Hey there! I updated AGAIN! Aren't you so proud of me *tear*? Well, there you go.
Part Three!
Disclaimer: Okay, its hers, not mine, blah, blah. And a bonus blah.
Gladys had them up before the sun's first rays were even peeking above the tops of the
trees. She had a quick breakfast of eggs and hotcakes set out for them on the table, and
Gladys' expertise as a cook was evident even in the hastily prepared meal.
The late night was taking its toll, as the four were barely able to stay awake long enough
to bring their forks from the table to their mouths. Cressida, however, was wide awake
and seemed to have already eaten. She was scurrying around the cottage packing bags
and making sure they weren't forgetting anything.
Cressida had prepared four ponies which Ginny watched with amusement from the
window. They seemed so playful and spirited--it was fun watching their frolicsome
behavior--it reminded her of Pemmy, in a way. The two largest had the saddle bags they
had packed the last night, but none of them had saddles. Ginny wondered how they
expected her to automatically know how to ride a horse--she had never been on one in her
life, and quite honestly they slightly scared her.
The others didn't seem to drawn in to the actions of the ponies. Draco was in a bad mood
after it had taken him five tries to get his breeches on right. His eyes were puffy, and he
was looking just as sulky as he had the previous day (if not more), and Pemmy was
swirling her spoon around in her cup of tea looking thoughtful. Timmy had fallen asleep
with his fork inches from his mouth and was starting to snore.
Draco was in a bad mood. He liked to sleep in, and had never been up this early in his life.
Nor had he ever gone so long without doing magic, and he was getting frustrated with
always doing the Muggle way of things. Ginny certainly didn't mind not using magic--she
found it fascinating. Timmy was indifferent because he was Muggle-born anyway, but
Pemmy was complaining to no one in particular about not being able to do her make-up
and how she probably looked terrible.
"--and they don't even have a mirror in this place!" She whined. "I'm glad that Gladys at
least has a hair brush, although you wouldn't guess--"
"Would you shut up?" A very annoyed sounding Draco snapped. "No one cares."
Ginny would have reproached him if what he said hadn't been so painfully true.
"Well sorry, Draco!" She retorted. "Just because everyone isn't going to be as sulky and
pouty as you and try to make pleasant conversation!"
"Yeah," he grumbled, "Whatever."
"You guys almost ready?" Came Cressida's voice as she popped up in the window which
was wide open and letting in a cool breeze. "I want to get going within the next ten
minutes. Gladys should be back with the information from town soon."
Their hostess had left about a half hour ago to make sure that everything would be clear in
town--no troubles with 'The Queen' that is.
"Why the hell do we have to leave so early?" Draco moaned.
Cressida smiled at him. "We have to make it to Kleedor for lodgings tonight. We'll be
staying in the local inn tonight, but that's a good day's travel away from here. We'll have
to be quick if we wish to arrive in time for dinner."
"So we'll be staying in an inn?" Pemmy asked, sounding relieved.
"For the first night. But I wouldn't count on such luxuries every night."
"You mean we'll have to sleep . . . outside?" Pemmy asked incredulously, as if that were
the craziest idea possible. "Like, under the sky?"
Draco snorted. "No, Pemmy, like under the roof which will be there since we're outside."
She shot him a dirty look. "I was emphasizing a point, Draco."
"Right . . . whatever you say."
Cressida cut in, feeling a quarrel building. "There's no point in arguing. Yes, Pemalea--"
"Pemmy."
"--yes, Pemmy, we'll be sleeping outside. I don't think you'll find it to be that bad. It's
actually kind of nice sleeping under a canopy of stars."
"What kind of animals live around here?" Asked Timmy, who had woken up and hurried
to finish his meal when Cressida had arrived.
"Of the dangerous sort, you might find some bears, and you'll come across the occasional
troll, if you consider them animals, but other than that the worst you'll come to is an elf.
They may not be very dangerous, but they can be devilishly tricky when they want to be."
She spoke of the elves with a tone of scorn that left Ginny wondering what the situation
between the elves and fairies was. She gathered that it wasn't a good one.
"What are elves like?" Timmy asked.
"Annoying. If you're lucky you won't come across any, but they're pretty common in
these parts. You can never trust an elf. They're just the sort to pull pranks while you're
sleeping; I haven't met a single decent one in all my many years."
"I thought elves were supposed to be nice," said Pemmy sounding slightly disappointed. "I
thought they, you know, like made shoes and gifts and cast spells and stuff. Or were like
house elves who'd rather commit suicide than play a practical joke."
"Maybe in your world," Cressida snorted. "But not in this one." She looked around the
table where Draco was just finishing the last of his eggs and clapped her hands together.
"You ready to go then?"
"Wait!" Yelled Gladys, coming out of her bedroom. "Yee'll be needin' these." She held
out four swords, the entire sheath not longer than one of Ginny's arms, but swords
nonetheless. They each had a silver handle with a different design carved into it. The one
she handed to Pemmy had several beautiful roses winding their way around the handle.
"That one belonged to me Rim. Good child he was, but never too fond of the roses. He
claimed this 'ere made 'im look like a woman. I don't 'spect yee'd mind, though, it's
rather beautiful." She took a second sword and handed it to Timmy. It had a lion on each
side, on one with its teeth bared, and looking very frightening. On the other side it was
curled up and didn't look any more harmful than a sleeping kitten. "That one was
William's. Quite beautiful, if I do say so meself." The next one, which she handed to
Draco, had a snake coiling itself around the handle with two rubies for eyes. "Belonged to
Jem. He was always a fan o' the snakes. I'm not too fond o' them, they fill me garden in
the spring. This last one," she said, handing one with a dragon to Ginny, "Belonged to
Jem. He was always fascinated wi' them, went off chasin' 'em years ago. I haven't heard
from him since, bless him. Me other boys come and visit every once in a while. Do take
care of it, chid, maybe we'll meet again. This here means a lot to me, I haven't got many
things left from 'im."
The four were temporarily speechless, all examining their swords in wonder. Timmy was
the first to stammer his thanks, and the rest all followed--even Draco, to Ginny's surprise.
"Tha'd be all then, I guess," Gladys said sadly. "Yee'd better head out now. Yee'll be
headin' for Kleedor tonight. It'll be a long journey fer yer first day, but I 'spect yee'll
manage. I'll walk with yee to th' end of my lands, but then I'll have to be gettin' back
here."
Cressida led them out to where the ponies were waiting. "Have any of you ever ridden?"
She asked them.
"I have," Pemmy piped. "I took lessons when I was younger."
"Really?" Ginny asked her, surprised.
"Sure," said Pemmy in an off-hand way. "I love horses."
