Trixter by Alethea Kontis Read Free Book Online

green with sunlight. His stomach and feet and head quieted as he settled in to hear Lizinia's tale.
    "I haven't always lived in this cottage," she began. "I grew up in an old house not far from here, with my mother and older sister Peppina."
    "Where was your father?" Trix asked lazily.
    "Mother told us that he died when we were very young," said Lizinia.
    “You sound dubious.”
    “Mother was not known for being truthful. Or generous. Mine was a happy, humble life, but in Mother's eyes we were destitute and deserving of so much more."
    "And your sister?"
    "My sister, unfortunately, took after our mother. She dreamed of places she would never live and riches she would never own and men she would never marry. Then she would get mad because she didn't have those things."
    "She must have been mad a lot," said Trix.
    "They both were. And so I spent my sunny days working in the garden and playing with the birds and squirrels and rabbits who came to visit me. They cared only for kindness and did not mind my humble trappings.”
    “As it should be.” Trix made the comment in a low voice, so as not to disturb the natural rhythm of his new friend’s narrative. Just as Papa had taught him.
    “On rainy days, I cleaned the house. At night, I would cook dinner and tend to the mending. I had peace of mind, but nothing was ever enough for my mother and sister. So when the cats offered to pay my mother in exchange for my servitude, I went with them freely."
    "Cats?" Even with his fantastic talent, Trix had always been leery of cats. Cats could see things most humans and many fey could not. They were not always wise beyond their years, but they acted as if they possessed the knowledge of the ages. Worst of all, they spoke—when they wanted to be heard—in riddles that could drive even the most fey-blessed denizens of the Wood mad with frustration.
    Lizinia indicated the small cottage beside them. "There were dozens of them, maybe even a hundred, and I was brought here to live with them. I cared for them: made their meals, washed their sheets, and kept the house in order. The only difference from my old life was that I had more free time to myself."
    “And no grouching at every turn,” said Trix. “It sounds rather nice.”
    "It was.” Lizinia leaned back against the trunk of the tree as well, her voice dreamy with memory. “A full year went by before I began to miss my old bed, my old garden, and my mother and sister. Since it had been a successful year, Papa Gatto felt that I had more than earned my keep, so he let me return home."
    "Papa Gatto?"
    "Papa Gatto was the leader of the cats, the wisest and most powerful of them all. It was he who hired me, and thusly he who rewarded me for my service."
    Lizinia touched the star on her golden forehead, her golden cheek, her golden dress in wistful thought. Trix didn't have to ask her the extent of Papa Gatto's reward. "Was it scary, being dipped in gold?"
    "A little," she admitted. "Thank you. No one has ever asked me that. But then, no one before has offered me the golden apple either."
    "Did they eat it?" asked Trix.
    "No," said Lizinia. “They would steal it, or try to melt it down. Those that melted the apple were left with ashes, or dust, or a pile of fragrant mush.”
    “And those that stole the apple?”
    Lizinia shrugged. “Nothing pleasant, I imagine, but I never followed them to learn. Per Papa Gatto’s instructions, once a visitor failed the test, I closed the door and locked it tight. Another golden apple always appeared on the tree the very next day.”
    "Good," said Trix. Those greedy gobs deserved whatever they got. “So what did your mother say when you returned home looking like…that?”
    "She was overjoyed, as you can imagine. Until she realized that she could not cut my hair, or remove my apron, or take off my shoes. All of this gold at her fingertips, and none of it hers! She locked me in a cupboard, and then told Peppina to go to the cats' cottage and offer