Fira and the Full Moon (4 page)

But Tinker Bell barely heard. She moved the sheet this way and that. She tugged on her bangs, deep in thought.

“All I have to do is thin this piece out here…bring the extra metal there…,” Tink said, already lost in her repair job. She was too caught up in fixing the sheet to even tell Fira that everything was all right.

“I’d fly backward, too,” Sparkle said.

“I’d fly farther,” Helios said.

“No, me! I’d fly backward farthest,” Glory shouted.

“Shhh! Let’s leave Tinker Bell to her work.” Fira pushed the noisy triplets out the door.

They were back where they had started, outside the Home Tree. Fira ran her hands through her hair. Now what in Never Land could she do with them?

T
HE THREE YOUNG FAIRIES
clustered around Fira. They peppered her with questions and demands.

“What should we do next, Fira?”

“Where can we go?”

“I want to see mermaids.”

“I want to visit Tinker Bell again.”

“I want to go to the fairy-dust mill!”

“Stop!” Fira practically shouted. She took a deep breath. “I’ll tell you where we’ll go.”

It was a hard decision. Tink had been a good sport about the mishap in her workshop. In fact, she seemed happy to have a problem to fix. Still, Fira would have to think carefully before she brought the triplets anywhere else.

What would be a nice, quiet place? A soothing place, where everyone could relax?

A garden! Fira decided. One with sweet-smelling flowers, shady nooks, and pretty plants. And why not take them to her favorite garden in all of Pixie Hollow? Lily’s garden.

“I know just the place,” Fira told them. “This way.”

She led the triplets past the Home Tree. They flew over a hedge of raspberry bushes. And there was Lily’s garden.

A blanket of sweet clover covered the ground. Rows of lilacs and Queen Anne’s lace stood in shady groves. The triplets stared. For once, they were speechless.

Fira grinned. She’d made the right choice! Then she spied Lily standing by a young flower.

“You can do it!” Lily whispered to the flower. “You can grow big and strong.”

“Wow!” said Fira quietly. She flew closer. “I’ve never seen that kind of poppy before.”

Lily smiled. “It’s my first blue poppy! It’s doing great. It just needs a little encouragement.” She turned to smile at the triplets. “New visitors! Fly with you.”

“I’m showing them around Pixie Hollow,” Fira explained. “And of course we had to stop here.”

“Come,” Lily said. “You can see my wild roses…and my Queen Anne’s lace…and my…”

Fira sat in the shade of a daffodil while Lily led the triplets to each grove and patch of grass. The young fairies were busy. That was good. Fira could take a break and turn her attention to other problems. The fireflies and their flu, to start with.

It was getting late in the day, and the sun was low in the sky. What if the fireflies still weren’t feeling any better? The mining-talent fairies would be setting off in just a few hours. They’d need light.

Fira figured she should check with Elixa, the healing-talent fairy. Maybe she’d had some luck finding a cure for the flu.

Wait! Fira sat up straight. Lily’s garden had all sorts of herbs and special plants. They could be used for medicine! Were the fireflies trying any of those?

“Lily!” Fira called. She flew over to a wild rosebush. The triplets were measuring their wingspans against a petal.

“My wings are almost twice the size of a rose petal!” Sparkle said proudly.

“Well, my wings are, too,” Helios declared. “And just as soft.”

“How about me? How about me?” Glory hopped up and down.

“Have you heard about the firefly flu?” Fira asked Lily above their voices. “Has anyone been here to pick plants for a healing potion?”

Lily nodded. “I’ve been away on a seed hunt. But Elixa came while I was gone. She left a note saying that she took some herbs. She could be using them for the fireflies.”

“Really?” Fira brightened. “Can you show me?”

The two fairies flew off. “Stay there,” Fira shouted back to the triplets. “We’ll be right back.”

Lily took Fira to the far corner of the garden. They landed in a sunny grassy patch. “Elixa chose mint leaves from right here,” Lily said.

Fira studied the plant. She didn’t know much about mint, but maybe it would do some good. “How much—” she began. Then she realized that Lily’s face had turned ashen.

