Chapter 15: The Valley

Caspian cannot recall how he got to the valley that quick. He is just so relieved that Popsie Reed did not insist on driving him there all the way from town. If he did, Caspian might have taken longer to reach their place. At the same time, it will be harder to arrive there with someone not knowing the state of things upon their arrival.
Popsie Reed is a very perceptive person so he has to have a sound explanation. His mind is already imagining worse-case scenarios when he heard the explosion. He needs to be exactly sure first what really happened.
Well, it could have been a perfect day for Caspian, having spent it early with Anna. He is sorry to leave her and her parents so suddenly but his duty as a ranger is very important, most especially now that the dark fairy has escaped. He is just thankful that he gets to have some time with Anna once in a while. That is not much to ask for.
"Could this be his doing?" Caspian whispers to himself. He shakes his head to discontinue his thoughts getting darker by the second. He might not have met this Dark fairy personally but the stories of the other fairies give the impression that he is ruthless.
The valley is a long distance away from town if you walk. For Caspian, it is just a magic away. As he reaches his destination, he gives a sigh of relief. He is expecting the fairies in panic or worse, hurt.
In the contrary, the place seems fine, though his people are all over the place. A good number of his fellow rangers are busy checking out the small houses that are spread in the valley.
These houses serve as a facade for human settlements for their farm trading. These are the only fixtures visible to the human eyes. Their realm is camouflaged safe from the scrutiny of the humans.
"What happened here Bran?" Caspian blurts out upon his arrival.
Bran is the first ranger he sees.
"I heard an explosion!" he adds.
"We are not sure yet," Bran replies.
"The others are inspecting every possible cause that triggered the explosion. Where were you?" Bran asks curiously.
"Sorry, I was in town. I was with my friend and her family."  
"They invited me to have breakfast there... I got curious." Caspian explains.
"What kind of friend? I human friend you mean?"
Bran teasingly asks with a bit of intrigue.
"Yes, I have been seeing her for a while now...she knows who I really am." Caspian says further.
"Careful, Caspian, you are aware that we are not supposed to reveal our kind easily?" Bran reminds him.
Bran joined the rangers at the same time as Caspian. They train together and so he is very casual with him. He might not be one of the most skilled rangers but he is very trustworthy. Caspian doesn't mind Bran's reminders.
Both Caspian and Bran join the other rangers assembling in the open field. The other rangers finally finished their search in the houses. By the looks of disappointment on their faces, they did not find any clue there.
"The explosion seems to be just a ruse. There's no trace of anything damaged or ruined here. Maybe who made that explosion aims to distract us from our search for the dark fairy."
"Or better yet... let's check on Aldar and Melandra." Aramir concludes.
Aramir stands as their head ranger ever since the demise of Marion. Aldar and Melandra are second in command but with their present condition, it is impossible to ask for their guidance on the matter.
Aramir is the senior ranger among them but as a leader, he is very impulsive in his decisions. This is one of such perfect examples.
"Wait, Aramir! If your theories are right, isn't it safer not to go to where Aldar and Melandra are kept?"
"Someone might be watching us right now. It could even be the Dark fairy toying with us. We don't want to accidentally reveal their location. The dark fairy will definitely do all he can to get to them. This might be one of his tricks." Caspian explains with conviction.
All the other rangers nod silently in unison. They stare at Aramir waiting for his decision.
"Let us head back to our realm instead and report to our Queen and King. Well, there is not much to report anyway. I think we need to head back. But some of you must stay behind here to keep watch if anything else seems out of the ordinary." Aramir decides.
"Caspian, take the lead here with five of our fellow rangers. Be alert. Inform me directly if you see anything. Bran, Alcon, Jeera, Cleo and Orin, stay here with Caspian. Be vigilant!"
The rangers mentioned at the moment bow politely to Aramir as he turns towards the direction of their realm. The rest of the other rangers follow.
"Good thinking Caspian! Aramir sometimes gets overly reactionary," comments the petite fairy with golden brown hair.
"I thought Aramir will scold you for disappearing somewhere again." Cleo adds jokingly.
"Thanks Cleo. It just cross my mind since you did not find anything out of place. As for my absence early this morning, I just had to be somewhere for a while." Caspian explains.
"You are probably right that the Dark fairy is just trying to trick us into revealing where Aldar and Melandra are located. It is not the first time that he used the valley as a distraction for his bigger plan." Jeera, the silver-haired one says.
"It might not just be the Dark fairy. Remember, we still have not solved the mystery on how he escaped his prison. I think that should be taken seriously." Alcon reminds them. He is the tallest among the rangers.
"So, someone must have helped him. Could there be a traitor among us?" blurts out the dark brown-haired one named Orin.
"So many speculations...The Dark fairy might still have a few followers around. Let's just keep our eyes open." Bran reminds them.
"Yes, let's keep patrolling the valley for now. But let's stay in pairs for precaution. Jeera and Orin you can patrol together. Alcon stay with Bran. Cleo let's look around again near the forest." Caspian instructs them.
The rangers start to spread out, on their guard. However, they all seem to agree that nothing else will happen now.
"Be ready with your glamour. The people from the town might come and inspect too. They heard the explosion even from there. I think some of them might be curious to find out and see with their own eyes what really happened." Caspian adds.
All the fairy farmers come out from the settlement houses to resume their work in the field. These fairies are dressed in brown trousers like human farmers. They are the front liners who trade with the human visitors whenever they hold the vegetable market in the valley. This way, the human population stays unaware of the fairies' existence.
Supernatural beings live with the human population in secrecy. So far, the werewolves are more capable of co-existing with humans for they take human forms. But here in the town of Bellmont, where the population is small, they can draw attention to themselves as easily. Werewolves move with their packs. So, too many werewolves might be too obviously recognized. That is why they stay away from this area.
Oftentimes, it is better that way. Knowing that fairy, witches, vampires, werewolves and other such beings exist is harder to process than just considering them as legends or myths.
Most especially right now, a dark fairy running amok is a very difficult matter to control. It will cause such panic and pandemonium if word gets out to the human kind.
So, the valley exists as a bridge between the human world and the fairy realm. However, this kind of bridge is not a passable one for the humans...for now.
The fairies can be considered as the guardians of this bridge through the supernatural realm.