Monkey escorted Tracey to the pasture gate, but Mary Alice had to take him from there. She didn't want Monkey to look suspicious.
Mary Alice pulled Tracey off his back and put his arm around her shoulders. "You're okay, Tracey. I'm going to take you to my apartment," she whispered.
Still unconscious, Tracey shivered. Sweat dripped down his temples, but he did not pop his merman tail. His face was slowly turning white again.
Mary Alice placed her hand on his forehead. Oh yeah, Tracey had a fever. She had to be quick about this, but had one little problem. Her car keys were in the barn's office. How was Mary Alice supposed to get them without anybody seeing her? Surely, they would ask why Tracey was unconscious.
Mary Alice thought about that for a moment and glanced at the barn.
Parents were starting to pull into the driveway to pick up their children.
The campers and Mrs. Connie were coming down the hill next to the petting zoo.
The children played together, but at the sight of their parents, they rushed to meet them.
Before everybody could see Mary Alice, she ducked behind the barn's corner. The corner closest to the paddock had the porta-potty.
Mary Alice leaned Tracey against the barn's side and peered around the corner to the crowd. An idea popped into her brain. She helped Tracey onto the ground, saying, "Wait here, Tracey."
Yeah right. Like Tracey was going to go anywhere.
Mary Alice rose. She left so she could grab her car keys, but peeped over her shoulder at Tracey.
Mrs. Connie stopped her on her way in. "Mary Alice! Where have you been? Leah, Corrine, and Stacie have been looking everywhere for you!"
"Oh, um..." Mary Alice tried to come up with an excuse. "I went to feed the horses in the paddock, but got a very urgent call. Sorry, Mrs. Connie, but I need to go home."
Mrs. Connie placed her hands on her hips. "Where's Tracey?"
Mary Alice froze. "He's um, he's already left. His ride came while you were still at the farmhouse."
"Really?" asked Mrs. Connie. "Well, can you tell the lad that I need to speak to him before camp tomorrow?"
"Of course. I'll relay the message to him." Overcome with nervousness, Mary Alice clasped her hands behind her back.
Mrs. Connie was obviously a little suspicious. Yet she pushed past Mary Alice and joined the campers, allowing her to release the breath she had been holding.
She started to slip into the barn, but a small hand grabbed her wrist. It was Mary Catherine. "Miss Mary Alice, is Tracey okay?" she asked.
"He's terrific," Mary Alice lied. She gently took Mary Catherine's hand off her. "He'll be back tomorrow." Under her breath, she whispered, "I hope." Unless, of course, Tracey died overnight. Mary Alice wondered what would happen if a magical being died. Did they die in the same way as humans?
At Mary Alice's words, Mary Catherine's face lit up. "Yes!" She hurried to her mother, leaping into her arms. "Mommy! Mommy! Tracey's coming back tomorrow!"
"Oh, that's wonderful," her mother said. "So, you two are getting along?"
"Yes!" Mary Catherine rapidly nodded her head. It looked like her neck would snap right off. She added, "I want him to be my babysitter sometime this week!"
Her mother burst out laughing. "Of course, honey." However, Mary Catherine had a point. She had been searching for a babysitter that she actually liked lately. There weren't many, but perhaps Tracey—?
With the thought in mind, Mary Catherine's mother carried her daughter to her car.
Mary Alice forced a smile. Oh, if only the kids and parents knew the truth behind Grove Station Farms: a fairy/merman was trying to free an imprisoned alicorn from a dragon. She wandered toward the barn's office and made it look like nothing was bothering her.
Mary Alice waved goodbye to the children.
They returned it with small smiles, except for Antonio, who was getting chewed out by his mother after she learned what he did to Tracey.
Mary Alice was in such a rush that she didn't see Corrine, who stood before the office's rotating fan.
"Mary Alice! There you are! Are you leaving?" Corrine questioned.
Mary Alice leaped out of her skin. Whirling around, her eyes landed on Corrine. "Corrine! Don't scare me like that!" She picked up her car keys and the blanket she had given Tracey that morning. He gave it back to her, saying that it wasn't necessary.
To Corrine, Mary Alice added, "I wish I could stay, Corrine. I really do, but I just got an urgent call. Apparently, my grandpa tripped over the stairs and had to be rushed to the ER." That wasn't entirely a lie.
"Oh, my goodness! I'm so sorry!" Corrine quickly moved away from the fan.
Mary Alice shrugged. "It's okay. He's just a clumsy, old man."
"Well, I hope he gets better soon."
"Thanks." Tracey needed those words more than Mary Alice's grandpa. She hated to admit it, but he did not look good. She hurried out of the office, but accidentally crashed into Leah. "Hi, Leah. Bye, Leah." Mary Alice quickly left her.
Leah stared. Eventually, she shrugged and returned to work.
***
Once outside, Mary Alice returned to the corner where she had hidden Tracey.
There he was, shivering on the ground and using his arm as a pillow. He still did not sport his merman tail.
Nervous, Mary Alice leaned to him. She again put her hand on his forehead. His fever was getting worse. She had to rub some more dragon spit on his wound, but couldn't do it out there in the open. What if one of the helpers came down with a horse? Or worse, two horses?
Mary Alice tossed her blanket over Tracey's back, saying, "Hang in there, Tracey." Clenching her teeth, she lugged him to his feet, keeping him on her outside arm. She did not have him facing the barn and campers, but the pony ring and petting zoo. Luckily, most of the campers had left by then. There were only a few cars in the parking lot, including Mary Alice's Jeep.
Keeping Tracey on her outside arm, she hurried to it and unlocked the door.
