Girl

Wrote this after reading someone else idea. I do not remember who it was. It was an anime idea

The little fairy sat behind the seven-year-old tea bags in the cupboard in her matchbox bed. Her huge blue-green eyes opened as she heard the old human lady fall asleep to the green screen of the television. Music played from the television and airplanes flew across the screen.

She had been staying with the old human lady for many years after she had followed the woman’s cat into the house. Outside the house the gremlins occasionally carried on. But she knew she was safe in her bed and home.

The old human woman had fly swatters located all about her house. She would sweep anything she thought a gremlin with the swatters. More than one gremlin had died testing the old human lady. So had thousands of flies, spiders, a confused possum and others as she swatted anything that caught her eye. She had once swatted a snake that came in through the dryer house vent from the outside.

Fairy had watched the old woman scream at the black snake swatting him over and over as she called him a gremlin.

The snake had looked at her and then fled the swatting doom that awaited him.

Jezebel, the cat was long dead, but the little fairy still thanked the cat for helping her. She had freed the cat from the arms of a bad human boy. The boy had been strangling Jezebel and pulling at her ears as he petted the cat. She had watched as the human boy had put one of the cat’s ears into his mouth to suckle.

The Fairy had turned the little human boy into a cockroach and then she had saved little roach Julian from Jezebel as she wanted to eat him.

“He doesn’t know any better?” Fairy had said so many years earlier.

Jezebel had looked down at her. “Will he learn?”

            “He might?” she replied.

            The coach roach raised a front leg friendly and hid behind the Fairy as he stared at the cat.

            Jezebel turned away and said, “Follow me.”

 “Will I be a roach forever?” he had asked.

            “I will turn you back,” she had replied. “When I learn how.”

            Julian hid behind her and had said, “Ok.”

 

            The little fairy rubbed her huge blue-green eyes again and Julian came out of a hole less that a quarter his body size to greet her. He said, “The old lady is asleep.”

            She nodded and looked at him with her large eyes. “I know that Julian.”

            “What do you want to do today?” he asked as he stretched his wings.

            The fairy shrugged and noticed he was getting bigger and more beautiful as his wings turned iridescent. She asked, “What do you want to do?”

            Julian looked at her with his cockroach eyes huge and black so happy he could barely answer. He managed as he said, “We could go down the toilette again as you ride my back?” He smiled at her and his front feet danced up and down. “I like going around and round. It makes me dizzy happy.”

            She looked at her friend and smiled. She said, “I like that as well.”

            “It is awesome,” he said as he nodded to her and danced on his front feet.

            They both turned at the sound of the old woman not making sound.

            The little Fairy looked at Julian and he looked back at her. “I will check,” he said trying to be brave.

            “You check, ok?” she replied. She was also trying to be brave as she knew gremlins had very large ears and great hearing.

 

            She walked passed the old tea boxes and cans of condescend milk and opened the cupboard enough to see Julian sitting on the old woman’s head. He looked at her and said, “She is dead.”

            She nodded.

            Julian flew back to her and landed. He inhaled deep breaths.

            “You should fly more,” she said looking at him.

            “I know. But I am lazy.”

            “You eat too many sugar cubes”, she said and nodded.

            He teased her. “You don’t fly much either.”

            “It is easier to walk,” she admitted.

            The first gremlin entered through the mail slot. It looked about the entry hall and slowly crept into the large dark purple painted house. He whispered to himself, “Corbin owes me for this. Elite scout my a*s. Elite sacrifice.” He looked about and did not see the spiders that stared at him. He whispered to himself, “The little bug man might be lying.”

            Julian got word from the spider’s web strumming and he told Fairy, “A gremlin has entered.”

            She nodded sad. “We will have to move.” Fairy looked over her shoulder at all the wonderful things she had collected over the years and her eyes almost teared as she stared at the wonderful bed she had found.

            He sighed and said, “I have never lived anywhere else.” Julian looked at her both lost and a little afraid. “I like it here.”

            “I do too, Julian,” she replied.

            Reclusey slid down a web and she looked at Fairy distasteful. She turned, looked at Julian and smiled as her fangs clicked happy. Her eight eyes blinked in unison-smile.

