Farrah in Fairyland (21 page)

The
feeling of relief left Farrah’s body as
the image of the
Queen stared directly at her. The terrified look
on the Queen’s face was plainly seen by the three fairies looking
up at the image. She was panting heavily, as if she had been on the
fly for a long period, probably to escape some Cornuto Creatures,
thought Farrah.

“My Queen,
what is it?” asked Farrah, sounding uneasy.

“I need your
help, Farrah.”

Farrah
hesitated. “But what can
I
do,
my Queen?”

“I don’t want
to talk about it here. Meet me at the castle, and I’ll explain the
details there. Oh, and bring the Star of Fantaseea with you.”

Before Farrah
had a chance to respond, the image disappeared. She turned to her
parents for advice.

“What should I
do?”

“Well, Farrah,
when the Queen asks for something, a fairy must oblige. It is your
duty to do so,” responded Farrah’s father, as his wife took out her
pouch of dust and tended to his wounds.

“Your father’s
right, Farrah. You must go, but please be careful and take some of
this with you.”

Farrah’s
mother handed her a scoop of baker’s dust, which Farrah took
reluctantly.

“What am I
going to do with this, Mom?”

“My dear,
baker’s dust is more powerful than you know. Just take it.”

Farrah kissed
her father and mother on their foreheads and walked out the front
door where Bella sat on the front porch. Farrah hopped atop her
back and patted her head.

“To The Royal
Castle,” she requested.

Bella scrapped
her hind leg backwards a few times and darted off into the sky.
From what Farrah could see, the Cornuto Creatures had all gone, but
the damage was already done. The wonderfulness that was Fairyland
had taken a severe pummelling. The river was filled with so much
debris that it no longer looked like water, but more like a pile of
mud.

Buildings had
toppled over and ancient trees had been destroyed. Many families
had gathered on the front lawns, where their homes used to stand,
to gather in prayer. Farrah got a true glimpse of the carnage when
she flew deep into the forest. The bodies of dead fairies, stripped
of their wings lay scattered throughout the thick brush. Neither
was the animals spared, with many lying headless amongst the shrubs
below. Farrah cringed as she flew overhead, keeping her mouth
closed out of fear that she would vomit once again.

Bella flew
over the bricked path that led to the royal castle. It stretched
out beyond the forest at the other end of the land. As Farrah
approached, she couldn’t help but notice how unspectacular the
castle now looked. The immaculate castle had always been the
epitome of beauty. Farrah could remember taking the long way home
from school just to get a look at the rose pedal structure. At that
moment, as Farrah hovered above, all she could think of was how the
once tremendous castle now looked like the rubble of an ancient
relic.

The centre
building had most of its roof destroyed. As for the building that
stood to the right of the main entrance, not much remained. A
spectacular blast produced a massive hole that obliterated the
entire top floor.

Bella brought
herself down just in front of the centre building. Upon closer
inspection, the castle looked even more devastated. The
cross-shaped door had broken away from the hinges and lay on the
ground. Fearing that Bella would cut her feet on the shards of
glass that covered the ground, Farrah jumped off her back and
instructed her to stay put.

“Be careful,”
she warned as she carefully stepped onto the fallen door and
through the entrance of the centre building.

The interior
looked no better. Glass from broken windows and chandeliers was
scattered everywhere. Beyond the front hall, Farrah noticed the
grand staircase that led to the King and Queen’s quarters. Although
Farrah had never seen the castle up close before, she knew that the
staircase led to the royal chambers. She remembered seeing it in
paintings at the Fairyland Museum of Art.

The current
condition of the staircase, however, was something that no artist
would have any desire to paint. The railing had been smashed with
flanks of wood having pelted the ground. Much of the marble floor
had also been destroyed. Farrah avoided the large cracks in the
floor as she approached the staircase. The steps were severely
damaged, rendering it useless. Peering over her shoulder at her
despicable wings, Farrah wondered how she was going to make it up
to see the Queen.

Standing at
the bottom of the staircase, Farrah knew that the only way she
would make it up to the second floor was to float. Fluttering her
wings back and forth rapidly to generate speed, she was about to
leap, when the Queen emerged at the top of the staircase.

