A wave of voices rolled over them as the door opened. The huge room was packed with sparkling pixies, all hovering just above the floor. Overhead blue and purple moths glittered in the light as they danced in their own form of conversation. Behind the large crowd was an expansive view of the mangrove roots. A large deck stretched over the clear water, which rippled as party goers jumped in.
Their eyes darted around the room, searching for a corner to blend into. But before they could, a short, round, grey-haired pixie drifted towards them. He was wearing a bright orange suit which stood out among the elegantly dressed green and gold crowd.
“Folium, Virtus! Good of you to finally appear,” he said, clapping Folium on the shoulder that Virtus wasn’t perched on.
“Thank you for the invitation Mayor Kallen,” Folium said, trying to hide a grimace.
“Not a problem. Now that you’re my new head of planning it’s important you get to know all the most affluent pixies in the city. Plus your mother’s been dying to get to one of these events. I think our Vice Mayor wants to show you off to the city. Speak of the devil…”
“Darlings! You look exquisite!” Her mother swooped in for a kiss, holding Folium at arms length to look at her. “What a beautiful green dress! You should dress like this more often, you look as dazzling as I do! And Virtus, your shell is as shiny as ever.”
Folium looked down at herself. Unlike her mother who was tall and curvy, wearing a shining golden dress with matching golden shoes, Folium was short and slim and definitely not as shiny. She supposed she did look quite nice, but she definitely preferred something more casual. Her mother grabbed her arm and started dragging them into the room, Mayor Kallen floating along on the other side.
“We’ve just been talking to Alia,” her mother started. “She owns the shipping company GroveWay. Very well to do lady, although a bit snooty. Although I suppose I would be too if I had that much money. Anyway, she was saying the vines are becoming a problem at the southern end of the port. She’s having to move all the ships around.”
Folium frowned. She’d been receiving more and more complaints of overgrown vines recently.
As she turned to answer her mother spotted an unpleasantly familiar pixie over her shoulder. Tall, blonde, and stunningly beautiful Zya floated through the crowd. She was deep in conversation with another pixie with long white hair. Zya was a famous model now, but all Folium saw when she looked at her was the mean girl who had teased her so ruthlessly in school.
On their first day at school each pixie had to choose a companion. Folium had been so excited to get her moth. She loved her mother’s moth, Praesidium, and desperately wanted her own.
At the Choosing Ceremony the pixie children went into the Spirit Grove where the moth eggs were laid by the Mangrove Skipper, a beautiful electric purple and blue moth. The shaded grove was littered with purple and blue pearlescent eggs. The children moved through the eggs, picking one before returning to their guardian. She’d wandered through the eggs until she was the last one left.
She’d started to worry she wouldn’t find her egg, until she heard a faint chiming. She’d followed the sound to the edge of the grove, to an egg that looked different from the others. It was a small, spotted, green egg on the outskirts of the others. She knew it was the one she was looking for and took it back for the hatching.
As the children gathered, their eggs started to hatch. Beautiful purple and blue moths unfolded their wings all around them. But as Folium watched hers she knew something was wrong. Something slimy and green was hatching out of her egg. Soon the other children noticed too, watching her egg, until finally a long, slimy, blob flopped out.
The other children screamed, but Zya had burst out laughing, which was only the start of her bullying. But the joke was on Zya now. Virtus was the most beautiful Green Periwinkle Snail, and Folium’s best friend.
“Folium darling, are you all right?” her mother asked, peering into her face.
Folium flicked her eyes back to her mother and gave her a small smile.
“Yes, just lost in thought about… the vines. But-”
“Mayor Kallen! So good to see you, and Vice Mayor Delia. Thank you both for coming to my little soiree. I saw your latest campaign piece Del, good on you for running for mayor. It’s a shame you’re retiring Kallen.”
It was the pixie Folium had seen with Zya. She wore an elegant white gown with a tiara perched on her long white hair. She shook the mayor's hand, kissed Folium’s mother on the cheeks, and glanced at Folium.
“Thank you Lil. It’s been a lot of work, but working so closely with Kallen over the years has definitely helped!” Delia said. She grabbed Folium’s arm and pulled her forward. “Please let me introduce my daughter Folium, she’s our newest head of planning, and her companion Virtus”
“A snail companion? How unusual. Well hopefully you’re better than the last head of planning. Couldn’t get anywhere with that one. I’m Lily-Mae, owner of LM Developments. No doubt you’ve heard about me if you’ve been on the planning team a while.”
Folium’s eyebrows shot up. She certainly had heard of Lily-Mae. Rich and powerful, Lily-Mae could certainly throw her weight around to get what she wanted. Until her most recent demand, which had caused the previous head of planning to quit.
“Of course. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Folium said.
