Hidden: A Pregnant Fairy Godmother's Journey...

by Joynell Schultz

  Her dad’s expectant stare returned her to the big issue: the baby had to be human. She turned away and stared at the mint green lichen wall.

  His voice softened. “What’s wrong, honey? You don’t seem to be your usual flamboyant self. Your hard work may have earned you the title of fairy godmother, but, historically, you need to actually be a mother to hold that title.”

  Her stomach turned. Would it count if the baby was human? She sat down on the bench.

  Her dad spun in a circle, pulling his wand out and waving it around. “Who’s the lucky man who’ll get to raise this baby? Is there another purple fairy out there? Did he finally find you and visit in your dreams?”

  Ciera tried to speak. Tried to spew out some lie, but the words caught on the end of her tongue. “Not exactly.”

  The tip of her dad’s wand glowed. “Let me see him.”

  Ciera sprang to her feet, but she was too late. Her father zapped the mirror on the wall, and it filled with an image of the gray-haired man—a human. The father of her child.

  Her father cocked his chin and wrinkled a full green eyebrow. “He’s not purple, or green, or blue. He doesn’t even have wings! His clothing is odd, and his arm… What is that contraption?” He took a step closer to the mirror. “He’s not from Erde either, is he? They don’t have technology like that.”

  It took all of Ciera’s energy to stay silent. He needed to know.

  Her dad’s jaw fell open, and he began to pace. “This is impossible. How can you be carrying a human child? Inter-realm fairy law prohibits our contact!”

  “Dad, this dream was different! I didn’t have a choice. It just happened.” Ciera bit her lip again. Had she had control? She always wanted the next challenge—always wanted to prove herself an equal to the green, red, and blue fairies. The pull of this man’s wish was so strong.

  Her father’s pacing sped up, his wings beating slightly to increase his speed. “This is a disaster! What will we do with this child? If the Fairy Council finds out, we lose everything we’ve worked for. We earned first pick of assignments, now we’ll be put at the bottom of the list—if we stay on the list at all! We may not get any work again—ever. We’ll lose our cottage. Lose our status in the fairy realm. You can’t be here with that human inside you.” With a big wing-beat, her father stopped right in front of her. “Who knows about this?”

  Ciera’s stomach flipped in knots. “Nobody. I mean, I’ve been able to keep the glamor on so far, but now my magic’s not working right. It’s too early to fail since I’m only nine months pregnant.”

  “You’re only nine months along?” Her dad rubbed a hand against his balding head. “You have eight to go? Your magic should be fine until the last week of your pregnancy, but what do I know? That’s a half-human baby, all rules are off.”

  “My immediate problem is that I left Erde without completing my last assignment. If that Erdian reports my failure to the council, it may not matter that I’m pregnant. We may lose everything anyway. It took every ounce of magic I had just to return home.”

  “Nobody can find out. You need to hide. You need to stay away from the other fairies so they don’t discover you.” Again, he paced.

  “I can stay in Erde. I love it there.”

  “Yes. Yes. The Fairy Council has no power there, but the fairies would still find out. If we wish to keep getting assignments for you, they can’t know. The only place completely away from the fairies is Earth. You can give this baby to the father and return like nothing happened. I’ll figure out a cover for you. A vacation. A family emergency. Something.”

  Ciera took a big breath. Going to the human world would be another law she broke. “What if they discover I’ve gone to Earth? Nobody’s gone in a hundred years. The stories of how the Great Councilman was caught by one of them and tortured… Cut into tiny pieces…” Suddenly, Ciera couldn’t swallow.

  “He should have been able to escape, but they must have taken his wand.” Her father shook his head. “He had wings. Of course, they were curious who he was. We’ll disguise you.” He pulled his wand out and sent his magic to the tip, making it glow. “Once the baby’s born, you’ll regain your powers and you’ll be able to return home.” He gave her a zap, causing her wings to tingle.

  She twisted around to see the silvery purple vanish into thin air. “What about this?” Ciera waved her wand.

