The Princess Rose

Elaina was five. She played in her backyard on a small swing set. The backyard was large, overgrown, and scattered with retired machinery. An old rusted car nested in a patch of overgrown weeds. Its headlights turned on by themselves sometimes. There weren’t many rules in Elaina’s house, save one. She was never to go into the old car. Spiders and scorpions lived in it.

A hot gust of wind blew her dark brown hair. The wind swirled the dirt into a miniature whirlwind that danced away over the desert towards the mountains. They were alien and bare, blushing fiery when the sun set. Other than those mountains, Elaina’s house stood alone in the middle of flat emptiness.

Elaina went to a plate of chips and a bologna sandwich and took a bite of the sandwich. The bologna was warm from sitting in the sun.

The headlights in the old car blinked. Elaina’s brows rose. She’d always been curious about what made the old car blink. Maybe it was a soft cat, or a cute little bird. She looked up at the tattered two-story house. The dirt road passing by the house was empty in both directions. Elaina didn’t feel too obedient today. Nobody would know if she investigated the car. Her parents and babysitter had abandoned her.

Elaina kept hold of her sandwich as she approached the old car. Climbing up onto the fender of the driver’s side, she looked into the faded seats. The place smelled like an attic. Sitting in the middle of the driver and passenger seats was a beautiful pink rose with white tips. The center was a deeper shade of pink than the rest of the flower. The rose seemed to have a thousand petals cupped into a classic rosette shape.

Elaina gasped in delight. She climbed into the car to take a closer look at the flower. There had never been anything so beautiful in Elaina’s desert playland. She reached out and touched the velvety petals. Elaina was careful not to touch the thorns, for she knew they pricked.

Even though the girl touched only the petals, something stabbed her finger. Elaina yanked her hand back. A drop of blood spilled onto one of the petals. She stuck her finger into her mouth. Why had the rose bitten her?

She turned to leave, and started. A man stood outside the door. He had bright green eyes with golden specks in them. His hair was brown and slightly wild. He didn’t believe in products and proper haircuts. He wore baggy sweats and a dirty t-shirt, like he’d just done crawling through a bunch of bushes. There were leaves and pine needles all over him. Two curved horns peeked out of his hair atop his head. He was all over with sinewy muscle, like a wild thing.

“You dropped your blood on my rose,” he said.

Elaina was frightened at first, but when the man implied that she’d purposefully dropped her blood on the rose, she grew indignant. “I didn’t do it. It bit me.”

The man folded his arms. “Of course it bit you. You weren’t supposed to touch it.”

Elaina fixed him with her big brown eyes. What was she to say in her defense? “But…but this is my car.”

“No, it isn’t. You can’t drive.” The man went around to the other side and slipped into the passenger seat through the open window. He bent over the rose and poked it. His nails were thick and sharp like claws. Elaina’s blood had stained one of the petals bright red. “Hm…”

Elaina grew afraid that she’d hurt the rose. “Is it okay?”

“I think…I think the rose likes you,” said the man.

“It does? But how can it like me when it bit me?”

“Well, it didn’t know who you were, but see how the petal turned red? The rose likes you now. But do you know what that means? It means you have to take care of it.”

Elaina looked up at the man. “I have to take care of it?”

“If you don’t, the rose won’t like you anymore.”

Elaina’s face contorted. “But I want it to like me.”

“Then you better take care of it and not leave it alone, so this is what you have to do. You have to give it water, but make sure you don’t touch the petals with the water, or you’ll hurt it. You have to give it water in the morning; that way the rose won’t be thirsty all day. Tomorrow morning, before the sun comes up, you have to come out here to water it.” The man reached into his pocket and gave Elaina a small red cup. “Use this to give the rose water.”

Elaina examined the cup. “But my mom and dad don’t want me to come into the car.”

“Then you better find a way to sneak out here.”

Elaina thought about it a moment. “Okay.”

The man smiled triumphantly. “Well, I better go now.” He opened the car door this time, and got out. He turned back to Elaina and her sad excuse for a sandwich. “Is that all you’re eating?”

“My babysitter left me sandwiches.”

The man made a disgusted face. “Do you like them?”

Elaina had never thought about it. “I don’t know.”

“What do you like to eat?”

“Um…I like cheeseburgers.”

