“Well, I would just like to say that I think it’s super cute that you and Sage are so matchy matchy again today.” Jade started, a mischievous smirk settling on her face.
Ambrosia’s eyebrow shot up and the look on her face was priceless. The Vampiress subconsciously glanced towards Sage and then back at herself, her cheeks reddening by the moment. It was true that she and Sage had been dressing more and more alike by the day, but what was so comical about it was the fact that Jewel didn’t think it was on purpose. Take what they were both wearing today for instance- it was something she could have seen either wearing on their own. Green shirts, albeit different styles but both the same forest green, brown boots, grey shorts, and a green and grey bandana that Ambrosia was wearing around her wrist and that Sage had tied around his forehead. Simple outfits, but definitely matchy matchy as Jade had put it.
Jewel chuckled at the smug look on Jade’s face. She knew that Jade was mad about not getting to go to the Pixie world and that her comment had solely been to try and get a rise out of Ambrosia, which had worked like a charm.
“What can we say-” Sage said, draping his arm casually around Ambrosia’s shoulder. “-great minds think alike.”
Jade’s smugness fell just a bit at the lack of reaction from Sage, which in turn made a little smugness appear on Ambrosia’s face.
“I think we’re good, then. Let’s get this party started and let’s get this dandruff.” Winter said, rubbing her hands together, before adding cheekily, “Hey, sorry about you missing out on the shimmery pixie dust, Skye. Maybe we’ll have some extra that you can have.”
Skye shook her head immediately. “You know what, don’t bother. I may be a little excessive with my love of sparkly things, don’t get me wrong, but even my love for it has limits and Pixie dandruff is not something that I want or need.”
Winter let out a loud laugh. “I never thought I’d see the day where Skye, the sparkle queen, turned down something shiny.”
“Yeah, well, you just keep that sparkledruff to yourself, Winter Thyse.” Skye warned. “I mean it. I don’t care how pretty it looks. There are just certain things that I don’t want and particles and excrement from someone’s body are on that list, so just in case you run into something that has sparkly boogers, poop, or pee- you can already know that I want no parts of it.”
“O-kay, got it. Nothing for Skye.” Ambrosia said, cutting the banter between the two women short. “Girlie, do your thing.”
Jewel nodded and positioned her body towards the river. She concentrated on opening the portal between the Meadow and the world of the Pixies. A shimmer appeared and before long, the portal took shape. It was different than the one to Aquatica had been, and Jewel quickly wondered if all portals would be as different as the two that she had now opened. While the one to Aquatica had been more of a regular doorframe, this one took the shape of two pine trees, bending and intertwining in such a way that they formed a canopy with a small pebbled path underneath.
“Well, alright then. Easy peasy.” Jewel said when she was sure the portal was complete.
“Easy for now, let’s see what the Pixie’s allow.” Zekiel rhymed.
“Indeed.” Winter nodded, as she and Foster took the lead on going through the portal.
Everyone, aside from Jade, Teagan, Ryker, and Skye went through the portal one by one. It was a very different experience for Jewel than the journey into Aquatica had been. There were no bubble-skeleton’s and no water as far as Jewel could tell. But that certainly didn’t take away from the beauty surrounding them. The forest they were standing in was lush and had shades of green that Jewel hadn’t known existed. Everything seemed to have a shimmering quality to it as well. The bark of the trees were rich mocha and caramel colors, looking almost striped in appearance. The forest floor was rich ebony soil that was as soft as pillows to stand on, and the forest was filled with the songs of birds and with the sounds of several creatures, but none of the noises seemed scary in the least. Jewel turned back to the portal and concentrated on it disappearing until it dissipated into nothingness.
“Stop.” Foster hissed at Sage, who was already busy collecting samples of soil and foliage, looking very much like a kid in a candy store as he stuffed as many samples into vials and bottles as he could.
“Do you have any idea what kinds of potions I could probably make with these things?” Sage asked. “And you want me to stop? No way.”
