Faeries of Delusia

Chapter Six

We landed on top of a roof.

Mitsoki let go of me as quickly as he could. “Good gosh you smell horrible!”

“I smell?” I couldn’t smell anything.

“Like a human.”

So . . . humans have scents now . . .

“Well now that I saved your butt you have to help me with something.”

“Hey! I didn’t ask you to save me, you just came out of nowhere and then suddenly I was in the air.”

“You should be more grateful little girl.” he snapped. “I could throw you in that ocean right now and watch you be eaten by the Ocean Dragon.”

“You wouldn’t.” I wasn’t sure why I was pushing his buttons like this. I was sure he definitely could. He didn’t look the murderer type, though.

He flew down and grabbed my wrist.

“Joking!” I covered.

“Not funny.” he growled. “Anyways, I’m a little short on Beans, do you think you could steal me some Razzlenuffs from the bakery?”

I honestly didn’t understand a word he said. “You’re short on Beans?”

He sighed out in frustration. “Like money in your world.”

“Oh . . .”

“The Razzlenuffs are labeled so don’t ask me what they look like. Grab three or four, and maybe one for yourself if you’re greedy, which I’m guessing you are.”

“Uh-,” I didn’t know how else to respond. I had to listen to him unless, well, unless I wanted to die, I guess. “Okay-,” I waited for him to fly me down but all he did was stand in front of me with his arms folded. “Are you gonna help me down?” I asked impatiently.

“You are quite capable yourself.”

I scoffed and got on my knees. I slowly backed up and began to climb down the paneled roof. There was a balcony below me so my first task was to get there without falling off. Clumsy me slipped and I pummeled down on the balcony. The windows were open and when I peered inside the house I saw a short little girl in a dress, boots, and a hat. Was she a dwarf? She was young so all I did was wave and continue on my way.

I flopped my legs over the balcony fence and looked down to see how far it was to the ground. Not that far. I managed my body over the side of the fence and held on tight, the evening breeze brushing through my hair. I let down farther but then realized I had nothing else to hold on to. I would have to drop from here. I let go and instantly regretted it. I tumbled to the cold, hard, dirt road and thumped my head against it. This was about the third time my head had been beaten.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I had brain damage by now.

I sat up and looked around. People and creatures on the street glared at me in disgust and worry. The shop owners began to close their blinds and flip their Open signs to Closed.

“Wait!” I yelled out to the Bakery shop owner. He looked at me funny through the glass of the store. “I need something for my friend.” Mitsoki wasn’t even close to being my friend but what else could I say? I need something for my enemy?

The shop owner looked around at a few folks to see their responses. Most of them shook their heads no. I begged again. “Please? It will be real quick.”

I obviously would be the only one in the store which made it harder for me to steal. I guess I would have to grab the Razzlenuffs and run for it. Run to where?

He finally sighed and opened the door, keeping his distance from me. He wanted to hold his nose shut, but obviously he wasn’t ignorant so he held his breathe for as long as he could.

I felt bad having to steal from this guy. He looked to be a gnome or a dwarf, looking like the little girl I saw on the balcony. He was very short with a long gray beard with boots and a hat.

I went over to where bakery items were shown through the glass.

I read a sign that said Razzlenuffs. They were odd looking things, looking almost like a jelly filled doughnut. I opened the case and peered over my shoulder, searching for the shop owner. He was staring at me and when he saw I was looking at him, smiled politely but it was obviously fake. A few creatures were outside the shop staring in at me. What were they expecting me to do? Put on a top hat and do a little dance?

I grabbed four Razzlenuffs and sat them on my right arm. I walked over to the shop owner and frowned. “Sorry for doing this.” With that, I darted out of the store, startling a few onlookers. They gasped out in fear and most of them ran. I looked above the shop for Mitsoki but saw nothing.

“Where in the world are you, Mitsoki?!” I rambled to myself.

