Unity

      The Zafaras that stayed in the village got out of bed and walked outside to enjoy the sunrise. A hue of bright colors filled the sky ranging from deep reds to bright oranges and pale yellows. Beautiful as it may be, the viewers lowered their heads and walked slowly back inside to prepare for the day ahead of them. They had seen the sunrise oh-so many times before, and by now its beauty that once brightened their faces now was just another sunrise.

      The final Zafaras left the feature in the sky, and doors could be heard clicking into their locks as they isolated themselves from the rest. For there was one thing that the town had a problem with: unity. No Zafara that was part of one clan could socialize with one from another. Nevertheless, the day went on and one by one the Zafaras left the field outside their homes.

      One Zafara remained, though. A young one by the name of Cillian. Part of the Ghost Zafara clan, Cillian never seemed to agree with the rule that no Zafara was to socialize with one from another group. Actually, he thought the whole rule was idiotic, but even so, he still managed to ignore each and every Zafara that wasn't Ghost.

      Cillian remained one of two children in the small town. He was a playful Zafara, always acting out events from past wars or kicking around a ball for fun. It was a shame, though, that the other child that he could have played with was from another clan; the Island Zafara clan.

      Riona, the only other child, had a radiant beauty that always lit up even some of the darkest rooms. Even though Cillian was to ignore any other Zafara, he couldn't help but to stare in awe every time Riona passed him. Riona also followed the rule, but just as Cillian did, she couldn't help herself but to stare at him.

      As Cillian continued to gaze into the sky, Riona slowly walked forward and stood next to him and gazed as well. Cillian turned his head to look slightly as Riona. The sunrise was emitting a slight glow on the side of her face while suddenly a gust of wind blew and wisped her hair. Cillian smiled and turned his head back towards the sunup.

      Yet little did he know that as soon as he turned his head back, Riona looked at him. She sighed slightly and did what no Zafara had ever done before.

      "It's so beautiful," she said in a mystical way.

      Cillian gawked at her. Never had he ever heard her speak, and with that she had broken the most important rule within the town.

      Riona turned to stare back at him and giggled. "I know, I know. But I've heard you talking to your clan before about this. The rule was bound to be broken one day."

      Cillian took a deep breath and broke the rule as well. "What would happen if we were to be caught, though? The punishment would be horrific."

      "At least we're brave enough to go against this," she replied. "And nobody would find out unless someone walked out righ--"

      At that very moment, the slight wind that once blew Riona's hair, now grew into large gusts. The sky clouded over with dark, black clouds and the warm air became chilling to the bone.

      Riona curled up and dropped to the ground in a ball. Cillian got down on one knee and grasped her in his arms. An obscure figure floated in the sky behind them; one with a large coat and wings. Cillian assumed this was a faerie. Taelia.

      Ice was shooting rapidly out of her pale hands. A blizzard of snow surrounded the pair of Zafaras on the ground. They curled up next to each other and snow fell heavily on them. The thatched homes that once were warm and cheery slowly began to form ice, and after a few moments they were solid blocks of ice. The heavy snow came to a sudden halt and everything stopped. Silently, Taelia descended and landed on the ground. Her voice was cold and chilling.

      "Mark my words: if you remain separated, your happy village will remain one of darkness and cold, like your hearts."

      A circle in the clouds opened up to reveal a slight glimmer of light. Taelia floated up into the sky, and the clouds formed back in, closing the circle.

      The villagers started to mumble to themselves as they walked around the town. The Zafaras had walked out when they heard the wind blowing away. Some of them touched their homes, but quickly withdrew their hands from the cold ice. The confusion was great, and immediately, the Zafaras got into their groups.

      Cillian and Riona got up off the ground and stared around them. The beautiful fields were now blanketed with deep snow, and the trees that were once full of life, now lay black and leafless.

      Riona clasped her arms closely to her body and walked slowly around the tiny town. Her lip quivered and a small tear ran down her cheek and froze by the time it hit the ground.

      She turned to Cillian and cried, "Look what has happened!"

      Cillian hugged her, "This never would have happened if we all could just at least talk to each other."

      The mayor of the town, an elderly blue Zafara, spotted the two children talking to each other and yelled at them. "How DARE ya' two! Ya' know the rules! Get back t' yer clans!"

      "No!" Cillian yelled. "Does it matter anymore? Have you not looked around you? The village is gone. There is nothing we can do!"

      The elder Zafara lowered his head. "The youngin' is righ'. We must get outta here. It's too cold and we need t' be warm."

      "But where do we go?" a woman cried.

      This question aroused more confusion within the clans. They all got back to mumbling faintly to themselves about what they would do.

      "Quiet! Quiet!" the elder yelled.

      "How about the Fire Faerie?" a man suggested. "Fuhnah? She should be able to melt the town!"

      The other Zafaras agreed silently by nodding their heads. Some just shifted their heads back and forth, trying to see what everyone else was saying.

      "Then it is settled!" the elder said. "We shall all travel t' Faerieland t' get Fuhnah."

