Chapter 1

©2009 A. Jane

Late winter. Two years later…

Neak was grumbling foul words and nasty curses under her breath as she trudged up the road towards her Grove in Oak’s Holm, had been grumbling them since she left the Office of Jury Selection three days ago. She still couldn’t believe the stupidity of it all. How stupid could they be? She was a Silverplum. Silver. Plum. Not a Sliverplume. What idiot confuses a Flower Fairy, who sparkles, flitters around on gossamer wings, and is no more than eleven and a half inches high, with a Tree Nymph, who is green, talks to trees, and stands five feet high?

Oh yes, she would have her Great Oak eat that Pixie.

“The Office of Justice doesn’t make mistakes,” she mimicked the high-pitched voice. 
Sensing something off, Neak became aware of her surroundings. She stopped and stared. The turn off to her Grove had been a single worn path when she left and now it was a well-traveled road. She looked around to make certain she had taken the right road home and yes, she had. All the other landmarks were right.

Turning down the path, she cautiously continued her journey. What possible mischief could her temporary replacement have gotten into since she left? Granted she couldn’t wait for the temp to arrive, needing to leave for The Capitol, but she had left a long letter of instructions.

But soon caution started to give way to panic as she noticed all the changes. There seemed to be a small settlement of cottages dotting the road with children of all varieties playing in the yards. She nearly tripped when she saw a couple of teenagers attempting to turn into whatever animal they were.

She forced herself to take deep breaths. She could deal with a few cottages, some families living near by, especially Unicorns. Her trees were well behaved; they wouldn’t eat the children.

When she passed a small cluster of shoppes and…and a café, she started running. The flaps of her jacket were snapping behind her, and her hiking boots clomped on the road kicking up dust. She knew she would be bruised from her bag banging against her hip, but she kept going, just glad she had worn jeans.

She ran the last four miles never stopping. Tiny whimpers escaped past her lips as she came ever closer to her home. No, no, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. The Sacred Groves were just that, Sacred. They weren’t supposed to have shoppes and such in or around them.

When she saw her home, she forced her lungs and legs to keep working. There was a sign outside. A sign! No, no, no, no! She crashed through the open door and…

Couldn’t catch her breath or she would be doing a lot of yelling.

There were tables and chairs and…and…and a bar at the back of what once had been her living room. With a…a…a Lobo standing behind it washing a glass. She dropped her bag on the floor as she continued sucking in deep breaths.

Dewi looked up and blinked at the Tree Nymph standing in the middle of his pub looking as if she were about to pass out. He had never seen a Tree Nymph in such disarray, let alone hyperventilating.

“Are you all right, miss?” He didn’t think it prudent to inform her they didn’t open for another hour yet, she looked in need of aid.

“What have you done to my home?!”

Dewi blinked again. “Your home?”

“Yes, what have you done to my home!? Where is…?”

“Oh good, you’re open.” Toff, a youthful Centaurian Divinity, appeared in the pub and made his way towards the bar, doing his best to skirt the tables, his hooves falling heavy on the floor. “You wouldn’t believe the morning I’ve had. Mother’s in one of her moods and…”

“You!” Neak turned her fury on the Divinity. “You patronize this place?”

“Neak!” His frazzled purple eyes lit with delight seeing the Tree Nymph. He had always enjoyed talking with her when he walked the Groves... that is before she left. “I didn’t realize you were coming down for a visit. Let me buy you a glass of Gnome Ale, love the stuff, and you can tell me all about life in The Capitol, hmm?”

“What do you mean, visit?”

“You moved, so this would be a visit, yes?”

“No, horse boy, I never moved. Where’s the temp I requested? Why is there a pub in my home?”

Toff blinked, confused. “Temp? No, you put in for a transfer.”

“No, no, no, no, no! I asked for a temporary replacement, not a transfer.”

“I told Mother it was rather odd for a Tree Nymph to join the Offices of Jury Selection—there are hardly any trees in The Capitol—but she insisted.”

Neak stomped her feet and just kept from screaming again. “I did no such thing! I put in for a temporary replacement while I dealt with jury duty.”

“Tree Nymphs are exempt from jury duty.”

“They thought I was a Sliverplume!” she yelled, uncaring that she made no sense. Tears started to well in her eyes and spill over. “I’m a Silverplum!”

“Neak?” The Centaur knocked over a table as he attempted to reverse directions and approach the Tree Nymph, wishing to offer comfort. “I don’t understand. Are you okay?”

“I’m a Silverplum! Silverplum! Silverplum! I’m a Silverplum. How hard is it to tell the difference between a Tree Nymph and a Flower Fairy? I’m green, I don’t have wings, nor am I eleven and a half inches high and I sure as hell don’t sparkle. I tried to tell that stupid Pixie, but she thought I…”

“There, there.” He patted her on the shoulder.

“And now…” her voice broke on a sob. “And now I come back to find you’ve given away my home. Ten generations of Silverplums have watched over this Grove, and you gave it to a Lobo!”

Dewi cleared his throat. “Now, there was no giving away of anything, Miss Silverplum. I paid a bundle for this place, covering all the debts the Grove had incurred.”

Neak turned angry eyes on the Lobo. Wolves were easy to tell apart from the other WairFolk. They had a certain, well, wolfish look to them, their features angular and lean, with slashing brows. They also had a tendency to stare.

“My Grove was not in debt! I paid all my bills on time, despite the late paychecks and the out of date equipment. Do you know how hard it is to get the Divinities to pay on time?”

“After you left, there was no one to pay the bills, so debt was accrued. On top of the debts I paid off, I was forced to hire a Freelance Nymph to tame the trees. They kept trying to eat my patrons.”

“My trees!” Neak yelled and ran out of the pub, her hands waving above her head.

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