Unpleasant Encounters with Fairies – part 6
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over the years, it’s that dealing with royalty can be tricky. On the one hand, you want to make them listen to you, but on the other, you really don’t want to do it in a way that riles them.
Too late. Queen Amabilis’ eyes were like stones. “You have only yourself to blame for what happens next.”
“Look,” I croaked, my throat suddenly dry. “Can’t we can talk about this like reasonable adults?”
“The time for being reasonable has passed. You saw to that.”
She made a sweeping gesture with one arm, raised her other arm above her head, and snapped her fingers. With a sigh as soft as melting snow, the moss filling the room faded away, revealing we were in one of the castle’s many empty reception rooms. Tattered threads of decaying tapestries drew attention to the arrangements of rusty swords and maces nailed to the stone wall between them. Far across the dusty floor, I saw through the doorway, gaping like a dead man’s mouth, that the corridor was clear of moss too.
My spirits lifted. It seemed the queen had got rid of all the moss that had been choking the castle. So far, things weren’t going badly.
I shouldn’t have been so naive.
The queen smiled in a way that wasn’t comforting in the slightest. “Now there’s nothing blocking our view. We’ll all be able to watch you as you die.”
The crowd of fairies laughed. I was sure there were more of them lining the walls now than when I’d been frogmarched into the room.
“Where are you, new fairy?” said Amabilis, looking across the open floor at the sea of faces around us.
A hand went up in the crowd, and a fairy stepped forward. She was a little taller than those nearby. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders in light brown waves. Her outfit of ankle boots, dark grey trousers, and a green leather jerkin over a white shirt were neater and cleaner than anyone else’s in the room, including mine. As she approached I thought her ears seemed small for a fairy, and her eyes larger. There was something odd about her wings, like they’d been cut out of cardboard. The tip was missing from one of them.
“At your service, Your Majesty,” she said, bowing.
“What is your name, child?” said the queen.
“Trewla, Your Majesty.”
“Trewla who?”
“Oh, er, Buttercup. Trewla Buttercup.”
“I see. Well, Trewla Buttercup, you haven’t been in my court long. It’s time to prove your loyalty.”
Trewla’s eyebrows shot up, then she composed her features and said, “Of course, Your Majesty. Nothing could please me more.”
“You are going to teach this miscreant a lesson. I’m going to cast a spell that will make you human-sized, then I’ll release him. Seeing as he shrunk himself to the same size as us, it is fitting that he will learn what it’s like to be harassed by an enormous brute. And to be sorry once he’s been crushed under your foot.”
I raised my hand. “Could I point out that I have to be alive to be sorry.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll be sorry. Even if it’s only for the last few seconds of your pitiful life.” Queen Amabilis glared at me. “Enough chitchat. It’s time for the fun to begin.”
“Fun?” I said.
A thin-lipped smiled twisted her face again. “Well, for you, perhaps not so much. You’re going to be the prey in a hunt. And, to make it even more fun, I’ll give you a head start.”
She snapped out a stream of words, and waved her fingers at Trewla.
There was a burst of light. Ribbons of smoke filled the air, then cleared, revealing a giant fairy standing next to me. The queen and I only came up to her ankle.
“Run, little man,” said the queen. She grinned at me. “You’ve got a minute before I send Trewla after you.”
“Are you sure we can’t talk about this?” I glanced at Trewla towering above me, then turned back to the queen. “We could be friends, you know.”
“You’re wasting time. You’d better start running.”
I could see by the glint in her eyes there was no point arguing.
Once again, I cursed my poor memory for spells. If I could only remember the spell I’d cast to shrink myself, I could end this nightmare by saying it backwards and return to my usual size.
But cursing didn’t help. My only hope was to return to my study and read the spell in reverse from my spell book.
And avoid getting stomped on by an oversized fairy along the way.
I ran as fast as my tiny legs could carry me.
***
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