Mystery at Midnight - Part 1

The stars were glittering points in the faintly glowing sky. Trees ringed the clearing, making a giant port hole to view the night sky. Silent as a passing cloud, mysterious shapes flew through the air, fantastic creatures written in legends moved in complex patterns. They were like living wheels in a giant’s clockwork show. From the ground, shining eyes watched the beautiful ballet, taking in every detail - stunned to silence by the grace and majesty. Such a sight as few except the stars ever see!

It was deep dark when Fiona woke up, and noticed that Aerya was gone. She looked at her clock - 2 in the morning. At that hour, there are not many places a 10 year old girl can go. Fiona got out of bed, put on her puppy slippers, and shuffled down the hall.

The bathroom light was off. Next stop, the kitchen. Aerya was missing, and there was no sign Aerya had come for a snack. Fiona shuffled in her puppy slippers to the living room. Still no Aerya. It was strange, because she usually slept straight through the night. Fiona yawned as she looked into the dark room, then went back to the hallway.

Where the heck could she be? Well, I’m up, thought Fiona, and I might as well have a snack myself.

She got out the peanut butter and a bag of pretzel sticks. She dipped the pretzel into the peanut butter, took a bite, and slowly munched. She loved the way the sweet peanut butter highlighted the salty pretzel, and the feeling of the hard crunch inside the blanket of peanut butter. Fiona dipped the pretzel in again, had a bite, and noticed the back door was unlocked.

This was impossible. Dad would never leave the door unlocked. In ten whole years, Fiona never found the doors unlocked. Dad just wouldn’t do that. He might forget the tea kettle was on and boil it dry. He might forget to brush his hair before he left the house. But he would never forget to lock the door and keep them safe. Which meant that Aerya must be outside.

Fiona put the rest of the pretzel in her mouth, left the peanut butter on the counter, and walked to the door. She peered into the darkness. As her eyes adjusted, she could make out dim shapes, but she fogged the glass with her peanut butter breath. Crunching the pretzel, she stepped out, and closed the door behind her.

She was glad for her slippers, and wished she had her bathrobe.

“Aerya”, she said softly, though it came out as ‘Ahwha’ because her tongue was sticky with peanut butter. She called again. No answer. Fiona walked off the porch, onto the grass.

“Aerya?” Clearer now since the peanut butter was gone. She was alone in the yard, yet in her heart, she knew that Aerya must have come out the door and gone - where?

The moon was half full in the sky, pouring thin, milky light across the yard. Fiona walked back and forth, glad she didn’t have a dog to poop on the lawn, and near the back she found Aerya’s slippers!

What are these doing here? thought Fiona. She picked them up - cold, and slightly damp from being outside for so long. They were bunny slippers, with the long, soft ears stretching back along the base of the shoe. The dark eyes of the slipper bunnies shone in the moonlight.

“Where did she go?” asked Fiona.

The bunny slippers said nothing.

She stood for a few more minutes, holding the slippers, wondering how Aerya got over the fence. Sure, Aerya was a fairy princess, and while she might be able to fly in the fairy land (Fiona wasn’t sure about that) there was no way Aerya could fly in the human world. If she took off her slippers, where did she go? Through the fence? Fiona checked, expecting to find a scrap of Aerya’s night gown. There was nothing except leaves and a candy bar wrapper.

Fiona was quite chilled now, and being cold wouldn't help her find Aerya. She put the slippers back on the ground, and returned to the house. Should she lock the door, or not? Fiona decided to leave the door unlocked. Sooner or later Aerya would return, and it was better if she did not wake Dad. Fiona turned off the light in the kitchen, and padded down the hall to her bedroom.

She turned on the light beside her bed, planning to wait until Aerya came back. But then she began to think, Aerya must be having an adventure, and how dare she go without Fiona! Fiona was her best friend; in fact, Fiona was her first friend in the human world. Why would Aerya leave her behind? Fiona liked to have fun, too! True, Fiona was a little more responsible than the 10 year old fairy princess, but was that so wrong? Fiona didn’t have a different world to go to - she had to live in this one, and this world had rules. Rules that she had to follow.

Rules like putting dirty clothes in the laundry hamper. Rules like hanging up your coat when you walk in the door. Rules like closing the door when you come in, or locking the back door at night. There was even a rule about cleaning up in the kitchen -- Fiona stopped there, remembering how she left the peanut butter out. Should I go all the way back to the kitchen and put it away, she wondered?

Dad won’t really mind if the peanut butter is out, thought Fiona. It isn’t milk, which can spoil, or butter, which might melt. Still, whether he thought it was Fiona or Aerya, Dad would give Fiona a look which said ‘you can do better’. She hated to get that look. Dad had so much on his mind, she didn’t want to bother him. The kitchen wasn’t that far away, and besides, she might have left the pretzels out. Soggy pretzels - yuck!

Fiona got out of the bed, put on her puppy slippers, and padded down the hall. The peanut butter sat on the counter, next to the pretzels. She could imagine the two of them talking.

“Can you believe Fiona just left me on the counter? I’m supposed to be in the cabinet with the jam, and the unrunny honey.”

“It’s worse for me,” chimed in the pretzels, “because when I get left out, I get soft. No one wants to eat a soft pretzel! I’ll be thrown away!”

“It takes a couple of days for you to get soft,” stated the peanut butter. “I live in the cabinet - that is my home! Poor me, homeless!”

“No, poor me - forgotten, and soon to be thrown away!”

“SHUT UP!” thought Fiona impatiently, folding the pretzel bag over and clipping it with the close pin. “I didn’t forget either of you.” She put the pretzels in the snacks drawer, then picked up the grumpy peanut butter, shaking her head. “Time for you to go to bed and stop complaining!” she whispered, setting the jar on the shelf. She closed the cabinet, and heard the sound of the back door. Her heart jumped as she spun around to find Aerya looking as surprised to see Fiona as Fiona was surprised to see Aerya!

