Winter Lilies: A Yuri Garden Anthology

"Attention please. The train No. 124 is arriving at the Lenion station shortly. Next destination is Mt. Evenmoore"

Hearing the robotic announcement, Stella fluttered her eyes open and gave a small yawn. She lazily looked out of the window, greeting the approaching station with her eyes.

There was a flurry of activity, a lot of creatures of various kinds could be seen: there were mostly humans, but a non-insignificant number of elves, gnomes, hobbits and many other kinds of beings were present too. It wasn't obvious from this distance, but a few tiny lights were floating around - those might have been pixies or - who knows, maybe those were fairies like her?

Stella dropped from the seat, or rather the backrest of it - the human sized seats in the train were far too big for her to use comfortably after all, and flew up to get her baggage from above. It was easy for humans, elves - and even gnomes - to just stretch their arms out and put their bags into the shelf-like compartments. For a tiny little fairy, however, both putting and retrieving the baggage was, quite literally, a task of gargauntian proportions - something the young fairy didn't account for in her preparations.

"I am finally here", she muttered to herself, as she was floated in the air in a wobbly manner. She wasn't reffering to the shelf compartment, of course. Though getting there was not an easy task either for somebody who just woke up and hadn't had the time to stretch out their wings properly. After turning 19, she could travel independently and there were no problems even if she had to cross the entire continent. She had waited for so long.

"Mt. Evenmoore...", she could see its ouline in the distance.

***

It was pretty easy getting past the security checks in the station. Much easier than expected. Although the human world hadn't shown itself much too hospitable to fairies from a logistic side, thankfully there were no problems in getting her documents and luggage checked and approved. Apart from a curious stare or two, the clerks have shown a great deal of professionalism, for which she was very thankful.

The Lenion city was a very big place by even human standards. It was a commercial center and also a place of great cultural heritage. The legend had it, an angel once descended upon the world in this exact place, so there were plenty of gothic cathedrals and statues, the houses were all made in a very old-fashioned manner and the entire place had an atmosphere of history and refinement.

It all looked very beautiful in Stella's eyes. As she flew along the cobbled streets, carrying a disproporionally large suitcase underneath her, she attracted plenty of stares, but she barely noticed them, as she herself was drawn to the various relics that could be seen at practically every corner.

One was particularly memorable for her. There was a heartbreakingly beautiful depiction of the Angel from the legends down the avenue. It was a large statue made out of white marble, but the hair and the creases in the clothes and the feathery wings were made in such a masterful manner that it seemed that the beautiful angel would immediately fly away any second. Something about the statue tugged at Stella's heartstrings as she looked at it. She then flew up close and gingerly touched the hand of the angel. It was cold and smooth. As expected, no real creature could look so beautiful.

Stella sighed and continued to fly on her way to the hotel.

...

Stella entered her hotel room. It was human sized too. It wasn't like there were no hotels for fairies and other creatures of similar size, but Stella decided that a human-sized one would be best. As for why?

"Ahahaha", as Stella jumped on the truly giant bed like it was a trampoline, she didn't question her decision for even a second. It was a wonderful choice. Even if she had to fly for ten minutes just to get a cup of water from a cooler in the hallway and then had to make sure that the contents of the cup wouldn't spill as she somehow carried it all the way back to the room, it was definitely worth it.

"Whew", Stella collapsed on the bed as the exhaustion from the whole day of travel caught up to her, then she got up again and flew to the aforementioned human-sized cup of water on the stand near the bed and took a sip from it with a straw. It felt so ridiculous but so refreshing at the same time, she didn't feel that her journey was in vain.

"And tomorrow, I will finally go to Evermoore...", she smiled. She looked towards the table across the room, or rather, the large picture book on it. This was the biggest item in her entire luggage and it was easily twice as tall and many times as wide as her. It was full of photos of various places around the world and Stella considered it to be her greatest treasure. It was from there that she found out about the beautiful Holy Mountain where, supposedly, the Angel once descended upon the Earth.

Even since she had seen that mountain in the picture book, it had haunted her in her dreams. She really wanted to see that place in person. She didn't understand why she had to, but something in her soul desperately wanted to go there. Stella's mother said that it was just a fairy's characteristic whimsy, but she felt it was something more than that.

Regardless, she would finally see that place tomorrow, and she couldn't help but smile happily at the thought.

***

El'Rhyel woke up from her slumber. Her incorporial body surveyed her territory. The place was as peaceful as ever.

As she looked at the beautiful mountain and the still treetops, she couldn't help but want to reach out to the wonderful scenery. However, she wouldn't do it. Her role was to guard it, not to destroy it. Much less destroy it for a reason as silly as accidentally stepping on it.