"I guess we'll put you on Meadow, then. She's pretty wild, but you should be able to
handle her." Cressida whistled and a pure white horse trotted up. She didn't have a
saddle, but did have one of the packs tied around her middle. She wasn't very high, and
Pemmy didn't have any problems mounting. They seemed to be made for each
other--Meadow held her head high in the same manner that Pemmy did and they both
seemed rather uppety.
"You three have never ridden?" Cressida asked after seeing that Pemmy was safely on her
pony. They shook their heads. "All right . . . Timmy, you take Sunny, Draco can take
Mahogany, and Ginny you can ride Midnight." Timmy headed for the white horse with tan
speckles which stood perfectly still for him to levitate himself up. Draco reached for a
deep brown pony with black hair, and Ginny pulled herself onto a pure black one. It was
rather comfortable, considering the fact that they didn't have saddles.
"Aren't you going to ride one?" Pemmy questioned to Cressida.
"You're forgetting that I'm a fairy." She said with a smile.
"You're going to fly?" Pemmy asked, amazed. She craned her neck looking for some sign
of wings.
"I can't FLY, but I don't need a horse to move quickly."
"What about you, Gladys?" Ginny asked.
"I'll just be walkin' with yee a little way. Yee won't need to speed the beasts, and I could
use the walk."
"Everybody ready?" Asked Cressida.
"Yep!" Ginny and Pemmy chorused.
"Okay-- onward!"
Cressida and Gladys led the way down a well-used trail going through the woods
surrounding her home. Behind them rode Pemmy, followed by Timmy, Ginny, and Draco
was in the rear. All too soon, it seemed like, they reached a tiny stream running through
the trail and Gladys and Cressida halted.
"Well," said Gladys sadly, "This'd be where me land ends. Past here yee'll be on ol' Mr.
Wyse's land, but he'll be a kind ol' man. Yee needn't worry about the folks in this area,
Charlesdon is about as safe of a place as yee'll find."
Ginny hopped off of her horse and ran to the tiny woman, suddenly feeling very sad.
"Thank you so much for everything you've done." She threw her arms around Gladys,
who hugged her back.
"Yee shouldn't be thankin' me, its yee I should be thankin'. Sweet children, come and see
me after you get Suide, would yee?"
"Or course," Pemmy assured her.
Gladys smiled grimly to them. "Bye then."
Cressida and her hugged, and then she was down the path.
"Come on, you guys." Cressida said to them after watching Gladys turn a bend in the path
and fall out of sight. "We'd better be going."
The subdued group led their horses across the stream and continued down the path.
The summer heat was catching up on them. When they had departed from Gladys' home
it had been still very early and therefore crisp and cool, but by mid-afternoon the sun was
beating on the back of their necks and Ginny was beginning to wish she had some
sunblock. She hated to think of the painful red that would accumulate on her pale skin.
They had a nice lunch, at least. Gladys had packed them with sandwiches of cold turkey
from the last night and Swiss Cheese. Ginny, Pemmy, Timmy, and Cressida sat under a
large willow tree in the shade, but Draco refused to join them. He was seated under a
smaller tree a small distance from them.
They watched the ponies frolic on the emerald grass and joked about many things.
Pemmy and Timmy talked eagerly about whatever came to mind, always including violent
gesticulations, but Cressida just sat and watched smiling, and Ginny was somewhat
withdrawn. She had too many things going through her mind. If she had possessed a
Pensive, it'd have been full to the brim of thoughts.
Cressida noticed her behavior and became concerned, asking her if she was okay, but
Ginny brushed it off. There were some things that you want to keep personal, even if you
know that you will feel better after relieving them. She just was feeling lonely; missing
her family.
Draco, too, had many thoughts on his mind. He was still not convinced with Cressida and
Gladys' trustworthiness, at least not on the surface. Deep down he knew what was going
on, but he wanted to keep his tough exterior. Besides, he hadn't taken well to strangers in
the past and didn't intend to start now.
Ginny saw the distress that was evident on his face, try as he may have to hide it, and her
heart went out to him. She had a strange urge to go comfort him. She didn't particularily
care about him, but she was a comforter by nature. She couldn't stand to see people be so
upset.
Lunch was over too quickly for any one's liking, but several hours on a horse had given
them a clearer idea of how long this was going to take and an urgency to arrive. They had
left at eight in the morning and it was one in the afternoon when they had stopped for
lunch--and they still were only half way there. When you figured in a stop for dinner, they
could barely hope to make it to Kleedor by seven at night, almost a full twelve hours after
they left Gladys' house.
The ride was pleasent enough, if a little uncomfortable after they had become sore. They
found out what Cressida had meant when she said that she could move fast when she
wanted to. Although no magical wings sprouted from her shoulders and there was no
carriage pulled by white horses that came at her call, she was incredibly swift, managing to
keep up with the riders even when they were speeding at a heavy trot. She never seemed
to tire, as well, and Ginny had a feeling that she could go much faster if her companions
wished.
Pemmy and Cressida hadn't gotten off to a good start, and their situation was worsened
when Pemmy bombarded her with questions concerning the typical fairies she had read
about in books.
"Why can't you fly?" She had asked. "Normal fairies can fly."
"Where do you get your information, child!" A very exasperated Cressida had replied. "I
have never seen a fairy that has can fly! They would look ridiculous with wings sprouting
from their shoulders; it would make us look like some kind of insect!"
"In our world there are fairies with wings."
"And in your world they are tiny." She had reasoned. "You are no longer in your world!
In here, fairies are much like normal humans--just closer to nature, in a way."
"That's weird."
Cressida shot her an annoyed look.
"What's this I hear about elves?" Pemmy had questioned, although Ginny could have told
her it was best not to have. "In our world they are small and they do whatever you tell
them to. And in real fairy tales they are kind and helpful and magical and--"
"I believe we have already established that this isn't a normal fairy tale." Cressida said
coldy, "Now if you would mind, I would prefer that we--"
"But who ever heard of an elve not doing what it was told! And practical jokes--" she
shuddered at the though, "wierd."
"Will you shut up, O'Leary!" Draco called from the back of the procession. "I can't hear
myself think."
"Then you must be deaf!" Pemmy shouted back to him. "Because I'm not that loud!
Maybe if someone else would say something I wouldn't have to do all the talking! You
people are so boring." She muttered this last comment quietly, as if to herself, but they all
knew very well that she hoped they would hear and pick a fight. They all knew Pemmy to
well for that to work, though, and Cressida who had just met her had enough common
sense not to keep her talking.
The rest of the ride was miserable. Although the shirts they wore were loose, they were
covered by tight vests which did a very good job of keeping the heat in. Timmy had began
to take his off, but Cressida had abruptly stopped him. "I don't know how things are
where you come from--but in Noecah you ALWAYS wear something over your shirt.
The actual shirt is but a piece of under clothing. People will avoid you and think that you
are uncivilized."
