by Sarah Noffke
“He didn’t come in for dinner,” Ainsley answered. “I haven’t seen him all day.”
“He might be trying to repair things on the Expanse,” Mahkah offered.
Sophia hadn’t remembered seeing the groundskeeper on the Expanse when she and Wilder crossed to the Barrier to get food.
“Well, as soon as someone finds him,” Hiker ordered, standing from the table, having not eaten anything, “send him to my office immediately. We need to figure out what is happening here.”
“But what about the adjudication cases, sir?” Evan questioned.
Hiker shook his head. “Cases will come after we figure out what’s happening. The Castle comes first.”
“Are you serious?” Evan challenged. “It’s just a building.”
Hiker stopped abruptly at the entrance to the dining hall. “The Castle isn’t just a building. It is an extension of the Dragon Elite. It is our home and our sanctuary. If something is wrong with the Castle, something is wrong with all of us. Mahkah, I want you and the dragons out on the Expanse, manning the borders.”
Sophia’s annoyed expression was caught by Hiker immediately.
“Of course, I mean, guarding the borders,” Hiker amended. “Evan and Wilder, you need—”
“To go and check on Quiet,” Mama Jamba declared, coming around Hiker to stand next to him. She was much shorter than the large man, and she looked funny when she stood so close to him.
Hiker looked down at her, his eyes crinkling with stress. “Where is Quiet?” the Viking asked. “Is he with the dragon eggs?”
She shook her head. “Oh, no. He hasn’t left his room all day. Your groundskeeper is quite sick.”
Hiker was confused. “Sick? What do you mean?”
“Sick,” Mama Jamba said, drawing the word out. “You know that thing mortals get.”
“I know what it is,” Hiker argued. “But the Castle ensures we don’t get sick. Ever.”
“Right. And there are obvious problems with the Castle.” Her eyes darted to the food on the table. “Is that curry? I could really use some of that in my life.”
Hiker snapped at her. “Mama, tell us what’s going on?”
She was momentarily distracted by the food before pulling her attention back to Hiker. “Oh, with the Castle?”
“Yes, with the Castle,” he barked.
She smiled sweetly. “I can’t really say.”
“You can’t or you won’t?” he questioned.
“Oh, let’s not quibble words, my dear, especially when I’m hungry and the food smells so good,” Mama Jamba asserted.
Ainsley crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I didn’t make this.”
“But others can make food just as good as yours,” Mama Jamba consoled. “It’s not a competition, dear.”
“Mama,” Hiker started, an edge to his voice.
She turned to face him directly. “Son, it appears your groundskeeper has fallen ill because the Castle is ill and can’t repair itself or anyone else. And yes, the Barrier is down, and the Expanse is dying. I’m sorry, but those are the cold, hard facts. You’ve obviously got several problems on your hands. Instead of questioning me, who will give you no answers and only wants to eat curry, why don’t you go and fix your problems? Or at least try to.”
Hiker sighed, obviously unhappy with her answer, and stormed off. The other riders sped off after their leader, seeking their assignments. Sophia stayed back as she sensed Mama Jamba had something to say to her by the way Mama had looked at her when she took a seat.
“It’s a strange thing that’s happened to the Castle, isn’t it?” the old woman asked casually as if talking about the weather. She spooned chicken makhani onto her plate as Ainsley began to clean up the other dishes.
“Very strange,” Sophia said, carefully watching Mama Jamba.
“Although my heart really goes out to the Castle, I feel most for the groundskeeper laid up in bed,” Mama Jamba went on, taking in the aromatic scents as the steam wafted up from the plate. “I mean, the men and Ainsley will look after the Castle and the grounds, but who will look after Quiet?”
Sophia didn’t answer. Instead, she lowered her chin and regarded the woman in front of her, waiting for more information she was certain she’d soon receive. She was used to playing this game with Mother Nature. She knew how the woman worked, delivering bits of information and implying things.
“If only there was someone who could find something to help the gnome to feel better,” Mama Jamba mused to herself.
“Shouldn’t we focus on fixing the Castle, and then it can heal Quiet?” Sophia reasoned.
Mama Jamba took a bite of the curry, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the flavors. “That’s a good thought, but who knows how long that could take or if it would work? Meanwhile, poor Quiet is really ill.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to wait for the Castle to be fixed if I were him.”
“Good girl,” Mama Jamba commended.
“I’m no expert on healing magic, though,” Sophia protested. “Shouldn’t I recruit Hester DeVries?”
Mama Jamba considered this for a moment before shaking her head. “Although Hester is very capable, I think you need a different type of expert for this. Someone with specialized knowledge who knows things and is in a unique position to help you. A fairy godmother, if you will.” She brought a full fork of food up to her mouth and paused, a sneaky grin on her face. “I only wished you had someone like that you could call on to help you. Because I can’t figure out any way to fix things even if the men do everything they think is right.” The blue of Mother Nature’s eyes when she looked up at Sophia was almost assaulting. “Oh, this is delicious, isn’t it? Good thing we can still eat when the Castle is dying…”
Chapter Twenty
Sophia didn’t know why Mama Jamba didn’t just tell her what she needed to do, but she wasn’t going to start doubting the wisdom of the goddess. She needed to go see Mae Ling at the nail salon. Apparently, she’d know what to do for Quiet.
