Chapter Text
Nacy slammed the door to her truck and locked it, then trudged, shivering, towards her favorite pub, both hands tucked under her armpits.
Her head drooped as she walked and her legs felt heavy, making trudging down the recently shoveled path to the tavern grueling.
Her leg suddenly hit a deep spot and she went face-first into a shoveled pile of snow next to the pub.
Groaning, she weakly lifted her head and shook snow from her face.
As she pushed herself back up, a bright patch of red in the snow pile caught her eye; she examined herself quickly but found no obvious injuries.
Nacy brushed some of the snow away and jolted back in alarm when she saw a tiny figure partially buried in the snow.
A doll?
It took a moment to dig a little hole and pull it out.
Nacy’s eyes widened as she stared at the figure in her hands; it was a small, red-winged humanoid in a tattered red shirt and pants.
”Wh…what are you?” Nacy muttered, nudging the little humanoid, wincing when she felt how stiff it was. “Are you alive?”
She pressed a finger to its chest, trying to feel a heartbeat, then held the creature up to her ear; after a moment she heard it take a faint breath.
Nacy trudged back to her truck as quickly as possible and hopped in, starting it and turning the heat to medium.
She put the humanoid thing in one of the mittens from her glovebox and set it in a cupholder, then buckled up and drove for home, heart thumping and thoughts racing.
“Ok!” Nacy paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. “I have no idea what this thing is, but it was freezing, so I just need to warm it up and take into account its size and…everything…”
Nacy sat next to the fireplace and carefully wrapped the little creature in a hand towel she’d thrown in the dryer for a few minutes, making sure not to crumple the red wings.
”I’m no doctor but I’ve dealt with frostbite and hypothermia before,” Nacy said, cradling the creature in the crook of her arm. “I’ll do my best for you, ok?”
Nacy watched the creature for a moment and listened, but couldn’t tell if it was still breathing.
”Just take your time and you’ll be alright,” Nacy murmured, scooting a bit closer to the fire. “I hope.”
Nacy glanced out the window to see snow and frost caked on the window.
“I wonder why you were out there in that, you poor thing…”
Nacy sat for a bit, then checked the creature again; her heart leapt when she saw its chest rising.
“You are alive!” she exclaimed, hurrying to the laundry room and warming up a fresh towel. “You little trouper!”
Nacy tossed the used towel in the dryer, then wrapped the creature in the fresh one before returning to the fireplace.
”I think you’re gonna be ok,” Nacy murmured, cradling the little creature close.
She eventually put the fire out and moved to the couch.
“Ok, let’s see…” Nacy said, putting the creature on a throw pillow. “This should be cozy, huh?”
She put a heating pad inside a hand towel and gently draped it over the creature, then turned the pad onto low.
”I hope that’ll be enough…and won’t burn you. You’re so tiny.”
Nacy sat on the couch next to the makeshift bed and turned the TV to a documentary about mountain climbing.
She was dozing when she heard a faint squeak; glancing up she saw the TV playing a show about rafting.
The squeak came again and Nacy warily looked around, then down at the creature still lying on the pillow.
”You’re okay!” Nacy exclaimed, reaching a hand out.
The creature squeaked again and lunged for Nacy’s hand; she jerked it back.
”It’s okay,” Nacy murmured. “Let me get you warmed up, okay, little guy?”
Wide green eyes stared up at Nacy.
”I’m not going to hurt you, okay?” Nacy asked softly.
The creature kept its teeth bared for a moment, but suddenly it closed its eyes and sank down.
”Ok…I’m gonna pick you up.”
Slowly Nacy reached for the creature, carefully wrapping it in the towel.
“I’ll get you something warm to drink.”
As Nacy walked to the kitchen, the creature began struggling in the towel.
”Oh, okay, uh…hold on, don’t jump…I’ll put you down.”
She carefully set it down on the kitchen table.
”There! You’re okay, see?”
The creature looked around, green eyes blinking slowly as it looked towards the front door.
”I’ll let you out when the weather isn’t so bad,” Nacy said, pouring water into a kettle and switching it on. “Promise. But it’s dangerous right now. You almost froze!”
