Chapter 7
(Vidia's POV)
When we got back home, Queen Clarion transformed us into full faires, so we'd never have to go back to the mainland…well, not as humans. It's another sleepless night for Becky. I do my best to be there for her when she wakes up from the same nightmare, but I don't think I'm doing enough.
I try to distract her by getting Gelata to bake her favorite breakfast food – blueberry muffins.
Okay, maybe "distract" is a little harsh. Maybe "take her mind off of things" is better, right? Right?
I bring three blueberry muffins with a mug of hot cocoa – her favorite hot beverage…Becky doesn't drink tea – to her in bed.
After she eats – and she offers me a muffin, which I politely decline – I suggest we go scouting for our wedding venue.
I'm more of a fall kind of girl, and Becky is more spring. She doesn't want to get married in the fall, which I get; her former parents got married in the fall. So I completely understand why a fall wedding venue isn't to her liking.
But she suggests we go look in Autumn, just in case she finds somewhere she likes; I used to live between Autumn and Winter before Becky and I moved into our current home in Spring.
We fly there slowly so Becky doesn't cramp up after eating three muffins and drinking a mug full of cocoa.
We know Dulcie will be making her famous Poppy Puff Rolls as the bread, and we know some of the cooking fairies will be making a dandelion salad and buttercup soup as our main course, with baked stuffed peas as our appetizer.
We'll have lemonade, a strawberry drink, and dew as our beverages.
Becky and I fly around for a while through Autumn, but neither of us can find anyplace we particularly love as our wedding venue.
When we finish flying through Autumn, we go to Spring, starting with Cherryblossom Heights.
We sit under the huge cherryblossom tree – okay, all trees are huge to us – and we try to imagine our perfect wedding in Spring.
I don't know about Becky, but I can picture her fluttering down the aisle from the opposite side of where we are.
"What are you thinking about?" She asks me.
"Just picturing you fluttering down the aisle in your gorgeous white dress from the opposite end of Cherryblossom Heights."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, really. Hey, are you doing okay?"
"As well as I can, Vid."
"Same nightmare as always?"
"Actually, no. It was different this time. I was here, in Pixie Hollow, and I went into Winter without my wings being frosted over. The frost somehow got removed and I ended up cracking my wing…but unlike Tink, there was no cure for my broken wing. That wasn't even the worst part of it."
"What was the worst part of it?"
"You said…you said you could never be with someone who couldn't fly. That I was an embarrassment to the fairy race."
"Honey, I would never say anything remotely close or exactly like that to you. I need you to know that."
"Thank you, Vidia."
"You're welcome. Come here."
I open up my arms and Becky lets me envelop her.
We sit there until sunset, just enjoying each other's company.
When we get back home, we go to bed.
The next morning, Becky and I head our separate ways to work.
(Becky's POV)
After I get finished with Gelata – she's not a bad boss, just tough – I head to the Queen's Boutique to help Shopkeeper Erica design my wedding gown.
When we finish going through scraps of fabric and parchment paper, we decide on a strapless dress with a long flowing goddess-style draped skirt with a rhinestone-studded belt.
After Erica gets my exact measurements, she goes in the back to get started on the dress. It's almost nightfall before she comes out with the dress in hand.
"It's perfect, Erica. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. Shall we try it on?"
I nod.
After trying it on and looking in the mirror, I decide it's officially perfect.
"I'll keep it hidden until your big day. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for your future wife."
"Thank you, Erica. How much do I owe you?"
"Consider it a gift. You girls are making history here in Pixie Hollow."
"Are you sure? I have no trouble paying you."
"I'm sure."
"Well, thank you. Thank you very much!"
"My pleasure."
I leave and head for home and go straight to bed.
~.~
(Vidia's POV)
I head to the Queen's Boutique after work – after checking to make sure Becky's at home – to help Erica design my wedding…ensemble? Outfit? Dress? Whatever you call it, it's got to be…me.
It takes over an hour for me to make the final decision to wear a high-low dress.
We make it the same exact way my one fancy dress was made, except in white.
After my measurements are taken, and the ensemble is made, I try it on. As it should, it fits perfectly!
I leave the ensemble with Erica, with plans to pick it up closer to the wedding.
I still can't believe I'm getting married. To the love of my life.
Before I changed – and before I met Becky, who arrived in Pixie Hollow (as a half-fairy, mind you) after I had changed – I never saw myself getting married. But after Becky and I met, I couldn't see myself marrying anyone else. It was hard keeping a secret from Becky, especially one that involves her. But I knew her views on beings like me – her homophobic views, that is. But she changed, and I'm really glad she did.
When I get home, I find Becky staring up at the moon outside our door.
"Hey, baby girl. You doing okay?"
"It's gonna be weird getting married without my parents getting involved."
"I know. But it'll be okay. You're better off without them."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Hey, can you do me a favor?"
"That depends on what the favor is, Vidia."
"Can you come inside and tell me your Arrival Day story again? I love hearing about it so much."
"Yeah, cuz you were a part of my arrival."
I wrap an arm around my fiancée and sigh.
"Yeah, that may have something to do with it."
We head inside and Becky and I sit in our sitting area, on our couch.
"I was a human, about 17 at the time, and obsessed with fairies. I still believe in them."
"Obviously."
"Obviously."
"I had made up a poem about this what I thought was a fictional land called Pixie Hollow. I'd say it now, Vidia, but I don't want to risk turning back into a human."
"I know the poem. Go on."
"I said the poem, and, strangely enough, I turned into a fairy. But I couldn't fly. I was home alone. Downstairs, thankfully. It was summer and I go outside through the dog door to the backyard, avoiding the dog poop. I spotted you with our other friends. You spotted me and flew down to me."
"I tried so hard to be nice to you!"
"Really, you were trying? Well, Vidia, you were succeeding! Anyway, you came over to me and said – "
"'Fly with you. My name is Vidia. What's yours?'"
"Who's telling the story here?"
"Sorry."
"It's okay. You said…that…and I said 'My name is Becky. I just came into existence as a fairy.' And you told me that it was rare for a Never fairy to be born outside of Pixie Hollow, but not impossible. You gave me some of your pixie dust and helped me fly. We went to Pixie Hollow and you personally introduced me to Queen Clarion. She gathered all the fairies from Pixie Hollow – minus the ones from the Winter Woods – and had me find my talent. Two talents ended up choosing me."
"Spoiler! Go back to the part where I looked at you encouragingly as you got to my talent."
"Okay, okay. So, I start making my way through the talents and get to the fast-flying talent. I look up at you, my first friend in Pixie Hollow, and you nod at me, giving me a small smile. I touch the mini twister, and it dissolves into dust. I look back at you and you nod at me again. I had tears in my eyes because I so badly wanted to work with you."
"Awww."
"Anyway, I get to the healing talent symbol and it glows. I'm at the tinker's hammer and it starts glowing, too. Both symbols go towards me and I take one in each hand. They both start glowing immensely, and I look at you first, and you smile at me. I then look back at Queen Clarion, who said. 'While this is rare for a fairy to have more than one talent, it's not impossible. Come forward, healing and tinker fairies, and welcome the newest member of your talent guilds: Becky.' I'm welcomed to both talent guilds, but spend most of my time in Tinker's Nook, going in occasionally to help the healing talent fairies."
"And…"
"And two years later, you confessed your love to me. And I confessed my love to you at the same time. And now, here we are. With our wedding fast approaching."
"That was quite the story. And I am ready to go to bed. You?"
Becky yawns and nods.
(Sorry.)
And so, Becky and I head to bed, dreaming of our wedding day.
