A large wave propelled Declan and he landed face first on the sand. He propped up his leg and was about to stand up and another wave tumbled him down. He cried out in frustration and crawled to where the waves could not reach him. He leaned back on the sand and closed his eyes. Almost a full minute passed and Declan just breathed in and out. He missed the days at Wyndegarde Castle, things were so simple, he focused on his studies and enjoyed the quiet beauty of the mountains.

  Ever since his father died, his life had become a series of running and hiding and he was tired. Soaking wet, Declan sat up slowly. He scanned the empty landscape around him. On the far side of the shore a lone tree was hanging on to the side of a cliff. Behind him was an expanse of cliffs and caverns and a small valley that lead off to a place in the distance. As far as he could tell, this was a shore that had never been visited by another human. He heaved a sigh and groaned out loud. The sound of his groan echoed back to him from the caverns. Then he heard a high pitched giggle.

  Declan called out “Is anyone there?” that echoed back to him. The giggling seemed further in the distance.

  “Please, I could use some help” he added.

  The giggling stopped and there was silence again. Declan sighed and got to his feet. The best he could hope for was that beyond the small valley he could see some sign of life. Trudging along he made his way to the grassy field. He inched his way through the thick green carpet and felt something hard at his feet. Losing his balance, Declan fell forward into the grass. As his face met the ground he heard the eruption of high pitched giggling nearby. Frustrated, Declan saw the branch that had been neatly placed across the ground. “Very funny!” he called out.

  The giggling again ceased and Declan was more cautious about where he was stepping continued onward through the field. He could hear rustling in the grass ahead and decided to run towards the noise. A squeal told him that whatever it was, was not expecting a chase. Determined to catch the prankster, Declan ran after the noise and saw a small figure just ahead of him. Reaching out with both of his hands he scooped it up calling out “Gotcha!”

  The small creature squirmed in Declan’s hands, unwilling to give up the fight. After a few moments of struggle, it sank its teeth into Declan’s palm causing him to cry out in pain. Declan still refused to let the creature out of his grip and finally it stopped squirming.

  “Listen,” Declan said “I am not going to hurt you.”

  The tiny creature stopped struggling and heaved a deep breathe before collapsing over Declan’s hand. Declan stared in horror at the little creature and he thought that he had killed it. “no no no” he repeated as he looked around. He saw another small creature standing nearby, her eyes wide in fright. “Please,” he pleaded “how do I help him?”

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  The little creature shook her head slowly and then her lip began to curve and she began to shake. Her high pitched laughter echoed out of her small frame and the creature in Declan’s hands eyes’ opened. The male creature in his hand began to laugh as well pointing at Declan and holding his stomach.

  Declan was quite finished with all the trickery and dropped the male out of his hands. He turned his back on the creatures and walked away from them. He heard the pitter patter of their feet following after him. “Wait!”

  “I am in no mood for more pranks.” Declan answered.

  He continued on and could hear them struggling to keep up with him. “I don’t need you, I will find help on my own.”

  “WE know someone who can help!” They called out. Declan stopped and the creatures ran into his legs bouncing off of him gasping for air.

  “Why would I trust you, both of you are relentless tricksters, I have heard of your kind… pixies.” He scoffed and turned on his heel.

  The female pixie looked taken aback and the male balled his fists in anger. He shook his fist and cursed at Declan in a language that he did not understand. Then he took of his shoe and threw it at Declan as hard as he could. Declan felt a light tap against his leg and could not help but laugh at the tiny shoe. His heart softened against the pixies and he bent down to retrieve the shoe. Turning back to them, Declan introduced himself and asked “What are your names?”

  The pixies were suspicious and did not answer at first. The female stepped forward after seeing Declan’s smile. “I am Copper and this is my brother Tin.”

  “I apologize for my behavior, I have been rather insufferable.” Declan said.

  Tin answered “Yes, quite insufferable.” Copper nudged him and shook her head.

  “What are you doing in our homeland anyway? We do not get many visitors.” she said.

  “It was entirely by accident, you see I am heading to Hollowcoast and I have lost my way.” Declan answered.

  Tin jumped in “Oh that is not far from here! We have a friend that lives there.”

  Declan felt relieved and asked “Really? That is great! Could you show me the way?”

  “Sadly, we have been banned from Hollowcoast” Copper hung her head.

  “For what reason?” Declan asked.

  “For being, ahem” Tin cleared his throat, “trick..sters.” he answered sheepishly.

  Declan laughed out loud and Tin turned a bright red. Copper shook with giggles and keeled over holding her stomach. After a few moments, Declan heard the sound of something heavy being dropped behind him. Copper jumped up and cried out, “Fin!”