Pixie (Pixie Hollow Academy Book 1)

by Debbie Long

  Mobsy growls, the low rumble shaking the ground. I smirk as she jumps and swiftly walks away. Silvia turns to look back at me, she glances at my dragon then me curiously. She gives me a tight smile, then walks after her mother.

  “Well that was a nice goodbye, hey Mobsy,” I say.

  “That pixie doesn’t deserve that crown. She was never meant to sit on the throne,” he rumbles.

  “I do often wonder what happened to my mother,” I sigh wistfully.

  “Was she killed?”

  I wince at his abruptness. “Yes, they believe she was. That confuses me, she was the most powerful of all pixies.”

  “Then how did she die?”

  “No one knows, they just found a bloodied mess. Well that’s what they told me.”

  “That sounds gruesome.”

  “I thought that too, and why my father wasn’t with her. I wish I remembered her. I was just a seedling when she was taken from me.” I look at the palace and of the statue of my mother, standing tall like the warrior she was.

  “She looks like a warrior and you look just like her,” Mobsy says, watching me carefully.

  “She was. My father told me that before I was born, she would lead the armies to the other lands and help fight in the wars. She would always come back unscratched, not a mark on her. She never took a life; she would make the enemy kneel.”

  “Such a strong pixie, makes me wonder how she met her demise.”

  “I often wonder that, too.” I look to the other side, my father’s statue standing tall and proud. “He misses her,” I whisper.

  Mobsy makes a chuff noise, I glance at him with watery eyes. He nudges my head softly making me chortle.

  “Time to go, Honey will meet us there.” I climb up, my leg swinging over his back.

  I lower my body, feeling the warmth of Mobsy. He bends his legs before taking to the sky, his wings spread out and beat beautifully. I look behind me to see two guards flying close behind. I roll my eyes, my father and his overprotectiveness.

  As we fly higher, I get a better view of the lands around home. The lands are split into four; the summer lands, the autumn, the spring and the winter. Patches of darkness touch every single one. Looking at my home that is sat in the middle of these lands, goes untouched. Maybe it’s the magic that surrounds it, that might be why.

  When you look at the other lands, you can see the old homes, treehouses and the old ways of travel. Then my home was full of light, we still used horses and carriages to travel from land to land.

  The academy comes into view, the place I will call home for the next year, maybe more. We circle the building, finding a place to land. A male is stood on the steps, looking up as we descend. I jolt slightly as Mobsy lands on the small bit of space. He shakes himself before tucking his wings into his body and crouching low for me to get off.

  The guards land also, then flank me. I look back at Mobsy as he takes to the air once again, I panic as I see him move away from me.

  “I will return, do not worry,” he growls out. I give a nod, knowing he is true to his word, he is always able to find me.

  The male pixie watches my dragon, intrigue in his gaze. When Mobsy disappears into the cloud the male’s eyes land on me. He smiles, his eyes crinkling showing his age.

  “Welcome Princess Pixie, we have awaited your arrival for some time now,” he greets me. “I am the head pixie; I will help you adjust to your life here.” He smiles again, his eyes welcoming.

  “Thank you, I know I should have started last year, but I went exploring instead.” I shrug.

  “Of course, your father mentioned that you have spent time around the humans.” He tilts his head, assessing. “Tell me, are they as savage as they sound in the old text?”

  I laugh. “No, not at all, they are no different to us really. All civilised, work hard, pay their way in society.”

  “Interesting, maybe we can talk more about your adventures.” He gestures for me to follow. “Come, I will show you around. This is normally a job for another student, but I made an exception for you.” He says with a wink.

  I smile, feeling at ease. “I didn’t want to come,” I say.

  “I know, same as your mother.”

  “You knew my mother?” I move to stand next to him, interested.

  “Of course, she was a student here and also my daughter.” He watches me carefully.

  I pause, did he just say daughter? “You’re my grandfather? How did I not know about you?”

  “That you will have to ask the queen.” He frowns. “And yes, you are my granddaughter. You look so much like her, your hair is the same, your eyes.” He smiles warmly. “When she was born, her mother passed, your grandmother. I raised her on my own, never taking another wife. She had struggles, no wings and her magic didn’t show, not a flicker. When she came here, her magic grew.”

  “I haven’t shown any either, well, except for the burn on my sister’s hand.”

  “A burn you say. Like fire?”

  “No, she grabbed me and hissed and there was a blister on her palm.”

  “Interesting,” is all he says.

  We walk in comfortable silence through the halls, each section is spilt off into the relative magical power. We walk to the hall where I will be tested and placed in the right house. Earth, Air, Ember and Water.

  I know I’m not going to be air; I have no wings for that. It’s a possibility that I could be Ember, it’s a gift that can be considered dangerous. A nervous flutter makes my tummy clench. As the hall nears, I can hear chatter and giggles. Guess I’m late for the party as usual.