The man lit up. “Well! You have good taste. I like cheeseburgers, too. I think I’ll go get one.”

Elaina hoped he’d offer her a cheeseburger, but he didn’t. He strode to the back of the yard, where it was bushiest. Crouching onto his hands and the balls of his feet, he crawled into the bushes. Elaina’s brows knit. How was he supposed to get a cheeseburger from the bushes? She hopped out of the car and ran to where the horned man had disappeared.

She bent over and pushed through the bushes like an adventurer in the jungle. The chain-link fence surrounding the yard squished against her nose. Elaina searched for a hole that the man had surely crawled through. She went up and down the fence until she climbed over and dropped on the other side. Elaina peered across the horizon to the alien mountains for him.

The barking of wild dogs echoed in the distance. Elaina clambered back over the fence. She stared at the desert through the safety of the fence. A pack of wild dogs loped across the landscape. They dragged something with them.

“Is it making you hungry?” said the man behind her.

Elaina jumped and turned around. The man was crouched beside her.

He held up a bag full of cheeseburgers. “Let’s eat.”

Elaina forgot about the dogs, and she followed the man into the shade of the single tree in the yard. The man pulled up a rickety bench. He had to lean it against the tree to keep it from falling over. They sat down on it. He handed her a cheeseburger, and then got one for himself.

“I got you five cheeseburgers,” said the man. “Is that enough?”

Elaina was sure she could eat five. “Yeah.”

They stopped talking as they sank their teeth in the juicy meat and melted cheese. The pickles seemed to pop in their mouths. Elaina nearly choked as she stuffed the burger into her mouth. It was a million times better than a bologna sandwich. Elaina took another burger and started on it. The man watched her eat out of the corner of his strange eyes.

Elaina swallowed the last of it and smiled up at the man. “I ate two of them!”

His brows knit. “When’s the last time you ate? The sandwich with the slime in it doesn’t count.”

Elaina giggled.

The man put Elaina’s cheeseburgers into the bag and gave it to her. “Put these in your room for later.”

“Thank you.” Elaina held the bag against her tummy. “What’s your name?”

“My name?” He shrugged. “I haven’t made one up yet.”

Elaina laughed. “How could you not make one up yet? Your mom should’ve given you a name.”

The man looked at her sideways. “I’m a goblin, so I have a goblin name. I don’t think you can pronounce it. I need a human name. What should it be?”

Elaina grew incredulous. “You don’t look like a goblin.”

“No?” He tapped his horns. “What do you think I have these for?”

“It means you’re a satyr.”

The man recoiled in revulsion. “A satyr?” He gagged. “Those are only good for eating. What school do you go to?”

“I start school in August.”

“No wonder.” He jabbed a clawed thumb at himself. “I’m no satyr. I’m a goblin. I’m a mean, cruel goblin. See, my teeth are sharp, too.”

Elaina folded her arms as she lifted her chin. “Goblins don’t take care of roses.”

“They don’t. That’s why you’re taking care of it.”

Elaina couldn’t argue that, but she was certain the man was no goblin. “They don’t own roses, either.”

“I stole the rose.”

Elaina pointed at him. “You stole it? You’re not supposed to steal.”

The man waved her away. “I’m a goblin. That’s what we do. Besides, it came out of a fairy garden, and they have more roses than they know what to do with. Did you know that they throw the roses out all the time when they get too old? I saved its life. All the fairies are looking for the rose so they can throw it away, so that’s why I brought it here. Fairies don’t like rusty old cars.”

“Oh.”

The man leaned against the tree. “Besides, I was promised something if I took the rose.”

“What was the promise?”

“I was promised a princess who would love me.”

Elaina looked at the car in wonder. “There’s a princess in the rose?”

“Yeah.”

“And then she’ll marry you and you’ll be a prince?”

The man shrugged. “I guess so. It doesn’t matter, though. She won’t love me if she finds out I’m actually a goblin. So I need a human name. I’m not taking a fairy name, because I don’t like fairies.”

“But…but wouldn’t the princess be a fairy?” It only made sense that a fairy would be born from a fairy rose.

“I’ll like her. Anyway, that’s not the point. I need a human name. You’re human. What are some good human names?”

Elaina cupped her elbow in one hand while the other hand held her tiny chin in contemplation. “Hm…” She kicked her leg. “How about Teddy?”

