"Mia! Could you please help your sister with her bag? And make sure you've double checked your rooms and haven't forgotten anything!"
The dark-skinned Fae's eyes remained on the cart she was loading, though her attention kept wavering between packing and the two little girls who were supposed to be helping. She would end up going back and giving the place a once over anyway once they were through loading up, but any help would be welcome. She felt frazzled. It was becoming a familiar feeling though, which was part of what was driving this long overdue change.
Eudora lifted one of the last full baskets into the cart, pausing before she laid a blanket and pillows on top. Instead, she laid them out in a small open section of the cart. She would like if the girls could manage on their own for a bit, but she knew before the journey was out, one or both of her girls would end up riding in the cart, complaining that their feet or wings ached. She couldn't just tell them to toughen up...even if she wanted to sometimes...but no, they were just kids. And she was Mom, so it was her job to take care of them. This would be a big change, for all of them, afterall. It was hard to leave the only home you ever knew.
"Okay, I think that's everything. You girls wait here just a minute and I'll go close up and we can be on our way to our new home!"
"I don't want a new home! I wanna' stay right here!"
Eudora sighed heavily, turning to the little pale blue Fae and crouching down to her eye level. "Mia, honey, we've been over this. There's nothing more for us here. We're going to a new place, where you can have lots of friends to play with, and learn new things. Doesn't that sound wonderful?" And maybe Mom can get some help and maybe have an adult conversation for once, she thought to herself silently, trying to keep the pleading tone out of her voice...and failing.
Mia huffed, crossing her arms and pouting at her mother. "No. It sounds awful. I don't want to go."
Exasperated, Eudora sighed and straightened up. Her resolve strengthening, she shot back, "Well, that's too bad. Sometimes in life, we have to do things we don't want to do. You'll just have to give it a chance and see. It won't be as bad as you think." Ignoring the look of surprise on the Fae child's face, Eudora slipped into the tree hollow to have one last look around her old home.
It was the only place she ever remembered living; the place she'd found her parents; the place she'd met Shira, her childhood bunny friend; the place where both of her daughters had found her, as she had her own parents. Eudora trailed her fingertips thoughtfully along the wall as she descended into the hollow one last time. It was empty now, every item of value already packed away in the cart...and it wasn't much really. For being a cozy home, the place had never been very much about the 'things' within it. It had been about the people who lived there. But, when Mom disappeared, and her Dad sank into a deep depression, eventually just living here had become too much for him and he'd left as well. Eudora had kept the home herself for some time...then Mia found her. Then Aurora. Though it was the only home they'd ever known, she couldn't help that think that while the tree hollow had been a perfect fit for her parents...it wasn't a fit for Eudora and her new family.
Eudora was a social creature. Having been on her own so long had been draining and made her antsy. The girls' arrivals had helped...but she needed more. And besides, she was still fairly new to this 'being a mother' thing, she felt. Every day seemed a struggle. Were all children so wearying? Perhaps it was her and not them? She had little comparison to draw upon. The news she'd picked up on a rare time out of the home had been like a Guardian-sent blessing. A whole village full of others, of Fae mostly, living nearby! Near enough at least for a day trip, even a slow, leisurely one. Only a quick 'scouting mission' to find this village and take a look had sealed her resolve.
The hollow was emptied, all the simple belongings and momentos loaded in a cart, along with her two daughters. It was time to go. She turned to leave, pausing at the door. In case he came back before she could find him herself, Eudora left a note for her father pinned to the back of the door, explaining where they'd gone so that he wouldn't worry. Honestly, she didn't expect him to find it...Cabel never came back here anymore. If she wanted to see him, she had to go to the beach. She would find him and explain in person as soon as they got settled in their new home. She slipped outside, the wooden door pulled shut behind her with a soft thud of finality.
---
Eudora remembered the sense of wonder she felt as a child to say that she lived inside a tree. Granted, it had only been the entrance to a larger underground dwelling beneath it, but it seemed magical and wondrous to the curious young Fae. The feeling of wonder and awe she felt looking up at the dwellings that seemed to cling to the trees, reaching up to the criss-crossing walkways in the canopy, dwarfed that previous feeling many, many times over. She kept walking as if in a daze, mindlessly pulling the small cart behind her with a couple of napping children curled up peacefully in a bundle of blankets and pillows, peaceful for once in sleep. Her first true sight of Sparks Hollow left her staring, mouth hanging open and only after she'd begun moving beneath the glowing boughs did she think what a sight she must make. A lone Fae woman, clearly stupified by what she saw, dragging a cart of meagre belongings and...
She paused, the cart slowing to a halt, then she turned and looked at the sleeping girls and a smile touched her lips. If what she heard was true, then the most important things she brought to Sparks Hollow weren't the few goods she had, nor any items to trade. She brought curiosity, a desire the learn, to find out more about her kind...and two young minds whom she hoped would feel the same. With time, at least, once they got used to their new home and found out all it had to offer.
More than she could ever give them herself, living alone out in a hole in a tree in the forest.
With a deep breath, Eudora squared her shoulders and set the cart in motion once more. First things first...she needed to find someone who might be able to tell her where to go. Did they just...have new Pae move right in? Oh goodness, what if she'd overstepped her bounds by assuming...?
Nothing to be done for it now but to find out what was what, she reassured herself with a determined frown. Clearing her throat, Eudora looked around for signs of life in the branches. As small homes on the ground level started to appear more frequently, she lifted her voice to any that might be just out of sight in a mixture of excitement and sudden hesitation at being out of her element. "Hello? Is anyone here? I could use a little help, please? Err...I mean, not to be a bother, of course..."