  The door open on its own, making my jaw drop. My grandfather chuckles at my look and I snap my mouth closed.

  “You will get used to the magic here. It is very different to what you feel on land.”

  We enter the room and eyes widen when they see me, all bow except four female pixies, their regal stance alerts me they are the princesses of the seasons.

  “Please, all welcome the High Princess of the Royal Court.” My grandfather announces. I cringe but try to smile.

  Everyone says welcome, smiling my way. Just then, Mobsy decides to make an appearance in his small form. He flies through the open window landing on my shoulder, causing a collective gasp. I smile as he ruffles his furry body, his eyes watchful.

  “And welcome to Pixie’s…. familiar,” my grandfather says with a pause.

  “Huh?” I whisper, so only my grandfather can hear.

  “Your animal guide, he is a spirit dragon,” he whispers back.

  My gaze falls back to the crowd, they are all looking curiously at Mobsy, he seems to like the attention because he chirps happily. The girls make cute aww noises and the guys smile. That is such a human saying, I think, girls and guys. I shrug to myself, my grandfather giving me an odd look.

  “Welcome Pixie, we have been expecting you,” a willowy voice says. The crowd parts revealing a female pixie, her long blonde hair flowing around her waist, her blue eyes on mine. Her long golden gown moves like water around her body as she floats graciously towards me.

  “Please come to the front with me, everyone else has had their test, you are the last.”

  Oh wonderful, why am I always last? I follow the pixie towards the front, wringing my hands as my heart picks up speed. In the front of the white hall are four stone tables. On the tables are gems; orange, green, blue and yellow.

  “Please stand in the middle,” she gestures.

  I can feel all eyes in me, all wondering what the flightless pixie will become.

  “The stones will rise once I activate them, they will glow, one will be brighter than the rest and that will determine your magical element.”

  I nod, moving to stand in the middle, Mobsy stays put and I welcome that comfort. The pixie holds up her hand, her magic flowing from her. The gems hover, all glowing. The yellow one glows bright and everyone gasps, including myself. I look at my grandfather, who has a shocked look on his face, but he isn’t looking at
me but past me. I turn back to see all the other stones glow brighter one by one.

  The air crackles, the stones rise higher. A wind flows through the room, lifting me into the air. I panic as Mobsy takes flight, sitting on my grandfather’s shoulder, looking at me with those big eyes.

  A gasp falls from me as the gems surround me, the magic in them growing brighter that it blinds me. They begin to spin, faster and faster, making me dizzy. Then all the magic shoots into me, taking my breath away. They don’t stop, until another joins. A purple gem joins them that wasn’t there before, but it glows just as bright. It too throws a beam of light, hitting me square in the chest. I buck as the energy swirls around me, my body convulsing with the magic that flows through me.

  My head rolls back and with a thud I hit the ground hard. I hear shocked gasps and whispers as I’m lifted into someone’s arms. Greens eyes stare into my own, his kind smile making me smile before my world goes black.

  Hushed voices alert me I am not alone. A chirp in my ear tells me Mobsy is by my side. I open my eyes to his little blinking one looking at me, his worried expression making my heart clench.

  I sit up with a groan, feeling as though I have been hit by a ton weight. My head spins, nausea churning. I groan again, the room going silent. When I look up, my grandfather, Honey and the male that carried me stand by the door. Honey hurries over, taking my hand in hers, she bites her lip and her wide worried eyes takes me in.

  “How are you feeling Pixie? We were all so worried about you.” She looks on the verge of tears.

  “Just a headache, body feels sore,” I say wincing as I sit up.

  “You should rest,” she says her hand warming in mine.

  I gasp, the headache and achy bones leaving me. “You have healing abilities,” I say.

  “Yeah, none of the stones glowed for me. The oracle told me that I would be a great healer one day, there are only a handful.”

  “That’s great news, you always said you felt that your magic would be different, and you wanted to help people. Isn’t that a part of Earth though? They heal, right?” I ask the room.

  “Not in Honey’s case, she can heal other pixies, not the animals or the plant life,” my grandfather answers.

  Then I remembered what happened to me. “Then we are both different,” I say with a chuckle.

  The room stills, I look up, confused. “Is there something wrong?”

  My grandfather is the one to answer. “Pixie, what happened to you is not normal. You have the gifts of all, including the one that was outlawed many years ago. There was only one other who processed all these gifts and that was the first queen.”

  “The first queen?” we all ask.

  “You will learn more about her in class, but the first is the first creation, the first pixie.”

  “There’s been no other?” I ask, shocked.

  “No Pixie, no other pixie has more than one magical element. You have earth, amber, air or water, not all four and especially not the fifth.”