            “Hi, Reclusey,” he said. He leaned forward and smiled with his roach mouth.

            Fairy opened her eyes very wide and stepped back afraid from the tiny brown spider.

            “The Queen has offered her help with the G’Lims. But she says that Lady Fairy must do a proper introduction.”

            “Ok,” Julian said happy.

            Fairy looked at Julian and blinked her blue-green eyes several times. “What if they want to eat me?” she whispered.

            “They don’t eat Fairy’s,” he said as he reached out a foreleg to shake with Reclusey.

            The spider looked at Fairy and said, “We don’t eat Fairy’s.”

            “Why?” Fairy asked. She was surprised as almost everything else in the world did.

            Reclusey shrugged six of eight limbs as she watched from the web strand. “I’m told you taste too spicy.” Reclusey clicked her fangs and added, “I have a delicate palette. It is not worth the risk.”

            Fairy put her hands together on her chest, hurt. Gosh, she thought, everything wants to eat my kind.

            “Please tell Her Majesty we accept, Reclusey.”

            Fairy looked at Julian and then smiled at the eight eyes of Reclusey. “Thank you. Pleases tell her I look forward to the visit.” It was clear to Julian and Reclusey that the Fairy was not all that forward looking to the meeting.

            Reclusey nodded to the Fairy not caring.

            “I will tell her, Julian. She likes your jokes about dead cats.”

            Fairy stared at Julian’s back in shock and Julian nodded to his friend with a grimace at the thought of Fairy’s expression.

Fairy whisperer-asked, “What about the Gremlin in the house?”
            Both Julian and Reclusey looked at her. Reclusey blinked all eight eyes out of unison and Julian met her eyes surprised she did not know.

            “Ratters is going to take care of it,” he said.
            Reclusey said, “Likely to be messy.”

            “Very,” Julian added. They met eyes.

            “He does not clean up after himself.”

            Julian nodded and added, “Never. He is a very messy eater.”

            Reclusey nodded agreeing with Julian and she blinked all her eyes.

            Fairy realized at that moment she had spent far too much time in the safe cupboard and not enough in the house proper. She also realized that a lot of others found the old lady’s home as sanctuary. Fairy thought about that and realized she had taken some things for granted.

            She turned, looked at Julian and said to Reclusey, “Please tell the Queen I am very sorry I never came to meet her before and I look forward to meeting her now.” Fairy swallowed and lowered her eyes. “Please say to her that and also, I am sorry if I have been rude. It was never my intention to be rude.”

            Reclusey looked at Fairy and blinked all eight eyes as one. “I will tell her, Lady Fairy. The Queen will enjoy your words.”

            Julian looked at Fairy and smiled very large.

            They both watched the spider climb up her strand and Julian turned and smiled to Fairy. “You will like Arachena. She is a very nice person with very pretty eyes.” He nodded and added for no reason she could understand, “She has eight you know?”

            She nodded to Julian and smiled hopeful.

            “Her eyes are very pretty,” Julian said and then blushed as only roaches could.

            Fairy looked at Julian with his head turned and she did not understand.  

           

            Fairy heard a scream from far away as she followed Julian. He slipped between tight cracks and small spaces and she managed to worm her way slow after him. She wanted to ask why the water pipes were so cold, but she kept the idea to herself.

            They always climbed and went up through the walls toward the roof, avoiding the easier approach of the open hallways and rooms.  

            After an hour Fairy saw the first signs. Little bits of webs whispering in a draft as if warning do not come any closer. And as they climbed further the web became more frequent and eventually she witnessed the first wrapped body. Dark dead missing eyes looked at her from under the grey dirt covered silk. She shivered.

            Julian looked down at her as he made his way across the walls easy. “Want me to help you?”

            She shook her head. “I will do it.” She grunted as she pulled herself through a tight electrical corded hole and got to her feet after.

            “Good,” he replied. “Spiders respect strength.”

            Fairy looked at his pretty wings as he climbed and she thought, they also like dead cat jokes.

 

They made their way through a knot hole in the attic floor and Julian smiled. Fairy stood in a terrifying world filled with webs. She stared about the attic and looked at the web covered window and the mannequin that wore a grey unfinished sweater with nothing but whispering spider webs as hair. To her sides were trunks and she saw webs in all the locks. A huge spiraling web hung behind her and her eyes went wide when she spun to see it. Gosh, she thought, I really hope I am too spicy for them to eat.

