The Emerald Egg

           Deammesia, the great fae capital, is known for its beautiful crystal towers, green trees, and flowers of all colors. Even the raindrops appeared to sparkle here. The children giggled as they played by the crystalline creek and skipped across the bridge. It was a joyful, peaceful time in Deammesia.

           Deammesia’s great prosperity attracted others drawn to its wealth and glamour. Elves, angels, and dwarves made their homes here. Occasionally, someone would spot a changeling, but if they caused trouble, they wasted no time banishing them.

           Then one day the flowers wilted, and the once sparkling creek turned dark. The leaves began changing colors, painting the countryside with hope, but hope and the leaves tumbled swiftly to the ground.  

           Cao Li, Queen of Deammesia, and the fae council gathered to discuss these unusual changes and concluded that a changeling had probably stolen the emerald egg. The egg, elaborately decorated with several jewels, opened to reveal a flawless diamond. A changeling would not understand the magic the egg possessed and more than likely intended to sell it.

           Cao Li ordered her fae army to search the kingdom for the thief and return the egg. The army scoured through the fae country, but they found no trace of the egg or changeling. After a few days, Cao Li and the fae council became despondent and lost hope of ever recovering the egg. They assumed the changeling had taken the egg to the human realm because there it would bring a larger sum. It would be almost impossible to find a changeling in the human realm. Other than their incessant greed, the changeling’s other magical power was to shapeshift, to change its form to any other species it chose.

           The fae, aware that going to the human realm was strictly forbidden, worked vigorously on polishing their city, only to see the sparkle fade before their eyes. To make matters worse, an ugly troll had taken up residence under the bridge and tormented the fae attempting to cross it. 

           The fae worked vigorously in polishing their city, hoping to restore its sparkle, but they were disappointed to see it fade before their eyes. Then the worst part of the curse revealed itself; all the female fae became barren. 

           Ashera had just entered child-bearing age and the thought of never having children troubled her. Also, she witnessed her own parents aging faster than ever. Her father could barely fly.

           Ashera walked outside to sit on the mushrooms. Mushrooms thrive on decay, so they began sprouting all over the kingdom. She worried about what was to become of her home. What could be done? The lifetime of a fae was about three hundred years, but her parents, who were only ninety, appeared to be two hundred and fifty years old. What would the point be of marrying if she could not produce children? Over and over, her thoughts tore through her head, but no solutions came. Her wings flittered with anxiety, and she found her whole body beginning to shake. It was midnight before she calmed herself and drifted to sleep. Upon awakening, she decided to venture into the human realm to hunt for the egg. She must get it back to save her parents and Deammesia.

           Telling no one of her plans, she left immediately. She floated up towards the moon and followed the dark river. She had only heard of this mythical portal and was not sure it even existed. According to superstitions and legends, historians suggested the portal was near the waterfall, downstream from Deammesia. So, she followed the river through miles of twists and turns until she heard the roar of the water crashing ahead.

           At the bottom of the waterfall, she saw a golden glowing oval. Her wings started jittering and her stomach felt funny. She started to turn back until an image of her elderly father appeared in her mind. She darted through the oval.

           When Ashera came to herself, a few earthlings were looking at her and pointing in disbelief. She quickly folded her wings behind her to more closely mimic their appearance. A car whizzed by, and the exhaust made her cough. Ashera wondered why anyone would want to come to this place. Look at it, dull concrete and stone everywhere, not a crystal any place. Trash tumbled by and the smell.

           She sat on a bench to gather her thoughts and devise a strategy. One thing she knew was a changeling could copy the appearance of humans, but their actions would appear uncommon, and their eyes would look unusually large. With so many people, how could she expect to find him? It all seemed so hopeless. She wondered why she came to such a nasty place. 

           A day passed, and Ashera had not eaten, but now her belly rumbled, and she noticed she was feeling faint. She walked to a vegetable stand and began talking to the merchant, waiting for him to be distracted before putting a couple of strawberries in her pocket. This was not nearly enough to satisfy her, but it generated an idea. Working in a restaurant would allow her access to food, to meet people, and to gather information.

           A couple of days passed before she landed a job at The Roundabout Café, where she served unhealthy, greasy food to people who were way too busy to cook. She couldn’t believe that people ate like this, and how her feet hurt after a shift.

           One day, when she was topping off a customer’s coffee, she overheard someone talking about an auction for a jeweled egg.

           “Did you say someone is auctioning off some sort of egg?” Ashera asked.

           “Yeah, someone is asking a million dollars for this emerald egg. It’s going up at the Panderini’s Auction house tomorrow night. It’s right here in the paper. Who spends money like that on a silly egg?”

           “Can I see it?”

           “Sure, it’s right here on the second page. They took out a big ad for it. I guess some idiot will buy it.”

           Ashera could feel her wings begin to quiver. She folded her wings back tightly against her back before she became exposed. Humans seemed so self-centered and rude. It would be hard to tell how they would treat the fae.

           “When is the auction, sir?”

           “Tomorrow night, at Panderini’s. You going to buy the egg?”

           “Not for that amount. I am just a poor waitress.”

           What Ashera knew was she had to be at that auction. She no longer concerned herself about the changeling. Sure, the changeling would be there hoping to cash in big. She just had to get the egg.

           On the night of the auction, Ashera showed up early for the viewing. She cased the place for exits, cover, and security systems. She especially noticed open windows near the balcony of the auction house. That would be her escape. Humans were not used to fae; they wouldn’t expect her to fly. The changeling would certainly be there waiting to cash in on its stolen item. She had to take precautions not to be spotted by him, so she put on a suit jacket and hat to better disguise her wings and ears.   

