The Day Fairies Existed

Chapter 7

It was time. The day Thomas, Connor and especially Jonathan had been waiting for had finally arrived.

The hunters changed into nicer clothes, and stepped off the ship as gentlemen. Their exotic cargo naturally turned heads, especially when they were allowed –even encouraged— to fly on chain collars held by Connor and Jonathan. Thomas led the way in front because he was the leader.

"Keep your heads up, boys." The fire Mage said with a smile. "We're about to be famous."

A perfect breeze out to sea that billowed Thomas' Mage status cape. A perfectly shining sun made the gold buttons on their coats and the silver chains sparkle. The fairies' reflective wings cast kaleidoscopes on everything they passed, which made temporarily rainbow children squeal with delight. Their mothers watched in awe as the strange beings were led to the Pennington Auction House.

It was only fit that stately gentlemen with expensive-looking cargo enter the Pennington Auction House. The building was originally a mansion, and still held the authoritative, exclusive air. Though, as an auction house, the mansion was anything but exclusive. Wizards with money or time to spend poured in and out, admiring the items.

Cupid and Crystal were led straight through the main gate, attracting much attention. Thomas smiled and promised closer viewings would take place in Ballroom 3A fifteen minutes before the auction started.

The sheer number of people around prevented the two fairies from touching the ground until they got to a large room separate from the rest of the auction. Thomas, Jonathan, and Connor unchained Cupid and Crystal and left them at the mercy of the twenty uniformed servants.

Crystal was taken to the other end of the room, partitioned by a beige curtain. The sides were identical: a large tub filled with water, towels, dozens of creams, powders and things, and an upright box at the end (that apparently held clothes).

Even though she was perfectly capable of doing it herself, the servants bathed the fairy, paying special attention to her wings and tail. Despite the extreme invasion of privacy, Crystal felt refreshed and clean after all was said and done. She turned to a mirror, smiling.

Her blonde hair had been thoroughly scrubbed and now lay smoothly over her shoulders under the simplest white headdress the fairy had seen. Except for her head, hands and feet, Crystal's skin had turned white with clothes from the upright box. They had been modified to accommodate her wings and tail, but after they made sure the clothes fit, Crystal changed back.

Crystal crossed to the other side of the curtain and gasped. Cupid had yet to change, and, despite his obvious discomfort, Cupid looked fancy. He was dressed like the male servants, but in varying shades of brown instead of black. The fairy tugged at the white ruffles at his neck, convinced they were choking him. The fourth time the servants told him not to pull at his clothes and they were supposed to be that way, he gave in.

When Cupid and Crystal were finally ready, the hunters returned and took them to Ballroom 3A. Already people were gathering to get to a glimpse of the exotic creatures. Thomas, of course, took charge and began giving embellished facts about the 'pixies' while Jonathan and Connor organized everyone into a line.

"You'll all get your turn!" Jonathan called out as wizards pulled excitedly on the chain and wood barriers. "Everyone will get to see, please be patient!"

For what seemed like hours, Cupid and Crystal were subjected to whatever the curious wizards wanted, within reason. One woman stormed out after Connor told her she couldn't test the pixies' ability to sample tea. There was no tea in the room anyway. After some eternity, an invisible voice announced the auction would begin in five minutes and the crowd dispersed.

Little did the fairies know, five minutes was all the time they had left together.

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This chapter was a little shorter because I split it up. So you know, one Rune is (roughly) equal to one US dollar. This will be important next chapter when the auction starts and the fairies get sold. Thanks for reading, commenting, and voting. See you then!