Wedding Wings

by Kiki Thorpe

  The music woke Bess. At first, she didn’t know where she was. Then she spotted the brown walls of her paper-bag prison. Her stomach ached and her wings felt cramped.

  Bess wiggled her fingers and toes to wake them up. She was surprised to find they moved freely. Where had her chocolate mittens gone?

  Ugh, Bess thought. She’d eaten the chocolate—every last bit of it. That explained her stomachache.

  The bag shook. Bess heard the boy shout, “Hey, that’s my kite! What the—Oh my gosh!”

  The bag suddenly dropped from his grasp. Bess couldn’t flap her wings in time to stop herself from falling. She grunted as the bag landed in the grass. Bright light flooded in.

  She could escape!

  Bess dove toward the opening. As she fluttered out of the bag, she came face to face with the boy. When he saw her, his mouth opened so wide Bess could have climbed right inside it.

  “A fairy!”

  Before he could catch her again, Bess zipped away. She searched for a place to hide.

  “Bess, up here!” a familiar voice called.

  Bess looked up—and almost fell out of the air in shock. Her friends from Pixie Hollow were standing on the clubhouse roof. Prilla, Tink, Rosetta, and Dulcie were there, along with several other fairies.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Rosetta.

  “What are you doing here?” Bess replied in amazement.

  “I came on a blink,” Prilla replied. “I thought I’d just watch the wedding in secret, like you and I talked about. But then I saw the trouble. So I went back and brought everyone along to help.”

  Bess smiled at her friends. “You mean, you all came to rescue me?”

  “Actually, no,” Prilla said in surprise. “I didn’t even know you were here. I meant Gabby. She’s in trouble. We have to help her!”

  When the fairies spotted the girls, they were trudging back toward the clubhouse. They held the ruined veil between them.

  Bess overheard Gabby say, “What am I going to tell Julia?”

  “Tell her you were playing with her veil when you shouldn’t have been,” Mia replied. “That’s the truth.”

  “What’s that fluttering sound?” asked Lainey.

  The girls looked up as the fairies swooped toward them. When she saw all her Pixie Hollow friends, Gabby cried, “You came!”

  “Everyone wanted to see you be a flower girl,” Bess said.

  Gabby’s face fell. “Julia won’t want me to be in her wedding. Not when she finds out what I did to her veil.”

  “That’s why we’re here,” said Prilla. “Hand it over!”

  Gabby did, and at once fairies set about fixing the veil. A sewing-talent fairy named Hem stitched up the tear. Her needle darted in and out so quickly it was a silver blur. A cleaning-talent fairy worked a bit of magic on the stains. Silvermist, a water-talent fairy, added dewdrops so the veil sparkled in the sunlight.

  Meanwhile, the flower-talent fairies hurried off to collect petals from around the park. They filled Gabby’s basket to the brim.

  When Bess showed Dulcie what she’d done to the wedding cake, Dulcie threw her hands up in horror. Then she and the other baking-talent fairies set to work patching it up. They hid the dents Bess had made in the frosting with little flowers they cut from strawberries.

  In no time, everything was ready. The only thing left to do was to return the veil to Julia.

  When Gabby knocked, the clubhouse door flew open right away. Julia stood in the doorway. “Did you find it?” she asked eagerly. “Oh, girls, I thought you were Ms. Cork. She’s out looking for my veil. I don’t know where it’s gone.”

  While Julia’s back was turned, Bess and the other fairies carried the veil in through the open window.

  “That’s terrible,” said Lainey, stalling.

  “What does it look like?” Kate asked.

  Julia frowned. “It’s long and white and it—well, it looks like a veil.”

  The fairies hung the veil on the hanger, then flew back out the window.

  “You mean, like that?” Mia asked, pointing.

  Julia turned just as the last fairy fluttered out. “Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed. “How did this get here?” She hurried over and lifted the veil from its hanger. “Want to help me put it on?” she asked the girls.

  Of course they did. Kate and Mia helped fit the combs into Julia’s hair, while Lainey and Gabby arranged the veil behind her.

  “It looks different somehow,” Julia said, examining herself in the mirror. “It’s prettier than I remembered.”

  “You look even better than a princess,” Gabby said.

  Julia laughed. “I know it’s just a piece of fabric. But something about it is special. Wearing a veil makes me feel like a bride. I guess that sounds silly, doesn’t it?”

  “No, it doesn’t,” said Gabby. “That’s how I feel about my wings.”

  “Speaking of your wings, where are they?” asked Julia.

  “Mami said I shouldn’t wear them in the wedding,” Gabby told her.

