The Grey in the Rainbow

      This time, Naia was certain she had heard someone. They always lurked in the corner of her lowest pool, hiding in the sparkling mist, hoping to scoop up some of the Fountain's precious water. Even on such a dismal day as this one, when the Fountain's titular rainbow was nowhere in sight.

      Naia let herself sink back into the water until only her eyes peeked out. Her hair floated limply around her head. In the dim light cast by the grey sky, she could easily have been mistaken for an old bag floating around the Pool.

      She fidgeted and twisted her tail in the water, resisting the urge to scratch her scales. Kids or tourists creeping around her Fountain in hopes of a free colour change was the last thing she needed on the day of her molt. One might think that a Water faerie would be having the time of her life in the pouring rain, but the omnipresent moisture only enhanced Naia's perceptions and worsened her migraine. She was in no mood for nonsense. Anyone who managed to slip into the Fountain would get catapulted out without ceremony.

      A twig cracked. Naia rolled her eyes. Then, through the downpour, she sensed a large creature, larger than lurking kids or than the Pets who came to change colours. It must have been one of her fellow faeries, then. As unbearable as small talk and tea would be with a migraine, Naia would have been reassured to see a faerie visitor emerge from the brush. But, try as she might, she could not sense any magical aura.

      She raised her mouth above the water. "Hello?"

      The form stopped in its movement, just too far for Naia to get a better read. It couldn't be anything dangerous, could it? Not dangerous to a water faerie of her skill?

      A branch creaked behind her. Naia spun round.

      "That's enough from you!" she hissed at the intruder, dizzy from her sudden movement. "Let me wallow in peace!"

      The Fountain Faerie raised her arms with a hushed incantation. Immediately, a powerful beam of light streamed from her hands, shining easily through all the raindrops and catching a figure huddled in the large tree that supported the upper pools of the Rainbow Fountain.

      The figure winced and shielded their eyes, toppling out of the tree in the process. They landed in the pool with a splash.

      Naia gasped. With another twirl of her arms, she scooped up the water around the intruder, forming a large bowl that floated above the surface of the pool.

      "Baelia dear, I'm so sorry! I had no idea it was you!"

      The soggy Grey Faerie, coughing, scrambled to find a seated position inside Naia's water construct.

      "Here, come up and warm yourself."

      Even as she said those words, Naia floated the water bowl further up the tree, turning it into a lift for Baelia. She dived into the waterfalls that skipped from bough to bough and swam upstream. When she reached the topmost waterfall, she disappeared behind it and into the depths of the tree's trunk. The water construct followed Naia through the sheet of water.

      Inside, the Grey Faerie found herself in a round little cave carved out of what seemed like petrified wood. It was lit by a plethora of light bubbles that emitted a soft aqua glow. The furniture consisted mostly of small pools, with narrow ledges and seats in between.

      "Ta-da!" said Naia, curling her tail inside a warmer pool. "Welcome to my sweet little abode. I will have tea ready for you in a second."

      It really did take her a second to heat a cup of water for an infusion.

      Naia held out the herbal tea on a tray, and was faced with Baelia, who was still sitting wordlessly inside the floating water construct. Naia hurriedly floated her down and released her into a proper seat.

      "There you are."

      The Grey Faerie accepted the drink. Water still dripped from her soaked dress and hair. After being floated through rain and waterfalls, she was more drenched than the Drenched themselves. Naia shooed the water away with a dismissive wiggle of her fingers and, much like any overenthusiastic Petpet tackling its owner's guests, the liquid drained right off Baelia and slunk back into its pool.

      The Grey Faerie felt her dry grey dress with a look of mild surprise. "Thank you."

      "Anything for you, dear! I do apologise for my overly vigilant greeting. I'm a little bit on edge today - moulting day. Don't look at me, my scales are revolting. You know the drill."

      Naia bit her lip, glancing at the Grey Faerie's feathery stubs. No, Baelia did not know the drill anymore.

