AN: The views of the characters don't reflect my own.

Towards Six Inch Heels

From her wheelchair, Mai awkwardly reached under her bed, fingers tripping over the many books she'd thrown under there. Her side dug into the armrest as she stretched her arm to reach further and, after carefully feeling over the seemingly identical covers, she snatched something at random and pulled it out to examine it.

Her snowflake notebook.

So she would be writing today. Mai didn't mind even though she hadn't done so in a while and didn't, at that moment, have anything to say. But since this was what she pulled out, this was what she was going to do for that morning.

After rummaging through the top drawer of her nightstand, she found a pen and scribbled lightly on a dog-eared corner to see if it still worked. With notebook and pen on her lap, she wheeled herself over to one of the large windows in her bedroom. The autumn weather had really done a number on the big tree outside. Damp leaves besieged the front yard, smearing their colour on the pavement. In the past, the maid would have raked whenever the rain let up but the ground would be covered again in no time as if she'd made no effort at all. Nowadays, they would wait until the leaves became an actual nuisance before they cleared them out. They could have nipped the problem at the bud by cutting down the tree but her father had been against it. He never really said why. Some people thought the sight was beautiful, at least they had that.

In Mai's hand, the pen started moving. The squirrels were still seen running around, though not as often as the summertime. One would think you'd see more of them now that their home was bare but, somehow, they managed to make themselves scarce. Maybe they made little forts with the leaves and lived in them. Or maybe they took to the underground so that they wouldn't get stepped on. They could have their own little town underground with houses all made of leaves. They'd have apartments made of leaves and townhouses made of leaves. Some of them would have mansions made of leaves. And why not use them for clothes too? They had a nice shape to them and came in a variety of colours. And if you sewed a whole bunch of them together, you'd get a nice pattern.

"Are you for real? I'm insulted."

Mai whipped around with a start, her notebook slipping off her lap and slapping face down on the ground. She froze in her seat when the saw the thing the shrill voice had come from. It was shaped like a woman but was much, much taller and had long fuchsia hair that almost touched the ground. Its body was mostly blue and it was clothed in a way that made Mai feel uncomfortable. Its claws – no doubt they were claws – were massive and sharp. Its eyes were like liquid mercury, though in a colour she couldn't quite figure out.

Mai stared in terror, oblivious to her own hands which clutched tightly to each armrest and the frizzy side locks that had fallen over her face. Her lip quivered and she sucked in a nasally breath but she could not make a peep.

"Oh you are for real!" Its metallic eyes, which were elegant and narrow, widened, "This is a mistake! This definitely has to be mistake!"

Mai found her voice again when it took a step back, "Puh-please don't hurt me," she managed, barely above a whisper, "Please," she said again and shrunk in her chair.

It swiveled its head and threw its claws in the air as if exasperated, "Oh for the love of - " It paused, made a throaty sound, and gauged her little, quivering form. "Relax. I was sent here, from a very long way I might add, because I was told that this is where my partner would be."

Mai crouched behind the back of her chair, peeking over the top through her bangs.

"Is there another child here? A girl? I was told she's a girl."

She said nothing.

"I said, is there another child here?" It asked again, even louder.

She winced.

"Damn it girl, I know you can talk! Stop wasting my time and tell me!"

Her eyes slid to her notebook, which was lying in a way that meant some of the pages were probably bent.

"You want that? Alright, here," It clamped the book between a claw and held it out to her. When Mai made no move to take it, the creature tucked in in her chair. "Now will you tell me if there's another child here?"

Mai shook her head.

"No, as in you won't tell me or no as in there's no one else here? Spit it out already!"

"There's… no one else here."

"I can't hear you, say it again."

"There's no one else here." She repeated, "I'm…an only child."

The creature blinked, then surveyed the massive room as if it could see the entire estate from its current vantage point. For a little girl's room, it was largely empty and contained only the most necessary furniture. But whatever was there was expensive and were, more likely than not, antiques. "I'm a creature of flight," it said when its eyes finally fell back on Mai, "My partner can't be someone in… this condition."

Mai's face fell and she turned away from the vanity mirror from which she could see her reflection out of the corner of her eye.

