Prilla sat down by Havendish Stream with Rani, idly playing with a scrap of grass. Rani sat with her feet dangling in the water, guiding minnows up the stream. Neither fairy had said much, enjoying the quiet for once without chattering about this and that. Certainly Rani was pondering her work or something water related- as one usually was occupied with thoughts about the talent that made each fae who they were- and usually Prilla would follow in a similar thought process. Today though? She was thinking very hard about the last conversation she'd had with Rani. A conversation that had occupied her thoughts far more than her talent lately which should have concerned her a lot more than it did.
The mainland would stay where it was. Same with the clumsy children she so loved to see smile. Besides, they hadn't had a fairy die of disbelief in several months now, thanks to her efforts in keeping the memory of Neverland and its fairies alive. She deserved a little break didn't she? Even if it was about the one fairy who maybe posed the biggest internal threat to the delicate balance that was Pixie Hollow. The one fairy who everyone hated, well, hated might be a strong word, but that most fairies and sparrow men went out of their way to avoid. The one fairy who had hurt Mother Dove for her own selfish interests BUT when it had mattered, she'd given up the one thing she treasured more than her wings- her fresh pixie dust.
Vidia.
Sighing and smiling, Prilla hummed at the thought of her friend(?)'s face, her voice, her hair, the way she had smiled that one time after she'd nearly been convicted of stealing Queen Ree's crown.
Vidia had a very nice smile. Especially when she meant it and wasn't just grimacing in smile form. She was so talented too! The determination in her steely eyes when she flew was just-wow. And the way her hair looked wind tossed after a hard flight- and the slight pink to her cheeks from the wind? Just... wow.
Of course it was then that Rani looked up to check on her friend and saw the dreamy smile on Prilla's face. The water-talent fairy couldn't keep a smile from creeping onto her face at the sight.
"Thinking of someone special?" Rani asked, letting a little tease creep into her voice with the smile. "A certain fast flier maybe?"
Prilla balked, sputtering as she fumbled for her thoughts. "What?" Her cheeks turned just about as pink as her dress. "No! Erm, maybe?" She looked down at the grass in her hand, frowning a little. Rani chuckled as she stood to wring out her soaked dress.
"I was just teasing, Prilla, don't be upset." She fretted, plopping down next to her friend. "I know you're still waiting on her, you were just so..." Rani sniffled a little and pulled out a handkerchief. "happy and dreamy just then- I couldn't not say something!"
"Oh! I'm not upset!" Prilla bumped her friend's shoulder with her own and put her smile back on. "I was just-"
"Thinking about her?" Rani finished for her. Sometimes that habit of hers annoyed Prilla, but Rani was almost always right, so she never really corrected her. "I could tell."
"I know you could." Prilla felt her smile fade away a little. "I wish she would get back to me. It's been almost two weeks since I asked her on a date and she still hasn't-"
"responded?" Rani sighed and looked up at the sky. "I'd offer some advice, but I really don't know Vidia that well."
Prilla nodded. "That seems to be the issue. No one knows her very well! I asked Wisp about her, since they're sort of friends, at least they work together most often, but Wisp is, well-"
"Wisp?" Rani snorted. "Yes, she certainly is."
"And she doesn't care much about what Vidia likes other than the obvious. I really, really want to just find her again, but I don't want her to feel-"
"Cornered?"
"Exactly." A light breeze blew a few leaves from the trees nearby and ruffled Prilla's hair. "I mean, how much time does she need?"
Shrugging, Rani dabbed at a bead of sweat that rolled down her face. "I don't know, but I wish that breeze would come back- it felt so nice!"
As if on cue, the breeze returned, just a little stronger, and the subject of Prilla's racing thoughts (and heart) fluttered down from the trees.
"Did someone need a breeze?" Vidia crossed her arms over her chest, pointedly ignoring Prilla's beet red face and awkward gasp. Instead, she stared at Rani who offered her a grateful smile.
"I did, thanks Vidia." Rani glanced at Prilla- who had not recovered quite yet- before continuing the conversation. "What brings you to this side of the stream? I thought Queen Ree wanted all the Fast Fliers in Autumn today?"
