The Fairy Without a Talent – Chapter Three
"You two have probably noticed this thing about me by now," River said as we watched her push a light lily sofa closer to the wall.
"What thing?" Teal asked, turning to her head to watch as I helped River move a black smoothed polish shell table to sit a little in front of the sofa.
Tilting her head up at the sound of Teal's voice, I heard River sigh as she reached to touch the edge of the sofa to sit down. Absently rubbing one of her hands against her eyes, she simply looked up as her sapphire eyes opened up to reveal her never-moving irises.
"Teal, she's blind," I said softly, sitting down next to our new friend.
"Oh," she said softly with a hand by her apron. Flying ever closer to stand next to the table, she asked, "How did it happen? What happened on your journey as a laugh?"
Sighing again, River began to circle one hand as water droplets gathered near her hand. "To tell the truth, I don't know." As she continued to speak, her hand flicked up to show a water droplet in the shape of a tiny fairy with the wind blowing against her back. The water gushed about her head as she lowered her wings in instinct. "All I remember is the rush of the wind in my ears and the glistening sounds that sparkled off the surface of the water. I guessed I went over the Never Sea no problem, but I don't recall seeing any of the major sights around the island. Look, just because I can't see, it doesn't mean that I'm unlike any of you."
"We know that," I said with a smile.
"If what I asked bothered you, I'm sorry," Teal said, laying a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't be, being blind doesn't mean I can't see with my hands and ears, which was how I first found out about your situation, Nora," River said, glancing her head back around to me. "Why is it that you think you don't have a talent?"
"I didn't find it at my arrival, for one thing," I said, looking down at my hands.
"What do you mean?"
Teal took up my thread as she said, "None of the objects at the ceremony claimed to be hers. She touched them, but they didn't fade. They even hardly responded as she touched or neared them."
"That's strange. I don't think it's supposed to happen that way, isn't it?" River asked, peering up at Teal.
"No, it shouldn't," Teal said slowly, thinking to herself.
"So, what do I do?" I asked no one but myself.
"Well, for one thing, we know that your talent is out there, maybe we just need to find it," River said with a smile.
"Where do we even start?" I asked, watching as River flew up to her wings.
Turning to me, she held out a hand to help me up as she fluttered in the direction of the door. "Why don't we start here?"
"Huh?" Teal said, tripping on the table as she flew up. "Ouch, that's smarts," she said softly.
River proved to have excellent hearing, however, as she paused aflutter to turn around to say, "Sorry about that."
"No, it's alright. I can't help it, being tall," Teal said with a chuckle as she joined us outside.
River laughed a little, too, as we neared the small creek. Landing cautiously on a lily pad, River bent down to feel the water as it gently flowed beneath her. Cupping both her hands, she gathered some drops up as she flew back to Nora and Teal just a few wing beats from her home.
"Here, see if you hold this," River said, carefully placing a drop in each of the girls' hands.
Surely, after a second, Teal's dewdrop melted instantly and popped from her hand as she dried her hands on her apron, muttering, "Well, it's for sure, I'm not a water talent."
However, Nora's dewdrop proved to not make a quiver as it sat perfectly cupped in her hands.
"Nora, only a water talent can hold a dewdrop for that long," Teal said, catching her breath.
River's smile grew as she heard that, but Nora's eyes remained on the drop as it simply glistened in her hands. With a gleam of the morning sun, the drop seemed to sparkle as the misty dew sang off the drop as it whistled into River and Nora's ears.
"Isn't it magnificent?" a thought seemed to go through Nora's head. Looking up into River and Teal's hopeful expressions, Nora just released her hands and drew up the drop, where it simply 'POPPED' in the air, showing a light mist around the fairies.
"It didn't work?" Nora heard River say as she turned around to see a small frown on her face.
"It seemed to be," Teal said with a shrug. "What happened, Nora?"
"I felt it start to wiggle," Nora said simply with a slight grin.
River's eyes looked down as Nora watched her.
"Well, it certainly stayed in your hands longer than any talent I've ever seen," Teal commented.
Nora didn't say anything as Teal just sat her hands on her shoulders.
"Water talent may not fully be yours, Nora, but maybe you sensed something through it. Did you?" River asked Nora, sensing that there was more to what Nora was not saying.
"I don't know," Nora said rather softly, but she was heard nonetheless.
Taking her hand, River than said, "Well, if you did, that shows that you do have talent."
The three fairies just stood there for a few seconds of silence as Nora smiled up at both of her friends.
"So, what do you two want to do now?" Teal asked, breaking the silence with a soft smile.
Two grumbles answered her question as Nora and River laughed.
"Well, I think that's spoken for," Nora said, turning to Teal.
"Yeah, how we find something to eat, have a snack, or something," River said with another chuckle. "I'm starving."
Laughing, Teal took both of the girls' hands as she said, "Follow me. I know just the place."
So, with Teal as their guide, River and Nora followed her up into the air as they felt the winds at their backs. Nora smiled at the scents she smelled in the air as they settled down near the Bank of Havendish Stream.
"Where are we, exactly?" River asked as Nora offered her hand.
