❥The Heir of the Elves「PopPixie After Story」

❥Chapter 3: The Journey to Pixieville.

The girls had made their way to the station early in the morning. They were waiting for the train to Pixieville to arrive. Melina had already told Donna about what happened the night before with her parents, and not much later, the train entered the station. The girls picked up their suitcases and sat down in one of the train cabins all the way at the end. There was a short moment of silence before Kaylee began to speak. ''Oh, right! My aunt, the one we'll be staying at, you know...'' Donna and Melina waited patiently for Kaylee to finish her sentence. ''She might be a bit... strange''. Donna was leaning against the window with her ellbow, using her arm to support her head. She was watching Kaylee with an amused look on her face. ''Stranger than our 'ghost hunter' here? I find it hard to picture that''. A grin started to form on her face. ''Hey! Those glasses work'' Kaylee replied as a counter argument to Donna. ''And the purifying salt does too'' she added, upon which she continued her story. ''What I'm trying to say is: my aunt is a bit of the odd one out in the family. Not everyone in the family accepts her''. ''Why?'' Donna asked with one eyebrow raised. ''Well...'' Kaylee began to explain. ''She married an elf. At first we all thought it was just a phase when she started dating him, and that she would eventually reconsider, but they're married now and they have two children together. She's also not really my aunt actually, but my mom's cousin. I've just been calling her aunt Caramel since I was young. I used to play with their children a lot when we used to visit, but nowadays we don't visit them that often anymore''. She paused to take a quick breath. ''Uncle Rex can be nice, but you can tell he's a real elf. He's lazy and all he does is reading the newspaper all day! I just can't understand someone actually wanting to marry an elf''. Donna let out an agreeing 'aha' upon hearing the last sentence. ''Uh... I can hear you, you know''. Melina waved her hand before Kaylee and Donna's faces and pointed at her ears. She was an elf as well after all. Quickly the two caught on to what Melina meant. ''Oh.. but I don't mean you'' Kaylee replied with haste. ''You're not a real elf'' she added, upon which Melina only gave her an even stranger look. ''You don't steal, and you're not mean either'' Kaylee tried to explain. ''Yes, and you also don't kidnap fathers!'' Donna added, full of conviction. Both of them were confident they were saying the right thing. Melina sighed deeply. Slowly the train began to move away from the station.

''Soooo... Donna...'' Melina spoke when the train was moving. ''How's your love life? Do you have a boyfriend?'' she asked curiously. Surprised from the sudden question that seemed to come out of nowhere, Donna looked up. ''W-what?'' she stuttered, upon which her face slowly turned red. Kaylee started to laugh. ''Don't mind Melina. She's a hopeless romantic, and always wants to know everything about everyone else's love life. That's just the kind of person she is''. Melina nodded in agreement. ''Isn't love the most beautiful thing in the world?'' she asked with a dreamy look on her face. In the meantime, Donna started to feel more relaxed again, even though she was still a little red in the face. ''What about your love life then? Do you have someone you like?'' She dodged the question by returning it to Melina without answering it herself. Melina nodded again. ''Yep, twenty'' she replied proudly. Both Kaylee and Donna swapped glances with eachother in disbelief. ''...admirers'' Melina continued. The two girls sitting in front of her still didn't believe a thing she had said. ''...In my fantasy'' she eventually added, reluctantly. They all broke out in laughter. ''I've never had a boyfriend before'' Melina admitted honestly once they finished laughing. ''But I would love to have one someday''. She was already looking forward to just the thought of it. Then she turned to Donna. ''But you still haven't answered my question''. Donna shrugged. She had hoped Melina had forgotten about it, but since she didn't, she just pretended to be indifferent about it. ''I don't have anyone''. ''But you've got someone special in mind, right?'' A grin appeared on Melina's face. ''Admit it, otherwise your face wouldn't have gotten so red''. ''Okay, you're right'' Donna admitted. ''It's my father's assistant: Estaban. He's only a few years older than me''. When Melina's grin didn't disappear, Donna quickly added: ''But there's nothing between us. We haven't seen eachother since the kidnapping happened''. She pointed at Kaylee to divert the attention from her. ''And what about her then?'' Kaylee was busy playing a game on her phone. ''I'm too busy to be in love with someone'' she answered without looking up from her phone. ''With what? Your phone?'' Donna responded mockingly. Kaylee shrugged. ''I just haven't thought about it yet. That's all''. Both Melina and Donna didn't really know what to reply to that, so they just kept their mouths shut instead. ''Next stop: Gnomeville!'' The voice of the train driver sounded throughout the speakers, and the train drove into the station.