      "But that's only a minor annoyance compared to what you've gone through, of course!" Naia added hurriedly.

      Mist was gathering into a raincloud that began to drip over Baelia's head. Naia shooed that away, too, but it immediately reformed.

      "I'm used to it," said the Grey Faerie. "Rain just does that around me."

      Naia nodded. To her relief, Baelia sipped her tea quietly. She seemed content to gaze around Naia's home for a while, musing.

      "I didn't know you were so proficient with light magic."

      "Oh! That's funny... No one has mentioned it in a while. Everyone is so focused on the colour changing. Light magic has always been my specialty, dear! You could even say I am a light faerie at my core. That's the reason I was named guardian of this Fountain in the first place, you know. It takes light to bring colour out of water."

      Naia bit her lip again. Underwater, she twisted her tail and scratched her scales against the side of the pool. Of course Baelia knew that too. She had been a light faerie. Naia pulled out a clear crystal glass and poured a stronger drink for herself. It would help her stay awake.

      She raised her glass to Baelia. "Well, just make yourself comfortable, and stay as long as you wish, dear."

      Baelia glanced hesitantly at the waterfall that enclosed the cave.

      "Your hair looks different," said Naia, peering at her chin-length crop of steel-gray hair. "What happened to it? Do you need to fix it with a spell?"

      "No. I cut it."

      "Oh, right! You can do that. Well, it looks nice on you." The poor dear had probably had to cut it because it was thinning from her lack of magic.

      "I just need to ask, you understand..." Naia continued, "why is it that you sought me today?"

      Baelia had come to the Fountain to speak with Naia, right?

      The Grey Faerie said, "I was just thinking of trying something with the Fountain's water. Nothing important. Thank you for fishing me out."

      Naia drummed her fingers on a pearl-encrusted shelf. "An idea for Fountain water? Just run it by me, and I will activate some with magic so that we can experiment right away."

      Baelia stared into her cup. "It was personal," she mumbled. "Just a thought."

      Naia let out a weary laugh and cupped her aching head in her hand. She had not expected to explain these basics to a fellow faerie, as unmagical as that faerie was. "Baelia dear," she said as sweetly as she could, "I am the guardian of this Fountain, remember. Anyone wishing to use its waters must first ask me. Especially if they are unable to activate it themselves."

      Baelia's grey eyes met Naia's cyan. "I want to test if it can recolour me as a faerie. Like for pets."

      The Fountain Faerie blinked, spluttered, held back a laugh, and raised her drink to grant herself another sip.

      "Sweetie. Baelia."

      "You asked. Why do you think I was hiding from you?"

      "Sweetie, you shouldn't put stock in desperate hopes like that. Even if it did somehow alter your appearance, the Fountain's water could never restore your magic. Imagine if you looked the part, but could not cast any spells. What would you be left with then but terrible disappointment? What you need is to give up on these shortcuts and finally put in the work to find your name and recover your magic."

      "I could at least blend in, even temporarily. That would spare me from being looked at the way you are looking at me right now."

      Naia flinched as though she'd been slapped. Her sweet sympathetic smile trickled off her face.

      "Aren't you a bit of an ingrate?" she said more quietly, twirling her glass. "Who would accept your quests if they didn't believe that I might show up for the reward?"

      Baelia held her gaze without faltering.

      "Those who appreciate when I point out how this land is not designed for people who can't fly. Those who want more Petpets to be trained as service Petpets. Those who appreciate company that doesn't make them feel like they have to be chipper all the time. Those who sometimes need to rant or cry or just be quiet. You know. To name just a few."

      Service Petpets? Naia hadn't even known what Baelia's charity was up to. She was used to seeing the Grey Faerie limp, meek and gloomy. Like in all those posters where she posed with sad Petpets. She wished Baelia would break down instead of addressing her so calmly, in such a measured tone.

      "What is it, Naia? Were you hoping you could pop me in here to wipe my tears, pat me on the back, and pat yourself on the back too for doing your good deed?"

