Elise didn't like slow days at the shop. They were too.. slow for her. On this particular rainy day, business had been even slower than usual. The sky thundered outside as she rested her elbows on the old mahogany desk. Her hands were propping her head up as she drifted off into sleep. The bell atop the door chimed as a tall figure in a fedora and trench coat entered. The figure took off their hat, and long blonde hair fell out. The stranger shook her head to clear off the raindrops, walking towards the desk where Elise sat. The unnamed woman smiled and held the fedora in her hand.
"'Hello! I was wondering if you carried Pegasus feathers? I need them for a spell but 'm afraid 'm all out!" The woman said with the strong accent. And upon closer inspection Elise could see that the lady had dyed the tips of her hair an odd metallic gray color. Elise couldn't help but compare it to her own bland brown hair, chopped hastily into a pixie cut and messy. She could see the woman was clearly one of a higher caliber, as her coat and hat looked new and fairly expensive. She realized she had been staring and had to remind herself of what the woman had been talking about. "Well, I think we've got some in the back, I'll check. Any specific color, Mrs....?"
She nodded slightly, "The name's Mary Ann, though my frien's just call me Mary. And preferably pink." Elise's face tinted a slight red, and she nodded shyly. "Okay, Mrs. Mary Ann, I'll go check in the back for you."
She got up out of her chair, heading to the back room. She quickly spots the needed material, grabbing it and heading back out. In the place of Mary, though, is a small girl, no older than 8, standing in front of her. The little girl had similarly colored blonde hair to Mary, and she had a little pink tutu on over her denim overalls, which had clearly seen better days. She looked up at Elise (though one didn't have to look up much, Elise was rather small) and held out her hand for the Pegasus feathers in Elise's hand. "Mary sent me! Said she had some busy-ness to get to and to give you this." The small girl placed a couple red rupees in front of her. Elise quirked an eyebrow, finding it strange but taking them and putting them in the cash register. There were no spots for them so she just shoved them in with the pennies. 'Well, maybe I can sell them for some extra cash, I can't say no to a little kid.' She thought to herself, it really was quite strange. She handed the small girl the pink ingredient.
"Here you go!" The little girl smiled and thanked her before running off and disappearing.
The rest of the day was filled with as much restlessness as before Mary and the little girl came in, as nobody else seemed that interested in buying magical wares. Just as Elise was closing up shop, though, Mary from before came running in, clearly out of breath. "Did a little version of me come through here? She is in so much trouble when I find her!" Elise nodded her head,
"She came in and told me that you sent her. She handed me two rupees and left after gave her the feathers. Is something wrong?"
Mary pursed her lips, shaking her head slightly. "Nothing's wrong. Say, you don't happen to have those rupees still?" Elise nodded and turned to the cash register, opening it.
"Yeah, I put them right-" There were only pennies where the rupees were. "I could've sworn I put them right here!" She shook her head, turning back to Mary ready to apologize for not taking care of the jewels when she saw that the other woman had a small revolver in her hand. Elise's eyes widened and she scooted back slightly away from Mary. "Holy cow! Why do you have a gun??? I don't have any money to steal!" Mary laughed and her previously alert stance dropped. "It can't hurt ya, silly! It's a pixie gun, and I think I know jus' what happened to those rupees."
Mary grabbed Elise's wrist and tugged her out the door. "Sorry, but now you're stuck with me." She continued to pull Elise along, while the smaller girl was left with her face flushed and stumbling to keep up.
"I-I.. what?!"
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Mary had somehow known where Elise lived, and the two girls stopped by her house for supplies. Just as Elise was leaving, her phone and a couple necessities with her, she was struck by a ping of realization. "Wait, where's James??" She looked around frantically.
"Who's James?" Mary asked, perplexed.
"He's my ferret, and he's not here!" Mary sighed, placing her hand on her face.
"Oh, I think I know where he is."
"You do?? Where is he?" Elise was worried, James hadn't been outside for most of his life, and she feared that he wouldn't be able to survive if someone took him. "That's for me to know and you not to know." Mary said, and continued to drag Elise out the door. The shorter girl simply sighed and followed her, long since having gotten used to this behavior.
Why oh why had Elise agreed to this? The two girls were now trudging through a dark eerie forest, and Elise was scared out of her wits, clinging to Mary as though her life depended on it. Luckily, the rain had dried up and the trees were left with dewdrops, the air felt moist and humid. A twig cracked behind them, and Elise jumped up, "W-what was that??" A small figure appeared, cloaked in shadow, as it neared closer Elise tensed up even more. "This is it, this is how I die. Well, it's been a good run." The figure emerged from the shadows, and as Elise saw the features come into higher definition, the figure was revealed to be... the little girl from before!
"Cait! What are you doing here?" Mary gasped and hugged the small girl when she came closer. Elise clutched her chest, relieved. Mary turned back to Elise. "This is the little twerp who got us into this mess. Caitlyn, meet Elise. Elise, meet Caitlyn." Elise knelt down to Caitlyns height, and waved slightly, "Yo."
The girl smiled, "Yo!!"
