Pixie Magic Chapter 13 1/2
This story was written in response to feedback comments readers made about the Pixie Magic series. One reader in particular (Purplefizz) wanted to know more about the Pixie community outside Vermont. I had been working on another story at the time, but I kept thinking about Skyler, Fern, and the Vermont Pixies (most likely the result of inhaling too much pixie dust).
A special thanks to my "editor," Chris6160, who has a magic of his own when it comes to helpful suggestions and grammatical corrections. I strongly suspect he may be a pixie.
As the title implies, this story takes place a year after chapter 13 of Pixie Magic and 11 years before chapter 14, the epilog. While this could be a stand-alone story, I would recommend you read the original story, Pixie Magic, before reading this one.
As always, I encourage you to write a comment or two. If this story is any indication, they make a difference. I'm also thankful for your kind and often generous star ratings but I'll understand if you feel otherwise.
Finally, the "usual advisories" still apply: This is a work of fiction. The characters and most of the place names in this story are entirely fictional and any similarity with real persons living or deceased is purely coincidental and unintended. Additionally, and most importantly, all the characters described in the story are adults and over the age of 18.
Part 1: Skyler's strange premonitions.
Friday.
Fern watched the "Welcome to Massachusetts" sign go by before turning to look at me.
"Sky, I still don't know if this is such a good idea," she said before adjusting the air conditioning vent on her side of the car.
"It will be fun, a double celebration; you being accepted into veterinarian school and Ben being made name partner!" I replied.
"Couldn't we just celebrate at home? Why do we have to go all the way down to Tanglewood?" Fern asked. In addition to the anxiety in her voice, my pixie-sense detected there was something else was going on with Fern.
"You already know the answer," I said, taking a quick glance at her before studying the traffic ahead. "Janet set up this weekend getaway with Ben when she found out about his promotion. Ben insisted we join them when he heard you were accepted at veterinarian school."
Janet was my brother Ben's wife. She enjoyed the fine arts and Manhattan lifestyle, so when she learned that Ben was being made a name partner at his New York corporate law firm, she booked a suite at the ritzy Tanglewood Inn and Spa for a celebratory weekend and to get out of the New York City summer heat. I suspect she wasn't too thrilled when Ben asked to have us join them.
"What's troubling you? Is it Janet?" I asked.
"No, I get along pretty well with her. Maybe I'm worried because I've never been outside of Vermont before," Fern explained, "Couldn't she have found a nice music venue and spa near us?"
I did my best to suppress a laugh. "Near Greenwood? Fern, you don't really believe that Janet would be comfortable at any of the locations around Greenwood, do you? She's a big city girl and I suspect Tanglewood is a stretch for her. Besides, she probably wants to keep Ben as far away from your sister Sparkle as possible."
Sparkle was Fern's youngest sister and an oversexed pixie. She was drawn to men the way a moth is drawn to light. Her magically enhanced voluptuous body and ditzy personality was a combination that spelled trouble for any married man whose wife happened to be standing nearby. On second thought, she'd be trouble for any man, period, whether he was married or not.
Fern laughed. "I almost forgot about that. The look on Janet's face when Sparkle flirted with your brother at our wedding was priceless. If I hadn't swooped in and pulled Sparkle away, I don't know what Janet would have done."
"At least there was no permanent damage done to Ben and Janet's relationship," I responded, "They were pretty affectionate with each other by the end of the wedding reception."
"That's because I slipped them both a couple of pixie mushrooms before they left," Fern said, smiling.
"You WHAT?" I blurted and slammed on the brakes as a reflexive instinct.
The car behind us nearly ran into us. He gave a long blast on his horn to show his annoyance. I pulled over and watched the driver give me the one finger salute as he passed. I got back on the road and kept my distance from him.
Pixie mushrooms had a magical property that made people and pixies horny. I first discovered that too late at a campfire gathering with a few of Fern's sisters and brothers.
"I didn't need pixie-sense to see what Janet was feeling at the reception. The icy looks she gave your brother were bad enough, but he didn't help matters by sneaking peeks at Sparkle all evening," Fern explained. "So, I thought a little mushroom magic would bring them closer together."
"You're as clever as you are sneaky. No wonder I love you so much," I exclaimed with a chuckle. "But I can pixie-sense feelings too, you know. Tell me what's really bothering you."
Fern let out a small sigh. "It just . . . well . . . this is the weekend of the full moon and all."
"We went over all that with your siblings. They can celebrate the Festival of the Full Moon without us," I replied.
"It isn't right," Fern protested, "We're the King and Queen. We're supposed to be there."
"We left your sister Holly in charge. She's more than capable of making sure everything will run smoothly. Remember what a rock she was for you at my first festival? Vix had just become Queen and she wasn't there for most of the night," I recalled.
Fern looked at me. "You're right, of course. I don't know why I should be feeling so uneasy. I should just relax and enjoy myself. I'm sure Holly can handle it."
I reached over and put my hand on her thigh. "We'll be fine. Maybe we can sneak off somewhere and do our own Festival of the Full Moon together, just the two of us."
Fern rolled her eyes. "I'd like to see how you're going to pull
that
off."
The rest of the ride was unremarkable until we drove through Pittsfield and approached Lennox. I began to get a déjà vu feeling even though I had never been to Lennox or Tanglewood before. I dismissed the feeling, chalking it up to the fact that nearly all New England towns have a lot of architectural similarities. But Fern must have sensed something.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.
"I'm fine, really. It's just that . . . well, have you ever been someplace for the first time and felt that you've been there before?" I asked, "Because that's what I'm feeling now."
"You might be having a pixie premonition," Fern replied.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Some people have strange dreams when they're around pixies," Fern explained, "Those dreams often reveal hidden secrets or places about pixies. That's how people got the idea that pixies exist in the first place."
"Is that what happened that first night I slept with you in the great oak tree and dreamt that the red fox turned into your sister Vix?" I asked.
"Exactly!" Fern exclaimed, "So maybe you dreamt about this place, too."
"That must have been some dream, because everything seems so familiar, I could swear I've been here before," I mused.
We arrived at Tanglewood around 4:30 and drove around a bit before checking in at the Tanglewood Inn and Spa close to 5 PM. Ben and Janet were already there and greeted us with smiles, hugs, and kisses. Janet had reserved a small suite with two separate bedrooms and a connecting common room with its own bar and seating area.
"I booked us some great seats for tomorrow night's concert. Third row, center section," Janet said smiling, "And after the concert, we're having cocktails and petit fours with the conductor and first violinist."
Fern turned and whispered in my ear, "Tomorrow night's the full moon."
"Is something wrong?" Janet asked, seeing Fern whispering to me.