So, she put put her back against the mountain and looked at the sky. The Sun was setting, and night was coming soon. What was awaiting her tomorrow? For some reason, she felt that, for the first time in a very long time, a change would come to the eternally sleeping mountain she was supposed to guard.

***

"So beautiful!", Stella was flying in the forest.

The Holy Mountain Evermoore was off-limits for vehicles, so any piligrims would have to travel there by foot. Unfortunately, the forest nearby grew abnormally fast, which made it impossible to create a path, so any traveller would be tested very severely if they wanted to pay respects to the sleeping grounds of the Angel.

Thankfully, this was no problem for a fairy like Stella. Although she felt very tired to travel in the human territory, natural life favoured her more than an average fairy. Whenever she wanted to rest, vines would stretch down from the trees, creating her a comfortable seat. When she felt thirsty, a spring would erupt nearby. She wouldn't even get lost as she could ask the birds for directions, or simply fly above the treetops herself. So, her journey was an exceptionally comfortable one.

Soon, she reached the top of the Holy Mountain. The legend had it that once upon a time, an Angel descended upon the Earth and fell in love with a human girl. The Angel accompanied the girl all her life and, when the girl died, the Angel decided to fall asleep. The holy mountain was supposedly the place where the Angel was sleeping.

It truly was a very special place. From the top of the mountain one could see the ancient forest stretch out for miles and miles away. There were lakes and rivers in the distance, as well as meadows and valleys. And above was a beautiful and mesmerising sky. It was very clear and it felt like one could fall into its depths if one wasn't careful. It truly made sense why the place was considered an Angel's sleeping ground.

Stella flew around in circles on top of the mountain, excited by the views. She had a lot of fun and her bell-like laughter spread out far and wide. She had finally visited this place. She felt so unbelievably happy.

El'Rhyel was looking at the fairy from above and smiled warmly. There would be piligrims coming here from time to time and the giantess didn't have any problems with them. Evidently, this one was a special one, however.

When all the visitors would piously bring offerings and prayers to the foot of the resting ground, and then leave just as piously; this little fairy flew directly to the top and treated it like a playground.

Naturally, El'Rhyel would not begrudge the little fairy for doing something like this. She did feel a bit infected by the young fairy's spirit however, so she decided to play a bit of a prank:

"Qu-El", as she whispered, her incorporial form turned opaque.

As the laughing fairy did another turn in the air, her crescent-shaped eyes met the vision of the ancient guardian of the resting ground. Stella was so surprised, that she forgot to fly and stumbled to the ground and her mouth was open so wide it resembled a round in shape.

The giantess smiled, and prepared to playfully chide the fairy, however-

"Please marry me", was what she heard before she even opened her mouth.

***

Stella had never seen a creature so beautiful. The giantess was standing tall, as tall as the mountain itself, and her black raven heair was cascading down like a real waterfall. The replescent steel armour shone under the sun like it was made of diamonds and her stern but kind expression made her look like a benevolent Goddess.

If there was anybody, anything, that could compare to the giantess' beauty, then it would be that heartbreakingly beautiful statue of the Angel that she had seen yesterday. Facing the ancient guardian Stella felt scared and awed and confused. She didn't understand who the other person was, but she felt the same urge in her soul as had haunted her ever since she had seen the photo of the mountain in the picture book. She felt an unbelievable yearning for this beautiful and ethereal creature that bordered on being a dream.

Before she had realised what she said she had already said it -
"Please marry me"

I want to stay with you. I want to be with you. I want to see you more. I want to touch you. I want to talk to you. I want to be with you.

I love you.

Stella had never believed in love at first sight prior to this, but the emotion she felt right now was exactly love. She felt like she had lived this life just to meet this Goddess. She didn't know where this longing came from, but she knew that this meeting was precious, and she had to do her best to cling to the opportunity.

There were no records of a giant human in the Holy Mountain, so this might be the very first and the very last time they would meet. Stella wanted to avoid it at all costs.

The giantess looked at her, her smile somehow frozen. She then looked embarrassed, her face going as red as an apple, waved her hand and-

"Get out of my home!", teleported the little fairy back to the outskirts of the forest.

***

"MMMMMM", Stella was shaking her legs up and down as lied on the bed, her face in the pillow

"Marry me? Please marry me? What have I done?!", she flew up in the air and spun a few times in embarrassment.

"What would she think of me? Marry me? Arrrrgggghhh!!!", she plunged down into the soft bed.

"What should I do?!", she exclaimed to the ceiling.

"But....", Stella smiled, "The Goddess was so cute when she was embarrassed!"

***

The next day El'Rhyel was looking over her territory. Memories of yesterday were fresh in her mind. Being proposed ot out of nowhere was something that she had never experienced before. She was taken by surprise, so she teleported away the misbehaving fairy impulsively, but now she really regretted it. Doing something so rude was not in her character. should the next time come, she would apologise to the fairy.

