Purple Pansies

 

            Patty looked critically at her reflection. This pink dress was pretty, but what about that other purple one? It was so hard to decide. She had to look perfect for the fairy ball tomorrow night. The annual Flower Festival was always the biggest event of the year in all of Fairyland, but this year was special because Patty was finally old enough to participate. She and the other fairies had spent the last several days visiting all the flowers that grew in Fairyland. With their magic, the fairies were able to coax the plants to grow the most spectacular blossoms.

            The last day of the Festival ended with the ball, where all the fairies gathered to enjoy the party and show off their work. Patty thought about the purple pansies that she had spent so much time on. She looked back at the purple dress and tried it on again. Yes, this was the one she was going to wear.

            Patty paid for her new dress and was flying home when she decided to visit her pansies. She wanted to see how well they matched the dress. Maybe she would cut one to put in her hair.

            She flew right past her pansies before she realized what had happened. Panic bloomed inside her as she flew back to look at the damage. Her beautiful pansies! Something had come through and dug them all up. The few that survived were limp and covered in dirt and soil. Who could have done this?

            Patty looked frantically around her and saw what she had been dreading—giant footprints belonging to a human. With a cry, she flew immediately to find Queen Freya. She would want to know that a human had visited Fairyland. Patty flew all over asking several fairies if they had seen the Queen. Finally, she found her tending her own roses for the Festival.

            “Your majesty!” Patty cried, somewhat out of breath. “Humans have been in Fairyland!”

            Freya looked up sharply and asked, “Are you sure of this?”

            “Yes! I saw footprints, and my pansies have been ruined!” Tears threatened to slide down her face as she thought of all the work she had put into her flowers.

            Freya stood up with a regal air and said, “Show me where.”

            Patty led the way, with Freya following close behind. As soon as they reached the ruined pansy patch, Freya pursed her lips and said, “We’ll need to tighten security in case this human comes back. How did they get in here in the first place?”

            Patty was wondering the same thing. It was supposed to be impossible for humans to enter Fairyland. Unless… “What if it was a human who has been here before?” Patty asked.

            “I haven’t invited any humans to Fairyland for years.” Freya’s face turned thoughtful. “But, maybe it was…” She suddenly focused on Patty. “The last human I invited was a woman named Eva. She helped us out of a little bit of trouble before. I invited her to Fairyland, but she never came because she moved away with her family.”

            “But why would she come and ruin my flowers?” Patty cried.

            “Humans do this thing where they dig up flowers to plant somewhere else.”

            Now Patty was confused. “Why don’t they just harvest the seeds for replanting?”

            “They can’t wait. Sometimes, they would rather risk killing the flower than growing a new one. I’ll go see if Eva has come back.” Freya flew off.

            Patty sat down on a branch to mourn her flowers when Freya called, “Well, aren’t you coming?”

            Patty hopped back up and felt her spirits rise. The Fairy Queen had invited her to come! Now she followed Freya, who seemed to know right where to go. They crossed the Fairyland border, and the world seemed to grow a little less colorful. They flew to an old cabin that Patty was sure had been vacant before. However, Freya flew right up to the door and knocked.

            The door opened, and a woman cried, “Oh, Freya! How good to see you!”

            Freya responded with much more warmth than Patty expected. “Eva, I thought you were long gone!”

            “Yes, we did leave, but we decided to come back to our roots. The big city turned out not to be for us. I’m so glad you came! I went to find you in Fairyland, but you weren’t there. Look at these beautiful pansies I found!”

            Patty saw her pansies—beautiful, if slightly battered. They now resided in a flower pot next to the front door.

            “Yes, well, you see, that’s what I’ve come to talk to you about,” Freya said kindly. Those have been cultivated for our Flower Festival for tomorrow.”

            Eva’s face fell slightly. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I would be happy to bring them back! I didn’t realize they were being used for anything.”

            Patty flew up beside Freya. Now that she had met Eva, she didn’t feel so bad for her flowers. At least they would be tended by someone who would enjoy them. “I would be happy to gift them to you.” Patty’s face reddened slightly. “But could I have one of the blossoms to wear with my dress, please? I’m planning on wearing it to the ball tomorrow night.”