The creature pulled the hand towel tightly around itself and shivered.
Navy poured a bit of water into a small medicine cup, then waved a hand over it for a minute.
“Can you drink this?” Nacy asked, wrapping the cup in a paper towel and holding it out.
The creature looked at the cup, then at Nacy, before hesitantly taking it and taking a tiny sip, then another.
”Good, okay,” Nacy said. “That’s better, isn’t it?”
The creature finished the water, then put the cup down and pulled the towel tighter around itself, shivering.
“Can I carry you?” Nacy asked, holding out her hands. “It’s a lot warmer in my room, and I’ll make you a little bed with the heating pad.”
After a moment the creature nodded and stood up shakily, walking into Nacy’s hands.
”Ok, there we go…you’re alright…”
Nacy headed to her room, holding the creature in the crook of one arm while getting some blankets and setting the heating pad up in a nearby armchair.
”There, how’s that?” Nacy asked, setting it down on the little pile of blankets.
Tired green eyes watched Nacy for a moment; then the little figure burrowed into the blankets.
”If you need something, wake me up, ok?” Nacy asked, sitting on her bed as fatigue suddenly weighed her down.
The creature nodded and closed its eyes with a yawn; after a few minutes Nacy got up and nervously watched it for a moment, hoping it would keep breathing.
“You’re okay,” she sighed. “I need to get some rest now too.”
Nacy got the creature’s wet clothes she’d put aside earlier and padded them dry, then put them on a fresh towel.
Shaking her head wearily, Nacy finally changed out of her climbing clothes and into cozy pink pajamas.
With another yawn she flopped into bed, snuggling under the covers and closing her eyes.
Nacy rolled over and groaned when sunlight hit her eyes.
”Blizzard’s over,” she yawned, glancing around.
The pillow and blankets she’d put on the chair were still there, but the little creature wasn’t.
Nacy sat up quickly, looking worriedly around.
”Uh…where’d you go, little guy?”
There was a little squeak from behind Nacy; she turned to see the creature perched on the headboard, wearing its little clothes.
“There you are! Do you feel better?”
She got a nod in response.
“I’m glad,” Nacy sighed, smiling. “Are your wings okay? They didn’t get frostbite, did they?”
The creature flapped its wings and flew over Nacy’s head and sat on the blankets.
”That’s a relief. A human would’ve had frostbite for sure. I guess you’re tougher than we are.”
Nacy stood up and slowly approached, examining the red wings, which she now saw had darker red spots, and luckily no traces of any frostbite.
”So you’re real…” she murmured. “I’ve read about fairies but I didn’t think I’d ever meet one.”
The fairy raised an eyebrow.
”Glad you found your clothes,” Nacy said. “Are they dry enough?”
The fairy nodded.
”Great!” Nacy sighed in relief. “Well, the weather’s better now, so if you want to leave and you feel better, I’ll let you out.”
The fairy crossed her arms, looking down for a moment before shaking her head.
”You want to stay?” Nacy asked. “You sure? If you need to get back home or something…”
The fairy looked around, then gave Nacy a confused look and shrugged.
”Oh…yeah, I did drive kind of a long way…” Nacy said. “But I know where I found you. I’ll take you back there so it’s easier for you to get back home.”
Again the fairy shook its head.
”Is your home far away?” Nacy asked.
With a small sigh, the fairy nodded.
”That was some blizzard last night,” Nacy said. “You poor thing.”
The fairy lowered her head, antennae drooping.
”Well, I’ll do my best to help you,” Nacy said. “I can start with getting you some food. I bet you’re pretty hungry by now.”
The fairy raised her head and her antennae perked up, causing Nacy to smile.
”Alright then!” Nacy said, holding out her hands. “I can carry you if you’re still tired.”
The fairy examined Nacy’s hands for a moment, then fluttered over and landed.
Nacy slowly walked to the kitchen, then put both hands on the island.
”I’ve got some fruit right here,” she said. “Apples, oranges, pears…any of that look good, little guy?”
The fairy glanced up at Nacy with a look of annoyance on her face.
”Something wrong?”
The fairy sighed, then walked around the island, looking for something.
Finally it mimed writing.