It made her nervous, leaving the Gullington when things were in such chaos. When she’d gone out to the Barrier, the guys had already taken posts at different sides of the Expanse. In less than an hour, things had worsened. Sophia noticed the grass was wilting and turning brown, something that never happened in Scotland where everything was green year-round.
She heard the footsteps before he spoke. “Where are you going?” Wilder called at her back.
The wind whipped through her hair as she turned to face him. She felt breathless. “Mama Jamba sent me on an errand to try and help Quiet.”
“But shouldn’t we focus on fixing the Gullington, then the Castle will help him?” he questioned.
She nodded. “That was my thought too, but Mama Jamba insisted. Someone has to help Quiet.”
“He’s very old,” Wilder said as he took a step forward, his voice barely audible over the whistling wind. His dark hair was even more chaotic than usual. “Without the aid of the Castle, who knows what could be wrong with him. It might have been keeping him alive for quite some time.”
Sophia sucked in a breath, having not considered this. The riders could thank the chi of the dragon for their longevity, but the Castle was the reason Ainsley and Quiet lived as long as they had without aging. “That just means I need to hurry.”
“Do you want my help?” Wilder asked.
She did, but Sophia knew she needed to go on this mission alone. Mama Jamba hadn’t said she couldn’t tell anyone Mae Ling helped her, but it felt like a secret. Girls weren’t supposed to tell people they had a fairy godmother, right? She didn’t remember Cinderella sharing that information with Prince Charming. As she was prone to doing, Sophia followed her instinct. “No, stay here and help guard the eggs. I’ll return as soon as I can.”
The reluctant expression on Wilder’s face seemed to speak of more than just his stress regarding the current situation. “Okay, well, be careful then. We’ll be here.”
She backed away, nodding, and swall
owed the tension that rose in her throat. Another gust of wind knocked her hair back into her face. “You be careful too,” Sophia said before she turned and sprinted for the Barrier.
The huge nail salon was bustling with customers when Sophia arrived. Mae’s Beauty Emporium was even busier than the last time she’d been there. Sophia wasn’t worried she wouldn’t be able to get in to see her fairy godmother. Mae Ling had said she’d always be available, and Sophia didn’t need to make an appointment.
Confidently, Sophia squeezed through the crowd of waiting patrons to the reception desk.
“Hi,” she called over the loud chatter in the salon. “I’m here to see Mae Ling.”
The receptionist didn’t look up from her iPhone as she chewed her gum. “Mae is out.”
“Oh, but…” Sophia didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t expected that.
“Do you want to make an appointment with someone else?” the woman asked, her focus still directed at the Instagram feed she was scrolling through.
“No, I only want to see Mae,” Sophia said, chewing on her lip and thinking. Her fairy godmother had told her she’d always be able to find her when she needed her help, but it didn’t appear that was entirely true. “Is there a way I can get hold of her? A phone number or something?”
The woman shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t give that information out to just anyone.” She indicated with her head an envelope sitting on the side of the desk. “Unless your name is S. Beaufont.”
“Wait,” Sophia said, hope fluttering in her chest. “I am S. Beaufont. Is that for me?”
The woman finally glanced up and looked her over. “Why didn’t you say so? Yeah, Mae Ling said you’d be by and I should give you this.”
Sophia took the letter sealed with a wax emblem. She had no idea how her fairy godmother knew the things she did, but she was grateful. It appeared once again Mae Ling had anticipated her needs. Now Sophia hoped she could help her with the groundskeeper of the Gullington, or she feared he might die as the Castle withered away.
Chapter Twenty-One
The note Mae Ling left for Sophia made no sense, which was pretty much status quo for her life.
Dear S. Beaufont,
Currently, I’m away at school. Since you haven’t been accepted into our academic institution, you can’t portal here directly. Therefore, when ready, simply break the wax seal on the outside of the letter, and it will send you through to my location.
Sincerely,
Mae Ling
Your Fairy Godmother
School, Sophia wondered and furrowed her brow. In the back of her mind, she recalled a faint memory where Bermuda Laurens mentioned fairy godmother college. She had thought the woman was joking, but then remembered giants weren’t much for jokes. It seemed fairy godmother school was real, and Sophia was about to see it for herself.
She peeled the wax seal off the envelope, noticing a symbol of a hand on it. Holding her breath, she broke the emblem in two.
The sensation of portaling was much different than she was used to. It felt like someone wrapped a cord around her sternum and yanked her straight up into the air. The wind was deafening, and then everything went black. Her stomach flipped over three times before the portal spit her out on a grassy lawn. Sophia sucked in a breath. The sight in front wasn’t something she had expected, though, in hindsight, she should have.
Fairy godmother college didn’t look like any academic institution she’d ever seen.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sophia didn’t know specifically where the fairy godmother college was located, but she knew the location was miles from anything because the portal had transported her to the top of a hill where she could see green rolling hills for miles around.