Her eyes traveled and there were spiderlings everywhere in smaller new webs looking at her. Tiny little future killers she thought and she waved at them trying to show a smile.

            As she and Julian walked forward she saw the Dream Dollie. The Dollie’s hands were set in cupped pose and the Queen sat there in the hands with her eight eyes staring at her and Julian. The Dream Dollie with the long green hair was one of two only unwebbed items in the entire world that the spiders owned.

            Thousands of spiders appeared fast and lined the trunks and came up through the floor boards and they settled in complete silence to watch Fairy meet the Queen.

            Fairy kept a brave face, but inside she was afraid of all these silent killers. Many were her size or larger and she did her best to smile as she walked passed them.

            The cockroach Julian walked through them all as if he had not a care in the world. He nodded and smiled to many and most raised a front leg or legs to him.

            At the end of the walk, Reclusey slid down on a thin strand and hovered between the Queen and Fairy.

            Fairy watched and controlled herself from jumping as Reclusey dropped to ground with a heard loud thud.

            “Welcome, Lady Fairy of the House. Our Queen is glad to accept you.”

            Julian bowed deep to the Queen of the Spiders and Fairy followed suit with a deep curtsy.

She was about to speak her prepared speech when Reclusey looked about at everyone else and said, “Ok, that is enough. Go home. We’re done here.”
            All the other spiders looked at Reclusey and left the attic. Most moved off in haste. They had better things to do. Royal meetings with the Queen rarely lasted more than a few seconds.

            Reclusey looked at Fairy, “We don’t get many chances to show off.”

            Fairy nodded slow. She watched the last of the spiders rush off.

            Julian ran forward and leapt onto the arms of the Dollie Dream. The Queen of all Spiders hugged him with six of eight legs. Her eyes blinked in unison as she held Julian.

            They could both hear him whispering something to her.

            Reclusey pushed a leg against Fairy almost knocking her over. She said, “He is in love with her.” Reclusey blinked her eyes. “She is in love with him. There was a bit of a scandal at first. But they make a good unannounced couple.” Reclusey shrugged many legs. “It is ok so long as it is never announced.” The female spider sighed. “I hope that I can one day fall in love like they did.” She glanced at Fairy and then back at Julian, “If only he was a Spider. There would be celebration. Many here love Julian, but the scandal is too grand for any to celebrate it.” She sighed again sad for the two that hugged in the hands of the Dream Dollie. Reclusey said soft and sorry, “Theirs will never be a true open love.”

            Fairy nodded having no idea what Spider politics were like. The word Love shocked her. Spiders love?

            “We’ll have to give them some time together, then you can meet her,” Reclusey said.

            Fairy nodded and looked about the attic again. She noticed the hour glass that was also completely clean. “What is that?”

            Reclusey nodded and her eyes blinked. “That is all time.”

            “All time?”

            The female spider looked up at Fairy. “Yes.”

            Fairy peered at the hour glass and saw it was one sixteenth full on the bottom. She asked, “What happens when all the sand is in the bottom?”
            Reclusey looked at her and hid her irritation. “We either flip it over or all times ends.”

            Fairy nodded. She titled her head. “All time ends?”

            Reclusey looked at Fairy. “You’re young, aren’t you?”

            “I am not that young.”

            “I am not going to answer your questions if you are going to play silly with me, Lady,” Reclusey said.

 

 

            Fairy nodded. “Sorry,” she said. She looked about and then asked, “Ah, but why is the hour glass of all time here?”
            “The old lady brought it here a long time ago and put it in the attic. She asked the Queen’s great, great, great, Grandmother to watch over it.” Reclusey smiled. “They say she fought a dragon to claim it.”
            “A dragon?”

            Reclusey nodded to the Fairy. “The story is epic.”

            “Gosh,” Fairy replied.

            “The old lady was not always old you know.”

            Fairy nodded.

            “She was once a warrior princess.”

            Fairy nodded.

            “She defeated a dragon and built this house that we all live in.”

            Fairy nodded.

            “You don’t talk much do you?” Reclusey asked.