            Eva agreed readily. For the next hour, Queen Freya and Patty visited with Eva in her small cabin. It soon became apparent that no one else could see the fairies. Eva’s family came and went out of the cabin without even glancing at the two fairies sitting on their couch.

            After they left, Patty felt much better about things. Her pansies might be ruined or damaged, but she still had one flower to match with her dress. She went to the ball the next night, and received so many comments on her dress and flower combo that she decided to grow pansies again for next year. Only this time, she would make sure to plant them somewhere else.

Fairy House

 

            Jenna pretended the small rock in front of her was a soccer ball as she kicked it down the sidewalk. She was walking home alone – again. Her best friend, Paisley, was staying after school for play practice. Not that she would want to walk home with me anyway, Jenna thought.

            Ever since the start of 6^th grade, Paisley had decided to become part of the drama club. Jenna supported her friend, but she had no interest in joining her. Now, Paisley had new drama friends, and Jenna was starting to feel left out. She and Paisley had been best friends and neighbors since kindergarten, but things were changing. They still said “hi” to each other, but they didn’t really hang out anymore.

            Jenna tried not to let it bother her. She had her soccer team, after all. Jenna smiled as she thought of their game last night. Her team, the Wolves, won 2 to 1 against the Panthers. She kicked the rock again as she thought about how she had scored one of those goals. She raised her arms and let out a whoop as she ran down the sidewalk. “And the crowd goes wild!” she cheered.

            She reached her house, and was surprised to see Paisley walking toward her. “Hey, Paisley,” she said cordially. “Didn’t you have play practice today?”

            “It was cancelled,” Paisley said sadly. “I thought I would just come over and see how things are with you.”

            “They’re good,” Jenna answered. “The Wolves won last night.” Jenna couldn’t help smiling at that.

            “Good for you!” Paisley said enthusiastically. “I wish I could say that the play was going well, but I’m having a hard time learning everything. I don’t have the lead part, but I feel like I have a lot of lines to learn.” She hesitated a moment, and then asked, “Would you help me practice?”

            “Sure,” Jenna said immediately. She missed her old friend, and was glad to feel needed.

            They went inside for an afternoon snack, and then went out to the backyard patio to go over Paisley’s part. Jenna read from the script, while Paisley recited her lines. Jenna soon realized that Paisley didn’t actually need any help. She knew all her lines, and they went quickly through the scenes.

            “Nice job!” Jenna congratulated her. “It sounds like you’ve got it all under control. Do you want to go do something fun? How about we go walk along the creek for a while?” She held her breath, thinking that Paisley would probably say no.

            Paisley surprised her by saying, “Yeah, sure! That sounds fun!”

            Together, they took the path down to the creek. Jenna was amazed at how much she had missed their friendship. They talked about everything. It was like they had to catch up with each other after all the time that they had grown apart. When they reached the creek, Paisley asked, “Do you remember when we used to look for fairies?”

            Jenna smiled as she remembered the hours they had spent together along the creek, trying to capture water fairies. “Yeah, and we made all those fairy houses, trying to entice fairies to move in.”

            Paisley laughed and said, “We should make one now.”

            The two girls spent the next hour gathering rocks, leaves, and twigs. They arranged them into what they thought would make a beautiful fairy house. Jenna was so relieved to know that she and Paisley were still friends. She threw herself into the task of beautifying their creek-side fairy abode. They gathered flowers and placed them around the area.

            By the time they were finished, Jenna knew she would have to go home soon for dinner. She had enjoyed the afternoon and didn’t want it to end. Both girls gazed at the miniature fairy house they had made. “You know, I think that’s way better than anything we ever built before,” Jenna said. “Maybe we’ll actually get a fairy to move in this time.” She grinned at Paisley, and Paisley grinned back at her.

            “I forgot how much fun it is to do this,” Paisley said. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been around much lately, what with play practice and all.”

