The Frefairy

Paul looked out over the horizon. The dragonflopper had run out of fuel and he had hidden it well in an abscess. He and his mother would need to walk the rest of their way to the Frefairy and hope the rabbits are too busy getting Enamel production back online to search this deep into the jaw of Oral so soon.

He looked out over the pink and red earth and saw a solid molar in the distance, “Enamel. It’s everywhere here. I can feel it changing me. I see dental procedures I haven’t even started yet,” thought Paul to himself.

He pointed out a red inflamed area of the gumline to his mother, “Keep away from the inflammation. It will draw a tooth worm.”

Both of them were wearing bright yellow suits, called “illsuits” by the Frefairy, that completely isolated them from the environment. No disease could enter their illsuits nor could any illness inside escape. A fairy could simply not catch or give any disease while wearing one properly.

They had managed to escape the initial assault from House Rabbit with their lives. The traitor Dr. Noah had infiltrated the House Molar and left it defenseless against the horde of mechanized hares. “I will rebuild my House from the cleaned surface of Oral. This, I promise you, my Dentist,” mumbled Paul.

His mother reminded him, “You are the Dentist of House Molar, Paul. The AdjustableChair is now wherever you sit from this point forward.” Paul was about to respond when she put a hand to his mouth to stop him.

Jessica’s wand moved slightly, “Paul, we are being watched. Be ready to use the cleaning way to defend yourself.” Now, Paul could hear the breathing of many fairies hiding nearby.

Paul felt for his face shield but his training controlled his urge, “The face shield calls the worm. We’ll need to fight in the open and unshielded.”

Paul felt a narrow thread slip quickly over his throat. His face turned from blue to green as the floss clamped down so hard that he could no longer breathe. The pink-on-pink-eyed fairy behind Paul pulled hard on a floss garrotte.

Jessica moved to her son’s aid and Breathed, “Let him be and give him your weapons.” The strange fairy took in the noxious wind from her last meal. Paul coughed and sputtered as the strange fairy complied with Jessica’s demands.

Another fairy flew with a toothknife at Paul but he easily disarmed it before slamming the flier into the ground. Paul’s bright sickle stopped at the new fairy’s throat and Paul yelled, “I have your fairy. Leave us be or he will perish by my blade.”

“Hold!” shouted an unknown voice. An older fairy appeared with eyes that were pink-on-pink and he called to others that were in hiding. Thirty fully armed fairies with various oral weapons exposed themselves from various pink crevices and pockets.

“Who are you who wield cleaning tools so adeptly?” said the old fairy.

Jessica answered, “Who would ask? We are from off world. We are expected, are we not?” She knew of the Missionara Gasslightia of this world. They could be controlled by manipulating their primitive beliefs in a savior from afar.

The old fairy’s eyes widened, “You claim to be the eumaal-nazafat-min-baeid? The cleaner from offjaw who will know our ways?”

Paul offered, “The Mighty Tooth Castle. I dream of it at night.”

The crowd of fairies hissed at the sound of their goal in the mouth of an outsider. The old fairy hushed the group.

“I am Stillmouth, young stranger. I spit here to show my respect in your obvious cleaning ability. Please let Jammy go unharmed and we will talk fairy-to-fairy without the need to spill any purple between us,” said Stillmouth, the old fairy.

Paul drew his sharp scaler back from his unlucky target and the fairy leapt up incensed.

“Stillmouth! I must have my honor back. This boy tricked me and dishonored me in front of the tribe,” said Jammy after getting up.

The old fairy answered him, “Jammy. This is no time for honor. These people and this boy may be the one we have been waiting for, the Cleaner from beyond. The one who will free us, the Frefairy, to build the Mighty Tooth Castle and bring all the Enamel in the universe to Oral.”

The younger spat his reply, “Stillmouth, you have no right to stop this! My honor as a Cleaner is at stake! I call on my right for revenge.”

Stillmouth sighed, sat down, and said simply, “It is your right, Jammy.”

The elder then asked Paul, “Young man, arm yourself. Maybe you have a name?”

Paul said simply, “Call me Peg. PegLateral.”

Stillmouth was impressed, “Ah. The PegLateral is a small tooth but mighty! So sharp. Be ready, Peg. Jammy is very good and has cleaned many. Either way, your Enamel belongs to the tribe. The eumaal-nazafat-min-baeid will not be killed by Jammy; this is certain. So, a good early idea if you are who you say you are. Dead? Then not the right fairy, I say. Alive? I still want to talk.”

Paul did not see another way to gain their respect. He got into a classic cleaning stance. His feet were at hip width and he bent a bit at the knees. His main gauche was a plank scaler and his primary weapon was his sickle.

Jammy took wild steps forward, and swung his edged toothknife at Paul’s midsection. The pattern surprised the prince but he backed up well in advance of the swing. Paul used his headlamp to blind the Frefairy and took initiative. The new Dentist lunged forward on one leg and extended his point directly at Jammy’s midsection. Jammy wildly swung at the incoming blade and saved his seven tooth from being scaled.

“May your tooth shatter and break!” said Jammy as he squinted back at Paul through the bright light.

Jammy then threw his blade directly at Paul. Paul sensed this before it happened and stepped out of the way. He had a vision just as the blade passed him by: he saw countless black-eyed fairies bowing to him. The vision faded just in time as Jammy pulled a smaller knife. Paul tried to concentrate and could not fully dodge Jammy’s lunge. His purple blood spilled from a deep cut to his thigh.

Paul hissed in pain and thought, “No time for mood when you are a Dentist.” In a small fit of cold rage, he flitted, feinted, and savaged Jammy’s mouth with brutal precision.

Jammy, mortally wounded, fell to the pink ground. He asked for a mirror and a nearby Frefairy had one at the ready. Jammy saw his mouth. It was perfectly cleaned. He stopped breathing in Stillmouth’s arms and the tribe held their heads down in respect.

Stillmouth held Jammy and looked at Paul. “This man’s Enamel is now yours until we reach the pocket. Claim your prize.”

“I killed him. What have I done?” Paul thought. A vision flooded his mind of millions of black eyes staring back at him. He stumbled and the grief of all that he had lost filled his eyes with tears.

Paul had studied what the Frefairy expected here — it was all in the materials his father had left him, back on the baleen, what seemed like an eternity ago.

The water dropped over his face as he extracted Jammy’s teeth with precision. He cleaned each slowly and placed them into a hazmat container within his own illsuit.

The Frefairy tribe watched in awe of Paul’s care and expertise in his work on Jammy. “He knows our ways,” someone murmured.

Stillmouth spat in respect, and it bounced off Paul’s illsuit mask. The leader offered, “We need to talk it seems. Good for you, not so good for Jammy. I do not know if this is good for Oral, but I am old and hope to see this legend come to pass before I do. Follow me. Learn from us as we learn from you. First of all, we need to learn more about the fairy named PegLateral of Oral.”