Looking for Abbi

Instantly, the sound of music met his ears. Music and voices. For a few moments, he stood absolutely still, hoping that perhaps his presence would not have a large impact.

That was not the case.

Everything ceased. The music stopped. The hustle and bustle all but vanished. The only thing that could be heard was small movements from all around.

Eddus opened his eyes, looking around. He was surrounded by people, all looking at him curiously. A few of them shuffled around, attempting to get a better view. Most of them, as far as he could see, had wings.

The surroundings were much as he’d remembered them being from when he’d looked into the pixie ring with Abbi. He was inside of the domed barrier he’d seen weeks before. Again, there was a gathering. Those present seemed to have been drinking and dancing. The only difference was that all those present had stopped what they were doing in order to have a look at the newcomer.

“Hello...” Eddus slowly raised his hands in front of him, his palms facing those around him. He tried to take a step backwards, but his back met with something solid. The translucent dome surrounding the area was now a solid wall.

“I think you may be lost.”

One of the beings in front of him stepped forward from the crowd. A slight man with bright green eyes and hair more red than brown, he wore a black waistcoat over a blue, long-sleeve shirt, somewhat like a button-down. He stood slightly taller than Eddus’s shoulder. The tips of his wings stood about a head and a half taller than he was. Both his sleeves had been rolled up neatly to just over his elbows. Keeping eye contact, he approached, both slowly and cautiously, his face wearing no particular expression.

“What’s your name?”

“Ed...” Swallowing hard, Eddus caught his breath, unable to utter more than a single syllable. A murmur wafted through the crowd, mostly too soft to be heard, but he did catch his name repeated several times.

“Do you know where you are, Ed?” The small man in front of him asked. He looked around, gesturing with his hand. A few other men had stepped forward as well, standing just behind him.

“Yes and no,” Eddus said after a moment, trying his best to sound calm.

With his back to the wall that was the barrier, he began to feel boxed in. Not breaking eye contact with the man with whom he was speaking, he tried to be aware of any movements that the slight man’s companions were making. Others in the crowd behind them began to disperse.

The man in front of him shook his head slightly, a half-smile on his face.

“Well, is it a yes, or is it a no, Ed?” His eyes flashed, the colour of them intensifying momentarily. “Your answer could greatly impact what we do with you from here.”

“Well, I know I’m in City Park... or I was...” Eddus started, “and now, I’m inside a pixie ring.”

Again, a murmur could be heard; those surrounding him exchanging looks.

“So you do know where you are.” The man’s brows rose for a moment in surprise.

“While I’m not exactly sure where this is, I do know where the pixie ring I stepped into is located.”

“But you are aware, Ed, that what you stepped into is, as you called it, a pixie ring, and that it is how you came to be here?” His brow slowly knitted as he spoke.

“I am,” Eddus replied. “May I ask you a question?”

“You may.”

“May I have your name?”

“You may call me Dain,” the green-eyed man told Eddus, looking at him suspiciously. There was another soft murmuring in the crowd behind him.

“Dain,” Eddus inhaled deeply, “I’m looking for someone. She’s from here. I think she might be in some sort of trouble. I just need to make sure she is ok, and I will leave.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be possible, Ed.”

“Please, Dain, I would be most grateful for any help. I just want to know that my friend is ok.”

“I do not know who your friend is, Ed. I do, however, know that you are not going to leave, even should you find whom it is you are looking for.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re going to need to come with me.”

“We could make him run.” One of the men behind Dain looked around, his eyes momentarily flashing. He smiled at those he stood beside. His wings twitched behind him.

There was some muttering in hushed tones by those around the man, but was silenced when Dain raised a hand.

“There will be none of that,” he said. “Ed will go before the queen. So long as he comes with me without a scene, there is no need to coerce him.”

“But he shouldn’t be here. This is no mistake. There are rules. Let’s make Ed run...”

“There will be no running.” Turning to the man who spoke, Dain looked around him. “I am a captain of the guard, and the only member of the guard currently present. I will escort this human to someone on duty, and we will decide what needs to be done. No one is to utter his name again, in his, or my, presence.”

