The Pot 'o Gold

"Whoopsie."

I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling my stomach drop. With a deep breath I braved a peek at my mentor.

"What is it this time, Lucky?"

An awkward chuckle echoed from inside the large, black cauldron Lucky had stuck his head into.

"Well, laddie, seems I misplaced the gold for the pot." Lucky's head reemerged. Aiming his green eyes on mine, he blushed.

"Shamrocks!" I cursed under my breath. Ever since I had been assigned to apprentice under Lucky I found myself dealing with one bit of bad luck after another. I lifted my arm and pulled back a green sleeve so I could check the time on my watch.

"The 'bow is scheduled to strike at one 'o the clock, Lucky." I frowned. "We need that gold in the pot before then."

Lucky scratched his scalp thoughtfully, sending his green cap flying off his head. "I coulda swore I had it when we left, boyo. Now where did I set the bag...?" His lips puckered as he gazed off into the distance.

I bent down to scoop up his hat just as Lucky snapped his fingers and whirled, tripping over me. Pulling my face from the dirt I spat out a wad of grass and shrugged him off my back.

"I left it at that nice 'ol dragon's house. Ye know the one, laddie. He let us stay the night and fed us a tasty bowl of mutton." Lucky licked his lips and set his rumpled hat on his head. I felt my eyes bug out and I coughed up another blade of grass.

"Seymour? You left the gold fer our pot with Seymour!" I threw my hands up in the air. "We'll never get it back now! Ye know how dragons are with treasure!"

Lucky blinked and stared at me. I felt my jaw drop as the realization hit.

"Ye do know about dragons...right Lucky? How greedy they are...?"

Lucky picked at his torn sleeve and nodded, avoiding my eyes. "Oh, aye. Of course. Rule, uh, forty-two in the leprechaun hand book..."

I shook my head in disbelief. "'Tis number two, Lucky. That's how important it is."

Lucky fingered the buttons running down his overcoat. "And rule number one...?"

"Never let anyone steal yer pot 'o gold!" I yelled. "Shite, yer s'pose to be teaching me, Lucky, not the other way 'round!"

Lucky sighed. "Seems I've misplaced me memory along with the gold, laddie. 'Tis a sorry thing, indeed, when one of the fae folk gets so old he loses his marbles."

I checked my watch again and groaned. "The 'bow will arrive in two minutes, Lucky. If we don't have the gold--"

"It'll escape, never to be caught again," Lucky interrupted. "I remember that much, lad."

"So...what do we do?" I squeaked. "A renegade 'bow will wreak havoc on everything it comes across."

Lucky tapped the black pot thoughtfully. "Reminds me of the third century when my partner, Patty, and I had our gold pinched by a band of trolls—"

"You're telling stories now, of all times? Lucky, we have less than a minute before—"

"I might be a bit foggy about some details, laddie, but I can still teach ye a thing or two. Fer example," he reached out and pulled a button off my coat.

"Hey!"

"Our buttons be made of gold, remember?" Lucky squinted at me as he flicked the button like a quarter into the pot.

"Lucky...you're a genius!" I ripped the rest of my buttons off and flung them into the pot while Lucky watched, smirking.

"Quick!" I panted, reaching for Lucky's coat. He smacked my hands away as the rainbow shot through the sky and landed in the pot, trapped by the gold buttons.

"Rule thirteen, laddie." Lucky threw his head back and laughed. "Only takes but one piece 'o gold to trap a rainbow!"

It was now my turn to blush. I scuffed a toe against the ground and picked up my coat. "You learn something new every day."