"Alrighty weirdos, we need to get goin'. Save the our shit and such." Mary proclaimed and started down the path once again. Elise and Caitlyn followed, idly chattering all the way.
Two hours of walking, that was how long it took for the three girls to get to their destination. Elise was sweaty, regretting her outfit choice (which was a drab black long sleeved shirt and grey slacks). They arrive to a small cave, the walls dripping an unknown liquid and the inside pitch black. Elise takes a seat on a nearby rock, placing her head in her hands as she attempts to catch her breath. After a couple minutes, her breath becomes even and she turns to look back at Mary. "Okay, so is this the place where James and your oh-so-special rupees are?" Mary simply nodded, and entered the cave, a flashlight (which seemingly popped out of nowhere) in hand. Elise and Caitlyn followed, making sure to keep the light Mary was shining in their field of vision. The flashlight shined on the walls of the cave, revealing a honey-like substance dripping from the cavern. Caitlyn had moved from her happy demeanor to clinging to Mary. It was clear the younger of the girls was frightened by the cavern.
A loud, cacophorous laughter reverberated around them, and Elise jumped out of her skin at the sound. All of them looked around for the source of the noise, and they saw a giant throne in front of them. The throne was decorated with various dead animals and plants. Atop the throne was a woman, only slightly older than Elise and Mary, but her hair was closer to Elise's than it was to Mary, it being a drab dark brown. Her eyes were a bright sea green, which resembled Mary and Caitlyn, she looked as if she could be related to the two sisters. Her attire was very simple, a light blue dress which seemed stained with mud and wear over time. She was an unhealthy skinny with a pale complexion. "I knew you would come." The woman said, her voice crackly as though she hadn't used it in quite a while.
Mary's face paled, and Elise could tell she had had some affiliation with this girl before. "Sister dear, why won't you respond?" The woman said again, and Elise's eyes widened.
"S-sister?? What?!" Mary sighed loudly, pushing Elise and Cait aside.
"Stay away, ya hear? This is between me and Petula." Elise lost her balance, falling on her backside. Cait knelt down next to her, watching her big sister with anticipation. Mary pulled out her gun from before, the small pistol like metal shining. Mary pointed it at the woman. "Alrighty, what do ya want? I know ya have the rupees and Ms. Elise's little friend, give them up and maybe I won't use this on you." Petula chuckled again, and pushed herself off the throne, she walked over to Mary, and Elise noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes, her feet were scabbed over. Elise couldn't help but admire Mary for her bravery (had it been Elise herself, she would be quivering in her boots from fear). Petula walked closer to Mary, placing a hand under her chin and lifting it up to her higher stature. Her eye seemed to gleam red, despite the blue tint of the cage.
"Tsk tsk, Mary dear, you know what I want. And I'm just using your little girlfriend here for insurance." Petula rose her hand and Elise felt herself raise in midair, and she flailed about. Petula chuckled as Mary turned around to see Elise. "Let her go!" She said. "Hm, I should think not. Maybe I should also take our little sister too." Cait rose into the air next to Elise, and she started crying.
"Mary!" Mary's eyes flared as she turned back to Petula. In that moment Elise noticed a string around Petula's neck, and a slight red glow from around her collarbone area.
"Mary! She's wearing the rupees!" Mary turned to Elise when she heard her name called, which gave an unfortunate advantage to Petula. The slightly shorter woman was knocked back into the wall, creating a dent as she hit it. Petula left her guard down, and Mary fired a bullet straight at the rupees she was wearing, it landed and the jewels shattered instantly.
Petula fell to her knees, powerless as before the jewels came into her possession. Elise and Cait fell on the floor, released from the air. Mary knelt down to Petula's height, "Whad'ya say we go home, yeah?" Petula grimaced. She seemed hesitant, managed a slight nod, and took Mary's hand to pull her up. Elise picked herself up and walked over to the two, following them out of the cavern, Cait behind them. As Elise left, though, a small animal crawled up on her shoulder. She turned to look and saw her brown furry friend. "James!" She exclaimed, and grabbed him, hugging him and carrying him as she followed the others. Mary pulled out the Pegasus feathers she had bought that day, and placed them on the ground where the 4 girls were standing. She muttered a small incantation and they all appeared in a small, homely cottage. Petula sat down on one of the two couches, exhausted. Mary went into the kitchen to fetch them tea and Elise plopped down on the other couch while Cait sat on the couch with Petula, albeit on the other side far away from her. Mary came back with four teacups filled with lukewarm earl grey tea and they all gladly took one.
There was an uncomfortable silence as Mary sat next to Elise. Mary broke it by turning to Petula and saying, "Y'know, I told ya greed kills." Petula weakly smiled, and for the rest of the evening they all made idle chatter and eventually became friends. Elise was becoming tired, so she rested her head on Mary's shoulder, and she saw the taller girl turn a shade of pink. James was calmly resting on her lap, munching on a peanut contently. She smiled slightly and mumbled, "You still owe me like 7 bucks for that Pegasus feather, you know." They both smiled and laughed.