Tinkerbell

Blazefire

Chapter One

Blazing Talent

At the sight of the fluffy petal flying through the air, Pixie Hollow woke in the early hours of the morning as one. The pearly white petal floated past the many houses through all different seasons of the Hollow. It collected flakes of snow, soft yellow pollen, droplets of water, and tiny flower seeds as it traversed the fairy world.

Vidia followed closely behind as her Talent required. She guided the petal, moving her hands through the air and pushing at it gently, coaxing it towards the meeting area where the petal would reveal its true form as a new fairy in Pixie Hollow.

A trail of golden glinting pixie dust flowed through the air as the faries left their homes and followed the petal. They chattered excitedly as they gathered together in their respectable groups.

Lagging behind so that they could talk together were the five well-known friends that were rarely seen apart. Tinkerbell, Fawn, Silvermist, Rosetta, and Iridessa were the best of friends, and had been since their adventure started with Tinkerbelle's own arrival.

She flew ahead of the others eagerly, her golden hair flapping in the wind. "Come on, guys! I don't want to miss a minute of it!"

Iridessa sighed impatiently. "They're not going to start right away, Tink. Queen Clarion has to get there, and she always waits until everyone has arrived."

"Still," Tink whined. "I want to get some good seats. I want to be really close to her… or him, when they come out."

"You're handing up one of the Talent objects, remember?" Rosetta said. "You'll be as close to them as you can get."

Tink scratched her head. "Oh yeah… I forgot about that. I'm representing the tinkers today."

Iridessa rolled her eyes. "Scatter-brained as usual."

"Who cares about any of that," Fawn said. "Let's just hurry. I want to make sure that none of the other animal Talents are wondering if I'm going to turn up. They make take my spot representing our Talent object."

All five of the girls flapped their wings harder, the pixie dust flowing thickly behind them in long ribbons.

"I wonder what they're like," Silvermist said absently.

They all shared that same thought.

"It's so nerve-wracking," Tinkerbell remarked, remembering her own moment of arrival. "I hope they won't be too scared."

Rosetta jabbed out an arm and pointed. "Look!"

Ahead at the giant tree where all of the faries were gathering, the last trails of gold disappeared as the final faries entered the crowd.

"We really are going to be the last ones!" Tink cried. "Hurry!"

They all raced to the meeting spot, once again being the final few to arrive.

The petal lay on the wooden centre of the tree meeting spot. It was still as Terence approached with a goblet filled with golden pixie dust. All of the faries leaned forward and watched closely as he approached.

Tink and her friends all shared their own spot in the centre of the left side. They were perched on a pink mushroom that grew out of the tree. Tink was standing at the edge, desperate to get a good look. The lip of the mushroom began to bend down under her weight and Fawn reached out, yanking her back.

"Tink, don't stand so close to the edge!" she warned.

Rosetta sighed. "Sugercane, you aren't going to miss anything. Just relax."

"S-sorry," Tink muttered. She rested on the mushroom beside her friends again, her haze lifting to meet Vidia's. The mean fairy adorned in purple was floating over to her group of fast-flying Talents opposite the five friends. She was glaring at Tink from over her shoulder, and it took every nerve of restraint in the blonde's body not to poke her tongue out rudely.

Terence stood over the petal and all attention turned to him. He lifted the goblet and poured the dust out gently. It fell in tiny glittering flakes onto the petal, coating it thickly. He stepped back to leave room for the arrival, but for a moment nothing happened. The petal remained as it was, and breaths were sucked in nervously around the edges of the gathering.

Tink gripped at her green, leafy dress tightly. "Why isn't anything happening?" she asked her friends.

They shrugged, leaning closer.

"Something's wrong," Silvermist said worriedly. She clasped her hands together. "It's never taken this long for a fairy to awaken. What could have-"

The petal finally began to move. The edges curled up in themselves, then burst out again, revealing a body in the centre. A short wave of auburn hair burst out at all angles, spiky and wild, almost boyish. They wore a thin white dress clinging to their thin frame. They turned around, revealing golden brown eyes and a frightened pale face.

"She's terrified," Tink pointed out sadly.

"She's completely white," Iridessa said in agreement.