Mrs. Connie, who was coming out of the barn, caught a glimpse of her helping Tracey into the backseat. She squinted her eyes to see better. Suddenly, she looked disturbed, and she cursed under her breath.
***
Wow! Mary Alice did it! She succeeded in getting Tracey to her car. That was one of the scariest moments of her life.
She opened her Jeep's driver's door and ducked inside. Putting the key in the ignition, she turned it on. The AC blew on Tracey.
Before buckling up, Mary Alice took care of him. She took the blanket away from him and pulled off his tank top and white shirt. She then undid the bandage around his shoulder.
Mary Alice took the vile of dragon spit Selene gave her out of her pocket. She unscrewed its top and poured some into her hand. Ugh! This was so gross! She made sure not to breathe while she rubbed the spit on his wound.
Outside, Mrs. Connie was wondering what was taking her so long. If Mary Alice had some "urgent" business to attend to, then how come she hadn't left yet? She started toward her car to get a better look.
Mary Alice spotted her in her rearview mirror, right as she finished retying Tracey's bandage. "Dang it!" she whispered. She tossed her blanket over him, quickly getting buckled.
Mary Alice pressed the gas pedal. She left the parking lot, as well as Grove Station Farms, and turned onto Piedmont Highway.
Mrs. Connie looked like she wanted to throw something, but didn't see Stacie creeping up on her from behind.
"Mrs. Connie," she said. "Hey, is everything okay?"
"It's never been better," Mrs. Connie replied in a sarcastic voice.
"Well, the last of the campers just left," Stacie explained. "I was just wondering if you—"
"Stacie!" Mrs. Connie snapped. "I would appreciate it if you left me alone!"
Stacie jumped. Why was Mrs. Connie so grumpy? She gave her a quick bow, saying, "Yes, ma'am," before returning to the barn.
***
Mrs. Connie waited until she was the only one left at the barn. Then, she hurried to the pasture.
Monkey kept his distance from her as she stomped to the forest.
Before long, Mrs. Connie stood at the edge of it and yelled into the overgrown trees, "Jyn!"
Only a few minutes later, Jyn, the dragon, landed before her. She folded her wings behind her and lowered her head in shame.
Mrs. Connie wasted no time giving her a Howler. "Jyn! What happened? You were supposed to kill the claxton! Not injure him!"
Jyn spoke to her telepathically. "I was going to, but then that non-magical being got in the way."
"Mary Alice," Mrs. Connie said. "She knows his secret, and I've got a feeling that Mary Catherine does, too. Why else would she instantly grow so close to Tracey? And if Mary Alice didn't know who he was, then why was she helping him?"
"How can you be sure that she's helping him?" Jyn wanted to know.
"Don't you play stupid with me, you dumb dragon!" Mrs. Connie snapped. "I saw her! Mary Alice was helping him into her car! A human was helping a claxton!" With each sentence, Mrs. Connie's rage grew worse. "You don't understand, dragon! I have very bad memories of sirens and claxtons, and this claxton is no exception!" Momentarily, she lowered her voice—"My poor Elias"—but then she raised it again. "Sirens and claxtons do not deserve us! Atlantica would have never been destroyed if only mermaids ruled it! Every one of them has to die! That's the only way we can rid them of their evil!"
"What can I do to make this up to you?" asked Jyn.
"I am going to give you until Friday. If you don't kill the claxton, then I will kill him myself! You will forever be my slave!" Mrs. Connie threatened. "Stop him from finding the alicorn's wings. Doing so, he will fail his mission, but you will succeed with yours."
"Yes, ma'am." Shivering, Jyn bowed to her master. She opened her wings, giving them a quick flap.
The dragon glided back into the forest, leaving Mrs. Connie very angry and stressed behind.
***
Mary Alice's apartment was in the Cleveland Park area of Greenville, South Carolina. It was a small but comfortable building made of rich, red brick. It had a cute backyard and a large tree in the front yard that she loved to read under. The apartment complex was beside the Swamp Rabbit Trail and featured an open display of a yellow airplane. There was a bridge and a road in front of it. The Reedy River flowed underneath the bridge.
Mary Alice was lucky that nobody was home in the other apartments right now, so she had more time to get Tracey inside. She pulled into her driveway behind her apartment and unloaded him from her car. She put his tank top back on, but kept his white shirt off.
While she dragged him toward her apartment's back door, she tried to think what the dog would think of him. Mary Alice had a two-year-old Golden Retriever. Her name was Rosie.
Mary Alice escorted Tracey to her back door, thoughts still running through her sore brain. Just before she opened it, she heard a voice: Selene.
"Mary Alice."
Mary Alice jumped, but calmed down when a green and purple light appeared before her. It almost looked like a hologram. Within the light was Selene's face.
"How did you find me?" Mary Alice asked.
"I am the wisest, oldest fairy in the world. It is my sacred duty to look after the fairies of the world," Selene explained. "I came to you because there is something you need to know about Tracey. He will not rest until his task is complete. Tomorrow, you need to keep him quiet. If it's possible, stop him from going to the barn. The magic in the dragon's spit comprises of a sleeping tonic, so he will be very sleepy for twenty-four hours. But I trust you. I know you will take good care of him."
Tracey started to slip from Mary Alice's grip, but she quickly picked him up. "I promise I will," she said to Selene. "I don't want the boy of my dreams to die."
Selene chuckled. She shook her head as she tried to contain herself. When she did, she turned serious again. "Mary Alice, there is one more thing you need to know."
"Is it about Tracey?" said Mary Alice.
"No." Selene's light slowly backed away from her. "I know this is going to be hard for you to hear, but it's the truth. Tracey is not safe at Grove Station Farms, and neither is Monkey. There is a traitor in the midst who wants them dead."
End of Day One!
Word Count: 21,791