The rest of the journey went calmly and a few hours later the train arrived in Pixieville. ''We're here!'' Kaylee exclaimed once they had all gotten out of the train. She turned to face Melina and Donna who where dragging their suitcases behind them as they stood next to her. ''Aunt Caramel runs her own bakery here in the village'' Kaylee told them. ''It's named the Molly Moo, and it's not that far from here''. Melina took in her surroundings. The city was way bigger than  the village where they lived. ''How are we going to find Ninfea in a city this big? Let alone my birthparents'' Melina sighed, feeling defeated already. Donna, who was standing next to her, friendly put down her hand on Melina's shoulder. ''Don't worry, Melina. We'll find them'' she said in an attempt to cheer Melina up. With Kaylee leading the way they left for the bakery, however, none of them realized that someone had been watching them from the bushes behind the station, and that they had heard everything Melina had just said...

After having walked throughout half of the city they finally arrived at the Molly Moo. The Molly Moo was full of customers that were chatting loudly and enjoying their pastries. ''I thought you said that it wasn't far from here, not that we had to walk through the entire city to get there!'' Donna complained loudly, her complains being directed at Kaylee. ''And we're surrounded by pixies!'' she added afterwards. ''The Molly Moo's the best bakery in the city. Pixies from all over the land travel here to taste aunt Caramel's cooking skills'' Kaylee explained to Donna while they entered. ''That'll be one cupcake and a glass of lemonade then'' a voice said. A pixie boy with reddish brown hair noted the order of a customer on the notepad he carried with him. He already wanted to turn around to help another customer, until he saw Kaylee and the others standing in the doorway. ''Welcome in the Molly Moo, can I take your or-'' he began, but stopped in the middle of his sentence once he realized who was standing in front of him. ''Kaylee!'' he exclaimed, surprised. Kaylee started to smile. ''Harvey! Long time no see!'' She pulled Harvey towards her into a hug. The boy named Harvey gave a shy nod. ''That's right. Last time I saw you, Tina still worked here, and she's been gone for years''. Harvey was the youngest son of Caramel and Rex, and he occasionally helped his mother out in the bakery. Kaylee looked around the bakery to see if she saw more familair faces. ''Isn't your sister around?'' she asked. Harvey had an older sister named Anise. Anise was born as a halfblood, unlike Harvey, who was born a fullblood pixie. Unfortunately his dad didn't seem too happy about that. Harvey shook his head upon hearing Kaylee's question. ''No, I think she's with Septimus, or else she'll probably be with our cousin, Lillian''. ''And what about aunt Caramel?'' ''She's working in the kitchen''. Harvey threw a glance behind him, at the kitchen of the bakery. ''Harvey! I need those orders!'' Caramel's voice could be heard from inside the kitchen. ''...And now she's here'' Harvey corrected himself when Caramel came walking out of the kitchen in a hurry. ''Why is it taking so long?'' she asked, but she already had her answer once she saw Kaylee standing next to him. ''Kaylee! You're here already!"' With a friendly smile she embraced Kaylee. ''I didn't expect you to be so early''. She only noticed Donna and Melina standing behind Kaylee just then. ''Are those the friends you told me about?'' Kaylee nodded in response. ''They're Melina and Donna''. Both Melina and Donna gave Caramel a polite smile when Kaylee introduced them to her. ''Harvey, why don't you go help uncle Martino in the kitchen while I'll go get the girls some drinks. They're probably exhausted after their long journey'' Caramel suggested. Harvey obediently ran off to the kitchen to help.