“Well then, as you know I want to develop the Dark Tunnel into a thoroughfare for my pixie gem mines. Taking them up over Buttress Bridge is costing me far too much time and money.”
“As I’m sure my predecessor mentioned, the Dark Tunnel is the breeding ground for the endangered Green Periwinkle Snails which-”
“Yes, yes I know that,” Lily-Mae said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m not interested in the problems, I need a solution. And you’re going to find me the solution, aren’t you?”
Folium flushed under Lily-Mae’s intense stare.
“I… um… yes,” she flustered.
Lily-Mae raised her eyebrows. Folium took a deep breath.
“I mean, of course, I’ll head up to the Dark Tunnel next week and get a report to you as soon as I can. I’m sure we can find a solution.”
“Now that’s more like it. I look forward to receiving your report.” She turned to the mayor. “Looks like you’ve picked well Mayor Kallen. I look forward to continuing our… beneficial arrangement.”
And with a dazzling smile and flick of her hair Lily-Mae spotted someone else and fluttered off.
“Come on darling, let me introduce you to Alia so we can discuss this vine issue at the port.”
Folium sighed but allowed her mother to drag her off into the party. She made a mental note to try harder to avoid these events in future.
***
Alright Virtus, do we have everything packed? Folium asked as she rifled through her bag again. She realised she didn’t have her map, grabbed it from her desk draws, and crammed it into the bag.
That’s the fifth time you’ve asked me in the past half hour…
Folium glanced at Virtus who looked rather bored. Every pixie in Saltus City has a telepathic connection with their companion. And this suited Folium well. She hated talking.
Ok, ok let’s go.
She swung the backpack on her back and put her arm out for Virtus to slide up to her shoulder. She poked her head out her office door. It was deserted except for two pixies chatting outside an office at the other end. She slipped out and hurried down to the foyer, past a row of pictures hanging on the wall. She almost made it to the front door when…
“Folium!”
She winced. Mayor Kallen came through the front door, his large moth Crassus fluttering overhead. He was in the office much earlier than usual.
“Mayor Kallen. How are you today?”
“Very well. Excellent work at the party the other night. Already making a good impression with Saltus City’s finest! Very important for your career and all.”
She gave him a guilty smile. In reality she’d excused herself to the bathroom not long into the party and snuck off home.
“Now there’s the opening of the new town hall in Leafton tonight and your mother’s campaign party tomorrow. I expect you’ll be joining us for both?”
She sighed inwardly. “Of course, I won't be missing them. But I have to do this report for Lily-Mae. I’d better head off to get it done.”
“Of course, keeping her happy is high priority. I’ll see you at the Leafton Town Hall.” Mayor Kallen wiggled his fat fingers at her and floated off, Crassus following in his wake. Before anyone else could stop her, Folium dashed out the front door.
It took just over an hour to get to the Dark Tunnel. It was cool and shaded on the inland side of the city. The houses were also a lot more spread out compared to the hustle and bustle around the water. She could see a small farm in the distance, but apart from that there was no other sign of anyone living in the area.
As she flew along the road she finally came to the dark opening of the tunnel, sinking into the dense, leafy wall that surrounded the city. She’d been following fresh cart tracks all the way from the start of the soft road, but as she stopped at the mouth of the tunnel, so did the tracks.
That’s odd, why have the tracks stopped? There’s nowhere else to go, she said to Virtus.
Yes there is, back the way they came.
Folium took a closer look and found Virtus was right. The tracks overlapped themselves.
She fluttered into the tunnel. It was pitch black at first, but as her eyes adjusted a horrible sight emerged. Strewn across the floor of the tightly tangled tunnel floor were smashed and oozing Green Periwinkle Snail eggs.
Oh my god, Virt don’t look!
It’s a bit late for that… who would do something like this? Virtus asked.
Folium didn’t know what to say. She stared at the destruction in silence.
No point just staring at it Fol, we need to find who did this. Let’s see if we can find any clues.
Folium flew further into the tunnel, but the scene of devastation didn’t change. A soft green glow appeared around a bend. Bioluminescent mushrooms lined the walls ahead, bathing the horrible scene in an eerie glow.
Look! All over the floor, Virtus said.
Folium looked down. Pixie dust glittered in the slime. She came to a decision. We need to report this. Let’s get back to Mayor Kallen now.
***
Folium knocked and poked her head around the mayor’s door.
"Excuse me, Mayor Kallen, mother.”
“Darling! Come in,” her mother said.
“To what do I owe the pleasure? Is your report for Lily-Mae finished already?” Mayor Kallen asked.
“What? Oh um… no,” she’d completely forgotten about the report. “We went up to the Dark Tunnel to do the report, but it’s terrible. All the Green Periwinkle Snail eggs are destroyed.”
