Serial Saturday: "Fairies Under Glass" Part 14

Part 14

"Be He Alive"

Very slowly, Lewis rolled over and eased himself onto his feet. He staggered in the direction of the giant.

She recoiled when she saw him. "Wh-what's that? Why is it moving? Get back!" She made a shooing motion with her hand, but luckily nowhere near him.

He stopped where he was and raised his hands. "Don't be scared," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She curled up even tighter on the mattress, still shaking. "Y-you can talk? What are you? What have you done to me?" She reached up to tug nervously at a lock of her hair.

"My name is Lewis," said the young janitor. "What's yours?"

"Chalissemoara," the giant said. "What is this place? Is it your house? Is that why everything's so small?"

Lewis winced as the massive hand reached past him, toward one of the displays on the wall. He put his hands up. "Don't!" he gasped quickly, halting her movements. "Don't touch anything, please," he begged. "This isn't my home, this is... It's a museum."

Chalissemoara's hand dropped, sending a tremor through the floor. "A museum?" she asked. "What's that?"

Lewis winced a little at how she might respond when he told her the truth, "It's, um, where humans put things on display to admire them."

The giant girl squirmed uncomfortably on the very small mattress, only big enough to accommodate her legs as she sat with them curled up in front of her. "Display? Wait... you're a human?" She reached out and swept his legs out from under him. "Let's have a closer look at you!"

Lewis flailed and grabbed onto her finger as she lifted him into the air. "Whoa! Hey! Be gentle!"

Chalissemoara cradled him in her hand, right in front of her face as she prodded him with her finger. "How strange!" she remarked. "I've never seen a human before. You sort of look like a giant... but I'd say you were about the size of a very tall dwarf."

Lewis pushed the huge fingertip away and sat up breathlessly. "Yeah, I realize there aren't any humans on Phantasm, but you're in our world now, so--"

He stopped talking as Chalissemoara's fingers closed around his waist. "What do you know of Phantasm?" she growled at him, her eyes squinting. "Are you the one who captured me?"

Her grip threatened to crush his legs. "No, I didn't!" Lewis desperately rambled out the words in his own defense, before she decided to squeeze him tighter. "I swear, I mean you no harm! I work for the man who made this exhibit, he's the one who captured you!" Her finger wrapped around his waist was making it hard to breathe. "I'm trying to help you escape!" he gasped.

Chalissemoara opened her fingers again, and Lewis staggered to his feet, massaging his sore legs.
"You're helping me? Or are you helping this other human?"

Lewis spread his arms. "I promise, I'm helping you. I only work for the man because it's my job," he pointed to his cover-alls. "I'm just the janitor. I didn't know any of these art displays were alive, not until I saw the first fairy move."

Chalissemoara blinked. "You're a friend of the fairies?" she asked in surprise.

To Lewis' relief, Ashwyn and the Queen and several other fairies gathered around him. Chalissemoara wouldn't likely be able to see them very well, given their size difference, but at least if she knew about the fairies, she'd understand what the flickering lights meant.

They landed on his shoulders, and Lewis tensed as Chalissemoara brought him even closer to her face.
"These are the fairies I've rescued," he said, pointing to them. "Your Majesty, Ashwyn, I'd like you to meet..." Oh, what was her name again? "Chamoraliss?"

The giantess snorted. "Chalissemoara!" she repeated.

"Sorry, that's hard to remember," Lewis muttered. "Do you mind if I call you Lisa?"

She shrugged her shoulders, rocking Lewis on his feet as she moved. "I suppose I could get used to it, if only to avoid getting my name wrong!"

"Much obliged, Lisa!" Lewis waved an arm. In his ear, the soft chiming of the Queen's voice pattered, "Sir Lewis, our time grows short. We must address the matter at hand, before the other humans discover us."

"What did she say?" Lisa urged. "Are you going to rescue me and get me out of here like you did with the fairies?"

Lewis winced. "Um, I am not really equipped to do that," he admitted. "My reason for waking you up was because I need your help."

"With what?"

Lewis crossed to the edge of Lisa's hand, and pointed down to the display case. "See that glass box over there? The red-horned unicorn is trapped inside, and I need to awaken him so we can find out what has become of the Phantasmagyth." He had to grab on to the fingers tightly as Lisa leaned forward and lowered him toward the floor. "Whoa!"

She steadied her hand, and allowed Lewis to step onto solid ground once again. "This thing?" She said, wrapping her hand almost all the way around the display case. "Easily done!" Slowly, she lifted the whole glass box straight up, and set it on the floor beside the base.

Now Lewis could actually step into the display, between the outstretched talons of the gryphon, and the raised hooves of the red-horned unicorn.

Ashwyn and the Fairy Queen followed him. The Queen hovered around the unicorn's nose.
"I can see it!" She declared excitedly. "There's something glinting inside his mouth!"

Lewis gently felt the creature's snout. The skin was velvety-soft, but also stiff and unyielding--exactly as if it had been molded from resin. Any pressure could run the risk of snapping something.
He told the Queen as much. "Can you find a way to reach in there?" he asked. "I can't open the mouth at all." He watched the eyes closely for some sign of life, but the glassy orbs remained as blank as two marbles.

The Queen landed on his shoulder. "I cannot," she replied. "The mouth is too much closed."

"Umm, I hate to rush things," Lisa's voice resounded overhead. "But can we please hurry? I'm getting cold in this terrible nightdress," she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered under that thin layer of fabric Krasimir Schlimme had seen fit to dress her in. "Why am I wearing this thing, anyway?"

All Lewis could do was shrug. The Queen flew off to find Ashwyn, and very soon, the two fairies returned.

"We have a solution!" said the Queen.

Ashwyn glided up to Lewis and hovered like she wanted to land there. He held out his hand, and she placed something in his palm: a shiny pail like the one she'd been carrying as a sculpture. Once again, it was full of the glittering fairy dust.

"What am I going to do with this?" He asked.

"This dust contains particles of the Phantasmagyth," the Queen answered. She hovered over the unicorn's head, perching daintily on his horn to explain, "Sprinkle some of it over the unicorn's mouth--either it will revive him, or it will at least enable you to open his mouth enough to retrieve the item."

"Assuming it's that piece of Phantasmagyth we need," Lewis muttered, following the Queen's instructions.

"Of course it is!" Ashwyn insisted. "What else could it be?"

Lewis could see the bits of fairy dust glinting in the fluorescent lights of the room, and for a moment, nothing seemed to be happening.

Then, as he stared hard at those wide nostrils, a slight tremor rippled under the skin. Lewis froze, holding his breath, not daring to believe what he was seeing.

The unicorn's jaw shifted slightly, and the nostrils flared as it suddenly sneezed!

"Aaaa-CHOO!"

Lewis staggered backward at the noise, and as he flailed to catch himself on the floor, he saw a sparkling golden object issue from the unicorn's mouth. The animal itself had gone statuesque again, but the fairies all hovered around the object--a gleaming, thick chain like a necklace--in excitement.

"It's the Chain to the Phantasmagyth!" The Queen jangled. "That will restore the unicorn! Put it on his neck, quickly!"

Lewis blindly obeyed the order, seizing the metal collar and draping it around the unicorn's neck. As soon as he fastened the clasp, the unicorn's skin warmed to his touch, and the whole body gave a massive shudder as the front hooves dropped to the base with a heavy thud.

Lewis stepped back in awe as the red-horned unicorn surveyed the exhibit hall with wise, gentle eyes.

<><><><><><><><>

<<<< Previous            Next >>>>>>