They ventured into the Town Square where there was a large banner reading, "Revel in the Rain." The revel was a blend of colors, fairies dancing as fast as air, their skirts twirling and their wings flowing. There was a band full of harps and fiddles and every string instrument imaginable. Pure joy radiated in the singing and cheering from the fairies.
"You wanna dance?" said Juniper.
"Is it safe?" asked Ruby.
"What do you mean?" Juniper asked.
"My mom used to tell me that when humans danced with fairies, they would dance themselves to death."
"Not here," said Juniper. "We're here because of love. We're here because of you."
Ruby grabbing her hand as they sprinted toward the dancers.
"Wanna dance like they do in Princess movies?" Ruby proposed.
"How so?" Juniper replied.
Ruby bowed like she'd seen princesses do.
"M'lady." she said. They both burst out laughing as they took hands and very roughly attempted a slow dance at a comically fast speed.
"I think we're gonna be best friends," said Juniper. Rain kissed their skin.
Slowly, the cadence of the music began to shift, and the dancers slowed as the music became more foreboding. A fairy in a decadent white gown stepped out and began to sing:
Please pixies,
I need my bones back.
I've come to testify for my baby teeth
I left them in your care
With my worry dolls years ago
I asked you to protect my batch of bones
And you vowed to do just so.
Please pixies,
Listen to me
My marrow has been sucked upon
By greedy myths and moth-like creatures
Its meat to them and nothing more
Therefore, I've come to you
My spine is made from flower stems
And is bound to break in two.
Please pixies
I need my baby teeth back
I will sew them into my gums
For safekeeping
And we can go our separate ways
Until my limbs puppet me back to you
In a shallow search for praise.
Please pixies,
Listen to me
I've done my duty faithfully
I've been your mundane eyes and ears
So why must you deprive me of
A bite with my best years?
Please pixies,
I need my bones back.
You assume I will mistreat these
little pearls dipped in peroxide
But I want nothing more than to devour
Using my youth for just one hour.
Please pixies, reconsider
(Or I'll sell your wings to the highest bidder.)
You say if I cannot be trusted
To keep my bones where they belong
I don't deserve a second smile
Or a chance to right my wrongs?
"Whose that?" asked Ruby.
"That's Gueneviere," said Juniper. "She's a poet."
"My mother likes to write poems," Ruby observed. They began to slow dance.
"Really? What are they like?" asked Juniper.
"Weird," said Ruby. "She takes beautiful books and circles words in them then blacks out the rest of the words. She reads them first. If she likes them, she'll give them to my sister a lot of the time. If not, she blacks them out and calls it poetic justice."
"Funny," said Juniper. "What's your sister like?"
"Quiet," said Ruby. "She loves to read. I see her writing a lot too, I don't know what. She has a hard time leaving the house a lot. It's sad. We used to go on adventures a lot. Now it's just me and my mom. She'll pick me up during school because she misses me when I'm gone and we'll go on drives or go shopping. She loves stuff. We all do."
"Possessions are a part of you," said Juniper. "That's what Honeydew always says."
"I'm so happy my toy is alive," Ruby exclaimed. Juniper spun her around.
——————
After the revel, Lilac, Ruby, Juniper, and Honeydew headed back through the woods. "Let's introduce her to Moth," said Lilac.
"Whose Moth?" Ruby questioned.
"My sibling," said Juniper, "They run an apothecary out of our living room." The girls took the trail through the forest, more decadent corpses of dead butterflies drenching the earth. Suddenly a spew of ladybugs spit out onto the trail.
"Mmm, my favorite!" said Honeydew, picking one off the ground and eating it like a skittle.
"You guys eat ladybugs?" said Ruby, less disgusted and more morbidly curious.
"They bring good fortune," Lilac explained. "Most things here are edible. Ah, here we are," said Lilac, stopping in front of a run-down tree and its door with golden accents carved into the spine. Juniper unlocked it with a key very similar to the one Lilac had given Ruby. Out popped a handsome individual, their short hair a lush baby blue, their jaw elegantly carved.
"I'm not open today," they said plainly. "And I don't feel like hosting guests." They glowered at Honeydew and Lilac, curiously admiring Ruby. "Which one of you adopted a human?"
"She's mine," said Lilac, casually pushing past Moth and into the store. "Rubina," she spoke her name as if it were an enchantment. Ruby entered the store. Bookshelves were carved into the walls of the hollowed-out tree, full of potions, knick knacks, jars, plants, and crystals. Tables were piled high with books and half-assembled clothes made of leaves and flowers.
"That's some of my work," said Juniper, gesturing to the clothes.
"Well, welcome to my apothecary," said Moth unenthusiastically. "We have potions, parsnip candies, crystals, and card readings. Home to rituals and rites. What makes you deserving of being here?" Moth turned on Ruby.
"She saved my mortal form," said Lilac. "Some boy in a shop was just going to throw me out because I'm missing some pieces. I'm still worthy of all things good," huffed Lilac.
"Delighted you're still with us, Lilac. Now what do you want," uttered Moth, exasperated.
"I had Ruby take some worry dolls from the shop," said Lilac. "I was wondering if you could bury them here and do the incantation."
"Very well," said Moth, beckoning the group, "Follow me."
They returned to the outdoors and huddled around the roots of the tree and began to dig, palms sticky with moist earth.
"Bury three," said Moth, "The ground will guard them for you. Keep three to take with you into the real world. Tell them your fears and place them under your pillow. They will wander through your worries." After the burial was complete, they began to chant, "Be not distraught. Worry not. With guarantees this world is fraut," they whispered, their hands poised over the dirt, "Sisterhood and motherhood, this young girl is understood."
——————
After returning to the shop, Ruby glanced at the worry dolls on the shelves. "Can I take some more?" she asked. "For my sister. Kalina. She worries all the time."
"Of course," said Lilac, grabbing them for her. "Now let's go home." They exited through the fairy door. Ruby silently resolved to take Lilac with her everywhere from now on.
"Hello in there? What are you doing?" Kalina's voice rang out. "Mom told you not to leave the store!"
"Huh?" Ruby found herself sitting on the ground next to the fairy door, Lilac still in her hand.
"What on earth was that? You were zoned out for like thirty whole seconds."
"Oh," said Ruby, "Sorry." She wondered if she'd ever left at all.