Pixie

 

            Joshua collapsed in a heap on his sleeping pallet. It had been another long, long day. He missed his life before he had been forced to become a slave. Now, he always had an unbelievably long list of things to do. He had to finish it too, or else those things would just get added to tomorrow’s work. Today, he had cleaned out the stables, weeded one of the manor’s many large gardens, and polished the carriage from top to bottom.

            Now, it was long past nightfall, and Joshua’s stomach grumbled in spite of the pitiful supper he had eaten, just a few minutes before. He thought, once again, about making a run for it, but decided against it when he thought of his previous failed attempts. All that had gotten him was more work and unpleasantness.

            Joshua groaned and turned over onto his side where he came face to face with a small creature with wings, barely five inches tall. Joshua let out a muffled yelp as he scrambled to back away from the creature. He wondered if he had started hallucinating because of overwork.

            The creature spoke. “Hi, Joshua!” it said cheerfully, flying around to land on his shoulder.

            Joshua was so surprised, but he also had about a million questions. His mind became overfull as he thought about which one to ask. Finally, he spluttered, “W-what exactly are you, and how do you know my name?”

            The creature flew down in front of him, straightened his tiny jacket over his overalls and said, matter-of-factly, Barty’s my name, and I’m a pixie.”

            “What’s a pixie?” Josh asked curiously.

            “Oh, you know,” Barty waved his hand vaguely. “It’s sort of like a fairy, but pixies have a lot more fun.”

            Joshua’s mind seemed to turn to mush as he tried to process this. “But fairies aren’t real,” he said finally.

            Barty had been darting around, looking at the few things in Joshua’s cell when he stopped and said, “Of course they’re real.” He let out an irritated, “Harrumph.”

            “But I’ve never seen one before,” Joshua said, somewhat angrily.

            Barty looked straight into Joshua’s face as he said, “Just because you’ve never seen something, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Besides, fairies only show themselves to people if they feel like it.” He paused and made a disgusted face. “Usually, we don’t feel like it.”

            “Why are you showing yourself to me then?”

            “I’ve been watching you, and can tell that you’re different from anyone else.”

            “I’m just a slave,” Joshua said bitterly. “There’s nothing special about me.”

            “Slaves are usually adults, and you are just a child.”

            “I’m 13!” Joshua said angrily.

            “Well, 13-year-olds aren’t usually made slaves, and even more unusually, you keep trying to escape. After once or twice, most slaves just learn to keep their heads down and get on with their work.” Barty looked up at Joshua admiringly. “You have a lot more fire in you than they do.”

            “I’m not supposed to be here!” Joshua nearly shouted.

            “Where are you supposed to be then?” Barty asked calmly.

            Joshua huffed and said, “I was doing just fine on my own before I got caught on someone’s private property and was eating their precious wild strawberries. How was I supposed to know that they weren’t just wild plants when they’re in the middle of the woods with nothing else around? It’s not like there was a sign or anything!” Joshua grew angrier just thinking about it.

            Barty, however, kept the same smile on his calm face. “That’s why I’m going to get you out of here, Joshua.”

            Joshua looked at Barty carefully. “How are you going to do that?” he asked, feeling a tiny bit of hope.

            “Easy. I have magic,” Barty answered lightly. “But I’m not going to do this for free, you know.”

            Joshua snorted. “Of course not. How am I going to pay you?”

            “Not with money, obviously.” Barty glanced at the ragged clothing that Joshua had been wearing since he had become a slave. “I actually have a job for you to do.”

            “What sort of job?” Joshua asked warily. “I already have an unpleasant job here. I don’t need another one, thanks.”

            Barty chuckled and said, “It’s not a job like this. I want you to keep the humans out of our forest.”

            “That’s all?” Joshua asked incredulously.

            “Don’t judge too quickly,” Barty said, holding up his hand. “As soon as we frighten one group of humans away, more humans show up. They are relentless, and so I figured that we should have someone relentless on our side.”

            Joshua thought about this and decided that it couldn’t be any worse from his current situation. “All right,” he said, nodding to himself. “I’ll do it, just get me out of here.”

            “Done,” Barty said as he snapped his fingers. He walked to the door, and looked back at Joshua, waiting. “Come on then!”

            “I can’t just walk out of here!”

            “Why not?”

            “Because there’s guards and even when I do slip past them, they’ll find me tomorrow morning and bring me back.” Joshua’s face turned sullen. “They always do.”

            “You don’t need to worry about that, anymore,” Barty said unconcernedly. “They’re all asleep, and I’ve made them forget all about you. No one will be coming after you now.”

            Joshua felt his hopes rising again as he got up and carefully looked out the door. The night was very quiet as he slowly walked out and Barty zipped right by him. “This way!” he called back to Joshua.

            Heart hammering, Joshua followed the glowing form of Barty. It was as easy to escape as Barty said it would be. He wasn’t sure what he was running to, but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind. Besides, now it seemed like he’d be able to live in the woods again, back where he wanted to be in the first place. He was excited for this new opportunity.