            Jenna shrugged and said, “That’s okay. I have soccer practice and games, too.” She paused and then said, “Next time you don’t have play practice after school, let’s make some more fairy houses to make a whole town!”

            Paisley’s eyes lit up and she said, “Yeah, that sounds so fun!”

            The girls headed home, discussing how they were going to improve their fairy village. When they were out of sight, a fairy zoomed over the water to inspect the new house. Another fairy soon joined her.

            “Wow!” the first fairy said, as she glowed brightly. “This is the best one the girls ever made!”

            “It’s been a while,” the second fairy said. “Did you hear that they’re planning on building more? We’ll have to tell the other fairies. If they’re all as nice as this one, we could use this as headquarters, at least for a little while.”

            The two fairies continued to gush with praise over the beautiful house. Jenna and Paisley might have never seen a fairy, but they were famous among the fairies in the area. The girls weren’t the only ones who were glad to renew their friendship. As the village grew, more and more fairies moved in. It became the most beautiful spot along the creek. There were more flowers and foliage along that section of water than anywhere else.

            Jenna and Paisley never knew that they were the cause of a lot of celebrations among the fairies, or that they were the recipients of fairy magic. They both did well in school. Paisley excelled in the drama club, and Jenna played a great game of soccer. All of this because they were kind to beings that they didn’t really believe existed. You never know how far your kindness will go.

Crazy Katie

 

        Katie hiked along the path to her house in the early morning light. She was returning from a visit to the general store in town. She clutched her purchases in one hand while she gestured rapidly with the other, talking in to thin air.

        “I couldn’t say no to my own sister!” she hissed vehemently. There was the sound of chittering for a moment, almost like the sound of dry leaves, and then, “At least we have some time to warn everyone. We’ll have to make sure the dryads remain on their best behavior. If they can’t stay in their tree form, they will have to retreat further into the woods. The winged foxes will also have to vacate for the afternoon. Tell the rest of the fairies and pixies that their weekly get together will have to take place tomorrow, or at least later this afternoon.”

        Katie continued to hurry and issue directions to an invisible being until she reached her home. It was this constant talking and muttering to herself that had earned her the nickname “Crazy Katie.” Everyone in town thought of Katie at the very least as a little odd. Katie knew what everyone thought of her, of course. That was one reason that she lived so far away from the center of town and inside the woodland boundaries. The other reason was actually quite practical. She was a member of the Magical Protection and Secrecy Force.

        Ever since Katie was a little girl, she could see and hear things that no one else could. She would constantly talk about strange things that she had seen in the woods. It was an adorable trait as a small child, but it turned into something else as she got older. Katie stopped describing things she was seeing when she realized that no one else could see them.

        Katie never questioned her sanity, but others did. When she was 12, she officially became a part of the Magical Protection and Secrecy Force. The centaurs had approached her with this position, and she had accepted gladly. She was tasked with helping to keep the magical realm hidden from anyone who didn’t have magical abilities. She moved into her own small cottage, deep in the woods, as soon as she was 18.

        Katie was constantly taking care of and entertaining all sorts of magical creatures. As soon as she was inside her own gate, she called out, “All right everyone! I’ve got human company coming in half an hour, and everyone has to leave!” To an outsider, all they would have seen is a sudden furious windstorm where everything seemed to be blown every which way. To Katie’s eyes, however, a menagerie of creatures came out to protest.

        “Aww, I was just about to settle down for my mid-morning nap!” a strange hedgehog with horns complained as it lumbered from underneath the hedge.

        Several fairies flew out of the house and flitted around giving complaints like, “But today’s our weekly flower meeting!” and “Yeah, how are we going to organize our assignments?”

        A young unicorn gave a little neigh of protest as it bolted out into the woods. The winged foxes flew out from their nest in the eaves in a flurry of feathers. Katie tried to appease them all. “Don’t worry! It’s only for an hour or two, and then you are all welcome to come back later.” As all of the magical creatures vacated the premises, Katie looked around her and sighed. Her house truly seemed deserted now. She was used to the hubbub of having everyone around her. Slowly, she started to straighten things up in her home and got ready for her sister’s arrival.

