The next morning everyone was up and ready for the big trip to Big City. Elena walked over to Bessie's with Krysta and giving her last minute instructions. "Now you be good for Bessie, my sweet baby girl. Mommy, daddy and sissy will bring you back lots of presents." She gave Krysta a kiss on the cheek and turned to leave at which point Krysta stated to cry and then wail. Elena stopped. This was the hardest part. Leaving. She turned around and Bessie spoke.
"Stop right there. We discussed this. She will be fine."
"I know, but it's heartbreaking. Maybe she needs-"
"Go, my dear. She is in safe hands." Bessie started to bounce Krysta up and stood there for a few minutes and Krysta stopped crying. She smiled and headed to the airship. She was still anxious about leaving her. It was so hard to do. She saw a large shadow distracting her thoughts. She looked up and saw the airship. She followed its path where it landed just beyond the grove. When she reached it Loquia was outside with Sportacus looking at a blue speckled butterfly.
"Shh. Now move slowly. If you reach out and put your finger on the leaf very slowly, it may just walk on your finger."
"Really?"
"Mhm."
So Loquia slowly put her finger on the leaf and the butterfly inched forward a bit, stopped, forward on to her finger. Her face lit up. "Wow, daddy! It's on my finger!" Then it fluttered off to another flower. How did you know it would do that, daddy?"
"Well, the mayor loves to study butterflies and he told me about a few." He smiled. He turned and saw Elena approaching looking preoccupied in her thoughts. "There's mommy now." He walked over to her and took her hands. "Is everything ok?"
"Maybe we should bring Krysta."
Sportacus smiled. "She will be just fine." He assured her. "And Bessie knows how to get a hold of us if she needs to. She's taken care of Krysta before."
"Yes, but we have never gone this far away before."
"May I remind you that this was your idea?"
"I know. I really didn't think it through till now."
"Don't you wanna spend time with me?" Loquia asked concerned.
Elena immediately went to her and knelt down. "Oh, my baby girl, of course I do." She hugged her warmly. "And I don't want you thinking otherwise. I love you very much. I love you both."
"So, why do you want to bring her?"
"It's hard to explain. When you're a mommy you will understand. Now, we have a long ride so we can talk more on the way." She kissed her cheek. "Ok," she took out a piece of paper and read." This is our schedule. I have directions to all the stores to get everything we need. We will get your clothes then school supplies then to the gallery and home."
"Wow. You have everything all planned out." He looked at the paper.
"Actually, it was Bessie who planned it out based on everywhere we needed to go. So, let's go!"
They boarded the airship and headed to Big City. It was about an hour when they arrived. Before that they played games, watched out the bay window at all the landscape, and talked about what kind of clothes Loquia wanted. Had they gone by train it would've taken three hours, according to Pixel, who made the calculations on time and the fastest way to get their and back. As they approached they all looked down and looked at the massive amounts of tall buildings.
"Where are we going to land? There are no open areas for something this big." Elena commented.
"Well, Bessie made a plan for me as well." He chuckled. There are some buildings that have landing pads on the roof so, her and the mayor got special permission for one of them." He took out a map and made a turn. "Ah, there it is." He slowly turned it around and gently set it down.
"Wow, daddy. That was awesome flying."
"Thank you, Loquia." He giggled.
They exited the ship and Sportacus met with one of the men in charge. He signed a paper and was given instructions out of the building.
They got in an elevator and had a long way down to the ground floor.
"My tummy tickles." Loquia commented.
Elena smiled. "I think all our tummys tickle, sweetie."
The elevator got to the ground floor and they stepped out. Loquia held her parents hands tightly. They went through the doors to the outside and there was a multitude of stores and outside vendors selling all sorts of things from food to jewelry. And there were a lot of people walking all over the place moving in and out of buildings buying things from the vendors getting in and out of cars and taxis. Loquia's jaw dropped at how crowded it was. And she was loving seeing everything in color. Elena and Sportacus looked at her then at each other and smiled.
"Ok, let's go!" And they headed off to the first store on the list.
"Waaaaaaa! Waaaaaaaaaa!"
"Oh, there, there, Krysta." Bessie bounced Krysta on her knee looking a bit panicked. She placed her glasses atop her head and started to make funny sounds, but it only seemed to make Krysta cry more. Stephanie came down from her room and Bessie looked at her pleadingly.
"Hi, Bessie. What's wrong with Krysta?"
"Oh, I don't know dear. She was fine for the first hour and then she just started to cry. I changed her fed her burped her, I just don't know what's wrong."
Stephanie sat down next to Bessie and took Krysta's hand and gently shook it up and down and started to sing a song but Krysta hit her hand away. Stephanie made a face then she sneezed.
"AhCHOO!"
The baby looked at Stephanie and was quiet for a moment then started crying again. Stephanie's eyes lit up then she pretended to sneeze again. Krysta started to laugh. "Aunt Bessie, keep sneezing. I have an idea."
As Stephanie ran to her room. Bessie kept sneezing and Krysta kept laughing.