The breeze wafting across her face wasn’t as aggressive as the winds at the Gullington, and she was grateful. The air didn’t smell like Scotland’s, but she didn’t know if she was in America, Europe or some other country.
She guessed that much like the Gullington, the fairy godmother college location was meant to stay secret from outsiders. She was appreciative she’d gotten a pass and would get to see the mysterious place people trained to become fairy godmothers. She had so many questions. Like was it only women? Was that sexist? What if a man wanted to be a fairy godmother?
As the first female dragonrider in history, she resented any organization that closed their doors to someone because of their gender, but she did find the idea of guys as fairy godmothers strange. There were so many other questions about magical races who qualified.
Sophia wondered how people were chosen for the position? Did they get a letter from a snowy owl inviting them to the special school? How long was the education? A year? A few? It seemed to Sophia if a mortal’s bachelor's degree took four years to complete and medical degrees at least eight years, fairy godmothers who would be in charge of directing someone’s path should take a significant length of time.
At the bottom of the hill, there was a winding path that led to a building Sophia would have expected to find on any ivy league campus. It was a large two-story brick building with arched windows and a set of pink double doors. Running from the doors to the start of the path was a long rainbow striped rug. The bright colors were such a strange contrast to the rich green grass and brown building. Sophia felt like someone had sprinkled a bit of the circus onto a stuffy brick and mortar building.
She took note of several details around the building as she hiked down to the college. The grounds of the fairy godmother college were similar to mortal campuses, with stretched out lawns and trees with large canopies that created shade for the students lounging about or chatting on benches.
These students didn’t look out of the ordinary. They didn’t have large fairy wings like the fae did when not glamoured, nor did they have large colorful hair, as Sophia had imagined. They certainly weren’t wearing ball gowns and carrying around wands.
Much like Mae Ling, they all looked quite normal. Most were wearing a school uniform, which included a pleated skirt with the same rainbow colors as the rug runner and starched button-up shirts the same pink of the doors at the entrance to the school. As far as Sophia could tell, all of them were women.
She didn’t know where to actually look to find Mae Ling but suspected she’d be led to the strange woman, or there would be a message waiting at the front office.
When Sophia opened the front door to the school, she was overwhelmed by the scent of sugar in the air. It was as if she’d entered a candy store where fresh fudge sat on the countertop and bins of ice cream waited to be scooped for hungry children.
The interior of the school was just as perplexing as the outside. The rainbow-striped rug ran the length of the long hallway and disappeared at the far side at another set of pink double doors. Other doors lined the hall and were the same boring brick as the exterior. Sophia had never been to a place so normal with so many elements of whimsy.
Bustling through the halls were students, Sophia guessed and realized almost immediately why she was getting strange looks. She wasn’t wearing the school uniform but her silver and blue armor and carrying a sword. The sword always got her curious looks with a bit of caution.
A group of girls turned to gawk at Sophia, whispering to each other as they pointed, and disregarding any manners. Sophia knew she looked out of place. She obviously was. It would have been nice if the girls had acknowledged her and asked if she needed directions instead of pointing and gossiping.
She knew it shouldn’t matter. She was the outsider and should expect to be treated as such, but the experience reminded her of when she was young, and the kids at the House of Fourteen school had made her an outcast because she was different. Her sister Reese had reminded her they treated her that way because she was different, but that didn’t make her feel better then or now.
“They aren’t staring at you because you look different,” an unfamiliar voice said at Sophia’s shoulder.
She hadn’t noticed the p
erson who came up beside her, which was unusual since her reflexes and enhanced senses made it nearly impossible for anyone to sneak up on her.
A woman stood next to her, wearing a serene smile with an air of authority about it. Unlike the students, she wasn’t dressed in the school uniform. Instead, she had a high-waisted blue satin dress that puffed out as though it was supported underneath with a puffy petticoat. Her long brown hair framed her face, and her brown eyes seemed to have an actual spark about them. She had the reddest lips, which perfectly matched her large dangling earrings.
“Why are they staring at me?” Sophia finally asked, finding her voice.
The woman batted her long eyelashes. “Because you’re S. Beaufont. It’s not every day we get a celebrity here.” She laughed politely. “Honestly, it’s not every day we get a visitor, but Professor Ling made a special request, and I honored it.”
Sophia blushed, not knowing where to start with what the woman had said. “Oh, I’m not a celebrity.”
The woman shook her head. “A child born to Guinevere and Theodore Beaufont, one of the youngest to receive her magic, first female dragonrider, and sister to Warrior Liv Beaufont, and you don’t think you’re a celebrity?”
Sophia released a frustrated breath. “Oh, well, those are all things I happen to be, but they aren’t of my doing. You can’t choose what family you’re born into, and I only had my magic so early because my twin died.”
The woman smiled, but it wasn’t a sweet one this time. It seemed to say, “Drop the act. I don’t like it.”
“Oh, well, I guess I should have also included you’re our best chance of avoiding a second Great War,” the woman stated matter-of-factly.
“Wait. What?” Sophia questioned, thrown off by this statement.
Instead of answering her question, the woman extended a hand, her fingernails the same aquamarine of her dress. “My name is Willow, and I’m the headmistress for the fairy godmother college, Happily Ever After.”