"But there's no one out here!" He protested. "There isn't anyone to see us."
"We can't take that chance. We MAY NOT draw attention to ourselves. NO attention."
"This sucks." Timmy grumbled. His chest was drenched in a thick layer of sweat, and the
others weren't fairing very much better.
"You get used to it," Cressida smiled her warm smile. "I remember when I was just--" She
was interrupted abruptly by a tall lady (most likely a fairy) with long black hair appearing
out of the woods. They had not seen or heard her approach, which furthered the suspision
that she was a fairy. When Cressida greeted her with a happy face, they were sure.
Cressida's smile was ended, though, when the fairy with black hair whispered something
eagerly in her ear. Her face fell drastically. "Are you sure its her?" She mouthed to the
other, and was replied to with a grim nod. "I'll be there."
The fairy nodded again, and disappeared into the forest.
Cressida watched her for a moment, and then turned to her companions. "I have to leave
you," she began solemnly, and then quickly continued at the look of shock on their faces
and forming protest on Pemmy's mouth, "I'm needed in Adiushire."
"You're needed HERE!" Pemmy bellowed.
"I'll be back soon. Adiushire is only about an hour from here for me, and my task
shouldn't take very long. What you need to do is follow this trail. There are no
forks--nothing until Kleedor. You won't arrive there before I return. I will meet up with
you in a little bit--I can't be sure of how long this will take."
"How long WHAT will take?" Pemmy shouted.
"I have a task," Cressida said cooly, "Which I can not disclose right now. Its not safe
here. I will be back. There is money in Ginny's saddle bag if you need it. Don't talk to
strangers. Don't tell any one of your task. I have to go now!" She turned and ran back in
the direction where her friend had disappeared before anyone could protest.
They all stared at each other, wide eyed, for a moment and then Draco broke the silence.
"What the hell was that? Where did she go?" No one answered because no one knew the
answer. "I told you not to trust her! That's what she was planning all along--lead us out
into the middle of no where and ditch us. Well, because of you idiots it worked! Now
we're screwed."
"She's coming back." Said Ginny quietly. "She said she would--"
"And you believed her!" Timmy said angrily. "This is all your fault, Ginny!"
"MY fault?" Cried Ginny, hardly daring to believe the accusition. "How is it all MY
fault?"
"Its your fault because you led us all into this!" Pemmy said angrily. "Now we're lost."
"She said to follow the path! All we have to do is stick on it and--"
"Come off it Ginny!" Draco snapped, "She lied to us."
"What do we do now?" Pemmy asked Draco in a fearful tone. "I say that we stay on this
little track for a while, and as soon as we come to civilized land we find someone who can
tell us what the hell is going on." He said this like a comand and Timmy and Pemmy
accepted it without question.
"Since when are you in charge?" Ginny said angrily.
"Since no one else is. You, I'm afraid, have failed us."
"What do you mean I have failed you?!" She cried. "You two trusted her just as much as I
did! And I still think that she's coming back--"
"Are you going to come with us or not?" Pemmy inquired. "We're following Draco."
"Just a minute ago you hated Draco!"
"I never said that!"
Ginny couldn't believe how mean they were being to her! How was everything her fault?
But Ginny wasn't the type to argue. She wasn't about to stray off on her own, and they
weren't about to budge in their opinions. With a sigh, she conceded. "We'd better get
going, then."
"I knew you'd see things our way!" Pemmy smiled widely. "Maybe I'll even forgive you
for what you did."
"Yeah . . ." Ginny muttered. It was better to have peace and have only one person be
unhappy that have an arguement and have four miserable people. Well, three at least.
Ginny didn't think that anything could make that two-faced jerk Malfoy miserable, and she
found it to be quite a pity.
With Malfoy now as the unofficial leader, the procession was reversed. Draco took the
front, Pemmy followed him, Timmy behind her, and Ginny at last. They shared very little
conversation, and if anyone spoke it was to tell abotu how they hadn't trusted Cressida all
along and to point out proof from the previous night and to sigh about how much better
off they would have been if Ginny hadn't been there. Of course, they didn't specifically
say this last bit, but they hinted at it so that it was quite obvious. Ginny calmed herself
when they spoke like this by reminding constantly that blaming is part of human nature
and they are quite human. It was difficult.
The trail, also, became more difficult. More than once a foot would slip in one of the
gowing number of ruts in the path of packed Earth resulting in an uncomfortable 'bump!'
Overall, the second part of the journey was much more tedious than the first.
The path, however, stayed in the same direction straight as an arrow. The landscape was
generally unchanging, although beautiful, and after a while became boring. It wasn't a
surprise, therefore, that when the woods opened to a field of lush grass and several
cool-looking trees, they were eager to stop and rest, as well as eat their dinner.
Draco, this time, did not sit by himself. They all four ate together, although Ginny was
somewhat the "odd one out". She refrained, with some difficulty, from pointing out that
they were willing to trust Gladys' food but not her advice. She knew what new brawl
could ensue.
Pemmy and Timmy had not been sparing with their water, and by the time they had sat
down to dinner, their canteens were bone dry.
"Maybe this is how she planned to get rid of us," Pemmy said. "By not giving us enough
water."
"It's your own fault you two drank all of you water," Ginny scolded. "You should have
been conservative."
"It was Cressida." Pemmy said firmly. "What am I going todo now?"
"Go find a stream." Ginny said.
"I don't know where one is!" She cried.
"Then I'll do it!" Ginny snatched her water bottle, and then offered to take Timmy's and
Draco's. They readliy handed them over to her, Timmy saying something about how this
might be enough for him to forgive her for what she had done. It made Ginny really sick
to her stomach.
There were no paths going off from the green, but there wasn't very much underbrush.
Looking to the sun for a sense of direction (one of the pieces of knowledge gained from
Muggle Studies), she hopped on Midnight and headed back under the canopy of trees.
She didn't hear any immediate rush of water, so she headed straight ahead of her, glancing
back occasionally to see that the pasture was still in sight. After about a minute she lost
sight of her origin, but knew that she had been heading straight forward. It was much
more peaceful out here where there was no sign of life than it had been back on the trail
with all of that negative energy radiating backwards from her "friends."
She was enjoying the ride, although she hadn't yet caught sight of water, when the silence
was broken by a piercing scream to her left. Ginny reared the horse in that direction and
sped her, wanting to help whoever had yelled.
What she came to was a tall boy, about the height of Draco, who was laying face down on
the ground. Ginny could see a stream of green blood flowing from one of his arms. She
would have taken him for dead, had he not at that moment moaned quietly and stirred. He
grabbed for his arm and held it tightly, before attempting to pull himself up.
Ginny hopped down from her horse and rushed to help the boy. She knelt down and took
his hand, moving him up slightly. He took his arm from her and transferred his weight on
to his hands, managing to transefer his weight to his hands and eventually pull himself up
to a sitting postition.
