Chương 7: An Unexpected Arrival

Fairy Realm - Night of Prophecy Birth"Seraphina!" Malina called out from her desk, shaking her head.

"Celestia is on her way back." Seraphina came out of her office, rolling her eyes.

"Of course she is." She huffed, irritation tightening her jaw. Her golden wings gracefully curled behind her back. Her tawny hair shimmered like wheat in the summer sun while she moved.

"Why wouldn't she be back?" she asked sarcastically, "she's only five hours into her shift."

"I know, Ma'am," Malina said.

"This is, after all, Celestia we're talking about." She wrinkled her pointed nose, her sharp features hardening with obvious disdain.

"Not a word, Malina. You worry about you and your job and let me worry about everyone else's." Seraphina kept her voice steady and controlled as she left the control room with clipped, purposeful steps. Seraphina fumed, her fists clenching while she made her way down the long hall. She turned into the ramp for portal 621, unsure of what to do with Celestia once she got there. This route was one that Seraphina felt she had to make far too often lately. Celestia was young and her obvious immaturity showed.

The girl had potential, but her lack of experience was a definite hindrance to her growth within the company. This was the fourth time in a matter of a week that she ducked out of her shift early. Celestia's excuses were wearing thin. This time it better be good. Not like the ones she usually concocted. Not the whole I think I was seen, my feet hurt, I was bored, or another ridiculous explanation. Seraphina had been doing this for decades and she had seen many fairies let go for far less.

Despite her frustrations with the girl's lack of focus, the work she did was outstanding, especially in her administrative tasks. Her reports were always impeccable, well thought out, detailed and followed every protocol established. She was smart and she had little doubt that if the girl would just grow up she would do great things. Seraphina stood in the waiting area for portal M621 contemplating how she would handle Celestia's most recent infraction.

Just two days ago she arrived back early from patrol because she forgot her watch and didn't know what time it was. She could not continue to cover for the young fairy's missteps. She sighed loudly before plopping down onto the large, puke-green, overstuffed sofa in the vestibule. Her eyes drifted to the sign for M621, the bold letters stark against the institutional green walls. The doors to the portal once polished to a high sheen, now seemed dull and dank.

Even the industrial carpeting, once meant to hide wear, now showed a clear path between the portal and the entryway. The higher ups missed the mark when they renovated the area decades ago. The intent was to make the space warm and inviting for all that passed through the portal, but it never looked warm nor inviting. The overhead lighting didn't help the aesthetics, it was harsh almost blinding. The power draw from the portal would dim the light, giving the whole execution by electric chair vibe.

She remembered when she was a young fairy just starting out and the portals lacked any rhyme or reason. Naming them had been her idea. After a fairy in her early days traveled to the Mortal realm instead of the Elven, the higher-ups demanded a solution. To prevent another mix up, Seraphina proposed a logical naming system that separated standard portals from specialized ones. M621, Mortal 621, belonged to the specialized category.

All portals could travel anywhere, but specialized ones like M621 defaulted to specific destinations unless manually overridden. No one knew why or cared enough to find out. Seraphina stood up as the lights began to dim to merely a faint glow as the portal drew the power it needed to kick into gear. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest as she waited. Seraphina wanted there to be no doubt in Celestia's mind that she was in trouble.

Celestia made her way through the portal opening to see Seraphina's stern face. Celestia looked at her boss with pride, oblivious to what awaited her. Seraphina's face quickly softened to concern and curiosity as she noticed the bundle in Celestia's arms. Seraphina could see that there were stains on the towel. Was that blood? She asked herself, her eyes coming together as she rushed closer to see if the young fairy was injured. When the bundle started cooing loudly, Seraphina's heart dropped.

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"Celestia!" she chastised, moving closer. She could just make out a dark puff of hair peeking out over the towel.

"We no longer take human children from the human realm! You know this! We just had an assembly on the matter and yet here you are with a baby!"

"But…" Celestia started but was quickly cut off by Seraphina's raised hand.

"But nothing, Celestia," she said, inhaling sharply.

"There are no exceptions!" She rolled her eyes as she moved closer.

"You need to bring it back to where you found it."

"Seraphina..." Celestia began again, more insistent.

"I said…" Seraphina began turning to walk away, thereby ending the conversation, but was quickly cut off by Celestia's insistence.

"This isn't a mortal child!" Celestia shouted. Seraphina turned slowly back to Celestia.

