Of Fairies and Noontime

Fairies

The outside world was even more beautiful than where they began.

Hadley couldn't even focus on finding Bartholomew; she was awestruck by the vast wonders of this brand new realm. There were fairies flying this way and that across the land. There was a village full of fairy houses made of mushrooms and the insides of flowers. Hadley noticed that none of the other houses looked like Ellabelle's, and she couldn't help but wonder why.

"Wait a minute, you said that this frog pet of yours could fit in your pocket?" Ellabelle asked as they were walking on the ground.

Ellabelle's walk looked unnatural; it was obvious that she wasn't used to doing it often. She couldn't get caught with Hadley, and she silently hoped that no one saw them.

"Well, yeah. He's small enough to fit in my pocket, so he shouldn't be hard to find." Hadley replied. Wasn't that a well-known fact that frogs could fit in pockets?

Ellabelle stopped unexpectedly.

"Why are we stopped?" Hadley asked.

Ellabelle turned to Hadley, who was obviously confused. "How tall are you?"

"What?"

"I said, "How tall are you?" You know? Back in your world?" Ellabelle asked frantically.

Hadley was even more confused now.

"Uh... I think I'm like, four foot four. Why? What does this have to do with anything?"

"Because, Hadley, we're all about the size of the average pebble in our world. Think about it, you're the same size as me right now."

Hadley looked down at herself. She didn't feel any shorter.

"I don't understand."

"Hadley, look at me." Ellabelle looked right into Hadley's big green eyes. "If we're the size of pebbles, how large do you think a frog would be compared to us?"

Hadley bit her lip and swallowed nervously. Her stomach dropped even further down. "How are we supposed to catch a fifty foot frog?" She asked nervously.

"We'll handle it, we're gonna need some help. I know just who to ask. But, we're gonna need a faster route."

Hadley held tightly to Ellabelle's shoulders, then they took flight. To Ellabelle, it was something she did every day; but to Hadley, it was the most beautiful view of the ground below them that she'd ever seen.

"I thought of that only because the other day the Magic Council had to wrangle a butterfly into a cage. Those things are ginormous." Ellabelle explained to Hadley through the wind.

"I didn't think of it that way. I thought I was the same size. I guess I'm glad I didn't appear here as my normal self; I would've crushed you guys." Hadley cringed.

"Your fingernail would've been the same size as me," Ellabelle joked. Hadley giggled.

Hadley had so many questions to ask about the fairy lifestyle; however, since they were already on an important mission, she didn't want to overwhelm her fairy acquaintance with such things, so she slipped them into a folder in her mind until there was a good time to ask.

"So... where are we headed?" Hadley asked, shaking her head to get the hair out of her face.

"Just to visit two of my good friends, Catra and Lue. They can help us gather some tools to capture your frog." Ellabelle's expression morphed into worry. "I just hope the big fella hasn't done too much damage already.."

Hadley made a mental note: Next time you discover a new world with a magical species, don't bring Bartholomew.

As they passed by different fairies in the sky, Ellabelle hoped none of them noticed Hadley's odd appearance. The cloak covered her back and the hood covered her ears, but was it convincing enough?

She could only hope that neither of her friends asked too many questions.

They finally arrived at the neighboring houses of Lue and Catra. They landed safely in front of their front doors.

Ellabelle made sure to fix up Hadley's appearance just before they approached them, adjusting the position of her hood and the back of her cloak.

"Just act natural," Ellabelle told Hadley, then nervously opened the doors. "Lue! Catra! My main winged-wonders!"

"What do you want, Ella?" Catra said, just before noticing Hadley. "Who is that?"

Ellabelle was obviously anxious. "Oh, that? Haha, I don't know how that thing got here." She said, covering up Hadley with herself. Hadley raised her eyebrows.

"Is this another one of your crafts? Did you make a scale-model plushie?" Lue asked, itching the top of his head.

Hadley looked beyond Ellabelle at these two fairies. They were both very magical looking, just like Ellabelle.

Catra had dark skin and fluffy brown curls. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of amber and her wings to match. Hadley was stunned by her natural beauty.

Lue was taller than the girls, and his appearance was lanky. He had feathery chestnut-brown hair, much like Hadley's, but his was shorter. He had eyebrows like caterpillars and green-blue eyes like the waters. His wings were mostly green, but also had a small sliver of yellow when they were in the sunlight.

Hadley thought they were all strange and beautiful beings.

Ellabelle sighed. "Look, I'm gonna be honest with you guys. This is my friend Hadley. She's... uh... new here in Ofan Village." Hadley waved from behind Ellabelle. "She's got a frog pet on the loose, and I was wondering if you guys could help us find it and capture it?"

Catra tilted her head. "You mean that thing?" She asked, pointing. Hadley and Ellabelle turned around, both gasping at the sight. There, just a distance away, was a giant Bartholomew.