“What are you doing here?” said both girls at the same time.

“Oh no,” said Fiona, “you tell me what you are doing, coming into the house at -” she looked at the clock “-coming in at 2:30! I was worried about you, Aerya! Tsk tsk.”

Fiona crossed her arms and shook her head.

“So tell me, where were you?”

Aerya shrugged, her smooth black hair bouncing around her shoulders.

“I was in the yard.”

Fiona smiled, and shook her head.

“Uh-uh! I went outside looking for you! All I found was your slippers!”

“I was there. You must have missed me.” The tip of Aerya’s nose grew red as she spoke.

“Aerya, I can tell from your nose that you are lying!” said Fiona. Aerya put her hand to her nose.

“I hate this thing.”

“Just tell me the truth - where were you?”

“Do you promise not to tell?”

“I promise.”

The two girls held up their right hands, pressed their palms together, and locked their fingers.

“I give my best promise to keep the secret,” they said together, in their usual ritual. They pulled their hands apart, and Fiona asked,

“Aerya, what’s this?”

She reached behind the slender girl, and pulled a bit of green stem with a flower from Aerya’s hair. Aerya sniffed, then crinkled her nose.

“Your breath stinks.”

Fiona covered her mouth with her hand, still holding the flower.

“I had some peanut butter on pretzels.”

“Are you going to brush your teeth?”

“I already brushed my teeth. Now tell me about this flower.”

“It came back with me, from the mountains.”

“What?” Fiona was so surprised, she almost dropped the flower. Aerya took it, walked to the trash, and dropped it in.

“I was in the mountains. Come on, let’s go back to the bedroom, and I’ll tell you more.”

“Oh, you are soooo going to tell me all about this!” said Fiona as the two girls slipped back to their room.

They got into bed, and Fiona turned to Aerya.

“Tell me what you were doing outside, and how you got to the mountains?”

Aerya took a deep breath, released it, then shifted to prop her head up on her left hand.

“Does my breath smell like that when I eat peanut butter?” she asked.

Fiona thought for a moment. For the first time, it struck her that Aerya never had peanut butter breath.

“No. Hang on.” Fiona got out of her bed.

“Where are you going?” asked Aerya.

“Just wait a minute.” Fiona went to her purse, hanging from a knob on the dresser, and got a container of mints. She put two in her mouth, sucked them for a moment, then breathed into her hand and sniffed. She took out two more mints, popped them in her mouth, and dropped the tin back in her bag. With her mouth full of breath mints, she climbed back into the big, double bed.

“That should help. Now, tell me, what you were doing outside?”

“Here’s the thing, Fiona. It is better if I show you, instead of telling you. Tomorrow night is the final night. I’ll take you, and you can see it for yourself.”

Fiona was picking anxiously at her fingernail- when Aerya finished, she stopped.

“See it? See what? Aerya, you’re making me crazy!”

“Trust me - you’ve got to see this. That is way better than me telling you about it. Just wait until tomorrow night.”

“You mean, you aren’t going to tell me anything tonight?”

Aerya yawned, and nodded.

“I don’t think I can stand that!”

“Fiona, you don’t understand. You’ll be glad that you waited. This is something really special. I promise, I’ll show you everything tomorrow night. I’ll wake you up and we’ll go together. Now you should go to sleep so you won’t be tired tomorrow.”

“Do you promise you won’t try to ditch me?”

“I promise.”

Fiona held up her hand. Aerya pressed her hand against Fiona’s, and they locked their fingers together.

“I give my best promise to keep my word.”

“Alright,” said Fiona, “I’ll wait.”

“Goodnight.” Aerya turned over, adjusted her pillow, sighed, and fell right to sleep.

Oh great, thought Fiona to herself, I’m wide awake! I’ll never get to sleep!

But she was wrong, and in less than a minute, she was sleeping, too.

-- End of Part 1 --

©2009 All rights reserved.

Mystery At Midnight - Part 2

The next day, Fiona could hardly keep her mind on school. There were two questions she knew the answers to in math class, except she was too distracted to raise her hand. At lunch, Aerya put a whole plum in her mouth, and then pulled out the skin. This amazed the other kids who wondered how she managed to peel it with her tongue. Fiona was preoccupied and not the least bit embarrassed by her friend.

At home, Fiona only ate a little supper, though she made up for that by eating a little of Aerya’s dessert. When it was time for bed, she was the first to get her teeth brushed, and got into bed before Aerya. When Aerya came in, Fiona reminded her of the promise. Aerya said she remembered, and not to worry, she would take Fiona with her tonight. While she didn’t feel tired, Fiona fell asleep anyway. The next thing she knew, Aerya was shaking her.

“Fiona, wake up. Fiona, we’ve got to go - our ride is here.”

Aerya was standing beside the bed, her hand on Fiona’s shoulder. Fiona opened her eyes, and yawned. She stretched like a puppy waking from a nap, then sat straight up.

“We’re going to see the special thing, right?”

“Yes,” said Aerya, opening the bedroom door. “We’ve got to go now or we’ll miss it.”

Fiona popped from the bed like a piece of toast from an eager toaster, wiggled her feet into the puppy slippers, and reached for her bathrobe.

“Leave that here,” said Aerya, taking the bathrobe and putting it back on the hook.

“You mean, just go in my pajamas?”

“Yup. Come on!”

The human girl in Bratz pajamas, wearing puppy slippers, ran softly behind the fairy girl in the Hello Kitty nightgown wearing bunny slippers. They got to the kitchen where Aerya gently slid back the lock, and opened the door.

“Shhhh,” she said to Fiona, one finger on her lips. Fiona gently closed the door.

“Oh my -- ” whispered Aerya, pointing across the yard.

