Prompt - The Mysterious Fountain
Deep in the Fairy Wonderland, a beautiful fountain has been decorated to match the theme. This fountain has been here for years, but there’s something different about it beyond just the little stars and lights that have been set up around it. The fountain is filled with coins from wishes, though there seem to be a few strange, foreign coins. Underneath one of the lower parts of the fountain, hidden in an ornately carved swirl, is a small golden bell with long golden chain dangling from it. If rung, a beautiful, tinkling sound echoes around the fountain as if many little bells are ringing. There is a faint hint of laughter hidden in the chiming bells. Amidst the tinkling bells and laughter, a little voice that sounds far away seems to ask for a wish. Whether or not one is requested, after a moment the song of the bells begins to fade. If the bell is rung again, nothing strange happens and it functions simply as a normal bell however, for the rest of the night, you hear the sound of giggling and tinkling bells following behind you.
When it came to physical boosts, Athalia had to admit that senshi certainly got some noticable improvements. He hadn't even broken a sweat as he sprung up and over the hedge in pursuit of the peculiar fairy-like entity. However, when he came to land on the otherside he found nothing. The area was completely empty and devoid of all company except his own, but at the very least he had at least gotten a sense of where he was.
Despite the decorations that had been lovingly placed on the Fountain, he knew where this one was. It had been here for as long as he could personally remember and he'd jogged passed it fairly frequently during his morning and evening routines. He'd never given it much thought mind you, it was yet another fountain (though old) in the company of several old statues and structures that existed in the park. After all these years they'd all just become a part of the furniture, hell, would he have even noticed if one of them was gone?
Probably, he mused. It was reassuring to at least know he recognised it even if he didn't pause to admire it each time. If it was gone he was confident he would at the very least have a sent that something wasn't quite right.
Nevertheless, as he drew closer to the fountain he did take notice of the fact that while he may not necessarily have given much care to this fountain it did seem that others had. Coins lay spattered beneath the water's surface, a tell-tale sign of wishes cast by the hopeful. No sign of his wayward fairy remained, yet he would 'go with it' on this one. Whatever it had been had wandered with purpose towards this place and now that he was here it seemed fitting to survey it.
He knelt down, peering idly in to the depths of the fountain an the coins within. Interestingly some of them didn't even seem to be local but he wasn't a collector and wouldn't have known the difference between alien or foreign to be entirely honest. In that respect nothing was amiss, but in the process of kneeling to get a better view of what lay within he did finally see the golden bell that lay hidden underneath one of the tiers of the fountain.
Had that always been there?
Has it even been there when he got here?
Probably; he wasn't about to invest all of his energy in to believing that every out of place thing was driven by magic this evening.
He stretched his hand out to pull the chain towards him, inspecting it carefully in between his fingertips. There was nothing odd about it, it gave off no auras, for all intents and purposes it was just a bell and a chain. He sought to place it back where he found it, moving it carefully back in to position. Alas, he had disturbed it just enough to give a single chime and with that came the magic.
Laughter!
He turned his head to gain a sense of where it might be coming from and receiving no signs he could do nothing more than give up. However, somewhere in the midst of that laughter there was something else...someone else, a single soft voice that asked for his wish. His brow furrowed and he rose to his feet, regarding the fountain with something akin to mild suspicion. Did he have any wishes, and more importantly, were these really something that he should be sharing with disembodied voices?
Some things were simply too personal to share.
On this occasion he refrained from replying, there was no need to cast a wish and risk more coming of it. Nevertheless he was at least satisfied that for now there was nothing entirely nefarious about what he'd seen. Until such times as the rumours changed and he grew more concerned that perhaps his initial judgements were wrong, he'd leave the strange being and the fountain to their own machinations.
He afforded one more look over his shoulder as he made to leave, it really was a quaint little corner of the park, they really had done well with these festivities...
Total Words: 711
