Disclaimer: All recognizable subject material does not belong to me.

The Little Fairy

Chapter 2

The Quest and Battle on the Rooftop

"Wake up. Vidia, snap out of it."

Whose voice is that? Vidia struggled to open her eyes.

"There you go." the same voice said, soothingly.

Lizzie – what happened with Tinkerbell . . . Vidia shook her head slightly to clear it, but all she got in return was a dull headache.

"Where's the human girl?" Vidia muttered.

"There isn't any human girl." the voice told her, firmly. "I gave you a human painkiller – aspirin. I put a half-pill into your tea, and you had just a sip – it might still be too much. But I don't know what happens when you have too much, so we'll just see what happens."

Vidia suddenly remembered what was happening. She sat up, feeling strange, and wondering about her momentary disorientation. Jacquie was standing next to her.

"What's going on?" Vidia demanded. "Why did you put apsirin in the tea?"

"It's pronounced Aspirin." Jacquie corrected. "I don't want you going to Queen Clarion and taking me back to pixie hollow." Jacquie replied. She was packing stuff into a bag made of newspaper.

"What?" Vidia asked, incredulously.

"I asked if she'd bring me to Pixie Hollow. You said she wouldn't have it any other way."

"I meant if you wanted to come she – in this situation – I have no idea what she'd do." Vidia admitted.

"You see?" Jacquie nodded, "I couldn't have let you go – you'd have told her about me and I'd be taken to Pixie Hollow. I've considered all the options. I can't drug you and leave you here because the cat would kill you. I can't drug you and leave you outside because the birds would eat you or humans would find you."

Vidia waited a minute. "So what are you going to do?"

"Take you with me." She pulled Vidia to her feet. "We're leaving now."

Vidia stumbled, the floor seeming to spin weirdly.

"Leaving? Taking me with you?" Vidia shook her head, still dizzy. "Where are you – we – going? What's this all about, anyway?"

"Thomas." Jacquie's voice suddenly was gentle and low.

"The human boy." Vidia remembered.

"He's not a boy anymore, Vidia." Jacquie sighed. "He's a man. Intelligent, handsome and talented. And he does not know I exist. I'm head over wings in love, Vidia. With my human."

"You can't do anything about that, Jacquie." Vidia told her, seriously. "He's a human, you're a fairy."

"What if I could become human?"

Vidia stared at Jacquie. "You're completely mad."

"I am not!" Jacquie exclaimed, insulted – then she grinned. "Not completely."

"So if you aren't completely mad, how are you going to become human." Vidia challenged.

"That's what we're going to find out." Jacquie picked up a bag from the floor and slung the two straps over her shoulders. "We have to leave as soon as possible."

"Hey – what about me getting home?" Vidia demanded.

"When we get to a suitable stopping point, I'll let you go, and you can find your way to a regular fairy."

Vidia sighed. "Look, just let me go. I promise that if you do, I won't tell anyone about you."

"I don't believe you." Jacquie said, bluntly. "Come on."

"The fairies are combing the city for me right now." Vidia said, seriously. "When they find you holding be prisoner, you'll have to come back to Pixie Hollow for kidnapping me. If you let me go now they'll never have to know about you."

"Sorry, Vidia. I can't risk it – you know that."

"You can't just take me with you!"

"Sure can." Jacquie replied, cheerfully.

"What if I started screaming for help once we're outside?"

"I'll knock you out."

Vidia stared at Jacquie. "What if I attack you?"

"I'll knock you out again."

Vidia sighed in defeat. She watched as Jacquie walked across the room and shoved a pencil into a holster on her bag, then put a two-prong olive fork into her belt. She grabbed a thick vine.

"Hands." she said, turning to Vidia.

"What?" Vidia said, outraged.

"You're my prisoner." Jacquie told her, firmly. "I don't want to be turning my back on a capable prisoner."

Vidia reluctantly extended her hands, and Jacquie tied them together.

"I can strangle you more efficiently now."

Jacquie grinned. "I'd like to see you try. You aren't going to fly away, are you?"

"All my dust got washed off during the rain." Vidia admitted.

"Good." Jacquie turned. "This way."

Vidia followed Jacquie to another rope ladder. As Jacquie climbed, Vidia looked up. She could see the end, that came out at a hole in the roof where sunlight streamed in.

Morning. I've been missing all night. She thought, miserably.

She grabbed a rung with both hands and started climbing up awkwardly. She clung tightly to the rungs and didn't slip.

Jacquie gave her a hand up and Vidia suddenly found herself standing in bright sunlight.

"Don't step off the ridge." Jacquie ordered. "If you step on the shingles you'll probably fall all the way off the roof, and it's a two story drop with cobblestones below. You won't survive."

"Okay." Vidia said, faintly. "Keep on the ridge. Got it."

Jacquie took a step down the ridge, then stopped. Vidia looked up.

It was covered in large birds.

Jacquie handed Vidia the fork. "Defend yourself with this and don't do anything stupid."

Vidia fumbled to get a good grip and nearly dropped it. Vidia ran her fingers over the tip and found it blunted. "How am I supposed to use this – my hands are tied."

"They're tied in front of you."

"Are the birds dangerous?"

"You've never met mourning doves?" Jacquie stared at her. "They're not picky eaters." she pulled the pencil from her bag. "One – three – seven . . ." Vidia could hear her murmuring under her breath, counting the birds.

"You mean they'll eat us?" Vidia asked, nervously.

"They might try when they notice we're here, but I'm good at getting rid of birds."