There, near the fence where Fiona found Aerya’s slippers, were two deer. Their antlers looked silver in the faint moonlight. Aerya spoke softly - the deer turned their heads to look at the two girls. Aerya walked straight to them. Instead of jumping over the fence, the two deer lay down on the ground, folding their front feet under their chests. Lying still, they were waiting for the girls.

As she shuffled across the grass, Fiona was surprised that right here, in her own yard, two deer waited under Aerya’s command. Aerya went to one deer, took off her slippers, then carefully got onto the deer’s back. The deer stood up smoothly, as if Aerya weighed nothing. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the strong neck.

“Go ahead and get on,” said Aerya.

“Aerya, where did these come from?”

“They live on the mountain.”

“I don’t know about this. Is it safe?”

“Totally safe. Go ahead and get on.”

“Why are we riding on deer?”

“Because we don’t have horses. Come on, Fiona, get on. We have to go or we’ll miss it.”

Fiona’s heart fluttered, and her stomach grew tight. Ride a deer? A deer with antlers? This close, the antlers looked enormous, and the deer itself was larger and more muscular than she ever realized. It looked at her, then blinked one large, gentle eye. Fiona stroked the deer’s neck, then settled onto the deer’s back, trying to keep her face away from the tips of the antlers.

Before she knew what was happening, the deer stood up. Again Fiona’s heart fluttered and her stomach churned. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the deer’s neck. ‘Please don’t poke out my eyes with your antlers’, thought Fiona. The deer turned his head and blinked again, as if saying ‘don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe’. Aerya spoke a command, and both deer began running.

The deer jumped fences so lightly, it seemed they had wings on their feet. They bounded through yards, dashed between bushes, and followed such a tangled route Fiona was soon lost. The deer kept running, leaving the houses of Frederick behind them, and moving across the farms that existed at the edges of the town, their stride as smooth as melted chocolate as they crossed the dark fields. They ran over the farm fields and kept going, quickly reaching the wilder land at the edge of the foothills, where solitary trees sprouted. Still streaking through the night, they entered the forests that covered the mountains.

The chest of Fiona’s deer swelled as it breathed harder, bounding up the mountainside. The air from the deer’s nostrils puffed out in white curls that soon faded in the cool air. The deer’s hard muscles rippled and flexed under his skin. The tiny dark hooves never slipped as the deer swept through the trees, dashing to the left of a dark trunk, jumping a dry creek, or dipping to pass under a thick branch. Fiona saw the forest world through the twisted lines of the antlers, and marveled that the deer could go so quickly without tangling its antlers in the branches. At last, the deer slowed, and walked the last few feet.

They emerged from the woods and into a wide clearing. The deer stopped, and laid down. Aerya got off, and Fiona did the same, her arms aching from holding so tight. Aerya spoke into the downy ears of her deer while Fiona patted her ride. Aerya’s deer snorted, and then both of them vanished without a sound into the woods.

“How are we going to get home?” asked Fiona.

“Don’t worry, they’ll come back.”

“Where are we?” asked Fiona, still too amazed by her journey to notice that it was much colder on the mountain.

“At the edge of a world you never imagined! Come on, follow me!” Aerya held out her hand; Fiona took it, and they ran along the edge of the clearing. Aerya stopped near a tall pine tree. She sat down on the thick cushion of pine needles, and patted the ground next to her.

“Sit here, and watch.”

“What am I watching for?” asked Fiona, her eyes wide.

“Look over there.” Aerya pointed across the clearing.

“Aerya, I don’t have fairy eyes . . .” started Fiona, squinting. At that moment, she saw something; two somethings, actually, which glowed red. She grabbed Aerya’s arm, and asked,

“Aerya, what is that?”

“That’s where she waits.”

“Who waits?”

“Shhh,” hushed Aerya, pointing up to the sky. “Just watch.”

They sat at the edge of a field surrounded by trees, a green frame around this patch of ground. They were in a perfect place to see the stars. Stars which twinkled, seeming to call out ‘hey, look at me!’ to everyone watching. No clouds tonight; just stars, which, as she watched, disappeared and came back. ‘What?’, thought Fiona. She looked more intently, and saw there was something flying high above. Now there were two of the mysterious things, and when they passed overhead, the stars were blocked by their bodies.

Gradually the shapes grew clearer - the flying things were getting closer. Wide, and long; moving smoothly as a dolphin in the ocean. Flying above, the two went around like hawks - were those wings? Closer now, and Fiona gasped as she recognized what floated in the sky above her.

Dragons!

Two dragons circled, following each other, getting closer and closer to where the two girls sat in the edge of the woods. If these two were dragons, then the red spots across the clearing . . .

“Aerya,” whispered Fiona, pointing where she still saw the red eyes, “is that a dragon?”

She was excited and scared at the same time. Somewhere in her mind she thought, ‘don’t dragons eat girls?’

“Yes,” whispered Aerya, “that’s the female dragon. She’s watching the two males.”

“Is she going to eat us?”

Aerya turned suddenly to look at Fiona.

“Eat us? Why?”

“Isn’t that what dragons do? I mean, don’t they like to eat people? Especially girls?”

Aerya gave Fiona a puzzled look.

“Fiona, don’t be silly. Of course she isn’t going to eat us. Tonight, she is going to choose her mate. Forget about her, and watch those two!”

The eyes of the dragon hadn’t moved, which helped Fiona feel a little better about a fire breathing creature she was certain ordinarily ate human girls. She would keep checking on those eyes, and if they got closer, well, Fiona was right at the edge of the woods. That would make it easy for her to grab Aerya then run and hide. Confident that this was a good plan, Fiona relaxed a little and focused on the dragons in the sky above.

They were enormous! Wide wings spread out from a thin, snakelike body. The dragons’ tails were long, following every move like a ribbon on a kite. The dragons made their circle smaller, flying faster and faster, becoming a blurred ring. They were much closer now, and Fiona could hear the whistling of the spikes along their back as they chased each other. She could not tell which was which when they separated, and swooped down at the field.