“You want to write?” Nacy asked. “I didn’t know fairies could…never mind, hang on…”
She rummaged in some drawers before pulling out a planner and a pencil.
”There you go! But the pencil’s kinda big, isn’t it?”
The fairy rolled its eyes and opened the planner, pointing at a letter.
”E?” Nacy asked. “L…wait, you’re spelling something!”
The fairy nodded and continued to point at letters.
”So…E…L…L…I…E…” Nacy said. “Ellie?”
The fairy smiled at her and crossed her arms.
”Oh, your name!” Nacy exclaimed. “You’re Ellie.”
Ellie smirked and nodded.
”That took me a bit too long to catch on, didn’t it?” Nacy laughed. “Well, my name is Nacy. Nice to meet you, Ellie!”
Nacy held out a finger and Ellie stared at it, quickly taking a few steps back.
”Sorry, I was trying to shake hands,” Nacy said. “Maybe fairies don’t do that?”
Ellie tipped her head.
”Don’t worry about it,” Nacy said, going to the fridge and examining its contents for a moment before pulling out some bagels, cream cheese and jerky. “Do any of these look good to you?”
Ellie examined the jerky before pointing at the cream cheese.
”Do you just want that?” Nacy asked. “Or should I put some on a bagel?”
Ellie looked at Nacy for a moment, then shrugged.
”I’ll toast a bagel and you can see if you like it,” Nacy said, popping a bagel in the toaster.
Ellie began sniffing the jerky and Nacy opened the bag, taking out a small piece.
”You eat meat?” she asked.
Ellie took the jerky and sniffed it again, then ripped off a piece.
”Guess that explains the sharp teeth.”
Ellie finished the jerky and reached into the bag for more.
”Well, I’ve got a lot of jerky,” Nacy said. “We shouldn’t run out anytime soon.”
Just then the bagel popped up in the toaster and Ellie jumped, letting out a squeak.
”Oh, sorry Ellie!” Nacy said with a wince. “I should’ve warned you. That’s what toasters do.”
Ellie sighed and shook her head.
Nacy put the bagel on a plate and put cream cheese on it, then pulled a little piece off and offered it to Ellie.
”What do you think?”
Ellie sniffed it, then hesitantly took a little bite; she smiled suddenly and grabbed the piece, putting the whole thing into her mouth.
”Oh good, you like it!” Nacy laughed. “Bagels are my favorite too.”
Ellie looked at the bagel, then gave Nacy a hopeful look.
”Aww, you can have more!” Nacy chuckled, getting a bigger piece and handing it to Ellie. “Whenever you’re hungry let me know.”
Ellie finished the piece of bagel, then got another piece of jerky and chewed on it.
”If you want to stay here,” Nacy said, “I want to get you some warmer clothes and a bed. What do you think about that?”
Ellie looked up and tipped her head curiously.
”Unless the pillow and blankets are comfy enough,” Nacy went on.
Ellie frowned in thought, then nodded.
”Just the pillow and blankets?” Nacy asked. “But I think having new clothes would be good.”
Ellie pursed her lips, then nodded.
”Okay! I’ll get on that.”
Ellie smiled.
”I’ll get more food for you too,” Nacy said. “I’ll go on my computer later and you can show me what else you like to eat.”
Ellie nodded eagerly and stood up, pointing to the fruit in the bowl.
”You like fruit? That’s easy. I’ll get some fruit and veggies.”
Ellie beamed.
”It must be hard to find food in a place like this,” Nacy murmured. “And hard to stand the cold. I’m glad I was around to help.”
Ellie nodded and bowed her head, then walked over and took Nacy’s finger, lifting and shaking it a couple times.
”Aww, you’re welcome!” Nacy said with a smile. “You need more food?”
Ellie shook her head, then stretched and yawned.
”A nap’s not a bad idea,” Nacy said, standing and holding out her hands. “Need help?”
Ellie shook her head and flew into Nacy’s bedroom.
”Let me know if you need anything,” Nacy said, following Ellie into her room. “Want the heating pad on?”
Ellie shook her head, then huddled up under the blankets and closed her eyes.
”Have a good rest,” Nacy murmured, quietly shutting the door as she left.