"Hellooo?! Miss Goddess?! Are you still here?!", El'Rhyel heard from nearby. The fairy somehow climbed back to the top of the mountain and was waving exaggeratingly.

El'Rhyel sighed, "Qu-El", and turned visible once again.

"Miss Goddess!", El'Rhyel could see stars in little fairy's eyes as she looked at her. The fairy then blushed and turned away. Taking a deep breath, she then yelled, "Hello, my name is Stella!", she stretched out her hand

El'Rhyel was confused. What was she supposed to do? The fairy's face was very red and she obviously looked very embarrassed. It seems that she had realised that they would not be able to shake hands after all, but she still perceivered despite it.

The giantess did owe the fairy an apology, and she didn't want to embarrass the young fairy to much, so she stretched her incorporeal hand out to the fairy. Her one finger was much larger than the entire fairy's - Stella's - body, but the gesture seemed to be very much apprecieated, as Stella beamed a bright smile and gingerly tried touching the giantess' hand.

"El'Rhyel. This one's name is El'Rhyel", she softly muttered. She then commanded her magic to turn her hand corporeal and waited for the fairy to shake - or at least touch it as a sign of making an acquintance.

The fairy froze in the air for a few seconds.

"Your voice... so beautiful", Stella looked at her with earnest eyes.

She then touched El'Rhyel's hand with hers and - "Waaaaah, your skin is so soft, I want to bury mysel-"
"OUT!"

***

"What have I done?! Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!", Stella beat the huge (by her standards) pillow with her tiny fists in her hotel room that night.

As expected, her hooligan behaviour resulted in another deportation from the Holy Mountain via teleportation.

"Why did I do thaaaat?!!", indeed, when it came to dealing with the giantess, Stella's brain refused to work properly. But she seemed so familiar, Stella couldn't help herself.

"I need to apologise. And get her name. Luckily, it seems she lives near Evenmoore", Stella began planning for the next day.

***

El'Rhyel was sitting in the same place as always. She had already found the fairy as she made her way up the mountain yet again. The giantess refused to appear in front of her, however, memories of previous time still fresh in her mind.

Nobody had acted in such an unrestrained manner with the giantess in the many years she had lived. She would not show up in front of the hooligan fairy unnecessarily anymore.

The fairy didn't seem surprised when she didn't see the giantess. She did look disappointed. She looked so pitiful, in fact, that the giantess felt like maybe it wasn't too big of a deal to show up, but...

As expected, the way the fairy acted previously was too much.

"Hello, Miss El'Rhyel! It is me, Stella, again! I came to apologise for yesterday!", the fairy bowed.

"I really didn't know what came over me", the fairy earnestly spoke, "I didn't mean to offend you"

Hearing the silence, Stella began looking even more pitiful. She sat down.

"Miss El'Rhyel! I really love you! I never believed in love at first sight, but it is true. From the moment I saw you, I became certain of only two things. First was that I fell in love with you and second - that I was always going to love you. No matter what"

The fairy stood up.

"I know you will not believe me. It is fair. I also know you may not love me back", she stopped for a moment, "But! I will do my best to prove to you those two things that I am certain about! I will come here every day, and do my best to make you believe in me!"

"So, miss El'Rhyel! What do you think?"

There was a fire in the fairy's eyes. El'Rhyel would lie if she said that she wasn't a little moved. So...

Puff. She teleported the fairy away again.

***

Another day came. The fairy came back. She took out a bouquet of flowers and put it at the foot of the mountain as she sang a prayer to the Angel sleeping there.

El'Rhyel was satisfied. Although this was the giantess' home. It was also the important sleeping ground of an Angel. As the guardian of it, she would feel pleased if others paid the place its due respect.

She then began climbing the mountain on foot. For a small fairy like her, there was no chance to reach the top without flying.

"Hello again, miss El'Rhyel. It's me again! Did you miss me? I certainly did!", Stella spoke between her breaths.

"I didn't know what to talk about, so I decided to tell you a bit about myself. I am sure you wouldn't feel comfortable to be proposed by someone you don't even know"

"My name is Stella. Stellaris Bluestar. I come from the Fairy Forest far North. It is a wonderful, beautiful place... Not as beautiful and wonderful as this one, of course..."

...

By the time it became dark, Stella was still climbing the mountain.

"Are you the guardian of this place? Or are you the sleeping Angel? No, you are not the Angel. Not to say you are worse than the Angel, it is just the legends, the appearance of the Angel in the legends is not the same as yours", Stella looked very tired. She kept talking through the whole day, talking about her life in the Fairy Forest and her tevaels when she was young. She talked of the myriad of places she'd been and the wonders she'd seen. But she kept returning to El'Rhyel as the topic of conversations, and it was clear her thoughts were straying towards the giantess.