“No, Sage. Seriously. Stop.” Ambrosia chimed in, which immediately got Sage’s attention.
The wind had picked up in the forest, and the sounds that had met the group’s arrival was now a deafening silence that had Jewel’s eyes darting back and forth and the hair on the back of her neck standing straight up.
The group stood unbelievably still for what seemed like an eternity, but when nothing happened Foster was the first to relax.
“You can’t just rip the leaves off of plants and dig up the dirt here like you would back in our world.” Foster started explaining to Sage. “Everything is alive here. Everything. And everything is able to communicate with each other, so it would do well to thank the forest for what you took and leave something in its place. Sort of like a trading system, so that we may travel through it unharmed.”
Sage’s eyebrow shot up but seeing as though Foster was the only one able to communicate with all living things, he didn’t argue. “Um, err, um……thank you forest for the dirt and leaves and sticks and rocks. I leave my-” He paused as he rifled through his potion bag. “Yes, here it is. I leave this gem in the place of what I took.” He announced, placing the gem on a patch of soil near the base of the tree.
As soon as he had done so, the soil began to rumble with a vibration that spread out widely through the soil. The vibration was so strong that the leaves of the trees and plants shook, making a loud rustling sound, and within a moment, Jewel watched in awe as the soil opened a bit at the base of the tree and the gemstone was swallowed up by the earth.
Foster blew out a sigh of relief. “Good. Your trade was accepted. Now, don’t bloody touch anything else.” He warned, storming off in some unknown direction, muttering under his breath.
The group followed Foster, not knowing where they were supposed to be heading, but trusting that the Fairy had some indication. They passed several berry bushes and a few creeks on their journey through the forest, but after what happened with Sage, no one wanted to touch anything.
Everyone was moving quietly except for Zekiel who was literally frolicking through the forest as they went, looking happier than ever, and making weird chirpy sounds as he skipped along. Jewel also found herself enjoying the scenery, except for the fact that on several occasions she felt something crawling on her arms. Each time, however, she would look down and find nothing, but that didn’t stop her from swatting at herself, which accrued several strange looks in her direction from Rain, Sage, and Ambrosia. She couldn’t blame them though. She knew she looked like a lunatic as there was never anything there.
There was no part of the forest that wasn’t beautiful, but the longer they traveled through it, the more Jewel got the feeling of being watched. She couldn’t shake it and she couldn’t even blame it on the forest creatures, because thus far- the only indication that there were indeed any creatures were their sounds reverberating throughout the forest. Not only that, Jewel had never been very good about being patient, and she asked Foster, on more than one occasion if they were almost there, much to Ambrosia’s amusement and much to Foster’s chagrin.
It had been about half an hour since Jewel had asked Foster about how much longer it would take, when he stopped abruptly and turned to face the group, wings spread out as he stretched them.
“I think it would be wise to make sure that everyone’s powers are working before we proceed. We are about to enter the village portion of our journey and I feel very strongly that we should not test them out in the open. Best if we have the advantage of knowing what we are capable of, and let the Pixies mer
ely guess.” Foster pointed out.
Everyone nodded and immediately fanned out. Winter tested her manipulation of water into ice by making a layer of ice upon a few of the larger rocks; Rain tested her water power by creating a sphere that was pulsing from big to little ever second; Frost tested his earth power by making a couple of buds bloom into flowers and a few berries a little plumper; and Zephyr tested his wind power by directing it towards the tops of the trees and having them sway a bit more than they were to begin with; Ambrosia looked as though she was in a trance- her lavender eyes fixed and unblinking; Sage was muttering spells under his breath, creating a fake light that he was turning on and off; Galadriel teleported several times around the area that the group was located; Foster appeared to be communicating with a group of rocks, or maybe there were some insects under the rocks that Jewel wasn’t seeing, she couldn’t be sure; Lyric and Dream were giggling together as they tested their powers out on each other- Lyric persuading Dream to jump up and down and spin around and Dream using her power to put Lyric in a sleep-like trance before snapping her out of it with no warning which had made Lyric jump a few times; And then there was Zekiel, who was skipping back and forth while making objects lift off the ground and then float back down.