It was only then that he looked at the girl who had been helping him. He flinched slightly
when he saw that she was a girl, and inquired warrily, "You aren't a fairy, are you?"
"No . . ." Ginny trailed off, thinking that it had been a ridiculous question.
"Ah, I see. I didn't think you'd be, considerin your height. Fairies are tall. So who are
you and what are you doing in MY part of the forest?"
"If you'll excuse me," Ginny said rather cooly, still waiting for some sign of gratitude, "I
didn't know that this was anyone's forest. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you who you
are as well, or maybe what you are would be more to the point."
He smiled wikedly. "I asked you first."
Ginny couldn't deny that. "My name is Virginia Weasley. I'm getting water for my
friends."
"Oh, I see. I'm Ruben Plucket Chickapee III, and an elve at that. Now who are YOU?
Or maybe what are you would be more to the point?"
An elve! Hadn't Cressida warned them to stay away from elves? Or had that been trolls?
Anyway, he seemed nice enough. "I'm Virginia, or Ginny if you prefer, Weasley. I'm a
human."
"A human?" He raised one eyebrow. "We don't get many of those out of doors. They
tend to prefer their slalooms, or whatever you call them."
"Saloons?"
"Yeah, that'd be it."
"So what were you doing when you screamed?"
"I didn't scream. That must have been your imagination."
"I'm pretty sure I heard a scream--what's that cut on your arm?"
His hand went to the spot in a lightning speed motion. "Nothing."
It was Ginny's turn to raise one eyebrow. "Right," she said, dragging out the 'i' sound.
He looked offended. "If I say its nothing, its nothing!"
"Sure." She said sarcastically, but Ruben Plucket Chickapee III didn't notice. "So,
Ruben--do you mind if I call you that?"
"People call me Ruby."
"Okay, Ruby, where do you live?"
"Live? Oh, um, here I guess."
"You guess? Don't you know?"
"Well, I guess that I live somewhere different every night."
"Where do you live THIS night?"
"Wherever I end up."
"Right . . . where were you going a second ago?"
"I was heading for Kleedor."
"Kleedor--I think that's where I'm going too! Hey, do you know by any chance where
there's a stream?"
"I don't know these parts very well."
Ginny's heart fell. "Did you see any on your way here?"
"The last one I saw was last night . . ."
"Then I guess that I'd better go back to my friends. Do you want to come with me? I
belive that we're heading for Kleedor too."
"Go with you? I'm not so sure . . . elves travel alone."
"Can't you just go with us to Kleedor? It'd be nice to have someone with me on the trail
that doesn't keep dropping not-so-subtle hints that I'm not wanted."
"Well, I suppose just to Kleedor wouldn't hurt . . ."
"Great! Do you walk fast, or do you need a ride?"
He looked defensive. "I can walk faster than the fastest fairy (although that's not to
uncommon) and I'm the fastest elve I've ever met."
"Come on then."
Ginny was thankful that she had checked the sun, she had become disoriented while
helping Ruby and if the sun hadn't of been there, she would have gone in the wrong
direction. She took Midnight at a light trot which Ruby, true to his bragging, kept up with
easily.
Ginny formulated while she was riding everything she would say to her companions when
they saw Ruby. She knew they would be distrustful, and wanted to have something to say
to make then accept him.
Sure enough, they were shocked when they saw two returning where one had left.
"What took you so long? Why are the canteens still empty? And who is that?" He shot a
nasty look at Ruby and Ginny wanted, not for the first time, to smack him and put him in
his place.
Pemmy and Timmy didn't take to well to Ruby, either. "Yeah, what's he doing?" Asked
Pemmy while Timmy eyed him angrily. Why were her friends so damn prejudiced!
"He's a friend of mine, and he's walking with us to Kleedor." Ginny stated firmly.
"A friend of yours?" Timmy asked. "You don't know anyone here!"
"Oh come on, you guys!" Ginny pleaded. "He's alright, and he might even know his way
around. He could be useful, and he's nice."
"Need I remind you of what happened last time we trusted someone you thought was
alright?"
"He can come." Draco said quietly, but with a sense of finality. "Now let's go."
She couldn't believe that Draco had just stood up for her friend! That was strange . . .
maybe he wasn't so bad. No, he was so bad. There had to be something in it for him.
She wondered what he could gain by letting this elve walk with them. Maybe he was
plotting something rude to do . . . she'd just have to keep a close eye on both of them.
Ruby hadn't said anything in his defense, but Ginny could see his fists balling up in anger.
He seemed to cool down, though, when Draco stood up for him. Unlike Ginny, he was
beginning to like the tall white-haired boy.
"By the way," Ginny said to Ruby after she had pulled herself on to her horse, "That's
Pemmy, Timmy, and Draco."
"Draco?" He said with a chuckle. Malfoy heard.
"Ruby?" He said to Timmy snicker. Ruby shot him a dirty look, deciding that he didn't
like him after all.
They were on the path for another several minutes when Cressida returned. Her hair was
slightly messed up and she was out of air, but there nonetheless.
"Sorry I took so long," she said breathlessly. "It took more than I expected. But I'm here
now, and you don't seem to have got into much trouble--" She stopped abruptly, catching
sight of Ruby.
"Oh," said Ginny cheerfully. "That's Ruby. He's an elve."
"An elve?" She said with stress on the word 'elve.'
"Yep. He's walking with us to Kleedor."
"Are you a fairy?" Ruby asked looking at her suspiciously.
"I most certainly am!" She said indignantly.
"What are you doing here?" He sneered.
"I, if you'll forgive my tone, was here first. They are MY friends, and I am leading them
to Kleedor."
"YOU left. You may stay now, I suppose, but I was here first."
"I don't think--" Ginny cut her off.
"What's going on? You guys can both walk with us to Kleedor! There's plenty of room."
"He's an elve, Ginny," Cressida hissed. "You can't trust elves."
"Nonsense! He's perfectlly nice."
"Well you're a fairy!" Ruby snapped. "You can't trust fairies!"
"You guys! Stop it!" Ginny cried. "Can't you walk with each other for just one
afternoon?"
"That won't be necessary," Draco called back to them.
"And why not?" Ginny yelled back.
"Because we're already there." Timmy said.
"We are?"
They energed from the woods into a small town street with an open air market and people
scurrying to and fro, here and there. The air was scented with fish, which they saw
originated frrom a small booth where a man was yelling, "Fresh fish! Freeeeesh fish!
Come get your fresh fish." There was a lady selling pottery, several with spices, and many
vendors with baskets of fruit and dead chickens hanging from the tables they sat on.
"See?" Ginny smiled. "We're here."
You like it? Kinda boring, wasn't it? I'm sorry! It'll get better! Don't give up on me!