"I hope I wasn't lied to," It continued, "That just doesn't happen. And if it did, it's one damn mean joke because I've been waiting for a very, very long time." It rubbed its claws together as if brandishing knives, "I haven't done anything to deserve this. I never said anything when the others found their partners. I pretended I was happy for them even though I wasn't. But I never actually said anything." It stopped to eye Mai in her wheelchair, "I should have been the first to find my partner. Instead, this is what I get. This. TH -"

"Stop it!"

The creature crossed its arms over its elongated belly and shifted it weight to one hooked foot, "What, I've been cheated and I can't even complain?"

"You're terrible!" The words shot out of her mouth before Mai could catch them. She squirmed in her seat and the notebook fell again, "You… didn't have to say all that," she continued, more quietly, "you really didn't."

Mai half expected the creature to attack her and she braced herself for it but something very different happened. It didn't smile but its face brightened and something gleamed into those strange eyes, "We haven't been properly introduced. You can call me Aello."

"I'm -" A shout from outside caught her attention and she looked down from her place on the second floor to see the neighbour kids trying to climb over the fence into her family's property. When she checked to see if they saw Aello behind her, the creature was gone.

It was a miracle that Mai found a flashlight somewhere in her drawers because she was bored in bed but couldn't bring herself to turn any of the lights on. One arm dropped heavy over the side of her bed and she pawed for a book, hoping this time to get something she hadn't seen in a long time.

A collection of Oscar Wilde's short stories. She set the book aside and, with a grunt, pulled herself up with both arms to a sitting position. She maneuvered a pillow behind her back and after settling down into a comfortable position, she flipped the book open to a bookmarked page and clicked the light on.

"Then the snow came, and after the snow came the frost. The streets looked as if they were made of silver, they were so bright and glistening; long icicles like crystal daggers hung down from the eaves of the houses, everybody went about in furs, and the little boys wore scarlet caps and skated on the ice.

The poor little Swallow grew colder and colder, but he would not leave the Prince, he loved him too well. He picked up crumbs outside the baker's door when the baker was not looking and tried to keep himself warm by flapping his wings."

Its stomach must have squirmed in its belly like hers did when she was hungry. But she'd never been so hungry that she was in any real pain and she'd always had plenty of blankets to keep herself warm. What was it like to be hungry and cold at the same time? Did it shake without knowing why? Did it feel like it was draining away? What kind of love made it so that it would make such sacrifices?

Mai looked up from her book, the words she'd been reading long since blurred together into a mess. Something stood at the end of her bed, its silhouette in the dark making it look like it reached all the way up to the ceiling. With shaking hands, she let go of the book and she carefully, very carefully, slid under the covers.

A familiar shrill voice cut through the darkness, "I was under the impression that there was some hope." The black blob moved and it was a nerve-wracking sight because so much detail was hidden. "Why did you cover your mirror and shut your curtains?"

Beneath her comforter, Mai gripped the flashlight like it was a sword; a sword she couldn't summon the courage to use. "Why do you keep haunting me? Why won't you leave me alone?"

"I was told my partner is here. A female child. And since you're the only one here," It stopped abruptly, unable to bring itself to say it.

"Then why do you have to be so… scary," the name was on the tip of her tongue, "A-ello?"

"Celaeno."

"Huh?"

"My name is Celaeno."

"But -"

"And hun, I'm not doing anything. You're the one sitting in the dark in the middle of the day reading ghost stories with a dying flashlight. This is ridiculous," There was a rustle as it moved again, "Nothing is easy for me, is it? They just have to make it so damn hard. They can't just give me a compatible partner. They have to twist my arm somehow with -"

A blast of light made Celaeno stop and as it stared down at the active end of Mai's flashlight, an impish grin slid across its face.

"You're different from before," Mai observed as she struggled to keep her voice steady, "but only slightly, like you're wearing a wig or something. And, by the way, I'm not reading a ghost story."

"I don't really care."

"Then, then," her little hands tightened around the now sweat-slicked handle, "go away."

"Why? So you can avoid combing your hair and getting dressed by hiding yourself in the dark?"

"Please, go away."

"So you don't have to look at yourself in the mirror?"

"Go away!"

"So you don't have to say out loud that only half your body works?"

