A Valentine's Surprise

by Helen Perelman

  “Not likely,” Cocoa muttered. “He saw a broken fence as an invitation.”

  “Sweet sugar,” Raina gasped. “We need to get Lyra stronger so that she can sing and get back to guarding the meadow.” She looked at her friends. “And we need to tell Berry. She’s not going to handle this well.”

  “And Berry’s birthday is tomorrow,” Melli added sadly. “This doesn’t seem like a time for celebrating at all.”

  Raina took a deep breath. “Dash and I came here to get one of Lyra’s flowers so we could make Berry’s birthday gift extra-sweet.” Raina looked over at Fruit Chew Meadow and sighed. “We still have time to solve this mystery and to make Berry’s birthday and Valentine’s Day special.” She looked at the worried expressions on her friends’ faces. “We have to at least try.”

  A Salty Problem

  When the four friends returned to the far end of Fruit Chew Meadow, Berry was still sitting next to Lyra. The unicorn had not moved since they had left. Berry was stroking Lyra’s neck and singing softly.

  “Gentle breeze and sweet light,” Berry sang out, “flavors of the rainbow grow bright . . .”

  “How is Lyra?” Raina asked, kneeling beside her friend. The white unicorn was still asleep and her horn was still dull. Not a trace was visible of the colors that normally glowed from her horn. “Did she wake up?”

  “Yes, she took a few sips of the nectar but then dozed off again,” Berry said. “Did you find any clues?”

  Raina decided not to sugarcoat the truth. “We found a broken fence and a trail of salt,” she told her.

  “Salt?!” Berry exclaimed. Her eyes were wide and full of concern.

  Raina knew that Berry was aware of the dangers of salt in the meadow.

  “Oh, this is worse than we thought,” Berry said softly. She looked into Raina’s eyes. “It’s Mogu, isn’t it?”

  “We’re not sure,” Raina told Berry. “But the first thing we need to do is get rid of the salt. If we can clear the area, maybe Lyra will be able to speak to us and tell us what happened.”

  “Let’s try to wash all the flowers off,” Berry said.

  Raina smiled at her Fruit Fairy friend. “That’s what I thought too. We’ll make a spring rain to take the salt away. We can go to Red Licorice Lake for the water.”

  “I’ll stay with Lyra,” Berry offered. She looked down at the gentle unicorn. “She seems to do better when I sing to her.”

  Raina gave her friend a quick hug. “That is a great idea,” she said. “You stay here.”

  The four fairies flew down to the shores of Red Licorice Lake. They each grabbed a bucket from a nearby shed. Buckets were kept there in case of droughts or other emergencies.

  This is definitely an emergency, thought Raina.

  “Once the salt is gone, Lyra will feel better, right?” Dash asked Raina as she filled up her bucket.

  “I hope so,” Raina replied. She didn’t know for sure, but she knew that the salt was causing Lyra to grow weak and sick. “Come, let’s hurry,” she urged her friends.

  Together, the fairies flew up and down the meadow. They poured the water over the wilted flowers and washed the white salt away. With each trip to the lake, the salt was slowly disappearing. It took many trips and bucketfuls of water, but soon the wet meadow didn’t have a trace of salt.

  Then the fairies gathered back around Lyra and Berry.

  “How is Lyra?” Raina asked as they flew up.

  “She’s a little better,” Berry told her. “Getting rid of the salt has helped. I can see she’s a little stronger.”

  “This still doesn’t make sense to me,” Raina said. She sat down next to Berry, tapping her finger to her head. “Mogu is afraid of Lyra. Why would he even come here?”

  “Who would be afraid of a sweet unicorn?” Dash asked.

  “When it comes to Mogu, there isn’t always a solid reason,” Berry told her.

  “I remember those tall stalks of salty pretzels in Black Licorice Swamp,” Cocoa told her friends. “If there is salt here, I’m sure it’s because of Mogu and the Chuchies.”

  Raina knew that Cocoa was remembering the time when she flew to Black Licorice Swamp. Mogu and his mischievous companions, the Chuchies, had stolen her chocolate eggs. Cocoa had tricked Mogu into giving them back. The Chocolate Fairy knew all about the troll’s salty ways.