Love you guys!
*blows kisses*
Manissetan
Part Three!
Disclaimer: Okay, its hers, not mine, blah, blah. And a bonus blah.
Gladys had them up before the sun's first rays were even peeking above the tops of the
trees. She had a quick breakfast of eggs and hotcakes set out for them on the table, and
Gladys' expertise as a cook was evident even in the hastily prepared meal.
The late night was taking its toll, as the four were barely able to stay awake long enough
to bring their forks from the table to their mouths. Cressida, however, was wide awake
and seemed to have already eaten. She was scurrying around the cottage packing bags
and making sure they weren't forgetting anything.
Cressida had prepared four ponies which Ginny watched with amusement from the
window. They seemed so playful and spirited--it was fun watching their frolicsome
behavior--it reminded her of Pemmy, in a way. The two largest had the saddle bags they
had packed the last night, but none of them had saddles. Ginny wondered how they
expected her to automatically know how to ride a horse--she had never been on one in her
life, and quite honestly they slightly scared her.
The others didn't seem to drawn in to the actions of the ponies. Draco was in a bad mood
after it had taken him five tries to get his breeches on right. His eyes were puffy, and he
was looking just as sulky as he had the previous day (if not more), and Pemmy was
swirling her spoon around in her cup of tea looking thoughtful. Timmy had fallen asleep
with his fork inches from his mouth and was starting to snore.
Draco was in a bad mood. He liked to sleep in, and had never been up this early in his life.
Nor had he ever gone so long without doing magic, and he was getting frustrated with
always doing the Muggle way of things. Ginny certainly didn't mind not using magic--she
found it fascinating. Timmy was indifferent because he was Muggle-born anyway, but
Pemmy was complaining to no one in particular about not being able to do her make-up
and how she probably looked terrible.
"--and they don't even have a mirror in this place!" She whined. "I'm glad that Gladys at
least has a hair brush, although you wouldn't guess--"
"Would you shut up?" A very annoyed sounding Draco snapped. "No one cares."
Ginny would have reproached him if what he said hadn't been so painfully true.
"Well sorry, Draco!" She retorted. "Just because everyone isn't going to be as sulky and
pouty as you and try to make pleasant conversation!"
"Yeah," he grumbled, "Whatever."
"You guys almost ready?" Came Cressida's voice as she popped up in the window which
was wide open and letting in a cool breeze. "I want to get going within the next ten
minutes. Gladys should be back with the information from town soon."
Their hostess had left about a half hour ago to make sure that everything would be clear in
town--no troubles with 'The Queen' that is.
"Why the hell do we have to leave so early?" Draco moaned.
Cressida smiled at him. "We have to make it to Kleedor for lodgings tonight. We'll be
staying in the local inn tonight, but that's a good day's travel away from here. We'll have
to be quick if we wish to arrive in time for dinner."
"So we'll be staying in an inn?" Pemmy asked, sounding relieved.
"For the first night. But I wouldn't count on such luxuries every night."
"You mean we'll have to sleep . . . outside?" Pemmy asked incredulously, as if that were
the craziest idea possible. "Like, under the sky?"
Draco snorted. "No, Pemmy, like under the roof which will be there since we're outside."
She shot him a dirty look. "I was emphasizing a point, Draco."
"Right . . . whatever you say."
Cressida cut in, feeling a quarrel building. "There's no point in arguing. Yes, Pemalea--"
"Pemmy."
"--yes, Pemmy, we'll be sleeping outside. I don't think you'll find it to be that bad. It's
actually kind of nice sleeping under a canopy of stars."
"What kind of animals live around here?" Asked Timmy, who had woken up and hurried
to finish his meal when Cressida had arrived.
"Of the dangerous sort, you might find some bears, and you'll come across the occasional
troll, if you consider them animals, but other than that the worst you'll come to is an elf.
They may not be very dangerous, but they can be devilishly tricky when they want to be."
She spoke of the elves with a tone of scorn that left Ginny wondering what the situation
between the elves and fairies was. She gathered that it wasn't a good one.
"What are elves like?" Timmy asked.
"Annoying. If you're lucky you won't come across any, but they're pretty common in
these parts. You can never trust an elf. They're just the sort to pull pranks while you're
sleeping; I haven't met a single decent one in all my many years."
"I thought elves were supposed to be nice," said Pemmy sounding slightly disappointed. "I
thought they, you know, like made shoes and gifts and cast spells and stuff. Or were like
house elves who'd rather commit suicide than play a practical joke."
"Maybe in your world," Cressida snorted. "But not in this one." She looked around the
table where Draco was just finishing the last of his eggs and clapped her hands together.
"You ready to go then?"
"Wait!" Yelled Gladys, coming out of her bedroom. "Yee'll be needin' these." She held
out four swords, the entire sheath not longer than one of Ginny's arms, but swords
nonetheless. They each had a silver handle with a different design carved into it. The one
she handed to Pemmy had several beautiful roses winding their way around the handle.
"That one belonged to me Rim. Good child he was, but never too fond of the roses. He
claimed this 'ere made 'im look like a woman. I don't 'spect yee'd mind, though, it's
rather beautiful." She took a second sword and handed it to Timmy. It had a lion on each
side, on one with its teeth bared, and looking very frightening. On the other side it was
curled up and didn't look any more harmful than a sleeping kitten. "That one was
William's. Quite beautiful, if I do say so meself." The next one, which she handed to
Draco, had a snake coiling itself around the handle with two rubies for eyes. "Belonged to
Jem. He was always a fan o' the snakes. I'm not too fond o' them, they fill me garden in
the spring. This last one," she said, handing one with a dragon to Ginny, "Belonged to
Jem. He was always fascinated wi' them, went off chasin' 'em years ago. I haven't heard
from him since, bless him. Me other boys come and visit every once in a while. Do take
care of it, chid, maybe we'll meet again. This here means a lot to me, I haven't got many
things left from 'im."
The four were temporarily speechless, all examining their swords in wonder. Timmy was
the first to stammer his thanks, and the rest all followed--even Draco, to Ginny's surprise.
"Tha'd be all then, I guess," Gladys said sadly. "Yee'd better head out now. Yee'll be
headin' for Kleedor tonight. It'll be a long journey fer yer first day, but I 'spect yee'll
manage. I'll walk with yee to th' end of my lands, but then I'll have to be gettin' back
here."
Cressida led them out to where the ponies were waiting. "Have any of you ever ridden?"
She asked them.
"I have," Pemmy piped. "I took lessons when I was younger."
"Really?" Ginny asked her, surprised.
"Sure," said Pemmy in an off-hand way. "I love horses."
