Part Four: Sedera

“Stop!”  A small fairy crashed through the trees, where the light of the setting sun was just starting to sift through.  (Not much, though, you understand.  The trees didn’t like to have much light.)  Bridget stood up, speechless.  The fairy was dark-skinned, kind of a coffee-with-cream color, and she had large brown eyes that slanted up the tiniest bit at the corners.  Her ears were dainty and pointed, her mouth was small and rosy, and her nose was small and straight.  Her wings were glorious, larger than she was and filmy, and silver veined with black.  Her dress was light and a beautiful deep rose color.  The edge at the bottom was decorated with tiny, just-budding roses.  All in all, she was a perfectly beautiful, although not exactly conventional-looking, fairy.

Bridget found her voice.  “So someone does live here, then.”

The fairy indignantly burst out in a flurry of words, none of which Bridget understood.  “Will you speak English?  You did so a moment ago.”

The fairy switched to English quite easily.  “Are you mad?  You can’t touch those!  When I sent you in here it certainly wasn’t for that!”  Bridget began to wish that she hadn’t asked for English.  The fairy continued.

“You were fine on the trip over.  A little slow, but perfectly satisfactory.  And I thought that maybe you would know not to touch those blasted flowers.  But, no, of course, you just had to smell them.  I suppose you’re just drastically ignorant.  Haven’t you heard?  Those could be your ruin!”

“Would you mind telling me what exactly you’re talking about?  I am ‘drastically ignorant.’”

The fairy didn’t hesitate.  “The flowers!  Surely you’re not that ignorant!”

Bridget was getting very annoyed now.  Slowly and calmly, emphasizing each syllable, she said, “Please, start from the be-ginn-ing.  Tell me your name, to start with.”

The fairy stopped talking, took a breath, and immediately started talking again.  “MynameisSederabutthat’snotthepointyoumustunderstand-”

“STOP!”  Bridget yelled.  “I can’t understand a word you’re saying.  Please, for heaven’s sake, speak slowly and clearly!”

The fairy stopped for a second, then took a deep breath and started again, more slowly this time.  “My name is Sedera.  Yours is Bridget.  I can’t imagine how you wouldn’t know about the Glee flowers, but they’re not good for you at all.  You’ll start seeing things, and you won’t want anything but the Glee.  The journey over here-”

“Why do you keep talking about the journey over here?  You weren’t with me!” broke in Bridget.

“Who do you think the dolphin was?”  Sedera let that sit there between them for a moment.

“I see.” said Bridget.  “I think I liked you better then.  You didn’t talk near as much.”

Sedera fumed.  “I think I liked you better then too.  You didn’t talk to me much either.”

Bridget and Sedera were both glaring at eachother now.  Finally Sedera broke the silence.

“Fine.  I don’t care if you like me in the least.  In any case,” she swallowed, “we need you.  If you would deign to help us, that is.”  She made a sarcastic bow.

Bridget breathed loudly through her nostrils.  Her face was red and her eyes would have been if she’d had a choice.

On the other side, clinging to a tree and surrounded by branches, the green eyes watched ever closer to see the outcome.