        Half an hour later, Katie’s sister, Mary, knocked sharply on the door. Katie pasted a smile on her face as she went to answer it.

        As the door opened, Mary smiled and said, “I love your rosebushes, Katie! How do you get such beautiful roses?”

        Knowing full well that it was due to the fairies, Katie said, “Oh, I just make sure that they get enough water, but I think they are even more beautiful this year than they have ever been.” She hugged her sister and spotted a small satyr on the edge of the yard. Frantically, she waved it off before her sister could see.

        They had a marvelous afternoon, according to Mary, but Katie kept spotting evidence from her previous visitors. She nervously slid a tiny flower wreath from one of the fairies under her couch. She nearly cried out when she opened the fridge and found a small snow bunny enjoying the cool. She nervously set it outside the window and lowered it to the ground while her sister talked about all the goings on in town.

        Finally, Mary left, promising that she would come and visit again soon. Katie fervently hoped that “soon” meant not for at least a month.

        Mary hadn’t been gone more than five minutes before Katie’s forest friends started to reappear. Katie welcomed them much more warmly than she had her sister, and with a much more genuine smile. Katie didn’t care if she was called crazy by the entire town. This is what she loved to do and where she loved to be.

Magic Music Box

 

        This was the first time that Sharon had been back to her grandma’s house since the accident. Just walking through the front door made Sharon want to cry. Grandma had traveled all around the world, seeing all kinds of things. When they got word that she had crashed in her own private airplane, Sharon felt like a piece of herself had gone down with Grandma.

        Sharon’s family only lived ten minutes away from Grandma’s house, and Sharon spent most of her weekends there before the accident. Now, Sharon was here with her dad to help clean and move everything out of the house. The thought of going through Grandma’s things made her feel sick. As grandma’s only child, Sharon’s dad had inherited everything. He wasn’t very interested in any of the knick knacks that Grandma had collected over the years. He wanted to just sell everything and get rid of it. That’s why Sharon was here. She wanted to save everything she could.

        Sharon had inherited one item from Grandma. An antique music box that Sharon had spent hours admiring, was the one thing that Grandma had specifically left Sharon in her will. Sharon loved it. It was made out of carved wood and was very delicately painted. The amount of detail on the box as a whole was amazing, but the spinning figurine inside was absolutely exquisite. The detail was so fine that it didn’t even look like it was made out of wood. It was a figurine of a fairy with delicate wings. Sharon remembered watching it spin around and almost thinking that it looked alive.

        Dad wanted to sell the music box, of course, but there was no way that Sharon would allow that to happen. While Dad started boxing things up, Sharon went to find the music box. She pushed open the door to Grandma’s bedroom, and saw the precious music box sitting on the dresser. She breathed in the smell of Grandma as she turned the mechanism that would allow the music to play. She sat down on the end of the bed with the music box in her lap. Very carefully, she lifted the lid as the music filled the room.

        Sharon gasped as she watched the fairy. It was even more exquisite and beautiful than she remembered. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of Grandma. This music box had been her most prized possession. She would do whatever she needed to keep it from being sold with everything else. She finished listening to the song, and sighed as she went to close the box.

        “Wait,” said a small voice.

        Sharon jumped as she looked around for whoever had said that. Dad was still in the living room. She could hear him taping up boxes. There was no one else around.

        “Down here,” the voice came again. “In the music box.”

        Sharon looked with amazement at the open box still on her lap. The little fairy that she had always admired was now talking to her. “Umm, hello?”

        The fairy beamed up at Sharon as she waved enthusiastically. “My name is Magnolia, and you must be Sharon.”

        Sharon blinked, completely nonplussed. “W-what?” she finally stammered.

        Magnolia smiled warmly as she flew up out of the music box and landed on Sharon’s shoulder. “Your grandma told me all about you, you know. I’m your guardian.”

        “My what?” Sharon asked, even more confused now.

        “You come from a long line of fairy friends. Over 1,000 years ago, your ancestor performed a great service for the fairies, and all she requested in return was protection for her and her female descendants. That’s why I’m here.”