Fiona screamed as the dragons turned at the last moment, turning in opposite directions, each of them sailing just above the tips of the trees. Aerya put her hand over Fiona’s mouth, muffling the scream. Fiona could see the golden belly scales; she could hear the whistling of air across the long, curved claws; the horn covered face so terrible it was like a hundred nightmares packed into one instant.

The dragon above did not stop to eat the girls. Its tail flowed behind, marking the path it flew. Then it was gone, silent as a cloud upon the sky, flying up higher and higher. Both dragons reached a place almost out of sight, then began a complicated ballet. They twisted and rolled; they turned and looped; they dropped and rose; always linking their moves together, each a mirror to the other. The two dragons flew so close to each other, Fiona wondered how they kept from tearing the thin skin of their wings on the big spikes that studded their backs.

The dragons flew with a grace that surpassed the wide winged heron. The dragons displayed their inventive minds, each trying to out dance the other upon the night. At last the display was done, and the two floated like downy feathers, swooping down and rising up, each pass bringing them closer and closer to the clearing. A dip down, then a pull up, a dip down, then a pull up, closer and closer. In a moment, they would land, shaking the ground with their immense weight.

Yet they didn’t land. The red eyes across the clearing moved. Fiona drew back, alarmed by the motion. Then the eyes were gone and Fiona saw the female dragon moving upward, moving as if swimming through the air, the sleek, strong body pale silver in the starlight. Still without a sound, the dragons hovered as the female swam up.

The female dragon rose to where the other two hovered. She circled one, her giant head sniffing at him, then she circled the other, sniffing at him, too. She circled each of them, flying around them, over them, under them, at last stopping beside her choice. That dragon threw back his head and let out a sound like a thousand mountains rumbling, and then the two of them, male and female, flew off, quickly vanishing in the night.

-- End of Part 2 --

©2009 All rights reserved.

Mystery At Midnight - Part 3

“Wow,” said Fiona in a hoarse voice.

“Wait, it’s not done yet.” whispered Aerya.

The remaining male hovered another few moments, then it howled in despair. It was the sound of sadness as profound as the earth itself. The cry seemed to soak into the trees, into the ground, and saturate the air with the feeling. Fiona felt tears in her own eyes for the heart broken dragon. It flew upward in a spiral, getting higher and higher, until it stopped without warning, and cried out one last time.

A shower of sparks cascaded around the lonely dragon. Bright, cold spots spread out and poured down like a fountain of light against the dark sky. In that fiery instant, the dragon disappeared. Fiona watched, enchanted, as the gold dots flared, twinkled, and flashed through the air, growing brighter as they fell until they lost their light to the night.

The falling streams were light golden ostrich feathers, waving in the air, eaten by the darkness before they touched the ground. It was like a fireworks with the sound turned off, right above her head.

Fiona thought the display was over, and then she felt something touch and tangle in her hair. She reached for it, expecting a pine needle, or even worse, a spider. Instead, it was a flake about the size of a dime, thin as a finger nail, and when she looked at it, it glimmered faintly golden in the dim light.

“Aerya, what is this?”

“Oh, Fiona, that’s awesome! You got a dragon scale! You are so totally lucky!”

Looking at the scale, Fiona began to cry softly.

“What’s the matter?” asked Aerya, stroking Fiona’s hair and patting her shoulder.

“That dragon was so beautiful, and now --”

“What?” asked Aerya.

“Now he’s gone! That's awful!”

“What do you mean, gone?” asked Aerya.

“I saw it explode in the sky,” sniffed Fiona.

“That wasn’t the dragon; that was just his scales falling off, like a bird losing its feathers. Fiona, the dragon’s okay! Every ten years, adult dragons choose a mate. The male dragons grow golden scales for the mating dance. If they get a mate, they keep the scales. If they don’t, the scales fall off, and then they have to wait another ten years.”

“He’s not dead?”

“No, he’s not dead. He just shed his scales.”

“What is the regular color of dragons?”

“Hmmm,” Aerya considered the question. “They are kind of dirty grey, with a light blue belly.”

“That doesn’t sound very pretty.”

“It isn’t. Those colors help them to hide, though.”

“How long do dragons live?”

“A seriously long time - like hundreds of years. They can be ancient”

“Wow, that’s a long time.”

“Keep that dragon scale, Fiona. It is a really special thing to have.” Aerya smiled.

Fiona wiped her eyes, then wiped her nose on the sleeve of her pajamas.

“Aerya?”

“Yes?”

“I’m freezing cold. Can we go back home now?”

“Yes, let’s go. The dragon dance is over.”

Aerya called, and the deer appeared from the woods. They laid down, waiting for the girls to climb on their backs. Fiona was careful not to get poked in the eye by the antlers as she straddled the deer and wrapped her arms around his neck. In her right hand, she held the dragon scale tightly. As the deer stood up, Fiona’s heart fluttered, but for a different reason. She had a real dragon scale!

The deer went even faster down the mountain, so that Fiona felt she was flying through the woods, like a witch on a broom. Was this what the dragon felt flying in the air, his wings wider than three buses? Fiona smiled to herself, wondering what her Dad would say if he knew she rode a deer to the mountains - to watch dragons dance! Before long, the deer were leaping the fences that circled the yards in Frederick, and shortly after, the deer stopped. It took Fiona a moment to recognize her own yard. The deer lay down, their breath making small white clouds in the air. Fiona slid off, and as she put on her slippers, the deer stood up. Fiona went over, hugged it, and thanked it for the ride. The deer rolled its eyes, snorted, and then both of them were gone.

“Come on, let’s get back in the house before we turn into ice!” said Aerya, fumbling her feet into the bunny slippers.

“Too late,” said Fiona, feeling the dragon scale still in her fist, “I think I’m already in the slush stage.”