After Caramel had brought some drinks and a few of the customers had left, they all sat down at a table in the bakery. ''So... what brings you to Pixieville?'' Caramel finally asked. ''We're looking for someone named Ninfea'' Kaylee told Caramel, who reacted surprised. ''Ninfea? I know who she is. Everyone in Pixieville knows her. Why are you looking for her?'' Caramel gave them a curious look. Donna continued where Kaylee left off. ''I think she might be able to find my father. He has been kidnapped a few years ago by a group of elves. They were working for someone who called himself 'The Wolf'. Do you know where I can find her?'' ''Usually you can find her near her house'' Caramel replied after having thought about it for a bit. ''It's nearby the tree of life. It's probably the best to try there first. Oh, and you don't have to be so polite''. She gave Donna a smile, who nodded thankful. ''But that's not the only reason we're here'' Kaylee said, ''We're also here to find Melina's birthparents''. Melina told Caramel the whole story about what had happened the day before. After she finished talking, she placed her necklace down on the table. ''This is the only thing I have left from my mother. She gave it to me when I was born''. Caramel's face clouded. She knew very well where the necklace came from, but she wasn't at liberty to say that. She recovered quickly however. ''I don't know where it comes from'' she lied. ''But I'll look into it. Maybe I can learn where it came from'' she quickly added, and forced a smile on her face. ''You three should just focus on finding Ninfea first''.

At that moment someone came walking into the Molly Moo. The person froze for a bit when he saw Caramel sitting at the table in the bakery, but quickly regained his composure and continued walking. Unfortunately for him, Kaylee had already spotted him. ''Hey, isn't that uncle Rex?'' she asked while pointing at him. It was indeed Rex who got caught. He stopped in his tracks and looked at the group at the table. ''Ah... Hi, Kaylee'' he said, pretending he only saw her just now. His glance switched from Kaylee to Caramel. ''Hi dear, bye dear'' he quickly said, upon which he tried to flee into the kitchen, but Caramel was quicker and had already grabbed him by the ear before he could disappear. ''And where do you think you're going?'' Her voice sounded strict. ''Ouch! Upstairs?'' Rex tried, but it didn't work. Caramel crossed her arms. ''I spoke to Sapph on the phone''. ''Yeah?'' ''Yeah. She wasn't happy''. Caramel's tone of voice didn't change. ''We talked about this so many times already! You can't just take Septimus with you and let him pierce his ears!'' Harvey put his head around the corner of the kitchen to see what was going on, and watched the scene quietly. ''But it looked great on him!'' Rex replied, ''And Floxy said it was fine!'' he added. Caramel let out a frustrated sigh. ''But Sapphire didn't!'' ''I still thought it was a good idea''. Rex sulked, ''Lenny would have done it too'' he continued. ''Yes, just like the time you found it a good idea when you teached Septimus to fight against the neighborhood bullies''. ''Exactly!'' ''He hit them so hard they ended up in the hospital. One of them almost died'' Caramel continued. ''Okay, that part of the plan I didn't foresee'' Rex admitted. ''But it did work!'' Rex' answer made Caramel sigh once again. ''Worry about your own children for a change''. She turned to the kitchen, to face Harvey, who quickly drew his head back. ''You know that Sapphire does not appreciate your 'elf lessons' with Septimus'' she continued to Rex afterwards. Rex already had his mouth open to say something back, but Caramel didn't give him a chance to talk. ''And I don't care that Floxy thinks it's fine'' she said. Rex closed his mouth again. ''Fine, I won't interfere again'' he finally mumbled reluctantly, although Caramel knew very well that he wasn't going to listen anyway. ''I mean it'' she warned him. A soft grin appeared on Rex' face. ''I know. That's what I like about you'' he said, on which he gave her a quick kiss. ''You're pretty when you're angry''. With those words he made his way to the kitchen. Caramel rolled her eyes. ''Slimebag'' she said, although she secretly liked it. As if she could ever stay angry at him. She then focussed her attention at Melina and the others again. ''Why don't you three go unpack your suitcases at the spare room upstairs?'' she suggested. ''Then you can scout out the city afterwards''. Kaylee nodded in response. ''Okay aunt. Will do''. ''As long as you're back in time for dinner. We're eating pancakes tonight''. Caramel smiled. She waited until she was sure the girls were gone, then walked up to the phone. She entered a number and waited until it started ringing. Not much later, the phone got picked up at the other end of the line. ''Hi? Yes, it's me. Your daughter is in Pixieville''.

