In the Faerie's Garden

     A rather large beekadoodle flew overhead, his great blue wings flapping rather lazily. A smile twitched across her lips; if her owner had seen that, she would have commented on how lazy he was. It seemed to be a reoccurring theme with her owner, but Thinker didn't care. Her siblings were more than feisty enough to make up for her "laziness".

     A soft breeze stirred the flowers above her and a voice, so soft it was almost muted by the puff of wind, whispered, "Thinker." Her ears perked up immediately and she sat up, looking back and forth but unable to see anyone in the field with her. There was nothing but a few large poppits grazing over the flowers and a couple of birds flying through the blue sky. She was alone, but she had heard someone or something say her name.

     Trying to calm her pounding heart, she settled back into the grass, but she was nowhere near as relaxed as before. Her eyes kept twitching back and forth, as if nervous that someone would try sneaking up on her through the stalks. Another breeze stirred the blossoms around her and once more, her name was whispered.

     Popping up again, she called out in a voice that shook more than she wanted it to, "Who's there?" Silence greeted her in response but she wasn't reassured any longer that she was alone. There was someone in the field with her, someone who knew her name. Maybe her owner was playing a prank on her, but her gut told her that it wasn't the case.

     Stepping carefully, hoping whoever it was wouldn't hear her coming; she began creeping through the flowers. A poppit buzzed too close to her head and she swiped at it irritably. " Thinker, this way," the voice mumbled quietly through the field, urging her forward. The voice was soft, pleasant, and lacking in anything malevolent, but nonetheless, it made her skin crawl. There was just something eerie about being in a field, following an unknown voice but unable to see the source.

     The flowers still nodded their heads in the cooling breeze that whirled around her but she no longer noticed their unspoken beauty. Instead, she was fully focused on the voice. It drew her like the nectar of the blooms around her drew the poppits. Her owner and her obsession with laziness was no longer even a glimmer of a thought in her head. All she could think about was finding the source of the voice.

     As if sensing how focused she was, the voice again whispered, “Come, Thinkerbell, keep coming forward.” It sounded so close and yet so distant; she didn’t understand who it could possibly be. The sky seemed to change into a deeper blue and the flowers around her shimmered as if there were gas fumes permeating them. The air crackled with electricity and made the fur on her body stand up on end. What was going on?

     There was a heavy buzzing in her ears and she thought a poppit was again bothering her but when she swiped absently at the air around her, she found no such creature. She found nothing at all. Maybe her owner was right; maybe being so lazy had finally taken its toll on her. Maybe she had lost her mind, but her owner had never warned her that was a side effect of being lazy.

     Then the buzzing was gone, the shimmering flowers were no more; in fact, the field was no more. It was as if she had passed into another world. She was in a courtyard surrounded by a beautiful marble wall with golden trim. There was a huge fountain in the middle that bubbled enthusiastically but it was unlike any fountain she had ever seen. The water sparkled with every color of the rainbow and the splashes sounded like a chorus of beautiful voices. There were large blossoms in brilliant hues, each one like a masterpiece of art and she found it difficult to take it all in.

     The whole place was so fantastic that it almost hurt her eyes and it made her chest tighten in awe. Where was she and how had she gotten there? One minute, she’d been in the field, following that voice and now she was here in a garden that seemed straight out of her best of dreams.

     “Thinker, I’m so glad that you came.” The voice spoke from behind her and she whirled around to see a tall faerie dressed bright green and adorned with flowers and leaves. Humbled by the presence of a faerie, she couldn’t help but sit down on her haunches. There were so many things she wanted to ask but she discovered that she couldn’t figure out how to make her mouth work in conjunction with her thoughts.

     The faerie laughed and Thinker could have sworn she heard the flowers sigh at the sound, “You wonder why you’re here; well, let me help enlighten you. I often dwell in that field you so enjoy; I myself love it quite a bit. I’ve seen you admire the beauty of the field and you do it so regularly, I thought perhaps you would enjoy my garden.”

     Finally Thinker found her tongue and balked, “You brought me here simply to admire your garden?” She didn’t mean it to sound so rude and the stricken face of the faerie made her quickly add, “Not that I mind - it is beyond fantastic; it’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. It just seems like you’d want something from me.”

     The earth faerie nodded her head and the grass around her grew a touch taller. “Yes, I do, but I thought I’d let you look around first. I’m actually in need of a green mirror; it’ll help me in my gardening, but as I’m a faerie, I can’t exactly go to the market and pick one up. Would you help me?” Thinker looked around the garden, breathing in the gorgeous sight, then she nodded her head. The faerie patted her on her head and then Thinker found herself back in the field.

     The earth faerie was no longer in sight but her voice called out, “Come back here when you have the mirror and I will reward you for your troubles.” Not delaying a moment, she scurried off to her owner and relayed the mission that the faerie had given her. Her owner was thrilled; Thinker was interested in doing something more than lounging in the field. She gladly gave her the neopoints to go buy the mirror and she hurried to the market. A green mirror was easy to find; there were many Neopians selling it and it was simply a matter of finding one of the cheaper ones.

     When she returned to the field, everything was quiet and the poppits still buzzed around as if her experience earlier had only been a dream. After a while, she began to wonder if it had been, for there was no voice luring her forward and no garden appearing around her. As the sun began to set in the west, her excitement turned into sour disappointment and she prepared to leave.

     It was at this moment, the earth faerie glimmered into sight in front of her. “Thought I wasn’t going to show; you’re helping me out, not the other way around, but I would have shown up anyway.” Thinker’s cheeks colored at the implication, mainly because it was true, and held up the mirror as if it were some sort of rare jewel.

     The earth faerie took it gently; holding it this way and that, making sure it was what she had asked for. When she had confirmed that it indeed was the mirror she had asked for, she waved her hand over Thinker. Instantly all hunger and any health issues she had faded away, she felt healthier than she ever had before.

     “Thank you,” she whispered and the earth faerie smiled then faded away. Where she had stood, a single beautiful flower poked out of the earth. Thinker sniffed it happily then made her way home. Her owner was going to be disappointed; she had every intention of spending as much time as possible lounging out in that field, just in case the earth faerie wanted to show off her garden again.

The End