“Teddy?” The man thought about it. He wasn’t sure if it was good or not. “What about Chadwick?”

“Ew!” Elaina laughed. “You’re Teddy!”

“Okay, fine. I’m Teddy.” Teddy scanned the yard. “I’m thirsty. Do you have water?”

Elaina nodded. “Follow me.” She went into the house. It was in need of restoration. All two stories of it were made of warped wood. Narrow hallways, small windows, scuffed floors, and lots of corners to hurt your toes on choked the house.

Teddy viewed it in disgust. “No wonder you spend all day outside. If you came to my house, we’d live up in a tree and you could run around in the forest all day.” He took a pine needle from his hair and broke it in half. He put it under Elaina’s nose. “Smell this.”

Elaina inhaled. “It smells like Christmas!”

“It smells like this where I live. I think I’ll take you there sometime, but after you take care of the rose. Where’s the water?”

Elaina climbed onto a stool and filled an orange plastic cup with water from the faucet. She gave the cup to him. Teddy gulped the water down and recoiled. “This tastes like…” He caught himself before he cursed in front of the little girl. “It’s gross.”

“No, it’s not.”

Teddy was heartily sorry for her. “Where I live, the water tastes like crystals.”

“Crystals?” Elaina wasn’t sure if she liked that idea or not. She’d never tasted a crystal.

Teddy laughed, and then he grew sober. “Your water might kill the rose.”

“No, it won’t, silly,” said Elaina. “I’m alive.”

Teddy looked out the window. “But everything’s dead in the yard. The water might not be good for plants.”

“But the princess isn’t a plant.”

Teddy leaned on the counter. “This is true.”

A car pulled into the drive.

Teddy maneuvered his way to the living room. His shoulders were about to touch the walls. He frowned. “I feel like I’m in a coffin!” He made it to the living room and looked outside. A man was getting out of a shiny Ford truck. “Who’s that?”

Elaina climbed on the couch and leaned her stomach against the back as she peered out the window. “That’s my dad.”

Teddy looked from him to Elaina and back again. “What an ugly—erhm…” He cleared his throat to keep from cursing. “How did you come from that?”

“My mom says a stork dropped me off.”

“Hm, must’ve gotten the wrong address.”

The man entered the house. He hastened past the living room without looking inside and went to the kitchen. They could hear him rummaging around in the fridge. He found whatever he was looking for and jogged upstairs. The floors creaked under his shoes as he moved around in his bedroom. It was across from Elaina’s. His phone rang with a classic bell.

“Hey, baby,” he said, “I just had to get home to grab my stuff before the wife got here. Yeah, I’ll be there. I’m leaving a note so she won’t suspect. Yeah, yeah, I got everything. Be ready when I come pick you up. All right. Love you.”

He bounded down the stairs and out the door. His duffle bag hit the door jamb and bounced across his back. Leaping into the truck, he sped away.

“Hm, a man-whore,” said Teddy thoughtfully. “Shall we play a game, Elaina?”

Elaina jumped up and down. “Yeah!”

“I’ve never played human games before. Do you know any?”

Elaina giggled. “Of course I do! Come on.” She grabbed his hand and took him to a corner of the room as she explained the rules for hide-and-seek. “I’ll hide first, and you count to twenty.”

“Okay.” Teddy closed his eyes and started counting.

They played until evening. Around six, the babysitter rushed into the house. She was a skinny creature, wearing clothes to make her even skinnier. Her face was caked in make-up, but barely had anything to show for it, save gleaming mirrors on her cheekbones. Her fake lashes were so huge that they weighed her eyes down. She threw her glittering bag on the couch behind which Teddy lay hidden. Her shoes clacked across the floor into the kitchen. She started cooking dinner like the responsible adult she wasn’t.

“Elaina,” she shouted, sounding rather angry. “Elaina! Where are you?”

Teddy frowned.

Elaina pattered out of the stairwell to the kitchen. “I’m right here, Tiana.”

“You weren’t in that car today, were you?”

Elaina never lied, so she kept silent.

Tiana didn’t wait for an answer. “You’ve been a good girl today? I had a lot of things to do, but don’t tell your mom, okay? She thinks I have no life, but I do. But it’s okay now. I’m cooking and afterward, we’ll play a game.”