  “If there is salt here, Mogu is probably to blame,” Cocoa said again. “His greed will drive him to do anything.” Thinking of her chocolate eggs made Cocoa stamp her foot. “We have to trick Mogu again,” she said. “Cleaning up the meadow may solve the problem for now, but that troll will be back.”

  “Especially if Lyra isn’t guarding the flowers,” Melli added. “There’s nothing here to stop him.”

  “We’re here now,” Raina said bravely. “It’s sticky business to trick a troll,” she reminded her friends. She reached into her bag. “I know I’ve heard a story about Mogu and Lyra. Maybe there’s a clue in a story that can help us.”

  Raina took out her Fairy Code Book and thumbed through the pages.

  Dash sat down next to her. “I can’t imagine Mogu being afraid of anything.”

  Flipping through the book, Raina agreed. “Yes, yes, I’m sure I’ve read a story in here about Mogu and Lyra. I think it was about Lyra’s pointy horn.”

  Laughing, Berry slapped her hand to her knee. “I bet that horn can come in handy when dealing with Mogu,” she said, giggling.

  “What is the story?” Dash asked. She was growing impatient.

  “Mogu was once pricked by Lyra’s horn when he tried to steal her fruit-chew flowers,” Raina read from the thick book. She turned the book around to show her friends the picture. “I knew there was a story!”

  “Ha!” Dash burst out. “Look at that!” She pointed to a picture of Mogu with a tear in his pants. Sticking out of the hole was Mogu’s polka-dotted underwear. “No wonder Mogu is afraid of Lyra. She totally embarrassed him!”

  “You should really read the Fairy Code Book more often,” Raina scolded her friends.

  “We don’t have to,” Berry said, smiling. “We have you! You remember every story.”

  Melli put her arm around Raina. “And it’s a good thing, too,” she said. “Raina, what would we do without you?”

  Blushing, Raina turned the page. “This was many years ago, and Mogu has not been back here since. I wonder what made him come back now.”

  “Maybe he just wanted to have a fruit-chew flower,” Berry offered. “They are the sweetest in Sugar Valley.”

  Raina looked over at Dash. She didn’t want her to say anything about the gift for Berry. She caught Dash’s eye. Dash immediately understood and bit her lip. It was hard for Dash not to speak her mind!

  “Or maybe he heard about the broken fence and thought he could slip in unnoticed,” Dash said.

  “Who knows why a salty old troll does anything,” Melli said. She got up and paced around in a circle.

  Berry rubbed Lyra’s dull horn. “Lyra needs help,” she said. “Cleaning the meadow is not going to wash this problem away.”

  Raina hugged the Fairy Code Book close to her chest. Normally, reading a story helped her decide the right thing to do. But this tale offered little advice. All she knew for sure was that Lyra was not better. Berry was right, just washing the meadow wasn’t going to solve the problem. If they were going to help Lyra, they had to come up with a plan to stop Mogu. And to get Lyra well again.

  And that was a salty problem she had no idea how to solve.

  Burst of Hope

  Raina and Berry huddled together on a blanket in Fruit Chew Meadow. Normally, Raina would have loved to spend time hanging out with Berry. Only now they were both worried about Lyra. Lyra had been resting under Berry’s pink cotton-candy shawl, but she still looked very weak. The others had flown off to get some food for dinner. Raina was having a hard time keeping still. Her wings were fluttering and she was twisting her long hair around her finger.

  “You�
��re worried about Lyra, aren’t you?” Berry asked.

  “Yes,” Raina said. But she couldn’t tell Berry that Lyra was not all she was concerned about. She also didn’t want to ruin Berry’s birthday with this sour event. With the look of things now, it didn’t seem that Lyra would be getting better by Sun Dip. Normally, Sun Dip was a festive time of day when fairies would gather. The sun would slide behind the Frosted Mountains and the sky would turn deep pinks and purples. Fairies would share sweet treats and talk with friends. But today when the sun went down, there’d be little Raina and her friends would want to celebrate.

  Raina touched the Fairy Code Book in her bag. She wished the story about Mogu and Lyra had helped her come up with a plan. She sighed.

  “Mogu has a way of ruining sweet times in Sugar Valley,” Berry said softly. She leaned forward to pet Lyra. “Please, Lyra, take some nectar. It will make your throat feel better. We all need you to sing.”