“What is it?” Fira asked, panicked. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” Lily said. “One of my flowers is upset. I can feel it.” She closed her eyes. “It’s…it’s…it’s my brand-new poppy!”

Lily rushed away, with Fira close behind. “This has nothing to do with the triplets.” Fira tried to convince herself. “They wouldn’t hurt a flower!”

But then she saw the three young fairies by Lily’s new blue poppy. They were glowing their brightest.

“We’re having a contest,” Helios said, “to see whose glow the flower likes best.”

His glow grew brighter. The poppy stretched toward his light, as it would toward the sun.

“Ha!” said Sparkle. “My glow is stronger.” She blazed with light. The poppy leaned away from Helios and toward her.

“No fair!” said Glory. “You two are bigger!” She frowned in concentration. She began to glitter and shimmer. The flower twisted in her direction.

“Stop!” Lily cried. “The poppy is exhausted! Please leave it alone.”

“Dim your glows,” Fira commanded.

The daylight seemed to darken as the triplets obeyed. Lily hovered by the poppy. “There, there,” she said soothingly. “It’s all over. You’ll be right as rain in a few minutes.”

“Did we do something wrong?” Glory asked, confused.

“We? Maybe it was just you!” said Sparkle. “You went last!”

Glory began to cry.

“I’d fly backward, Lily,” Fira apologized. “I should have been watching them more carefully.”

“It will be all right.” Lily spoke in that same cooing voice. But this time, she was looking at Fira.

“Come on. Let’s go,” Fira told the triplets, “before we do any more harm.”

They left Lily still tending her poppy. Fira fluttered her wings, unsure of what to do next. She really needed to check on the fireflies. But what about the triplets?

The three fairies looked at Fira hopefully. Fira sighed. The Pixie Hollow tour wasn’t working out anyway. She should take the triplets back to their room. And while she was at the Home Tree, she could stop and see Elixa in her potions workshop. Maybe Elixa had some good news.

“All right,” said Fira. “I’m taking you home.”

“Why? What are you doing now?” Sparkle asked. “Are you going to your room, too?”

“Uh, no. I have some business.”

“Light-talent business?”

“Can we go, too?”

“Can we? Can we?”

The sun was beginning to set. The mining expedition would be leaving in just a little while. It would take too long to argue with the triplets. It would be faster to let them tag along.

“Okay,” Fira said. “But this time, stay out of trouble!”

T
HE POTIONS WORKSHOP
was on the third floor of the Home Tree. The door was wide open.

Fira knocked. Then she flew in, followed by the triplets.

The young fairies gazed around the room. Rows of birch-bark shelves filled the workshop from ceiling to floor. Each shelf was crammed with potions, medicines, and plant extracts. Each jar was clearly labeled.

“‘Ground-up pine nuts,’” Sparkle read. “‘Laurel-leaf bits.’ ‘Sesame oil.’”

“Elixa?” Fira called. She flew up and down the rows.

“Let’s open the jars and smell what’s inside,” Sparkle whispered to the others. She twisted off a top. “Ugh! Peat moss.”

Glory and Helios started to open jars, too.

“Don’t do that,” Fira warned, flying back.

“‘Right-on-thyme powder. Very fine,’” Helios read, flying to a top shelf.

Sparkle picked up the jar. “Glory, you should try this!” she called. “You’re always last. You’re never on time.” She pretended to toss it to the younger fairy.

“Stop!” Fira hissed. She took the jar out of Sparkle’s hands and put it back on the shelf.

“Is there any skin cream here, I wonder?” Helios said as he sorted through more potions in a corner.

“This is a workshop,” Fira said. “We really have to be careful.”

“Okay,” Glory agreed. She spun around clumsily, knocking over a jug marked
MUSHROOM POISON
!
STAY AWAY
!

Fira caught the bottle just before it hit the ground.

“Elixa?” she called loudly, and a bit desperately. “Are you here?”

“Yes!”

Fira jumped. Elixa had stepped out from behind a potted miniature raindrop cactus. She wore a light green smock, with lots of big deep pockets, and long gloves.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Elixa said. She smiled at the triplets. “I was so busy working. I didn’t realize you were here.”