Jewel wasn’t entirely sure what to test out and decided to just try her major powers to see if they worked. She tried teleporting. Check. She used her telekinesis. Check. She tested her fire power. Check. And last, but not least, she sent a mental message to the group to make sure her telepathic powers were still working.
The resounding snorts and chuckles were enough to let Jewel know that it had worked, and they had seen her memory of the embarrassing trip and fall she had experienced back in Aquatica.
“Way to lighten the mood, Draconis.” Lyric smiled.
“Yeah. That was almost as good as being there to see it.” Dream commented.
“Still doesn’t do it justice.” Rain said. “There’s something about seeing it in real-time that gives it that additional comedic punch, you know.” She chuckled.
“Yep. Never a dull moment with Green, that’s for sure.” Galadriel added, a smirk forming on his face.
Jewel beamed. The intention of her message all along hadn’t just been to test out her telepathy, but also to break the proverbial ice, and it had worked.
Galadriel gave Jewel a small smile and Jewel nodded in response. There was a lot said in that unspoken look they shared, and Jewel knew he understood that her nod was her own way of acknowledging that she understood why he felt the way he had and that she was sorry she had hurt him.
“Yes, well, let’s try and stay on our feet this time around when we meet the royals here, Girlie.” Ambrosia said with a fangy grin.
Zephyr snorted. “Well, it’s official. I am never going to get that mental picture of Jewel sprawled out on the throne room floor out of my head now. I mean I had almost forgotten about that, what with Jewel almost dying and all. But nope. It’s definitely there forever now. Can’t unsee it.” He chuckled, his cherubic features lighting up.
“Me either, but now is not the time for joviality.” Foster said, snapping everyone back to the reason they were there. “Are everyone’s powers working normally?”
A resounding yes from the group erupted, along with a ‘yes, yes, no need to guess’ from Zekiel.
Foster nodded, causing a few of his caramel locks to graze his forehead in the process. “Good. Now, let’s go get this ingredient and get out of here.” He said, tucking his wings back to a resting position behind him as he led the group out of the forest.
The forest had been a wonder to behold, but the countryside was no less magical. The tall grass, sparkling blue sky, and patches of exotic flowers were both beautiful to the eye and intoxicating to the senses. The air smelled sweet and the temperature was just right, hot enough for shorts but not enough to make one perspire. Colorful birds that were the size of a Clydesdale soared through the sky, and insects that looked like pieces of living crystal flitted back and forth. One that resembled a butterfly even landed on Rain’s outstretched finger, much to her delight, and the noise from it reminded Jewel of a beautifully played string instrument.
Jewel was still getting the feeling every now and then that something was crawling on her arm, but it was the same every time she looked down. Absolutely nothing was there. She tried shaking off the feeling, literally and figuratively speaking as they approached a busy town. Vendors were set up outside, and it was very similar to a farmer’s market and craft show all in one. There were lots of different tables covered in foods that Jewel had never seen before. Berries the size of watermelons, bowls of some sort of stew with what appeared to be vegetable spoons, and plates and plates of different types of salads with nuts, vegetables, and berries that were all foreign to Jewel- just to name a few.
It was the first time Jewel had ever seen Pixies in person, and it was surprising because they weren’t all that different from Jewel and her group in appearance- or Humans for that matter. The Pixies were all different shapes and sizes, male and female, but what they all had in common was their extraordinary good looks with sharp features that people in the Human world paid money to get, and the sparkly scalps that were both mesmerizing and a bit off-putting at the same time.
Jewel paid close attention to each table they passed. There were a lot more foods that Jewel didn’t recognize, colorful scarfs and matching tunics that seemed to catch Sage’s attention, bottled ingredients with labels that Jewel couldn’t read, little figurines that were made from wood and stone, and sandals that looked expensive and sturdy at the same time. Jewel couldn’t help wanting to buy a few of the items, but they were there for a reason, and she made sure to look closely at each table to see if perhaps they would find one that sold Pixie dust. It was a long-shot and highly improbable, but Jewel looked all the same.
