Green by Laura Peyton Roberts

leprechaun filled my goblet from his other pitcher and continued on his rounds.
    "What is that stuff?" I asked.
    "Clover ale." Bronwyn sipped hers with obvious enjoyment. "You're a bit young yet. I don't believe you'd like it."
    That made two of us. I was about to say so when a new waiter offered me cheese from a gleaming silver platter. Its mirror-like surface reflected a sight I'd hoped never to see: me, wearing a haircut so short it could only be called a pixie.
    To my amazement, I wasn't hideous.
    My hair framed my face in tufts and wisps, curving into long slender points that made my chin seem less sharp. The craziest part was that spiking my hair made my eyes
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    appear closer together. They were still wider than I would have liked, but that whole bug-eyed look? Almost gone.
    "You're welcome!" Kate said saucily from a couple of stools away. I grinned with gratitude, unable to believe I was actually happy about having my long hair whacked off.
    More waiters made the rounds. Fruit and bread joined the cheese on our plates. The main course was a hot potato casserole with sides of even more cheese, grilled sausages, and stringy stewed greens.
    And last but not least came the doughnuts. Bagpipes played again as a new set of waiters walked in balancing trays piled three feet high with an astounding assortment of doughnuts. There were green-frosted rings, long twists sparkling with green sugar, and golden pillows with green custard filling, all stacked up in concentric rings that looked like enormous wedding cakes. The custardy ones were my favorite, the doughnut part light and chewy, the filling flavored with sweet limes.
    "Your gran loved those too," Bronwyn told me as I polished off my second one. "We miss her so much."
    "Me too."
    She reached over to pat my hand. "Well, we have each other now, don't we? And all the years to come, just like Maureen would have wanted."
    Instead of feeling sad, I actually felt kind of comforted. At last I wasn't alone in missing Gigi.
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    "That's assuming you pass your trial, o' course," Kate piped in. "But the way you take after your gran, there's little chance o' anything else."
    "About this trial," I said, snagging another doughnut from a passing waiter. "What exactly is it for?"
    "What do you mean, girl?" Bronwyn asked. "It's how you become keeper."
    "Yes, but what does a keeper do?"
    "She keeps, o' course! She keeps for the clan."
    Her answers weren't remotely helpful, but I'd suddenly thought of a more important question. "Bronwyn, if I pass the test, will I be allowed to go home? Balthazar said Gigi came and went as she pleased."
    "Aye, and she did, once she was keeper. You'll--"
    Bagpipes launched into a crazed fanfare. Bronwyn stiffened with excitement. "Hush!" she whispered. "It's time!"
    Across the table from me, Sosanna stood on her stool to address the gathering. "Over the centuries," the chief intoned, "leplings have assisted their leprechaun brethren with many tasks: securing the deeds to our real estate, communications over the water, driving. But for the past three hundred years, ever since Donal Green devised his security spells, having a lepling keeper has been absolutely necessary. May Lilybet Green serve us well and faithfully, keeping the count, transferring what's needed, protecting and increasing the hoard o' Green for the rest o' her natural life."
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    The rest of my natural life? I didn't like the sound of that. And then things got worse.
    The chief raised both hands above her head, palms out toward the crowd. "Let the first test begin!"
    "What!" I cried into a deafening roar of approval. "The first test?"
    Nobody heard me.
    I looked over at a grinning Balthazar. "You said there was one test!"
    "Cheers, Lil!" he yelled back, applauding as if he couldn't understand me over the noise. "You'll do grand!"
    Everyone was clapping away as if I ought to be delighted. I shot wounded looks at Bronwyn and Lexie, feeling totally betrayed. I didn't want to take their stupid