Is the child so ungrateful? I have done as Ftari demanded. I have listened to this human's whine of self-pity. I have granted her wish. And she questions my generosity?
"Why gold?" I snap. "Why, indeed. Because you must be the most exquisite creature at the ball. Fur is too hot and would make you look clumsy, crystal is too heavy, pearls are out of season, and diamonds would ruin the floor. No, gold is the only option."
"But I cannot stand out. My step-mother would notice me before I even have a single dance. What about linen? Linen is fashionable, but not gaudy." This is why I hate humans. They are never satisfied.
"Every girl and her mother will be there in linen. You must be above them by far."
"I am not worthy of such beautiful shoes. I appreciate the help you have given me, truly. The carriage is marvelous. This dress is lovely! But please, the shoes are too much. There must be something else. You can do. Or I could wear my own."
Has this girl any idea what she says? "By the great fairies of the seasons, if those are shoes, I am a toadstool. Throw those out at once! What a disgrace! Is that all you have for your feet? Your humans are worse than most. Fine. If you truly cannot wear the gold, I will come up with something else."
I look around for inspiration. There must be something here I can work with. But this place is so dark and damp. How can any creature survive living here? I know that humans are vile, but this is worse than even I could have imagined. There is mold on the windows. There is dung on roadway. The roses have withered at the foul spirit of this place. The only beauty in this place is this wretched child and the pictures in the window glass.
The glass! That is it.
"Up, up, up," I demand. "Come with me. Yes, yes, now turn around. More, girl!" My brilliance is thrilling even me. A laugh bursts from my lips. "We'll need to change your gown a bit. This dress was meant for gold. But no matter." A flick of my wrist and the golden volumes turn into the blue of a mountain stream. I trim the skirt until it flutters like the ripples of a pond. I add a shimmer, just enough, like the sea reflecting the sun. Her mask changes from the glimmer of gold to the deep blue of the ocean. She gasps and twirls. Yes, even I am pleased with this creation. "And now, the shoes." The gold melts away into the clarity of crystal lake.
"Glass?" She whispers. Yes, she is awestruck. Who wouldn't be? "Will they break?"
Silly human. "Of course not. I am not so foolish as to allow that. They are a fairy gift, imbued with fairy magic. They cannot break while you wear them. A fairy's gift can only be destroyed by evil. And I sense no evil in you, child." This place is another matter. There is something here that chills me. "They will not attract the attention you so wish to avoid, but they are splendid, aren't they?"
"Oh, yes, ma'am. Thank you, so much." She throws her arm around me and I stretch back, but her hold is firm. A hug? It has been so long since somebody hugged me that I am not sure what to do. So I wait. The contact is short, but nice.
How silly of me. This human is ridiculous. It is only a dress and some shoes. I can just see Ftari's smirk in my mind's eye. "That's enough now." I pull my arms out of her embrace and she releases me. "Hurry along or you won't have much time for dancing. You must be gone before the tower clock strikes the midnight hour. That pumpkin must be back on its vine by then or it won't grow properly, do you understand?"
She nods her head and climbs into the golden carriage. I shake my head. Silly, demanding human. The gold was so lovely. The gold fades into the dark green of the pumpkin vine, a more fitting tone to her watery gown.
"Be off," I tell the lizard-human. He snaps the reins and the mice-horses rear into a prance. The silly child leans her head out the window and waves goodbye to me. Silly human. She'll muss her hair doing that.
I whisper a reminder for the wind to carry to her.
"Midnight."
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