            Fairy blushed. She replied, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to say. I was listening to you. You have a wonderful voice, Reclusey.”

            Reclusey blinked in unison at the Fairy’s words. “I sung love songs when I was younger to an audience. But what I really love to sing is death metal. Do you know Calne Ca?” Her fangs clicked together happy and she mimicked the moving mouth parts.  

            Fairy nodded, shook her head and blinked at the small brown spider.

            “Frick, but this place is a pain in my arse to get too,” a deeper voice said.

            Fairy and Reclusey turned to look at the speaker.

            A huge spider, over two-foot-long at the tips of his feet climbed through a tight hole and into the attic.

Fairy hid behind Reclusey.

Reclusey said, “You’re too late. It ended.”

“I missed it all?” The huge spider looked about and sighed. “S**t. That sucks,” the spider said. He leaned down and looked close. “Who is that hiding behind you?”

“That is the house Fairy Lady. She came to meet the Queen.”

Fairy stared up at the huge smiling spider from behind Reclusey and she nodded. She waved her right hand to him timid.

He looked down at her and blinked. His eyes were very small and he narrowed them trying to see in the dim light. “Why is she hiding behind you?”

Reclusey blinked her eyes out of unison. “I don’t know,” she replied. She added and smiled, “Maybe you smell?”

For his size the spider moved forward fast and stood over Reclusey and Fairy. He leaned down and peered with his eight eyes. “I what?”

“Smell?” she said.

He replied, “I do not smell, Reclusey.”

Reclusey nodded. She said, “I am glad you don’t. Because if you did being this close to me, I’d pass out.”

He ignored her and focused on the Fairy.

Fairy stared up into the face and saw the fangs as long as her legs. Reclusey sighed and said, “Get over it. He isn’t going to eat you.”

“Are you going to introduce us, Reclusey?”
            “I already told you she is the house Fairy. The one that moved in after that horrible cat.”
            “What is her name?”

“I don’t know.”

He leaned down and met his eight with her eight. “You are a terrible host.”

Reclusey sighed. She turned and looked at Fairy as she said, “This is his Lord Duke Leto the Large of the family that lives in the crawlspace under the house. They are tarantulas and they like to smell bad.”

He smiled at her intro until the last sentence. “I do not smell bad!” He raised a foreleg.

“Some of your nephews do,” Reclusey said. She blinked as she stared up at him.

Leto looked at her. He lowered the leg and had no reply to the true statement.

Fairy stepped forward around Reclusey and said, “I am happy to meet you, Duke Leto.”

He looked at her and nodded. “Thank you. It is very nice to meet you as well.” He lowered the foreleg and Fairy took it in both hands to shake with him. She smiled.

“Ignore Reclusey,” he said. “She is of a rude ling batch.”

Reclusey narrowed her eyes and looked up at him.
            All three turned as Julian crawled over the floor with the Queen following him.

“Hi, Duke bro,” Julian said. He ran forward and stroked the giants front leg.

“Hello, Julian,” Leto replied. He glanced at him and the Queen and asked, “How have you been my friend?”

Julian smiled and said, “I am very well. I found the black sock you lost.”
            If spiders could blush, Fairy knew Duke Leto just did. Both the Queen and Reclusey looked at him with questions in their eyes. “I put it near the left lower vent,” Julian said. “You can drag it inside.”

Leto’s eyes blinked and he whispered, “Thank you.”

“I even washed it for you,” Julian said and smiled.

“Thank you very much,” Leto replied. He wished Julian would be quiet as Reclusey stared at him.

She was tapping a foreleg soft on the attic floor.

Julian nodded many times and said, “It kinda smelled. Maybe like dead frog or rabbit. I could not tell.”

“Thanks again, Julian,” Leto replied. He leaned down and met the roach’s eyes and whispered, “You can shut up now. Please?”

Julian nodded many times and smiled. His roach eyes stared up at the huge spider and he turned to watch Fairy meet the Queen.

The Queen of the Spiders was sleek black and her eyes were forward on her face. They were a deep purple-black and she smiled in unison-blink at Fairy. Her fangs reached down from her face and the slightly curved tips were a deep crimson and iridescent in the soft light coming from the web that covered window at the end of the attic.