"I guess we'll put you on Meadow, then. She's pretty wild, but you should be able to
handle her." Cressida whistled and a pure white horse trotted up. She didn't have a
saddle, but did have one of the packs tied around her middle. She wasn't very high, and
Pemmy didn't have any problems mounting. They seemed to be made for each
other--Meadow held her head high in the same manner that Pemmy did and they both
seemed rather uppety.
"You three have never ridden?" Cressida asked after seeing that Pemmy was safely on her
pony. They shook their heads. "All right . . . Timmy, you take Sunny, Draco can take
Mahogany, and Ginny you can ride Midnight." Timmy headed for the white horse with tan
speckles which stood perfectly still for him to levitate himself up. Draco reached for a
deep brown pony with black hair, and Ginny pulled herself onto a pure black one. It was
rather comfortable, considering the fact that they didn't have saddles.
"Aren't you going to ride one?" Pemmy questioned to Cressida.
"You're forgetting that I'm a fairy." She said with a smile.
"You're going to fly?" Pemmy asked, amazed. She craned her neck looking for some sign
of wings.
"I can't FLY, but I don't need a horse to move quickly."
"What about you, Gladys?" Ginny asked.
"I'll just be walkin' with yee a little way. Yee won't need to speed the beasts, and I could
use the walk."
"Everybody ready?" Asked Cressida.
"Yep!" Ginny and Pemmy chorused.
"Okay-- onward!"
Cressida and Gladys led the way down a well-used trail going through the woods
surrounding her home. Behind them rode Pemmy, followed by Timmy, Ginny, and Draco
was in the rear. All too soon, it seemed like, they reached a tiny stream running through
the trail and Gladys and Cressida halted.
"Well," said Gladys sadly, "This'd be where me land ends. Past here yee'll be on ol' Mr.
Wyse's land, but he'll be a kind ol' man. Yee needn't worry about the folks in this area,
Charlesdon is about as safe of a place as yee'll find."
Ginny hopped off of her horse and ran to the tiny woman, suddenly feeling very sad.
"Thank you so much for everything you've done." She threw her arms around Gladys,
who hugged her back.
"Yee shouldn't be thankin' me, its yee I should be thankin'. Sweet children, come and see
me after you get Suide, would yee?"
"Or course," Pemmy assured her.
Gladys smiled grimly to them. "Bye then."
Cressida and her hugged, and then she was down the path.
"Come on, you guys." Cressida said to them after watching Gladys turn a bend in the path
and fall out of sight. "We'd better be going."
The subdued group led their horses across the stream and continued down the path.
The summer heat was catching up on them. When they had departed from Gladys' home
it had been still very early and therefore crisp and cool, but by mid-afternoon the sun was
beating on the back of their necks and Ginny was beginning to wish she had some
sunblock. She hated to think of the painful red that would accumulate on her pale skin.
They had a nice lunch, at least. Gladys had packed them with sandwiches of cold turkey
from the last night and Swiss Cheese. Ginny, Pemmy, Timmy, and Cressida sat under a
large willow tree in the shade, but Draco refused to join them. He was seated under a
smaller tree a small distance from them.
They watched the ponies frolic on the emerald grass and joked about many things.
Pemmy and Timmy talked eagerly about whatever came to mind, always including violent
gesticulations, but Cressida just sat and watched smiling, and Ginny was somewhat
withdrawn. She had too many things going through her mind. If she had possessed a
Pensive, it'd have been full to the brim of thoughts.
Cressida noticed her behavior and became concerned, asking her if she was okay, but
Ginny brushed it off. There were some things that you want to keep personal, even if you
know that you will feel better after relieving them. She just was feeling lonely; missing
her family.
Draco, too, had many thoughts on his mind. He was still not convinced with Cressida and
Gladys' trustworthiness, at least not on the surface. Deep down he knew what was going
on, but he wanted to keep his tough exterior. Besides, he hadn't taken well to strangers in
the past and didn't intend to start now.
Ginny saw the distress that was evident on his face, try as he may have to hide it, and her
heart went out to him. She had a strange urge to go comfort him. She didn't particularily
care about him, but she was a comforter by nature. She couldn't stand to see people be so
upset.
Lunch was over too quickly for any one's liking, but several hours on a horse had given
them a clearer idea of how long this was going to take and an urgency to arrive. They had
left at eight in the morning and it was one in the afternoon when they had stopped for
lunch--and they still were only half way there. When you figured in a stop for dinner, they
could barely hope to make it to Kleedor by seven at night, almost a full twelve hours after
they left Gladys' house.
The ride was pleasent enough, if a little uncomfortable after they had become sore. They
found out what Cressida had meant when she said that she could move fast when she
wanted to. Although no magical wings sprouted from her shoulders and there was no
carriage pulled by white horses that came at her call, she was incredibly swift, managing to
keep up with the riders even when they were speeding at a heavy trot. She never seemed
to tire, as well, and Ginny had a feeling that she could go much faster if her companions
wished.
Pemmy and Cressida hadn't gotten off to a good start, and their situation was worsened
when Pemmy bombarded her with questions concerning the typical fairies she had read
about in books.
"Why can't you fly?" She had asked. "Normal fairies can fly."
"Where do you get your information, child!" A very exasperated Cressida had replied. "I
have never seen a fairy that has can fly! They would look ridiculous with wings sprouting
from their shoulders; it would make us look like some kind of insect!"
"In our world there are fairies with wings."
"And in your world they are tiny." She had reasoned. "You are no longer in your world!
In here, fairies are much like normal humans--just closer to nature, in a way."
"That's weird."
Cressida shot her an annoyed look.
"What's this I hear about elves?" Pemmy had questioned, although Ginny could have told
her it was best not to have. "In our world they are small and they do whatever you tell
them to. And in real fairy tales they are kind and helpful and magical and--"
"I believe we have already established that this isn't a normal fairy tale." Cressida said
coldy, "Now if you would mind, I would prefer that we--"
"But who ever heard of an elve not doing what it was told! And practical jokes--" she
shuddered at the though, "wierd."
"Will you shut up, O'Leary!" Draco called from the back of the procession. "I can't hear
myself think."
"Then you must be deaf!" Pemmy shouted back to him. "Because I'm not that loud!
Maybe if someone else would say something I wouldn't have to do all the talking! You
people are so boring." She muttered this last comment quietly, as if to herself, but they all
knew very well that she hoped they would hear and pick a fight. They all knew Pemmy to
well for that to work, though, and Cressida who had just met her had enough common
sense not to keep her talking.
The rest of the ride was miserable. Although the shirts they wore were loose, they were
covered by tight vests which did a very good job of keeping the heat in. Timmy had began
to take his off, but Cressida had abruptly stopped him. "I don't know how things are
where you come from--but in Noecah you ALWAYS wear something over your shirt.
The actual shirt is but a piece of under clothing. People will avoid you and think that you
are uncivilized."
"But there's no one out here!" He protested. "There isn't anyone to see us."
