The Butterfly Fairy – Chapter 15
"Hey, what's going on here?!" came the strong, yet fierce, words of Nyx as the scouts arrived on scene to see Thomas carrying something in his hands that got their attention immediately. "You all get away from Him!"
"Nyx, stop!" came Annora's shout as Nyx turned her sharp gaze down, softening when she saw Nora's falling tears. Pointing to where Posy posed herself over her sister's frail form, just next to where River stayed put by her, too.
But as the scouts kept coming and surrounded the group, raising their porcupine harpoons, they just ignored Annora's pleads as they saw Thomas sit down in the grass, real still and quiet as he stared up to the group to reveal where Mari's body laid motionless among his palms, to where River was feeling for any sign of a pulse and Aquan was just starring in shock as the dust frost he had tried to lace around her wings to preserve them just melted away, crinkling the fragile edges as the droplets absorbed into them instead and made them droop.
"Winter, just stop," River said, looking up to feel for his hand as River started to sniffle. "It's not helping."
"Nora," Nyx said simply in understanding, lifting a hand to stop the other scouts. "We'll send for the others, immediately. Query, go!"
While some of the squadron broke away from the scene to gather help, a few scouts stayed behind, watching as the friends just gathered around as Posy just sat, stricken, on one of the sides of Thomas' hands as Nora flew down to hug her tight as she cried.
"Hey, it's alright. And … I'm so sorry," Tommy spoke up, sitting all three of the fairies in his right hand down on the moss ground, Mari evermore so carefully as he laid her up against the trunk, her eyes lifting open to watch him leave. Giving her a smile, he gave her a wave goodbye and ran back into the cottage, saying nothing more to the others.
"Mari?" Posy asked her, trying to get her sister's attention but failed as Mari righted herself up on her spindly legs as best as she could, her eyes following him inside as he left the door open ajar in a hurry.
He can't leave, Posy managed to hear her sister whisper as she flapped her limp wings and managed to flutter a few inches before a few of the lingering scouts tried to stop her, to keep her still and rest.
"Mari, listen!" Posibelle rising to meet her sister eye to eye. "You need to take it easy …"
No! Mari shouted, despite a few of the other fairies arriving on the scene with Zarina and Tink watching from the crowd.
"Hang on a second," Emma said, flying up to stare into Mari's eyes. "Something else is going on here. I think she's saying that he's somehow tied to all this … She's fine, but just exhausted."
"What do you mean?" Posy wanted to know before Nora peered more closely at Mari's wings for some sort of clue. "Is my sister going to be ok?"
Sis, you're overreacting! Mari found herself thinking, talking to herself, as Posy turned around to face them. I'm fine …
"Zarina, come look at this," Nora said, summoning the pixie alchemist over as she took out a pair of small needle point pair of tweezers, took a small pinch of Mari's remaining dust, and held it up to the light for a closer look. "Have you seen anything like it?"
"Not really," Zarina said, weighing it in her hand. "It's pixie dust alright, but it feels different than regular dust. I have a theory, but I have to do some more research to know for sure …"
"Please do!" Posy said, fidgeting with the reed flute around her neck. Clutching it, reels of memories suddenly swarmed in her head as she felt the glow in her wings feel like a jolt of electricity, making her take up into the air with twice the speed as usual than she was used to. In the rise, along with the memories and connections leading up to Mari's transformation … her sister's butterfly quirks upon arrival, receiving the flute from the Queen that revealed her butterfly talent, her sister's way of knowing what is a butterfly is thinking, using the power of her glow to save Posi and receiving a new form … She felt like she was slowly piecing the entire puzzle together, until … She forgot where she was heading!
"GET DOWN!" Nyx cried, suddenly catching Posy by the arm to pull her out of the path of the oncoming black shape that encircled Mari, to which scattered as a group with Mari taking the lead of the group and disappeared from sight. "What was that?"
"You mean … what were those," Emma corrected, seeing the last of them fly away and pointing them out. "Butterflies!"
"Where are they taking her?" Posy said, not noticing that one had stayed behind and had perched itself on her head. As she took off after them, she didn't see that the reed flute had slipped free from its new string as she took off in a blind dash, leaving the rest of the fairies and scouts to wonder what was going on as they took off after her, too. Meanwhile, only one stayed to see that Mari was hiding up in the tree.
Catching the crucial instrument in her hands, midflight, Nora looked up and saw Mari break away from her hiding spot, her gaze following Mari's to the house.
I've got to get back to Thomas … Nora felt the words reside from Mari's glass wings as she shook them out, testing them to make sure she could fly.