She hurled the flashlight at the creature. There was no sound to tell her that it made contact, only the thump it made when it hit the ground. When she dared to look, Aello, Celaeno, whatever it was, was no longer there. But her blood still boiled and her heart still thrashed in her chest. She was wired, alert, livid. She wanted to hit something and put all her strength into it. And for the first time in awhile, she entertained the thought of running again.

Mai's blonde curls spilled all over the floor when she dropped her head over the edge of the bed to hunt for her sketchbook. With her torso straining to keep her from falling head-first, Mai went through the stash of books impatiently, tossing them aside one by one. She couldn't recall the last time she'd looked under there and was put off by the amount of dust and debris. But just when too much blood rushed to her head and her cheeks felt numb and heavy, she spotted the gold cover gleaming from beneath the pile and yanked it out.

Exhausted, she let herself crash onto the ground. She clamped the sketchbook between her teeth as she searched for a pencil, which was also shoved into her mouth once it was found. Then came the arduous task of making it to her wheelchair which (as of recent) she'd told her nurse to keep by the door instead of at its usual place beside her bed. She grunted and bit down hard on the things in her mouth as she ploughed forward on chafed arms. This must have been how sea turtles felt.

The book and pencil were chucked onto the seat of the wheelchair when she was close enough. She pushed herself upright and leaned heavily against the cool metal, feeling her heart thump against her chest as she allowed herself a little rest before she scaled the mountain ahead of her.

With some manoeuvring, she managed not to sit on top of her stuff. The migration from the upper floor of her home to the gazebo in her backyard was an interesting one, especially when she refused (then ignored) her nurse's offer for help. It was one of the few times she was glad her parents were always away because they would have contributed to the now general belief in the household that she was crazy. And they would have had the authority to do something about it too.

Mai abandoned her chair on the grass and dragged herself up the chipped wooden steps, hissing as the jagged edges scraped her skin through her dress. At this point, it was too late to hope her sketchbook would make it out of this ordeal in decent condition but this was a fleeting thought as she successfully seated herself on the bench.

She slumped backwards with a sharp exhale and combed the tangles away from her face. Success.

The teeth marks had penetrated several pages and she rubbed them vigorously without much fruition. But when her pencil touched the paper, this ceased to be such a big deal. There was an inexplicable patch of yellowed grass on their lawn that looked like a bald spot amidst all the green. It never made sense why it was there and over time, the family would hide it with various ornaments and furniture. The contractor had said they'd need to rip out the entire lawn to replace it because the "type of green" they were using didn't exist anymore.

Mai attempted to mimic this. She moved the pencil carefully, each line precise to the standards she'd set for herself. And despite the tool's limitations, she gave her picture the illusion of colour, capturing the ghastliness of the hay-coloured blob and the perfection of the space that surrounded it.

Maybe it was something that happened to the land here a long time ago. It could be a bruise from something that hurt it. Or maybe it's a brand; a scarlet letter stamped there forever as a reminder of what it did.

Thump, thump, thump.

At first she didn't notice it, but it came again.

Thump, thump, thump.

Something was on the roof. Maybe a rodent or a bird. But it was too loud, the thumping too heavy for her to convince herself of that.

A hint of a purple feather draped over the edge, "I see we've made some progress."

Mai moved the pencil relentlessly, pressing the paper harder. Her shading got darker but she refused to ruin her picture.

"Look at you, all cut up like that. There's something pretty under there but you messed it up."

Her hand twitched and a line too dark to erase scratched her picture. But she worked around it knowing she'd go back and fix it later.

The creature's upside-down head poked down from the roof, its gravity-defying blue hair shooting upwards even when it righted itself. "It was exciting to hear that you have some bite in you even though you wouldn't think so from looking at you now. Call me Ocypete."

She ignored it.

"Didn't you know you're supposed to be nice to your partners? How rude!"

Her purple eyes rose like guillotine, "That's kind of hypocritical, isn't it?"

The thing laughed and swung its entire body onto the platform. "Yeah but you have yet to prove that you're any good. I've already done so long before you've even existed." It spread its arms out, displaying its impressive wingspan, "So, wow me."

"Why should I care what you think?"

"Because you're getting there, but you're not really there yet."

This time, Mai was genuinely interested. "What are you talking about?"

