Author's Note: Next up, Queen Toothiana! This is the longest one-shot and I don't even know how it turned out so long (over 2,000 words! =D). I hope you guys enjoy it! =D
Queen Toothiana
"Jack, I don't think I should do this," Mary said nervously as she held the door open. Jack was standing on the other side, a string inside his mouth, which was attached to his last baby tooth. The incisor had been bothering him for weeks and was very, very loose. But no matter how many times the Overland wiggled it; the tooth stubbornly stayed in its place.
Jack had tried everything. He wiggled it; ate a hard, crisp apple; and tugged at it. He even ate a slice of stale bread! But the tooth still didn't come out.
At this point, Jack was extremely annoyed. He wanted the tooth out. The fifteen-year-old looked at Mary with a reassuring look in his eyes.
"Don't worry, Mary. I'll be fine," Jack said. He looked out the window where the sun was beginning to set. "But we have to hurry. Mama is going to be back soon."
The seven-year-old girl tugged at the string, making sure that it was fastened and secure. "Okay. But if Mama catches us, you have to take the blame. This was your idea and I had nothing to do with this."
Jack laughed. "Okay, Mary."
Mary smiled, satisfied, and took her place on the other side of the doorframe. She grabbed the knob and turned to Jack. "Ready?"
Jack nodded and gave her a thumbs up. Mary nodded and was about to slam the door shut when their mother came home. She opened the door and shut it behind her, but the wind from outside caused the door to slam. Mary was so surprised by the sudden sound; she yanked the door shut with ferocity. Jack cried out from the other side and Mary placed her hands over her mouth.
Irina Overland rushed up to her daughter. "What happened?"
"Jack wanted to pull his tooth out," said Mary. "So, he tied a string to it and attached it to the door knob so I could shut the door to yank it out."
Irina gasped. "Mary!"
"It wasn't my idea!" Mary said quickly. Jack moaned from the other side of the door and Mary opened it. Jack was on the ground, clutching something in his fist.
"Jack! Sweetheart, are you okay?" Irina asked as she kneeled beside her son. Jack nodded.
"Did your tooth come out?" Mary asked.
Jack looked up at his sister and mother. He proudly held out his last baby tooth. Jack smiled. A gap was in his grin.
...
Once the sun set and dinner was eaten, Jack and Mary helped their mother clean the house and went to bed. Mary was very excited for a visit from the Tooth Fairy, and Jack enthusiastically placed his tooth under his pillow. Irina tucked them both in and placed kisses on the top of their foreheads.
"Don't do this little tooth pulling trick on Mary, Jack," said Irina. "I'd rather have her wait for her teeth to come out than having them yanked out by a door."
Jack smirked. "I make no promises."
Irinia shook her head at her son's impish behavior but smiled. "Goodnight, you two," she said softly. Then, she left the room. Jack drew up his covers and laid on his side, ready to get some shut eye when Mary said, "When do you think the Tooth Fairy will come?"
"Probably sometime when we're asleep," Jack replied.
"I wonder what she looks like," Mary said. She looked up at their bedroom ceiling. "I bet she's really pretty."
"Mhm," Jack said from his bed. He was trying to sleep, but Mary was making that really difficult.
"We should stay up to see her," Mary said. She gasped and sat up in bed. "We could ask her what she does with the teeth! I've always wondered what she did with the teeth she collects. Maybe she uses them to build her castle!"
"Maybe she eats them," said Jack.
Mary laughed. "Jack! The Tooth Fairy doesn't eat teeth! That's disgusting!"
Jack shrugged and then yawned. "I guess we'll never know. She probably keeps stuff like that a secret."
"But it wouldn't hurt to ask," said Mary. She sat up straight. "I'm gonna stay up and see her."
Jack chuckled softly. "I'm going to bed, but good luck."
Mary shook her head. Her brother always fell asleep after hitting the pillow. Jack could sleep through almost anything. Mary hugged her pillow and stared at the window. Watching. Waiting. Waiting for the Tooth Fairy to come.
