Kelsey's Adventure: A Picnic

Kelsey Meets Elita's Friends

Kelsey was in a daze as she walked back to Elita’s house.  How can this be real…I mean I want it to be real.   It’s the most awesome thing that has happened to me in my entire life.  I just can’t believe that it is real…  Kelsey snapped out of her daze to Elita waving her hands inches from her face.

“What?”

“I was just asking if you wanted to eat something when we got back to the house.  Of course we’ll eat down on the ground, so you don’t have to climb the tree.  Plus my house just doesn’t fit guests of your size.” Elita says smiling.

Kelsey gives Elita a what are you trying to say? look while responding, “I am starving!  I have a lunch in my backpack we could share.”

“That sounds good,” Elita agrees.  “I’ll get a few things and we can have a picnic!”

When Kelsey and Elita get to the house, Elita shows Kelsey a good spot to have their picnic.  Kelsey begins arranging things for their picnic as Elita flies off to get some more to eat.  

Cautiously, from the outskirts of the tiny grove, the animals watch Kelsey taking things out of her backpack.  

A light aqua colored bird, like a sparrow, landed on Kelsey’s shoulder.  It surveyed the situation, chirped a few times, then flew away, apparently satisfied with the job that Kelsey was doing.

Finishing the picnic set-up, Kelsey looks around the grove again.  There is a little garden area, surrounded by fence, with small green plants coming out of the ground in neat, but not quite straight lines.  Tiny tools lean up against the tree nearest to the garden. 

I wonder what is taking her so long?  Kelsey thinks to herself.  She hears the soft flutter of wings behind her, turns around and finds, Linnea there with one of Elita’s other fairy friends.

“Hello, beautiful Kelsey!” Linnea welcomes.

Kelsey blushes.  “Hi. Linn…Oww!

Another fairy darts to the right after pulling on Kelsey’s hair, coming around her shoulder.  Kelsey looks to the right, but the fairy darts around her back to the left.

The fairy that had come with Linnea speaks up. “Illy cut it out!”

“I just wanted to touch the human!” Illy protests.  “It’s not everyday that you get to see a live human.”

“Ignore her.  I’m Annalisa,” the fairy that came with Linnea says.  She is in a light green outfit, has beautiful blonde hair that is up in a bun, and there is a light green glow around her.  Annalisa extends a hand to shake.  As Kelsey reaches out to shake, Illy glides in and grabs Kelsey’s hand.

“Oh wow…you’re hands are huge!  But soft.”  She rubs her check against Kelsey’s palm.  Kelsey pulls her hand back, which makes Illy flutter backwards.

“That really tickles!” Kelsey laughs.

Illy rushes up to Kelsey yet again, this time going to her right arm.  Picking it up a little she exclaims, “Uh…where are your wings.  Are they back here.”  Flicking Kelsey’s hair to the side, Illy looks for evidence of wings.  

Satisfied that there are none there, she turns her attention to Kelsey’s shoes.  “These things are weird.” She says as she pulls on the laces untying them.

“Hey!” Kelsey protests, bending down to tie her shoe.  Illy flies right next to Kelsey’s face.  She puts her face right up next to Kelsey’s eye.

“Ooo…look at those pretty eyes!”

“Ilsa! Stop it right now!” barks Annalisa.  “Leave her alone.”

Ilsa backs away from Kelsey, flies down, grabs her hand and begins shaking it.  “I’m Ilsa, but everyone calls me Illy.” she says still frantically shaking Kelsey’s hand. 

“Well hello everyone!” Elita welcomes, giving Kelsey a chance to pull her hand away from Illy.  “It looks like I better get a few more plates.  Would you guys like to stay for lunch?”

“Yes please” Linnea replied.

“That would be wonderful,” Annalisa answered.

Illy was now over examining Kelsey’s backpack, digging deep into it, looking for unknown treasures.  Elita notices and scolds her, “Illy…get out of there!  Do you want to stay for lunch?”

“Can I sit by Kelsey?”

“Yes, you can sit by me,” Kelsey says with a little reluctancy.

As Kelsey sits on the blanket she has laid out, Ilsa swoops in and sits on Kelsey's leg.  She can feel  Ilsa’s wings touch her as they slowly beat.  Ilsa looks up at her with a huge smile on her face.  

Smiling back at her a little uncomfortably, Kelsey notices that Ilsa’s glow is gone.  She looks over at Linnea, who has just sat down also.  No yellow glow, no light, just the slow beat of her wings behind her.  

As Elita and Annalisa land and then sit, their glow first dims, then disappears completely.

Kelsey’s face must have shown her shock, because Elita began looking over her shoulders and down at her body.   “Is there something on me?  Did my dress rip?”

“No…your glow…it’s gone.”

With a look of relief, Elita smiles very softly, then hops in the air and flutters her wings.  Her orange glow immediately comes back.  “We glow when we fly,”  She explains.

“Most of the time.” Annalisa interjects.   Before Kelsey can question her, Elita answers the question that Kelsey is thinking.

“We can…kind of turn it off when we need to.”  As Elita hovers in front of Kelsey her glow suddenly disappears, except it doesn’t really.  Kelsey sees that there is still a glow near the base of Elita’s wings, but just a small light, barley enough to see in the shade of the trees.  Elita descends to the blanket and sits down.

“Wow!  How do you do that?”

“We have…” Ilsa begins, but Annalisa cuts her off.

“It’s for protection.” Annalisa turns to Elita as she lands. Under her breath, barely audible to Kelsey she says, “We don’t know if we can trust her.  She is a human.”

“I can hear you…”sings Kelsey.  Annalisa looks around as though caught in a horrible act. 

“I just…ah…”Annalisa stumbles through her sentence.

Kelsey puts up her hand, “Don’t worry.  I get it….Elita told me a little bit of the stories you’ve all heard.”  Kelsey looks at each one of the fairies as she continues, “I promise I am not going to eat you…”  Illy giggles “Or try to catch you…or….or hurt you in any way.  It was many, many years ago, and I am not the same human that hurt the fairies back then.”

Annalisa hangs her head, ashamed of what she has done, “I know…it’s just…it’s scary to see something from the old stories.”

Elita pipes up, “Does she look scary?”

The other three fairies shake their heads.

“Right!  And when have I ever been wrong about the character of someone?” Elita finished.

“Aren’t you the one that brought a grunkin into Delphi Hallow?” Linnea asks.

“Yeah…but..” protests Elita.

Annalisa continues where Linnea left off, “Oh…and what about the time you brought those brilten babies?”

“They were so cute and cuddly.” Protests Elita

“Yeah until they grew up and tried to eat us!”  Illy giggles.

“Hey that was…”

Annalisa cuts her off “And don’t even get me started on the ragelbeast.”

“Oh come on Annalisa.” whines Elita.  “Not the ragelbeast story.”

Illy laughs, as does Linnea.  Kelsey says, “Well I think if I am going to be compared to these creatures, then I have to hear the story.”

Linnea and Illy clap and giggle, while Elita flops down and pouts a little.  

Annalisa starts to tell the story of the ragelbeast, as they all listen intently.  Elita even smiles and tells some of the story. They ate and laughed.  Illy poked at Kelsey a few more times as the meal went on, but finally satisfied her curiosity for that day.  Annalisa forgot all about her fear of Kelsey as the fairies took turns telling stories.  Most of them about Elita and the crazy situations she got herself into. 

Come back next week to see more of Kelsey's adventure!