  “No problem.” He waved his wand and turned hers invisible, yet it still felt solid in her hand. “Tuck it into your waistband.” Next, her father zapped the mirror on the wall, and the silvery-armed man appeared again, disappearing into an image of a map. A star on a place named Chicago.

  “Is that where he is?” Ciera asked. “A village named Chicago?”

  “I’ll send you there right away. The sooner this is over, the better. He should be easy for you to find, but just in case—” Her father waved his wand again, causing letters to scrawl across the mirror. “—his name’s John. What an unusual name. You can ask for him. Everyone should know him with that arm and unusual name of John. How big can that village be?” Her father began to wave his wand to zap her away.

  “Wait, Dad. I need you to finish the wish I was granting. Visit that Erdian cottage in the Kingdom of Shadow and find the man named Ursuuli. He and his daughter are hungry. They need their soil fertilized. I know you’re not a fairy godmother, but if you could just grant one wish? Then cover my tracks so nobody knows I’m losing my magic? I told that man I wasn’t feeling well.”

  “Of course.” Her dad pulled Ciera into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Be safe.”

  Before Ciera could say anything in return, her father waved his wand and her world was swallowed in a bright white flash of fairy magic.

  Chapter 3

  Ciera

  Crossing into the human world, to Earth, felt like moving slowly through a muddy swamp, and it smelled that way too. Ciera’s limbs grew cold, her skin tingled, and she couldn’t see or breathe. When dizziness threatened to make her pass out, she collapsed against the ground. As feeling returned to her hands and legs, they stung. She regained her vision to see the scrapes on her knees and palms from her landing, but she quickly forgot about them. A smile spread on her lips. This was going to be exciting. The biggest challenge she’s faced in her life.

  Tall, geometric buildings with windows that reflected the light surrounded her. The ground was not dirt, but a firm surface like a stone, completely flat and compacted.

  “Who is she, Mommy?” came a high-pitched voice.

  “I don’t know. We’ve got to keep going.”

  A line of at least ten humans stared at her. Her mouth grew dry from thinking about the stories her father told her of the last fairy to come to this world. Dissection? She twisted around and jetted her hand to her waistband. Her heart rate slowed when she confirmed her wings were still gone and her magic wand still hung on her waistband—not that it would do her much good until she had the baby.

  “But she appeared out of nowhere,” an elderly man said.

  “Maybe you weren’t paying attention,” a woman with blueish hair replied beside him.

  “Wow, that’s some purple hair she’s got,” came an undistinguishable voice.

  Ciera pulled her hair back, hiding it. This was her opportunity. She rose to her knees. “Well, today’s your lucky day. You can help me find John. Does anyone know where he is?”

  “Wh—Where’d you come from?” the man asked.

  “I need to find a robotic-armed John,” Ciera insisted.

  “A John? Like a toilet?” asked a young man wearing a ridiculous hat that made him resemble a duck.

  Ciera shook her head and straightened her tiny fairy dress. “No, John is his name. Come on, hu—I mean, people. I really need to find him.”

  “She’s pregnant?” someone else whispered.

  Argh! Another thing that made her different. Clearly this was getting nowhere. Ciera looked down at her scraped, stinging palms, then her ears filled with a
loud rumble as a machine raced toward her.

  “Get out of the street!” someone yelled.

  The rumbling noises grew louder, and she covered her ears. A few sounded like off-tune horns her dad played. Lights shone into her eyes, blinding her. The human voices grew stronger, urging her to move. An image of being captured and laid out on a dissection table made her shiver.

  Scrambling to stand, she wrapped an arm around her stomach and gave her wings a beat, only to realize they were gone. She took off running, as fast as her legs could carry her, away from the lights, the noise, the commotion, and the people that thought she was different. It was like she was back in grade school.

  She found an empty side street and slowed to a walk, orienting herself to this new world and catching her breath. Be brave, Ciera. Nobody knows you’re a fairy.

