Talitha's Curse

A Curse is Caused-Part 1

Standing at the sink, I sighed and scrubbed the dishes that were plied high as a mountain. With soap suds sloshing in every direction, I was anxious for the girls to get home with the cheese I had sent them to get for dinner. Looking at the clock again for the hundredth time, I huffed at the hour hand. Almost seven.

Another late dinner; I rolled my eyes. This was becoming a regular occurrence, maybe I should just stop sending them to the store.

I had only a cup of coffee for breakfast, because I had slept in, unintentionally of course. Then I had been forced to skip lunch to get a quilting order finished on time, and now my sisters were late for dinner; was I destined to starve to death?

Of course, I could have used my fairy powers to make myself something to eat, or to finish the quilt by magic, but I usually like to refrain from using powers unless absolutely necessary. Being a fairy in Joyas was once a normalcy and enjoyable, but that was back before Talitha was banned.

Shivers ran down my spine at the sound of her name on my tongue. That fairy was a mystery who had once been my friend, even though she had been gloomier than the gloomiest of all gloomies. She was perfectly harmless and had one of the kindest hearts I'd ever known, she was just not one to smile often.

When King Davion outlawed gloom and they forced her to leave Joyas, something snapped within her and her actions of defense led to her to abusing her power; therefore, giving fairies a bad reputation.

Huffing and unintentionally slamming a plate down into the sink, a huge splash of water and soap came up and slapped me in the face. Caught completely off guard and trying not to explode at myself for such a mess, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Why had this day gone so bad? I had done my best to be cheery this morning but Cecil and Cicili had been at each other's throats for who knows why. Then, when I finally couldn't take it anymore and blew up at them, telling them to take their fairy grumblings to some place far away, they suddenly became best friends and ganged up on me and I ended up with a torn wing.

The day only went downhill from there, with me spilling things while I walked, running into the door because I forgot to open it, and I even ruined my favorite book by spilling laundry soap on it. And now I couldn't even wash dishes without mishap.

Reaching for a towel next to the sink, I wiped the suds and water off my face and then began drying the dishes, willing myself to remain calm. I was drying the last dish, which happened to be my favorite tea cup, when Cecil and Cicili burst in loudly and scared me dreadfully. I dropped my teacup and stared silently at the shattered pieces scattered about the floor. I needed to go to bed and just end this miserable day.

"Oh dear Cecilia! That's your favorite teacup! Here I'll fix it!"

Cicili reached down and mended all of the pieces back together with her special touch of magic. She handed the fully restored teacup to me with a smile and said, "There you are! Now let us tell you the wonderful news that we heard from the dairy lady!"

I ignored her enthusiasm and set my teacup into the cupboard. After closing the door, ensuring that my teacup was out of harm's way, I asked for the cheese and all but yanked it out of Cecil's hand. I carried the block of sharp cheddar to my work space on the counter and began shredding it, uninterested in the town gossip.

"Queen Serenity had her baby!" Cicili beamed and I stopped shredding, suddenly interested.

"A baby girl!" Cecil chimed in and I turned to face them. My mood changed for the better, I couldn't help but smile.