Chapter 7
"It'll be okay, Tink," Terence said trying to comfort the traumatized tinker fairy he called friend.
He paused as he held her tightly in his arms. "Y'know, it could have been much worse."
She was appalled at this statement. Her entire life had just been wiped out and he actually said it could have been much worse.
Tinker Bell pulled away from him, still sniffling and pouting. "How, Terence? Tell me how it could be any worse than this?" she said angrily in a raised, but still trembling voice.
Terence wiped the tears from her pretty little face and said, "If the thistles had arrived a few minutes earlier, or if you had stayed in your house a few minutes longer you would have been inside when they came crashing through the roof. You would have been killed and Pixie Hollow would have lost a great tinker fairy." In a quieter tone he added, "And I would have lost my very best friend."
These words struck her with stunning clarity and put into some perspective all that had just happened. It did not change how she felt nor did it lessen the blow of the total loss of her home. However, in the weeks to come this new perspective would make it easier for Tinker Bell to deal with this trauma. Terence gently wiped away more tears from her sweet, cherubic face. "Your house, all of your possessions, they're just things. They can be replaced, you can't," he said, emphasizing the last two words. "I don't…, I don't want to have to say 'goodbye' to you, Tinker Bell. Not now. Not ever."
After a moment's pause she smiled a bit through her pain and said to him in a slight, quivering voice, "Thanks, Terence; you're the best friend a fairy could ever have." She gave him a big hug in gratitude and Terence responded by giving her tender, friendly peck on her temples.
Tinker Bell slowly turned around and began to take an account of anything that might have survived the thistles. She sniffled and wiped away more tears. Tink began to shiver from the severe emotional stress. So much so in fact that she wrapped herself in her arms.
"Oh, here." Terence took off his dark brown vest and put it around Tink's shoulders like a shawl. She turned and smiled at him. "You look good in it," he said. "You would have made a great dust keeper."
Tink laughed just a bit, even as water kept streaming down her face. "Well, at least then my house would still be intact," she said, implying that her house would be with the dust keepers instead of here where the thistles had just run it down.
"Hey, here's something," he said reaching down. It was Tink's sharp thingy, a wooden peg set inside a slender shell. It was one of the tools she used when working on projects in her home. "It looks like it's still in good shape."
"Yeah, yeah, it does." She smiled again. Terence smiled back; he was finally making a difference in her life at this awful moment. He began to feel something stirring in his chest, in his heart actually. Could it be…, love? Or was it just an intense reaction to the thought that he might have lost his best friend?
"Tink?" A woman's smoky voice called out. "Tinker Bell?" It was Vidia. She and several tinker fairies had gathered at the base of the root where Tink's house once stood. Vidia was still holding onto her right side and her face grimaced in make believe pain.
The little tinker fairy, now wrapped in Terence's vest, looked down and saw the fast flyer calling out to her.
"Look…, um," Vidia began, acting as though she were unsure what to say next. Vidia knew exactly what she wanted to say. This is what you get for keeping me on the mainland and making me chase those lousy thistles. But it would blow her cover story so she went with something she made up on the way over to the root. "I'm sorry. I was taking those thistles to Needlepoint Meadow and I lost control of them. I tried to slow them down. I…I tried to get them back under control, but I couldn't. It's my fault you lost your house." She paused for a moment. Tink flitted down and landed right in front of Vidia.
"Can you ever forgive me?" Vidia said with so much mock sweetness and regret she wanted to throw up.
The tears kept streaming down Tinker Bell's cheeks. Vidia loved seeing every drop, her victory seemed complete.
But then the little tinker fairy did something Vidia had not expected. "Are you okay, Vidia?" she asked.
The fast flyer was so taken aback by Tinker Bell's concern that she fumbled her reply. "Bu-but, your house? It's gone. Aren't you mad? Aren't you…,"
"It's just a house, Vidia, I can replace it," Tinker Bell said sounding philosophical. "Terence reminded me just how unimportant possessions are when compared to our lives. As long you are okay then nothing else matters."
Vidia glared angrily at the dust keeper who was still standing on the root. It had only been a second, but her brief loss of composure could have easily been her undoing. When Vidia looked back down at Tinker Bell she caught a glimpse of Fairy Mary. Her look of grave concern was gone and instead there was only suspicion. The fast flyer decided to make a hasty exit before Fairy Mary had a chance to really think about what happened and started asking questions.
"I had better get to a healing talent," Vidia said trying to flutter away.
"Wait," Tinker Bell said. "I forgive you, Vidia. I know it wasn't your fault."
Tinker Bell's forgiveness didn't matter now; Fairy Mary was looking at Vidia with an icy stare that suggested she was piecing things together. Oh great, she'll start whispering to the queen. I better get out of her quick.
Vidia was certain she could still get away with it; there wasn't enough evidence to prove that it wasn't an accident, but she didn't need suspicions hanging over her head. This was supposed to be a clean operation and it was getting dirty real fast.
Tinker Bell, though, wouldn't stop talking. "I'll come and visit you later to see how you're doing," she said.
Ugh, how cloyingly sweet can you be? Vidia thought to herself. "Uh, yeah. I'll look forward to it."
Vidia turned to fly away when Fairy Mary spoke up. "You're not going to thank her? She did forgive you after all."
Oh just shut up, already, she mentally sneered at the tinker overseer. Vidia turned back towards the little tinker fairy. "Thanks, Tinker Bell. I…I, don't really know what to say."
"It's okay, Vidia. Now why don't you go on and see that healing talent," Tinker Bell said with a caring, concerned look on her face.
"Yeah, I better go." Vidia once again turned to fly away, but just as her feet were about leave the ground she heard Silvermist's voice calling out to her.
"There you are, Vidia," the water talent bellowed angrily.
Oh no, now what?
"I have a sharp thingy to pick with you." Silvermist was fluttering into Tinker's Nook when she turned around and yelled back to someone. She was motioning with one arm while pointing at Vidia with the other. "Here she is, Rosetta. In Tinker's Nook right where Lockheed said she would be."
Silvermist, Rosetta and the fast flyer Lockheed, all set down just a few steps away from Vidia. Sil and Ro looked quite upset. Lockheed on the other hand just kept an eye on her, a stoic look on his face.
"Um…, I need to see a healing talent, so, goodbye," Vidia said trying desperately to extricate herself from this bad situation.
"Not so fast," Lockheed said in his baritone voice, "there is the matter of your knocking over Sil in the stream, trampling Rosetta's flowers and bringing the thistles to Tinker's Nook."
There was murmuring in the crowd as everyone began processing what they had just heard.
"Did you say she brought them here?" Fairy Mary asked.
"Possibly," he said.
Vidia gulped hard; suddenly her victory was fading, and fast.
Author's Note: The fast flyer of Lockheed is one of my original characters. He is named after the Lockheed Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), an aerospace company that designs and builds aircraft.
Once again I want to offer my gratitude to all of the dedicated readers of Vidia's Revenge. Your continued support fills my heart with warmth and love.