Most girls grow up wishing fairies and elves and fantasy creatures of lore are real, praying for wings to sprout from their backs so they can dance among flower fields with magical friends. Eventually, they grow out of their foolish dreams and dream up more practical things.

Crystal, however, was not like most girls.

Crystal Lee, known as Crys to her friends and family, had been communicating with fairies and folklore-ish creatures for nearly a decade, acting as the link between human and fairy worlds. It was tough to be sure. When she was quite young and used to go about telling all the other kids about her fairy friends, no one believed her of course. It took a long time to understand that no matter how much she tried to prove it, seeing is believing for humans. And only those who had the gift could see the fairies, of course everyone knew that. 

So eventually Crys stopped trying to convince everyone her best friends were real and instead focused on more important things, like keeping the fairy realm safe. 

And having the time of her life.

"Aisling, are you sure this is a good idea?" Crys asked for perhaps the fiftieth time as she tested the strength of the rickety old sled. It was the dead of winter, and with the cold had come a snowstorm to rival the ages. Four inches of powdery white coated the ground, and Crys' best friend Aisling had convinced her to go sledding.

"Crys, I promise you, it's perfectly safe," Aisling repeated, also for the fiftieth time. "Well that's easy for you to say, you can just fly off if it gets too fast," Crys pointed out, nodding to Aisling's wings. Aisling was a butterfly fairy, as evident by the enormous translucent butterfly wings protruding from her back. They were beautiful, just like Aisling was overall beautiful.

Flowing white hair in a braided half-crown, bright blue eyes that shone like opals and a flowing white dress with a thousand layers, Aisling had always been remarkable, especially with the sun making her skin sparkle. Fairies were naturally beautiful of course unless they chose not to be, so it really wasn't surprising. 

Crys had always felt plain next to Aisling. Straight black hair, straight bangs, simple green eyes, plain clothes. A doe-eyed expression that made her look especially innocent and painted her as a the ditzy one in school. If only they knew. 

"Alright, let's do this," Aisling said, snapping Crys out of her daze. Crys nodded and smiled. "Right, let's do it," she said as she climbed on the sled, Aisling right behind her but never touching. Fairies weren't allowed to touch humans, they'd lose their powers. "Ready?" Crys asked, strapping herself in. "Ready," Aisling replied, tucking in her wings and dress. "Three, two... one!" They cried together as they pushed off from the top, instantly picking up speed and descending down the hill at a breakneck pace, wild and completely out of control. 

Wind whipped Crys' hair in her face in a way that stung like bees, the sheer force of the air flying past them was enough to make her eyes burn, but she kept them wide open and her hands tight on the sled, screaming all the way down. 

When the sled finally came to a stop at the bottom of the hill, Crys felt breathless and messy, like she'd experienced something magical and dangerous. Which, in a way, she had. She clambered off the sled and threw her arms in the air. "Aisling, that was amazing-" she stopped short, looking around and realizing Aisling wasn't there anymore. 

How strange.

Back then, when the fire had destroyed everything and Crys had sat on that lonely little step, that was when she first met Aisling.

"Hey, mind if I sit with you?" Said a twinkling little voice, causing Crys to look up and see... another girl. Her age, with pretty white hair and sparkly blue eyes, and the most beautiful dress she'd ever seen. "Of course," Crys replied, scooting over to make room for the pretty girl. She sat down, and only then did Crys notice the stunning butterfly wings on her back, translucent and shimmering with rainbow colors. 

"Woah, are you a fairy?" She asked, reaching towards her wings in wonder, hovering but not touching. Everyone knew you couldn't touch a fairy's wings. The girl smiled wide and nodded. "I am! My name is Aisling, what's yours?" She asked, holding out her hand to shake. Crys took her little hand in hers and shook it firmly. "Crystal Lee, but you can call me Crys, everyone does," Crys replied, settlings her hands back in her lap. Aisling fluttered her little wings and smiled brightly. "Most humans can't see my wings, so you must be special. We should be friends, I think," the young fairy said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms with a nod. 

"It's decided, you're my new best friend. We're gonna be besties forever, mk?" She held her hand out to shake again, no room for argument on her stubborn little face. Crys face lit up and she took her hand, squeezing gently. "Besties forever."

Aisling was always with Crys, no matter where she went Aisling came along. But recently she'd been... different. More distant. It kind of scared Crys. But hey, best friends, didn't have to always be together, all the time, right? 

Right?