"ACHOO!" Krysta laughed and giggled. Stephanie came back with a long necklace and sat back down. She put it on and put the pendant part of the necklace in her mouth and shot it out with a 'patooie' sound and the baby started giggling. Krysta picked up the pendant and put it in Stephanie's mouth and she shot it out again, laughing hard.
"My word." Bessie said amazed. "She just wants to be entertained." She looked at her niece. "How did you know?"
"I saw Elena do it one time. Krysta loves this game. Don't you Krysta?" Krysta replied by putting the necklace back in Stephanie's mouth
"Well, I wonder how long we can keep this up? Can you play with the baby, dear? I want to look at Elena's schedule."
"Sure." She said happily
Bessie looked over Elena's notes when she got a text on her phone and she read it aloud.
'Bessie. I forgot to tell you, Krysta has another tooth coming in. There is a teething ring on the inside pocket of her bag. Thanks again.'
"So, that explains it." Stephanie said spitting out the pendant again.
"Well, she is due for her walk in about thirty minutes. Maybe we can keep her happy I'll then. Do you have some time, dear?"
"Sure! I can spare a half hour." And Stephanie said in a cheery tone. She loved making Krysta laugh.
"Well, that is one crisis averted. I'll prepare the teething ring."
Trixie woke up, stretched and yawned. Turning, she sat up. She looked at her end table at her clock. Ten thirty. That's early for a Saturday, she thought to herself. She saw the necklace and how pretty it was catching the rays from the sun that were coming though her window. She stared, contemplating the necklace the tooth fairy gave her. She picked it up and held it at eye level just looking, gazing at it. Her door opened and her mother looked at her.
"Trixie, how many times have I told you not to leave your dirty socks-" she stopped and focused at the necklace, and gasped. Her eyes went wide and she dropped the small wicker laundry basket and bolted for the necklace.
Trixie flew off the bed clutching it in her hand. Her mother froze when she missed her target. "Where did you get that?" She demanded.
Trixie, after all this time knew there was a tooth fairy and her mother hid it from her. She decided it was time to let her mother know that she knows the truth. "If you must know the tooth fairy gave it to me. That's right mom, the tooth fairy gave it to me. The one you said didn't exist. Would you like to explain?" She asked demanding to know why she hid this from her all these years. "You denied me a large part of my childhood! Why?"
Her mother sat down and looked at the floor. She took a deep breath. "I don't know-..." In her mind she tried to formulate her story. She didn't want to but she had to accept that the truth was out and Trixie deserved to know. She sat upright on the bed.
"I guess it started when I was a little girl and I started losing teeth. I heard about the tooth fairy and I was excited about getting money for my teeth. One night I waited for the tooth fairy. I was pretty rebellious in nature, pretty much the way you are with me. Anyway, I was about to drift off when I heard a noise. The this beautiful woman appeared and smiled. I looked at her and smiled back. She waved her wand and and gave me a shiny new dollar under my pillow then handed me a necklace, like the one you have in your hand.
She sat down next to me and said that we come from a long line of tooth fairies and asked me if I would like to become one some day. And not very many children would say no. I said yes." She lightly chuckled. "Then she said I had a unique mind and a beautiful heart and disappeared. I sat up excited and looked at the necklace and put it on and I went to sleep holding it." Her mother was becoming a bit fearful as she continued her story.
"Hearing another noise I awoke only to be staring at another tooth fairy. She came within a few feet of me and said. 'You come from a long line of tooth fairies little girl.' I just looked at her. Something didn't feel right. Then she changed into a hideous beast and in a voice so evil she spoke, 'Do you know how we get tooth fairies little girl? We take a life and your grandmother is on our list as is your mother and soon you will be.' Then in a black cloud of smoke, she left out my window.
I started to screaming and ran in my mothers room and told her everything. Then I begged my mother to call nana, to see if she was alright. My mother tried to clam me and said I just had a nightmare and it could wait till morning. Then the phone rang. My mother picked it up and I watched her face go pale and she started crying." Trixie's mothers eyes started to get misty. "Nana had passed away. I was sure it was the tooth fairies. My mother just looked at me as she hung up the phone. She held me tight and cried.
I couldn't sleep for weeks. I hid the necklace, but it kept finding me so, I destroyed it; smashed it as hard as I could. As soon as I did some vapor emitted and went into the earth. I tried to tell the other kids there was no such thing as the tooth fairy so they wouldn't go though what I did, but they didn't listen. Eventually, I got past the whole ordeal, met your father then I became pregnant with you and old memories started to surface. I vowed that you were never to be plagued by what I was so, I kept things real and well, the rest is history." Her mom wiped her eyes.
Trixie stood there for a moment then spoke. "Way to dish out the drama, mom." She joked trying to lighten the mood.
"Is isn't a joke, Trixie. Now give me that necklace. I'm going to destroy it like I did the other and we will be done with it."
"No. It's not the right thing to do. I just know it's not." She clutched it close to her. Her mother moved forward. "Now, mom. You know I'm faster than you and I don't want this to blow up out of proportion, but I will run if I have to." She stood her ground.
"Trixie, I don't want that thing coming to kill any of us. And if one of those things came to you..."