“I’m playing with Teddy.”

“Who’s Teddy?”

“He’s a goblin. He doesn’t like satyrs. He eats them.”

“Okay, well, go keep playing with him.”

Elaina skipped away in search of Teddy. She found him lounging behind the couch. “I found you!” Elaina jumped on his stomach and started tickling him. Laughing, Teddy picked her up and hovered her above him. He sat up as he set her on the floor.

“Is everybody coming home now?” said Teddy.

“Yeah.”

“I think I better go now, then.”

“Will you come back?”

“Yeah. I’ll be back. Don’t forget the rose.”

“Okay.”

Teddy ruffled her hair and stood up. He went out the front door, walked around to the back of the house, and crawled through the bushes. Elaina spent the rest of the night planning what games to play when Teddy came back.

Tiana couldn’t cook, and had burned everything. As Elaina stared at her plate of burned rice and chicken, Elaina’s mother walked in.

“I’m home now,” said Elaina’s mother. “Thanks for watching Elaina. And you saved me from cooking dinner. You’re sweet.”

Tiana jumped up. She’d been saved from playing with Elaina. “No problem! She was a good girl. See you tomorrow.”

Tiana ran out of the house to go bar hopping in town with her boyfriend.

Elaina’s mother had a fast-food bag with her. She glanced at the food and yanked her phone out. She waved at Elaina and escaped upstairs.

“Hey!” Elaina’s mother cried. “How are you? Ah, today was hectic. I need a woman’s day out. Looks like Phil’s gone on a business trip. You know, I can’t help but think he’s not on a business trip. He just works at Herb’s Country Store. I brought some food home for Elaina, but the dinner Tiana made looked like toxic waste, so I’m eating it.” The woman tittered. “Oh, she doesn’t know anything. She’s five. Besides, kids never eat anyway.”

Elaina pushed her plate away and went to her room as her mom chattered away like a headless bird. She ate one of her cheeseburgers. Setting her alarm for 6 AM, she put herself to bed. Early the next morning, the alarm went off. Elaina was about to hit the snooze button when she remembered the rose. Excitement woke her up. Turning off the alarm, she pattered out her door with Teddy’s cup in her hand.

Her mom was still dressing for work in her room. Elaina tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen. She filled the cup with water. She didn’t own any slippers, and so ran out across the dirt in her bare feet.

Climbing into the car, Elaina moved to carefully water the rose, but stopped with the cup hovering near the base of the rose. More of the petals had turned bright red. Her blood had fallen onto one petal, and now the color was spreading to the rest of the petals. The first petal had turned red because of the blood. What was this going on? Elaina poured the water into the rose’s stem. She decided not to tell Teddy about this.

Hurrying out of the car, Elaina returned to the house. Her mom was in the kitchen now. She would spot Elaina if she was facing the window. Elaina crouched by the tree where she and Teddy had eaten cheeseburgers. Tiana arrived, and Elaina’s mother left. Elaina didn’t come out, but waited for her to leave. Tiana stayed long enough to make a couple of bologna sandwiches for Elaina, and then she ran off.

The wild dogs barked in the distance. They growled, and something wailed. Shivers ran up Elaina’s spine. She imagined the brutes breaking through the fence, or jumping it, or digging under it. Either way, the scenario ended with her getting devoured. She turned to run back into the house, but bumped into Teddy instead. Taking her hand, he swung her into his arm. He scrambled into the tree branches like a squirrel and hopped onto the roof. He sat cross-legged with Elaina on his knee. Elaina smiled up into Teddy’s face.

Teddy poked her cheek, and then he pointed towards the alien desert mountains. “Look, do you see the wild dogs?”

Elaina wasn’t afraid of them with Teddy there. “Yeah.”

“How many are there?”

Elaina started counting. Her mom used to play hide and seek with her a lot. Elaina could count all the way to fifty. “Twenty!”

“That’s a lot of dogs,” said Teddy.

“Yeah.”

“What colors are there? I see a brown and white dog.”

“I see a black one.”

“I see a red one.”

The dogs vanished over a rise.

“Did you see any more colors?” said Teddy.

“Um…” Elaina thought about it. “No. They were all boring colors. Are we going to play a game now?”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Teddy picked up Elaina and jumped off the roof. He landed in a crouch in the dirt and put her down. He stood up and took Elaina into the house. He closed the door, and they went to the kitchen.

