Nau Te Pixie Storyteller

Once upon a time, there lived a Pixie named Nau Te. Nau Te lived in the Greensward Forest in the cutest mushroom house anyone had ever seen. Nau Te was well known for the wonderful stories she told the children who came to see her. Their parents would stand in the trees, out of sight of their little ones, and they would listen to these stories as well.

One day, as Nau Te was out tending her garden, she felt a terrible earthquake! Happily, the half elf wizard, Sandel, had placed a spell over Nau Te's house and surrounding property so none of it was affected but the ground shaking.

Now, Nau Te knew that most earthquakes were caused by big people riding by on horses so, she flew up to the trees to check things out once everything had settled back down.

Sure enough, in a small clearing close by, a group of humans sat on horses. Most were men dressed in blue uniforms carrying swords and shields. Wearing helms with bluehorsehair crests, they encircled a woman dressed in a pale blue silk gown.

Nau Te alighted on a tree branch and watched the humans mill about. One man, gold braids on his shoulders, frowned, his moustache drooping. Nau Te giggled softly, thinking of a story she could tell of the man and his drooping moustache.

"I don't understand it, Your Majesty," the man said, sounding angry. "Sandel said the best storyteller in the land could be found right here, but I see no house, not even a crude shelter of any kind!"

Nau Te perked up at the sound of her friend's name, and she flitted closer so she could hear better.

The woman, a lovely blonde with creamy white skin and sad blue eyes, sighed.

"Are you sure we're in the right place, Captain?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. "We really must find the storyteller. For Prince Dalin's sake."

Storyteller? Here? Nau Te suddenly realized they were talking about her! Sandel had told this lovely woman about her stories!

Delighted, the little pixie flew over to the woman's horse and landed on its neck, sitting prettily in its mane. The woman looked surprised to see her, but she was charmed nonetheless. The men about her frowned, especially the Captain.

"Now see here, you can't just approach Queen Elisa is such a rude manner!" he protested.

Queen Elisa waved him to silence, and he glowered at Nau Te.

"How may I be of service to you, Little One?" the queen asked, her tone polite.

Nau Te warmed to this regal woman immediately.

"You're looking for a storyteller, yes?" she asked.

"Aye," the queen said. "Someone called Naughty, a strange name to be certain, but I don't care as long as I can find them."

Nau Te grinned at the bumbling of her name though she was known to be quite naughty at times. She couldn't resist pulling a prank every now and then. She'd recently started a food fight at the castle of a dragon she was friends with.

"Why are you seeking this particular storyteller?" Nau Te asked Queen Elisa. "There are many to be had in every town around."

"Not that it's any of your business, " the Captain spoke up," but we don't want some mediocre talespinner. We want the best storyteller in the region. Really Your Majesty, we're wasting our time with this creature."

Nau Te stuck her tongue out at him and decided she needed to come up with a good prank for him and his moustache.

"Please, Captain, " Queen Elisa sighed, "Maybe this lovely little one knows where the storyteller is."

Nau Te smiled, she certainly did know, but she wasn't going to say anything just yet.

"So, why are you looking for Naughty?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

Queen Elisa looked even sadder, if that was possible, and she bowed her head.

"It's my son, Prince Dalin," she said. "He's a sickly boy with crippled legs. The other children refuse to play with him, they tease him dreadfully whenever his nurse takes him outside to be with them." She plucked at the sleeves of her gown as tears shimmered in her eyes. "He loves stories,has since he was a baby, and I've gone through three storytellers already because they couldn't amuse him. He's heard all of their stories before."

She looked pleadingly at Nau Te, and the pixie's sympathetic heart almost broke at the sign of desperation from the poor mother.

"My little boy is just so miserable. Stories help him forget his pain, his illness. They make him happy, if only for a little while," the queen said. "If you have any knowledge at all, please tell me."

"What if the storyteller you seek isn't human?" Nau Te asked. "There are many in this forest who aren't human. They're not elven or a unicorn either for that matter."