"Do what you feel like you need to do," Nora said, heeding what was on Mari's mind. "I'll let them know you're alright."
Hmm, Mari all but nodded her head as she took off. Thank you, Annora.
"Be careful, Marisol," Nora found her words saying to the wind, the lingering sparkles reflecting off Mari's fragile wings with each soft flap. Heeding something else, she just felt herself smile as she flew off to find the others.
…
Thanks for giving me some cover, Mari whispered to her butterfly friends as she saw them, out of the corner of her eye, disappear in a patch of clover, just a few feet away from the summer house, giving Marisol a window of opportunity.
Feeling one of her sparkly visions coming on, she felt the last remaining sparkles of her wings glow as she felt a single white butterfly looking into the window of the study. Even this is starting to feel … Wait a minute, what is he doing?
Inside, Mari saw him lock the door to the study, overturn of the chairs that rested alongside the wall, meanwhile all the white clutching the edge of the binding of his delicate butterfly book as photos started spewing out of the pages as it was thwacked to and fro.
I've got to get in there! Mari thought to herself, arriving in time for her vision to waver as her little butterfly scout vanished in a spurt of surprise as she heard her sister call out, "There you are, Mari! I figured it out, I know how to turn you back … Wait up!"
Seeing that she had no choice, Mari urged her tired wings for one more burst as she dove out of the air, pushed herself under the locked kitchen door, and made a direct attempt to flap past the kitchen to get to Thomas. What she failed to realize was …
ME-OW! A sudden leap from Mr. Twitches was all Marisol needed to know that she had failed to realize that Lizzy's cat was in from outside and had a distinct affinity against fairies, which left her in trouble as she tried to swerve in several attempts to evade his jumps.
However, one thwack from his paw was all that was enough to send Mari flying as she felt her wings bang against a cupboard. Still weak from before, Mari just prepared herself as he came closer, surprised to feel the edge of his nose as he started to sniff her.
YOWL, YOWL, he just continued to cry as Mari felt herself being picked up in his teeth as he just barely used his mouth to carry her over to the stairs, looking from left to right, trying to decide if he go upstairs or stay downstairs. Luckily …
"Mr. Twitches, what is it you want, you silly kitty … AH!" came the sound of Mrs. Perkins as she entered the scene, seeing the big cat carrying a tiny bug in the edge of his mouth and started to chide him for bringing something like that into the house like that before Niabi ran in to stop her.
"Aunt Perky, no!" the little girl shouts, rescuing Mari from Mr. Twitches as he suddenly released her into her hands, running away from Mrs. Perkins as she reached for the broom. "Wait!"
"Niabi … What on earth?" Mrs. Perkins started to say, before she calmed down enough to see the still little form in her niece's hands, as Mari laid there with little to no energy left. "Oh dear …"
"The fairy butterfly … She's sick," Niabi said, looking up into her aunt's eyes. Suddenly getting an idea, she said, "Lizzy knows fairies, maybe she can help."
Mrs. Perkins only looked on as Niabi then turned away to whisper down into Mari's ears, "Don't worry, little fairy. I am going to help make you all better …"
Scratching her head in spite of Niabi's words, Mrs. Perkins decided to check in on Thomas as she turned to see the door to the guest study door pushed hard against the lock. Trying the knob, she found it barricaded and tried to push it, all the while trying to get him to answer, "Thomas? Open this door … Thomas!"
…
At that same moment, Lizzy had noticed Tink's tapping at the window, along with Posi, Zarina, and the remaining scouts who hovered just outside the latch as Lizzy undid the latch and said, "Hi, Tinker Bell!"
"Tink, stop. Wait!" Nyx said, pinning her porcupine spear against the windowpane.
"Nyx, please. I know that Lizzy can help," Tink said, pushing the spear away as Lizzy appeared before them both, still surprised and excited to hear the fairies' jingling phrases.
"But she's …"
"… A girl," Tink said, defending her. "She's also my friend. We have a fairy that is missing, and Lizzy has seen her before. Just trust me on this … I know her."
"Tink …" Nyx started to say. However, having heard stories from them that Lizzy was loyal and true, Nyx just turned to where she saw Nora appear, Mari's flute reed still clutched in her hand, and said, "I'm going to leave Forrester and Jade with you just at least. The rest of us are just outside. Do what you have to do, but if anything changes …"
"Fair enough, thank you," Tinker Bell said, leading the small entourage in as Nora paused.
Nodding her thanks to Nyx, who had never dealt with humans before yet and didn't know much about them, Annora returned to her friends' sides as all five of them – Annora, River, Winter (real name, Aquan), Emma, and Posi – flew to Zarina's and Tink's side to meet Lizzy for the very first time.
