Shelly fluttered her wings to land carefully on the pillow next to the sleeping child, stumbling in the softness as she did. She flailed her arms to avoid falling head-over-heels into the girl's face. Barely saving herself, she huffed out a grateful breath.

I don't know why I let Pinkly convince me to take her shift as the tooth fairy. I'm a messenger! This is hard! she complained to herself as she reviewed the list. According to it, Audrey Green was the girl's name, and Shelly marked her off before digging the big coin out of her special pouch. The shiny metal disk was heavy, much more so than the magic beans she usually carried, but her bag allowed her to carry as much as she wanted. Thank the stars for magic! Shelly thought with gratitude.

She clutched the money to her chest and looked around for the child's tooth, spying it on the bed, nearly under the pillow. Gingerly, she climbed down to the funny-looking thing, stuffed it into her bag, and left the coin in its place. There. Last one!

Audrey mumbled in her sleep, and Shelly froze. Of all things, she didn't need the trouble of being seen by a human. When the child rolled over away from her, she sagged in relief. She fluttered her wings and turned to take flight, but her heart skipped a beat as she came nose-to-nose with the family dog. He was white with black and brown patches and floppy ears.

Shelly squealed in fright, pinwheeling back from the horrid creature. Dogs, notoriously, did not like magic or magical creatures. And certainly not fairies. The mutt growled, a sound that rumbled deep in its chest.

"Shh!" Shelly urged, gesturing for the canine to be quiet. She glanced at Audrey, who seemed to stir. "Who's a good boy?" she whispered to the pup as she backed up slowly. "You're a good boy!" She scowled. "Aren't you?"

He barked loudly, and Shelly stumbled backward, falling to land on her butt and spilling her bag's contents consisting of coins, makeup, several boxes to be delivered, and many pieces of mail. "Oh! You!" she shot at the animal. Before he could bowl her over again, she hopped up and grabbed her bag, frantic to stuff all the items back in it.

"Charlie?" Audrey said, half asleep and yawning.

The dog woofed and wagged his tail.

"What are you barking at?"

Shelly's eyes widened at the sight of Audrey moving. She ran to the edge of the bed, launched herself off into the air, and flew for all she was worth toward the window.

The dog followed, scrambling to snap at her, but Shelly was just fast enough, zig-zagging along the way to avoid the dog's wrath. She made it, by some miracle, to the windowsill and slipped through the crack. She panted, her heart racing as she flew off into the moonless night.

The dog humphed one last time before trotting back to his human, tail high and wagging. She was sitting up, rubbing her eyes, and he snuffled around to root out the source of the offending magic he smelled. It didn't take long to find it: a bean.

It was blue and about the size of a thumbnail. It had spots, and to him, stank something horrible. He was just about ready to roll the thing off the bed when Audrey spotted it.

"Whatcha got there, Charlie?" she asked, plucking the bean right from under his nose.

He woofed softly at her and wagged his tail, hoping for the ear skritches she gave him absentmindedly as she studied what she had found.

She gasped when she realized what she had. "Where'd you get this from?" she demanded.

He sat and cocked his head.

Audrey, realizing what she'd discovered, jumped from the bed and shouted, "Jane! Jane, look what I found! It's a bean!"

Her small stockinged feet propelled her toward her sister's bed on the other side of the room. Jane was still asleep; she could sleep through anything. Audrey shook her. "Jane! Wake up! I've got a bean, just like cousin Jack!"

Jane frowned and cracked an eye open. "What are you yelling about, Audrey? It's the middle of the night."

"Look!" Audrey held out her hand. "It's a magic bean, right? Just like Jack's?"

Jane took the bean from her sister and studied it. "I don't know, Audrey. Sure, it's blue, which is unusual for a bean, but magic? Magic only happens to other people."

"But it might be magic!" Audrey insisted.

Jane smiled and ruffled her little sister's hair. "You bet. Why don't we plan on planting it? It doesn't hurt to find out, does it?"

Audrey nodded, curls flopping all over from the effort.

"Okay, squirt, put it somewhere safe and head back to bed," Jane instructed.

Audrey gently placed the bean into her jewelry box on the dresser, looking at it one last time before closing the lid. She was positive she'd never get back to sleep, but she got into bed dutifully.

Jane chuckled at how soon she snored softly, then decided it was time to make breakfast. Their father would be up at dawn, which wasn't far away, and Jane liked to ensure he had good food before he headed off to work in the fields. It was planting season, so he was busy tilling the soil with the neighbors who shared the farm equipment and plow horse.