  “What’s the fifth?” I’m almost too scared to hear.

  “They control Dragons.” He glances at Mobsy. “No Dragon has roamed these lands since the first queen.”

  “What does that mean exactly? What am I?” I ask.

  “I’m not too sure, but it has to be for a reason and why we can’t hear your dragon speak,” my grandfather says.

  We all go silent, my thoughts going haywire. What if it’s to do with this darkness, what if that’s the reason why I have all these gifts, and what happened to the First Queen? All these thoughts swirl around my mind, a knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts.

  I get up, walking to the door of what I am guessing is my room as I see my things by a desk. I open the door to see my stepmother standing there, a perfect scowl on her face.

  “Well isn’t this cosy,” she sneers.

  “What are you doing here Sofia?” my grandfather asks, “you were not permitted entry.”

  “I came to see if my daughter was well, I see she is.” She looks me over and I swear I hear her mutter “unfortunately.” “Besides, I came to drop off my other daughter, she will be attending early.”

  “She is not of age,” he splutters.

  “No matter, the king has ordered it so it shall be.”

  I groan. Great, a little spy. I watch her smirk at me, her eyes watching me. I see a flicker of black making my eyes widen. Sofia turns, walking away before I can see if I imagined it, but not before I see the sinister smile on her face. What is she up to? I blink. I will send a message to my father; he needs to be careful of that one.

  I lock the door, watching the angry look from my grandfather to the worried looks from the other two.

  I step to the male, head tilting up. “What do I call you?” I ask.

  He smirks. “You may call me Oran,” says the dark blue-haired pixie. His cold hand shakes mine. “Winter.” He winks.

  I swear I swoon right there, pixie gods this male is hot. I walk away feeling flustered, my grandfather gives me a knowing look and Honey is bouncing on her heels again, a big mischievous grin on her face.

  “What?” I say.

  “Oh nothing,” she giggles.

  I plop in the bed, covering my hot face. I groan and hear the chortles of the pixies in the room. Great!

  SISTER TROUBLES

  I later found out I was put in the tower, a room all to myself. Honey was put in with the Earth pixies. They told her she will have lessons with them but private ones also for her special gift.

  I have a mixture of classes, that already tire me out. Because I have all the elements, I have to cover all the classes. Everyone seems friendly enough, but no-one wants to sit next to the strange pixie with no wings and a dragon sat on her shoulder.

  Other days, I am constantly watching my back. My sister seems to trail after me, suddenly turning up wherever I am. She was put in Ember, that didn’t surprise me with her fiery temper.

  I walk down the long corridor towards the gym. I have on my shorts and a vest; people glance as I pass. Guess they have never seen human clothes before. I spot Oran leaning against the wall, his casual stance making me smirk.

  “Are you spying on me too?” I smirk, hands on hips.

  “Nah, I’ll just leave that to your sister,” he nods, looking behind me.

  I sigh, looking over my shoulder and there she is ducking behind the wall, again.

  “Why does she seem to be trailing your every move?” he asks.

  “No idea, we don’t exactly get on.”

  “I thought siblings were close?”

  “Nope, not us. We have different mothers, mine died when I was a seedling.”

  “I know, she was a great warrior.”

  “You know of her?”

  “Of course, everyone does. She did many great things before we were born. Made the lands united, gave us hope when the war broke out. She was the one that sealed the veil to the dark lands, once she fought-off the dark pixies that is.”

  “My father doesn’t talk about her much. I always see pain when I ask, so I stopped.”

  “That’s understandable, the stories my parents told me are remarkable. One that their love ran so deep that they bonded, very rare amongst us.”

  “How does a pixie bond?”

  “I’m not sure, but my parents said when they did, they bonded on another level, one so deep that they could feel each other’s emotions.”

  “Fascinating Oran, boring someone else with those old stories,” a male voice says behind me.

  They bump fists, humour in their eyes. “Yes, I was boring the High Princess with stories of her parents,” he replies, eyebrow raised with a humorous smirk.

  “My apologies Princess,” he splutters, eyes wide as he looks at me.

  I laugh, waving my hand. “It’s fine, don’t worry. I’m Pixie,” I say, holding my hand out.

  “Felix, nice to meet you Pixie.” He takes my hand, pulling it to his mouth and kissing my knuckles. Tingles run down my
arm, into my chest making my heart flutter.

  My face heats, my ears prickle. I giggle nervously, removing my hand. “Nice to meet you too,” I say a bit breathless.

  He winks, his hazel eyes amused. “It’ll be nice to get to know you better,” he purrs, reaching to touch my face.

  I bat his hand away. “I bet you would,” I answer back, chortling.

  Felix mock pouts, then glances at Mobsy. “He’s cute, what’s his name?”