The perspective shifts to that of Holly Short, an elf who “was a leprechaun too, but that was just a job” (31). She is just under three feet tall with auburn hair. She lies in bed, thinking angrily about her boss, Commander Root. The commander consistently makes Holly’s life difficult since she is the first female officer in LEPrecon’s history. (LEP stands for Lower Elements Police, a task force for magical creatures that live underground that keeps their existence secret). Holly is also stressed because she needs to perform the Ritual, and having gone so long without doing so has made her low on magic. She doesn’t tell this to Root since she knows he would be furious.

Like all fairies, Holly lives underground. She gets dressed, putting on the green jumpsuit that is the uniform for all LEPrecon officers. She thinks about the old uniforms, which inspired the green-suited version humans imagine.

Holly leaves for her shift and finds a pickpocketing dwarf named Mulch robbing everyone in the booking line. A regular, Holly greets him, and he drops what he’s stolen, embarrassing the officer arresting him.

Commander Root calls for Holly, and she enters his office.