“Yay!” A little bell-like voice rang out from above the couple.

  “They did it!” Another small angelic voice commented.

  “Awww, do we have to let them go? I wanted a couple more dragons.” Yet a third voice nearly cried in disappointment.

  Confused as to where the voices were coming from, Ruby stood up with her hand on her dagger for reassurance. “You hear that, right Ner-Ner?”

  “Of course.” Nerice took up her spot behind Ruby and held her staff up protectively.

  A trio of ughter twinkled through the room before Ruby saw a small streak of the algae light circling her head and then y ft like a tiny wreath.

  “There. That was the only thing that you missed. If you’d suspected that then the game would have been over really fast.” With a brief pause, the first voice waited until the light shone in Ruby’s hazel eye. “Hi.” A fairy the size of Ruby’s palm appeared and kissed the pirate on her nose. “I’m Clove.” With bck wings fluttering and dressed in all bck leather that was a shiny and magical version of what Ruby possessed, Clove pointed to Ruby’s hand. “Lemme nd, we’ve been flying for hours watching you.” She darted over to a near twin of herself, except with longer hair and brown wings then resumed her speech. “That is Juniper. She is the one who ughed and almost spoiled the fun. Bad Juniper.”

  “Sorry.” Juniper beat her blue-green wings around Nerice and pced another wreath on her head. “There. That should fix you right up. Feel free to make those nice and warming whistles. You click and sound like a porpoise, it’s adorable.” She dropped down and nded on Nerice's shoulder and id upside down. “Do it again.”

  Doing her best to get a word in between her sisters, the st fairy coughed and sent little red shards all over the room in the pyful effort to take the center of attention. “Hi-Hi-Hi. I-I-I am Se, yep that's me Se.” She held up four tiny fingers. “S-e-l-a.” Much like the other two, Se had the same pyful spirit yet was as red as Ruby with matching maroon wings that beat in sets of three before she floated. “You-You-You, won-won-won.” Se giggled and actually nded in the thickest part of Ruby’s hair. “Oh-oh-oh, look-look-look.” She wrapped herself in the long bck locks. “A-a-a cocoon-cocoon-cocoon.”

  Once the dainty Juniper fawned her faint on Nerice’s shoulder, Ruby couldn’t help but smile wide and chuckle at the antics of the trio. “Look at that. A fairy version of your lovely blue self.” Ruby opened her hand for Clove to nd, but kept teasing Nerice. “Dark humored to match your witchiness, come on chitter for her again.” Ruby then looked at the bck fairy who nded. “I saw the map and thought it was too easy.” Ruby nudged Clove with her nose. “Spill it mini-monster.”

  “We are not monsters!” The three echoed at the same time.

  Clove spoke up after she put her hands on her hips, “Troublesome and troublemakers, yes. Monsters no.” Clove used her small finger and poked the dimple on Ruby’s lip. “Who’s the meanies that came to take our pool of gold, Hummm?”

  With a pyful breath Ruby sent the bck winged fairy sailing through the air in tiny loops until she could beat her wings and right herself. “Clove, I do believe you said we won the game, so I think the gold is mine. Unless you don’t honor your bets.”

  Zooming around Ruby’s head once, Clove slowed and nded on Ruby’s hand again and then plopped down and crossed her legs. “Now then…” Clove continued, “...No more of your breath antics, even if it was fun.”

  “Don’t listen to her, blow harder!” Juniper jumped up and grabbed one of Nerice’s braids and began to swing. “She likes it, I promise!” Juniper paused and took a small breath then whispered into Nerice’s ear. “Do you think your red dy believes me?”

  Oddly content with the fairy in her hair, Nerice tilted her head to the side and let Juniper swing a little more. “Not a chance. You can call her Tanya though. I refuse to use that stupid nickname of hers.”

  “What-what-what a-a-a pretty-pretty-pretty name-name-name!” Se commented as she kept rolling around in Ruby’s hair. “Tanya. T-a-n-y-a. Yep.” Se ughed and seemed to clear her speech. “Clove thinks she’s in charge-charge-charge.” Untangling herself from Ruby’s bck hair, Se crawled so that she was hanging down over Ruby’s good eye, upside down. “Truth-truth-truth is I-I-I am.” She giggled. “Clove. They won-won-won. Tell them.”

  “Se!” Clove groaned and wiggled her bck wings. “No fun. Okay, fine.” She tossed her hands in the air. “Gold is all yours, sexy dy. Se, lemme shrink her and py!” Clove licked Ruby’s thumb and after Se didn’t respond, huffed in disappointment. “Maybe one day, but for now the gold is all yours.”

  Fascinated by the thought of being a tiny fairy like the others ran pyfully in Ruby’s head for a minute before she addressed the three. “Alright. So that debt is settled. The gold is mine. I am curious as to what happened to the guys. Tell me, if you please.”