Teddy dug around in the fridge. “Did you water the rose?”

The red petals crossed Elaina’s mind like small hot irons. “Yeah.”

“Good.”

“When is your princess gonna come out?” said Elaina.

“I don’t know. The rose is supposed to start shining. That’s when she’ll come out.”

“And then you’ll take her home with you?”

Teddy took out a carton of eggs. “Yeah.”

Elaina stared at her dusty bare feet. “Will you come back to visit me?”

Teddy turned to her. “Sure.”

Elaina beamed. “What are you making for breakfast?”

“Eggs. I’d put satyr in it, but I couldn’t find any last night.”

Elaina giggled. “You’re funny.” She hopped to the stove.

Teddy’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “I’m not joking.” He stood and got a bowl from the dishrack. He dropped several eggs in and stirred them up. He sprinkled in some salt and pepper, threw it on the stove and cooked it. “I was watching people cook last night. This is so weird! Do you think this’ll work?”

Elaina squeaked in glee.

Teddy pulled the eggs off the burner and dumped them into a bowl. Switching off the stove, he crouched on the floor beside Elaina. He ate with his fingers, so she ate with her fingers, too. He produced a bag of water from his side.

“Here, drink real water,” he said, pulling off the cork. He handed it to Elaina. “Don’t get any floaties in it.”

Elaina drank the water.

“There,” said Teddy. “It tastes better, don’t it?”

Elaina smiled and said nothing.

“What’s that smile? It tastes different, don’t it?”

Elaina shook her head.

“It tastes like crystals.”

Elaina started laughing.

The edges of Teddy’s mouth tugged down. “Admit it. It tastes like crystals instead of monkey pee.”

“Monkey pee!” Elaina squeaked and covered her mouth.

Teddy lay on the floor in disbelief. Elaina hopped to his side and started tickling his stomach. Teddy laughed and rolled away from her. She jumped up and chased after him, laughing so hard that she could hardly breathe.

The days passed by. Teddy came every day. Sometimes he told her about his home and how to live like a goblin. He brought food to her from his tree in the ancient pine forest. Eagles lived there that were bigger than Elaina. He said big monsters came out of the canyons sometimes, and the goblins would fight them. Elaina listened to his tales with relish.

She came to expect him after she watered the rose every morning. The only thing worrying her was that the red which had begun on one petal had overspread all the petals, save one. Teddy never checked on the rose. He just wanted her to tell him when it was glowing. As far as she knew, it hadn’t started glowing yet. She hoped it never would.

August was nearing. Elaina’s first day of school was approaching. She didn’t know about getting new clothes and shoes for it. She hardly knew that it was still July. She only knew that Teddy came every day. He soon supplanted Elaina’s expectation and joy of seeing her own parents.

Early one morning, Elaina once more went out to water the now all-red rose. She’d ceased to be sneaky about it since nobody bothered her about it. She found Teddy inside the car. He stared at the rose with creased brows. Elaina froze in her tracks. Teddy knew the rose wasn’t pink anymore. He looked up at her and, for the first time, he didn’t smile.

“Elaina, come here,” he said.

Elaina did so, fear rising in her breast. She sat on her knees in the driver’s seat. She didn’t dare speak.

“The rose is red,” said Teddy.

Elaina looked at the rose and then at him.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was like this?”

Elaina cast her eyes at her knees, heart pounding.

“Elaina!”

The small girl jumped.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Elaina felt he was furious with her. Small tears started to her eyes.

“No, don’t cry,” Teddy growled. “Why didn’t you tell me the rose was turning red?”

Elaina couldn’t help it. She broke down and jumped out of the car. She ran into the house and raced up the stairs.

Teddy rested his arm onto the dashboard and dropped his head on his arm. He had to take a walk by himself for a while to think things over. He got out of the car, went to the back of the yard, and hopped the fence into the lonely desert. He started walking to where the wild dogs ran. If they came upon him, he’d kill them all. He wasn’t sure if he was upset because he’d made Elaina cry, or because the rose was red.

