Megan Button and the Brim-Tree (2 page)

Her Mum came into the bedroom to tuck her in, and seeing Megan looking at her new pretty ornament, said with mock botheration, ‘I don’t know. What with your Father being a model
plane enthusiast, and with all these,’ she waved a beringed hand, ‘we may have to convert the attic.’

Megan returned her mum’s smile as she closed the door, then snuggled underneath the cocoon of her cream and pale pink quilt cover.

Lying on her stomach, with her nodding head facing the wall, Megan was not sleepy in the least bit: she was counting sheep, but kept on getting into quite a muddle after the
thirtieth sheep had
baa-baaed
over the stile.

Tossing and turning and trying to get comfortable, she looked up to her photo frames hanging on the pink-wallpapered wall and noticed beams of light reflecting off the glass.

With mounting curiosity she slowly rolled over and saw a radiant yellow light encasing the Fairy figure. Turning as white as a sheet, Megan stiffened.
Is this real
, she thought,
or am
I dreaming?

Hauling the quilt over her head, and diving under the bedclothes, she huddled into a ball, and then suddenly heard a muffled sound close by.

‘Do not be scared. I will not harm you. Please will you come out?’ coaxed a soft musical voice.

Trembling and twitching, Megan took a deep breath and tweezed the quilt down inch-by-inch. As she timidly peered over the top, her pupils dilated saucer-like: a Fairy was close to her head!

Megan gaped.

She was about three times larger than the figurine, surrounded by a yellow and green light, and as she stared at Megan, her wings fluttered back and forth like a hummingbird.

‘W-who a-a-are you?’ Megan quivered, flabbergasted.

‘I’m a Fairy. My name is Princess Blossom of the Fairy folk.’

‘Goodness. A Fairy?’ breathed Megan, ‘a
real
Fairy?’

‘Yes, a Fairy, I am sorry if I scared you before. What is your name?’

‘I’m M-Megan. But why are you here, in my-y bedroom?’

Blossom dropped her head and wings, while the light around her diminished.

‘Whatever’s the matter?’ asked Megan, alarmed.

‘I was kidnapped and now I am trapped,’ Blossom replied in a very dispirited tone.

‘G-gosh.’

Blossom just about managed a wintry smile.

Megan sat up straight, and said kindly, ‘
Please
do tell me about your world, Princess Blossom,’ as the Fairy then settled on the bedspread in front of her.

Pushing aside her velvety-wavy brown hair that cascaded down her shoulders, the Fairy’s glow came back. Her sparkly wings, the same size as her body, went up again. ‘Of course,
Megan: the world I come from is called The Enchanted Kingdom.

‘In Fairy Land, where I live, there are many gigantic toadstools; some are brown and others red and white. I used too live at the top of a red and white toadstool, but after my wedding to
the Prince I would have lived in a magnificent castle at the heart of Fairy Land. It has high towers and many big courtyards. A large river runs round the castle walls and the roofs on the castle
are pale pinks, blues and greens, and against the blue sky there are lots of wonderful rainbows and white clouds. My world has three suns, and in the rays, the gold and Fairy dust that is sprinkled
over the castle, glitters and shines all day long - ’

‘ - D-did you just say…
three suns?
’ Megan interjected totally disbelievingly.

‘Hmm, yes, one is yellow, one is red and the other is orange,’ she replied and then resumed, ‘and within The Kingdom there are many, many different Lands with various
creatures. I have seen some of these, but my Father, who is a wise old Elf and journeyed far in his youth, used to tell me stories about others when I was little. If I remember rightly, the Dragons
live to the north of The Kingdom, and are mostly the size of your house.’

‘D-dragons?’
exclaimed Megan.

‘Yes.’

‘They
e-exist?
’

‘Yes-s, Megan, of-f course-e t-t-h-h-e-e-y-y d-do,’ replied Blossom, clearly amused, for she was giggling, ‘a-and all but one are my friends. All of us have lived in harmony
for many years until a Dragon named Abraxus wanted power. In the Dragon Land, all the Dragons chose a new Prince and Princess to rule and guard over them. When Abraxus realised he had not been
chosen to be the Prince he became very jealous and bitterly angry, and he vowed to himself that he would show the other Dragons how powerful he was.

