Ruby; you’re pretty sure it wasn’t the name you were given by your parents, but it feels more right than whatever name you once had. As you ponder this name, a fierce sensation, as painful as it was pleasant, suddenly overcomes you. You begin moaning, just like the others within the cocoons you heard earlier in your tent.
Your whole body suddenly feels tender, especially around your back, ears and forehead; however, it doesn’t last long as your mind begins shutting down, as if you were falling asleep.
You awake to the sound of a girl’s voice. “This is the only one that hasn’t opened yet.”
“She’s the only one unaccounted for.” Came a second girl’s voice.
“I hope she made it.” A third, shy voice said.
You begin to move around, sliding in some kind of slick substance
“It’s stirring!” The third voice said.
You continue struggling to break free from your slime coated prison.
“C’mon, push! C’mon, push!” The three chanted in unison. It then occurs to you that at least two of them sounded very familiar.
You thrash about, kicking the inside of the silky shell, until finally, a tear formed. Your fingers headed straight to the rupture and squeezed through. More fingers joined as the hole widened and soon, both of your hands had a good grip on the sides and you tore the cocoon open wide enough to fit your body through.
“Yay, ya made it!” the second voice said.
“Glad you could join us!” the first voice said. “So, what’s your name now?”
Your eyes adjusted to the light as you stated your name. “Ruby!” As your vision cleared, you saw one of the girls clearly. She had lavender hair with violet petals forming a skirt and bikini top on her body, or rather, growing out of her body somehow as well as two pairs of large cicada-like wings with a clear lavender membrane and a violet framework draped behind her back.
“What a lovely name!” She said. You recognized the combination of her face and voice immediately.
“Carly?” It was your best friend and tent mate.
“It’s Starla, now.”
“I’m now Windy.” The second girl, with blue hair, cyan petals and cyan, blue-framed wings said, whom you remember as Winifred, your other tent mate.
“I’m Daffodil.” The third said, shyly. “It doesn’t matter who I was.” She had orange hair, yellow petals and yellow, orange-framed wings. She’s somewhat familiar, but you don’t recognize her right away.
“What happened to you?!” You shouted.
“Same as you.” Starla said.
“Take a look at yourself!” Windy said as she pulled you the rest of the way out of the cocoon.
You looked over your body to find pink flower petals growing from your skin, just like Starla and the others. Your hair was red and behind your back, growing from your shoulder blades were two pairs of pink and red wings. “Are we… fairies!?”
“Why don’t you flutter those wings and find out?” Starla said, already rising up on her wings.
You begin to move your wings, slowly at first, but quickly speeding up to the point where you’re rising up off the ground. Your face was beaming. “This is incredible!”
”I know, right?” Windy said.
“Is everyone a fairy, too?” You asked.
“Yes, everyone who was in the cocoons became a fairy.” Daffodil said.