  Raina blew her bangs off her forehead. Lyra was not getting stronger, even though all the salt had been washed away. They were going to have to move her. “How are we going to move a unicorn?” Raina asked.

  “We’ve brought food,” Cocoa called from above.

  “I’m not really hungry,” Raina replied.

  “Me neither,” Berry told Cocoa.

  Cocoa, Melli, and Dash came to sit on the blanket. They spread out the food for their friends.

  “We should eat,” Melli said. “Then we can think of a solid plan.”

  Dash looked around at the pale, wilted flowers. “What do you think will happen to the flowers if Lyra’s voice doesn’t come back?” she asked.

  Raina lowered her head. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I don’t think the flowers will survive. Already they look even less colorful, and it’s only been a few hours.”

  “The greatest present for my birthday would be if Lyra would get better,” Berry mumbled.

  Hoping that she could make her friend’s wish come true, Raina gave Berry a tight squeeze. “We still have time,” she said, trying to believe her words would come true.

  A gentle breeze ruffled the grass. Above them Raina spotted a sweet sight. “Oh, Berry!” she cried out. “It’s Princess Lolli!”

  In a flash, Princess Lolli was standing before them. Her long strawberry-blond hair hung down at her shoulders, and a small candy-jeweled tiara sat on top of her head. She smoothed her bright pink dress with her hands and smiled at the young fairies. “Hello, fairies,” she said. “I heard that Lyra is not well. I am so glad you are here with her.”

  “I don’t think we’ve helped her much,” Berry said sadly. “She is still very weak.”

  “Lyra can’t sing,” Raina said, stepping forward. “We found a broken fence and salt. We washed the flowers and tried to get Lyra to drink some nectar. Nothing seems to be working.”

  “Salt?” Princess Lolli said. Her smile melted into a frown. “I was afraid that was the case.”

  “Do you think Mogu was here?” Cocoa asked.

  “I’m not sure,” the princess said. “I do know that Lyra needs some help. Let’s get her to Candy Castle.”

  Raina bent down low to Lyra. “She can’t even open her eyes. She’s so weak,” she said. “Lyra can’t fly. How can we get her to Candy Castle?”

  Everyone looked at one another.

  “Bitter mint,” Dash mumbled. “This is a super minty problem. Without Lyra’s glowing horn, she can’t fly. She’s out of the race.”

  “That’s it!” Raina shouted. Her wings flapped happily, and she rushed over to give Dash a hug.

  “What?” Dash gasped.

  Raina grinned at her friend. “I know exactly what we need to do,” she told her friends. “I’m sure this will work!”

  For the first time since they had arrived at Fruit Chew Meadow, Raina suddenly had a burst of hope.

  Sweet and Strong

  Raina was grinning while her friends gazed at her. Their mouths were open and their eyes wide.

  “You really think that will work?” Cocoa asked.

  Melli bit her lower lip. “Sweet caramel, Raina,” she muttered. “I’m not sure we could pull that off.”

  “Sure as sugar, we can!” Raina exclaimed. She stood up straight, with her hands on her hips. “We have Dash, the best sled racer in Sugar Valley. We’ll make a sled mint enough for a sweet unicorn. If Lyra can’t fly, we’ll have to pull her to Candy Castle.”

  Princess Lolli smiled. “Raina, that is an excellent idea,” she said. “If there are any fairies who can make this happen, I believe those fairies are right here in front of me now.”

  “What about Mogu?” Dash asked. “What if he comes back?”

  “We’ll have to wait to deal with Mogu,” Princess Lolli told the fairies. “First we must help Lyra.” She bent down to the unicorn and whispered in her ear. Lyra slowly opened her eyes. Princess Lolli took a pink sugar cube from her pocket and held it out to Lyra. The unicorn took the sweet treat and then closed her eyes again. Standing up, Princess Lolli faced the fairies. “I will head back to the castle to make arrangements for Lyra. I will see you all shortly.”

  The fairies waved good-bye to Princess Lolli. They were so thankful that she had come, but now they had work to do! If they were going to build a sled big enough for a unicorn, they had to work quickly.