Fairy looked and thought, she is so pretty. She watched and stared into the Queens eyes lost in the beauty of the deep promised world there. Fairy curtsied again and turned her eyes from the Queen to see the floor. So pretty, she thought. I could lose myself in her eyes if I am not careful.

“I am very happy to meet you, Lady Fairy,” the Queen said and the voice was a strum of the webs. Musical and pretty and irresistible in the sounds it made.

“Thank you,” Fairy replied. She said, “I am sorry I did not visit earlier.”

The Queen smiled. “Reclusey explained that you were afraid of me and mine.” The Queen giggled musical light notes and smiled looking at her.

Fairy was reminded of a song from her childhood. She stared into space trying to place the song, she knew it was about horses. Fairy gave up trying to remember and looked at the queen embarrassed. Her face flushed and she lowered her shoulders. She whispered, “I am sorry I was afraid of you.”

“Many things are,” the Queen quickly added to hide Fairy’s embarrassment. “We are not a beloved species like elephants and dogs.”

Fairy nodded.

Duke Leto nodded and leaned down. “Many like to love on elephants and dogs.” He sighed and said, “We are not so pettable as dogs and elephants.”

Julian looked up at him and nodded. He said, “Few like my kind either.”
            Reclusey hung from a strand of web that swayed back and forth in in the attic and said, “I like you Julian.”

“I do as well, Julian,” Leto said.

Fairy nodded. She said, “I like you very much, Julian. You are my friend.”

The Queen smiled and looked at the cockroach. She blinked her eight eyes as one and did not say what she wished she could say.

Julian’s huge black eyes looked at them all and he smiled. “Thanks guys.” His wings moved across his back happy.

Fairy would have sworn his wings just got larger and prettier in the soft web covered light from the window.

They all turned at the noise and a small green spider ran forward. He looked up at Queen. Breathing deep he said, “Ratters wants a word.”

The Queen nodded and turned with her eight eyes watching the main entrance.

Leto turned and looked at the door to the attic. He smiled and his fangs moved about.

“He can come in,” the Queen said.

The little green spider whistled and the door to the attic opened.

Ratters walked in with his red eye gleaming. One of his eyes was white and dead, his other eye took in all of them and he focused on the Fairy. Gremlin blood covered his brown furred body and he smiled as he looked about. “Hello, Queen,” his deep voice said and he spied the Fairy standing next to Julian. “Hello Julian.” He began to move forward.

“Do you not see me?” Reclusey asked. She swayed back and forth on the strand of web. Her eight eyes met his two which were really only one and she smiled.

His white eye was lost and could not see light.

Ratters stopped at the sound. He looked at Reclusey and dipped his head. “Hello, Reclusey. It is nice to meet you again.”

Ratters took a hesitant step forward.

Duke Leto stood on a trunk and stared down at Ratters. “Hello, my friend,” he said.

Ratters turned in alarm at the familiar voice and looked up at the Duke. He nodded and he smiled showing all of his stained red teeth. “Hello, Duke Leto. I find it pleasant to find you here.” Leto’s voice clearly disturbed Ratters and he looked up to see the spider half again his size.

“I do as well, Ratters,” Leto replied. His long fangs moved and the promise was clear as he eyed the Rat Lord.

Ratters met his one eye with the eight of the Crawl Space Lord. Rats did not visit the crawlspace world.

“Did you kill the G’lim?” The Queen asked. Her musical voice made it a sing song.  

“I did, my Lady Queen. He was quite tasty. My Kin are cleaning up the remains.”

The Queen of the Spiders looked at Ratters and smiled with all eight eyes. “I also love the taste of some others.” She clicked her fangs and said, “There are times when I just cannot get enough.” Her soft laughter was tinkling glass. Her fangs moved up and down with the laughter as a promise.

He looked at her, his hair rising and then nodded deep. “I completely understand, Queen. Something’s taste so good it can be difficult to control oneself. Thank you for allowing me into your presence. I am certain you have exquisite tastes.”

She nodded. “You had something you wanted to say?”
            He nodded and eyed the Fairy. Ratters looked back at the Spider Queen. “King Corbin knows the Old Woman is dead. He sits outside the house and wishes to enter.”