  She pulled words from her childhood education: skyscrapers, sidewalk, automobile. Her stomach tickled as the thrilling memories of how she learned these words also returned. In school, her teachers would create a magical portal to show great documentaries of the human world called movies. They watched Jaws, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Omen, and something about a man with a saw to teach them how savage the human world was. Deep inside, Ciera didn’t believe this world could be so cruel, but found the documentaries stimulating and highly entertaining.

  The class thought it was just a distraction so the teacher could relax and not have to teach, since none of them ever thought they’d set foot in this world. Deep down, Ciera knew that she would. Hoped she would. The challenge of being able to grant wishes to beings that thought magic was impossible made Ciera happy.

  In Erde, the people believed they were entitled to a wish or two in their life. How would a human feel? Amazed. Mystified. Scared? Ciera’s skin prickled with the excitement, and she smiled, rubbing her bare arms.

  “Hey, honey, whatcha grinning at?” came a gruff voice. Ciera turned her head toward the heavy man, leaning against an automobile…no, a motorcycle with a stick of fire in his mouth…a cigarette.

  “I was just thinking to my childhood.” She turned around, revealing her giant belly, and gave him a little curtsy.

  “Oh, I wanted to buy you a drink, but that’s probably not best.” The man motioned to a door behind him. Above the door hung a sign saying, “Moe’s Biker Bar.”

  She smacked her lips. “No thanks. I’m not thirsty, and I need to keep going. Do you know where I could find a man with a robot arm?”

  “A robot arm? Are we in a sci-fi flick?”

  Flick? Like a flicker of wings? She twisted around to ensure her wings were still invisible. “I don’t understand.”

  The man threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped on it, twisting his foot to put out the fire. “Nah, I don’t know of any men with robot arms.”

  “Well, thank you, I need to keep going then.”

  “Hey,” the man said. “Where is your accent from? I can’t place it. It seems a little Irish, but with the harshness of Russian.”

  “Neither place, but far enough away.” Don’t dissect me, please. Ciera focused on the narrow alley in front of her. There were more humans lining it. Maybe one of them knew her mystery man.

  As she set off in that direction, a drop of rain fell on her arm. Icy rain. Then another and before she made it far, it was pouring. The rain made her scraped knees and palms sting worse. She rubbed her eyes and shivered.

  Red, tan, and white brick walls from the backside of large buildings lined the alley ahead. Various overhangs broke up the geometric lines that reminded her of the castle corridors in Erde. One rather large green canopy had a handful of humans gathered underneath. She confirmed her wings were gone before she made her way to join them. It’d be quick.

  Rain only lasts a few minutes before a rainbow will paint the sky.

  As she slogged toward the humans, a piercing whistle made her jump.

  “Hey, sweet stuff. Need something?” A man from under the overhang motioned her closer.

  She shook off her startle and jogged closer. “Yes, I need something. I’m looking for a man named John.”

  “There’s probably fifty thousand men with that name in this city alone.” He rubbed the dimple on his chin.

  “Fifty thousand? In Chicago?” The air left Ciera’s lungs, but she pushed forward. “He shouldn’t be hard to find. He has a robot’s arm.”

  The man turned toward the other humans and twirled a finger around his ear. His mouth lipped, “Crazy.”

  “I am not crazy!” Ciera said, stopping in her tracks. “And I can read lips perfectly well.”

  She sucked her magic from deep inside her heart and funneled it. Nothing. Oh, she wanted to turn him into a toad!

  “Ouch!” she exclaimed. Something jabbed her in her back. She spun around to see a man with a full beard holding a metal contraption toward her. A gun. Ciera laughed. What was he going to do with that thing? Guns were only used to hunt animals. Now, a knife or a scalpel would be troublesome.

  His voice growled. “Hand over your money.”

  “I have no money.”

  “Your jewelry.” The corner of his dark mustache twitched.

  “I have none of that either. If that’s what you want, you should just wish for it.” Oh, that’s right. Human world. No fairy godmothers.

  Laughing erupted from the men—no, there was one woman with them. She had ratted, dirty hair, and her hands shook from something besides the cold. She was young. Maybe eighteen.