"We can't take that chance. We MAY NOT draw attention to ourselves. NO attention."
"This sucks." Timmy grumbled. His chest was drenched in a thick layer of sweat, and the
others weren't fairing very much better.
"You get used to it," Cressida smiled her warm smile. "I remember when I was just--" She
was interrupted abruptly by a tall lady (most likely a fairy) with long black hair appearing
out of the woods. They had not seen or heard her approach, which furthered the suspision
that she was a fairy. When Cressida greeted her with a happy face, they were sure.
Cressida's smile was ended, though, when the fairy with black hair whispered something
eagerly in her ear. Her face fell drastically. "Are you sure its her?" She mouthed to the
other, and was replied to with a grim nod. "I'll be there."
The fairy nodded again, and disappeared into the forest.
Cressida watched her for a moment, and then turned to her companions. "I have to leave
you," she began solemnly, and then quickly continued at the look of shock on their faces
and forming protest on Pemmy's mouth, "I'm needed in Adiushire."
"You're needed HERE!" Pemmy bellowed.
"I'll be back soon. Adiushire is only about an hour from here for me, and my task
shouldn't take very long. What you need to do is follow this trail. There are no
forks--nothing until Kleedor. You won't arrive there before I return. I will meet up with
you in a little bit--I can't be sure of how long this will take."
"How long WHAT will take?" Pemmy shouted.
"I have a task," Cressida said cooly, "Which I can not disclose right now. Its not safe
here. I will be back. There is money in Ginny's saddle bag if you need it. Don't talk to
strangers. Don't tell any one of your task. I have to go now!" She turned and ran back in
the direction where her friend had disappeared before anyone could protest.
They all stared at each other, wide eyed, for a moment and then Draco broke the silence.
"What the hell was that? Where did she go?" No one answered because no one knew the
answer. "I told you not to trust her! That's what she was planning all along--lead us out
into the middle of no where and ditch us. Well, because of you idiots it worked! Now
we're screwed."
"She's coming back." Said Ginny quietly. "She said she would--"
"And you believed her!" Timmy said angrily. "This is all your fault, Ginny!"
"MY fault?" Cried Ginny, hardly daring to believe the accusition. "How is it all MY
fault?"
"Its your fault because you led us all into this!" Pemmy said angrily. "Now we're lost."
"She said to follow the path! All we have to do is stick on it and--"
"Come off it Ginny!" Draco snapped, "She lied to us."
"What do we do now?" Pemmy asked Draco in a fearful tone. "I say that we stay on this
little track for a while, and as soon as we come to civilized land we find someone who can
tell us what the hell is going on." He said this like a comand and Timmy and Pemmy
accepted it without question.
"Since when are you in charge?" Ginny said angrily.
"Since no one else is. You, I'm afraid, have failed us."
"What do you mean I have failed you?!" She cried. "You two trusted her just as much as I
did! And I still think that she's coming back--"
"Are you going to come with us or not?" Pemmy inquired. "We're following Draco."
"Just a minute ago you hated Draco!"
"I never said that!"
Ginny couldn't believe how mean they were being to her! How was everything her fault?
But Ginny wasn't the type to argue. She wasn't about to stray off on her own, and they
weren't about to budge in their opinions. With a sigh, she conceded. "We'd better get
going, then."
"I knew you'd see things our way!" Pemmy smiled widely. "Maybe I'll even forgive you
for what you did."
"Yeah . . ." Ginny muttered. It was better to have peace and have only one person be
unhappy that have an arguement and have four miserable people. Well, three at least.
Ginny didn't think that anything could make that two-faced jerk Malfoy miserable, and she
found it to be quite a pity.
With Malfoy now as the unofficial leader, the procession was reversed. Draco took the
front, Pemmy followed him, Timmy behind her, and Ginny at last. They shared very little
conversation, and if anyone spoke it was to tell abotu how they hadn't trusted Cressida all
along and to point out proof from the previous night and to sigh about how much better
off they would have been if Ginny hadn't been there. Of course, they didn't specifically
say this last bit, but they hinted at it so that it was quite obvious. Ginny calmed herself
when they spoke like this by reminding constantly that blaming is part of human nature
and they are quite human. It was difficult.
The trail, also, became more difficult. More than once a foot would slip in one of the
gowing number of ruts in the path of packed Earth resulting in an uncomfortable 'bump!'
Overall, the second part of the journey was much more tedious than the first.
The path, however, stayed in the same direction straight as an arrow. The landscape was
generally unchanging, although beautiful, and after a while became boring. It wasn't a
surprise, therefore, that when the woods opened to a field of lush grass and several
cool-looking trees, they were eager to stop and rest, as well as eat their dinner.
Draco, this time, did not sit by himself. They all four ate together, although Ginny was
somewhat the "odd one out". She refrained, with some difficulty, from pointing out that
they were willing to trust Gladys' food but not her advice. She knew what new brawl
could ensue.
Pemmy and Timmy had not been sparing with their water, and by the time they had sat
down to dinner, their canteens were bone dry.
"Maybe this is how she planned to get rid of us," Pemmy said. "By not giving us enough
water."
"It's your own fault you two drank all of you water," Ginny scolded. "You should have
been conservative."
"It was Cressida." Pemmy said firmly. "What am I going todo now?"
"Go find a stream." Ginny said.
"I don't know where one is!" She cried.
"Then I'll do it!" Ginny snatched her water bottle, and then offered to take Timmy's and
Draco's. They readliy handed them over to her, Timmy saying something about how this
might be enough for him to forgive her for what she had done. It made Ginny really sick
to her stomach.
There were no paths going off from the green, but there wasn't very much underbrush.
Looking to the sun for a sense of direction (one of the pieces of knowledge gained from
Muggle Studies), she hopped on Midnight and headed back under the canopy of trees.
She didn't hear any immediate rush of water, so she headed straight ahead of her, glancing
back occasionally to see that the pasture was still in sight. After about a minute she lost
sight of her origin, but knew that she had been heading straight forward. It was much
more peaceful out here where there was no sign of life than it had been back on the trail
with all of that negative energy radiating backwards from her "friends."
She was enjoying the ride, although she hadn't yet caught sight of water, when the silence
was broken by a piercing scream to her left. Ginny reared the horse in that direction and
sped her, wanting to help whoever had yelled.
What she came to was a tall boy, about the height of Draco, who was laying face down on
the ground. Ginny could see a stream of green blood flowing from one of his arms. She
would have taken him for dead, had he not at that moment moaned quietly and stirred. He
grabbed for his arm and held it tightly, before attempting to pull himself up.
Ginny hopped down from her horse and rushed to help the boy. She knelt down and took
his hand, moving him up slightly. He took his arm from her and transferred his weight on
to his hands, managing to transefer his weight to his hands and eventually pull himself up
to a sitting postition.