They went into the house, quietly locked the door, and when they got into bed, it felt a hundred times softer and warmer than the cold ground in the forest. Fiona opened her hand and looked at the dragon scale in the light. It looked like a fishing lure, and was about the same size. However, the scale was thinner, and Fiona found she could faintly see through it.

“Turn off the light,” suggested Aerya.

Fiona did. In the darkness of the room, the dragon scale glowed faintly.

“Whoa! That is too cool!” said Fiona, putting the scale in her other hand.

“That’s how you can tell it is a real dragon scale, and not a fake.”

“A fake?” Fiona held the scale out to Aerya, who took it and studied it carefully.

“Yes. I had a fake one. A fairy at a fair sold it to me. Just a piece of junk - not like this one. I should have known better. What are you going to do with this?”

Fiona had been thinking about that, and all of a sudden she had an idea.

“Hold on a minute,” she said, turning on the light, and going to her jewelry box. She took out a silver locket. Back to the bed, she opened the locket, and put the scale inside. It fit perfectly.

“Will you clip this for me?” asked Fiona, turning around and holding the ends of the chain. Aerya knelt behind Fiona, and clipped the clasp together. Fiona let the locket dangle. It hung right over her heart.

Aerya watched the whole time, not saying a word. Fiona reached over, and turned off the light. At last Aerya spoke.

“You are so lucky,” she said.

“Yes, I am lucky. I probably have the only dragon scale in the country!”

“Do you want to sell it?” asked Aerya, hopefully.

“The only dragon scale in the country - the only dragon scale I’ll ever get?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t be stupid, Aerya. I’ll never sell this.”

“Oh.” said Aerya.

“But I’ll let you wear it sometimes.”

Fiona could almost hear her friend smiling. What a night it had been! She thought about all that had happened, her eyes slowly closing. Soon, she was asleep, holding the locket with the dragon scale against her chest.

Her last thought was, it is cool to have a fairy as a friend. What other magical adventures were possible with this wild little fairy?

-- The End --

©2009 All rights reserved.

Golf, subs, and aliens - Pt1

“Alright girls, let’s get going,” said Dad at the door.

They were driving to Gaithersburg for a game of miniature golf at the Funland Center. It would be the first time the fairy princess ever played miniature golf, and only Fiona’s fifth time. Fiona had described it as ‘a game where you take a club and hit a ball into the hole’ which puzzled Aerya. Back in the fairy world, she only thought of a club as something a troll used, generally to knock a fairy senseless.

Aerya had heard the word before. Fiona talked about joining a club, and there were cards that had clubs. Gardening clubs, civic clubs, even Club Scouts. It was an interesting world that made so much of a troll weapon. In miniature golf, she found yet another use for a club. Today, Aerya would find out for herself about the golf club. According to Fiona, they would each get one. Fiona said miniature golf was really fun. Clubbing a ball into a hole? That sounded like a lot of fun!

Fiona was out of the house first, with Aerya close behind her. They scampered over to their minivan called the Master Disaster (painted an off yellow color that Aerya commented was the same as “rotten mustard, thrown up by a dragon”.) Suddenly,  Aerya turned, and ran back to the front door.

“Mr. Dad, can you please unlock the door for me?”

“Sure, Aerya. Do you have to go to the bathroom or something?”

Aerya didn’t say, she just ran back into the house, her straight, black hair flying around her shoulders. A moment later she reappeared, carrying a different purse.

“All set,” she said, smiling. She dashed over to where Fiona stood.

Just as Dad finished locking the front door, Aerya was back. Dad didn’t say a word, just unlocked the door, and waited. A minute later, Aerya was back, wearing a different shirt.

“Thank you, Mr. Dad!” she called, running to the Master Disaster where Fiona still stood. Dad locked the door, and waited. Sure enough, Aerya was back again.

“Mr. Dad, I just need to get inside for a moment . . .”

Eventually, Dad and Fiona got Aerya into the Master Disaster, and started the drive to Funland. The sky was bright blue, with a few clouds tossed like mashed potatoes by a giant baby's hand. It was autumn warm, coaxing the grass to grow just a little further, and causing the trees to reconsider throwing their leaves onto the ground. Birds flew as if on vacation, making the most of this pretty day. The thick bands of trees that edged the road with brown and green seemed perky, holding most of their leaves, still swollen with the rain from days earlier. Fiona imagined that in the forests, the deer practiced fighting with their antlers by attacking low branches, and charging one another. A chubby ground hog ran like a shopper racing for the last sale item. It was a beautiful day, and the whole world seemed to be filled with a playful spirit.

Aerya only exchanged her club twice, settling on a yellow handled club and a green ball. Dad showed them both how to hold the putter, to eye the path between the ball and the hole, and to test the swing before tapping the ball. While Aerya listened to Dad’s lesson, Fiona noticed that Aerya actually seemed to attack the ball when it was her turn. Aerya warmed up to putt by swinging the club in a wide, vicious circle, the way a Viking would swing a battle axe if attacked by a mob of angry trolls. If it were baseball instead of golf, Aerya would hit a home run every time at bat.

At the third hole at Funland, Aerya lost her ball in the water. The water was actually part of the Queen’s Castle, the seventh hole. If she hadn’t hit her ball so hard when facing the Gnome Home on the third hole, the ball would not have bounced off the gnome’s hat, hopped through Dino-Land, rocketed past the surprised people standing near 3 Pigs Place, hit the ogre in the nose in Giant’s Square at the sixth hole, and finally fallen into the water moat of Queen’s Castle, the seventh hole. The loss of the ball was all right, because Aerya liked golf better without the ball.

The three of them played much faster now since Aerya did not have to decide where to stand to launch her ball. Fiona ended up ahead of her Dad by 3 points. She teased him about this, and just to be sure he knew she won, she did the victory dance. This mainly consisted of Fiona slowly strutting, her arms held like an Egyptian painting, chanting “Eat it up, sucka - eat it up!” Aerya joined in, and the two girls victory danced until the next players asked if they would get out of the way.

