Rose and Deshica

by Michael Ewing

  Chapter Three

  Rick and Vanessa had called Dice ahead of time to let him know that they were coming and to make sure that he was home. It was a snow day so it meant that he didn't have to be at the school and with a rare day off during the week he might have been anywhere in Kirbyville running errands. Dice was at the library but it was closer to his house than Rick and Vanessa were so he was going to be able to make it home before they arrived.

  Dice had seen Rick pulling into his driveway so he stepped out on the front porch to let them know that the door was open and there was no need to knock. As soon as the car was parked Vanessa jumped out of it, fanning herself to cool off where Rick took his time getting out, mostly due to the cumbersome cold weather gear he had bundled himself with for the day. Dice couldn't help but laugh to himself when he saw the two of them, because despite their obvious differences they were on again and off again romantically since they first met. Opposites really do seem to attract.

  Dice stopped laughing when Rick stepped around the car. As a matter of fact, Dice staggered back, causing Vanessa and Rick to come running to catch him. Dice pointed to Rick's coat, “What are you hiding there?”

  Rick pulled the gem out of an inside pocket and showed it to Dice, “This is what we came here for. C.D. doesn't know what it is and says that it isn't some kind of rock like we think it is. Can you use your magic to figure out what it is?”

  Dice shook his head, “Nope. It's actually got defenses that would prevent me from doing that and I wouldn't need them to figure it out anyway. Come inside and bring it with you. Don't let it out of your hands.”

  Rick asked, “Why?”

  Dice replied, “My magic and its magic might not play well together. If that cocoon doesn't have something to calm it the whole time then there will be a backlash that could blow up my house. I'm still paying on it and can't afford to move into a new one and pay the mortgage for this one if it blows up so just hold onto it.”

  Vanessa hesitated before going inside, “You said a cocoon? Like some kind of bug? What kind of bug has magical properties?”

  Dice started counting on his fingers, “Glowworms, wooly caterpillars, fireflies, dragonflies and a whole host of others but this cocoon doesn't belong to a bug. Now come inside so we can talk without running up my heating bill.”

  Vanessa did enter the house but not until after making sure that Rick had already settled down with the cocoon in his hands to make sure that the house was safe and not likely to explode just because she walked in. Once she sat down she inquired, “If it's not a bug then what is it? What else makes a cocoon?”

  Dice made a gesture and one of his books flew into the room and he browsed through the pages until he found what he was looking for and laid it in front of Rick and Vanessa, “It's a Fairy cocoon.”

  Rick was confused, “So they aren't born with wings then? This is something they turn into later? What do they look like when they're born then?”

  Dice threw up his hands, “One question at a time and all I need is one question. They are born with wings and this isn't something that they turn into later on. The question I need is: why do they need a cocoon? The answer? To defend themselves. This cocoon was built to defend this Fairy against the elements I'm guessing. After all, Fairies aren't built for cold weather and definitely not for snow. A snowflake actually has about one-fourth the weight of a Fairy and can do some serious damage if it hits them in mid-flight.”

  Dice pointed to the bandages on Vanessa's hands, “You tried to hold it, didn't you?”

  Vanessa nodded sheepishly and added, “I had no idea it would do that because Rick was already handling it with no problem.”

  Dice shed some light on the situation, “Rick and the other Guardians can handle the cocoon because they are Guardians. I know it doesn't make sense yet but hear me out. Okay? Guardians are not allowed to initiate any attack against the Nations and the Nations know it. Don't get me wrong, a Guardian can defend themselves or prepare to defend themselves if they know that they are going to be attacked but they can't attack any member of the Nations without being provoked. I remember them getting roughed up by a bunch of Ogres a while back but the Guardians were able to make the first strike because the Ogres were actually mercenaries hired to take out the Guardians if they could. We,” Dice pointed at Vanessa and then to himself, “are not officially Guardians no matter how often we go on patrol with them or whatever else we go through with them so we cannot handle the cocoon because it will react as though we are a potential danger. Vanessa, you have it bad because the cocoon was created to protect this Fairy against the cold and I have it bad too because of the Fairy's magic and mine not necessarily willing to play nice. Does it make a little more sense now?”

  Rick placed the cocoon in his lap to get to his cell phone. Before anyone could ask Rick explained, “Calling C.D. to let him know what it is. He wanted to know why he couldn't identify it. Besides, if it is safe in a Guardian's hands then why not leave it in a house with two Guardians?”

  Dice considered the proposition, “Actually, that makes sense. I'm sure you won't have a problem convincing Chris but make sure that you let him convince Eve. Things have been kind of hectic for them lately so let him do the talking for us.”

  Rick held up a finger to silence everyone as Chris answered on the other end, “Yeah, C.D. it's me. We found out what it is. Just give me a second and I'll put you on speaker.”

  Rick pushed a button on his phone and placed it on the coffee table as he picked up the cocoon again. Dice quickly explained what the cocoon was and why it was created before asking Chris if he and Eve could watch over it. Chris responded with a question, “How long will I need to?”

  Rick and Vanessa looked to Dice for the answer, “At the most it will be until spring. Since the cocoon is to protect the Fairy from the cold it might take that long or it might only take as long as it would take the cocoon to warm up in your house. To be honest, the sooner it opens on its own the better because then you can get the Fairy off of your hands.”

  You could hear the trepidation in Chris's voice on the other end of the phone, “Am I asking for trouble by taking this in?”

  Dice shook his head, “The cocoon won't give you any trouble. The Fairy probably won't either but the ambient magic means that I'm not going to visit you that often and you won't be able to bring it here for me to baby-sit. That's the most trouble you'll have with it. It's a cocoon. You don't have to feed it, water it, take it outside, entertain it or even keep a constant vigil over it. Just check up on it once every so often, maybe four times a day or so and make sure that it doesn't fall off of something and get broken. If it cracks on its own your okay because that's the Fairy getting out, but it can kill the Fairy if you drop it or let a cat play with it. Another reason not to keep it here because Magic next door is still running loose.”

  Chris reiterated his most pressing concern, “Eve isn't going to kick my ass for this, is she?”