"Darling, I've finished my share. The others need far more practice than I do." Vidia tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I simply thought I'd take a lap around here to see if Prilla was free for the afternoon, since her talent is so busy after all." Rani frowned at Vidia's dig at Prilla's talent, but it seemed to snap Prilla out of her panic.
"You- you want to hang out?" Prilla choked out, standing as Vidia landed, brushing invisible dust from her short skirt.
"No, dear, I want to fly with you." Vidia smiled (not smirked, Rani noticed, but a softer kind of smile). "Just to the bluff above the lagoon. There's a nice breeze from the ocean today- not too strong- and the sun will be hitting the dunes just right to keep us warm." Then she seemed to remember that Rani was there, looked her way for just a second as she backed up a step from Prilla. "Not that I care."
It was half hearted and Rani knew it. She buried her urge to smile. Who would have known? Vidia could be sweet if she wanted to be.
"I'd like that a lot!" Prilla exclaimed, just a little too loudly, before leaping into the air. "Let's go!" The fast flier brushed past her in an instant, turning to see if Prilla was following.
"Race you there?" For once the question was actually a question. Vidia paused, looking at Prilla for a cue of some sort.
"You'll beat me, though!" Prilla pouted. "Go slow for me and I'll try to keep up?" Vidia relaxed and drifted backwards a few inches as Prilla caught up.
"Sure, darling." And off she went. 'Slow' was quite fast for a normal fairy. But as Prilla took off after her, she turned back to Rani and, waving, grinned at her friend before zipping after Vidia calling:
"Wait for me! You promised!"
Rani just laughed and knelt by the water again. Hopefully they wouldn't get into too much trouble.
The view from the bluff was always great, but, at this time in the afternoon, the sun left the most beautiful golden trail over the ocean and beach. It was perfect. Truthfully, Vidia had never planned out a date, or taken the time to plan a picnic either. This had to be perfect though. Prilla had suggested a picnic in her nearly incoherent ramblings about "wanting to do something romantic sometime" so that is what Vidia had prepared.
Prilla must have had a favorite kind of tart (which was Vidia's favorite food of all time) but Vidia had no clue what that flavor was. She'd never bothered to pay attention before. Why hadn't she paid attention? Little things seemed so important now- like the flowers she'd stolen from Rosetta's garden and the cups Tink had let her borrow however reluctantly.
Everything had to be perfect, but nothing was and that irked Vidia more than she cared to admit. Even to herself. However, Prilla was a messy person, so maybe it wouldn't matter all that much. Maybe the view and the sunset would be enough to make her forget about the obscene amount of tarts Vidia had commandeered from the kitchen (Dulcie would certainly come for her head when she found out) and the cracks in the little teapot and the missing petal from the little red rose she'd gotten from Rosetta. Flowers were so fragile. It was a wonder they made clothes from them sometimes.
The smile on Prilla's face when she saw the little display though? That made all the inconveniences worth it. In fact, it made her panic almost entirely disappear after it had followed her for the entire day until this point. Her heart still fluttered nervously, but that was alright.
"You did this all for me?" Prilla gushed as she landed just a moment after Vidia did. Her hands covered her mouth as she took in the blanket (Vidia's comforter, the only blanket big enough to contain such a spread of tarts). Now that she looked at it, Vidia decided it didn't look so bad. The tarts were pretty, all piled in the center, with the tea set and silverware around them and the roses were a nice touch.
"Of course, darling." Vidia waved her hand in the air, before leading Prilla onto the blanket. "You said you wanted something romantic?"
"Well, yes!" Prilla admitted, trailing after Vidia. "But I thought I would plan it and all that." Furrowing her brows, Vidia gestured to Prilla to sit.
"You did the asking, so I figured it was my turn. The asking is hard." Vidia sat down, across from Prilla, crossing her legs and sitting a little too stiffly for comfort.
"It wasn't so bad." Prilla mumbled, her cheeks turning a bit pink at the memory. "I could have been more straightforward."
Vidia reached for a tart and handed it and a plate to Prilla. "You got your point across, but perhaps it was not your most articulate." Vidia offered a quick smile before grabbing a plum tart and stuffing far too much of it in her mouth.
