A Terrible Villain And Their Destiny

“Divine pixie dust? What is that? In fact, what is pixie dust even supposed to be?” Bryson asked Primrose.

After the revelation inside Sable’s room, Bryson and the others were quickly shooed away. Soon after Duke Coldwater grabbed Phillip along with several royal guards and wordlessly headed out. For what? Bryson had no idea, only a feeling it had something to do with Sable.

So he decided to talk to the only person he could think of that might have any idea of what is going on. His teacher Primrose… Primrose. Huh, I guess flowers don’t really have last names do they? Bryson getting lost in his head. Or is it Prim Rose? Wait, flowers have scientific names that tend to be more then one word right?

“Pixie dust is made from pixies. Divine pixie dust is from a divine pixie.” Primrose the Anthousai flower spirit explained playing with her horn nervously, her answer snaped Bryson out of his stream of thoughts. They were currently in one of the many rooms inside the Coldwater manor seated and enjoying tea.

“There are a few old potion recipes that use pixie dust.” Florence said.

“What do you mean by ‘made from pixies’?” Viola asked.

“It’s ground up pixie wings.”

“Ah.” Viola said with a bleak nod.

“Would that work? I’ve never heard of pixie dust curing curses before.” Florence asked.

“If the priest said that he got that answer from the Great Goddess Afa herself, then… yes. Pixie dust has magical properties.” Primrose said taking a sip of her tea with a troubled look on her face.

At least there’s a solution to this issue. Bryson thought. Grounded-up pixie wings, how nice. He thought as he helped himself to a salmon sandwich.

“Is that something that can be obtained?” Bryson asked between mouthfuls.

“Yes, in theory. Please don’t take this the wrong way Lord Bryson, but why ask me? I know magic, but I’m not that knowledgeable in curses.” Primrose asked.

“Because I imagine that you might have encountered something similar over the years.” Bryson said taking another bite.

Primrose blinked once, “So you came to ask me for help because of my age?”

“Uh, I guess.” Bryson said shrugging as he took a sip of tea not thinking much of it.

“Oh.” Primrose said quietly looking upset at something.

Bryson sat there chewing his sandwich in confusion noticing Primrose seeming to deflate a bit. Florence leaned over to Bryson.

“Lord Bryson, you just said something very rude.” She said gently.

“What?” Bryson asked annoyed.

“You called her old.” Viola said smirking a little. Primrose winced in reaction.

“So?” Bryson said not understanding these reactions, “How old are you? Old right?” Bryson asked Primrose.

“Can we please move on from this?” She asked dejectedly.

Bryson looked at Primrose’s face cluelessly and gave a small roll of the eyes, “So is there even such a thing as a divine pixie?”

“There is, but it’s not really possible to obtain. At least not in time.” Primrose said recovering quickly, her look of self pity replaced with a troubled one.

“Why?”

“Regular pixies exist in Strath, but divine ones all reside in the heart of high elven kingdoms in the Fairy Realm and are protected by them.” Primrose explained, “So unless Duke Coldwater starts a war… Lady Sable is in trouble.”

“Is divine pixie dust the only cure?” Bryson asked urgently.

“I don’t know.”

“Well, is there any divine pixie that can be caught?”

“Maybe… there are other divine pixie’s in other realms aside from the Fairy Realm.” Primrose said recalling the pixie back in the Realm of Gods, “You said Duke Coldwater left, any idea where?”

“Into the forest areas I think, why?”

“Hmm, maybe he was told about a location where he might find one.” Primrose the troubled look still on her face.

“That’s a good thing right?” Bryson asked.

“For Lady Sable yes.”

“But for the pixie?”

“It would likely be killed.” Florence answered, “Removing the wings of a pixie is an extremely painful process. It’s also illegal to do so, but this is the duke.”

“It’s not going to stop father.” Viola said with a nod, “To be honest I would rather trade the life of a pixie for Sable, divine or not.”

“Yes, the pixie would be sacrificed to heal Sable. But with so many participating, the news of this would likely spread and the Coldwater reputation could be damaged, rather severely.” Primrose said stirring her teacup.

“There’s something wrong.” Bryson said.

“What do you mean?”

“Sable is under some weird curse that can only be cured by a very specific divine creature. We only know this after divine intervention, and this is just a couple months after we had to deal with that weird disease.” Bryson said indicating to Florence.

“I didn’t want to say this but, yes. Two unnatural magic-based issues occurring so soon together feels like more than a just a coincidence.” Florence agreed.

Primrose seemed to stiffen up. She suddenly found her tea to be extremely interesting.

“Primrose.” Viola said, “You know something?”

Primrose tried to look away from Viola’s accusing eyes. Bryson then asked, “Teacher, please tell us if you know something.”

Primrose quickly glanced at Bryson, wishing she hadn’t when she saw Bryson’s pleading eyes. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.

“Your family is being targeted. That is all I can say.” She said quietly.

“What do you mean all you can say?” Viola said getting agitated, “Sable, my sister is dying! My father is risking my family’s reputation to try and save her! And you’re telling me that is all you can say?”

Viola stood now looming over the horned Anthousai who seemed to be shrinking away from the accusation. Unable to face her, she looked down at the ground.

“You can keep your secrets.” Bryson said slowly simply staring off into the distance thinking, “We only need to know enough. We won’t pry anymore than needed.”

“Like hell-” Viola began before Bryson interrupted.

“Will this achieve anything?” Bryson argued.

“Stop.” Primrose said quietly, “I’ll tell you what I can.”

Viola gave an annoyed scoff and began to pace around the room. Bryson turned to face Primrose and waited expectantly.

“I won’t say who, but someone is trying to harm the Coldwater family. Hence these situations. They are creating these situations to see how you will react.” Primrose said.

“Why?” Bryson asked.

“I have no idea. I don’t know how many times they’re going to try this nor when. All I know is that they are trying.” Primrose said with a small shrug.

“Is this because of me?” Bryson asked slowly.

Primrose took another deep breath, “You do play a part. But it isn’t because of you, it’s the entire family.”

“So that’s why Bryson fell into our estate. Because someone wants to mess with us.” Viola said face contorting with anger, “Sable is in a coma because someone wants to mess with us?”

“Yes, Sable’s life in exchange for the family reputation.” Primrose said bleakly, “I don’t know how they would have found a divine pixie however… unless.” Primrose recalled the pixie that worked under Afa. She wouldn’t, but that would make the most sense. She thought in horror.

“Unless?” Bryson prodded.

“I may know who the pixie is.” Primrose said hesitantly.

“And you may be able to locate it correct?”

Primrose nodded in reply.

“So are you going to tell us?” Viola asked expectantly.

“You’re afraid for the pixie.” Florence said, her statement was confirmed with a nod.

“Is there any chance that the pixie might know about this curse?” Bryson asked.

“Maybe. She would have a better understanding of a curse that’s related to her powers than me.” Primrose said.

“Then maybe there’s another solution for this curse.” Bryson said, “But the only way we can know is if we find the pixie first.”

Primrose closed her eyes before drawing a deep breath, “I suppose it is between you or your father on who finds her first. There’s bit more hope if I leave it to you.” She said relenting.