  Raina opened the Fairy Code Book. She put the book down on the ground for everyone to see. “Look, there’s a picture of a large sled,” she said. “This sled was for Mooco the chocolate cow, when she was stuck in the terrible winter storm last year in Chocolate Woods.” She held up the book to show her friends the illustration.

  “Hot chocolate!” Cocoa shouted. “I remember that storm. That poor cow was stuck in the thick frozen chocolate. It took every Chocolate Fairy’s help to get her out.”

  “I think we can use this picture of a large sled to help us,” Raina said. “If the Chocolate Fairies could move Mooco, we can move Lyra.” She turned to Dash. “What do you think? Can we make a sled big enough for Lyra?”

  Dash leaned over to see the picture. “Sure as sugar,” she replied. She smiled at Raina. “Just as Princess Lolli said, we are the fairies for the job!”

  Raina was thankful for the Mint Fairy’s enthusiasm. She knew she could always count on Dash.

  “We’ll need a few supplies,” Dash said. She started to pace back and forth as she thought out loud. “We’ll need some fruit leather, red licorice, and something to hold the sled together.”

  “What about hot caramel?” Melli asked. “When the sticky syrup dries, it should hold the sled together.”

  “Thanks, Melli. I think you’re right,” Dash said. “The hot caramel is a smart choice.”

  Berry leaped up. “I can get the fruit leather,” she said. “We’ll need wide strips, and I know where to get good, strong pieces.”

  “I can get the licorice,” Cocoa offered.

  “I’ll head to the Frosted Mountains to get the frosting for the tips of the sled,” Dash told her friends. “If we are going to pull the sled, we’ll need to make sure the blades are smooth enough to glide over the ground.” Her wings fluttered and she shot up in the air. “This sled is going to be so mint!”

  Raina knew her friends would come together to make this happen. “I’ll stay here and keep Lyra comfortable,” she said. “Dash, do you think we’ll be able to get Lyra to the castle before Sun Dip?”

  “Yes,” she said, “I do.” Then she smiled. “I’m not sure we’ll win any races, but we can get Lyra there before dark.”

  The fairies all flew off to get their supplies. Before the sun reached the very top of the mountains, the fairies were back at Fruit Chew Meadow.

  True to Dash’s promise, she built a sled with all the materials her friends had gathered. Soon they had a sled large enough for a unicorn in the meadow.

  Melli and Berry held up the licorice ropes. “We braided them to make them stronger,” Melli said.

  “Sweet and strong,” Dash said. “I s
hould get you all to work on my next sled with me.” She attached the frosted licorice blades to the sled and then stood back to admire the finished product. “Not bad,” she said, checking over the sled. “I think we’re about done.”

  Raina was feeding Lyra tiny bits of rainbow gummy chews when she heard Dash’s news. Lyra’s horn was still dull and the unicorn had not spoken or sung a word. Raina tried not to show her concern, but she was very worried.

  “The sled is finished,” Dash said.

  The five fairies surrounded Lyra. They each took a piece of the blanket she was lying on and gently lifted the unicorn to the sled. Dash had done a great job of measuring the seat. The sled was perfect for Lyra.

  “Sour sugars,” Raina gasped. She pointed to Lyra’s horn. Instead of being dull, the horn was now black. “We have to get her to Candy Castle right away!”

  A Sweet Ride

  Grab hold!” Raina instructed as she tossed the licorice ropes out to her friends.

  The fairies worked together to pull the large sled through Fruit Chew Meadow. Each of them held on tight to the braided red licorice ropes and pulled with all her might. As they passed Red Licorice Lake, no one spoke a word. Each fairy was concentrating on pulling the sled—and getting the sick unicorn to the castle.

  “Not much farther,” Raina called over her shoulder. Glancing back at Lyra, she saw that the unicorn was resting comfortably on the sled. Only her horn made her seem different. Raina didn’t have to look that fact up in the Fairy Code Book. A dull black horn was not a sign of a healthy unicorn.

  “Dash, this sled is smooth as caramel,” Melli said. “I can’t believe we are pulling Lyra all the way to the castle.”

  “This is one smooth, sweet ride,” Berry added.

  Up ahead Raina saw the tall sugar cube walls of Candy Castle come into view. Never had Raina been so happy to see the pink-and-white sugarcoated castle! If anyone could save the unicorn, it was Princess Lolli.