      The Zafaras of the town walked back to their homes to get their belongings, but could only get what was lying loose around their homes. The rest of the items had to stay there until they arrived home again.

      Once each and every Zafara gathered everything that was of necessity, they formed into their clans and walked relentlessly out of their dark and cold village.

      Cillian and Riona, neither of which had spoken since the event, walked behind the groups, side-by-side.

      "This all has happened so quickly," Riona said.

      Cillian stopped and turned his head backwards to take one last look at their village. Who knew when they would ever see it again?

      Turning his head back, Cillian glanced at the path ahead of them. The road was long, but a small, dark shadow floated in the sky above them. Faerieland would hopefully provide shelter and help, but it would be an eternity before they reached it. If even.

     ***

      Night fell quickly over the groups, and the winds slowly became colder. They needed to rest, or else they would collapse from exhaustion. Deciding to stop suddenly in the fields, the Zafaras set up camp and lay down to rest.

      In the town, each Zafara was good for one thing in each clan. For example, in each clan, one Zafara would be good for cooking and another would be excellent at making clothes, but not every clan had a Zafara that was good at something different. Some didn't even have one that could cook! This caused problems within the groups, but lead to some harmony.

      As the majority of the Zafaras sat around a fire in the center of the camp, the rest embarked on a search for food or a water source. Sitting separately, each clan talked among themselves and huddled up for warmth.

      "We have only found these potatoes and a small river. We may be able to make potato soup," the chef in the Darigan Zafara clan stated.

      As the Darigan group started to cook their meal over an open fire, the smell wafted over into the Faerie Zafara clan, which didn't have a cook.

      As their stomachs rumbled, the Darigans began to feast. Unexpectedly, a Faerie rose from their group and walked over to the Darigan group.

      "Can you teach us how to cook?" she questioned.

      The Darigan cook pondered for a moment or two and agreed, with a smile might I add.

      Slowly but surely, each Zafara went to another group and held a conversation with them. The rules didn't matter anymore; now, they just wanted their village to be back to normal.

     Cillian and Riona sat next to each other in front of the fire, looking at everyone else. They smiled at each other and stood in line for a nice heaping bowl of potato soup. Disgusting as it may be, they still were hungry and any form of food would be fine, as long as it was edible.

      Looking over the entire camp, there wasn't one group with only a single type of Zafara; instead, they all mingled amongst each other. The rule was finally broken by each and every member of the town.

      ***

     The following morning, the Zafaras packed up the camp and continued walking towards Faerieland. This time, though, they walked as an entire pack instead of separate groups. Some even formed fine relationships with one another. But as they slowly approached the gigantic cloud that is known as Faerieland, the group suddenly hushed themselves.

      The cloud cast a large shadow over the Zafaras, and one questions struck them: how would they get to the very top of such a high cloud? They couldn't teleport themselves, and it would take forever to get a random event to have Fyora summon them there. They needed to fly!

      "What if we get the Darigans and Faeries to fly each of us to the top?" Riona suggested.

      The others thought about the idea, and agreed that it might be worth a try. Yet there were more types than there were Darigans and Faeries so they would have to make multiple trips back and forth. Either way, they gave it a shot.

      After about an hour or so, the two types finally managed to get each of the Zafaras to the very top the cloud.

      Entering the beautiful city of purple castles and pink, fluffy clouds, some of the Zafaras dropped to the ground: the trip had tired them out and the amount of fantasy and relaxation caused them to fall fast asleep.

      Only a few managed to make it to the main castle, but of the few were Cillian, Riona, and the elder.

      They walked into the castle and came across Fyora, the faerie queen.

      "May I help you?" she questioned.

      "We need t' speak t' Fuhnah," the elder requested. "We need her help."

      "Oooh!" Fyora giggled. "I see! Well, I shall fetch her then."

      After a few moments of waiting, Fuhnah finally entered the room, though she didn't seem surprised by her visitors.

      "How may I help you?"

      "Ma'am, please, Taelia came t' our village an' froze it. We need ya' t' melt our town so we can go back t' our livin' again," the elder pleaded.

      The faerie stared at the elder and the rest of the villagers. She shook her head and said to them, "I've been watching you all ever since Taelia froze your town. At first, I agreed with her actions, but now, you all have united even though you may not have realized it. You town is already back to normal. You may go back to it whenever you feel."

      Shocked by her answer, the villagers thanked Fuhnah multiple times, and finally left the castle to tell the others the good news.

***

      After many days of traveling, the Zafaras finally made it back to their haven that they called their own. Puddles lay at the bottom of their homes, and the fields that once were covered in snow were now full of life and plants. The sky was clear and the sun was just beginning to rise.

      Hand in hand, each member of the town gathered around in the field to watch the sunrise. Yet this time, they didn't just watch it for a few seconds. Instead, they sat and watched its beauty for the first time ever. And even after the sun was high in the sky, the Zafaras stayed in the field, happy that they were united for the very first time in their lives.

The End