Of Fairies and Noontime

Flight Patterns

"Ugh! My security firefly has been disabled." Lord Brilland slammed his fists on his oak table. "Ellabelle and her little friends are up to something... I have to figure out what."

He stood from his desk, pacing around the room. He had to come up with a plan, one that was good enough to investigate the matter.

Then, a bolt of inspiration struck him. He feverishly cleared off his desk, grabbing a piece of paper and drawing up his plan.

Back at Ellabelle's house, the two girls were getting ready for bed, yawning all the way. Ellabelle set out a leaf blanket and a pillow for Hadley to sleep on the floor with.

"Sorry about my lack of beds," Ellabelle apologized awkwardly as she made the wood floor as comfortable as possible. She turned to Hadley, who was petting Bartholomew inside his cage.

"Goodnight, buddy. Don't feel too homesick, ok?" She said, smiling at him. All he did was blink a few times and puff out his throat, but Hadley translated that to mean "Goodnight to you too."

"Today sure was a weird day, huh?" Ellabelle asked Hadley as she got into bed. Hadley laughed, patting Bartholomew once more on the head. She glanced over at her new pair of wings that were shimmering in the corner.

"Yeah. I liked it, though. It's a lot more interesting than what I deal with at home, believe me." Hadley shuddered at the memories. All those moments when her parents didn't pay enough attention to her or scold her for doing something wrong.

Then, she remembered Dask, and a wave of homesickness hit her.

"I liked meeting both of your friends." Hadley added, sighing softly.

"They're really cool, and honestly the only ones who really listen to me. Well, other than you, of course." Ellabelle replied.

Both girls wanted to explain more about their past to the other, but neither could find the right words to say. It didn't feel like the right time; there was some sort of invisible barrier keeping them from saying anything more. After all, they did just meet one another that day, but something about their unpredictable friendship made them feel like they could tell each other anything.

"Hey, Ellabelle, what was all of that firefly business about?" Hadley asked, her mind wandering.

Ellabelle yawned. "I'm not exactly sure, but I have a terrible feeling that there's something more to this." She felt her heart drop. There was something going on, she was sure of it; but she had no idea what it was.

"I didn't know there were such things as mechanical fireflies." Hadley added.

"That's the thing. Neither did any of us. That's what's so scary." Ellabelle swallowed. Hadley scrunched her eyebrows up. The fairy world was a lot more mysterious than the happy little outer shell would have you believe.

Ellabelle's firefly that gave them light finally went to sleep, covering the room in darkness. The girls thought for a while until they managed to drift off to sleep.

A few hours later, sunshine flooded into the small house, causing the girls to wake. It was a new day full of new possibilities.

Hadley woke up, her mind confused after seeing the room. Her eyes felt heavy and tired, and she rubbed them to try and wake them up. She looked around, remembered the fiasco of the day prior, and managed to stand up.

Ellabelle was already up, stretching herself out. Hadley could almost feel the excitement emanating from her fairy friend's body, and then she remembered exactly what they planned on doing today.

She looked at her transparent yellow wings in the corner of the room, feeling a sense of nervousness and ambition.

"Are you ready for your big day?" Ellabelle asked, clapping her hands.