Dad was still smiling when they returned their putters to the counter. Aerya held hers a few minutes longer before handing it over. Apparently, she thought it a good weapon. They climbed into the Master Disaster, and drove back to Frederick. As they passed the scenic overlook at the edge of the city, Dad called back to the girls.

“Would you like to have pizza tonight, or Chinese food?”

“I like both,” said Fiona.

“Pizza,” said Aeyra, “definitely, pizza.”

“Alright, then that’s what we’ll have.”

“Wait, Mr. Dad - let’s have Chinese food.”

“That sounds good too, Aerya. I think I could really enjoy some egg rolls -”

“Pizza. I think that sounds much, much better, now that I thought about it. Is that okay, Fiona?”

“I love pizza,” said Fiona.

“Pizza it is, girls. Mmmmm, I can hardly wait -”

“No,” said Aerya, “let’s have Chinese food. If you don’t mind, Fiona”

“I love Chinese food.”

“Chinese food, then, Mr. Dad.”

“Chopsticks and noodles with supper. I really love those -”

“No, not Chinese. How about Mexican?”

Fiona heard Dad sigh, and she noticed that he gripped the steering wheel a little harder as he smiled and tried to sound cheerful. It was another 15 minutes back and forth before Fiona ended Aerya’s indecision by saying she just had to have a sub sandwich. Aerya thought that sounded good, and Dad said it was decided, no more discussion or suggestions. Aerya started to say something, then she noticed a new loose stitch on the Huckleberry Baby in her lap.

The Huckleberry Baby had just one eye, 3 strands of yarn hair, and started life as Fiona’s first doll. In those early years, it was much loved, and Dad was surprised that it was still around. The Huckleberry Baby used to sit on a shelf, retired from active duty. For some reason, Aerya became a champion of the doll. 

"Why does she sit on the shelf," asked Aerya, "when she was your first friend? We should do more for her than leave her on the shelf. We should take her out, let her enjoy the world! Surely, she has earned that much!"

Fiona had no argument, and so the Huckleberry Baby began an active social life, often going with the girls in the Master Disaster.

Aerya was like a nurse to the doll, checking it regularly for tears, or weak stitches. That day, when Aerya found the foot was loose, her butterfly mind bounced from dinner to tending the Huckleberry Baby. They wrapped a tissue tightly around the foot, and then tightened it at the leg with a hair band. That would keep the foot safe until they got home and could sew it properly. Fiona considered that while Aerya unmade as many decisions as she made, she was a true friend, even to an old doll.

They enjoyed their submarine sandwiches that night, and later, when lying in bed, Aerya told Fiona how much she loved miniature golf. Soon they were asleep, the two girls lightly snoring when Dad checked them before going to bed himself.

The next day was Monday, a school day. Aerya was in the bathroom bright and cheerful, her long black hair shining against her new, pink shirt with the sparkling stones. Fiona’s waist length hair was unusually stubborn as she brushed it. It was as if the hair kept grabbing the hair brush, pulling it from her hand. The water dripped in the sink, sounding like laughter. Each drop was a tiny “ha ha!” when the brush tangled.

Pull, snag, 'Ha ha!'

Pull, twist, 'Ha ha!'

Pull, slip, drop the brush on the floor, 'Ha ha!'

‘Shut up!’, thought Fiona, twisting the faucet closed. She wished someone would put a spell on her hair so that she never needed to brush it.

In spite of the hair problem, Fiona got ready, and they arrived at school on time. Their teacher was Mrs. Rohl-LaFayette, Ms. L for short. Ms. L was like so many elementary school teachers, cheery in the morning, saying hi to each child as they came in, excited to have another day of learning, and probably hiding a secret side. What was that secret, wondered Fiona at times when her mind drifted during school. Could she be from outer space, here to learn about people for a class project? Could Ms. L be some kind of animal who, disguised as a teacher, would one day tear off the costume and eat them all? Maybe there were really three Ms. L’s, each of them taking a turn teaching. That would explain why Ms. L lost so much homework; it was always turned in to a different version of the teacher.

Ms. L smiled brightly and as each child came into the classroom, asked about their weekend.

“Hello, Aerya! How lovely to see you! What did you do this weekend?”

“I got to use a club on a ball, in a great game called golf! Did you know that the club is a wonderful weapon? It is a fab tool to defeat an enemy.”

“Hi, Ms. L,” said Fiona, interrupting Aerya before she could talk about trolls. “My dad took us to play miniature golf. It was great!”

Before Aerya could return to clubs and enemies, Fiona distracted her.

“Aerya, can you come to my desk for a minute? I want to show you something.”

By then, other children were spilling into the room, and Ms. L was talking to them. While walking to her desk, Fiona considered that Ms. L’s smile was not quite as wide when she saw Fiona. ‘Oh great, it’s going to be one of those days’ thought Fiona.

Fiona was right - it was one of those days. She barely got seated at her desk and settled for the first class when Ms. L called on her.

“Fiona, would you please collect the geography homework from everyone?”

“Yes, Ms. L.”

Fiona tried not to scowl. She was planning to use the time spent collecting homework to read a note from Maggie. For now, the note - just bursting with interesting news - would have to wait. Fiona went from desk to desk, collecting the maps. As she saw other people’s homework, her heart sank. Fiona’s map, compared to the others, was terrible. Her map wasn’t in color, and it looked like Fiona hurried through the homework to go do something else. Which was true. Why, she wondered, did they have to do homework? Why couldn’t the teachers teach less, and that way, everyone would get finished at school. Fiona didn’t have an answer to this by the time she collected the last map. Luckily, her map was on the bottom of the pile. That way, she would not be present when Ms. L saw what a bad job she did.