Elaina was halfway up the stairs when her mother screamed in rage in her room. Something broke. Elaina jumped and gripped the railing. Her mom and dad shouted at one another. She had no idea what they were saying. They yelled over one another. The harsh sound of flesh on flesh cracked the air. Elaina’s mother screamed. She burst from her room, mouth bleeding, and tore down the stairs as if Elaina didn’t exist.

“Get back here!” her husband bellowed. He ran down the stairs after her.

Elaina’s mother escaped the house and jumped into her silver car. She locked the doors before her husband could reach her. She shredded a donut in the driveway, nearly mowing him over, and ripped out of the drive. Knocking over the mailbox with an awful clatter, the woman vanished down the road in a cloud of dust.

Elaina’s father howled like he was possessed. The small girl darted to her room and slid under the bed for dear life. Her dad marched around the house, destroying furniture and busting holes in the walls. He pounded upstairs to his bedroom. Still roaring in furious abandon, he ripped apart his wife’s belongings as he cursed her. When the room was sufficiently destroyed, he flew outside. He picked up a bat and began shattering all the windows on the ground floor.

Teddy heard the ruckus and turned his head back to the house. He could see the car from where he was, and Elaina’s dad going mad. Teddy’s heart went into his mouth. Elaina was alone with that thing. He’d left her alone with that thing.

The man’s devilish eyes landed on the old car. Raising the bat, he assaulted the car.

Horror washed over Teddy, and he began sprinting back to the house.

Elaina heard the windows breaking out in the yard, and the metallic ring of the bat on the car’s surface. She started. Teddy’s rose was out there! Scrambling out from under the bed, she dashed outside.

“Daddy,” Elaina cried, “don’t break the car!” She ran towards him. “Don’t break the car!”

The man whirled on her. He looked more of a goblin than Teddy. “Get back in the house!”

Teddy sped up. He could see the little girl. He knew she was defending the rose because it belonged to him. Elaina was going to get hurt.

Elaina almost couldn’t speak. “The rose is in the car. You’ll kill the rose.”

The man turned his contorted visage towards the front seats of the car and spied the blood-red rose. His lips curled over his teeth. “How did you know this rose was in the car? Is it your rose? Are you taking care of it?” His chest began to heave. “Is it your rose?” He whacked the car with the bat.

Elaina started to cry.  “Don’t hurt it.”

“You went into the car when you weren’t supposed to.” He threw open the door and grabbed the rose in his fist.

Elaina felt something stab her insides. She screamed as she crossed her arms over her stomach.

“You look just like your mom,” the man howled. He ripped the rose from the front seat and began tearing it apart. The thorns tore his hands, but he couldn’t feel anything in his mania. “You’ll never go into this car again! Ever!”

Elaina fell on her knees and doubled over.

Teddy leaped over the fence in a bound.

The man dropped the mangled rose by Elaina’s head, oblivious to her pain, and began stomping on the rose with all his might.

Teddy sprang over the car, it being the fastest way to reach the madman. He slammed into his back, and the two hit the ground. Teddy rolled off of the man and landed in a crouch. Turning on the ball of his foot, he hurtled at Elaina’s father with outstretched claws.

The man scrambled to his feet in shock, hardly knowing what had hit him. Teddy reached him in a split second and ripped his claws across the man’s face. It took out both of the man’s eyes. The man swung his bat like a knee-jerk reaction. The goblin caught the weapon in his hands. Yanking it free, he pounded the man in the head with it. Elaina’s dad raised his arms to blindly defend himself, but Teddy broke his arms with the bat. The man fell on the ground, screaming. Teddy jumped on his chest and slashed out the man’s throat.

Without waiting for the choking wretch to die, Teddy scrambled to Elaina’s side. She was crumpled on her side, unconscious. Teddy touched her head as he shouted her name. She didn’t respond. He looked wildly around and beheld the rose petals by her little head. Desperate hope sprang to his breast. Gathering the rose petals into his pocket, he lifted Elaina up. He sprinted to the back of the yard and shoved through the bushes. He grabbed the fence and yanked on it. The chain links opened like a curtain. Beyond lay a vast forest filled with old pine trees and whispering firs.

Teddy hurried through, and the portal closed behind him. Elaina breathed shallowly. The color had drained from her cheeks. Teddy raced towards an ancient evergreen standing atop a craggy cliff. He reached an old footpath and dashed to the evergreen at the top. An old goblin wrapped in fur was crouched in the branches. She noticed Teddy’s approach and dropped to the ground before him.

