I'm Waited On Hand and Foot By People No Bigger Than My Foot

Nikki gets out of the dungeon, and gets ready for a banquet.

"That's not true." Nikki shook her head. There was no way that she had just been erased like a mistake on math homework.
"It is true, Nikki." Poxy reached out a comforting arm, but Nikki shoved it away.
"You're lying!" Nikki was shouting but she didn't care. "They remember me! You can't just erase a person, Poxy!"
"We did, though." Poxy said gently. "It's better this way, Nikki. Really. I mean, what would they be doing if they still knew about you?" Nikki was silent, but the image of a police cruiser pulling up to get her that night flashed by her eyes.
"I want to see him." she said abruptly.
"Who?" Poxy asked.
"Henry." she said quietly. "I want to see him."
"You can't see him." Poxy snorted. Nikki looked at him pleadingly.
"Please, Poxy. He's the only one." she begged.
"It's not my decision." Poxy protested. "You'd need permission from the Council." Nikki stayed silent, knowing that was the final word. At least there was a chance.
The sound of footsteps started to echo through the hallway, and Poxy scrambled to his post. The two guards that had escorted her to the king approached, but this time, they refrained from openly mocking Nikki.
"Come with us." one said, while the other unlocked the cell. "We are to take you to your new quarters." his face said that he was not very happy about it. Instead of dragging her out, the guards waited as Nikki came out, and instead of holding her arms, they simply walked at her sides. As they started to pass Poxy, they stopped.
"Follow us." the first one ordered. "You are now Nikki Forrester's Fairy Guard." Poxy froze, as if in shock.
"For real?' he whispered, staring wide-eyed at Nikki and her escorts.
"Yes." the other guard replied, rolling his eyes. Another guard showed up, younger than Poxy, to take his place, and Poxy began to follow us, in a dreamlike state.
The foursome exited the dungeon, and after a couple twists and turns in a long, winding hallway, the stopped in front of a plain, oak door. The first guard opened it, and he left, the other guard trailing behind. Nikki walked in, and she gasped.
The room was like a dream. A massive tree stood proudly on one side of the room, and a huge hollow piqued Nikki's interest. She peeked in, and discovered a bed, with beautifully stitched covers and pillows, nestled in the hole. The bed actually looked a little small, but once she tried it out, it was the absolute perfect size, and its softness almost put her to sleep right then and there. In the corner, an opening in the wall let a trickle of water, that drizzled down the wall along a stone paved path and into a real pond, with tiny cheeping frogs, and goldfish swimming lazily in it. 

Three other doors showed; one led outside to a porch, another led to a private bathroom, and the last led to a giant walk-in closet, with gorgeous outfits lining the walls. Shimmering sky blue gossamer dresses, rose red skirts with adorable black tops, comfortable jeans, cute shirts; it was perfect. Nikki reluctantly shut the door and turned back to the room. A quaint desk stood in the center of the room, with a comfy chair and a fist-sized stone in the center of the table. The walls were adorned with many incredibly detailed pictures, and sunlight filtered through the huge windows, making everything sparkle and gave the room an air of freshness. The windows also gave an amazing view of a wonderland of flowers, trees, and other vegetation.