Fiona brought the maps to Ms. L, who was opening the social studies book while taking the maps. Ms. L took the maps, and one fluttered to the floor.

“I’ll get it, Ms. L,” said Fiona, bending to collect it. ‘Oh phooey’, she thought, ‘it’s MY stupid map that fell on the floor!’

“Thank you, Fiona. Oh, this is your map . . . it’s not in color.”

“No, it’s not,” agreed Fiona.

“Fiona, the assignment was to mark the different regions in color. You really need to pay more attention to the homework requirements.”

“Alright, Ms. L, I will.” Fiona turned and walked back to her desk, wanting to die from embarrassment.

-- End of Part 1 -- 

©2009 All rights reserved.

Golf, subs, and aliens - Pt2

She got through social studies with just one more blunder. Ms. L asked Fiona a question, and Fiona answered and was sure she was right. Ms. L got a look on her face where she pressed her lips together and squinted her eyes. It was the kind of look a kangaroo might get when asked to identify a bowl of jello. It turned out that Fiona’s answer was correct. The problem was, it answered a question Ms. L asked five minutes earlier.

“Fiona, are you paying attention?” asked Ms. L.

“Uh, I’m sorry, I’ll do better,” said Fiona, her ears burning.

When recess came, Fiona was so totally ready to get out of the room and play slap ball with Aerya. Just as she got to the bag of play equipment, Tony grabbed the ball and ran off with Eric. Fiona and Aerya played a few rounds of finger rhymes with Maggie. Maggie asked if Fiona had read her note. Fiona was so caught up in the challenge of the day, she completely forgot the note! We’ll talk at lunch, said Maggie, and then recess was gone, stolen by the ever-hungry clock.

The next subject was science. Ms. L always got excited about science; in fact, a little too excited, the way someone from outer space would be excited. She knew all about the elements, about molecules, atoms, covalent bonds, and a million more things. It was in science that Fiona thought that Ms. L was most likely from outer space, rather than being three different people. Just as Fiona was ready to open Maggie’s note, Ms. L asked Fiona to come to the board, and write the three states of matter.

After neatly writing her answers, Fiona was certain that she had it right, and her day would finally change. Fiona would get a ‘good job’ from Ms. L, and the rest of the day would be easy-peasy. Instead, Ms. L had her squinty face again when she read Fiona’s answer.

“Solid is correct, Fiona, but the other two - squishy, and air? I’m afraid those are not the correct terms.”

Fiona’s ears burned again as she sat down. Dakota nearly pulled her arm out of joint from raising her hand so hard. Ms. L called on Dakota, who declared ‘liquid, and gas’ as the other two forms of matter. Excellent, said Ms L, as Fiona sat down, wondering who cast the spell that was ruining her day.

On this same day, Aerya always had the right answer, wrote on the board correctly, and had made her map in color. Aerya was having a wonderful time, and at lunch, traded two of her cookies for Sam’s ketchup packets. That made Aerya’s day perfect. While eating, Aerya smiled and chattered like a hyperactive poodle with too much coffee while Fiona looked at her sandwich, wondering who stepped on it. Maggie asked if Fiona had read her note. Fiona just closed her eyes, and put her head down on the table.

Right into the pile of ketchup that Aerya had squeezed onto her sandwich bag.

In the afternoon, Ms. L returned homework and tests. Fiona got a B on her spelling test. Fiona was certain that one of the words marked wrong was absolutely correct. She challenged Ms. L, who asked Fiona to look up the word in the dictionary. Of course the dictionary agreed with Fiona. Then Ms. L looked at the spelling, which somehow changed, so that now the dictionary agreed with the teacher. Ms. L looked sympathetically at Fiona.

“Fiona, did you study for that test?”

“Yes, Ms. L, I did. A lot.”

“Did you use the 3 x 3 Method?”

“Sort of. I studied the words and wrote them out.”

“Fiona, that is not the 3 x 3 Method. We went over 3 x 3 as way of studying to cement the information with concepts blah blah blah . . .” At which point, Fiona had no idea what Ms. L was saying. She stood by the teacher’s desk, nodding when it seemed the right thing to do, and went back to her seat, stuck with a B on the spelling test. Fiona didn’t sit down, though. No, she went back up to Ms. L’s desk, because Fiona’s three page report was missing the middle page.

“That’s impossible!” said Fiona. “I turned in all 3 pages!”

“Well, that may be, but the middle page is missing here.” Ms. L pointed to where the middle page should be in the report. Fiona took the report, pulled the pages apart a little more, and saw a bit of paper caught in the staple.

“Ms. L, if you look, you can see the little bit of the middle page. It was there, except it got torn out. See?” Fiona thought she finally had the edge on Ms. L and missing homework. This was proof that something happened! Maybe now Ms. L would apologize to Fiona for all the other homework she lost.

“Fiona, we are not trying to fix the blame, we are trying to solve the problem. That is the constructive approach. I haven’t suggested that anyone is at fault. You wrote this on the computer, so why don’t you just print another copy and turn it in? I won’t reduce your grade over this.”

Reduce her grade? Fiona was mad. SHE wasn’t the one who lost the page! And just what was her teacher doing with student reports so that pages got torn out? Usually when homework turned up missing, Ms. L was all about who was to blame. She would say ‘I put all the homework in this bag, and if you turned it in, it would be here.’ That was Ms. L’s usual argument, and her excuse for marking Fiona’s homework as missing.

This time, when Fiona could prove that Ms. L was to blame, did Ms. L just accept responsibility? Nope, she brought up her ‘we are not going to fix the blame’ excuse. That was just great. Fiona took a breath, and in a tense voice said,

“Alright, Ms. L, I will bring in a new copy tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Fiona.”

