"The Trouble with Magical Beings " (A fairytale) Chapter 1

Sparkles of light flew through the night high enough to blend in with the street light’s glow and remain unnoticed by the strolling couples below. The new moon gave it further cover as it raced towards the open sea, towards home and safety. A sigh of relief escaped it just as its wings became tangled in something. It was the tail of a kite it realized as it tried vainly to disentangle itself from the cloth.

Sparks of light brilliant against the night sky caught the child’s attention. Was his kite on fire? How could it catch fire so high in the sky? There was no lightning, no storm clouds but his kite’s tail was sparking. Daniel loved his kite, his dad had helped him put it together two years ago on his seventh birthday and he didn’t want to see it destroyed, not now and not ever.  His dad couldn’t help him build another because he’d died last year.

Not wanting to lose his precious kite, he began quickly winding the string around the stick he held but it seemed the kite was fighting him harder than the slight wind that held it aloft should warrant. He used all of his strength to bring his kite back down. It drew closer and the sparkles of light did not appear to be flames, but what was that sparkling light? Could it be a firefly caught in the tail? It was an awfully large firefly if it was.

When the kite hovered just above him he saw, in the fabric of the kite’s tail, big green, angry eyes staring at him. Daniel couldn’t move or breathe; it was like no insect he’d ever seen.

The sparks flew from her wings, brighter and higher as Naia struggled unsuccessfully to get loose. Having no alternative, she sent out distress signals hoping she was close enough to be heard.

Daniel took the kite in his hand and carefully laid it on the sand. The insect in the tail popped its head through a knot and gave him a warning.

“You’d better get me out of this trap and let me go. You do not want to upset my family.”

Daniel’s eyes widened realizing he understood what the insect had said. It could talk but insects couldn’t talk. He picked the kite back up so the tail was swinging in front of his face. He could see the tiny body now and the wings that were effectively pinned in the fabric’s knot.

“Are you magic?” he whispered in awe.

It was taboo to speak to humans but Naia was not supposed to be caught either. If she could convince this human to let her go, maybe there would be no harm done, no one needed to know she’d broken the code not if she could make him let her go before they came for her.

“If you get me untangled I will tell you,” she said slyly.

Daniel touched the knot to untie it but something in the way she’d said it made him hesitate.

“How do I know you won’t just fly away once you’re untied?”

Naia’s eyes widened, she could not lie that was even worse than talking to humans. The dolphites were forbidden to lie or they would lose their magic and ability to fly.

“You don’t,” she said with a sigh knowing what he would say next.

“Will you promise not to fly away?”

The rough growl made the boy’s eyes grow concerned but she didn’t care. He was trapping her in yet another way and she was not pleased and neither would her father be. She could see his faint light in the distance, he was searching for her signal, she could send it again but she no longer wanted him to find her, she didn’t want to be caught by him either.

“I will not fly away. I will answer your question if you will let me go.”

Daniel nodded and tugged the knot lose.

Naia kicked off the fabric and spread her wings only to find he still held one wing trapped between his fingers.

“You promised,” her eyes slanted accusingly to his.

“Are you magic?” Daniel asked his mind racing with possibilities ignoring her accusation and her struggle to free her wing.

Naia crossed her tiny arms in anger and fumed as she told him, “Yes, I am the mightiest kind of magic and if you do not do right by your promise I will smite you!”

“You have that kind of power?” Daniel was entranced now. Maybe she could grant him a wish.

“I do,” she nodded briskly sure she had scared him into freeing her.

“Then I will make you a deal.”

“Deal?” she echoed not sure what that meant.

“Yes, you grant me one wish and then I will let you go.”

Naia’s heart raced with fear, she was breaking all kinds of rules now. Wishes were prohibited to humans. They ruined everything when they were granted wishes. If she granted this human a wish not only would her father be disappointed but everyone would shun her for this.

“I cannot grant you a wish.”

“You don’t have the power to grant a wish?” Daniel was sure all magical creatures could grant wishes.

Naia was again forced to tell the truth by the creed of her family and it was really beginning to bug her, all those rules she had to follow were becoming a true burden.

“Yes, I do but no I can’t.” She gave him a fierce look.

“Why?” Daniel moved closer seeing the annoyance in her eyes. He really didn’t want to upset the little… whatever it was.

“Can you let me go? This is not comfortable.” She tried again to tug her wing free.

“If I do, you have to promise to stay and answer my questions and not go until I say you can…please?”

Naia looked out to the sea and saw no light coming towards her, maybe she still had a chance to keep this mistake to herself.

“I promise.”

Daniel let go of her wing.

She flapped both of her wings quickly, stretching them as he watched her in fascination.

“It must be great to fly,” he sighed.

“It gets me where I want to go but I suppose it’s nice to walk,” she looked with no real enthusiasm at his feet.

“Sure,” he chuckled, “So tell me why you can’t grant me one wish.”

Naia sat down cross legged on the sand and looked up at him, “It is forbidden, just as talking to humans is forbidden. We have not interacted with humans in…I don’t really know how long but not in the last three generations that I know of.”

“What are you?”

“I am a Dolphite.”

“What is that? Some kind of firefly human?”

“Human? Never, that is very far down on the evolutionary ladder for us. Fireflies are higher but actually, we are closer to your dolphins.”

“But you have wings and a tiny body; you don’t look anything like a dolphin.”

Naia was not about to share any more secrets with him.

“Okay, so have I answered your questions and can I go now?”

“I really need one wish, can’t you make an exception?”

Naia was about to reiterate the rules again but caught sight of a harsh flash of light quickly approaching. Her father had found her.

“Oh no, you have to let me go and you have to go away from here right now.”

“Why?”

The next instant, Daniel needed no reason. The reason stood ten feet tall in front of him and he froze on the spot because he’d never seen a walking Dolphin before.

“Dad, I can explain.”

“Dad?” Daniel echoed sickly as his eyes locked with the angry glare of the… whatever it was, before him.

 

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