Trixie thought about the story. "Mom, isn't it possible it wasn't a tooth fairy who came to you?" Her mother looked at her questioningly. "There has been a lot of weird stuff going on in LazyTown. We have a witch, elves, a parallel universe. Isn't it possible there is something else happening? I don't think the tooth fairies would go around giving money for teeth only to kill you. I mean they're tooth fairies ."
Her mother thought about what Trixie said. "No, it's too big a risk. Now give me the necklace.
"No! Now, listen to me!" The tooth fairies are not evil, but maybe they have an enemy."
"Even if they did or do, it's just too risky." Her mother started towards her daughter and Trixie bolted and ran in the bathroom. She closed and locked the door. She picked up her clothes from yesterday off the floor and got dressed as her mother banged on the door demanding to be let in. She heard something on the doorknob. Her mother got the push key and had unlocked the door. The door flew open and her mother stood there with her hand out.
"Give me the necklace, Trixie. Now!"
Her mother slowly approached and Trixie hollered. "Sliding into home!" And she dove between her mothers legs, rolled and got up and bolted out of the house hearing her mother call her name. She was going to need some help for this one. She needed help on this one. Her first stop, Stephanie's...
There was a nice little health food stand where Elena, Sportacus and Loquia stopped for lunch. Loquia stood close to either of her parents as there was a lot in Big City. Mostly the people. Sportacus had a fruit salad, Elena, vegetable soup with a salad and Loquia had vegetable turkey wrap sitting very close to her father.
"So, what do you think, Loquia? Are you having fun?" Elena asked.
"Mhm. It's still kinda scary though."
"Well, I'm here and your mother knows her way around. Was there anything you liked best so far?" He asked, sliding the cover of his arm band and pressing a few buttons.
She swallowed her food and nodded. "I liked all the toys in the department store and," she reached down in the bag and pulled out a stuffed baby monkey. "I like that we got this for Krysta so she won't keep drooling on mine anymore."
Her parents chuckled. "After that we can drop these bags off to the airship, make one more stop for all your supplies for school and and to the gallery where they have mommy's drawings."
"Can we buy some more clothes? I like dressing up."
"I'm sure you do." Elena chuckled.
"We don't have to drop these off to the airship." Sportacus said with with a grin.
"Well, my love, unless you want to carry these for another few hours..."
"No. Pixel made something special to help out with our bags."
There was a whirring, humming noise and they all looked up. There were two drones with hooks. Sportacus took the bags handles and hooked them on the drones and they flew off back to the airship.
Elena just looked at Sportacus for a few minutes not really knowing how to respond. "You and that innocent grin." He winked at her. Loquia was watching the silent communication between the two. She furrowed her eyebrows and simply said, "You guys are weird."
They both let out a surprised laugh.
They finished up with lunch and walked to the next store when...
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Sportacus looked up stunned. "Someone's in trouble!" He looked at Elena.
"It's ok. Go. We can finish up." She said quickly and he darted off faster than she's ever seen him. She knelt down to Loquia and gave her a reassuring smile. "Ok, it's you and me now. Don't worry. I've been here a lot and I'm sure by the time daddy gets back we'll be all done. Ok?"
Loquia nodded and held Elena's hand tight. They went in the next store and Elena handed the list of school supplies to Loquia. "Ok, Lolo, you read the list and we will see who can find each item first."
Loquia went though the list and found most of the items. They played this game and got most of the things on the list. The other items they would have to go to one more store for. They got to the checkout and Loquia tugged at her mothers hand. Elena looked down. "Yes, sweetie?"
"Will daddy be done rescuing when we go outside?"
"I hope so. But if he's not, it's probably a very big important rescue. But he will be back, sweetie, don't you worry about that."
They went outside and it was even busier. People walking on the sidewalks, cars and trucks congested as they raced past; a cluster of activity. Loquia, more nervous than before, practically climbed up Elena. Elena picked her up and they looked around for Sportacus. Elena slightly struggled holding Loquia. She started looking around for an outdoor cafe or someplace they could sit and wait when they heard a 'Arf'.
The both looked around and across the very busy street, Loquia pointed.
"Look, mama! A doggie!"
Elena looked sure enough, there was a little Yorkie looking around nervously and barked a few times. Elena's heart started racing. She looked to see if they could get the little dog, but the traffic was so heavy. Then Elena gasped. She saw a big eighteen wheeler truck right in the path of the little dog.
Loquia clutched her mother. Elena felt so powerless the truck was so close and everything was happening so fast. "Mama, no!"
"Run, little dog, run." She firmly muttered.
The truck was just on top of where the dog was. Elena turned and shielded Loquia from seeing anything. Just as she did, there was a loud honk and a 'yip'. For a moment it seemed everything was frozen. Elena's mind raced and heart her sank. She looked at Loquia, whose eyes filled with tears and she started to wail. Elena held her tight rubbing her back.
"I wanna go home, mama, now! I don't like Big City anymore!" She cried in her mothers neck.
"Oh, baby, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Elena, trying to hold it together herself. One thing was for certain. Nothing more would get accomplished today and Big City was not as kind as she had hoped...