‘Just after my wedding to Prince Elfin, I was enjoying the outdoor celebrations, as were all of The Kingdom, when a blue and white Dragon with enormous wings, a long trailing tail, and
horns and spikes on his head, descended into Fairy Land and kidnapped me. My brother, Nugget, saw what happened and followed Abraxus to the Land of the Unicorns, where he hoped to raise the alarm,
but Abraxus saw him and captured him too.

‘Using the old Magic, to rip a gateway between our world’s, he threw both of us into it, but only commanded that I turn into a statue of myself,’ explained Princess Blossom.
‘I have been here a long, long time in the form of a figurine waiting for a very special child to appear who believes in Magic and Fairy folk, so that one day I may be able to get back to my
Prince and Kingdom. When I saw you at the fete only I could see the light all around you, and I knew then that you were the child I had been waiting for, as you have a kind heart and truly believe
in us.
You
are The Fairy Key. That is the secret to unlocking the evil power of Abraxus.’

This piece of information did not serve to embolden Megan.

‘M-me?’
she croaked.

The Princess nodded.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, Megan.’

‘This can’t be right.
Me?
’

‘Yes.’

‘I mean…
me?
’

Again, the Princess nodded.

‘B-but why not a grown-up who holds the… k-key?’ Megan asked, her bamboozled senses now blatantly reeling.

‘That’ll take a long story to explain, but suffice to say that every child born has Magic within themselves, but here in your world, as that child becomes older, they lose their
Magic and stop believing in all that live within The Enchanted Kingdom,’ replied Blossom, with her tawny-brown eyes glinting brightly.

‘Oh, I see… um…’ Megan garbled uncomprehendingly, feeling headachy (indeed, she felt in dire need of an aspirin), then slumped further down her double-folded pillows,
‘err… is Nugget OK?’ she wanted to know.

‘I have not seen him since being thrown into your world,’ Blossom admitted miserably. ‘I simply do not know.’

Megan gulped.

‘D-do you think anyone has tried too come and rescue you?’ she pondered.

‘I have often thought about that. I don’t know what happened to Abraxus after he kidnapped me. He might have flown back to Fairy Land and told them of our fate, or he may have just
disappeared without telling my family and my Prince where Nugget and I are. All I know is I miss them so much,’ Blossom’s wings dropped again and her shoulders sagged.

Megan was sad that the small Fairy was upset. ‘Please don’t cry,’ she said tenderly.

‘I know, but it’s jolly hard when I miss my family so,’ Blossom confessed frankly with a soft sigh.

Megan racked her buzzing brain, which felt like wiggly blancmange, trying to think of something to say, to help cheer the Fairy Princess up. ‘You know when you said all children have
Magic? Well, do I have enough in me to help you get home?’ she asked perceptively, fully cottoning on to a trail of thought.

‘Oh,
y-yes,
’ sobbed Blossom enthusiastically, as she dabbed at the sparkly tears racing down her cheeks.

All of a sudden the door burst open like a thunderclap - Blossom became completely still - and glancing up Megan’s mouth hung open, for Lucy was materialized in the doorway.

‘Who are you talking too, Megan?’ she demanded, bustling in mercenarily.

Quick as a flash she improvised, ‘I was just singing too myself.’

Lucy was not to be fooled.

She rubbed her face, and with narrowing bleary eyes, intently inspected the room: she had been so
sure
she had overheard unmistakable nattering.

Megan did not much fancy the idea of Lucy having seen Princess Blossom come alive; this was her secret and she didn’t know if she was ready to share it - especially with Lucy.

Megan still looked vaguely evasive.

Lucy looked suspicious.

She was about to steamroller on in a pestering flow, but was interrupted when their Mum called from the bottom of the stairs. ‘Lucy, stop that banging! Go back too your own room now and go
to sleep.’

Reluctantly storming out of the room she slammed the door behind her.

‘That was close,’ whispered Megan, as Blossom flew into the air.

A simultaneous creak and a gasp of surprise made Megan and Blossom’s heads shoot up, only to see shifty eyes had reappeared, skulking round the chink of the door.

Much too her annoyance that her eyebrows were crossly knitted together, Megan realised this had been Lucy’s next tactic: to wait outside then speedily sneak up on her.

Whilst they exchanged stunned stares in a pregnant pause, a thud came from Megan’s half-opened window and they could see a fluttery blur. The rungs on the curtain rail
started to rattle a-rat-a-tat-tat, then the gap of the curtains
swooshed
, and suddenly, another Fairy launched into the bedroom!