“Ah,” she said, “what’s that you have there? Why…you’re about to cry.” She grew worried.

“My princess rose,” said Teddy desperately. “This is my princess the Old One promised me if I would take care of the rose I stole from the fairy garden. The girl found it and her blood dropped on it. The whole rose turned red. The Old One said that when the rose turns red, I’ve found my princess. Her father tore it apart, and she suffered for it. Do something. What do I do?”

The old goblin gazed at the small girl. “Your princess is a child. You’ve been given a child.” She considered him a moment. “Something can be done, but when it is, this little child will be reborn into a fairy. She’ll be a different fairy from all the others. She’ll cleave to you, and you’ll be a goblin with a fairy child. Do you love this child?”

Teddy nodded. “I do. I don’t care if she’s reborn into a fairy, as long as she lives.”

The old goblin smiled. “Do you have the rose petals?”

“Yes.”

“Give them to me.”

Teddy gave her the scarlet petals without hesitation.

The old goblin placed the petals in Elaina’s mouth. “Now hold her to your heart and don’t let go.”

Teddy held Elaina tightly to him. He waited for her to breathe and move. Instead, she glowed and shrank in his arms, until there was nothing but a small seed in his hands. He stared at it in helpless confusion.

“Plant the seed,” said the old goblin. “Plant it in a safe place, and care for it. Speak to it and sing to it. That will be its food. When it blossoms, you’ll have your child back.”

Teddy nodded numbly. “Thank you.”

He took the little seed home to his ancient tree and put it in a little round pot made of moss. He watered it every day, and did as the old goblin had instructed. The seed ever stayed in a pouch at his side. After a few days, a small sprig of green appeared. It grew until he had to change out the pot. One day it was so big that he had to transplant it into his garden, nestled between three ancient fir trees. He built a small shelter beside the plant and remained with it night and day.

One morning, Teddy crawled from his shelter to find a rosebud on the ever-growing plant. The bud grew into a large cocoon. Nobody knew what Teddy was growing in his yard, but people grew curious. Teddy allowed nobody near it. They only knew that he’d stolen something from a fairy garden. What strange magic was he concocting?

When a gentle snowfall had transformed the wood into a soft, white cloud, the cocoon began to sparkle. Teddy crouched over the little cocoon. Something moved inside. Elaina’s little hand poked out, and she pushed the side of the cocoon away like she was throwing off a blanket. Her dark hair was speckled in blue and silver. Her small lips were very red, while her eyes were very dark. Velvety blue and black wings were folded on her back. She wore a little white dress. She looked sleepily up at Teddy and smiled.

She raised her little arms up to him. “Daddy.”

Beaming for joy, Teddy gathered her up and kissed her cheek. “I love you. I love you so much.” Teddy nuzzled her soft little face with his own.

The little fairy smile and kissed his cheek in turn. “I love you, too, Daddy.”

Standing up, the goblin carried the little fairy to his tree.

“Can we play games, Daddy?” said the little fairy of her goblin father.

“Yeah, but after we eat. You haven’t eaten in a while.”

“Okay.”

They reached the tree. Teddy bounded up the branches with ease. He passed through the front door, which was shaped like a curvy hole in the tree. He entered a cozy living room full of furs and moss. Setting the little fairy into a fuzzy chair, he crouched before her. She could no longer have a human name, if she even remembered being human. It didn’t seem like she did. No matter. She knew him. He knew what he would call her.

The goblin took her tiny hands in his gnarled, clawed ones. “Your name is Rose, and your full name is Princess Rose. I fell in love with a goblin woman. To test my love, she wanted a rose from the fairy garden from the royal fairy lands. I stole a rose from the fairy garden, but when I came home, she’d wed another. My heart was broken. The Old One promised that if I took care of this rose, that I would be given a princess of my own and my heart would heal. He said something pure had to drop its blood on the petals for the princess to come. A fairy rose wouldn’t stay alive in the presence of a goblin. That pure thing would keep the rose alive. You dropped your blood on the petals. You kept the rose alive. You were in the rose, my girl. You were born in a goblin garden on this snowy day, a princess rose. This is how you were born, and this is why you’re so named.”

The End

Copyright © by Julia Benally 2022

All rights reserved

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this work are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

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