“My dear
Farrah. Thank you so much for coming.”

Noticing that
Farrah was having some difficulty, she decided to join her at the
bottom of the stairs. Relieved, Farrah bowed to the Queen who
looked much calmer than when she had called Farrah’s home.

The Queen took
Farrah’s hand.

“Follow me, my
dear. We’ll go to the middle court of the castle. There are Securo
Fairies all around, waiting in the balconies. They have been
instructed to keep close watch. We will be safe there.”

The Queen
continued to speak to Farrah as they walked hand and hand.

“Farrah,
Fairyland has suffered and unimaginable loss today. Not only has
the King been killed, but a number of important fairies have also
gone missing. From our count, over 300 Fairy Godmothers and Fathers
along with 200 Fairy Prince and Princesses have all gone missing.
Another 200 Mezmo and Tinker Fairies are presumed dead. Although
the official numbers aren’t in yet, our Intel is telling us that a
massive number of Aqua and Forest Fairies have been captured by
those retched Cornuto Creatures.”

Farrah gasped
as the Queen swallowed nervously before she spoke again.

“Oh, my dear,
you haven’t heard the worst part yet. According to Securo
Intelligence, the number of Tooth Fairies that have gone missing is
at 500 and counting. It appears that it was the Tooth Fairies that
were targeted by the Cornuto for their wings.”

Farrah’s jaw
dropped in horror as they walked into the middle courtyard. The
Queen took a seat on a bench directly in front of an artificial
pond. It was filled with countless Willibilly lizards. They were
chasing each other around the pink Lilly pads, hopping from one to
another. Their blue bodies curled up like rubbers balls when they
spotted Farrah and the Queen. They bounced high into an Angelhair
tree that hung over the pond, like a bowl full of spaghetti. The
Queen requested Farrah to sit next to her on the bench.

“Farrah, I
fear that Fairyland will not be able to recover from this. You may
or may not know that the population of Fairyland has been steadily
decreasing for the last ten years. It has gotten to the point that
worker production is almost at a stand still. We barely had enough
fairypower necessary to keep our land running. And this was before
all the Cornuto devastation.”

The Queen had
been looking down at Farrah’s frail hands. She had her doubts about
Farrah being the saviour, but she also knew that she was
Fairyland’s last hope.

“
I hope I am doing the right thing.”
The Queen thought to herself just before
she looked up to Farrah. She placed her hand under her chin to
raise it eye level.

“Farrah, even
if we were able to rebuild our land, the loss of Tooth Fairies is
far too great. We will not be able to harvest enough children’s
teeth to produce our Fairy dust. Without the dust, no Fairy will be
able to perform their jobs and Fairyland will cease to exist.”

Farrah looked
on in shock. She was unsure how to respond to what she had just
heard. All she could picture was the young fairy boys and girls
wearing tattered clothing, crawling on their hands and knees,
looking for something, anything to eat. Shaking the gruesome image
out of her head, she finally spoke.

“What can I do
to help?”

The Queen was
impressed with Farrah’s determination, despite the dire
circumstances.

“First things
first, my dear. My Securo Fairies have discovered the portal where
the Cornuto creatures entered Fairyland. We must destroy the
portal! It is the only way to cease any further devastation to our
land…you brought the Star of Fantaseea with you, right?”

“Yes I did,”
responded Farrah as she took it out from her pocket.

“Give it to
me, Farrah,” Requested the Queen as she outstretched her hand.

“But my
Queen…”

“Please,
Farrah, there is no time to waste.”

Although
Farrah tried to warn the Queen, it was too late. As she grabbed a
hold of the star, her body was jolted with a severe shock. She was
knocked backwards onto the ground. Hearing the thud of her skull
against the floor, Farrah rushed to help her.

“Are you Okay
my Queen?”

“Yes, I’m
fine,” she said, feeling embarrassed as she dusted off the dirt
from her robes.

“I tried to
warn you, my Queen.”

“Oh, don’t be
silly, my child, I should have known better. Only a Tuttatti can
touch the Star of Fantaseea,” she said, winking at Farrah.

