become. She thought to herself while looking at Lilith. The younger sister didn't seem to show any sadness or anger, but the emptiness in her eyes frightened Catarina, as if Lilith's heart and soul had broken and shattered into a million pieces and refused to heal. The loss was recent, like a fresh, raw wound that had been cut open deeply into the young girl's heart.

Catarina opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again, in fear of saying something wrong and provoking more negative feelings in the already-dark den. "Look, losing someone so close to you is hard, I get it, but..." She hesitated. She wasn't the best at giving comfort. "But even if your parents aren't here with you physically, they would forever be in your memories and hearts, just as you are in theirs. They are safe and calm up in the stars, and they will always watch over you, no matter what happens." She finished, hoping the words would have an effect on the sisters.

Freya looked up at her, nothing showing on her face except for that deep pain in her eyes. Catarina thought she saw them fade a little, but she hoped the sisters would recover with time. Freya gave a little nod, showing her thanks, Lilith did the same, and her eyes seemed to have some humanity in them again,

Catarina stepped out of the Whitewaters' den and went to check on the injured. The faeries were healing quickly, with a bit of magic and some special healing tricks that were specialised by the water fey, they were good as new. She sighed in relief, there were no more deaths than the tragic pair that day.

Soon, night fell and the river glowed gently, emitting a blue aura around it, and faeries headed to their dreams. Lilith lay on her bed, eyes open, unable to fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, the living horrors of her parents being slain flashed across her eyes. She stared up into the starry, calm sky and reached out a hand, as if she could grasp those fleeting moments of seeing her parents for the last time.

The wind whispered and swirled around the river, and as Lilith finally calmed down and drifted off to sleep, a leaf fell upon her den, and it was no ordinary leaf. It was one from the magical forest, that belonged to the same fey that had slain her parents that fateful day.