With a loud bang, the front door of the house of the elves got smashed open. Mabel was the first to enter, followed by Veronica and Derek. ''I'm wrecked'' Mabel complained loudly. ''Me too'' Veronica agreed. Derek let himself fall down backwards on the couch. ''Isolation cell... never again'' he mumbled to himself. Mabel and Veronica didn't pay attention to him. ''We've been working our ass off just because that stupid girl wasn't at home. Just wait till I catch her''. Mabel clenched her fists. Veronica nodded. ''I never want to have to clean ever again!'' Mabel sat down next to Derek with a frustrated sigh. It was only then that she noticed something. ''Where's Sean?'' she asked. ''What about his punishment? Now that I think of it, I haven't seen him since yesterday''. Veronica paced back and forth behind the couch. ''Well...'' she began hesitantly. ''I don't know where he is, but when he came back yesterday I saw him take his chopper and leave''. Maybe she should have told the others earlier. Derek immediately flew up from the couch. ''So he hasn't even done his punishment?'' he yelled angrily. ''He probably just went back home. He often does'' Veronica tried to find an explanation for it, although she wasn't so sure. ''Not when he has punishment to do''. Mabel was already just as angry about it as Derek. ''Just wait'' Derek growled. ''Once he's back, I'll throw him in the isolation cell myself!'' He let his body fall down once again and closed his eyes frustrated. ''But what if he doesn't come back...?'' Veronica asked with an unsure tone. The more she thought back on the day before, the more hesitant she became and the more she found Seans behaviour in front of the chamber of The Wolf strangely. Should she tell the others? No, she wanted to trust Sean. It was better for her to not say anything about it. ''Nonsense, Veronica'' Mabel replied. ''It's not the first time that Sean disappears for days. He always comes back without anyone knowing where he went to. He'll be back, and then he'll better have a good excuse, as well as a heavy new punishment from The Wolf''.