"No..." Captain started to say, but Queen Elisa cut him off with a curt wave,

"As long as this storyteller agrees to tell stories to my son and nothing else, I could care less what they are or what they look like, " she told Nau Te.

Nau Te could see Queen Elisa was quite serious.

"What is your son like? Is he mean spirited and cruel like many children are?" she asked, looking thoughtful.

She didn't want to be around an ill tempered child who would snatch her up and try to pull her wings off the first chance he got.

Queen Elisa looked horrified by the question.

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed." He's a sweet, wonderful boy and so very gentle! He hates to see anyone or anything in pain. It makes the poor sensitive soul cry."

Nau Te reserved judgement on that. She was the boy's mother after all. She decided she needed some advice before she made such a big decision.

"The storyteller isn't home right now, " she said."If you'll tell me where they need to be, I'll pass it along, but I won't guarantee anything."

Queen Elisa looked crestfallen, but she nodded.

"Ask them to come to the Golden Castle in Lower Twin Forks," she said. "Please, please tell them of my son's plight! I'll do anything for my son!"

Nau Te was stunned. Lower Twin Forks was far to the south and with a small contingent of men such as this, it was a dangerous trip to the Greensward. Queen Elisa was either very desperate or extrememely stupid. She didn't strike Nau Te as being the latter.

"You've come a long way on such an errand," she said, clearly impressed.

"A fool's errand it would appear," Captain growled.

Nau Te smiled. It could be worth a lot to see his face when he found out who the storyteller was.

"Anything that would help Dalin is worth it," Queen Elisa said. "If you'll excuse us now, we should be on our way, Thank you for your help."

Nau Te rose into the air and hovered.

"Have a safe journey, " she said,

Queen Elisa smiled and nodded. Nau Te watched as the group wheeled about, Captain to the fore, and rode away. Then, riding the air currents, the pixie went in search of her friend and advisor, Mordane.

Nau Te found Mordane on the edge of a sun filled glen. Sunshine danced and shimmered on his grey green leaves, warming the ground around the base of his huge trunk.

"Mordane!" she called to the Tree Ent. "Are you awake, Mordane?"

Mordane's boughs shivered, and two big green eyes opened in the top third of his trunk. He blinked and then smiled.

"Greetings, Pixie Child," he rumbled, his voice deep but clear. "How goes things in your world?"

"I'm in need of your advice actually, " Nau Te said, landing on some of his middle branches where he could see her comfortably.

"I'm always happy to help," Mordane said.

Nau Te told him all about Queen Elisa and the plight of her son, Prince Dalin.

"Sandel suggested you?" Mordane asked when her tale was done.

"Aye, he did," Nau Te said.

"Sandel doesn't do a great many things without a reason," the Tree Ent observed, looking thoughtful. "I think you should go. You could have an important part to play in this child's life."

Nau Te considered this. Sandel was an enigmatic half breed mage who held great knowledge and shared little. Most of what he did was for reasons only he, himself, knew of. Mordane could be right, and Sandel meant for her to go to the Golden Castle and Prince Dalin for one of those reasons.

"Okay, I'll go," she said, rising into the air.

"Here, pass through this shadow, and you'll arrive in the forest just outside the Golden Castle," Mordane said, lifting one of his boughs.

A shadow fell under it, and Nau Te slowly flew into it. The next moment, she flew out in the the coolness of a younger forest than the Greensward. Mordane, of course, was not to be found.

Nau Te heard the laughter of children and followed it out of the forest to a field full of wild flowers and half a dozen children with their guardians close by. Nau Te landed on a tree branch on a small tree on the edge of the forest and watched the children play.

Tall, sturdy children, they ran about, laughing and chasing each other as children were wont to do. Several were blonde and blue eyed like Queen Elisa, but none of them were crippled. The pixie was disappointed but not surprised considering what she had been told.