"Havendish Square, it's the nearest point to the Pixie Dust Tree. And, just beyond it is the Tearoom, where fairies and sparrow men come to be served," Teal said with a small smile.
"In other words, to eat, right?" River asked with a chuckle.
"Exactly, if you're hungry or thirsty, or just a bit peckish, this is the place to be."
"It sounds wonderful," Nora said as they neared edge of the square. "Is that it in the distance?"
"Yep, that's it," Teal said, smiling up at the exquisite structure that was intricately painted and beautifully decorated with all kinds of multicolored gems and flowers. "And, this is where I must part with you two for now. I think they're waiting on me in the kitchen."
"Are you a serving-talent fairy, Teal?" Nora asked.
Teal shook her head with a kind smile. "No, not exactly. I'm a teacup fairy, and one of my jobs is to oversee the serving talent fairies when they administrate out the tea for teatime. To my knowledge, I think that's where you'll find Queen Clarion at this time of morning."
"That's good to know," Nora said, watching as their friend flew up into the air.
"I'll see you two when my shift then. Enjoy the rest of your morning," Teal said, hurrying away.
"You say it's just ahead?" River asked Nora as they arose into the air.
"Yeah," Nora said, tilting her head to the breeze. "If you follow the breeze a little to your right, then you should make it to the door with no problem."
River gratefully nodded her head as Nora led the way. Using the wind as her guide, River managed to keep pace with Nora as the full whiffs of the Tearoom came to their noses.
"I'm sure I'll have no problem finding this place from now on if it always smells like this," River said with a laugh as they both landed at the door. "Hmm, is that peppermint I smell?"
"Must be, it smells fresh as far as I can tell. Shall we go in?" Nora asked, holding the door open for her.
"Let's shall," River said, turning her head to face the inside.
As they followed their noses to a nearby table, Nora looked around to see that they weren't the other fairies here.
Sitting down from across the other, they silently awaited as two serving talent fairies brought out two cups of tea for them and two steaming warm bowls of sunflower soup and a side of vegetable salads.
"Thank you," Nora said to their servers as they flew off to serve another table.
Hmm, she heard River sigh as she picked up her spoon and started to eat.
Nora simply peered into her soup bowl for a few moments before she took a taste. "Oh, this is delicious."
River nodded in agreement as she took a bite of her veggies. "Do I taste a hint of mint?" River asked in a funny accent.
"Why, I must say you do, Miss River, and it remarkably delectable," Nora joined in with her own accent.
"Why, my dear, I absolutely couldn't agree with you more."
River and Nora both laughed as they were unexpectedly covered with a small and petite shadow.
"Oh, sweet peas, I just adore your accents," a sugary and cheerful voice said as River just froze. "It's simply marvelous. Don't mind little ole me, I just came over to say hello."
"Hi," Nora said gently, returning to her normal voice as she looked up into a beautiful face with auburn red hair and gentle emerald green eyes.
"I'm Rosetta, by the way. Aw, sweet pea, you must be Nora, the little fairy who hasn't found her talent yet. Your sister has told me about you, and I couldn't be prouder that you've joined us here in Pixie Hollow," the fairy said, smiling warmly at her as she smoothed a wrinkle out of her rose petal skirt.
"Hey," River said, a little irritated, back to regular tone. "She may not have found her talent yet, but she's got one. We just haven't found it yet."
"Oh, forgive me little magnolia, but I wasn't saying anything against Nora. Everybody is happy to see you two join us in the Hollow. You must be River, the little fairy new to the water talents. Congratulations on your arrival, sugar," Rosetta said with a beam.
Nora saw River's glare soften as she said, "Thanks."
Rosetta seated herself down next to them as a serving talent brought her a plate of acorn pancakes. "Now, what is this I hear about you helping Nora find her talent?"
"Well, I tested Nora by letting her hold a dewdrop in her hands, which worked, but she says she's not a water fairy," River said, looking ahead to catch Nora's eye.
"Is that true, sweet pea?" Rosetta asked Nora, turning in her direction. "Did you really hold a dewdrop?"
"Yes, but just for a while … then it sort of … popped," Nora said quietly.
"Well, that's still something for an achievement. It sounds like you're trying different talents to see if one fits you."
"Yeah, that's kind of what we're doing," River said, taking a sip of her tea.
"Well then, if you're looking for another talent to try, maybe I can help with that. I need a bit of help in my garden today, but if you would like to help me, I can probably see if I can come up with a bit of a test to see if you could be a garden talent."
"Sounds like a proposition to me," River said, tilting her head to me.
"Maybe so, but it more of a free invitation. You never know, Nora, it's worth a try," Rosetta said, sitting her teacup. "So, what will it be?"
Nora looked over to River, who had her head tilted down with her eyes looking up, making her look like she was looking up to her as she said, "It's up to you, Nora. We can try it."
"Ok, I'll try it," Nora said softly with a shy smile.
And, here's chapter three. Nora is beginning to explore the talents, but I kind of have a plan of how she discovers her talent later in the story.
If you have any suggestions or fun interactions between other fairy friends you would like to see, let me know by reviewing, and I'll see what I can do. I hope you're enjoying the story thus far. :)