Ocypete's head jerked and it looked as if she was going to say something but caught it in time, "Being my partner, silly."

"I don't care for you – any of you. I didn't ask for you to be my partner and you don't even look too thrilled to be mine anyways. So just leave me alone." The hardened expression felt unfamiliar on her face but also somehow natural, "And I feel sorry for whoever actually ends up with a witch like you."

"Snarky. No wonder your parents are never around."

Sketchbook abandoned, Mai lunged at the creature and landed hard on the ground. The points of contact throbbed painfully and, for a moment, her body went completely rigid from the pain. When she managed to pry her watery eyes open, Ocypete had left.

Mai lay on the dirty, moss-spotted ground and cried out loud.

So hot.

She was really, really hot.

In her sleepy haze, Mai tried to kick her comforter off, but it didn't move. She struggled to kick it off again but, still, nothing moved. Then, slightly more awake but her head still dipped in dreamland, she pushed it off with all her strength, breathing heavily when the unbearable sense of confinement was gone.

But it was still so hot. Her hair was matted to her face and she swiped her bangs away with a heavy arm. She tried to roll over to a cooler spot in bed but it didn't help. It was so, so hot and it wouldn't stop being hot.

"WAKE UP!"

By the strength of that voice alone, Mai was wide awake. She immediately froze in her spot, the face above her so close that their noses almost touched. She stayed paralyzed until the pale blue face backed away. Aello was back.

"You have to get out of here." For the first time, there was no mockery in that shrill voice.

Mai rubbed her eyes but everything still looked hazy; clouded. The air was saturated, almost engulfed by the heat and she coughed, struggling to breath.

"There's no time for slowness right now, you have to get out of here! Now! Get up, get up now!"

Beneath her bedroom door, something glowed red. Whips of smoke filtered through, fogging up her room. She squinted but couldn't see the far end of it. Mai panicked. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a dream. She was still sleeping and this was a dream!

She looked up at Aello with the frightened eyes of the little girl that she was, but the creature did nothing, not even hold out an arm for help. All it said was, "Move!"

"I can't!" The creature was something from a different world, it should have the power to stop what was happening.

"You have to!" Mai reached out to grasp its arm but it pulled away, "Get out of your bed and get out!"

"I can't. Please, help me!"

"There's nothing I can do. You have to move on your own! Now hurry up!"

"I don't know how," her voice cracked and water rushed to her eyes, "I can't go anywhere! I don't know, I don't know," she looked around frantically, "My chair! Get my chair! I need my chair!"

"I said there's nothing I can do!" Its voice was stern but genuinely panicked, "Just get up. Whatever you do, just get up!"

"You won't help me?" Mai was crying now, Aello seeming so, so cruel to her.

"I can't. But I'll be with you. Now come on."

Mai's chest heaved and her breaths came out shuttering. She was torn between staying put and sobbing her eyes out at the unfairness of it all and feebly trying to do something. Finally, with a willpower that couldn't have been hers alone, she dove onto the ground, clawing at the carpet as she desperately tried to pull herself forward.

Her wheelchair was at the door waiting for her but the way the red light bounced off the metal made it look like some ominous thing. She stretched her arm to its limit to grasp it but pulled back when it singed her hand.

"There's no time to climb on that thing!"

"But I can't without it!" She cried, smacking the ground with her injured hand, "I can't do anything without it!"

"Stop whining and keep moving!"

Mai dropped her forehead to the ground, "I don't wanna die! You can fly, please help me! Please help me!"

"You won't die if you move!"

But she didn't budge and from its vantage point, all Aello could see of her state were small, shaking shoulders.

"This is unbelievable," the creature spat, suddenly devoid of all sympathy, "You're only a child and you're already giving up on your life. If by some miracle you get out of this now, how are you going to deal with what's out there?"

"Don't please," came the barely audible voice from the carpet, "Don't be so mean."

"Yes, I'm mean for wanting to get you out of this burning house. I'm mean for trying to save your life!"

"You can pick me up and fly me out of here!"

"If I could, I would have done so!"

Her shoulders jolted before going lax.

"Little girl, you should learn that there is no one out there to 'fly you out' of your problems. You are just like everyone else. When you must, absolutely must do something, the only person you can rely one is YOURSELF! You're lucky I'm here to tell you this because those who never learn, they die!"