"We are in agreement there." Prilla lifted the tart in a toast and took a bite. Her eyes closed as she enjoyed the perfect flavor and texture. "Hmmm, these are so good." Vidia could only nod in agreement, finding for the first time that her words wouldn't come with Prilla's pretty blue eyes staring at her. She swallowed thickly and reached for the tea.
They ate as many of the tarts as they could, but Vidia realized that they would barely manage to eat half of them. She'd be eating tarts for days... not that she was complaining. Prilla's assessment was quite accurate. They were very good. Maybe she could invite Prilla over to help finish them before they went bad.
Woah. Invite Prilla over? The sun hadn't even set yet. This hadn't even been really 'romantic'. Prilla probably didn't think it would be worth her time to try again. It was well known that Vidia was not great with social activities. In fact, it could be said that Vidia was terrible at it. Honestly, it was the only area of her life that she was alright with being downright horrible at anything.
But still, she was enjoying herself. Conversation didn't always come easily, but even the silence was nice. Prilla had a lot to say, which Vidia was endlessly thankful for as her favorite starters had run out an hour into this date. Even she recognized there was only so much one could say about flying and the wind.
The fairy in front of her, though, asked all sorts of questions and told all sorts of stories- ones that nearly gave Vidia a stitch in her side laughing over. Who knew Tink could be so funny or that Vidia would enjoy listening to Prilla's prattle?
Finding herself telling stories she hadn’t thought about in years, among them the time Zarina had turned her into a tinker which Prilla sniggered at endlessly, Vidia couldn’t help but pause. Those days, before the Pixie dust tree failed and died, had been good days. When the dust was potent enough for her to break the sound barrier alone, the bitterness that drove her from her former friends had barely been a thought inside her. Living alone hadn’t set her apart, but allowed her freedom to live as she wished, to watch the night sky turn above her, or sleep in until the sun was at its peak. But then the storm, not unlike the one Prilla had seen on her arrival day, and the fire from Torth Mountain had come and wiped it all away.
“Hey, are you okay?” Prilla’s sweet voice broke through her thoughts. “You got really quiet there.”
“Just lost in thought.” Swallowing back the thoughts, Vidia turned her attention to the fairy in front of her.
“What about?” If Prilla’s eyes got any more sweet, Vidia might have combusted on the spot. Opening her mouth to lie about it, Vidia tried to speak, but her throat constricted and wouldn’t let the words out.
“I… The days before Mother Dove. When Tinkerbell and the rest were my friends.” Firmly scowling, Vidia looked away from Prilla. Well now she's done it. Prilla was about to ask about the worst time in her life and Vidia already knew she’d tell her.
To her surprise, Prilla was quiet. Sneaking a glance at her showed Prilla deep in thought, a frown on her pretty face. Then Prilla looked up and caught Vidia starring. Before Vidia could even contemplate blushing, Prilla spoke. “Look, if you don’t want to talk about it, I don’t mind. But, I am curious. What actually happened? Why do you live apart from the other fairies? Why- why did you pluck Mother Dove? It just doesn’t seem… right. That you’ve been bitter your whole life. So, what changed?”
What had changed? Oh everything. Vidia swallowed again, closing her eyes to escape and collect her thoughts. Clothes rustling, Vidia heard Prilla shifting beside her. “Look, darling,” Vidia began, opening her eyes to face this fairy who she liked more than she wanted to admit but maybe already had. “I have made a lot of mistakes. Some of which I regret and some that I don’t. But to tell you what actually happened would take days to tell, but the short version… Pixie Hollow was burning and there was nothing we could do. I was one of the fairies trying to protect the Pixie Dust Tree, along with Silvermist and the other water talent fairies, but the fire was just too strong and my wind was only fanning the flames. In a last ditch effort to save the tree, I tried to create a reverse tornado, but my dust ran out and I fell into the fire.”
“Oh,” Prilla’s hands flew to her mouth.
