Prince of Gold and Pine

Chapter 4 - Dirty Work

Theodore prodded the winged man for the hundredth time that day. Since he caught him yesterday, he hardly slept.

He had succeeded in plucking the unwilling creature from the jar and pinning his limbs to an observation board. The first thing he tried to do was communicate with it.

"What are you?" Theodore asked the creature.

"Where do you come from?"

"What is your name?"

Yet, no matter how many times he asked, the creature refused to utter a word. He knew it could speak because he had heard it yell at him earlier. His silence was defiance now, and Theodore hated that.

The next thing he did was strip the creature of his adornments. No larger than a toothpick, Theodore beheld a miniature sword. In awe, he inspected under a microscope to see that it was excellently crafted. The silver blade was expertly engraved with delicately swirled lines and sharpened so well it glinted under the fluorescent observation lights. Curious, Theodore ran his finger along the blade, instantly drawing blood.

Fascinating, Theodore uttered to himself before carefully setting aside the sword to return his attention to the creature.

The next thing he noticed was the creatures clothes. It was dressed in some kind of uniform consisting of a tunic looked to be made out of some kind of dark green leaf, with matching pants and long boots that came to an elegant point. There was something regal about the swirling designs of this outfit and the sword that drew Theodore's attention.

"You must be someone important" Theodore muttered more to himself. To his surprise, the creature seemed to bristle up at that comment.

Theodore's lip curved into a wicked smile, "I'll take that as a yes."

Theodore then moved on to take samples of the golden dust coating his wings, which, to his surprise, did not match with the coating found on the wings of moths or butterflies.

Hoping to learn more, Theodore scanned his tools, finding a small scalpel that he figured would be a good way to draw some blood samples. After all, any needle would be far too big for such a small creature. It couldn't be bigger than the dolls his daughter used to play with. A twinge of sadness passed through him at the thought of his daughter, but he pushed it away, focusing on the task at hand.

Unbeknownst to Theodore, the creature had been watching him and began to struggle against his miniature restraints when he noticed the scientist's sharp blade approaching.

Theodore held up the silver scalpel; it's blade glinting under the lamplight. Observing the winged creature, he figured his arm would be the best place for the small incision. It was the only bare part of his body other than his face left uncovered by his clothes. He wanted to keep those as in tact as possible to study further. Leaning over to begin, he halted when he heard a faint buzzing noise come from the clutter of his desk.

With a sigh, he dropped the tool back onto the table to fish around the crowded desk for his cell phone. Shoving aside mountains of papers and stationery, he finally found it. Grasping the buzzing black box, he flipped it open and pressed answer.

Putting the phone up to his ear, he gave an impatient "Hello?". As he waited for a response, he impatiently watched the creature who seemed to let out a breath of relief.

Hmmm, the subject seems capable of displaying complex human emotions. He thought, mentally reminding himself to write everything down in his observation journal after the call.

"Hey, Dad" came a muffled feminine voice. The static on the phone from the poor connection made her voice sound fuzzy, but he recognized it anyway.

"Marci? Is it really you?" He whispered in disbelief. Almost dropping his phone, he shifted to clutch the device with both hands pressing it roughly his ear, not daring miss a single word from his daughter.

"Yeah, it's me Dad" came her soft reply. 

"Wow..I..uh...it's been so long. H..How have you been sweetheart?" He stuttered. It's been years since the divorce left him to a life of miserable solitary work. He had not spoken with his daughter, or anyone really, in a long time.

"Fine Dad, hey look, my apartment caught fire, and I need a place to stay for a few months. I can't get a hold of mom, and I was hoping I could stay with you for a while" She said. Despite the soft electronic hiss from their poor connection, he could still hear the defeat in her voice. His heart clenched at the thought of what could have happened.

"Yes! Er...I mean of course honey whatever you need." He replied, desperate not to sound too eager and scare her off.

"Great, I'm staying with a friend tonight, but I've packed, and I will call a cab tomorrow afternoon. Does that work?"

"Perfect, can't wait."

"Cool, I guess I'll see you soon."

"See you soon Marci," he replied, unable to fight the smile that was forming on his thin lips. He barely heard the sharp click as his daughter hung up. With his phone still firmly pressed to his ear, he stood frozen in shock.

Not only did he manage to capture the creature, but he was also going to get his daughter back. Maybe just maybe his plan would work after all.

His smile faded as he put down the phone. He was now more determined than ever to finish studying this creature and present his findings to the Board of Science. Picking up his scalpel he quickly put it against the tiny arm of his subject.

For my family, he whispered as he pressed down, drawing a line of crimson from the now screeching creature.