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Erin bit her lower lip as she flitted through the human town, making her way to the adventurers’ guild underneath a bubble of moving smoke. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. The spring she had laid out for her future children had disappeared from her senses. She crashed into an adventurer on the way into the building, knocking over his hat.
“The heck? Is there a fairy here?” the man muttered as he picked up his hat and dusted it off.
“You always say that,” his companion said and rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you to wear it properly?”
“No, no. Something really knocked into me.”
Erin ignored the squabbling couple and flew in front of the receptionist, cutting ahead of the line. She dropped her veil, causing the receptionist to blink as he stopped mid-sentence. “Please proceed to the back of the line if you need something,” he said, unfazed by Erin’s sudden appearance.
“Who was it!?” Erin shouted, flying forward and tugging on the receptionist’s hair. “Who destroyed my spring!?”
“Ma’am,” the receptionist said as he winced. “I have no clue what you’re talking about, but if you can calm down, I’ll be—baaaaa.”
His voice was cut-off as he was transformed into a goat. Erin shook her fist at him before flying past the counter and into the back room of the guild. The guests stared blankly at the receptionist who fell over onto his side and bleated.
“I told you there was a fairy!” the man with the hat said. “And a queen by the looks of it.”
His companion knocked his hat off. “Just because you were right one time doesn’t mean your hat isn’t not on properly!”
In the backroom of the guild, Erin rummaged through the pile of commissions. On the floor surrounding her, there were a dozen bleating goats lying on their sides. None of them were used to being polymorphed. “Fairy spring, fairy spring, fairy spring,” Erin muttered as she scattered papers about, ripping files off their shelves and tossing them on the ground when they weren’t what she was looking for. “Not here, not here, not here!”
Erin barged out of the room and flew to the mission board hanging on the wall of the guild. She tore down all the papers while the adventurers watched. When the board was clear, her hand was engulfed in a purple aura, and she wrote on the board, leaving sticky letters. The message said, “Wanted!!! Valuable information pertaining to the destroyed fairy spring located in the Peaceful Forest! Deliver a message to 99 Fairy Drive. Reward: Ten-use polymorph staff! All ranks welcome.”
Erin floated a foot back and placed her hands on her hips, admiring her handiwork. That should do it. Whoever ignored the message on her gate was going to pay.
***
Vur yawned as he stretched his arms out to the sides. Stella copied his actions from on his head. Tafel stared at them before shaking her head. Stella was almost like a miniature Vur. One Vur was more than enough for the world. The wagon they were sitting on wobbled as it passed over a pothole in the road. They had liberated Shadow Nelly’s ride and were heading towards the closest human city which was less than a day away.
Vur rubbed the crud out of his eyes, and Stella copied his actions. He looked around and Stella did the same. “This place is a lot less green,” Vur said and furrowed his brow.
“What do you mean?” Tafel asked. “This is the right amount of green for where we are.” The wagon continued to rattle along the stone road, passing by a few fields of yellow wheat. “We’re in a residential area. You can’t compare everything to the wilderness.”
Vur frowned and glanced around again. Stella spoke up from his head, “It’s less green.”
“You weren’t even born until half a day ago,” Tafel said and rolled her eyes. “What would you know about less and more green?”
“Less green is less green,” Stella said with a nod. She glanced at Vur who met her gaze. “Right?”
“Right,” Vur said. He glanced at Tafel. “See? I’m right.”
Tafel sighed and hung her head. She remembered how Sera convinced Nova to accept Vur through a democratic vote. Was she going to lose all decisions now because Stella would always agree with Vur? She bit her lower lip. She couldn’t let that happen. “Hey, Stella,” Tafel said, causing the newborn fairy queen’s ears to perk up. “Are you hungry?” If the fairy was like Vur, then the quickest way to her heart was through her sweet tooth. Tafel picked up the bag by her side and waved it in the air. “I have some juicy apples.”
Stella pursed her lips as her eyes followed the motions of the bag. She shook her head and glanced at Vur. He didn’t say anything, so Stella flapped her wings and flew towards Tafel, landing on her lap. “Apple,” Stella said, holding out both her hands, palms facing up.
“What’s the magic word?” Tafel asked as she pulled an apple out of the bag.
Stella’s brow furrowed. “Apple,” she said again, her voice firmer this time. She added after a thought and nodded, “Or I’ll curse you.”
Tafel sighed and placed the apple in Stella’s hands. She glared at Vur. “You’re a terrible influence,” she said. “Why did Stella trust you with her birthflower?”
“Vur’s very reliable,” Stella said as she bit into the apple. She struggled as she flew through the air, her face red as she carried the apple back onto Vur’s head. “Because he’s an ice dragon.”
“Ice dragon?” Tafel asked. She wasn’t aware dragons had elements. She guessed it made sense based on what she had seen Vur’s family do: Leila was a holy dragon. Grimmy was obviously attuned to darkness. Grandpa Nova was a dragon of poison while Sera was a dragon of ice. Then what about Vernon and Prika? Vernon was a fan of gravity magic, but Tafel hadn’t ever seen Prika cast a spell. If anything, she’d be a lovesick dragon?