Looking past them, across the field, Nau Te saw a golden castle surrounded by bronze walls half as tall as the castle was. There was her destination, and she wondered how to get to it without attracting the attention of the children. Until she knew more about them and their ways, she didn't want to reveal herself to them - it was too dangerous. Pixie magic was best used for unavoidable situations not silly blunders.

A robin alighted close by, trilling a greeting to Nau Te. Nau Te responded in kind and got an idea. Quickly she trilled and whistled her request to the little songbird. He chirped his reply, and Nau te clapped her hands, delighted.

Carefully, she flitted over and landed on the robin's back, tucking her tiny feet behind his wings so they weren't in the way. The robin took off, and she clung to him so she wouldn't fall off.

They flew high above the field, crossing it with ease and then, the daring bird darted inside an open window. He landed on a chandelier, and Nau te quickly dismounted, giving the bird a hug of thanks. The bird trilled and flew away.

Nau Te looked down to see she was in a school room of sorts, but noone was around. Flying down to one of the windows, she looked outside. She saw a little blonde boy playing with two tow headed little girls. They were splashing in a shallow pool. When she saw the little boy get to his feet, Nau Te's heart sank. That was not Prince Dalin.

Careful not to be seen, the pixie began to search for the little crippled boy Queen Elisa had told her about. She searched for what seemed like hours, growing weary, before she came upon a small library crammed full of books. Shelves ran from the floor to the high ceiling, and there were still more piles of books about, stacked on tables, chairs and even the floor.

In a window seat in this amazing room, sat a small pale boy of maybe ten years. Nau Te, careful to fly high, moved in for a closer look. His blonde hair was pale and fine as cornsilk. His blue eyes were fastened on the pages of the book he was reading, and they were pale as well - like ice. Nau Te glanced down at his legs, stretched out along the sill withthe rest of his body, and she flinched. From the knees down, they were twisted and covered in livid scars. Nau Te's heart went out to him at once. She had found Prince Dalin.

Now she knew why the children made fun, they always acted that way towards what they couldn't understand and couldn't handle. She could also see why Prince Dalin would wish to forget his plight. Nothing short of true magic would be able to fix his poor legs.

Nau Te flew down and landed on the sconce bolted about the boy's head.

"What are you reading, Prince Dalin?" she asked.

"Angels and Seraphs, a History," Dalin mumbled and then, he frowned.

"That's pretty heavy reading for a boy your age," the pixie observed. "How's about I tell you a story instead?"

Prince Dalin put the book down and looked up. When he saw Nau Te, his eyes widened in surprise.

"A pixie!" he breathed.

Nau Te curtsied prettily.

"Nau Te the storytelling pixie at your service, M'lord, " she said.

"What are you doing here?" Prince Dalin asked.

Nau Te flew down to sit on one of his knees, ready to flit away if need be.

"Your mother asked me to come here to tell you stories, said the others lacked originality," she said.

Prince Dalin brightened.

"Is my mother here?" he asked.

"No, she's still a ways off, but she's heading home," Nau Te told him, and Prince Dalin's face crumpled. "Hey, don't look so sad. She'll be here soon enough."

"I miss her," he mumbled, picking at the cover of the book in his lap.

"A story will help you feel better," Nau te told him, and she sat down.

Prince Dalin gave her a sour look.

"All the human storytellers who've come here told the same stories," he grumbled. "How can you be any different?"

"I'm a pixie, for starters," she said, and she arched a brow at him. "Say, you've heard the story of Michlee's Dragon haven't you?"

Prince Dalin frowned a moment, looking thoughtful and then, he shook his head.

"No, I don't believe I do, " he confessed.

"It's a good one," Nau Te assured him.

Prince Dalin smiled and settled back in his seart, his attention on the pixie sitting crosslegged on his knee.

"Once there was a little girl named Michlee..," Nau Te began.

                  And the rest, as they say, is history.......

                                                      The End.

Nau Te, Pixie Storyteller

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