Quid Pro Quo
Reprise from April 2016's A to Z Blog Competition Day Q
Once upon a time, not so very long ago a beautiful little fairy sat weeping in the snow. Under that snow lay her garden. Her beautiful starberries, could they survive.
The many warm days in late Winter had lulled her into believing Spring sat just around the corner and would come riding in at full gallop to make her starberries grow bigger, better, and faster than they ever had before.
But it wasn't Spring just around the corner, it was a man. And he didn't come riding in, he strode in on his own two feet. He wasn't particularly tall or handsome. He wasn't even very fit, but he was a powerful wizard. He said so.
"Listen to me, Babe," he said. "I can get rid of this snow. I've done it before and I can do it again. Your starberries will be Great!"
Now, our little fairy was no dummy. "What's in it for you?" she asked.
"I'm not gonna lie, my little Fruit Cup. I just want to share in your success. And with my help, you can be successful. Successful beyond your dreams."
"Beyond my dreams," she murmured dusting the icy flakes off her bare toes and hovering a bit higher off the ground. "What do I have to do?"
"Okay, Sugar Plum. The first thing is you gotta get rid of that Purple Fairy that's always hanging around."
"But she's my friend. She helps me pick the starberries. And her cousins bring starberries in the winter when it's too cold for mine to grow."
He reared back. Then jutting his jaw toward her and flexing his short, pudgy fingers, he said, "Think about this Sweet Cheeks. You need sunshine. And you need it now."
She knew he was right.
"You don't need no Purple Fairy," he said.
She didn't think that sounded nice.
"First thing you know, all her purple relatives will be on your doorstep and there won't be no room for you. Sure, she'll help you pick your starberries, if they survive this snow. But all those purple cousins will eat 'em up."
She didn't think that sounded right, but he'd done this before. He said so. And she did need to get rid of the snow.
"What should I do?" she asked.
"First of all, Honey Bun, you need to get rid of this piddly little fence. It ain't even tall as the snow is deep."
He was right. It wasn't.
"But it keeps the rabbits out. Or at least, most of them," she said.
"We'll build a bigger one. Better yet, we'll annihilate the little buggers."
He tramped back and forth in the snow. She wanted to tell him that her daffodils were under the snow right there, but he talked over her.
"And we'll plant cabbages and rutabagas. They'll bring a better price."
She did like a good coleslaw. But she wasn't sure what a rutabaga was. And would there be room for her starberries?
"We'll put up a big sign. Flashing lights and arrows, so's people will notice us," he said with a dreamy look in his eyes. "We'll tear down that hovel of yours and build a proper house, a huge house. You'll love it, Prettikins."
"Now, wait just a minute Mr. Whoever You Are."
She had built that cottage herself. Maybe it wasn't huge, but good deeds came out of that house. Good ideas. Good dreams for the future. Actually her home was one of the biggest in the neighborhood. Quite large enough for her world.
"Wait?" he shouted. "You ain't got a minute to wait. Let me fix this for you. I can do it. I've done it before. The Great and Powerful Trumpelstiltskin does not lose."
"You're trampling my daffodils." She hovered higher above the snow, eye to eye with the red-faced man. Her hands on her hips in her best Superman pose.
Recovering her equanimity, she smiled and graciously invited the man to tea. "The sun will come out in due time and Purple Fairy is bringing some starberries. I'll make whipped cream."
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