  “But of course you can wear them!” Julia exclaimed. “They’re part of what make you Gabby. Go put them on!”

  If only she’d known sooner! “I can’t,” said Gabby. “They’re at home.”

  “No, they’re not,” said Lainey. She unbundled the sweater she’d been carrying. There, to Gabby’s amazement, were her beloved wings. “I took them from your room, just in case,” Lainey explained. “It didn’t seem right to leave them behind.”

  Gabby gave a little jump of joy. She slipped on the wings and sighed happily.

  At that moment, Ms. Cork bustled into the room. “We can’t wait any longer. The wedding should have started ten minutes ago! You’ll have to get married without your— Oh, your veil!” she said when she saw Julia. “Where on earth did you find it?”

  “It was right here after all,” Julia said.

  Ms. Cork gave a cluck of exasperation. Then she noticed the girls. “What are you all doing here? Hurry! Go find your seats! The wedding is starting!” She shooed Mia, Kate, and Lainey out of the room. “And Gabby, where did those wings come from? Take them off, please! It’s time to start!”

  “I told her she can wear them,” Julia said. “I think they look perfect.”

  Ms. Cork threw up her hands. “Suit yourself. No one ever listens to the wedding planner.” She hurried off, grumbling.

  “Are you ready, Gabby?” Julia asked, taking her hand.

  Gabby grinned and held up her flower girl basket. “I’m ready!”

  The ceremony went by in a joyful blur for Gabby. Although Ms. Cork had told her to walk down the aisle slowly, Gabby skipped. She couldn’t help it. She was so happy, it took all her effort to keep from floating away. When she thought no one was looking, she gave a secret little wave to the fairies, who were watching from a tree branch.

  In the end, Gabby forgot to use fairy dust on the flower petals, but it didn’t matter. None of the guests seemed to pay much attention to the petals on the ground. Their eyes were on Julia. The bride looked dazzling as she came down the aisle, her veil dancing on a breeze that no one else could feel.

  Later, under the big white tent, there was food and music and dancing. Gabby laughed when Julia and her new husband cut the cake and dabbed frosting on each other’s noses. The cake turned out to be lemon with vanilla cream, and all the older girls agreed that Mia had won the bet, her guess being the closest. They were allowed to choose their own slices. Gabby picked the biggest she could find, one with extra strawberry flowers.

  As she carried it back to the table where the other girls were sitting, she heard grown-ups in the crowd talking.

  “… just adorable. Those fairy wings were the perfect touch.”

  “Such a happy little girl. She looked like she was walking on air.”

  “… those tiny flowers on the cake. How did they ever make them?”

  “Did you notice the little footprints on top, as if the cake toppers were dancing?”

&
nbsp; “… such a beautiful bride …”

  “… such an elegant bride …”

  “. . . such a graceful bride. And that veil! I’ve never seen one like it.”

  Gabby smiled to herself. None of the grown-ups, not even Julia, would ever know how truly special the veil was.

  Then Gabby saw Daniel hurrying toward her. “Gabby,” he said urgently. “I saw you. You were flying, weren’t you?”

  Gabby didn’t want to lie. But she didn’t want to break her promise to Mia, either. She took a big bite of cake so she wouldn’t have to answer.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t tell. Can you teach me to fly?” Daniel asked.

  “Mmm,” said Gabby, chewing.

  Daniel lowered his voice. “I saw a fairy here,” he whispered. “I caught her. But she got away.”

  Gabby considered. If Daniel had already seen the fairies, then they weren’t a secret anymore. Besides, she’d borrowed his kite. She wanted to do something nice for him in return. “Want to meet her?” she said.

  “The fairy? You know her?” Daniel looked stunned.

  “It’s okay,” said Gabby. “She’s my friend. Come on.”

  Gabby led Daniel to a small round table in the very back corner of the tent.

  Mia, Kate, and Lainey were already there, eating cake. In the middle of the table was a plate with another slice of cake. A dozen fairies sat around it.

  If any of the grown-ups at the wedding had bothered to look closer, they would have seen the cake disappearing in itty-bitty chunks, as if being picked away by invisible hands. But Gabby knew grown-ups never thought to look for such things.

  “This cake is quite tasty,” Dulcie was saying as Gabby and Daniel walked up. “Not as good as fairy cake, but not bad at all. Bess, you should try some!” she called over to the art fairy.

  But Bess was busy painting. She had stretched out a napkin on the table to use as a canvas, anchoring it with salt and pepper shakers. She glanced over at Dulcie and made a face. “I think I’ve had enough sweets for one day.”