        “Wait, weren’t you supposed to protect Grandma, then? Why did she die in a plane crash?”

        Magnolia flitted around to hover in front of Sharon. “Nothing could kill your grandma. That was just a cover up story. She just left to spend her final years with the fairies in the magical land of Fae.” Magnolia’s eyes sparkled.

        Sharon felt something like hope blossom in her chest as she asked, “Is she still alive, then?”

        “Yes, and no. Once you fully commit to the land of Fae, you will never be able to leave again. Your grandma will live happily with the fairies for many years to come, but she will never be seen in this world again.”

        Sharon felt herself deflate at this news. “So I’ll never see her again?”

        “I didn’t say that.”

        “But, you said she can never come back here.”

        “True, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t come and visit her sometimes. Someday, you will commit yourself to Fae too, but until then, you can come and visit as a friend of the fairies.”

        Sharon inhaled hope again as she said, “Can I go see her now?”

        “Well, there is the little matter of proving yourself a fairy friend. Just because your ancestor was one, it doesn’t mean that you are automatically one as well.”

        “What do I need to do?” Sharon asked resolutely. She knew that she would do just about anything to see Grandma again.

        “All you need to do is act as a liaison between the human world and the fairy world. This has been the task of your family for the last 1,000 years.”

        Sharon didn’t have to even stop and think before she said, “Yes, I’ll do it.”

        Magnolia looked pleased as she said, “Your grandma is very proud of you, you know. She’s wanted to tell you all of this for years, but we had to wait until you were old enough.” She landed gracefully on the music box again. “First thing’s first. You have to protect this box with your life. If anything were to happen to it, I would disappear, and you would never hear from me or any of my kind again.”

        Sharon nodded, as she thought about everything. She wanted to earn Grandma’s pride.

        “Secondly, we need to save all of the various fairy artifacts that your dad is currently shoveling willy nilly into all those boxes.” Magnolia flew up to land on Sharon’s shoulder and abruptly disappeared.

        Sharon gasped and asked, “Where did you go?”

        Magnolia’s voice sounded right in her ear. “From now on, I am always with you, but I can never be seen by another human. Now let’s go.”

        Sharon nodded as she accepted this, but had another thought as she asked, “Why doesn’t Dad know about you?”

        “Only female members of your line know our secret. Male humans would never be tolerated in the land of Fae.”

        Sharon nodded again as she headed downstairs, wondering how to convince Dad not to sell everything. But just knowing that she had Grandma’s confidence allowed her to have confidence in herself. She walked with her head held high, ready to step into her legendary role.

Pixie 2 - Harpy Trouble

 

            Barty flew through the woods that were his home, in a hurry to get to where Joshua was currently camped. He looked down on the sleeping boy and lazily flicked the end of Joshua’s nose, and Joshua woke with a start.

            “What was that for?” Joshua asked angrily, rubbing his nose and glaring at the pixie.

            “I have a job for you to do,” Barty asked, zipping through the air.

            “I’m already doing the job that you asked me to do. No one has gotten past me into the forest.”

            “Yes, yes, you’re doing a marvelous job about that.” Barty waved the rest of Joshua’s explanation away. “I need you to go and round up the baby harpies.”

            “The what?” Joshua asked, confused.

            “The harpies have escaped and are causing havoc in the village.”

            “What are harpies?”

            “Mean, spiteful things that will do anything to get their own way. You may have heard the legends that say that they’re basically birds with women’s heads. Baby harpies are much smaller and more erratic.”

            Joshua’s eyes widened as he thought about that.

            Barty continued on. “They may look terrifying in their true form, but they don’t usually show themselves to humans. All the humans can see are big birds, but the babies look more like moths because of their small size.”

            Joshua started as he remembered something. “I saw a cloud of moths last night head through here toward the village.”

            “Yes, that would be them,” Barty nodded, his small pixie body bobbing around excitedly. “I need you to go and bring them back.”

            “How?”

            “I’ll do the hard part, but I need you to keep them contained until we bring them back to the rest of the harpies.”