I ran down the dirt road in hope of finding a place to hide. But the whole town’s eyes were on me there was nowhere around here I could hide without someone seeing. I turned rights and lefts and ran between houses and shops. I ran down the darkest of places so maybe I could find a decent place to hide or at least not be seen.

Finally I found a small corridor in between two shops. Almost like a cubby hole. I squeezed myself into it and set the Razzlenuffs in my lap, then cupped my forehead with both hands. I had a major head ache and I had no idea where Mitsoki went to. Was this a trick? A test? A trap? I only stole so I could stay alive. I pulled my head up and decided to examine the weird food. I held up one Razzlenuff. It definitely looked like a jelly filled doughnut. The thought of doughnuts made my stomach growl in pain. I needed to eat something now before I starved to death. I put the food item to my nose and sniffed in its scent. It smelled like berries.

I ravenously chomped down the food, making sure I left no crumb behind. Now I had three. Would Mitsoki be mad? At this point I didn’t even care.

When I was finished eating my Razzlenuff I set the other three aside and curled up into a ball. I rested my head on my knees and frankly had nothing else to do but sit there and cry.

When I woke up it was morning. No one has disturbed me in my sleep which means no one found me, and if they did, they stayed away because apparently I have some sort of stink to me. I looked down at the ground beside me. My Razzlenuffs were gone!

I frantically searched all around me. Had I misplaced them? This hole I sat in wasn’t very big, where else could they have gone? I heard the crackling of rocks and feet against pavement so I stayed as still as I could and looked around in the darkness. Not too far from me I saw a few figures but they were also black so I couldn’t make out what exactly they looked like. I squeezed out of my cubby hole and began to crawl. As I became close I noticed each one of them had one of three Razzlenuffs.

“Hey!” I called, and it echoed down the narrow alley. They turned around and all I could see was the white of their eyes.

“Yikes!” I heard one screech and suddenly they were running.

“Let’s get out of here!” another announced.

“Hey—ow—those are mine! Come back here!” I continued to crawl over sharp little rocks that cut up my knees.

Finally they escaped into daylight. My shoe was caught on something so I turned around to see what it was but it was hopeless. It was just too dark. I yanked at it and finally it released me and I tumbled onto the dirt road again. I saw the little critters up ahead. They were spider like but bigger than any spider. Maybe as big as a head.

“Mitsoki is going to kill me!” I announced aloud on accident. That suddenly halted the creatures in their place and they slowly turned around to eye me up.

“You know Mitsoki?” one asked.

I mentally wondered if that was a bad thing. “Uh—yeah.”

All three of them began to crawl toward me. I realized I was still on my hands and knees so I pushed up and sat on the road as the spider-like beings approached me.

“That boy is a trickster.” one said. “He’s no good. Stay away from him.”

“Okay, whatever. Can I please have my Razzlenuffs back now?”

“But we are so very hungry.” the third one exclaimed. I felt bad for the things, but I didn’t steal them for them.

“Those are for Mitsoki.”

“Don’t give these to him! Besides, he has no money, everyone knows that. What did ya do? Steal them?” one teased, but it was no joke. I nodded.

“Humans, so very naughty.”

“I had to or—wait. You know I’m a human and you aren’t running from me?”

One of them laughed. “What is there to be afraid of?”

That was true. I shrugged. “I don’t know. Everyone else does. They say I smell bad.”

“You do.” it stated plain and simple. “You smell like the human world.”

“Hey, I don’t go around saying all of you stink.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“It’s because we don’t.” one of them said and giggled.

“Listen, I just want my food and I will leave you alone.”

They ignored me and continued with their conversation. “What is a human doing in Delusia anyway?”

I sighed out, annoyed. “None of your business, okay-,”

“It isn’t safe for you to be here. If Prince Feory catches you-,”

“Well I won’t let him catch me.” I interrupted fiercely. “I need to find a place to hide, now hurry and give me those so I can be on my way.”

“How did you make it to this village alive? Didn’t you have to cross Death Desert?”