Farrah was
flattered that the Queen thought so highly of her. Of course, this
did nothing to halt the nervousness that Farrah felt. She began to
feel sick at the thought of letting down the Queen and subsequently
all of Fairyland. She had no idea what to do when she arrived at
the portal, but she hoped that once she stood before it, she would
get a little divine help.

Farrah followed
directly behind the Queen. It seemed like they had been walking
through the forest for hours, the Queen having opted not to fly out
of respect for Farrah. Her shoeless feet were getting sore and her
brain was more than just a little tired, as Farrah struggled to
keep up with the Queen. For an older woman, she walked effortlessly
and energetically. Nonetheless, Farrah appreciated that the Queen
decided not to fly, knowing that Farrah would not be able to keep
up on foot.

Farrah was
impressed as she dodged the hanging branches with ease. Finally,
just over a hill covered with red popidilly flowers, was the
enormous portal.

The portal
looked like a giant black hole – vastly infinite. Wanting to be
cautious, the Queen slowed her pace.

“
Farrah,
crouch down here for a moment. I think it prudent that we wait for
a moment to make sure that the coast is clear. Even though I have
confidence in your ability to defeat
one
Cornuto creature, against two or three it could prove a
challenge, even for a Tuttatti.”

“No problem,
my Queen,” answered Farrah as she ducked down near the top of the
hill. While she crouched behind a boulder, she snuck a peek at the
star in her pocket, hoping for some inspiration from the Star.

It didn’t take
long for the Queen to determine that it was safe to approach the
portal. She ordered the Securo Fairies to take their position in a
half moon formation in front of the portal. Confident, the Queen
walked toward the opening. Farrah followed behind, once again
clutching the Star of Fantaseea for comfort.

The two
fairies were dwarfed as they stood before the portal. They looked
like two baby teeth protruding out the bottom of yawning baby’s
mouth. Farrah had never seen anything like it before. The opening
looked as if it was filled with black tar. Nothing could be seen or
heard as they stood before it, which calmed Farrah’s nerves for the
moment.

“Okay, Farrah,
do your thing,” requested the Queen as she took a step back from
the portal to give her some space.

“O--kay, I’ll
give it a shot.” Replied Farrah, not sounding overly confident.

Farrah closed
her eyes and tried to concentrate. She was hoping that one of her
instincts would guide her once again. Unlike the times before
however, nothing came to her. She had nothing, not a single idea as
to how she could destroy the portal.

Not wanting to
worry the Queen, Farrah peered over her shoulder and smiled at her.
The Queen smiled back giving her thumbs up for encouragement.
Farrah quickly snapped her head back in the direction of the
portal. Figuring that she had delayed long enough, she decided to
give the only idea she had a try. Taking out the Star of Fantaseea,
she placed it on the ground a few feet back form the portal. Farrah
backed away from the star and waited.

Both the Queen
and Farrah locked their eyes on the star, but nothing happened. It
didn’t glow, nor become warm, not a spark- nothing. Farrah turned
to look at the Queen who for the first time looked nervous.

“Farrah, what
happened?” asked the Queen as she took a step toward the Star to
inspect it further.

“I don’t
know?” Replied Farrah as she ran up to the Star. She tapped it a
few times, hoping to get things going.

Deciding to
abandon the idea, she picked up the star and put it back into her
pocket. The Queen joined her at her side placing a hand on her
shoulder.

“Just relax,
Farrah. Listen to your inner voice. The answer will come to you,”
said the Queen sounding unusually calm.

“Thank you, my
Queen. I promise it won’t be much longer.” At that moment, Farrah
thought of the Queen as a friend and not as the fancy jewellery
wearing, hand waving machine that she had always regarded her.

Farrah sat on
the grass. She held her chin pensively as she tried to think of a
plan. Still nothing came to her. The Queen had become nervous once
again, as she returned to pacing back and forth up the side of the
mountain. Suddenly, a loud sound rumbled inside the Portal. As
Farrah and the Queen looked on nervously, the rumbling had grown in
intensity.