“Uh, Spitfire….have you noticed that everyone is giving us the stink eye?” Rain whispered with Jewel nodding her agreement as she was starting to feel like a fish in an aquarium.
Not only that, Jewel hadn’t been able to get a read on anyone’s auras as the Pixies didn’t appear to have any, but boy was she picking up on their emotions. It seemed that her Empath powers were only going to help her as far as feeling what they were feeling, and none of it was positive. Even the children were more scared than curious.
“Yeah. Either that or inspecting us like we are some sort of weird creature that they’re debating on imprisoning or butchering at some point.” Lyric added.
“Or just looking down-right scared.” Dream stated. “See. Look over there. That female Pixie just shoved, and I do mean shoved her kids into that house.” She frowned.
Jewel decided to try to connect with the Pixies by smiling at a few of them as they passed by but received not one smiling face in return. She tried a few more times but it was proving to be futile, so she gave up on her quest of showing the Pixies that she and the group were friendly and instead turned her attention on the large villa that Foster was leading them towards.
The villa was made of a brown stone that was not unlike the bark of the trees in the Pixie forest. Each stone had several different shades of brown that were interwoven together to make a sort of striped appearance, much like the greens on a watermelon. The Villa, itself, was huge in size, seven stories up with each story lined with a dozen windows that Jewel could see. Several flower gardens lined the stone walkway that led up to the Villa’s front door, and on either side of it were two guards leaning lackadaisically against the wall.
“We are here to see the Pixie leaders.” Foster announced, stopping before the guards.
“Yes, well, that’s nice, Fairy.” The taller guard sneered, and Jewel noticed that he had little points on his front teeth, unlike fangs, but she could tell they were sharp all the same. “But you’ll have to come back when they aren’t so busy- let’s say in about a century or two.” He smirked, and the other guard snickered.
Foster’s complexion was re
ddening, and Jewel could only imagine that it was taking every ounce of control he possessed not to just smack the two guards around and make his way inside.
“Well, Pixie, that simply won’t do.” Foster began, a cold, cheerless smile falling upon his handsome features as he took a menacing step forward. “You see, we have traveled across realms to be here, and we are on quite a tight schedule. So, if you would be so kind as to announce to your leaders that we are here, we would very much appreciate it.”
“I see.” The taller guard started, putting on a serious expression that Jewel couldn’t take seriously since it was so obviously forced. “Well, why didn’t you say that to begin with, Fairy. Why of course our leaders will cater to your schedule since you have come here uninvited. My goodness, whatever was I thinking. Can you believe how remiss I’ve been in my treatment of the Fairy, Puck?” He asked the other guard whose citrine colored eyes were twinkling with amusement.
“Not at all, Eldon. Very rude of you to not place this Fairy on the highest point of our priority list.” Puck answered caustically.
“Cut the crap, or I’ll cut it for you.” Ambrosia warned, her lavender eyes flashing in anger and her fangs visible for all to see.
“You dare to speak to us, monster?” Eldon snapped, narrowing his light brown eyes and lifting his hand as though he was going to hit Ambrosia.
Jewel didn’t wait another second to see what was going to happen. The guards had insulted her friends and were now threatening violence, so Jewel allowed a little of her pain power to make its appearance. The guard’s eyes bulged, and their light complexion turned a purply-red as the pain hit them. They were on their knees within seconds and Jewel walked to the front of the group and knelt in front of the guards so they could hear her clearly.
“Listen here and listen well, jerkfaces. We didn’t come here to fight. We came to meet with your leaders about forming an alliance, and instead of showing us some decency and common courtesy, you have been rude and have threatened violence against us, which I will not tolerate.” Jewel growled, allowing a little more pain to hit the two guards.
The Council Page 17