"Excuse me, I do not think I heard you correctly." Her brows lifted before she could stop them, and a quick pulse of heat rushed through her chest. For a moment she forgot to breathe. Celestia stepped closer and eased the covering away from the baby's face.

"Here, look," she said, turning the child toward her. Seraphina could not stifle the gasp when the baby looked directly at her. There was no mistaking those eyes.

"No," she whispered.

"It cannot be."

"But she is," Celestia said, with a self-assured confidence, then thinking better of it, added, "at least I think she is," her voice dropping with uncertainty.

"I saved her," she said, smiling smugly.

"I saw an old lady leave her in the woods, just walk away, like she didn't care if hungry animals tore her apart. If I hadn't taken her, she would have died!" Seraphina felt her legs weaken at the implications. It was bad enough that Celestia brought a baby back to HQ but if her suspicions were correct, and this was the prophecy child, things were going to blow up fast. She backed up and plopped down hard on the sofa.

"Never in all my years of life did I ever consider that prophecy to be true. I just took it as legend," she said more to herself than anyone else. Seraphina's mind threw thoughts at her quicker than she could process them. What does it all mean? Does this mean the worlds will collide or be unified? How did that stupid myth go again? The ancient ones will tell some tale or fix something, or be something yada, yada, yada… Celestia moved to the sofa and sat down next to her boss.

"She sure is cute," Celestia commented, looking down at the baby.

"Yeah," the senior fairy whispered, not even looking at the child, her mind racing as to what she should do next. This was huge, not just by fairy company standards but what it meant for every realm.

"I'd hand her over to you, but…" Celestia began glancing at Seraphina, "Someone has dampened their coverings."

"Celestia," Seraphina began, standing up from the sofa.

"Look at me, Sweetie," she said, crouching down to meet the girl's eyes.

"You tell no one." Celestia looked confused.

"Why? This is a joyous event, wouldn't you say?" She asked, searching Seraphina's eyes for answers.

"Yes and no." Seraphina began.

"We were not prepared for this, and I need to consult with people above my pay grade before this situation gets out of hand. Do you understand?" Celestia looked at her blankly before looking down at the child.

"What am I to do with her in the meantime?" Celestia asked, her mind racing.

"She needs something clean to wear, and how do I feed it, and care for it?" She began, firing off questions quicker than Seraphina could answer.

"Where do I take it? I can't take it home with me, my parents will notice a child in the house, especially one this small." Celestia said, her eyes wide with panic.

"Take a deep breath, Celestia, and calm down," Seraphina said, patting her hand as newfound panic caused her own heart to beat mercilessly. Seraphina stood up quickly and began to pace in the vestibule, her mind racing. Okay, what to do with the child until I can arrange a meeting with upper management? Celestia can't take her to her house in the interim, so where will she be safe from prying eyes?

She tried to process the situation, but her mind kept throwing new variables into the equation making it impossible to find a solution.

"Um, Seraphina…?" Celestia asked softly with a look of sheer disgust on her face. Seraphina ignored her. She suddenly wrinkled her nose at an offensive smell wafting through the vestibule. She waved a hand in front of her nose as she continued back and forth in the confines of the small space, her mind searching for solutions to the immediate problem.

"Seraphina?" Celestia called out with increased urgency. Seraphina turned back to Celestia, annoyed.

"What?!"

"I think the baby may have…" she broke off searching for a delicate way to say it.

"Well, spit it out, Celestia," she snapped.

"I think she…" she paused.

"I think she pooped," Celestia added shyly. Seraphina brought a hand to her nose.

"Oh my," she said, trying to stifle a smile.

"Well, babies do that from time to time."

"Yes, but did she have to do it on me?" Celestia asked, rolling her eyes at the mess leaking through the towel onto her clothes.

"I think the first problem we need to address is getting Little Miss over here cleaned up and into a diaper and some clothes,""It's not like we keep a supply of diapers and baby clothes on site, Celestia," Seraphina grumbled. Celestia looked at Seraphina blankly. The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before the sound of a group of patrol officers returning from their shifts could be heard out in the hall.

It was at that moment a high‑pitched wail drowned out the voices in the hall as the baby decided to voice her displeasure. Both women's eyes went wide with panic. Seraphina acted quickly and activated the portal door to M621.

"Quick, follow me. We have to get her out of here now." Seraphina's voice carried a desperation Celestia had never heard before.