Walking beside her big sister, Michelle reached into her purse and rummaged around. Being eight years old, she had little use for a purse except to hold her hairbrush, her Hello Kitty phone for emergencies, and some flavored lip balm for when the weather got too dry. And now, it held her new wishing stone. She could hardly wait to make her first wish.
Thankfully, Zoe's wish from earlier kept the girl from wishing something overtly harmful. The stone, or stones, had figured out that unlike teens and adults, kids of Mikey's age rarely became popular with their peers by being cruel or bratty. So, in order for the new Michelle to be popular with the least amount of resistance, it made sure she would be the nicest, most generous and fun-loving girl her school had ever seen. Thus, true to her nature, she could only think to use her wishes for simple innocent fun.
After some time, Michelle had an idea. When playing with her friends, she had often liked to imagine herself as a fairy princess. Perhaps, she could make her fantasy into reality!
Touching her stone inside her purse, she whispered, "I wish I was a magical fairy princess."
Her purse hid the resulting flash, but all three sisters found themselves blinking at the same time. When Michelle opened her eyes, she saw that nothing seemed to have changed. Unwilling to give up hope, she decided to see if she had any magical abilities.
Looking around, she spotted some dead flowers on someone's lawn, probably a victim of last week's heat wave. Somehow, she knew what to do. Lifting her hand, she let her magic do its work, and before her eyes, the flowers leapt back into life. Soon, they were lush and colorful enough to grace a gardening catalogue.
Before she could enjoy the thrill of her newfound power, her oldest sister snatched her hand and pushed it down. "Michelle!" Jen hissed with a furtive glance down the empty street. "You know better than to use your magic in public. What if someone sees?"
"But why should I hide it?" Michelle asked, confused.
"Haven't you been listening to Mom's warnings? Humans are often distrustful of magic, or even worse, curious. If they knew we were actually fairies, they'd put us in a cage and dissect us for science. On top of that, as the last of the fairy princesses, the entire Fae community is counting on us staying hidden. We can't betray our true nature even by accident! Our human disguises can only hide so much if we start throwing our magic around in plain sight."
Michelle considered this. It seemed that she had miscalculated a few things. It did not surprise her that her sisters had become fairy princesses, too. After all, it made perfect sense. Being a princess would suggest a royal family, or something similar. However, it seemed that being a fairy princess was not all fun and games as she had assumed.
"Sorry," she replied meekly. "I won't do it again."
Quietly, she held her purse to her side, contemplating the stone inside. Perhaps it would be better to save any more wishes for later. Next time, she told herself, she would be more careful.
