Chapter 2
"You'll love your new home, Sunshine," Rosetta continued as she tugged me along through the air.
"Uh…it's Alyssum," I said awkwardly, feeling my face burn. "No, make that Ally. I like that better."
"Ro knows your name, silly," Chloe laughed. "She calls everyone things like 'Sunshine' and 'Sugar.' That's just Rosetta for you."
"So true," Rosetta said with a shrug.
A gasp caught in my throat as I glanced downward. All of Pixie Hollow stretched out below. It was divided into four separate seasons. I don't know but somehow I had a feeling this was unique to the Hollow. The contrasting colors of silvery winter against the vivid oranges and reds of autumn, spring's endless flowers, and summer's greenery, dazzled my eyes. My hair continued to whip across my face. I made a mental note to either cut or braid it when I had the chance.
My stomach dropped as Rosetta, still clinging to my hand, suddenly plummeted toward the colorful section that appeared to be spring. "We Garden fairies live in Spring Valley," she said as we descended into a lush meadow scattered with pink trees. Countless flowers dotted the area, some of which looked like small, bud-shaped houses.
"Welcome to your new home!" Chloe practically shouted as she grabbed my other hand and pulled me toward a flower-cottage. When she grasped one of the petals, it drew aside like a door, revealing a cozy living area. She closed it behind us once we entered.
I gaped in amazement. My own house! The surrounding petals were the walls and ceiling of my new cottage. A round gap on one side formed a window. The carpet, which resembled a flower's center, was incredibly soft against my bare feet. Everything was pink, including the furniture and bed covers. Even the dresses Rosetta started pulling out of the closet were varying shades of pink. I felt as if I were drowning in that color.
"You've got to try these on!" she exclaimed, spreading several flower-petal dresses over my new bed.
I winced. They were all much too frilly, like the dress Rosetta had on. That looked good on her but none of them suited me. I glanced over at Chloe, noting her simple tunic and leggings. I'd have to settle for pink—that was apparently the main color for us Garden talents—but if I could have something more practical, I'd be happy.
"Do you have anything more like that?" I said, gesturing to Chloe.
She smirked at a grumbling Rosetta. "It looks like Ally isn't going to mind getting dirty," she said with a laugh as if this were some inside joke, then turned her attention back on me. "Luckily for you, I had the Tinkers make some clothes more like mine in case the latest Garden talent Arrival didn't want something quite so…well, fancy."
"Or was a sparrow man," Rosetta added.
Chloe ignored her and reached into the back of the closet. She pulled out a pale pink tunic, green leggings, and a pair of short boots. They were almost identical to the garments she had on.
Perfect! And most likely more comfortable than any of the dresses Rosetta had presented. I quickly exchanged my Arrival garment for these. I was short so the tunic fit more like a dress and I had to tuck the leggings into the boots. But at least I was right about the comfort.
Rosetta rolled her eyes. "Just what we need. Another tomboy Garden talent." But her words held the hint of a laugh. "Still, we really ought to do something with that hair, Ally. It's a mess! Here, let me—"
"No. I have an idea." I turned to a small, round mirror on one of the wall-petals. My first instinct was to chop my hair short like Chloe's but, on second thought, I opted to leave it long. It was the prettiest thing about me. Unlike Chloe, Rosetta, and a lot of other fairies I'd seen in the crowd at my Arrival, I wasn't exactly beautiful. I had average features, my eyes were a plain gray, and a splattering of freckles dotted my round face.
I wove sections of my hair into several thin braids, which Rosetta insisted on decorating with flowers.
"Now you look like a proper Garden fairy," she said, looking me over. "Although I still question your fashion sense."
"That's enough of this fiddling around," said Chloe, grabbing my hand and pulling me back outside. "It's time to show you around Pixie Hollow and introduce you to everyone."
My pulse quickened with excitement.
"That's Springtime Square," Rosetta said, pointing downward, as we sped along. "And there's the Pixie Dust Depot at the base of the Pixie Dust Tree." She indicated a cylinder-shaped structure at the edge of a stream with a water wheel in the front. "That's where the pixie dust is processed and packaged. It's extremely important to us. If you don't want to wait for your daily ration to be delivered, you should visit the Tree first thing in the morning."
"Daily ration?"
"Of pixie dust," said Chloe. "That's what helps us fly and use our talents."
The air blowing in my face and stirring my hair was tinged with the varying scents of countless flowers and shrubs. I couldn't wait to start using my new talent to grow my own. Ideas for unique colors and designs were already filling my head.