"That's the royal garden." Poxy appeared next to her, finally speaking. Nikki started.
"I thought you left." she told him.
"No way!" Poxy seemed shocked. "I'm your Fairy Guard. Leaving would be a felony."
"You're my what?" Nikki asked.
"Fairy Guard. That means I'm to protect you with my life, all the time, every day. It's a big promotion from dungeon guard."
"You'll be with me all the time?" Nikki said doubtfully.
"Well, I do get some leave time, and I can leave you from time to time for short periods of time, but pretty much, yeah." Poxy answered. "I even sleep here. See?" he pointed at a small bed by the door that Nikki hadn't noticed before. Nikki blushed.
"That's kind of......awkward." she said finally.
"It's for your safety." Poxy said firmly, and that was the end of that. There was a knock at the door, and Poxy hurried and answered it. A short, balding, plump fairy was standing there.
"His Majesty requests Nikki Forrester's presence at tonight's royal banquet." he said loudly. Nikki smiled at him.
"Tell His Majesty I'd be honored." she told him, and a look from Poxy said that she had said the right thing. The little man bobbed with a bow.
"Thank you." he said formally, looked around, then leaned closer to Nikki. "My name is Westibal. If you need anything, just call." he smiled a big smile that seemed to take up his entire round little face.
"Thanks, Westibal." Nikki couldn't help grinning. In her mind, she thought, Now I have made two friends. With another bob and a smile, Westibal hurried away with his good news.
"He was nice." Nikki commented.
"Yeah." Poxy agreed. "He's the king's closest friend, and if he wanted to, Westibal could have a higher position. But he insists on keeping his current one."
"Well, I hope I see him again." Nikki called from the closet. She was set on wearing the sky blue gossamer dress to the banquet. Just as she was carrying out the dress, there was there was a soft clicking sound.
"What was that?" Nikki asked, and Poxy tensed, slowly drawing his sword out of its sheath.
"POXY!" came a screech. "Don't you dare pull a sword on me!" Poxy's eyes widened, then he laughed, putting away his weapon. Turning around, he crouched and extended his arms to a six-inch rather chubby lady, with a smile that seemed to light up the room, a cheerful, wrinkled face, and grey curly hair.
"Hello, Auntie Em." Poxy laughed, and hugged the tiny woman.
"Don't you 'hello' me, young man." Auntie Em said with an attempt to be stern. Nikki didn't know who this woman was, but she liked her right away. "If you father knew you were pulling swords on sweet old lady brownies, he would kick you all the way to the clouds." Oh, so she was a brownie. That made sense. 

"Let go of me, you hooligan." Auntie Em ordered Poxy, and Poxy set her down. "Well, now you must be Nikki. I'm to be your brownie. My crew can't be here at the moment, however, so it's just me for now. Pleasure to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you, too." Nikki giggled.
"Nikki, this is Emelia Fixit." Poxy said. "She basically raised me."
"Oh, pish posh. It was nothing, really. I thought that after his mother died, poor dear, it was the least I could do. Worst mistake I ever made." she joked. "He was nothing but trouble. Trampling my garden, getting his wings tangled in the drapes, refusing to take a bath, everything!" Poxy was blushing furiously, and Nikki was laughing hysterically.
"You got your wings tangled in the drapes?" she chuckled incredulously.
"Wings are really awkward when you're growing up." Poxy said defensively. "It was an accident."
"Sure, Poxy." Nikki wiped tears from her eyes. "So, Mrs. Fixit-"
"Call me Auntie Em." the grandmotherly brownie interrupted.
"Auntie Em," Nikki corrected herself. "you were saying you were to be my brownie. What does that mean?"
"Oh, that just means I'm to take care of you." Auntie Em explained.
"Like with Poxy."
"Oh, my, no. With Poxy, I took him on as a son; he lived in my house, followed my rules, et cetera. His father was much too busy, being Head of Security, to take care of him. With you, I'll just do things like your laundry, clean your room, fix and improve things, and so on. It's what brownies do. It's the thing that makes us truly happy."
"I couldn't possibly have you do all that." Nikki protested.
"Nonsense, dear." Auntie Em told her. "All brownies do it; it's not that we love to serve people, we just love to fix and better things. It's in our nature. If we loved to pull pranks, like imps, that's what we would do. Simple as that. Speaking of which, you have a banquet in two hours! We need to get started!" With her tiny mouth, Auntie Em blew hard into a tiny silver whistle around her neck. There was the sound of tiny, pattering feet, and about ten or so brownies jogged through a slightly ajar less than a foot tall door that Auntie Em must've entered through. Auntie Em smiled wide, and gave each of them a big bear hug. 

"Nikki, this is my crew. The best and the brightest; we used to work for the king before he started insisting that the royal family get fairy servants. He realized his mistake pretty soon, but he's too stuck up to fix it." Auntie Em clasped her hands. "But enough of this. Now for the introducing." Auntie Em called up a cheerful looking brownie elderly man, with a jolly, round body, and a round, smiling face with dimples. "This is Hendrik, my husband." Auntie Em said proudly. "He takes care of all the pipes, plumbing, and other stuff I don't understand."