  Ciera gave her a focused stare. “And you. You should go home to your father.” Ciera turned back to the man holding the gun. “Unless you’re planning on eating me, you should put that thing away.” She put her hand on her hip. “Do I look like I have any money or jewelry? I mean, come on.” She waved a hand down her body. “Where would I put anything like that in this outfit?” Ciera imitated one of the human documentaries she remembered from school.

  The man with the gun laughed as he jabbed it closer. “Fearless, huh?”

  The woman stepped forward, examining Ciera and focusing on her belly. “What are you doing out by yourself on this side of town?”

  Ciera sighed. “I’ve already told your friends here. I’m trying to find a man with the robotic arm. His name’s John.”

  Another man spoke up and stepped forward, leaving the wall he’d been leaning against. “If you don’t have any money, I could find another use of you.” His arm slid around her waist. “I like my woman barefoot and pregnant.”

  Ciera slapped him away. “Hands off the baby. It belongs to the man I seek. It’s obvious you can’t help me. Now, I must be going. I’d like to say meeting you was a pleasure, but I’d be lying.” Ciera kept her cool, but inside, her heart raced. Was this how all the humans were? Would the baby grow up to be like these people—these humans?

  In school, she’d learned that they were evil. Full of harm. Just look at what happened to her ancestors when they were captured. Humans destroyed what they didn’t understand. Ciera never believed it fully. She had been dreaming of this world for as long as she remembered and saw a lot of good, too. She had only thought, when she made it here someday, she’d have her magic to protect her, just in case.

  Maybe school had been right.

  As much as she wanted to run, she walked away, holding her head high and not looking back.

  Once she had turned a corner and another, her heart stopped racing and she yawned. She needed to find a home for this child so she could return to her father and continue with what she loved doing: granting wishes. She needed to find John, fast.

  The rain poured, and Ciera’s light purple hair hung in her eyes and turned nearly black from being drenched. She was so tired and cold.

  The sky darkened and daylight faded. Her thoughts jumbled, and she needed sleep. She tried to use magic to dry herself off, to wish for some warm furs to wrap herself in, but there was nothing.

  If she could just go inside somewhere to warm up. She stepped up on a doorstop and traced her f
inger along bars protecting the door, similar to the dungeons of Erde. Were these bars to keep people in, or out? Rattling one doorknob after another, she finally gave up. Buildings were locked tight in this world.

  Barely able to keep her eyes open, Ciera found an abandoned bench under an overhang that appeared inviting. Above the doorframe read, “Coffee Shop.” Yawning, she headed that way.

  Curling up into a little ball and ensuring her wand still hung on her waistband, she brushed the rain from her skin and shivered herself to sleep. A dream filled her head.

  At home, she snuggled in her soft fairy bed. She was a child and her father sat beside her, reading a story, only she couldn’t hear the words. She was loved and accepted and that was all that mattered. Then, their roof began to leak and water dripped on her head, but her father didn’t notice. She scooted over, but the drops found her again. Suddenly, her entire cheek grew wet and warm, but it wasn’t from the leaking roof.

  She woke and flung her eyes open to a big hairy beast trying to eat her. It had huge white teeth and a giant pink tongue. Ears that flopped on the side of its head. She fumbled to stand up on the bench, to get away from the monster.

  What was this thing?

  “Woof! Woof!” the beast yelled. Now its tongue hung out of its mouth while it panted.

  Ciera wanted to scream, but air didn’t escape. She tried to remember those movies she watched at school. She remembered one… Cujo. It was a dog. A crazy, rabid dog! Her heart hammered in her chest.

  “Sherlock Bones, get over here!” someone yelled from up ahead on the sidewalk. She had a canopy covering her head…an umbrella.

  The beast shook off a pile of water onto Ciera, then trotted off toward the woman.

  Ensuring the coast was clear, she sat down on the bench and rubbed her belly. Had it grown since she’d fallen asleep? What was she going to do? This mission was proving harder than expected. She hadn’t realized how much she relied on her magic.