She shuffled to the kitchen and soon had bacon frying and bread in the oven. Paired with eggs and cheese, she made a fine meal for all of them. She was setting the table when her father lumbered into the room.

"Mmm. That smells amazing." He leaned to kiss his daughter on the cheek.

"Dad! Dad!" Audrey exclaimed when she skipped into the room, plopping down in her seat. "Guess what I found!"

Their father swallowed the bite he was chewing. "What?" he asked with dramatic enthusiasm.

"A coin! From the tooth fairy!"

He chuckled. "Oh yeah? You're rich now!"

"Yeah! And guess what else? A magic bean!" Audrey's smile went nearly ear to ear, minus one tooth in the front. "Do you want to see it?"

"Sure, pipsqueak! Go get it." After Audrey scampered back to the bedroom, he glanced at Jane, who nodded.

"I think it might be real, Dad," she told him, her voice low.

His eyebrows lifted, and he turned to look at what Audrey held out to him.

"See? I mean, have you ever seen a blue bean? Jack said his beans were funky colors, too," Audrey explained.

He examined it closely before glancing at Jane. "So, what do you think we should do with it?"

Jane, finished with breakfast, picked up her plate to take to the sink. She turned to him. "Plant it in the garden. It won't hurt anything if it's not magic, so we might as well find out."

"Can we, Dad?" Audrey's soulful eyes made him chuckle.

"Yeah, we'll do it when the moon is full. That's when magic is at its highest. We'll give it every opportunity."

Audrey hugged her father. "Thanks, Dad! I can't wait to see what it grows!"

🙚🜋🙙

The pounding on the door startled Jane from her mending, making her poke herself with the sewing needle. Grumbling and sucking on her finger, she went to see who was making such a racket. Her stomach fell when she saw the Magistrate, along with the Sheriff, standing in the sunshine.

"Sirs. To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked formally, knowing full well they were giving notice of taxes.

From the satchel he carried, the Magistrate dug out a paper, folded and sealed with wax, with her father's name on it.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Green. While it is a pleasure to see you, I wish I bore better news. But, alas, it is tax season." He held out the letter for her.

The looming menace of the scowling Sheriff behind the well-dressed man made it clear she had no choice but to take it. If she refused, he would haul her away on the spot for refusal to pay. Or, maybe he would head to the field and arrest her father, which would have been a worse scenario.

She and Audrey had already lost their mother; the kind woman had gotten sick several years ago, and neither they nor the village doctor could save her. Now, their father took care of them, but he was overworked severely. Jane wanted a mother for Audrey, and herself, if she was honest. But, who had time to date when they worked all the time?

She stared at the paper in her hand. If only there were enough money to go around. Dad could actually date, we could pay the taxes, and maybe I could go back to school. She sighed. "How much time do we have to collect the money? Will you accept barter?"

"I am sorry, Ms. Green," the man said again. "This year, taxes can only be paid in coin." He secured the flap of his satchel. "We will return in a month's time to collect."

Jane's stomach flip-flopped. A month wasn't a very long time. She tried to remain calm. "I see. Well, we will do our best."

"Make sure your best means all of it," growled the Sheriff. "I'd hate to have you visit me and my 'special room.'" His evil grin made Jane shiver. She certainly did not want to go to jail.

She clenched her jaw and clutched the letter hard enough to accidentally break the seal. "Yes, I would agree that would be an unpleasant prospect."

The Sheriff laughed as the Magistrate frowned. The man, Jane knew, hated this part of his job. He was a good man who did right by the citizens as much as he could. The Sheriff, on the other hand... well, the Magistrate helped keep him in check.

He tipped his hat to Jane. "We must be off, Ms. Green. Give our regards to your father."

She nodded. "Yes, of course, sir. Perhaps we'll see you at the fair this year."

"Indeed! Always a good time!" He turned away, and, after eyeing Jane once more, the Sheriff followed suit.

Jane shut the door and leaned on it, glad to be rid of the horrible man. The prospect of being alone with the Sheriff in any way was terrifying.

She looked at the letter. Since she had already broken the seal, she decided to read it. Her eyes widened, and she felt a sinking feeling when she read the amount it contained. We don't have enough in savings to cover this! She knew that she would have to step up her game to help. I'll take in laundry and offer mending services. Maybe it will be enough.

🙚🜋🙙