Not far from the Tree I could see an enormous galleon perched in a field of grass, next to an empty stadium. "What's that?" Curious, I shifted my direction and headed toward it, without waiting for an answer.
"Where are you going, Sunshine?" Rosetta called. "I wanted to—"
"I have to check this out."
A sensation of awe filled me as I drew closer to the ship. It was the largest thing I'd seen, besides the Pixie Dust Tree, in the short time I'd been alive. Its sails billowed in the breeze but it obviously wasn't going anywhere. The deck appeared to be some sort of storage area. It was covered with boxes, barrels, and canisters.
"Since I just Arrived, I may not know much," I said, turning to my companions, who'd finally caught up with me, "but this seems like a strange place to dock a ship."
"Oh, it's a long story," said Rosetta. "I'll tell you about it when we have the time. The short version is that Zarina spent a year with these human pirates. She was even their captain."
"Zarina?"
"You'll meet her later. She's now a Pixie Dust Alchemist, so far the only one." I thought of the wild-haired fairy who had looked so sad when that didn't end up as my talent. "We'll need to use some of her dust to cross the Winter border so we can't feel the cold and our wings won't freeze. I'm so glad she came up with that. It's so much more convenient than having them frosted and we no longer need to wear those heavy coats." Rosetta's cheeks suddenly flushed a bright red. "That reminds me. I promised Sled I'd—"
"Who's Sled?"
"Ro's boyfriend," said Chloe with a giggle. "He's one of the Winter fairies."
"Ro? Chloe?" A fairy poked her head out of a fairy-sized door that had been built into a much larger one. Her hair was even longer than mine and pulled back into a single braid.
"Hi, Fawn," said Chloe.
"What are you doing here?" Rosetta fluttered toward Fawn. "Is another one of your animal friends sick?"
"Yes. This time it's Cheese." Fawn stepped aside, allowing us to enter. "Come in and say hi."
My eyes widened as I scanned the vast room. Faceted windows allowed some of the daylight to slip through in mottled patterns. I somehow sensed this had once been the captain's cabin. Had it been Zarina's room? There was much more space than I could imagine any fairy ever needing. Some drawers over a large desk had been made into beds. Four of these drawer-beds each held an animal. The creatures appeared to be ill or injured. Two other fairies besides Fawn, whom I instantly knew were Animal talents, were tending them. Like Fawn, they were dressed in orange and brown.
I studied the animals as I fluttered toward the desk behind Fawn, Rosetta, and Chloe. There was a rabbit that seemed to have a cold, a snail with a broken shell, a bird with its wing in a sling, and a mouse with a bandaged tail.
Fawn alighted beside the mouse and kissed its twitching nose. "You have some visitors, Cheese," she said. "You remember Ro, of course, and Chloe. And this is…Alyssum, right?"
"Ally, actually." I didn't realize I'd been unconsciously pulling at my hair until I felt a painful tug.
"The new Garden talent!" she exclaimed, dashing forward to shake my hand. I noticed that she had almost as many freckles as me. "Welcome to Pixie Hollow. You're in good hands with Rosetta and Chloe. This is the Animal Infirmary." She gestured at our surroundings. "I'm not sure if you heard the story but it was originally Zarina's ship. When we returned, she gave it to Pixie Hollow. We've put it to good use."
"What happened to poor Cheese's tail?" Chloe asked before I could question where the pirates were. She patted the mouse's head. I followed her lead and cautiously petted his fur. It was so soft and I was sure he smiled at me. For a second I wished I was an Animal talent.
"A stray cart ran over him. It had been pushed by a Sprinting Thistle."
"A Sprinting Thistle!" Rosetta's voice echoed throughout the room, startling the other animals. "Not those confounded things again! I thought Vidia had returned them to Needlepoint Meadow ages ago."
"Well, it looks as if some have escaped. Tink's working on a contraption to capture them. A 'Thistle Catcher' I think she's calling it."
"What's a Sprinting Thistle?" I'd Arrived knowing what most things were but not that. Which was odd, considering I was a Garden talent. Wasn't a thistle a type of plant? But plants shouldn't be able to move on their own, let alone push carts.
"They're menaces to Pixie Hollow that not even the best Garden talents can tame," said Rosetta, folding her arms. "I sure hope Tink's contraption works! Which reminds me, you ought to meet her," she said to me. "That will be our next stop."
"I hope you get better, Cheese," I said, giving the mouse's coat one more stroke.
"His tail should be good as new in about a week or so. Isn't that right, Cheese?" Fawn kissed him again. "Maybe sooner if we can get some of Zarina's new healing dust and see if it works on animals."