Death?! Mitsoki never mentioned anything about dying. “I could have died?” I gasped out in sudden panic.

“Not many humans come here obviously, but when they do often times they don’t even live to get here. Even some residents of Delusia don’t make it.”

“How do they die? From the heat?”

“And the Sand Monsters.” one of them said.

“I remember Mitsoki rambling about Sand Monsters before he noticed I was watching him . . .” I thought aloud. That monster! He knew very well that I could have been eaten or torn apart and he still sent me out there alone. Does he want me dead? What did I do to him?

One of the spider things chuckled. “Told ya he was bad news.”

“I can’t believe I stole these Razzlenuffs for him!”

“You seriously stole them?” one asked me incredibly.

I sighed out, disappointed in myself. I nodded solemnly.

“Well. . . I guess you could give them back. That will show humans aren’t all that bad. And here-,” It handed me two purple tickets. “You can pay for the one you ate.”

I looked down at the money. “Where did you get this?”

“Found it on the street. Creatures here are so clumsy and forgetful they are always dropping stuff. So we are here to pick it up. We are kind of the cleaners of these streets. We come out at night to clean up whatever was left behind.”

“Amazing . . .” I murmured and turned the tickets over. On each of them it stated One Bean. This was a Bean? All this time I thought they paid in actual beans, like lima beans or something. I suddenly realized I would never fully understand this land’s language. I looked at the creepy spider things. “Thank you for this.”

“See you around, Jamie.” one said, waving farewell with one of its many legs.

I was about to ask how it knew my name but I guess I was quite the conversation lately.

“Hey, um, before I go. What are your names?” I wasn’t sure why I needed to know. I didn’t want to leave and never see them again without at least knowing who they were.

“I’m Hiro.” the one said, the one that spoke to me the most.

“Akira.” the second one said, she was obviously a female, she spoke the least.

“Jun.” the last one said.

There was no distinct way to determine them. The two male’s voices sounded extremely similar. Looking at them they were three big black spiders with big white eyes.

“Alright. See you around!” I said, picking up all three Razzlenuffs. They were on the ground, yes, but at least I was returning them. It’s the thought that counts.

I hurried to find the shop I got them at. Yesterday I had taken so many twists and turns I really didn’t remember what way to turn next. The streets were not deserted as the other road I was recently on. Most of the creatures didn’t pay much mind to me anymore like I was invisible. It would actually be better if I was.

I finally found the shop after almost an hour of searching. Yes, I could have asked for directions, but I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself.

I slowly approached the small shop. Behind the glass I saw the little old man sweeping the dirty floor with a broom. Yesterday he didn’t seem too surprised I stole the food that I did, but I still felt bad.

I entered and it drew his attention instantly.

I mentally tried to remember what I had planned out to say to him but everything I thought of was lost.

“I’m sorry I stole these yesterday, it wasn’t my idea.” I began. He didn’t look too convinced and I didn’t blame him. I should have mentioned Mitsoki, maybe then he would have understood, because obviously he wasn’t the best boy around, but I wasn’t any tattle tale. “I want to return them and here-,” I shoved my hand into my pocket and pulled out the two purple—now crumpled—tickets. “I want to pay for the one I already ate. Sorry again.” I held out the Razzlenuffs and the money. The man just stood there with his broom staring at me, not knowing what to do or say.

Suddenly he floated up into the air and spun around, a purple cloud of dust forming around him. In a snap of lightning, the old man wasn’t old anymore. The Faerie that now took his place looked like Mitsoki, so I assumed it was a Sand Faerie. I dropped the money and the food on the ground and backed up away from it in case it was dangerous. The evil laugh echoed through the little shop and I began to breathe faster, my pulse racing. I needed to get out of here, now!

“Well done, human.” the Sand Faerie exclaimed and snapped, causing it to vanish into thin air.

“Wha-,” I couldn’t find the words that wanted to come out. Instead I blacked out and fell to the dirty, dusty shop floor.