  Just then, Bess froze. She’d spied Gabby and Daniel.

  “Hey, everybody,” Gabby said. “This is my friend. His name is Daniel.”

  Daniel stared at the fairies. His mouth hung open a little. “Say hi,” Gabby whispered to him.

  “Hi,” Daniel echoed, finding his voice at last. “I’m … um … sorry I put you in a bag. I thought you were a bug,” he told Bess.

  “Well.” Bess sniffed, then gave a little nod to show she accepted his apology.

  Gabby moved around the table to look at Bess’s painting. Here was the bride with her dancing veil. And here was the groom wearing a goofy grin and Gabby throwing petals and all the guests in their nice clothes. Bess had even painted the fairies, though they were so tiny they looked more like butterflies.

  “Look, Daniel. There you are,” Gabby said, pointing. Bess had painted Daniel holding his little pillow with the wedding rings and a serious expression on his face.

  “What are you going to do with the painting when it’s done?” asked Mia.

  “I haven’t really thought about it,” said Bess, who never bothered to do much with her art after it was finished. For her, making the painting was the best part. “I guess I could take it back to Pixie Hollow. Or you could have it.”

  Gabby looked toward the center of the tent, where Julia and her new husband were dancing. As Julia twirled, her veil floated out behind her, swaying in time with the music.

  “I have a better idea,” Gabby said. “Let’s leave it with the presents. Julia will never know who made it!”

  From across the room, a man called Daniel’s name.

  “That’s my dad. I’ve got to go,” Daniel said reluctantly.

  “Daniel!” his father called again. “Come on!” He held up the dragonfly kite.

  “We’re going to fly my kite,” Daniel told Gabby.

  Gabby looked at Mia. “Can I go?” she asked.

  “Sure, if Mami says it’s okay.”

  Gabby hesitated. She wanted to go fly the kite. But she didn’t want to leave her fairy friends. “Will I see you again soon?” she asked them.

  “Very soon,” Prilla promised.

  “Until next time,” Bess said, smiling.

  Gabby grinned back. “Until next time,” she said. Then she added in a whisper, “In Never Land.”

  Lainey had never been deer riding without Fawn. In fact, she’d never been in the forest on her own. But that didn’t stop her. Grabbing the harness, she ducked outside.

  Just beyond the willow was a deer trail that led into the woods. Lainey followed it. At first it was slow going. The trail was no more than a matted-down path through the forest undergrowth. It disappeared in some places, only to pick up again in another spot. Sometimes Lainey wasn’t sure she was following the same trail, or even following a trail at all. But the woods were quiet and peaceful, and it felt good to walk.

  A bird whistled, and Lainey whistled back. She crossed a little stream, where silverfish flashed in the shallows. Lainey stuck her hand into the cool water and watched them scatter. A tiny frog, no bigger than a walnut, hopped along the bank. Lainey picked it up and cupped it in her hands, feeling its little heart beating.

  As she set the frog back in the water, Lainey had the feeling she was being watched. Slowly, she lifted her head. A black-eyed doe was staring at her from behind the trees.

  Her deer! Lainey jumped to her feet. The movement startled the deer and it darted away.

  “Wait! Please wait!” Lainey cried, chasing after it.

  The doe bounded down a slope. Lainey followed. But the hill was steep, and she lost her footing. The harness fell from her hand. She tumbled the rest of the way down and landed in a sticker bush.

  “Oww!” Lainey tried to get up. But each little movement only made the thorns dig in more. She was stuck!

  As she wondered what to do, she heard a voice say, “You’re a pudding head!”

  Lainey looked around, startled. Through the leaves of the bramble she spied two red, pointed ears. They looked like the ears of a fox.

  “If a bear and a lion got in a fight, the lion would definitely win,” the voice went on.

  “No way!” said a second voice. “I’m telling you, the bear would win.”

  Lainey shifted and caught a glimpse of a rabbit’s fluffy white tail.

  “Would not!”

  “Would so!”

  “Would not!”

  An electric thrill went through her. All her life Lainey had wanted to talk with animals. She longed to know their feelings and thoughts. And here at last were two she could understand perfectly!

  Excerpt from Beyond the Woods © 2014 by Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.

  KIKI THORPE spent much of her childhood reading, daydreaming, and searching for fairies in the forests of Idaho—pastimes that were good training for writing children’s books! She is the author of several books in the Disney Fairies chapter book series, including the New York Times bestseller The Trouble with Tink. She lives with her husband, Greg, and their two children in San Francisco.