Elixa held up a tube made from a plant stem. One end was stuck into the prickly cactus. “I’m extracting cactus juice.”

“Is this part of a potion for the firefly flu?” Fira asked. “Along with the plants from Lily’s garden?”

Elixa nodded. “I’m going to mix this with some ground-up mint. It should be an equal blend. One part soothing herb. One part sharp cactus medicine that gets right to the point of healing. Come look.”

Fira hesitated. “Oh, the triplets will be fine,” Elixa said, as if reading her mind.

Fira wasn’t so sure. But she really wanted to examine the healing potion. “Stay still,” she ordered the triplets.

She ducked behind the cactus with Elixa. They both sat down, and Fira sighed. It felt good to rest. “See? Here comes the juice now,” Elixa said. “I’ll just give a careful squeeze to this part of the cactus. There!”

“When will it be ready?” Fira asked.

“Oh, not too long now,” Elixa said. “Maybe another hour.”

“Another hour? You mean the fireflies will be better soon? They can light Pixie Hollow tonight? And go on the mining expedition?”

Fira felt a burst of energy. Her glow flared. Things were beginning to look up.

Elixa sat back on her heels. She carefully placed the healing potion on a worktable. “Well, the fireflies can take the medicine right after it’s finished. But I’m not sure how long it will take to work. It might be a few hours. It might be a few days.”

“But tonight is the full moon! The expedition leaves no matter what.”

Boom!
The cactus gave a sudden jerk. Its spines shook. The plant stretched higher. It was growing!

“What’s going on?” Elixa darted around, unsure of what to do.

With another jerk, the cactus grew a bit more.

“The triplets!” Fira said. She raced around the plant to find the three fairies.

Silently, Glory held out an open jar. “‘Growing powder,’” Fira read.

“I wanted to grow,” Glory admitted. “But I dropped some onto the cactus by accident.”

“Silly little fairy,” said Sparkle. She reached for the jar.

“Maybe it will work on my hair,” said Helios, reaching, too.

As Glory pulled back, the others leaned forward. The jar tipped over. The rest of the powder poured onto the cactus.

The plant shot up, knocking over jars and shelves. Its sharp spines scraped the walls. Fira grabbed the healing potion from the worktable just before a fast-growing spine knocked it over.

Fira flew toward the ceiling, trying to outrace the growing cactus. The cactus stretched toward her. The workshop shook with the force.

“I can’t go any higher!” Fira cried when she reached the ceiling.

Afraid, the triplets pressed themselves against the wall. But the cactus spines kept coming…closer, and closer still, as the plant grew.

“We’re going to get poked!” Glory shouted. “We can’t escape.”

The fairies squeezed themselves into a corner. Glory gasped as a cactus spine pricked her clothes.

“Stay calm,” Elixa ordered. She reached into a pocket of her smock and took out a small potions kit. “I always keep an emergency stash handy,” she said.

She quickly mixed some green and red powders together. Then she soared between the needles, sprinkling the powder over the cactus.

The plant jerked again. Then, slowly, it began to shrink.

“Whew,” said Elixa. “That was close.”

Fira helped the triplets out of the corner. But the laboratory was a disaster. Broken jars littered the floor. A layer of spilled powder covered tables, chairs, and shelves. Cactus spines stuck out of seat cushions and through potion recipe books.

Everything was in shambles—again!

“We’ll help clean up,” Sparkle offered. “Right, you two?” she said to the others.

Glory and Helios nodded. “Do you have any extra smocks?” Helios asked. “I don’t want to get my clothes dirty.”

Elixa shook her head. “I think you’re better off leaving things alone. This is a delicate job. Potions might get mixed together, and that could be trouble. Really, only healing-talent fairies should help.”

“I’d fly backward,” Fira said for what felt like the millionth time that day.

Elixa shrugged. “That’s okay.”

Fira held up the healing potion for the fireflies. “At least we still have this.”

Elixa eyed the triplets, then took the jar. “I’d better hold on to it.”

Fira agreed. “We’ll leave now,” she said. She turned to the triplets.

But they were already gone.