“They said I might never fly again, my wings were so burned, but that didn’t matter because there was no more dust anyway. The tree was dead because I failed and all of Pixie Hollow was crisped.” Her voice trembled, but Vidia forced herself to continue. “Then Beck found Mother Dove and her magic restored Pixie Hollow, but it just wasn’t the same. We’d lost everything. The magic felt different, wrong, and the seasons had been so scrambled. Her dust at least protected the Winter fairies wings, and maybe it made our wings more resilient, but it didn’t work like the tree used too.
“It didn’t help that I was weak, my wings were so fragile, it took months for them to heal and even then they were frayed, as you can see now. When I could fly again, I couldn’t fly as fast- Leeta beat me so many times- and I grew frustrated with the way everyone treated me. ‘I tried’ they would say but I could see the distaste behind their pity.”
Prilla scooched closer, her shoulder brushing Vidia’s. “What about your friends?”
“That was the mistake I most regret.” Voice catching in her throat, Vidia leaned into Prilla just a little. She was warm. “I pushed them away. I said things… did things… and then I ran away. As soon as I was well enough to live on my own, I left. I couldn’t stand the way they looked at me because I knew it was my fault and I was- am- too proud to admit that I was wrong.
“So I found my old plum tree clinging to the side of the cliff, restored, but still not quite right, and I remade my home there. Things could almost have been normal, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how fast I used to fly. I trained and worked and trained some more, but I just couldn’t go as fast as before. Whether it was my wings or my muscles or the dust I couldn’t tell, but the longer I trained, I determined that it couldn’t be my body or my wings that was holding me back. It had to have been the dust. The other Fast Fliers noticed it too, but they didn’t care. They called Mother Dove a blessing- she’d saved us all after all- but I couldn’t believe it. So I flew to her, to demand answers.”
This. This was the hardest part to relive. Because when Mother Dove had looked at her, Vidia had felt seen and it was horrible. Mother Dove saw her as she was- burnt, broken, defeated- and loved her even so. She’d said as much.
“That was the first time I saw her.” Vidia whispered. She didn’t trust her voice to tell this part. “And in her wonderfulness, I hated her. She told me she loved me, that she saw my pain, but instead I grabbed a fistfull of her feathers and… well, you know.” Shifting away from Prilla, Vidia drew her knees up to her chest. “I plucked her so that she could feel what I felt. Told myself that it would never be the same, that it couldn’t hurt as much as she let on, but I knew it did. I know it did.” Despite the lump in her throat, Vidia did not cry. This she would never weep about. Never. Her choice was her choice. That was that.
The silence was overwhelming, but at least the roll of waves on the beach was comforting. Prilla was probably gone. Vidia hadn’t heard her fly away, but there was no way she would stay after knowing. No one stayed. But after a beat more of quiet, an arm wrapped around her shoulders and the other one pulled her in.
Prilla smelled of sweets, of sugar and candy.
“You can cry if you want.” Prilla whispered into her hair, but Vidia pulled away, pushing Prilla out of her space.
“Don’t touch me!” She snapped. Prilla flinched back. Ignoring the sting of guilt at the look of pain on Prilla’s face, Vidia stood and turned away. Now Prilla would sigh and leave, Vidia decided. Whatever attraction Prilla had had for her would fade and they would never speak again. Just like Tink, like Clarion, like Mother Dove, Prilla would leave and Vidia would not chase after her.
Fast flying is only good for flying away after all.
“Sorry,”
Spinning around, Vidia faced Prilla who was still there looking at her with that same expression she’d had all those months ago when Vidia had felt more alone than she had in years. When all of Pixie Hollow had turned against her, Prilla had stood beside her. Just like she did now, carefully not touching Vidia, but standing next to her, looking over the bluff with her at the setting sun.
“I shouldn't have hugged you without asking first. I’d fly backwards if I could.” Her voice was so soft, so small, out here in the open air. “Thank you for telling me your story. I think it was my favorite one of the evening. And thank you for all of this too, it’s really lovely.”
Feeling very raw, Vidia looked down at Prilla who looked up at her. “I- how? Why that story?” Prilla shrugged and looked out towards the sunset.
“I know you a little better now. That’s all.” After a pause, Prilla bounced on the balls of her feet and turned to face Vidia fully. “I really like knowing you and spending time with you. So, if you want- and only if you want- I can plan the next date?”