Mai gave a loud, exhausted sob as if expelling all that was her childhood in that one breath. After a beat of silent, she asked in an even, steady tone, "Tell me what I need to do."

"Get yourself out of here. Use whatever means you can. Just do it."

When Mai finally got moving again, her body felt heavier than ever. She couldn't see anything and didn't know what direction to head when she got past the door. The alarm was going crazy but it was useless other than telling her what she already knew. She reached out with both hands to feel the ground in front of her, drawing back when she felt an especially warm spot. She coughed, then called out for her nurse, but there was no answer.

She found a wall and used it to brace herself but her movements increasingly slowed as the pain and breathing difficulties became too much.

"Get up!"

What? Aello was still there. Amidst the chaos, Mai had almost completely forgotten about it, especially since it did nothing to help her but yell at her.

"I said get up, child!"

"I'm already, I'm already -" She broke into a fit of coughs.

"I mean on your feet!"

"That's imp -" She coughed again, far more violently this time and shrunk back against the wall, cornered.

"You asked me what to do so I'm telling you! GET ON YOUR DAMN FEET!"

Maybe the fear was too big for her little body to handle or maybe the lack of air taxed her ability to think. But all she knew at the moment was that she wanted to live. She would do anything, even blindly do it, to live. So she obeyed. Her body struggled up, up, up, until she was higher than she ever remembered being. Her hands pressed tightly against the walls as her frail legs shook beneath her. There was the strange feeling of her feet touching the carpet; it was like trying on new shoes for the first time but a hundred times more amazing.

One agonizingly slow step after another, Mai walked.

Knowing Aello was behind her, she kept at it, the world around her seeming surreal. Her reflexes were still with her, even though her mind wasn't and she managed to dodge the flames reaching out for her. She recalled descending the stairs, then touching linoleum. It took an eternity but the cool blast of air finally came and she mustered a few more wobbly steps before allowing herself to collapse.

"…Is she the only one?"

"Afraid so."

"No one else...?"

"Unfortunately."

Mai feels heavy everywhere and her head hurts when she tries to move it.

"…Hallucinations? Are you sure?"

Her hands rub against something soft and it feels good.

"Paraplegic…I don't know."

Her eyelids are stuck together and she struggles to pry them open. When she does, the fluorescent lights burn so she closes them again.

"We'll have to check again."

The place smells unfamiliar. It smells like chemicals; cold and sterile. When she manages to crack her eyes open again, she doesn't recognize where she is and doesn't even know whether she is up or down. It takes a few moments but she realizes she's not in her own bed.

A man dressed in scrubs comes in and he looks directly at her and smiles. He doesn't reveal the slightest hint of disgust even though she felt crappy and probably looked it too. She tries to smile back but winces when her cheek pulls taut and cracks.

"Hey there, I'm Rico. How are you feeling?"

She doesn't bother trying to answer because her throat is beyond parched but he seemed to get the silent message.

"Try to get some rest. You're a little bumped up but you should be okay in a few days." His voice is so kind and gentle that she can't help but like him.

She tests her neck, finding that it allows a little movement so she cranes her head towards the side table where a glass of liquid sits. She attempts to reach for it with her free hand but it's a little further than she thought.

"Let me get that for you." He offers but misunderstands and grabs something else instead, "This was all you had with you but don't worry its safe and sound here."

He hands her something that looks like a card, "See? It's still in great condition. Now how about I heat you up another blanket? Be right back."

She stares at the unfamiliar thing in her hand and a graphic version of Aello stares back at her. The big print on the top says "Harpy Lady" and there's a little description of it in a box at the bottom. The background on which Aello is featured catches the light, making it look three dimensional. She tilts it to look at the back and is surprised to see Celeano appear; she tilts it again and there was the blue-haired Ocypete.

She experiments with the card and finds that when she holds it just the right way, she could see all three.

And together, they nod their approval.

-End-

AN: My excuse is I've been exposed to too many Asian fairy tales growing up and they're, uh, a different kind of fantastical.

The bolded excerpt is taken from Oscar Wilde's "The Happy Prince," a personal favourite of mine.

And, of course, the names for each Harpy sister was pulled from mythology.