"Howdy." Hendrik greeted Nikki. Auntie Em next pointed to a strong, young, and muscled brownie, with a handsome face, and a winning smile that he kept flashing at the cute brownie girl about his age. She pretended not to notice, but snuck a couple glances at him from time to time when she thought he wasn't looking. "This is Davish. He's the furniture repair man, and very good at it.

"Hiya, beautiful." Davish said, and bowed. 

"That's Kenaria." Auntie Em gestured towards the young lady Davish was trying to attract. Kenaria flipped her long, black ponytail and looked the other way as Davish grinned at her with his cocky smile. "She does all the outfitting and dressing, and works with Vessian, who is a master at hair-styling." Auntie Em waved to a middle-aged brownie, with an outrageous outfit and a tall beehive of platinum blonde hair.

"Pleased to meet 'cha." Vessian said in a Southern accent, and chomped a piece of gum. 

"Salsha does the painting," Auntie Em continued, going to a pretty brownie with long, shiny, honey blonde hair. "Zachiar does the schedule planning, Cardiop does the menu planning, and Florpie does the sewing." Auntie Em finished with the tall brownie with curly, brown hair, the short, chubby balding brownie, and the tall, old brownie with her gray hair back in a tight bun.

"You won't get better brownie service anywhere!" Auntie Em claimed, and clapped her hands. "Okay, brownies! Nikki here has a banquet with the king in less than two hours! Let's move it!" Vessian immediately started hurrying Nikki to the bathroom, and Kenaria trotted to the closet. The rest of the crew listened as Auntie Em started assigning them separate tasks, as they had nothing to offer the current project. Vessian immediately pulled on a tasseled rope, which opened up a small door sticking out of the wall, letting out a stream of water, already at a perfect temperature. The water filled up a large basin, and Vessian hurried Nikki to undress and get in the tub. 

"This'll be by far the best wash you've ever had, sugar." Vessian drawled, and she continued to chatter as she went about her work. As soon as Nikki was sitting, Vessian set to work, massaging a sweet smelling stuff in her hair, then dumping some more liquid in the water and flipping a switch. Jets came in, and the lotion settled on Nikki's skin, and in the roots of her hair. All over, her body began to tingle, and she started to squirm.

"Oh, don't worry, honey." Vessian assured her, finishing up her story about her neighbor's "outrageous nosy behavior". "It's just a tingle wash. The lotion sinks into ya' pores, and it clears out all filth. Works like a charm." Vessian primped her hair in front of the giant mirror. "Just tell me when the feeling wears off." Vessian continued her pampering and talking, until Nikki announced that the feeling had stopped. Vessian instructed her to pull the plug, and the water gurgled as it travelled down the drain. Pulling on a different tasseled rope, Vessian opened up a sor sort of shower head, and told Nikki to wash off. When she was done, Nikki felt cleaner than she ever had before. Vessian, instead of giving her a towel, just put Nikki in a small little hollow in the floor, with rocks around the rim and a drain on the bottom.

Pulling a lever, Vessian told Nikki to just stand there for a minute. A tremendous jet of hot air blasted Nikki, and within five seconds, she was dry. As she stepped out of the dryer, she couldn't believe her eyes. Her skin shone with a healthy radiance, and her hair was incredibly silky, smooth, and glossy. Vessian tossed her a soft, fluffy, white robe, and started to gossip about her friend's relationship.

"Lottie is an absolute dear, but her husband is terrible! No manners whatsoever!" Vessian sighed dramatically, and seated Nikki in a large plush chair in front of the mirror. A small, metal platform with a railing around it stuck out from the back of the chair, and Vessian scurried up the ladder leading to the outcropping. By the time she reached the top, she had leaped to another topic.

