Briar Windwhisper's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Briar ducked behind the flowered arch at the edge of the village path. Her neighbor's voice carried again, asking where she'd been all afternoon. Briar smoothed her wings and stepped out smiling. She had a treehouse to finish in the woods, a hidden home for her and her brave beloved, far from Toadhollow's rules. But this nosy old fairy was one slip away from fetching the elders. So Briar lied. She pointed past the crystal-studded arch and said she'd been gathering moss for a new garden, right here, in plain sight. She even pressed a bright bloom into the neighbor's hand. The neighbor beamed and bustled off to share the news. Briar's shoulders dropped. The lie had worked, but now the whole village would come looking for a garden that didn't exist, and they'd come tomorrow.