Fiona went back to her desk, her chest buzzing with anger. This was just too much! All day long Fiona looked like a doofus, and now, when Fiona could prove that Ms. L lost homework, that proof didn’t matter. Why did Ms. L have to call her up to write on the board? Why did Ms. L have to ask Fiona to collect the homework? And just how had Ms. L changed the dictionary just by touching it?

 ‘This day stinks’, thought Fiona. ‘It stinks as bad as a thousand year old rotten egg laid by a big, stinky chicken.’

Could there be some way to get even for this difficult day, and explain the homework? Maybe Ms. L used homework for her space ship. Certainly, only an alien had the power to change a page in the dictionary. Alien - space ship - hmmmmm. What if Fiona could find Ms. L’s space ship, and tell the police? The principal would have to adjust Fiona’s homework grade them. Except, how could she find the space ship when wherever Ms. L had it was so well hidden, even the police were baffled?

Perhaps she could say just the right thing to trick Ms. L into accidentally telling her where the space ship was parked. What could she ask Ms. L?

Fiona was thinking this over when she heard her name.

“Fiona!” It was Ms. L, smiling. Fiona was surprised from her thoughts, and her heart jumped a beat. What if Ms. L read Fiona’s mind, and was going to erase her thoughts to keep her space ship a secret? Would she have to touch Fiona’s head, just the way she touched the dictionary to change that page?

“Yes, Ms. L?”

“I’ve decided that we are going to have a movie this afternoon. Would you like to choose what we will watch?”

All of a sudden, the dark clouds of a bad day parted, and a golden opportunity dropped into her lap. This was better than trapping the three different Ms L’s and showing the principal how everyone was tricked. This was better than finding the space ship! This was the moment that would change Fiona’s worst day into one of her best.

“You mean, I can choose the movie?” Already kids in the class were whispering their suggestions.

“Robots!”

“Chicken Little!”

“All About Cheese!”

“Shut up, Sam!”

“Snow Buddies!”

“Yes, Fiona, I think that since you’ve worked so hard today, you should choose our movie.”

Now Fiona smiled.

“Ms. L, that is really nice. I would love to choose the movie, but here is one thing I would love to do more.”

“Really?” asked Ms. L. “What?”

“I’d like to give this chance to - Aerya. Let her have my turn.”

Ms. L lit up like a fireworks factory on fire. Fiona knew that of all the right answers, THIS answer was the best of all!

“Oh, Fiona, I’m so proud of you! Everyone, this is what I meant when I talked about generosity and sharing. Fiona, are you sure?”

Fiona was never so sure of anything in her life.

“Oh yes, Ms. L. I want to give my turn to Aerya.”

“You set such a fine example.” Ms. L beamed at Fiona, then turned to Aerya.

“Aerya, would you like to choose the movie?”

“I would love to!” Aerya was up as if there was a spring on her seat, zipping over to the movie shelves.

Fiona sat down, ready to enjoy the results of letting Aerya choose what to watch. For 15 minutes, Aerya unmade every one of her decisions, until finally, Ms. L was so impatient, she grabbed the movie Aerya was holding and put it in the player, saying enough was enough.

Thank you, Aerya, thought Fiona, smiling behind her hand. As Ms. L turned off the lights, Fiona was still smiling, for the time being forgetting all about Maggie’s note.

-- The End --

©2009 All rights reserved.

A little about Fiona & The Fairy Princess

Thank you for coming here to enjoy these adventures!

About these stories

These are stories about a 10 year old girl named Fiona, who lives in Frederick, Maryland with her dad. A 10 year old fairy princess, named Aerya (pronounced 'air-a') ends up in the human world, and comes to live with Fiona and her dad. The stories at this blog are short stories telling adventures the two girls have together. Sometimes, the adventures involve surprising creatures. At other times, the adventures involve ordinary life. The heroines are always Fiona and Aerya. 

How many stories will there be?

At this time, there will be at least 15 stories. There may be even more stories. These two girls have a way of winding up in unexpected situations . . .  which make for more and more stories to tell. The number of stories will also depend upon you. Do you like these stories? Do you want to read more? If you do, let Fiona and her dad know.

Is there a book?

At this time, there is a book planned, to be called "Fiona and the Fairy Princess". This will be a novel that answers many of the questions you have, such as how did Aerya get here, how did she end up living with Fiona, how did she get into school, and did she ever get back to the fairy world? I can tell you that "Fiona and the Fairy Princess" is a BIG adventure for these two girls, with lots of new characters, and lots of details about Aerya. The stories at this blog, though, are not taken from the book. Which means that when the book is published, all the writing there will be brand new! 

How often will there be new stories?

You can expect a new story about every 14 or 17 days. Blogger allows you to subscribe to a notice sent by Blogger when there is a new story posted.

Is this on facebook?

We are making a facebook page for Fiona and the Fairy Princess. When that is done, we'll post that URL here at the blog.

Is there a real Fiona?

As a matter of fact, there is. Fiona is a 10 year old girl, and when we get her profile added to facebook, you can see pictures of Fiona, and find out things, such as her recipe for Cha-Cha Chili. Soon, you will also find information about Aerya at facebook.

Who wrote these stories?

The stories are created together by Fiona, and her dad. Together they created the story line for each story, as well as the book that is planned. Fiona checks every word during the writing process, suggests phrases, and changes to the story. She is truly a co-creator of these stories, and has put in a lot of time. Well, she puts in as much time as Aerya lets her . . . :-)

Anything else?

If you would like to help Fiona and Aerya, we would love your assistance. Please tell your friends about Fiona and Aerya, and share the URL. Please leave us your comments, even if they are as simple as 'I really like this story.' If you have a facebook profile, please add us as your friends, or become fans of the Fiona and the Fairy Princess facebook page. We think that people will enjoy these stories, and we'd like to build the largest audience possible. If you are not an adult, please get your parent's permission first!

Thank you! Your help will let us get the book, Fiona and the Fairy Princess, published much sooner than we could do so otherwise.