Chapter One
-Fox-
Purple. Blue. Yellow. Pink. Orange.
Those were the list of colors that rolled in my head as I sat there, right on top of a glow-in-the-dark mushroom, watching as the first light of sunrise rose; watching as the light engulfed the dark of the night and extinguish the stars from the skies.
It didn't really matter what color the light was made of, actually. I couldn't care less. What matters was that it's beautiful here, far from every fairy there is in Never Land; feeling as if I was watching a lone show of the sky made just for myself, and that in an hour, I would be expected to start with my work, which mostly consist of piling up books and documents, considering that I am a scribe-talent fairy.
"Har Har, Berlioz." I called as I got up, balancing myself so I wouldn't fall off of the slippery-surfaced mushroom. Dark spots clouded my vision for a second, along with a wave of dizziness that crashed against my brain. I shook my head and the pain shrugged away.
A small brown ferret that lay asleep under the mushroom opened his eyes in a quick snap at the sound of my voice. I smiled at the sight of him and jumped onto his back gently. "Let's fly back. It's almost five." I patted his head, feeling the soft fur beneath my hand as he gave me a barely audible squeak—a sign of agreement, I think—before speeding through the pebbles and mushrooms around the seemingly-never-ending field, the sun rising ever so slowly behind me, busily erasing any noticeable traces of the presence of the night.
It was about 20 minutes later when I arrived at my house, deep inside a stranded, yet small nest of an owl. (I know that every fairy are supposed to live in the Home Tree, but I have requested privacy from Queen Clarion, since I was very uncomfortable with the crowd, and she allowed me to live where I wanted.) My house was almost made out of leaves and bark: dull and simple. But since Frost started to come in and out every single day almost three years ago, it looked almost decorated now.
"You were in the mushroom field all night..." A voice hesitantly called from inside the house as my feet landed on the crispy matt made of autumn leaves in front of the door that Frost made for me a year ago. "Am I wrong?"
"No." I admitted, making my way through the spider silk curtain, sparkly with the beads of frozen dewdrops that decorated it. Dizziness crashed again; and for a moment, everything was spinning. I shut my eyes and opened them again. "Don't worry, Frost. I brought Berlioz with me. I was safe." I reassured as I saw his worried face as he stood in front of the small hearse, cooking my favorite breakfast in the whole world: hazelnut soup.
Frost, my best friend, was a very shy sparrow-man. He can even be considered as the shiest man in Pixie Hollow. It took me about 4 months of winter-book deliveries to get him to talk to me comfortably. If you have noticed, he talked rather strangely, too. That's because he used to stutter at everyone; now, he stutters at everyone but me.
He had a snow-white hair that identified him as a frost-talent fairy (and when he ran his hand through it, you should see the way dusts of snow would shrug out of it); he's also quiet tall if compared to the average height of a sparrow-man. Though the way he ducks his head when he walks makes him a bit shorter than he actually were.
"Maybe you should take a day off, considering that you haven't slept at all. You look a bit…red." He took a spoon and poured the hazelnut soup into a bowl.
"Of course not." I gave him a lazy laugh as I dropped onto the bed; dusts of frost sprinkled beneath me, melting my temperature away. Frost must've sensed the fever that I assumed were coming. "In fact, I think I should spend more time there. Glowing mushrooms made my eyesight better, I tell you."
"And fry you under its glow too, it seems." He came over and put a cold hand onto my forehead. "You're practically roasting." His eyebrows creased. "Should I take you to the nursery?"
"No." I quickly responded. "You shall never! You know how I despise the nursery." I flail my arms around. "The antiseptics, the scuffling of fairies. Oh, and the wails and cries!" my face twisted in disgust. "It makes even the most minor sickness unbearably painful."
"Oh." He replied shortly, ducking his head in...fear(?) "I guess…then I should just…tell Ramon that you're taking a day off…?"
"No, of course not. I should go to work, no exception." I start to get up. "However…" I closed my eyes for a few seconds to ease the pain that was throbbing at my head again. "...you can perhaps come with me."
His face lit up instantly at the opportunity; and I swore if he didn't tighten his jaw and held back, snow would've fallen in the room and the wish of Christmas in August would finally come true.
"Okay. What do I need?" He said a bit too loudly as he held my arm and guided me up. "Should I…should I bring some ink? Pens and pencils?"
"Everything's there, no need to worry." I gave him a cheerful smile. It was comforting to have his arm around my shoulder, guarding me in case I'd fall. It gave me pinches of energy to know that there's someone who cares for you at times like this. "Let's just fly there. Slowly."
And we did.