“We will not allow him, my friend,” The Spider Queen said.

Ratters nodded. He caught the movement Leto crawling down the trunk. He then noticed that Reclusey was slowing moving from side to side on her strand of silk.

“Your intent is to keep the house for us?” He asked.

“For all of us, Lord Ratters,” the Queen said. She met his one eye with her eight and added, “For us only, Lord Ratters.”

Ratters nodded. He said as he met her eight eyes with his red one. “I understand.” He paused and said, “What do we do when the humans come?”
            The Queen shrugged. “Let them in?”

Fairy walked forward and it was the bravest thing she had ever done. She knew the Rat wanted to eat her. She could feel it and she stepped before all the others and looked up at him. “Hi,” she managed in a clear voice. She looked up into his red eye and smiled as pretty as she could. “It is nice to meet you Lord Ratters.”

Ratters looked down at the Fairy. He took a step back. He knew all the others would kill him if he even touched her. He was amazed and he fought the lip quivers he often got when he saw good food. He took his step back because he never expected her to come to meet him, not from any fear of the others. Ratters blinked his red eye surprised. He stared at her, her expression and her smile and he tilted his head confused.

Fairy extended a hand. “I would like to meet you, Lord Ratters. I have heard a lot about you. Thank you for killing the Gremlin.”
            He blinked.

“That was very brave of you. I am afraid of the Gremlins. They want to eat me. I am very thankful to you that you ended a threat to me.”

She met his eye and he could see she was really, truly, grateful. Ratters nodded as he looked at her shocked. He stared shocked again that her hand was out and open and willing to touch him.

“Thank you so much for protecting me and killing that terrible Gremlin,” the Fairy said and she reached out to take his right front paw into her hands. She raised his paw from the attic floor and shook it. She looked into his red eye with her blue-green and said, “I know you are a brave dependable soul.”

Ratters looked at her. He stared amazed as the Fairy held his clawed front leg.

Fairy kissed him on the nose and continued to shake his front leg.

Ratters blushed at the kiss. He turned his head and smiled weak. “You’re welcome.” He murmured, “I like living here and I am not a fan of the Lims.”

The Queen said, “She does not know.”

Ratters looked at the Queen. And turned his eyes back to the little fairy.

Fairy blinked at him happy when he turned back to look at her. “I hope you and I can be friends,” she said. “I trust you with my life, Lord Ratters. I really am so grateful to you.”

Ratters looked at her. He sighed and smiled. “We can be friends,” he said.

Fairy reached up and hugged his neck. Her arms could not get all the way round and he lowered his head for her. “You are so brave,” she whispered into his large pink ears. “I wish I was like you.”

Ratters closed his eye as he was hugged by the Fairy. He kept his eye closed as he dared any of the others to say anything. His dead eye could not close and it stared white at all the others.

She released him and smiled as she stared into his eye.

Ratters nodded to her. “I,” he paused as he met her bright open blue-green eyes. He laughed. “I like you.”

“I like you too, Friend.”

Ratters nodded. He said soft as he looked at the Fairy, “Friend.”

She rubbed his shoulder and stood next to him.

“Well, that settles something,” Leto said and he rested.

Ratters looked at the rest and watched as they all released their breath. “I wasn’t gong to eat her. Asses!”

“You thought about it,” Leto replied.

“I did not. I like her. She and I are friends.”

Julian nodded. He looked up at Leto and said, “Friends don’t eat each other, Leto.”

Leto looked at Julian and nodded slow at the little roach man.

The Queen stepped forward and asked, “So? We protect the house?”

Ratters looked at the Queen. He looked at Leto and then at Reclusey. He said soft, “The old woman saved me after a dog bit me hard, took away my eye and threw me into the air. She beat him with a fly swatter until he ran away.”

He smiled looking at all the others.

“I miss the old woman,” Julian said. “She set out sugar cubes for me.”

The others turned to look at him. He wiggled his wings.

Ratters nodded to Julian. He met his eye with the eyes with the Queen and said, “We defend the house.” He raised his shoulders looked at Leto and said, “My kind are the first line of defense.”

Duke Leto nodded. “You are faster than my kind.”

Ratters nodded and then said, “Your kind protects in ways we cannot, Leto.”