…
Jack's soft snores were the only sounds that filled the silence. Mary was still awake, starting intently at the window, waiting for the Tooth Fairy to arrive. She knew that she should probably get some sleep, knowing that her mother would question her if she saw how tired she was. And Mary did remember hearing that the Tooth Fairy wouldn't come if one was awake.
Mary looked over to Jack's bed, where the teenager was sleeping without a care in the world and sighed. Maybe she should get some rest. As long as Jack got his coin from the Tooth Fairy, Mary would be content enough.
Mary slowly laid her head down on her pillow and was about to let her eyes slip close when she heard the fluttering of wings—wings?—come from the window. Mary looked up just in time to see a feathery figure dash past the window. Mary gasped. Was it the Tooth Fairy?
Mary immediately hopped out of bed, her bare feet padding across the wooden ground as she made her way over to Jack's bedside. Mary shook her brother, but the only response she got from him was another snore.
"Jack! Jack!" Mary whispered excitedly. "I think she's here!"
Jack rolled over. "Nooo...I don't wanna go to school today…"
Mary rolled her eyes and shook Jack harder. Jack finally yawned and sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He turned to Mary; his wood brown eyes half-lidded.
"Mary? You didn't actually stay up to see the Tooth Fairy, did you?" Jack asked, sleep still laced in his voice.
Mary nodded. "I did! And she's here!"
Jack looked around. Their bedroom looked exactly the same. He turned back to Mary who was looking out the window, a smile on her face.
"I saw her fly by the window!" Mary exclaimed. "She's here, I just know it!"
Jack ran a hand through his hair and stood up, standing next to Mary by the window. He looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Mary bounced on her feet eagerly.
"She's gonna come in any second now," Mary said.
Jack sighed. "Mary, are you sure you didn't just see a leaf blow by?"
Mary turned to Jack. "It was the Tooth Fairy."
"But Mary, you've been up for hours. You're probably tired and you might have just been seeing things," Jack said.
Mary frowned. "I know it was the Tooth Fairy. We just have to wait."
Jack rubbed his eyes and sighed again. He was tired. He wanted to go to sleep and fly away in the world of dreams but his sister seemed adamant on staying up to wait for the Tooth Fairy. A part of Jack wanted to stay up too. Seeing the Tooth Fairy would be an incredible experience. He had already met Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Meeting the Tooth Fairy would add onto his list of things that he never thought would happen.
Jack rubbed the back of his neck and sighed in defeat. "Okay, Mary. We'll stay up. But if she doesn't come, we're going back to—"
Suddenly, there was a flash of color that ran past the window, which made Jack and Mary look up in surprise and curiosity. There were a few chirping sounds that came from outside, but there was one feminine voice that overrode the chirping.
"Girls, I told you not to spend too much time under the pillows looking for teeth!" the feminine voice said. There were a few more chirps. "I know it's warm and comfortable under there, but you need to be on it when it comes to collecting teeth."
Mary grasped Jack's arm. "It's her!" she whispered.
Before Jack could respond. A colorful figure flew through—straight through—the window. She had feathers of gold, green, blue, and other vibrant colors. Her face and hands were the only places that had flesh and were colored a light pink. The hummingbird-like figure also had eyes that were the deepest amethyst that Jack had ever seen. Her wings never missed a beat.
"Oh, my," the Fairy exclaimed when she saw the two Overland siblings. She turned to her little troupe of fairies that were flying next to her and trilled something to them. The mini fairies nodded, but there was one in particular that was staring straight at Jack. She had a bright yellow feather protruding from her head instead of a blue one like the others did. Jack felt a little uncomfortable by the stare.
"Uh...Hi miss Tooth Fairy," Jack said politely. He turned to the other miniature fairies. "And you all."