"Are these some more of your friends, Tinker Bell?" Lizzy said, as Tink pantomimed the word, 'Yes.'
At first, Lizzy was excited to meet us, but then she noticed, right at the moment Tink was doing her best pointing out our talent according to her drawings, Posibelle break away from us as she landed on the table where a sketch of Mari rested.
"Oh … that a drawing that Niabi drew of the fairy we saw earlier," Lizzy explained, watching how Posibelle sat a hand on it and sighed. "She was very nice. I never knew there was a butterfly fairy …"
"Lizzy!" Niabi cried, bursting into the door. Seeing all of us flitting around Lizzy, Niabi called out, "Yay, more fairies … Hi!"
"Niabi, what's wrong?" Lizzy started to say as Nia calmed down enough to show Elizabeth and the rest of us the butterfly, but the first one to react was Posy as she shrieked.
Mari looked more sunken than ever, as she just laid there limp in Niabi's hands as the little girl gently laid her on a piece of craft felt. "Lizzy … Know how to make a fairy all better?"
Connecting eyes with everyone, Lizzy didn't know what to say before Niabi saw the sadness on everyone's face. Running over to look at every fairy and sparrow man present, they were surprised to see how much this little girl was giggling in spite of Mari's scare.
As the little girl became more excited, River sidled closer to Winter as she whispered, "Does she have to do that?"
But surprisingly, Annora became inspired as she joyously watched the little girl start to clap.
However, before either anybody had a chance to do or say anything, Posibelle noticed the reed flute hanging from Nora's wrist, left her sister's limp side, and snatched it back.
"Posy, wait!" Annora said, trying to stop her.
"This is what Mari used to change her form, I'm sure of it!" Posy shouted to herself, while everyone was catching up on what it meant she was fixing to do. Brushing it against her sleeves, she flew over to join her sister on the felt as she felt her sister's remaining wingbeats. "I'm giving back your glow … This will save you …"
"Posy, wait!" Annora said, the others joining her in her race to stop her from blowing it.
However, to both Lizzy's and Niabi's surprise, they witnessed a spectator transformation. Just like last time, the glow transfer was fast and extraordinary: Mari's wings started to glow as her fairy glow and regular form fought to return.
However … "Why did you do that, Posy?" Mari felt herself fighting back. "I could have changed back anytime."
"Then, why didn't you?" Posy said, feeling the effects of Mari's gift leave her.
"Because I was trying to save your life …" Mari started to say, before she snatched the flute from her sister's limp grip and broke it half across her knee, surprising everyone as the twins were engulfed up in a sweep of pixie dust that made them both hard to see as their forms both collapsed across the single length of craft fabric, both of their fairy lights flickering out as Posy emerged from the cloud, her dust settling around her wings and skin as Tink helped to pull her out.
"Zarina!" Tink cried, finding Posy's strength returning as they all heard her moan.
"Hold her still," Zarina said, flying over to look into Posy's face and saw how much she was improving. Peering up at the others, Zarina just saw the concern in their friends' faces and answered them with a small smile as she said, "She's going to be fine. She's just resting."
As everyone started to cheer, Zarina stopped them with a sharp gaze as looked behind her and said, "But it's not Posy I'm worried about …"
With the dust settling down around Mari's weak form, everyone was relieved when they saw her original fairy glass wings arc up to clear the mist around Mari as they then fell down to her sides, covering her as her summer clothes and tawny hair returned. However, as Mari's friends gathered around her, they failed to see Annora pick up the remaining pieces of Mari's flute as a wayward tear passed down her cheek.
As Zarina saw a few of the scouts look through the window, Emma flew over to gently try to wake up her friend as she started to get emotional, too. "Marisol, wake up … Please …"
Putting herself in front of them all, Annora revealed the broken flute in her hands that still had traces of Mari's remaining dust among the broken pieces. "It's disbelief … By breaking the flute …"
"She took it from Posy," Zarina announced, flying over with Tinker Bell to help her carry Mari, as two others cradled her head and her knees, over to rest on one of Lizzy's pillows. "Looking at this dust sample, it's quite obvious … This was of Mari's true talent, her truest self, and she shared what she had left with her sister, hoping to help her recover. The end result here … Unless …"
None of them wanted to say it, but with precious moments of time ticking away: None of them had no idea how to help, but one …
Again guys, thanks for the patience. I added some new touches to this chapter that I think will meld quite nicely into the finale ... Coming soon!
Until post next, keep believing!