            “Um, okay,” Joshua agreed slowly. Barty had helped him escape his previous slave life, so he felt he owed him. These harpies, however, didn’t exactly sound like something he wanted to be around.

            “Come on then,” Barty said as he flew off in the direction of the village. Joshua had to run to keep up. They crested a hill and looked down on the village below.

            Joshua turned to Barty and was surprised to see a small green hummingbird instead. He looked around for Barty, but then he heard Barty’s voice come from the tiny bird. “Okay, here’s the plan,” he said, ignoring the shock on Joshua’s face. “The baby harpies are always wanting to play tricks on others, so I need you to go in a let yourself be tricked.”

            “Wait, I’m the bait?” Joshua asked, not liking where this was going.

            “Well, yes. But don’t worry. I won’t let them kill you or anything. They’ve probably already lured away others toward the village well or something.”

            “What?!!”

            “I’ll be right by you, so they won’t go too far. Stop worrying.” Barty twirled around in a fancy loop-the-loop as he flew ahead.

            Joshua was nothing but nervous now as they reached the village. A man with a panicked face ran up to Joshua and asked, “Have you seen Sylvia, my little girl?”

            Joshua shook his head no as the man moved off to ask someone else. As soon as he left, Joshua made a beeline to the well, which was on the other edge of the village. He really hoped that Barty was wrong about leading people into a well. When he got there, he saw a cloud of furry black moths moving toward the well. Joshua could just make out some shoes and the skirt of a dress poking out of the bottom of the mass. He immediately rushed over to the insects and reached inside the dark cloud. He felt a hand and started to pull before the ugly bugs surrounded him too.

            Joshua became totally disoriented as the moths swarmed around him. He kept hold of the little girl’s hand as they were both pushed along the path. “Barty!” Joshua shouted before the bugs covered his mouth and cut him off. Joshua could now barely breathe and thought what an awful way this was to die.

            Just when he thought he was totally lost, the moths surrounding Joshua froze in the air. He immediately pushed them away from his face and pulled free, tugging on the small girl’s hand. She emerged from the mass of creatures, but her face showed nothing but terror. “Sylvia?” Joshua asked her softly.

            The girl nodded and then burst into tears. Joshua patted her awkwardly on the shoulder and then said, “I think your father is looking for you. I saw him on the other edge of town, near the road that leads to the woods.”

            The girl needed no urging as she ran toward the direction that Joshua had indicated. Satisfied, Joshua turned his attention back to the moths. Barty the hummingbird was pushing them into what looked like a large picnic basket. “Help me, would you?” Barty asked hurriedly.

            Joshua started shoving the furry things into the basket. There were so many of them, but they all fit into the basket easily.

            When they were all hidden away, Barty said cheerily, “Now that’s what I call teamwork!” The hummingbird flew happily around Joshua’s head. “We should probably hurry back now. The freezing magic won’t last that long on the baby harpies. Don’t want them escaping again!”

            Not needing to be told twice, Joshua picked up the basket and followed the hummingbird back through the village. They passed Sylvia and her father being joyfully reunited and Joshua smiled.

            As soon as they were out of sight of the village, Barty appeared in his true pixie form and Joshua could see how happy he looked. “What an adventure, right?” he asked grinning.

            The picnic basket started to jerk and move in Joshua’s hands. “Yeah, a great adventure,” he agreed. “But I think it would be even better once we get these back to where they belong.” Joshua followed Barty deep into the forest to deliver the creatures back to their home. Great, black birds landed around Joshua to relieve him of his burden. He was only too glad to be rid of it as the birds carried off the basket that was now jerking violently.

            Barty remained cheerful as they headed back. “Thanks for your help, friend,” he said as they reached Joshua’s camp. “You did an amazing job. Most humans would probably be in shock right now."

            Thinking back about what had happened, Joshua shuddered. “Well, let’s hope that they don’t escape again. I don’t think I ever want to so much as see a moth ever again.”

            Barty chuckled as he flew away. Joshua was a little disturbed by the experience, but happy that it had ended so well. He was, after all, the only one who really knew what lived deep in the forest.

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.