The Tooth Fairy turned to Jack with an awkward smile. "Hey, there!" She examined the two siblings and asked. "Shouldn't you two be asleep?"
"We should," said Mary. "But my brother and I wanted to stay up to see you."
Jack turned to Mary. "Mary, this was your idea that you dragged me into."
"Well, the tooth pulling idea was your idea that you dragged me into," Mary retorted.
Jack shook his head and then turned back to the colorful fairy. "Um, we're sorry if we're breaking any rules or anything. My overly enthusiastic sister just really wanted to meet you, miss."
The Tooth Fairy laughed. "It's fine. You're not the only children who's seen me while I'm on my rounds. And call me Toothiana. Or just Tooth. It's my name anyway."
"That's a pretty name," Mary commented.
Tooth's wings fluttered. "Aw! Thank you!"
Jack smiled. The Tooth Fairy was really nice. She reminded him of his own mother. Jack was about to say something when he felt something fly into his mouth. Jack blinked in surprise as he felt something poke and prod around his teeth. He heard squeals of delight come from inside.
"Hey! Get out of there!" Tooth said firmly. The little fairy with a yellow feather fluttered out sheepishly. She chirped a few things to Tooth and Tooth's eyes widened.
"Wow, really?!" she exclaimed. Tooth dashed toward Jack and pried his mouth open. She cooed with delight. "Oh my moon! Your teeth are so beautiful!"
"Uhg...twanks," Jack managed to get out. Tooth pulled her fingers out and rubbed her arm sheepishly.
"Sorry," she said. "We're just really big fans of teeth. Especially white ones."
The other fairies nodded, affirming Tooth's statement and Jack chuckled.
"It's fine," he said.
Mary looked at the Tooth Fairy and asked. "What do you do with all of the teeth you collect? Jack said you eat them."
Jack coughed in embarrassment and he flushed. "I-it was just a guess!"
Mary shrugged. "It sounded factual when you said it."
Tooth didn't seem offended at all. Instead, she laughed. Her laughter sounded almost exactly like Jack's mother's. When Tooth collected herself, she said, "No, sweetie, we don't eat the teeth. Baby teeth hold the most important memories of childhood. So, when you're older and you've forgotten what's important, we unlock those memories back at the Tooth Palace so you can remember again."
"Whoa," said Mary in awe. "That's amazing."
"And it makes a lot of sense, too," Jack added.
Tooth nodded, and then remembered why she and her fairies were at the Overland's house in the first place. Tooth fluttered over to Jack's bedside and slid her pink hand under his pillow. She then pulled out Jack's last baby tooth and cradled it in her hand as if it were the most fragile thing in the world. She looked up to Jack.
"You should be really proud, Jack," Tooth said. "Your last baby tooth. You're growing up."
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I am." Although, to be frank, Jack didn't really want to grow up. There was a part of him that wanted to stay young forever, but he knew that was impossible.
Tooth smiled and in between her fingers she magically twirled a shiny, golden coin. She dropped it in Jack's palm and said, "Whenever you need to remember something from your childhood, your memories will always be stored in your teeth."
Jack nodded and Tooth gave him a gentle hug and waved goodbye to Jack and Mary. Then, she flew out the window with her small group of fairies following behind.
Mary was jumping up and down. "I can't believe we just met the Tooth Fairy!"
Jack chuckled. "Yeah. Me neither." He placed the coin on his side table and swung Mary into his arms. "But we should be getting to bed. Mama isn't going to like it if we stay up all night long."
Mary nodded as Jack lowered her into bed. "You're right." She yawned and then turned to her side. All of that enthusiastic energy leaving her. "Goodnight, Jack!"
Jack smiled. "Goodnight, Mary," he said. Jack walked over to his side of the room and sat down in bed. He picked up the golden coin and stared at it wistfully.
"I really am growing up, aren't I?" Jack whispered to no one in particular. Jack placed the coin back on his side table and then snuggled under the covers, falling asleep soon afterward.