I joined Jed, Fred, Helena, and Susie as my friends walked to the village square. Fred and Jed were twins and would inherit their father’s fishing boats. Helena was the baker’s daughter and would inherit the bakery while Susie was the healer’s daughter and would follow in her mother’s footsteps.

“Good morning and I guess congratulations are in order for your betrothals,” I told them by way of greeting as I noticed Fred holding Helena’s hand while Jed held Susie’s.

“Morning Jase,” Jed returned the greeting while his brother nodded.

“How do you know?” Susie asked.

“You’re holding hands and I remember you two saying you would only do that in public once these two chuckleheads asked you to marry them.”

“You’re too observant and have too good a memory,” Helena replied. She was smiling though. I shrugged.

“Oh! Mother wants some more healing salve,” Susie suddenly said.

“Ok. Mom and I made a new batch yesterday. So, she should have plenty for your mother to get.”

“Alright. Thanks!”

“How can you not love Susie’s chipper attitude?” Jed asked. We laughed and agreed with him as we walked toward the commons.

*

“This is taking a long time,” Fred muttered as he petted his eagle.

“Hush!” Helena chided as her cat familiar purred while it rubbed itself around her legs. “There is 100 of us and 200 creatures.”

“And we drew numbers to sort the order of our turns,” Susie added as she hugged her new bunny familiar. She had yet to reveal its name.

“What do you think?” Jed asked proudly as he gestured to his new osprey. “I’m glad we chose each other. But I still wonder why he chose me.”

“You did good brother,” Fred answered. The rest of us congratulated him too.

“Nobody knew what made a creature bond with a person. Some scholars thought the creatures were really spirits created by God that wanted to live longer and so possessed certain animals and then bonded with people to live vicariously through their bond mate. Others think familiars are creatures that have achieved higher intelligence and see the benefits of bonding with us. And the last school of thought is that familiars were created by the ancients to serve us,” I replied. The others stared at me. I shrugged. “You asked.”

“Bookworm.”

“How do they find the candidate creatures?” Fred asked.

“No idea,” I answered with a shrug. “I’ve never looked into it because I didn’t think it really mattered.”

“You’re too smart to be living in a fishing village,” Susie said.

“Mom made sure I had a good education,” I replied with another shrug. The village elder overseeing the selection process called my number. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” the others called as I joined the new group of four that was choosing.

*

I watched as the other three get chosen by their familiars. I walked past the enclosures as the animals and creatures within them turned away from me making my heart sink. The elder told me to walk by them again. Several people in the crowd laughed. A few minutes later I had passed each enclosure twice and been denied once more. More of the villagers laughed. I noticed my parents looking on with concern as did my friends.

“Jase is a pariah!” Melody, the mayor’s pretty daughter called out to even more laughter. My friends started looking uncomfortable instead of concerned.

“Pariah? He’s an outcast and reject!” Jonny, the guard captain’s son crowed.

“Pariah is a synonym for outcast or reject,” I replied which earned some laughter at Jonny’s expense. The big young man snarled as did his dragonet, father, and his father’s cougar silencing the crowd. I turned and ran leaving the village behind me.

*

“Robert!” mother began. Father put his hand on her arm.

“Don’t worry Gail. Jase will be fine. Rust, follow and make sure no harm comes to him,” dad ordered his familiar. The wolf took off after his bond mate’s son.

“Kyra, go as well,” Gail ordered her familiar. The crow took flight. “Let’s go home so we can be there when he returns.”

“Yes dear,” Robert replied.

*

I ran home, grabbed a satchel we used to gather plants and herbs in along with a knife and headed into the forest to gather some stuff for mom and work off my sadness. I found a honeysuckle plant at the edge of the forest. Honeysuckle is a useful plant that can help with skin issues, swelling, infections, boils, and colds. Honeysuckle syrup can also be used a sweetener.

I found a currant plant a little while later in the forest and harvested some of the berries. The seed oil is useful in health potions and the leaves are good for teas. I harvested some rosemary sprigs next. Rosemary is a good pain reliever and can be used to stimulate hair growth. Some of the balding older men in the village swore by it.

I noticed a blonde pixie following me. She looked like the one that had been hanging around the house. I ignored her and kept gathering plants. Roses used for pain relief and cough relief, lavender for sleeping potions, Marigold for skin issues, Echinacea for sickness and wounds, and Chamomile for tea and pain relief joined the others in the satchel. After I filled the satchel, I sat on a rock to think. I still felt very sorry for myself.

The pixie landed on another rock and looked up at me. She was wearing a bit of old green cloth fashioned into a dress. This made me think that pixies might be more intelligent than people gave them credit for. It also made me wonder why I never noticed that they wore actual clothes instead of just wrapping their bodies before.

A voice sounded in my head. “Hi! It’s about time you started thinking about us as more than pests.”

“Who said that?” I asked.

“I did,” the pixie answered and waved at me with a smile on her face. She flew up and stared into my eyes. “Now that you are of age, we can be together at last.”

“What do you mean?” I asked in shock.

“You promised me that we would bond and be together when you were a child,” the pixie answered out loud. My mouth fell open in surprise. She flew around my head and came around to the right side of my face. Before I could turn to face her, I felt tiny lips kiss my cheek. I raised my right hand to my cheek. The kiss had felt natural and right. “I bonded with you then but had to wait until now for it to take effect.”

“You’re my familiar?”

“That is the term you humans use, so yes.”

“And you know my name?”

“Jase Fisher. And I know everything about you,” the pixie answered landing on my knee. I noticed she was barefoot. That seemed right too. “Do you remember my name?”

“I don’t know,” I started. An image of a flower appeared in my mind along with a memory of playing with this pixie when I was little. She started to pout. “Lily,” I murmured, and the pixie’s pout turned into a smile. “The name means innocence and purity. I thought it fit you back then.”

“Do you still think the name fits me?” Lily asked while hopping from one of my knees to the other.

“I’m not sure. You’ve played a lot of pranks on me over the years.”

Lily stomped her foot into my knee. “Humph. I was trying to get you to play.” She then saw the grin on my face. “You!”

“Just a little payback,” I replied feeling my heart and spirit lighten. Being with Lily felt right. “Let’s take these ingredients back to mom.”

“Ok,” Lily agreed and took flight as I stood.

“Where do you live?”

“I had lived with the other pixies in trees or caves, but now I’ll live with you,” Lily replied with a smile on her face.

“That works for me,” I agreed as we started home.