  “Ohhhh!!” Juniper took flight and after doing a few figure eights between the two pirates, nded on Nerice’s gnarled staff. “You say that too!” She giggled and fshed her own tiny fangs then clicked them as though she were eating. “Oh, right the boys.”

  All three ughed.

  Satisfied that Ruby wasn’t going to create another small hurricane to send her through the air once more, Clove stood up and whistled. An array of little growls came from the tunnel and after a few seconds three gold dragons the size of Ruby’s forearm appeared and slowly beat their wings. One at a time the fairies nded on their backs and snapped their fingers to make reins appear. “Friends! We wanted dragons to ride on.” Clove shifted her bck and silver eyes up towards Ruby. “They lost the game and now they get to be friends for a while.”

  “Pets!” Juniper added

  “We-we-we are-are-are dragon riders!” Se spurred her dragon and the two bolted through the air and flew between Ruby’s legs. “See-See-See? Wheee!”

  Standing up and feeling her way to the opening in the rock, Nerice knelt down like she was going to leave and then turned her bnk stare towards Ruby. “Tanya, let’s go. I say forget the gold and let’s get back to town.”

  Many things kept Ruby in the midst of trouble and given the fairies were trouble, the gambler that poked at Ruby’s chest got the better of her and she pointed to the other pilrs. “Tell me what they are all about.”

  “Clever.” Clove hopped off of her dragon and nded in Ruby’s palm again. “You don’t want to py those games!” She tapped her foot, “Or do you?”

  Landing beside her sister Se grabbed Clove's bck hand and drooped her head. “Two-two-two other games-games-games, not fun-fun-fun. Bck as Clove, yep-yep-yep. Not my game-game-game.” Beating her red wings softly Se looked up into Ruby’s inquisitive stare with her own coppery eyes. “Middle one belongs to Juniper-Juniper-Juniper. Last one bck-bck-bck, Clove’s yep.”

  Clove smiled and nuzzled Ruby’s thumb purring as she did so. “Each has its own risk and reward. Should you want to py them.”

  “Tanya.” Nerice knew before she even tried that her words were useless and turned around. “Why couldn’t it have just been dice?” Following the sound of wings close to her, Nerice took a little sniff of the air and clicked her tongue to find Juniper. “If she’s doing this, then give us back what you took from her and myself. Everything.”

  “Ohhh, the connection and your little stone magic.” Juniper snapped her fingers and ughed, “Easy enough.” Juniper flew around excitedly and nded on the ‘Ship in the Bottle’ that rested on the second pilr. “So? Gonna give it a try?”

  With the familiar feeling of Nerice back in her head, a rush of relief and love rushed through Ruby causing her to shiver with delight. “Oh, I missed that Ner-Ner.” She raised her eyebrows, “Juniper, you know you are dealing with two of the six sisters of the sea - right?”

  “Of course.” Juniper sat down and crossed her legs. “We knew you were mermaids from the start. That doesn’t change a thing.” she wiggled her blue hand and sent little sparks into the air. “You can py the game, leave with the gold or…” Juniper blew Nerice a kiss. “find a way to have fun with us.”

  Lifting her hand to her shoulder, Ruby waited for Clove to jump over to her shoulder. “Alright, do I get any information besides what’s on the pilrs to do this?”

  “Nope!” All three answered in unison.

  “Are all of the answers here on the isnd? I don’t want to travel everywhere looking for a blueberry that grows in Africa.” Ruby walked up and looked beyond Juniper and studied the ship and other items within the bottle. “What are the stakes? Do I get to set my own reward or did you already determine that?”

  Quickly fpping her wings, Juniper took flight once more and zoomed between both Ruby and Nerice. “Stakes!” She ughed. “Pick whatever you want, but if you lose then you forfeit the gold and stay here and swimmy in that pool as a friend. A fairy-mermaid friend. Poof! Little bitty fish-girl but not forever. Just a few years.” She shrugged. “Deal?”

  “I pick whatever I want?” Ruby reiterated and pced her hand on her dagger. “No cheating or changing the rules once you tell me.”

  “Agreed!” Juniper ughed and flew over and gave Ruby a kiss on her cheek, leaving a tiny blue print behind. “You’re fun!”

  “Yay, another game!” Se and Clove echoed and cpped.

  Downing another ale-rum, Ruby bowed and looked around the quiet room. “What? Ol’Ruby already has ready be tell’n you we gots the gold.” She watched as the others began to fold their arms and look at her inquisitively. “Go on, serve up yer piece, me not have all night.” Ruby ughed, “Aye, me thinks you alls want ta be tugg’n yer ear for another tale.” She waved her hand. “What be in it fer Ruby? Mayhaps free rum-ale?”

  “Aye!” Most all of the guys in the crowd agreed.

  Ruby looked down at Digger and Nerice. “Me suppose’n the other two tales be on the agenda for tonight. Settle yer arse, and lemme spin yer ear again…”