Ganymeder

Fairy-be-gone

Sparkle hovered outside the window to the old house, ear pressed against the pane of glass.

“I’m telling you, Martha, I’m getting rid of that hive first thing tomorrow. Henderson’s has some pesticide that’ll do the job. I’m sick of dealing with the damn fairies.”

His wife hovered over the stove stirring some bubbling liquid with a wooden spoon. Sparkle scowled, both at the conversation and the spoon. Luckily, it didn’t seem inhabited.

“Do you have to kill them, Roy? Maybe it’s just they’re attracted to the wood from the door you replaced. You could maybe buy a different style or something and they might leave on their own.”

“Why should I spend good money when there’s plenty of fresh wood nearby? No, hon, you got a kind heart, but that’s just not sensible.”

“I just don’t want the poor little things to suffer,” said the farmer’s wife.

“Heck, you wouldn’t care if you’d been bit by the little buggers,” said the farmer, “But don’t worry – I’m sure it’s painless.” He kissed his wife on the cheek. “No more stew for me, Martha. Just going to finish up some things in the basement and go to bed. Early day fumigating tomorrow.”

His wife smiled, and the farmer left the room.

Sparkle returned to the barn.

*

“We must act quickly, your Highness,” said the fairy. “The humans plan to annihilate our home tomorrow.”

The fairy Queen pondered this, tiny chin resting in the cup of her hand as she frowned in concentration. Her small throne sparkled and shone within the center of the hornet-like hive. “We’d assumed the humans would think we lived in the nearby trees. This makes matters more serious indeed if they’ve grown impervious to our camoflauge spells.”

“But what of the poison? We may flee, but surely if he sprays that in here…” Sparkle gestured to the wooden rafters, then the barn in general.

The Queen’s face softened. “Not to worry, my lovely minion. Tonight we shall make our move, and she will be safe. We may even manage to save our own home.”

Sparkle relaxed, though she wasn’t sure how they could save the hive itself. The magic of the hive wasn’t powerful enough to protect it, and the entire fairy court combined couldn’t move it by themselves. Nevertheless, she awaited her orders. Once given, Sparkle left to complete her mission.

The fairy Queen was known throughout the woods for her cleverness. Surely she would save them all.

*

Sparkle returned later with the news that the humans had gone to bed. The fairies posted a watch, and they got to work. From the topmost rafters they flew down to the small storage closet where the farmer kept his chemicals. Combining their efforts, they pulled covers off cans of paint remover. Soon paint brushes hovered, dipped, and flew to the farm’s newly replaced door.

They worked by the light of the full moon.

The fairies concentrated their combined magical effort on moving the brushes back and forth over the door’s newly painted surface. When one side was completed covered, they sprayed the hose across its surface. Then rags removed any remaining red paint.

When the door had been completely wiped clean of every ounce of paint, the wood began to shimmer and shift form. Soon, the grains formed into the image of a young girl who gained depth as she stepped out of the wooden boards. She held her nose.

“Thanks, guys,” she said, stepping outside the barn and removing her hand to breathe deeply of the night air. “But did you have to use something with so many fumes? It’s almost as bad as the paint.”

The fairy Queen laughed and said, “Almost, except that it isn’t trapping you. You’re free now, so stop complaining!” The other fairies tittered their agreement.

The dryad looked to the forest. “Do you think my sisters might welcome me when their homes are already full?”

“Perhaps,” answered the Queen. “But now that you are free, we have a more pressing matter. The farmer that imprisoned you plans to destroy our home as well. Will you help?”

“Of course!” answered the dryad. “But what can I do? I’d offer you shelter – except I’m homeless now.”

The Queen nodded. “I know, but I think I know something that will help us both.”  She explained her plan to the dryad, whose face lit up. Their combined magic just might be enough.

*

The next morning found the farmer standing near a suspicious red puddle in front of his new door, freshly stripped of paint. He scratched his head, frowning and muttering to himself. “What the…? Damn fairies. Malicious little creatures…”  He squinted at the rafters, then climbed the ladder to the second level to check out the hive.

It was gone.

Well, whatever happened, at least it saved him the cost of a can of Fairy-be-gone.

*

The dryad knelt before the fairy Queen in the newly relocated hive.

“I accept your fealty, my loyal new subject. The services you’ve rendered this hive have been invaluable. Rise, Chloe. I dub thee ‘fairy-kind.’”

The dryad rose and was instantly surrounded by her new sisters. She might not have had the wings, but she fit into the small hive perfectly.

“What will your dryad sisters think?” asked Sparkle.

Chloe smiled, “They’ll think I found the perfect home. Besides, I can always visit. We’re not that far.”

Chloe waved to her dryad sisters through the farmer’s attic window, and the trees waved in return.

THE END.

*The above story can also be heard via Audioboo.

**Red barn photo taken from jenett.photo through the Creative Commons license.

***The above story was written for the Soft Whispers photo prompt for May 2010. It also appeared in Issue Five of Soft Whispers e-zine.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 23rd, 2010 at 9:00 pm and is filed under Flash Fiction, Writing Corner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.