Leto nodded to Ratters and both smiled.

“That is settled,” The Queen said looked at both.
            Fairy rubbed his shoulder and Ratters turn to look at her. He smiled and she kissed his nose. “You are very brave my friend.”

Ratters blushed and his pink ears turned bright red.

 

King Corbin sat and the marshmallow burned providing light. His knights of war looked at him. They sat around in a circle for an hour thinking and he eventually said, “I got nothing. Any of you?”

They looked at him. One said, “You do most of our thinking.”
            Corbin rolled his eyes. He was a very large gremlin almost half as tall as all the others. He wore black leather and one of his ears was ripped and would not stand up. Two huge sewing needles were crossed on his back and he carried a broken piece of horse shoe in his front right pocket. He said, “If all the house dwellers stand together I don’t know how we can get in.”
            “Ratters and the Taran clan are very formidable. They seem to like to eat us.”
            “Don’t forget the Brown Killer Clan, those a******s killed my third cousin, April.”

Many nodded. One said, “I liked April. She was nice. She had amazing wings.”

“She was very nice.”
            They all agreed and talked for an hour about how nice and good April used to be when she was alive.

Corbin looked at them all. He asked, “How many of you bedded April?”
            They all raised their hands.

“She was very kind.”

“Beautiful wings.”

The others looked at the speaker. They did not bring up the fact that he had said an hour before they were cousins.

“Did you king?”

He smiled at them all. “Of course, she was very nice.” He looked about the circle and added, “She really did have pretty wings.”

The others smiled.

“I like nice people,” one of his knights said.

The others nodded.

Corbin looked at them and smiled. He stepped away from the circle of light and looked at the purple house. We can never take it. We can never get the hour glass of all time. Behind him he could hear all the others talking about his second cousin Hannah. She is very nice also, someone said. Oh, I also like her, she is very, very nice.

Pretty wings, another said.

Better than April?

His knights of war began to debate the question.

Very pretty wings another said and she is super nice.

Screw it, Corbin said. He began to walk toward the house. He walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.

 

Everyone in the attic turned and listened to the knock.

“Who could that be?” Julian asked.

They turned and stared at him. He smiled as he met all the eyes. He looked back and forth between them all and asked, “Want me to answer the door?”

Ratters looked at Leto and both smiled as they shared a silent joke about Julian the cockroach. 

The Queen said in discorded music, “Yes, Julian. Please answer the door.” Her voice was not sing song perfect.
            The others turned alarmed to stare at her. Her face was serene and her fangs slid across each other.

She raised up on her legs and her purple-black eyes shone. All the others spun away from the Queen and Fairy looked not understanding. She could see the pure fear of the Queen in the others and she looked at the pretty spider woman not understanding.

Julian smiled. “I like answering doors.” He looked about and said, “I like meeting people.”

“You are beautiful, Julian,” the Queen said and her voice was a whispering spring of water.

Duke Leto said, “I will be his second.”

“I will be his third,” Lord Ratters replied.

The Queen looked at both and they could hear glass shattering in her soft reply of the word, “Good.”
            Ratters motioned for Julian to lead them.

 

            Corbin sat on the front porch of the house and he looked up at moon. He sighed and realized his idea of just trying to meet the insiders was stupid. He stood, shook his head, took a step off the porch and heard the door open behind him.

            “Hello? Who is there?”
            Corbin turned and looked at the cockroach that was looking at him. He said, “Hi?” He paused and took in a deep breath and asked, “Could we talk?

            “Nice to meet you,” Julian replied. “I’d love to talk.” Julian ran out on to the porch, tumbled forward and landed on his feet. He looked up and nodded to the gremlin King.

            Corbin took a step forward and suddenly hundreds of red eyes looked at him. The eyes were reflected from the moon light. He took a step back and then noticed the thousands of eight eye sets of glowing moon lit eyes of others that were also looking at him.

            Julian said, “You can ignore them. They just want to meet you as well.”

            Corbin nodded and kept his hands at his side.

            “How can we help you?” Julian asked.

 

            Corbin looked down at the roach.

            The roach reached out a front leg to shake and Corbin stared. He smiled and went to a knee, reached out his hand and gently held the roaches arm.