It was only then that he looked at the girl who had been helping him. He flinched slightly
when he saw that she was a girl, and inquired warrily, "You aren't a fairy, are you?"
"No . . ." Ginny trailed off, thinking that it had been a ridiculous question.
"Ah, I see. I didn't think you'd be, considerin your height. Fairies are tall. So who are
you and what are you doing in MY part of the forest?"
"If you'll excuse me," Ginny said rather cooly, still waiting for some sign of gratitude, "I
didn't know that this was anyone's forest. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you who you
are as well, or maybe what you are would be more to the point."
He smiled wikedly. "I asked you first."
Ginny couldn't deny that. "My name is Virginia Weasley. I'm getting water for my
friends."
"Oh, I see. I'm Ruben Plucket Chickapee III, and an elve at that. Now who are YOU?
Or maybe what are you would be more to the point?"
An elve! Hadn't Cressida warned them to stay away from elves? Or had that been trolls?
Anyway, he seemed nice enough. "I'm Virginia, or Ginny if you prefer, Weasley. I'm a
human."
"A human?" He raised one eyebrow. "We don't get many of those out of doors. They
tend to prefer their slalooms, or whatever you call them."
"Saloons?"
"Yeah, that'd be it."
"So what were you doing when you screamed?"
"I didn't scream. That must have been your imagination."
"I'm pretty sure I heard a scream--what's that cut on your arm?"
His hand went to the spot in a lightning speed motion. "Nothing."
It was Ginny's turn to raise one eyebrow. "Right," she said, dragging out the 'i' sound.
He looked offended. "If I say its nothing, its nothing!"
"Sure." She said sarcastically, but Ruben Plucket Chickapee III didn't notice. "So,
Ruben--do you mind if I call you that?"
"People call me Ruby."
"Okay, Ruby, where do you live?"
"Live? Oh, um, here I guess."
"You guess? Don't you know?"
"Well, I guess that I live somewhere different every night."
"Where do you live THIS night?"
"Wherever I end up."
"Right . . . where were you going a second ago?"
"I was heading for Kleedor."
"Kleedor--I think that's where I'm going too! Hey, do you know by any chance where
there's a stream?"
"I don't know these parts very well."
Ginny's heart fell. "Did you see any on your way here?"
"The last one I saw was last night . . ."
"Then I guess that I'd better go back to my friends. Do you want to come with me? I
belive that we're heading for Kleedor too."
"Go with you? I'm not so sure . . . elves travel alone."
"Can't you just go with us to Kleedor? It'd be nice to have someone with me on the trail
that doesn't keep dropping not-so-subtle hints that I'm not wanted."
"Well, I suppose just to Kleedor wouldn't hurt . . ."
"Great! Do you walk fast, or do you need a ride?"
He looked defensive. "I can walk faster than the fastest fairy (although that's not to
uncommon) and I'm the fastest elve I've ever met."
"Come on then."
Ginny was thankful that she had checked the sun, she had become disoriented while
helping Ruby and if the sun hadn't of been there, she would have gone in the wrong
direction. She took Midnight at a light trot which Ruby, true to his bragging, kept up with
easily.
Ginny formulated while she was riding everything she would say to her companions when
they saw Ruby. She knew they would be distrustful, and wanted to have something to say
to make then accept him.
Sure enough, they were shocked when they saw two returning where one had left.
"What took you so long? Why are the canteens still empty? And who is that?" He shot a
nasty look at Ruby and Ginny wanted, not for the first time, to smack him and put him in
his place.
Pemmy and Timmy didn't take to well to Ruby, either. "Yeah, what's he doing?" Asked
Pemmy while Timmy eyed him angrily. Why were her friends so damn prejudiced!
"He's a friend of mine, and he's walking with us to Kleedor." Ginny stated firmly.
"A friend of yours?" Timmy asked. "You don't know anyone here!"
"Oh come on, you guys!" Ginny pleaded. "He's alright, and he might even know his way
around. He could be useful, and he's nice."
"Need I remind you of what happened last time we trusted someone you thought was
alright?"
"He can come." Draco said quietly, but with a sense of finality. "Now let's go."
She couldn't believe that Draco had just stood up for her friend! That was strange . . .
maybe he wasn't so bad. No, he was so bad. There had to be something in it for him.
She wondered what he could gain by letting this elve walk with them. Maybe he was
plotting something rude to do . . . she'd just have to keep a close eye on both of them.
Ruby hadn't said anything in his defense, but Ginny could see his fists balling up in anger.
He seemed to cool down, though, when Draco stood up for him. Unlike Ginny, he was
beginning to like the tall white-haired boy.
"By the way," Ginny said to Ruby after she had pulled herself on to her horse, "That's
Pemmy, Timmy, and Draco."
"Draco?" He said with a chuckle. Malfoy heard.
"Ruby?" He said to Timmy snicker. Ruby shot him a dirty look, deciding that he didn't
like him after all.
They were on the path for another several minutes when Cressida returned. Her hair was
slightly messed up and she was out of air, but there nonetheless.
"Sorry I took so long," she said breathlessly. "It took more than I expected. But I'm here
now, and you don't seem to have got into much trouble--" She stopped abruptly, catching
sight of Ruby.
"Oh," said Ginny cheerfully. "That's Ruby. He's an elve."
"An elve?" She said with stress on the word 'elve.'
"Yep. He's walking with us to Kleedor."
"Are you a fairy?" Ruby asked looking at her suspiciously.
"I most certainly am!" She said indignantly.
"What are you doing here?" He sneered.
"I, if you'll forgive my tone, was here first. They are MY friends, and I am leading them
to Kleedor."
"YOU left. You may stay now, I suppose, but I was here first."
"I don't think--" Ginny cut her off.
"What's going on? You guys can both walk with us to Kleedor! There's plenty of room."
"He's an elve, Ginny," Cressida hissed. "You can't trust elves."
"Nonsense! He's perfectlly nice."
"Well you're a fairy!" Ruby snapped. "You can't trust fairies!"
"You guys! Stop it!" Ginny cried. "Can't you walk with each other for just one
afternoon?"
"That won't be necessary," Draco called back to them.
"And why not?" Ginny yelled back.
"Because we're already there." Timmy said.
"We are?"
They energed from the woods into a small town street with an open air market and people
scurrying to and fro, here and there. The air was scented with fish, which they saw
originated frrom a small booth where a man was yelling, "Fresh fish! Freeeeesh fish!
Come get your fresh fish." There was a lady selling pottery, several with spices, and many
vendors with baskets of fruit and dead chickens hanging from the tables they sat on.
"See?" Ginny smiled. "We're here."
You like it? Kinda boring, wasn't it? I'm sorry! It'll get better! Don't give up on me!
Love you guys!
*blows kisses*
Manissetan