           People started filling in the auction house, and the viewing began. Ashera waited for her opportunity to examine the egg. She needed people to feel comfortable and settled. She noticed a man walking down the far-left side of the room. He wore a black suit and black frame glasses that concealed a pair of protruding brown eyes. She suspected this was the changeling. 

           Fifteen minutes before the auction, Ashera made her way towards the egg, which was sitting on a velvet black display stand with the lid open. The auction house had maximized the lighting to showcase the refraction of light and the sparkle of the clear diamond inside. When Ashera approached the egg, she examined it and turned around. But when she turned back around for a second look, she passed fairy dust over the egg, causing it to disappear.

           “The egg is gone!” she yelled.

           The crowd rose from their seats to see if there was any truth to the statement and started murmuring amongst themselves. Security scrambled, looking for the egg or perpetrators of the crime. During the commotion, Ashera dropped a duplicate egg to the floor while she snatched the original.

           A moment later, a security guard yelled, “False alarm, the egg is here!” He picked up the fake egg, holding it high for everyone to see, and put it on the display. Security asked everyone to sit in their seats while they authenticated the egg. Ashera’s wings began twitching. It was only a matter of time until they caught on to her trick. She walked as if she was going to her seat and just when she started to sit down, she took off her coat, dropping it on the floor, and flew towards the balcony and the open window.

           The crowd gasped in shock, which is exactly what Ashera expected. The changeling ran for the door, but it remained locked. She breathed a sigh of relief; this would buy her some time. Security came to their senses and screamed for her to halt. They fired a few shots, breaking the glass window. All missed the mark, and Ashera zipped through the opening and out of the building. She climbed into the night sky, putting as much distance as she could from her pursuers. 

           Traveling as fast as her wings would flutter, she headed directly towards the fairy portal. She descended onto a rooftop, only to see that the changeling had transformed itself into a wolf and paced back and forth in front of the portal. She noticed the wolf sniff the air. The wolf had caught wind of her and began to snarl and gnash its teeth.

           Ashera ducked down behind the ledge of the rooftop and took a deep breath. What would she do now? Then she envisioned the nasty decay of Deammesia and her parents aging. She might already be too late. She looked over the edge, gathered her courage, and flew right at the wolf. The wolf’s jaw snapped. She darted to the left, out of the reach of its nasty-smelling mouth. She flew at him again; this time she zipped early, causing the wolf to overextend itself. This allowed her to circle upward and kick the wolf’s eye.

           The wolf howled in pain. Ashera retreated to catch her breath. The wolf circled, snarled, and showed its teeth in anger. Then she noticed a lamppost near the portal. If she could pull the wolf towards it, and just before it snapped, dart behind the light post. It may give her enough time to pop through the portal.

           Ashera took off towards the wolf, flying circles around its head to anger him. As she headed towards the lamppost, she saw the wolf getting ready to pounce on her. She cut behind the post, causing the wolf to hit the lamppost headfirst. She sprinted towards the portal, and just as she was about to pass through, she looked over her shoulder to see the wolf shaking its head. Ashera entered the doorway to the fairy realm.

           Ashera tumbled and splashed through the river below the waterfall, which helped her come to her senses much quicker than when she entered the human realm. She stood up, shook herself and fluttered the water off her wings so she could fly. Just in time, the wolf landed in the river, shaking the water from his fur, and snapped at her, tearing her clothing. Ashera flew to the waterfall’s peak, but the wolf climbed up the sides so fast that she feared its imminent attack. The wolf jumped towards her, missing her by inches. Immediately, she headed for the cover of the forest, bobbing up and down between the branches. The weight of the egg was causing Ashera to tire, and the wolf was getting closer and closer. She grabbed a branch, pulling it and letting it go, smacking the wolf smartly on the snout. The wolf yelped and pawed at his nose before resuming the chase.

           Ashera panted with exhaustion and her side hurt. Unsure of how long she could avoid the wolf, she buzzed her wings swiftly, heading towards home. The wolf gained ground every few seconds. Ashera attempted to go faster, but her wings were stinging with fatigue. Right before she got to the bridge, the wolf lunged—the troll’s heavy fist landed hard and square on the changeling’s head, smashing him into the earth.

           Ashera spiraled uncontrollably towards the bottom of the decaying Deammesia tower.

           When she woke up, the bright sparkle of the city blinded her like the first rays of a sunrise. When she focused her eyesight, she could see a crowd of fae looking down upon her. Her parents flew over the crowd and landed next to her. Her father looked young again.

           Ashera stood up and wobbled a moment before Cao Li steadied her by placing a hand on her shoulder. 

           “How did you find the Emerald Egg, Ashera?” Cao Li asked.

           Before answering, Ashera hesitated and admitted, “I went to the human realm and stole it from an auction. I know I did something forbidden, and I am sorry.”

           “You did what?” her father asked.

           “Sorry Papa.”

           “I believe we can pardon this one transgression.” Cao Li pointed her finger at Ashera and smiled.

           Ashera could see that Deammesia had regained its sparkle, her parents their youth, and the plants bloomed again. The magic of Deammesia had returned. Unable to tolerate the city’s sparkle, the troll abandoned his bridge home, dragging the changeling into the forest. 

           Ashera looked at her parents. “I think I need to rest.” Then she fainted.

           Two years later, Ashera was married and expecting a baby.