The girl slowly began to rise to her feet. She was shaky and almost fell, but Terence rushed forward and caught her arm. She leaned on him, shaking from head to toe. The faries surrounding her began to greet her kindly, but it seemed to only make her more frightened.

A flash of light and the form of the beloved fairy queen appeared. "My dear child, do not be afraid." She held out her hand to the girl, but she cowered away out of Terence's grip.

Queen Clarion smiled gently. "Born of laughter, dressed in cheer. Happiness is what brought you here."

"I-I…" The girl tried to speak, but her voice failed her. She swallowed, closed her eyes, and tried again. "I don't know where I am. Who are all of you people?"

The queen approached, her hand still outstretched. She slowly draped her arm around the girl's shoulders. "Deep breaths, dear. Your answers will come. For now, let me see those wings."

The girl watched the queen over her shoulder closely as Queen Clarion ran her fingers lightly over her thin wings. Several gasps resounded, including the queen's herself. The girl's wings burst to life. They were a faded red, the patterns swirling like flames, a deep, shining crimson. They looked larger than normal as well, and beat fast and strongly, whipping up the dust on the ground around her.

The girl looked around at the other faries, wondering why they all looked so surprised. She spied their wings, all of them lightly coloured and very similar. She gasped and stepped away from the queen. "Mine are different! Why? Why are they different?"

The queen approached carefully. "Don't worry, my dear. It does not matter. It simply makes you unique." She smiled, hiding the confusion. She swept her hand out at the wooden floor they stood on. "Now we will discover your Talent, my new fairy child."

"Fairy? Talent?" the girl echoed, looking overwhelmed. From the side, Terence took another step forward as though ready to catch her if she fainted.

"That's right. You are a fairy," Queen Clarion said. "And a Talent is something that you can do best, better than anything else. Every fairy has one, and the different Talents place them in groups. Now the representatives of those Talents will reveal their objects to you. Let your mind settle and your heart will guide you to where your Talent lies."

"That's our cue," Iridessa said. Her and her friends flew down from the mushroom perch with their objects in hand. They descended to the wooden stage at the bottom of the gathering tree and placed their gifts onto the appropriate mushroom stands. Vidia joined them with her swirl of dust. She ignored the other girls as she left it on her mushroom, and hurried back to her place before them all.

Then it was time for the girl to choose. She looked at Queen Clarion as though searching for permission. The queen nodded her head encouragingly, and she set off towards the nearest gift. Everyone she touched fell back down onto the mushroom. She passed the drop of water, the hammer, the paint brush, all of them. She failed every single one, and was left in the centre with the queen gently touching her shoulder.

All of the faries stared at her. No talent? It didn't make sense. Every fairy had a talent. Tink's heart went out to the girl. She looked even more frightful than before.

"Nothing," the girl whispered, trembling. She lifted her hands and stared down at them. "I have no Talent."

"That can't be true," Queen Clarion said soothingly. "There must be something… Perhaps there was some mistake."

"No, this is it," the girl argued. "I have nothing. I am nothing. I am-" She cut off as a sharp pain tore through her. She fell to her knees, groaning. The crowd of faries leaned forward, some even leaving their perches to fly closer. Even Vidia looked alarmed as she stood on her purple flower and stared down in surprise. Tink was near the front of the shocked crowd with her friends, gasping as the girl doubled over.

"Is she going to be sick?" She asked. No one answered. They all watched closely.

The queen leaned over the girl, holding her. "What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong, child?"

The girl didn't say anything. She slowly began to sit back up and looked down at her palms. They were glowing red. She screamed in pain, then slapped them down on the wood. With a burst of light, flames erupted and rose high from the ground, surrounding her and the queen. The faries all leapt back, the queen included as she passed through a gap in the fire, but it was over as soon as it had started. The fire gave one last crackly before fading away. The girl was left alone in a sobbing mess with her red palms covering her head.

Queen Clarion raised her face to look at the other faries. "Everyone, return to your places," she said sharply. She turned back to the girl and touched her shoulder. "My child, please speak to me. Are you alright? Does anything hurt?"