El'Rhyel was a good judge of character. She could see through lies and deceit, and she saw none from Stella. She naturally saw that the fairy's inexplicable obsession - and that exactly what it was - was deep and earnest. She couldn't ever imagine why the silly fairy fell in love with her so deeply and earnestly. In all honesty, that felt too much. Although she did feel somehow warm as she became the receiver for this affection.

Puff. It was getting dark. She sent the fairy back.

***

"Hello again, miss El'Rhyel!", Stella came again. After praying to the Angel, she began climbing all over, this time with an oversized book in her arms.

"This is my favourite picture book! I have visited most places here!"

...

"I will leave this book to you! Please take care of it!", as it grew darker, the fairy put the picture book down gently.

Puff.

The giantess would naturallly not treat the book terribly. It was very precious to the fairy.

***

"Miss El'Rhyel!"

"Call me just El'Rhyel", the giantess conveyed her voice along with the wind. The fairy smiled a blindingly bright smile when she heard it.

"El'Rhyel! El'Rhyel!", she walked along with a light step.

...

Puff

***

...
...
...

It had been a month every since the persistent fairy began coming to the mountain every day. She would always come up with something new to talk about and try to interest the giantess. She somehow dug out some information about El'Rhyel in the literature, a lot of things the El'Rhyel had already forgotten.

"El'Rhyel, did you really stop the great fire 600 years ago?", Stella's incessant questions became the norm as she would come and verify facts about the giantess.

"Yes"

"Wow! El'Rhyel is so cool!", by now the giantess had to admit that she welcomed the energetic fairy coming to her eternally peaceful world.

"El'Rhyel, today is actually my birthday! Can I ask you a wish?"

"Of course"

"Can I see you again?"

"Yes"

***

Since Stella's birthday, El'Rhyel didn't hide herself from Stella. Stella was always so happy to see her, like a little Sun. How could the giantess bear to douse her enthusiasm? Even if she knew that it would only deeped Stella's affection for her.

She truly didn't know what to think. She wasn't sure how she felt about Stella. Stella was special. But El'Rhyel was a giantess, a being created by an Angel. She had her meaning of existence and she would fulfil it until the Angel decided to wake up again. That time might never come, which meant that Rl'Rhyel would guard the Holy Mountain till the end of time.

No matter how special Stella was, or how much she loved the giantess, El'Rhyel couldn't afford to answer to the feelings of the young fairy. The times they lived were too different.

Was this how the Angel felt when her human lover died? When the angel chose to love a human?

Nevertheless, the fairy kept coming back again and again.

She kept doing it for a whole year.

***

"Happy birthday again, Stella"

"Thank you!", the fairy happily spun around in the air, "But, El?" - that was how the giantess insisted the fairy called her - "Yes?" - "When is your birthday?"

El-Rhyel knew the exact date. She just never celebrated it, because she could live forever. There was no read point in doing so. When she told it to the fairy, for the first time, the fairy was angry with the giantess.

"But it's not pointless! It's a very important day! There is no more important day than that! Promise me that you will celebrate it with me!"

And that was how it was decided that El-Rhyel would celebrate her next birthday.

***

"But it's not pointless!" - these words kept revebrating in the giantess' mind.

Indeed. Just because she was immortal, didn't make this short event pointless. And just because she was immortal, didn't make Stella any less special to her.

"Thank you, for teaching me this simple lesson"

She wondered if this was the answer that the Angel came to back then.

"I am sorry", the giantess bowed to the mountain where the angel slept, "I am afraid I will not be able to guard you until you wake up"

It might have been her illusion, but something seemed to have smiled at her from the stars.

***

"Hello, El!"

"Please marry me"

***

As the once young fairy was dying, she still kept looking at the giantess, as if trying to impress the latters image into her soul, so that even in the afterlife, she could remember El'Rhyel's face.

"Did you know? In the Fairy Forest, there is a belief that all Fairies were born strong obsessions of the dead. I used to not believe it, but now...", Stella stopped as she got lost in thought, "I love you so much I cannot bear to leave you. I feel like I was born to love you. At least I feel that I've loved you long before I was born in the Fairy Forest. Know that if there is an afterlife, I will always watch over you from the skies. If God lets me live another life, I will find you and love you again and again, for all time. And if this is truly the end, just know that there was once this little fairy who gave her whole heart to you and never ever regretted it even once, and I hope that this thought will give you some warmth."

Stella closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she saw El'Rhyel again. The latter stretched her hand and Stella flew to it and emraced it closely. She then closed her eyes. The two of them flew up, into the starry skies, until they became a bright dot on the infinite canvas, shining forevermore.

As for the Holy Mountain? The one sleeping in it blessed the pair as she watched them and she continued her peaceful sleep full of beautiful dreams.