After Melina, Kaylee, and Donna were done putting their suitcases upstairs in the spare room they went into town. ''I like your aunt, she's nice'' Donna told Kaylee. Melina was dragging her feet behind them. She was deep in thoughts, and didn't really hear what Donna and Kaylee were talking about. Suddenly, with a loud noise, a bright yellow coloured animal flew out of the bushes nearby. It was a parrot. Kaylee and Donna both let out a scream by surprise, but Melina didn't even notice it at first. The parrot circled above the group for a moment and then flew down, only to land on top of Donna's head. ''AAAAH!!'' she yelled while waving her arms at the parrot, trying to chase it away. ''Get that thing of my head!'' It took Melina and Kaylee a moment to process wat just had happened, then they started trying waving as well. It didn't work, the parrot didn't move. Then a voice spoke. ''Gabriel, herrrrre!'' the voice said. It sounded more like a dog being commanded instead of a parrot. A man with long blue hair and a short mustache came walking their way. None of them saw where he suddenly appeared from. The man held his arm out, which made the parrot flew up from Donna's head and afterwards land on the man's arm. ''I'm sorry for my bird'' he said once he finally stood in front of them. ''He can be a bit rebellious when he hasn't eaten yet''. Donna gave Melina and Kaylee a strange look. None of them didn't really know what to think of the strange man. ''Cookies! Gaby wants cookies!'' the parrot named Gabriel exclaimed loudly. ''Yes, yes. Patience. You'll get cookies. At home'' the man replied. ''Whippy cream!'' ''No, you won't get whipped cream. It's not good for you''. The man seemed prepared to get into a full discussion with his parrot. Kaylee looked at the others. ''Okay... let's just walk away slowly and quietly...'' she whispered to Melina and Donna, who agreed with her. The three girls had their backs turned to the man, ready to run away, but the voice of the man once again stopped them in their tracks. ''Wait!'' he called out to them. ''Shit'' Donna cursed, ''Too late''. The man stared at Melina. He seemed to remember something. After a moment of silence, he spoke. ''Melina..?'' He whispered out of disbelief. ''Melina, is it really you?'' As the man came closer, Melina did a step backwards. ''How do you know my name?'' Melina asked anxiously. ''I can't believe it! It's really you!'' The man ignored her question and suddenly tried to embrace Melina out of nowhere. As fast as she could, Melina pushed him away and took a few steps backwards again, confused as to what was going on. Donna stood before her, ready to defend her new friend. ''Stay away from her, you creep! Don't you dare to come closer!'' She warned him. ''Yeah!'' Kaylee took place next to Donna. ''Who do you think you are?'' The man ignored them and just kept staring at Melina. ''I'm your father'' he finally said.

All Melina could do is stare at him. It didn't really occur to her what he had just said to her. Tears began to form in the man's eyes. ''I've dreamed about this moment for so long! Now it has finally become reality...!'' He once again tried to move closer to Melina, but Donna didn't let him. ''Wait a minute...'' she narrowed her eyes. ''Who says you're really who you say you are?'' The man looked at her as if she had said something horrible. He grabbed at the place of his heart. ''How dare you?! After those awful, long years, I'm finally seeing my daughter again, and you're accusing me of being an imposter? Do you have no heart?!'' ''No heart!'' the parrot echoed. The man looked at Kaylee with big, sad eyes, trying to get her sympathy. Even though Kaylee didn't really trust the man, she did feel pity for him now. ''Maybe you shouldn't have accused him so quickly'' she admitted to Donna. ''What?!'' Donna stared at Kaylee as if she had gone mad. ''Am I the only one with common sense here? I mean: LOOK at him!'' She pointed at his wings. ''He's a pixie, Melina's an elf. How do you explain that?'' The man already had an answer ready. ''My beloved was an elf. The chance of a child becoming a fullblood elf is small, but not impossible''. Donna exchanged glances with Melina and Kaylee. ''Is that possible?'' Kaylee slowly nodded on hearing Donna's question. ''Yes, Harvey, the son of aunt Caramel, is also a fullblood pixie even though his dad's an elf''. Donna however, was still sceptic about it. ''Anyway, I still don't trust him''. She looked at Melina. Kaylee did the same. Eventually, Melina spoke. ''I trust him'' she decided, to the displeasure of Donna. ''He knew my name, and that I was looking for my birthparents'' she explained. ''How else could he know that?'' The man was relieved that Melina seemed to believe him. Donna opened her mouth again. ''Cookies! Gaby wants cookies!'' The parrot on his shoulder interrupted her before she could say anything. The man sighed. ''Can you please shut up about those cookies?'' ''Cookies! Gaby wants cook--'' ''OKAY. We'll go home, but I don't want to hear a thing about it anymore then'' the man said with a strict tone of voice. Gabriel, who was now pleased, closed his beak. ''Do you want to come with me?'' the man asked Melina. ''Then I can explain everything. Your friends can come too if they don't trust it''. ''Shall we...?'' Melina asked Donna and Kaylee. She obviously wanted to go. Hopefully the man could give her the answers she wanted. Donna growled. ''Okay then, fine'' she decided. ''But if he tries something weird, we'll leave right away''. The man seemed content with her terms, as he didn't protest. He put up a bright smile. ''Good, let's go then! My house isn't far from here''.