"That Davish is a dashing young brownie, don't you agree?" Nikki 'Mm-hmm'-ed, and Vessian started to brush Nikki's long, black locks. "He just is obsessed with that Kenaria, and she completely ignores him. I cannot fathom what could possess her to ignore one of the best looking brownies in the kingdom!" Vessian rambled on and on, while Nikki just leaned back and relaxed. Considering the circumstances, she was pretty happy. Everything here seemed perfect; she had a gorgeous new room, some great new friends, and she had discovered a world that no human eyes had behold, except for Leopold. Her family was-

Oh.

"Hey, Vessian?" Nikki asked abruptly, interrupting the chatty brownie's story about the time when she had gotten lost in the palace.

"Yes?" Vessian paused in her work.

"Do Erasings ever, you know, maybe wear off?" For once, Vessian was silent. She began her work again, more slowly this time.

"No." she said finally. "When we do it, we completely remove that memory from the brain. I'm sorry, sweetie." Nikki was silent.

"Do you-" her voice cracked. "Do you think they'll let me see Henry?"

"Of course!" her jubilant answer surprised Nikki. "They have no reason to not let you. A quick visit wouldn't hurt him; if anything, you could tell him what happened, so he'll have the sense to keep his mouth shut. Usually, when we erase someone from everybody's brain except one's, they become seriously confused, and make fools of themselves until they learn better."
"Do you think he could come back? With me, I mean." Vessian became very focused on her work, putting off an answer. Finally, she sighed.
"Don't get your hopes up. It would be very difficult to have to Erase him, too. Most likely, the Council will say no." Nikki's heart sank. "But," Vessian continued. "The Council most likely will approve monthly, even weekly visits. No harm or difficulty there."
Just then, Kenaria walked in with an amazing dress, made out of a sunny yellow, silky material. The brownies helped Nikki into the dress, and it fit perfectly. As soon as it was on, before Nikki could look at herself in the mirror, Kenaria smiled and held out a blindfold.
"You don't take it off until we are completely finished." she instructed, and so Nikki slipped it on. The brownies guided her back to the chair, and carefully sat her in the chair. Nikki sat in suspense as she felt slight tuggings at her hair, creams rubbed on her face, and the two brownies chatting. After almost twenty minutes, Vessian and Kenaria urged her out of the chair, and the blindfold was untied and pulled off with an air of flourish.
"Ta-daaaa!" Vessian sang, and Nikki stared at her reflection. Her long, wavy hair was tied up in a bun, with two curled strands of hair hanging on each side of her face. The top of the dress cut across the chest and shoulders, and the sleeves were two sashes around her arms, even with the top of the dress. The bodice was pale yellow, and the bottom was a bright yellow, with layers to form a hoop. Silky yellow sashes adorned the hoop, with tiny pink rosebuds at each point. It reminded Nikki of the dress from the Beauty and the Beast.
"It's beautiful." Nikki breathed. Taking a few steps, the dress swished pleasantly, and moved fairly well. Vessian and Kenaria opened up the door, and Nikki walked out. Poxy was sitting on his cot, polishing his sword. Turning his head, he started at the sight of Nikki.
"Whoa." he gaped, and stood up. "You look amazing, Nikki."
"Thanks, Poxy." Nikki gave him a hug. He felt like a brother to her. "You don't look so bad yourself." Poxy had shed his dingy, silver armor that he wore in the dungeon, and replaced it with brilliant, shiny gold armor, with a belt around his waist attached to a gleaming leather sheath. A bejeweled sword handle peeked out. The symbol that he had shown her down in the dungeon was inscribed on the breastplate.
"You ready to go?" Poxy asked, and Nikki nodded. Auntie Em and her crew opened the door, and Nikki, accompanied by Poxy, headed towards the banquet hall.

Author's Note

I tried to make Auntie Em seem like a grandmother, who won't take no for an answer and is just loving to everyone. As the story moves along, I'm hoping the characters will develop more and more.

Reviews

[paparapapa]

This one was a light chapter and very fun to read! But my heart sank when Nikki thought of Poxy as a brother. :| Oh, and I love bubbly Auntie Em. Good job on this one.