The girl lifted her head. "No, it doesn't." She sounded surprised. She looked down at her hands. They were normal again. She turned to the queen, crying silently. "Was that… my Talent?" she asked quietly.

Several shocked voices rose in the crowd. "It can't be!" "There is no Talent like that, is there?" "Then what was that?"

"Silence," the queen ordered. She carefully helped the girl up and held her steady. She turned to the crowd, smiling despite the strange power that had erupted moments ago. "This girl is unique. Her Talent is the ability to conjure up fire. She will be known as Blazefire."

For a moment no one spoke, then slowly people began to clap and cheer. However, it was nervous applause. Nothing like that had ever happened. There was no Talent that involved something as dangerous as fire.

"That was crazy!" Fawn exclaimed as she sat at the edge of the mushroom despite Tink's almost-accident from minutes earlier.

"There has never been anything like that before," Rosetta agreed quickly, looking a strange shade of white.

Tink felt terrible for Blazefire. "She must be so upset possessing something like that, something that could hurt someone so easily. Imagine…"

"She almost singed Queen Clarion," Rosetta said, looking more confused than anything. She curled a lock of hair around her forefinger. "Since when did faries have power over one of the elements like that?"

Queen Clarion addressed the audience again as she held Blazefire's arm, afraid she could collapse again. "Everyone, Blazefire is one of us. She is a fairy with a unique Talent, but she will not be treated differently. Until a suitable house is built for her, who would like to share their own home with Blazefire?"

"Why would anyone risk having their home set on fire?" It was no surprise that Vidia was the one who spoke. Upon receiving a long stare from the queen, she backed up her words. "I mean, don't get me wrong, she seems like a lovely darling," she said quickly with false kindness. "But a Talent like that could be dangerous." She flew from her flower and circled around the area in front of the crowd. "Do any of you also see the danger?"

Several voices agreed quietly. Tink glare up at Vidia, her anger seething.

Queen Clarion let out a long breath. "Everyone, Blazefire is one of us. She will not hurt any of us, will you, Blazefire?"

Vidia continued to press her case. "Maybe not on purpose, Queen Clarion, but what if the dear did it accidentally? We wouldn't blame the poor thing, of course, but I would rather keep myself and my home safe." She bowed respectfully in front of the queen, but Tink and her friends knew it was fake.

Tinkerbell was about to flutter down and give Vidia a peace of her mind, but Blazefire was already pushing away from the queen. "She's right, I'm dangerous," she gasped, tears running down her face. "I could hurt all of you. I-I don't want that."

Queen Clarion didn't see Vidia's smirk. She was too busy reaching out towards Blazefire. "Please, my child, don't think like that. We will work something out. I know you would never hurt anyone."

Blazefire floated from the ground as her wings pounding in the air and lifted her. She shook her head, turned away, and flew outside of the tree before the queen could do any more to stop her. Her sobs echoed behind her as she left.

Vidia, pleased that her work was done, rose to walk away, but Queen Clarion said her name and she froze.

"You have frightened her off, Vidia. Although your words were true, that she could hurt someone accidentally, I do not think you should have spoken out like that. It was bad judgement. See me in a moment and I will have a word with you." She spoke calmly and kindly, but there was an edge to her voice.

Vidia's shoulders fell in disappointment but she nodded her head. "Yes, Queen Clarion."

Tink had watched as Blazefire's fiery red wings disappeared into the dark morning. Her own eyes were a little teary and she wiped at them furiously.

Fawn laid a hand on her shoulder. "She'll be alright, Tink. She's probably just going somewhere to think."

Rosetta stood up and approached the edge of the mushroom so she could look down on Vidia. "She should not have said that. I knew she was mean, but she has reached an all knew low. What is with that attitude, picking on a new fairy?"

"There's nothing we can do about it now," Iridessa pointed out. "The meeting isn't over yet, but once it is how about we go and look for Blazefire? I know that she would never hurt anyone or anything even if she has the power to."

"That's right," Silvermist agreed. "She just needs a chance to prove it. Let's go and talk to her as soon as Queen Clarion lets us."

Tink brightened up. "Alright, it's a plan then. We'll go and find her and let her know that she isn't alone." After all, she thought. That's what helped me in the end. I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends.