The Fae Princess (The Pacific Princesses Book 2)

by Ektaa Bali

  Lotus bounded forward, followed by Lily, and Vidya placed the medals around their necks, and they stood hand in hand with Willow by her side.

  “To Lunaria and Linaria, or Toad, I award these Medals of Leadership and Compassion. Without you, the Fae palace would be in tatters and the children walking around unwashed. You led the Fae children while I was in the Fae forest.”

  The blue haired girls jumped up to collect their medals, coming to stand next to the other kids.

  She looked at Lobey, who stood on the grass, wringing her hands nervously. Vidya grinned.

  “To Lobelia, I award the Medal of Nobility, not only for your leadership, but for saving my life with little regard for your own. You are the only Fae child known to have single-handedly crossed the bottomless sky into the Fae forest and pull me out of the frozen Fae pond, while the Bunyips were prowling close by. Without you, I would not be standing here. I owe you my life, Lobey.”

  Lobey, tears streaming down her face, ran up onto the platform and threw her hands around Vidya, who giggled. Vidya placed the medal around Lobey’s neck.

  “And lastly,” grinned Vidya grabbing Pancake and making him stand in front of her. “I award Pancake the Medal of Honour because through fear, peril and almost certain death, you never ever, failed to stand beside me.” She lowered her voice to a whisper so only he could hear. “Or sit in my pocket.”

  Pancake wept as he accepted his Medal and he and the seven Fae kids stood on the platform as everyone, including the Bunyips, cheered and whistled for them.

  * * *

  There was a great feast that night. The Bunyips joined in, eating all the Fae foods they had never tried before. They gasped and exclaimed, trying delicious cakes and soups and fruits. And after they ate, there was a great dance where the Fae taught the Bunyips to move their clawed feet as graciously as they could. They laughed and danced and ate the night away.

  Vidya and Pancake sat cross-legged by the Flower of Awakening most of the night, writing letters to Princess Sonakshi and Meera and enjoying a long, overdue conversation. The Flower thanked her profusely.

  “You have risked your life and done so for me, Vidya,” the Flower said gratefully. “And now, I have a gift for you too.”

  “Really?” asked Vidya excitedly. “What is it?”

  “If you collect the nectar from my flower and drink it. It will allow you inside a person’s mind, to know their thoughts.”

  Vidya’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding.”

  The Flower of Awakening, the Phoenix flower, bristled happily, her petals purring like cat.

  “Nope, no kidding here.”

  A week later, Princess Vidya with Pancake, King Farrion, Willow, Lotus, Lily, Lobey, and the Fae guard stomped through the deepest part of the Fae forest right up to the home of the Yara-ma-yha-who tribe that had held them captive.

  “Leaf Master!” called Vidya loudly. “I have a gift for you!”

  It didn’t take long for the boom bump boom of the frog’s drums to start up. The two large green frogs entered first, with bandages around their limbs. Despite their injuries, they still sat on the dirt, drumming away, eyeing Vidya and the children suspiciously. Then the Leaf Master appeared on his toad steed, apparently all healed of his injuries, furry face suspicious under the hood of his black robe. He steered his toad to come and stand a healthy distance away.

  “On the one hand, Princess, I am surprised to find you alive,” he said in his raspy voice. “On the other hand, I am hoping you are not here to shoot me again.”

  Vidya gave him a mocking curtsey. “I admit I got your riddle entirely wrong. You meant me as the answer, didn’t you?”

  The Leaf Master swept her an equally mocking bow. “Indeed, it was a good little trick, wasn’t it?”

  “In the end,” said Vidya. “You were actually the one who made me realise what I was doing was wrong. So, I have actually come to thank you.”

  The smile fell from koala’s face, and the corners of his mouth turned down.

  “Any help given was by accident, I assure you.”

  “Oh, I know,” said Vidya lightly. “But in any case, we are here to apologise. The Fae children have recognised the error of our ways… on the condition that you recognise the error of your ways.”

  The Leaf Master sneered at King Farrion.