"You've fought them before?" Vidia asked, hopefully.

Jacquie shook her head slowly. "You have no idea."

A loud whistle split the air, and Vidia jumped, startled. "You could've warned me." She said, irritated.

Jacquie's only reply was to take a step toward the pigeon hopping to the fairies.

"You'd better not get us killed!" Vidia warned, taking a step away from the birds, whose eyes seemed to grow bigger as they watched her.

I still have to get back and apologize to Tink for getting her caught.

The pigeon made a final bound to stand in front of Jacquie, fluttering his wings to stay upright. Immediately he leaned down and and snapped at her head. Jacquie darted out of the way and brought her pencil over her head to smack the bird's beak.

Vidia's mouth opened slightly in alarm and disbelief.

Jacquie stepped back to give some space between the now worried bird and herself. She ran straight toward it, then dived flat on her face and slid underneath the bird. As she skimmed across the roof underneath him, she whacked his foot with the pencil's pointed end. Surprised, the bird pulled it's foot into the air and let loose a loud series of whistles to warn the other birds, then flew away.

Several other birds jumped into the air and flew to another rooftop to settle. Jacquie moved forward to confront another bird the same way.

Wow.

She heard a scratching behind her – like claws on the roof. She whirled around, coming face to beak with another mourning dove.

Vidia took a frantic step back. A large black eye was turned toward her, examining her. She held the fork up tentatively, taking a deep breath. The bird drew back slightly, then jerked forward, pecking at her.

She snatched the fork back toward her, then moved the prongs to block the attack. He jerked back, preparing for another attack, so she flipped the fork around and slammed the handle down right between the bird's eyes. Giving the same whistle-warble, the bird bounded into the air and soared away.

She heard another dove whistle loudly and she turned to look at Jacquie, who was just slamming her pencil down over a bird's beak so hard that Vidia thought she heard the weapon crack. Jacquie spun around and kicked him in the chin, forcing his head back up. That bird began to take off, and without another glance in his direction, Jacquie turned to another.

Vidia awkwardly held the fork upright with her knees and tried to saw the vine rope off her wrists, but the fork wasn't sharp enough. She jabbed at it until it was weak enough to stretch and slip off her hands.

Jacquie dropped to her stomach in front of a bird and swung her pencil to hid the bird's foot hard, then rolled to her feet just as the bird flapped into the air, his foot held up tenderly.

Jacquie was approaching another dove, clearing the way for them to walk across the ridge, but suddenly – all the birds decided it was too much trouble for a snack, and they took off into the sky, warbling loud calls, their wings making a wind to rival one of Vidia's best.

Vidia frowned.

Why are they all leaving just now? She wondered.

A shadow over the roof suddenly caught her eye, and she glanced up in time to see the open mouth of a hawk.

"Ah!" she screamed, stepping backwards, waving the fork threateningly. The hawk, unfazed, saw Jacquie and turned to swoop down on her.

Let her die – you'll be free. The thought came unbidden into Vidia's head.

"Jacquie – look out!" she screamed, squelching any thought of escape.

Jacquie turned, pulling her pencil back out, then she saw the hawk. Her eyes widened, and she stepped back – off the ridge onto the slippery shingles.

"Whoa!" Jacquie yelled, her foot slipping from underneath her. "Ah!" she tumbled down the roof.

There was no time to move – to speak. Vidia dived for Jacquie's hand, but she wasn't close enough. She climbed to her feet as Jacquie crashed down the tilted roof. She rolled to a stop at the edge and managed to grab the drainpipe. She pulled herself up a little, but only managed to get a little better grip – the pipe was round and slippery.

"Hold on!" Vidia shouted, looking around for a safe way down.

"Don't step on the shingles!" Jacquie warned.

"It's the only way down." Vidia stabbed the olive fork into the shingle to use to climb down to Jacquie, then she prepared to start climbing down.

"I'm slipping!"

Vidia whirled to look at her.

Jacquie let go.

"No." Vidia breathed. "No, Jacquie!" she cried.

Vidia could hardly breathe, but she couldn't go look for Jacquie – or her dead body. She remembered her silent predator who was circling the roof, waiting for the right time.

She turned, searching the sky for the hawk, who was diving toward her, his beak open.

Vidia shrieked in fear and held her fork up as a spear, jabbing it toward him as he came closer and closer, then suddenly pulled up, flapping his wings quickly to not run into the roof. Vidia ducked as he went by, his feathers almost touching her. She breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she'd scared him away.

He landed on the other end of the roof, walking toward her hungrily.

She paled, flexing her grip on the fork.

Jacquie's gone – why fight? Vidia turned and ran. She heard the hawk's feathers cutting through the air, winging overhead.

"Ah!" Vidia through herself to the ground as the hawk snatched at her with his talons. She lost her grip on the fork and it skated loudly across the ridge and paused on the edge, tilting toward the roof.

"No!" She launched herself toward it, but it tipped farther and plummeted down, bouncing off the roof and out of sight. Panting, she stood, facing the hawk. She could hear her heartbeat loudly in her ears. Her stomach tightened strangely, her breathing quickened on its own. She was going to die, defenseless, at the talons of a hawk. She tried to turn – to run away from her death, but she couldn't move. She turned her face away as the hawk jumped at her.

My first follow! Hence, another chapter. Thanks, LokiXSif!

If any old-time writers feel like it, you could help me out with tips on how to make Vidia more in character. I'm inexperienced when it comes to writing about other people's characters.

Hope you enjoyed it ~

M.J.J.