Springing off the mattress, Megan bounded over too shut the door, and quickly clamped her hands over Lucy’s mouth to stifle her piggy squeal.

Blossom and the other Fairy met in midair. They bone-crushingly hugged and spun around which made Megan and Lucy feel quite woozy, as their light was like a spectacular Catherine-wheel banger at
a bonfire.

Shaking off Megan’s hand, Lucy asked thunderstruck. ‘
What
are they?’

As both Fairies flew companionably down, mouldy boots with unlaced eyelets landed on Megan’s quilt. Princess Blossom reassured, ‘It’s OK. This is my Brother, Nugget.’

The straggly-haired Elf was a bit taller than Blossom, his blue and rusty-orange wings were much wider and his smudged ears were pointier.

Grimy patches were caked on the elbows of his shabby jerkin, and the stained trousers (shredded in parts) showed signs of once being bottle green.

Megan dragged Lucy over to the bed: they unceremoniously flopped down as Blossom explained to Lucy and Nugget what had been happening.

Lucy’s eyes became so bug-eyed she eventually goggled, and with her wits rousing, said sternly. ‘You should have told me, Megan. I
am
your Sister, after
all.’

Nugget then described how he had been searching for his sister for a very long time and finally knew where she was, when she had shown herself to Megan. ‘But how did you know where I
was?’ Blossom asked bewilderedly.

Rummaging around in his pocket for something, he whipped out a flash of brown.

Lucy pursed her lips.

‘A leaf? Oh
Yuk!
’ she sneered, wrinkling her nose. ‘I can’t
believe
you have such a
filthy
thing in your pocket.’

‘This isn’t just any leaf, Lucy,’ Nugget corrected, looking dreadfully insulted. ‘This leaf was taken from a very special tree, which is of the oldest Magic.’

At first the leaf was scrunched up, then it began to unfurl slowly.

Speaking to Blossom, Nugget continued. ‘On the morning of your wedding, I went and asked the tree if I could have one of its special leaves, as a present for you. Not realising how the
Magic would bring me to you once you came out of the shell.’

Squeezing Nugget tightly, Blossom replied delightfully, ‘Thank you. I am so happy you are here.’ And she did look happy. Really happy.

He asked if she remembered the last thing that Abraxus said to them, as he threw them into the dark portal. Blossom’s inner mind sought through her bitter reminiscences. ‘Yes, I do.
He said that he would destroy our Land, and then the entire Kingdom.’

Nugget clicked his fingers, and in a schoolmasterly voice, urged. ‘We need to go back. We have to see what that evil Dragon has done. If what you say is true, that this human child called
Megan is in fact The Fairy Key,’ here, he bowed, ‘then she will need too come with us to open the gateway between our world’s.’

At this point, Lucy, who didn’t know Abraxus was a Dragon, jumped up and flinging her plait, ‘A Dragon? No-one mentioned Dragons earlier,’ she shrieked. ‘Why would Megan
want to help you fight a
Dragon?
’

Megan rounded on Lucy. ‘Without my help, they cannot go back home. But don’t worry; it’ll be all right. I promise.’

‘
What
do you mean you’re going to
help?
You
can’t
go off to this Kingdom, Megan,’ Lucy fretted. ‘You don’t know how it
works!
I
mean, what if you go, then when you come back, we’ve gotten older but you’re still young?’

Blossom flapped forward a little, so she was in front of Lucy, and soothed. ‘It’s OK, Lucy. I understand. But if she does decide to help us, I promise that when she returns not a
second would have been lost.’

Lucy stared down at her purple, fluffy-slippered feet, mulled for a whole ten seconds and then looking up at Megan, she slyly smirked.

Facing Blossom, she said triumphantly, ‘Children have Magic, do they? Well, then I’m coming too.’

Thoroughly startled, Megan snarled in protest.
‘You can’t!’

Crossing her arms, Lucy challenged gloatingly, ‘Oh
yes
, I can. I might not be this so-called
Fairy Key thing
, but if you don’t let me come, then I will go and tell Mum
and Dad.’

Megan couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

This was too much. She felt hacked off. Her cornflower-blue eyes flashed and her cheeks flushed crimson. ‘Don’t you dare tell them. I’m fed-up of you always wanting your own
way,’ she seethed querulously, ‘just because you’re the youngest!’