The crowd parted as Eddus followed the small man. Looking back, he could see a glow coming from something rather large just outside of the pixie ring’s barrier. It seemed to be coming from the ground just outside of the ring of fungi. Following Dain to a doorway leading out of the area they were in, Eddus paused as he realised that the glow was coming out from underneath some object on the ground.

As Dain touched his elbow, indicating they continue walking, Eddus patted his pocket, which he’d put his phone in. It was empty. The phone must have fallen out when he stepped into the pixie ring. What he’d seen was the light from the screen of his cell phone, outside the translucent barrier.

“This way.” Dain kept a hand on Eddus’s elbow as they exited the area domed by the barrier and made their way through a passageway connecting one hallway to another lined with doors.

They entered by a door leading into what could have been a hotel lobby. Beings of differing heights and colours, both winged and non, seemed to come and go from a number of other doors, some stopping at what appeared to be a desk with several people behind it, who seemed to be giving directions to those who came to them.

The winged man at his side walked Eddus through a door and up a winding staircase. He then guided him about halfway down a hallway, where he halted their walk in front of an open door.

“You’ll stay in here until such time as you are fetched to be taken before the queen, where it will be decided what to do with you.”

“What are you saying? Do you mean I can’t leave?”

“That is what I am telling you, Ed.”

“Am I in trouble of some sort?” Eddus’ eyes met Dain’s. “Have- have I done something wrong?”

“You’re not supposed to be here, Ed. Your intrusion into this realm is a rather serious matter.” He gestured to the open door, indicating Eddus should enter.

“Intrusion...? I’m not- I just need to find my friend.”

“You’ve said as much,” Dain nodded, “and I do believe you. That is one of the reasons that I didn’t hand you over to the others, which is what would usually happen to a human who comes here uninvited. Had I not been present when you showed up, things could have gone very differently. This is the best I can do until you’ve been to see the queen.”

Eddus stepped through the doorway, wondering how many humans actually came into pixie rings. The room he entered was small but well-lit. Along the left wall was a bed. It had two pillows and was made up with what appeared to be a dark comforter. On the opposite wall was a rather comfortable-looking cushioned chair and a side table. In the far corner was a small table and chair in a nook just big enough to accommodate the table. In the opposite corner was a door that he guessed led into a bathroom of sorts.

It could actually have been the guest room in a house, had it not been for the fact that it had no windows and the inside of the door had no handle.

Eddus turned to face the doorway and the winged man standing just outside of it, slowly closing the door.

“Dain?”

“Yes?” The door stopped moving, and the man on the other side of it peered into the room.

“I’m grateful that you believed me, and that you didn’t let the others take me.”

“Usually, I would not have intervened.”

“But you did.”

“I do believe that you are looking for someone,” Dain nodded thoughtfully, meeting Eddus’ gaze, his green eyes studying the human.

“One more question, if I may...”

“Of course.”

“You said that one of the reasons you interfered earlier was that you believed me,” Eddus said. “Were there other reasons for not letting the others who were there take me?”

“One reason, really. You’re polite.”

The door opened, and Dain stepped into the room, the tips of his wings just missing the underside of the doorframe. He looked up at Eddus.

“It’s not often that we get an unexpected visitor from your world, but it does happen. We can tell who comes by accident, and less often, who comes out of some form of curiosity or looking for some adventure. You’re not here by accident, but you do seem to genuinely be looking for someone. It’s your manner that’s convinced me that you are not just here on a whim, and that you do believe your friend is in this realm.”

“She is. Her name is Abbi. I think it’s short for Abigail.”

“It doesn’t sound like anyone I know.” Dain’s lips pursed as he shook his head. He turned again to the door. “I don’t know if I can be of any help.”

“Light hair, and slightly shorter than you.” Eddus took a step towards the door as Dain exited.

“It’s a big place, Ed. The realm is a lot bigger than you can understand. And there are a lot of us here.”

The door closed silently, followed by the quiet click of the lock.