Denis left the animal fairy area. He walked on the ground floor for a while. His cut was starting to feel better from the tart Sub gave him.
There was a small stream that ran through the area of the tree. Water fairies were scattered around it. Denis didn't bother to use his wings to cross it. His clothing, like everyone else, was made of leaves and petals. It didn't absorb the water like cloth. Plus, the water was refreshing on the hot summer day.
He looked up the tree and the houses that were scattered in the branches. He spotted one and someone moving around inside.
He flew up to it and knocked on the door. A voice called 'come in' to him from inside. Denis walked inside. He looked around the cottage. It was bigger than other houses. There were clothes hanging on the walls and racks made of twigs. Paperclip hangers held the clothing up.
The voice from earlier said something again, "Quick. Help me." A man came out from the back holding two flower petals. One was light purple, slim, and long. The other was also purple but rounder with white at the top.
"Pick one." The man held them out to Denis.
"What are you making this time, Alex?" Denis groaned and pointed to the purple and white one.
"Just another dress is all," His friend smiled and turned back to go behind a moss curtain. Denis followed behind him to see what he was doing.
Alex used the torso and arms of a doll as a mannequin. He'd sketched out two versions but took one and put it in a drawer since he wasn't going to use it.
The one he was going to use was a short dress that went to about someone's knees. The top was sleeveless and all white flower pedals. Then, the torso was the purple and white flowers. The bottom was all purple and very puffy.
"What's this for?" Denis asked as he looked over the sketch. Alex came back over and took it from him.
"A client. They wanted a dress for a party they're throwing tomorrow." He picked up the white petals and held them against the mannequin. He took a pine needle and used it to pin the pedal on the doll's soft material.
"Now," Alex smiled as he grabbed another petal. "How's your day been?" Denis shrugged as he sat to watch his friend create the top of the dress.
"Kinda ran into a tree branch," Denis mumbled. Alex chuckled softly as he cut back some of the petals. "Sub gave me a tart to make it better. After I went to find the twins. I think they're gonna stab each other."
"As always," Alex laughed. He mirrored the same pattern of petals on the other side. He stepped back to look at it as he scratched his chin. He turned to Denis.
"What do you think?" He asked.
"Pretty."
"That's it?"
"What?"
"Pretty? Do you like the cut or not?" Denis shrugged and Alex sighed. "You're no help. Now shoo. I have to get this done by tonight."
Denis smiled and rolled his eyes. He pulled back the moss curtain and went to leave. He looked out the windows and stopped.
Other fairies were flying around, trying to look at something in fear. Denis went back into the room and pulled Alex out with him. Alex protessed but quickly stopped when he saw the crowd on the ground floor.
They all were looking out from the tree and at a small little house in the distance. It had been abandoned for the longest time. No one had lived there for years.
But now, there was a car out front.
A man was unloading bags from the car and bringing them into the house as his two children ran around in the tall grass.
"That's not good," Denis whispered. Alex shook his head and covered his mouth.
"What are we going to do? They're so close to the village." They spoke quietly in the back of the crowd. They didn't want to disturb the crowd, but they were probably already discussing these things.
Denis looked around at his other friend's houses. He saw Ethan and Elijah both looking out their window to see what was going on.
Just as Denis looked over at Sub's cottage, the door flew open. Sub shut it and flew down in a hurry. He rushed over to the hospital on the ground floor. It immediately worried the two standing in the crowd.
They went over to see what was going on. The two receptionists recognized Denis and Alex from their visits to see Sub while he was working.
"What's going on? We saw Sub flying down here in a rush," Alex said. The one receptionist shook her head.
"A few fairies were sent to go check on that bee hive that had fallen. As they were coming back, they got struck by that car by the house." She explained softly. "We didn't have enough doctors for the three that arrived."
Denis nodded and thanked her. He looked over at Alex. "I'm sure they'll be alright," He smiled. "They're in good hands."
Alex nodded and they left. The crowd was slowly growing. Someone walked up to the group with two knights by her side. She wore a flowing dress made of leaves. The people quieted down as she approached.
"What seems to be the problem?" She asked the crowd.
"There are humans at the abandoned house!" Someone called out. The Queen paused and looked over at the car still running outside the building. She sighed.
"Not to worry. The village is at a great enough distance that we'll be safe." She smiled and her people began to relax. "I will have knights positioned around the tree to prevent any issue." The crowd cheered and clapped in relief. It slowly disbanded and people went back to their normal activities except for the occasional glance at the house.