  “Interesting child you have brought up, King of the Fae.”

  Farrion smirked at the Leaf Master, and Vidya stepped forward with the tree cutting they had planted in a large pot. She placed it on the ground between them and returned to stand next to her father.

  “Indeed, I have, Master Koala. She has come up with a fine solution for your little tax issue.”

  The Leaf Master looked sharply at the potted plant. “What is that fruit tree?”

  “I call it the Riddle tree,” said Vidya, pointing at the small button nose hanging from the tree.

  “You gave me the idea, of course. With my Queen’s right, I grew a plant of my own imagination. It grows noses for you. Boogers and all, I’m guessing.”

  The Leaf Master’s eyes widened. “What a thing…”

  “Indeed,” said Farrion. “You are granted the use of this plant to keep you fed, on the condition that you do not terrorise the Yara-ma-yha-who or any other creature here.”

  The Leaf Master’s silvery-grey face surveyed the Fae in front of him.

  “Is that a deal?” asked Vidya with a polite smile.

  The Leaf Master nodded. “It is.”

  He slid off his toad and with surprising deftness for someone so round and big, snatched up the potted plant and leapt back up onto his toad. Without another word, they hopped back into the shadows of the deep forest.

  “Charming fellow,” commented Farrion.

  “You have no idea,” murmured Vidya.

  * * *

  Next, the troupe travelled through the clean green lawn of the home of the Wollemi Pine King and his cassowary guard.

  This time, they took a petal of the Flower of Awakening as a gift.

  “Oh,” whispered Akurra, her bird eyes reflecting the golden light. “His highness will be very happy with this.”

  Vidya, Lobey, Lotus, Lily, and Willow spoke with Tree King for hours, relaying the story of how the Fae children fixed the Flower of Awakening and battled the Bunyip army. The Wollemi Pine was delighted to hear such a grand story, ‘ohing’ and ‘aahing’ at all the right parts.

  “I remembered something you said when we were here last,” said Vidya at the end. “What was the other name for the Flower of Awakening? The name you said you knew her by?”

  “The Phoenix flower,” said the King fondly. “That is the name we give to fire that comes from within the earth.”

  Vidya explained baby Mahiya’s fire powers.

  “Ah,” said the King. “The flower called upon her to be born when she felt her power wane. She knew what she needed, even if she couldn’t say it. Princess Mahiya will be called a Phoenix Fae.”

  King Farrion and Princess Vidya left the Wollemi Pine King with smiles on their faces.

  “Another mystery solved,” mused the King.

  “Too right,” said Vidya. “I’ve had enough mysteries to last me a lifetime.”

  King Farrion smiled knowingly at his daughter. “When you are Queen, there’ll always be one mystery or another.”

  Vidya smiled thoughtfully. “Well, it seems to me if I solved this problem, I can basically solve anything.”

  Then she and Pancake ran toward Lobey, Willow, Lotus (with his new nose), and Lily and together, they laughed and danced their way back to the palace thoroughly happy that they would never have to set foot in that part of the forest ever again, and even if they did, they wouldn’t have a problem with it because they were Fae and whatever difficulty they faced, they’d be able to sort it out together.

  Afterword

  If you liked this story please leave a review via the bookseller you purchased it. Its the single best way to support your fav
ourite authors.

  Acknowledgments

  My heartfelt thanks to my mum, Shobna and my cousin Rachna for their tireless and tactful constructive criticism, which allowed me to make this story so much better while still preserving my feelings.

  A sincere thank you to Marnie for her wonderful editing and super kind words of encouragement.

  Thank you to Adrian once again, for his beautiful illustration of Princess Vidya and the Flower of Awakening for the cover.

  And lastly, thank you to my niece Vidya, for being my inspiration for this story.

  About the Author

  Ektaa Bali is an emerging Australian author of fantasy fiction for all ages. This is her second middle grade book. Find all her work at ektaabali.com and check out the Pacific Princesses website at pacificprincesses.com where you can sign up for the newsletter for exclusive updates and sneak peaks before the rest of the internet!