      "We can't help you forever, you know," Naia retorted. "Soon enough you'll have to pick yourself up, get down to it and find your name. It's been far too long."

      The Grey Faerie leaned in - infuriatingly, it was now she who wore a sympathetic smile. "Baelia is my real name."

      Naia stared at her. "Sweetie," she said, in genuine concern this time, "you are grey. You are supposed to find a new, different name, to recover your wings and magic. Remember?"

      "I have changed it," the Grey Faerie explained in a tired voice. "Baelia is my name at present. That is why you all know me under that name now. The magic is powerful, every record and every memory of my old name was replaced. Yes, even your memory." She raised her eyebrows. "And a good thing too! Can you imagine what an awful time I'd have if I needed to go around, reminding everyone and changing my name in every legal record?"

      Naia took a hearty gulp of her drink. She wished the pouring rain would quit its ruckus.

      Baelia waited for her to gather her wits.

      "But... if you have a new name... and that didn't restore your magic..."

      "I don't know why. We don't know how that works, only that it's supposed to. All I know is that this is who I am now. I am Baelia, and I have no magic. I have bad days, I have less bad days. I walk and climb and make things and use tools."

      Naia shook her head. "What are you talking about? Don't give up hope! You can't give up. If you tell more of us about this, we can study your case together, understand what went wrong and find a way to help you!"

      "I think it went just right," Baelia said slowly. "I didn't truly want my magic back. So it didn't come back."

      "Did not want- What are you saying! A faerie without magic?" The pool in which Naia sat erupted into bubbles. Baelia cautiously stepped back. "Dear, you lost your magic - it was taken from you in a truly awful, traumatic way. Do you really think you would be saying such things if it hadn't happened that way?"

      "Maybe? Maybe not." Baelia smiled knowingly. "But it's who I am now. You'll just have to get used to it." She shrugged. "Or not. It's your call."

      The Grey Faerie edged around the various pools and soon reached the exit. She was quick on her feet when she was not being levitated around the place. "Thank you anyway, Naia. I had better let you simmer and moult in peace."

      The Fountain Faerie started and reached out, too late. "Don't try to climb down! You'll slip!"

      "I'm used to it," came Baelia's voice, before the sound of the waterfall drowned her out.

      In a cyan splash, Naia leapt out of her indoor pool and back into the waters of the Fountain.

      True to her word, Baelia was climbing laboriously down the tree, pelted by rain and wind.

      "Let's try that cosmetic fix you wanted?" called Naia. "Just in case."

      Her voice was carried by the rain, which seemed to part between her and Baelia. The Grey Faerie glanced back at her and gave her a nod.

      Naia created a stream of water to help her back into the main pool of the Rainbow Fountain. Baelia gingerly stepped into it and slid down.

      Naia raised her arms in a circle. Light permeated the mist around her, shining through the droplets, until most of the pool glimmered with all the colours of the rainbow. Baelia gazed around in wonder. Not many faeries could pull off such delicate fusion magic.

      Beneath her, the colours in the water grew clearer. A sharp image swam into focus as her reflection transformed: a frowning light faerie. The light faerie she had been. Baelia smiled and reached down to touch her.

      The rainbow bathed her in its colours, brightening until she was no longer visible. Then the light faded and the Fountain returned to its normal aspect, reflecting only the rainy grey sky.

      Naia lowered her arms, biting her lip.

      Baelia stood as limp and grey as before. A tiny raincloud was floating above her head again.

      "I tried my best," Naia said hoarsely.

      "I know," said Baelia. "Thank you."

      "Maybe I shouldn't have..."

      Baelia straightened up to face her. "But now, what I really need is for you to look at the real me."

      Naia nodded. "I see you."

      Baelia gave her a smile, then waved and stepped out of the pool.

      Naia raised her fingers and aimed a glimmer of light at her. From behind the miniature raincloud, the glow of a tiny rainbow spread like a halo around Baelia's head. The rainbows Naia cast had always had grey around the edges. She made sure to let the grey shine, too.

     The End.