            They shook soft.

            Julian asked, “How can I help you?”

            Corbin said. “I’d like to come inside.”

            “Oh,” Julian replied. He said, “The old lady didn’t like your kind much.” Julian looked up at the Gremlin. “Can we talk out here first?”

            Corbin nodded and said, “That is because my grandfather stole her daughter and married her. They fell in love and when he asked her to come with him she agreed.”

            “Did they live happy together?” Julian was moving his front two feet up and down happy.
            He nodded. “Yes, they did. But the old lady never forgave him for taking her away.” He looked at the ground and said, “She never forgave my race for that.”

            Julian nodded. He said after a bit of time, “Sometimes love takes a strange turn.” He looked at Corbin and asked, “You don’t have wings?”

            Corbin looked at him surprised and nodded as he said. “Males of my race do not have wings.” He blushed and added, “We cannot do magic either. Only the females.”

            Julian nodded. “Sometimes love is not so understood,” Julian said.

            Corbin nodded. He raised his head and looked at Julian. “I have never been in love but I think I can understand you.”

They stood silent for a long time and after three hours Julian said, “Come inside. No one will hurt you.”

            “Thanks,” Corbin replied. “I promise I mean no harm.”

            “S**t,” Ratters said. He quickly gave an order and his followers moved fast to clean up the remains of the Lim he had eaten earlier.

            Reclusey hung next to Duke Leto. She said, “He is very messy.”

            “Very,” Leto replied.

            As they walked side by side, Julian said, “I am in love.”

            Corbin looked down at the roach man. “Is she nice?”

            “I love her and she is very nice.”

            Corbin understood that very different than Julian meant it. “It is good to love very nice women,” he said.

           

            The door opened and both the Gremlin and Julian entered the purple house.

            As the door closed, Julian asked, “Do you like tea?”

            “You have tea?”

            “It is seven-year-old tea. But yes.”
            Corbin stopped walking. “Ah,” he asked shy, “It is seven-year-old chamomile?”
            Julian looked at him. “I am not sure. I can find out.”

            “I’d like that my friend,” Corbin replied and he walked alongside the roach. “I love seven-year-old chamomile tea. It is a very favorite of mine.”

            They entered the checked patterns floored kitchen and a tea kettle was whistling.

            Julian looked up at Corbin. He said, “Be careful. Hot water cannot hurt me, but it might scold you.”
            “I will ok,” Corbin replied. He asked sudden, “No one is going to hurt me, are they?”

            Julian shook his head no. “No, you are very safe here. I like you.”

            “Thanks, Julian.”

            Julian smiled.

            They both watched as the fire turned off and the huge kettle turned and poured water into a cup.

            Corbin tilted his head not seeing who did it all.

            Reclusey slid down a strand from her back two legs and looked at Corbin. She smiled at him.

            “This is my friend, Reclusey,” Julian said. “She is pretty.”

            Corbin stared and while he could not tell for sure, he thought that the small brown spider blushed.

            “Welcome, Lord of the Gremlins.”

            “It is nice to meet you, pretty spider lady, Reclusey,” Corbin replied. He leaned forward and looked at her eyes. “You really are very pretty, Spider Lady.”

            She smiled as the strand of web moved back and forth in the draft of the house. “Thank you,” she replied. She blinked all eyes as one.

            Why do I have to do this, Fairy thought? She picked up the two tea cups and fluttered her wings.

            Reclusey, Julian and Corbin turned and stared at the counter at the noise.

            Fairy let her wings carry her to the checkered floor and she handed a tea cup to Corbin.

            Julian and Reclusey smiled as they met eyes. The Spider Queen sat in a high corner of the room and Ratters looked at Leto. They nodded to each other.

            Fairy stared into the eyes of the pretty Fairy male. Gods he is attractive she thought.

            Corbin stared into the eyes of the prettiest gremlin female he had ever seen.

            She blushed and Corbin blushed and he asked, “Are you very nice?”
            Her eyes blinked an answer as she sipped tea.

His smile was huge and he sipped tea as well.

 

            Reclusey and Julian walked away together chatting about sugar cubes and how good flies tasted in the late evening.

 

 

If there is a part two it is about a girl that inherits the house.