We are proud to share the next installment of 'Spring Has Sprung' by Charlotte, a member of our Next Chapter Club. This piece is a great example of how vivid and beautiful imagery can really enhance a story.
Spring Has Sprung!
I flew as fast as my floral-scented gales could carry me, out of the falling fire-toned leaves, over beaches and sunny fields, and landed with a feeling of intense satisfaction. Nestling my wispy, small body into the blossoms on the biggest cherry tree I had blessed with Springtime, I giggled evilly. Clutched in my arms was a small burlap sack of apples. It was one of Autumn's magic items, for the tiny sack represented all of the apples in the world, the apples of Autumn. But now, apples were no longer hers. In fact, plump, crisp globes of fruit were beginning to pop up upon the usually barren apple trees, looking out of place among the tiny, pale green leaves. I bit into one and the tart, juicy flavor filled my mouth. It was perfectly ripe and delicious. But the best part? It was mine now!
t had been easy, really, stealing the apples. Summer was definitely the dumbest of the four of us, but Autumn wasn't the brightest, either. It was simply a matter of slipping through the window of her hut while she was busy painting leaves outside, charming open her enchanted wooden chest with a few simple birdsongs, grabbing the apples, and flying back home.
My gleeful thoughts were interrupted by a sudden, harsh stream of air so cold that it dusted the petals on the tree with glittering crystals of ice. I shivered, and my normally cheerful face darkened. "What do you want, Winter?"
The young, beautiful girl clad in many swathes of translucent fabric raised her slender eyebrows. "Autumn's thrown an absolute fit. Turns out someone stole her precious apples." Her milky eyes dropped to my hands, and a sick feeling churned in my stomach as a smug smile began to dominate her pale face. The sack of apples was still resting on my palms. "And I think I've found the culprit," she finished.
She grabbed my wrist brosquely, her bluish hair falling forward to reveal a pair of abnormally large, pointed ears, and in that moment it was perfectly clear to me what she was inside; a devilish demon with a heart of ice, that had no hope of melting anytime soon. "You're coming with me," she hissed. "The Faerie Board will be very happy to know the identity of the thief."
Her wings fluttered so fiercely that I was wrenched off my feet and had no other choice but to follow her as she flew faster and faster beyond the realms of the Four Seasons.
