Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Faerie Tales, WEP, Stealing Pearls


I’m joining the Write, Edit, Publish bloghop, posting this story. The challenge is to write a story about a jewelry box. So, being the faerie lover that I am, Primrose is being mischievous. I hope you enjoy and please check out the other stories. Follow the links here. I want to thank Denise Covey and all the other judges for starting this ongoing bloghop.


 




Stealing Pearls
Primrose pointed her toes and arched her arms above her head with her hands together and her fingers pointing toward the stars. She twirled; her multi-colored skirt twisted with her body. Time whipped around her. The stars appeared to explode in the heavens. She lifted, up and up until she broke through the portal from faerie land into the land of humans.
          She stopped twisting and found herself in the boughs of a maple. The leaves a mere bud on its limbs. The smell of the human world differed from faerie. In her world, all smelled of earth, flowers and trees. In the human world, the scent was confused. Exhaust from their motorized vehicles was strong. Factories that produced things she couldn’t name left residual odors even when miles away.
Primrose sneezed. She patted her hair in place. It curled all over her head and cascaded down her back like ringlets in the shape of the flower she was named for. Each lock a primrose in colors of pink, mauve and yellow. The ruby and emerald gems embedded on the side of her forehead hurt. She touched them, ignoring their warning. Do not go to the human world. Too late, she was already there.
Before her stretched a view of multiple human dwellings. Three houses down, the lights were on, but not in the two-story home before her. She’d been here before, many times.
Lifting off from a branch she flew toward the dwelling, found the dryer vent and entered. Someone had shut the dryer door. Primrose wouldn’t be deterred from her mission. She pulled her wand from a pocket in her skirt and touched the dryer door. “Open.”
With little noise the door opened just enough to let Primrose enter the house. She flew toward the master bedroom. The entire house was dark. “Light.” The tip of her wand became a tiny glow.
All the bedroom doors were open except for one. She flew to her destination. No one was there as in the past. Curious. On the dresser was the most beautiful jewelry box she’d ever seen. She hovered above it.
The small box had stained glass inlay with a picture of a primrose. After nightly visits she had decided that the box was hers. She used her wand to open the delicate lid and heard the tinkling sound of a beautiful song. Gathered within were pearls. Earrings, necklace, and matching bracelet in all their perfect white splendor.
After making them all float so she could admire each, she lowered the jewelry into the box and shut the lid. Pulling out her pouch of faerie dust, she heard a noise and dashed behind the curtains. A human woman entered the room and turned on the light. Primrose had never seen her before.  
The woman walked to the dresser and lifted the lid to the jewelry box. “I could have sworn I heard you,” she said to no one. Turning, the woman left. Primrose flew to the door and peered around the corner. The woman entered the bedroom that had the closed door, murmuring as she went. “I’ll be glad when you’re home from your vacation, sister. Your house is haunted.” She shut the door behind her.
Primrose hurried back. She let faerie dust fall over the jewelry box. It was heavy and she needed extra support if she was to take it with her. Wasting no time, she tapped the box with her wand, and it lifted off the dresser. Guiding the box before her, she flew from the room, down the stairs and out the dryer vent.
Predawn light spread its hue over the yard. The tree was against the back fence. The box began to fall, and she tapped it, then flew toward the tree. Without warning, a huge dog came around the corner and barked. The noise startled her for a moment, and she hesitated. The dog pranced toward her. She needed height, but the weight of the jewelry box zapped her strength and she couldn’t rise further. Speeding forward, she flew as the dog charged. Its mouth opened and captured Primrose. The jewelry box fell, and she heard it crack. Warm, wet saliva surrounded her, and the dog began shaking its head violently, releasing Primrose a moment later. She sailed, not with her wings but from the force of the toss and smacked into the tree, hard. She fell and lay unconscious at the base.
When she awoke, the dog was standing over her. Its long brown and black muzzle close to her body as it sniffed. Then it used its long, damp, tongue to swipe her entire body in a huge lick.
“Go away.” Desperation made her voice boom. The dog backed up before coming forward again. It nuzzled her causing Primrose to turn on her side.
There, in the grass was her faerie dust. She grabbed the pouch, reached in and took a handful of dust. Then she jerked up and blew the dust on the dog. Immediately, he lifted off the ground. Whining, his legs tried to run but he had no control.
Primrose found her wand, flew to the jewelry box, and saw that the lid was half way off its hinges. Gathering the misplaced pearls, she replaced them in the box before tapping it with her wand. Once at the tree, she released the dog from her spell and watched it fall to the ground where it began to bark again.
She tucked her wand and pouch away, held the ruined box above her head and began to twirl. She’d have one of the metal craftsmen fix the box. A moment later, she disappeared from the human world and entered the land of faerie once more.

To be continued May 20, 2019.
Word count: 959
What do you think?
© N. R. Williams 2019

32 comments:

Pat Garcia said...

Hi,

This is an engaging fairy story. I am glad she got away, but what is going to happen when the sister returns home and finds her jewelry box gone. I wouldn't want to have been the keeper of her house.

Great story.

Shalom aleichem,
Pat G

Tyrean Martinson said...

I like that this story has a curious fairy who likes to visit the human world, who finds a treasure, and has to battle to keep it. The question left (was the box meant for her?) just keeps the ending open for possibilities. Nicely written!

Olga Godim said...

The little thief! She is charming, but I don't like thieves. She took what doesn't belong to her. I'd side with the dog in their confrontation.

Elephant's Child said...

