As you squint into the darkness, you spot a small figure coming forward. Actually, it's quite tiny, and floating in midair. What you had thought were eyes reflecting are actually balls of faint light, one held in each hand of the little creature. The face, with its green eyes, appears to have the cherubic aspect of a young boy with slightly pointed ears, although the body proportions are more adult-like. A spark of light glints off of translucent wings, and you let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding. Your tormentor is a sprite, a fae, otherwise known as a fairy.
You're not sure if you should be worried or relieved. While fairies are known for their mischief, their size seems to belie any serious threat. Regaining some of your bluster, you stand up.
"Look, I haven't really stolen anything, it's all still here in the cave because, well," you indicate the blocked entrance over your shoulder, "you didn't let me leave."
"Trying to trick a trickster, are we?" The sprite gives you a look that silences you. "Very well, human, you want my gold, you can have it," he says evenly, waving his hand dismissively at the bag. You give him a suspicious look and hesitate, but your greed wins over your sense of caution. You sidle over and carefully pick up the bag, which remains oddly light. "But do not doubt that you will pay for it," the fae adds, grinning at you unkindly. Before you can react, he tosses the wisps in both of his hands at your eyes. The brightness blinds you, and you cry out as you fall to your knees, rubbing your eyes in panic. After an eternity of blinking hard and squinting, you realize that you can make out the features in the cave around you, and relatively clearly at that. Looking back over your shoulder, you find that the source of light is the cave entrance, which appears wide open and unblocked. There is no sign of anything strange, as the fae has apparently disappeared. The only evidence you have that this was not a dream is your filled backpack, which is sitting next to you on the floor where you dropped it. Not willing to press your luck, you grab your backpack and hightail it out of there.
After an hour or so you manage to get your bearings within the woods, and finally reach your cabin just as the sun is setting. Relieved, you scurry inside to inspect your loot. As the cabin was unoccupied for a while prior to you moving in, it will take some time for the power company to check the lines and restore power to your residence. Therefore, you quickly light a kerosene lamp and head for your bedroom, grabbing an old sheet to put on the floor. Closing the drapes and putting the lamp on a side table, you dump your bag out onto the sheet to find...
Acorns. Feathers. Pieces of heather. Shiny stones. Baffled, you kneel beside the pile and run your hands through it in disbelief. You saw the gold with your own two eyes. How could it...? From somewhere in your childhood, you remember hearing old folktales of people finding "fairy's gold," only to discover they had been deceived, and all their riches were actually debris from the woods. Anyway, did you even really meet a fairy? Maybe you fell down and hit your head. It could have all been one big hallucination for all you know.
Sighing, you finally rise and make your way out of your bedroom, not bothering to take the lamp. In the post-dusk twilight, you go outside and grab some firewood for the night. It gets dark fairly quick in the woods, and by the time you re-enter the cabin, you can barely see your hand in front of your face. Luckily, you have familiarized yourself with the layout, and just as you are shuffling forward from the closed door, a dim ray of moonight finds its way through the dense trees and between the shutters, aiding your steps.
You move forward, your arms filled with wood, as you walk past a mirror hanging on the wall. The motion of your reflection catches your gaze, so you turn to look at it for a second before you remember the mirror's presence. However, instead of a sigh of relief, a gasp escapes your lips as the wood falls to the ground. You stare at your reflection in the mirror, barely outlined by the silvery moonlight. That is, except for your eyes.
Although your eyes were deep brown all your life, your reflection now stares at you with eyes that are bright, vivid, glowing green. Thunderstruck, you....