Mayor Kallen stared at her blankly for a moment, but her mother looked shocked.
“Oh my poor dear! And Virtus! How horrible,” her mother said, fluttering around Mayor Kallen’s desk and peering into her face. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, of course,” Folium said, waving her mother away.
“This is a disaster! We need to get the Conservation Team up there to check it out right away. I’ll come down and see the head of department, Teri. She used to work with me when I was Head of Conservation, I’m sure she’ll give us a hand to get this looked into quickly,” her mother said.
“Yes terrible news indeed, but I need you here Delia. Folium can handle it,” Mayor Kallen said.
Her mother looked worried.
“It’s ok, I can tell them. We also found pixie dust on the floor of the cave. Maybe that will help us find who did this,” Folium said.
“Pixie dust? Are you sure?” Mayor Kallen asked.
Folium nodded.
“Can’t have been. Snail slime glitters in a similar way,” Mayor Kallen said.
Folium frowned. “But-”
“I’m sure that’ll be it. The Conservation Team will do an investigation anyway so don’t worry about it. Now you’d better get on with your report for Lily-Mae, we really must carry on here,” Mayor Kallen said, waving to dismiss her.
“But-”
“Yes, better hurry dear. I’m sure Teri will see you straight away. Let me know how you get on,” her mother said as she hurried back around the desk.
Folium shrugged and slid from the room. They hurried down the stairs at the end of the hall to the Conservation Department. A short haired pixie with far too many necklaces strung around her neck sat at the front desk typing furiously.
“Yes,” she said, without looking up from her screen.
“I need to see Teri please.”
“She’s gone.”
“Oh, um, when will she be back?”
“She’s not taking appointments for the rest of the week,” the pixie said rudely, still not looking up from her screen.
“What? Why not?”
“Vines.”
“Vines?”
“Yep.”
Folium clenched her hands in frustration. “I need to speak to someone.”
“No one’s available.”
“No one? How can there not be a single pixie available?”
“Vines.”
“Look, there’s been an incident with the endangered Green Periwinkle Snails in the Dark Tunnel. It needs to be investigated.”
Then fill out a form,” said the pixie, nodding her head towards the end of the desk but still not taking her eyes off her screen.
Folium snatched up a form, quickly filling it out. “Here,” she said, trying to hand the form over.
“Goes on the in-tray,” the pixie said, nodding to the huge pile of paper at the other end of the desk.
“But this is urgent!” Folium said, eyeing the pile.
“Yeah, your’s and everyone else's.”
“But-”
“Look,” the pixie said, finally stopping and looking at her. “The vines are completely out of control at the port and all shipments have been disrupted. It’s all hands on deck for us and the Infrastructure Department. Unless your issue is related to that then you’ve got a pretty low chance of being seen for the next moon at the least. Now unless you’ve got some information on the vines you’ll need to leave.”
Folium stared at her as the pixie went back to typing but decided it would be pointless arguing. She put the form on top of the pile and left.
She was helpful, said Virtus.
I’ve had enough, let’s go.
They swung past her office to grab her bag and switch off the lamp. They hurried down to the foyer, swung open the door, and flew right into…
“Zya!”
“Ugh, watch it! You got slime on the top!” She didn’t even look at Folium. Instead she snapped her fingers at the pixie behind her who rushed forward to wipe the slime off. “Adi, go back and get another top. I can’t be seen in this slime covered one longer than necessary.”
“Of course, I’ll just-”
“Stop, stop, stop! No, I need the top now. Go!” Zya turned back to Folium. “Folium? Of course it’s you ruining my outfit with your disgusting snail. Get it away from me before I have it exterminated.”
She pushed past into city hall, followed by her security guard.
Ugh well she hasn’t changed. Don’t listen to her Virt.
Why would I listen to someone who has their head so far up their-
Virtus!
***
Folium lay in bed staring at the moonlight reflecting off the water and rippling on the ceiling. Something Mayor Kallen said had been bothering her. She was sure snail slime didn’t glitter. Well Virtus’ didn’t. But Virtus was also the only snail she knew, or had seen come to think of it. Maybe it did glitter? She started to drift off.
She jerked awake. The vines!
What?! I was just about to fall asleep, Virtus grumbled.
The eggs, that’s why the vines have been overgrowing the city. The snails normally eat the vines. Whoever’s been destroying those eggs must have been doing it for a while for the vines to get this out of hand.
Does that mean they wanted the vines to get out of control, or is it just a consequence of their goal to destroy the eggs?
It was a good question. Folium went back to staring at the rippling ceiling. Obviously the Conservation Department wasn’t going to investigate it any time soon so they’d have to. They’d go back to the Dark Tunnel and snoop around.
***
Read Pixie Part Two - The Cart now!