The beautiful so often feel entitled to everything which takes their fancy. And they usually get away with their thefts too.
I am a lover of fairy tales, but the analogy here struck home. That poor dog and the keeper of the house...

Jemi Fraser said...

What a fun story! Primrose may have just created a very large problem for herself!!

N. R. Williams said...

Hi Pat
Since I don't intend to focus on the human side, I will leave that up to your imagination. Thanks for coming by.

Thanks Tyrean
I intend to continue the saga. Will Primrose keep stealing or will she face the faerie elder council? Tune in next month to find out.

Hi Olga
According to folk lore, faeries a mischievous and don't abide by human rules. She can't help herself.

Hi Elephants child
Faeries are a force of nature. I guess it's a good thing they aren't real or we would have mysterious thefts on a regular basis.

Hi Jemi
Primrose has made a muck of things. What will happen next?

Thanks everyone for stopping by.
Nancy

Nilanjana Bose said...

Fairies are mischievous things aren't they? Primrose has helped herself to pearls that don't belong to her...and probably aren't her size. I'm not sure what use they will be to her. Unless she magicks them to fit her hands and ears and throat. Or is it that she just wants to have them to look at, admire and/or possess?

Interesting take on the prompt and a very enjoyable flash. Well crafted as usual.

N. R. Williams said...

Thanks Nila
Tune in next month and you'll learn what Primrose does with the pearls and jewelry box.

Thanks for coming by.
Nancy

J Lenni Dorner said...

Darn little thief. At least the dog tried to protect property, like a good doggie.

Well written. Good imagery. I liked it.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nancy - who did she used to visit in the house ... was it the sister - and what is their story (two sisters - seems something odd there); I also thought the dog might follow her into fairy-land ... fun take on the jewel box - clever ... cheers Hilary

cleemckenzie said...

Very different take on the theme. I like it. One line I really enjoyed was "In the human world, the scent was confused." It captured the idea perfectly.

Bernadette said...

I hope that jewel box won't be missed.

N. R. Williams said...

Hi J. Lenni
To focus on the humans would be a whole different type of story. Glad you enjoyed it.

Hi Hilary
Poor doggie. He'd have to move fast to enter the faerie world. Thanks for coming by.

Hi Clee
Glad you found a favorite line. Thanks for coming by.

Hi Bernadette
I suspect it will, but the next chapter to this story will take place in the faerie world. Thanks for coming by.

Nancy

L.G. Keltner said...

I wonder what the sister will think when she returns and her jewelry box is gone? Hmm. Maybe that's how my things go missing. Clever to have Primrose come in through the dryer vent. A magical and fun tale!

N. R. Williams said...

Hi L. G.
I don't know if you know, but mice come in through our dyer vents. I'm glad you enjoyed my story.
Nancy

Toi Thomas said...

What a cute story. She seems harmless enough, but she does have sticky fingers.

Denise Covey said...

Ha Nancy, a kleptomaniac faerie. Primrose, you naughty girl. Stealing something too heavy to lift. I like that. And I like that the dog didn't kill her or vice versa. So well written. A captivating tale. We're all agog for the next adventure in June. Thanks for a great flash for the prompt.

N. R. Williams said...

Hi Toi
Thanks for coming by. Glad you liked the story.

Hi Denise
Primrose is a naughty girl. Thanks for reading.

Nancy

Roland D. Yeomans said...

I love tales of faeries. :-) I just posted a personal entry: https://rolandyeomans.blogspot.com/2019/04/weprif.html

D.G. Hudson said...

I like pearls too, so I can understand why Primrose is drawn to them. I'm wondering why she had been there many times and how she knew about the pearls but perhaps that will be explained in the continuing post you mentioned. Liked this faerie tale N.R., and look forward to reading more.

N. R. Williams said...

Hi Roland
I'm coming over soon.

Hi D.G.
I'm working on the next story now.

Thank you both for coming by.
Nancy

Roland Clarke said...

Craftily-constructed/woven fairy tale with a sprite that is naturally mischievous. Yes, she's a thief and the dog does it's best to stop her, but jewels are from the earth - stolen from the earth. If she's a nature spirit then isn't she entitled to 'recover' the earth's bounty?

So many great unanswered questions to build one. Well done.

N. R. Williams said...

Thank you, Roland. I'll keep your questions in mind.
Nancy

Ornery Owl of Naughty Netherworld Press and Readers Roost said...

Nicely written! Primrose is quite a character. It's interesting to consider her motivations.
I apologize for misinterpreting your comment on my piece. I have a WAH blog as well, and I get so many spam comments on it that I tend to automatically think that any comment containing links is Spam.
Denise pointed out that you may have thought that my self-deprecating note at the end of the piece indicates that I'm an insecure newbie writer. I'm not. I'm an insecure old writer. However, more advice on how to write isn't going to doodly to rid me of my insecurities. i would need a personality transplant for that. My writing style is what it is, for better or worse. Personally, I've grown accustomed to its face, imperfect though it might be.

Operation Awesome said...

Excellent character crafting. Good use of a goal to match the prompt. Well done!

Michelle Wallace said...

This is such a charming story.
Primrose is quite the mischief-maker. I wonder if that box was meant for her... seems like it.

Jamie said...

Very determined fae! I liked the dog. Fun read!

Carrie-Anne said...

I loved all the twists and turns in this story! Primrose is a character I'd love to read more about.

Jemima Pett said...

Well done. I wonder what's going to happen next?!

N. R. Williams said...

Thanks everyone. I'm sorry if I missed your post.
Nancy

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