Made of Magic and True Grit

by Landry-Daniel Lié

  Chapter 23

  Combat training

  T he next day, the boys didn't go on their daily run, nor did they do any of their other usual training. Both just waited for Miss Poli to come out of her house. Pinly was anxious, a little shaky too. He usually was, back when they were training with the spectres, but that morning he felt the pressure even more. Vince on the other hand looked excited, his eyes gleamed and he barely managed to stay still. Miss Poli finally twisted the knob of her door and stepped over the threshold. She was wearing the black trousers she used when they did combat training, but this time her top didn't have a hood, just a round neckline. Her grey hair was attached in a tight bun. Her hand was clutched around an ivory sword. She stepped between them and gestured for Vince to move back. The boy walked away and sat down in a corner.

  “Pinly you will be first” she said as she positioned herself into a fighting stance, he did the same and conjured his sword. She launched at him without warning and he joined her in the air. Miss Poli kicked him to the floor and almost planted her sword into his shoulder, Pinly rolled away then spiralled up in the air. He landed on a branch above her, then descended at full speed and attempted to stab her too, but she dodged and kicked him in the chest. He felt the air knocked out of him, but didn't have time to catch his breath. She was coming back fast, he attempted to block her next attack, but she grabbed his arm and broke it, Pinly screamed in pain “go get some dust” she said sharply. Pinly winced and limped towards the stump where the bag was sitting “Vince your turn” she said turning back to see that the boy had already conjured his two sabres. The witch widened her stance and waited for him. Vince, in a flash of gold, attacked her. He launched one attack after another. Pinly sitting on the sideline could barely see him, but Miss Poli managed to block all the lightning fast attacks. Her sword rang each time it met with Vince's sabres. Vince only used his fairy form to gain momentum, but when he was close enough he would switch to his human form to strike then change again to fly away, just like he did with Cook. His technique was impressive. Vince's speed lifted a great wind around them, that was until Miss Poli spotted an opening and elbowed Vince in the face. The boy went crashing to the floor, blood gushing out of his nose. She directed him to the powder with one finger then gestured for pinly to come back. The training went on all day and everyday after that. The boys were getting better and better, Pinly was getting a lot stronger and Vince was incredibly fast. Eventually, Miss Poli had to take some of the dust too as the boys started not to equal her, but they landed lucky blows. The speed at which they learned to fight was incredible, that with the help of their powers, made the boys who were once harmless, now very dangerous. The last four months had been the hardest part of the training, but they were stronger for it. They could fight for longer, faster, they were better in every way. They had had almost every bone in their body broken, but the fairy dust had rebuilt them stronger every time. The training was now coming to an end, it was finally time to go back.

  Chapter 24

  The wizards

  “T his is it” Miss Poli said as she and the boys were getting ready to hit the road “I'm looking forward to seeing Soubrey again”

  “This is it” Vince repeated. Tears began to stream down Pinly's face. It wasn't until he started sobbing that they realised he didn't share their enthusiasm. “Pinly…” Vince started

  “I can't... I know you said you would go get Lion back, but I can't just stay back and wait for it to happen, let me come too please” Pinly begged

  “I can't let you come” she approached and grabbed his hand “you would only be in the way. I will bring your brother back. I promise you that" she said gently. Pinly stayed quiet. Miss Poli let go of his hands and stretched her arms up as far as they would go. Her house disappeared from top to bottom until there wasn't anymore trace of its existence, yet it had been sitting there for a whole year. To Pinly’s surprise Tempus and Cook were now standing by Miss Poli. Tempus was holding the golden sword Pinly was fighting with back in the castle. The leprechaun stepped forward and extended both hands with the weapon

  “You will make better use of it than I can” He said. Pinly quickly wiped his tears and grabbed the majestic sword. He couldn't believe Tempus was giving him such a weapon, he had never owned anything this precious

  "Th... thank you" Pinly said. Tempus bowed his head before stepping back, Pinly recalled the sword. Miss Poli elbowed Cook who reluctantly approached Vince.

  “Here” he groaned as he handed two sabres to Vince. The blades were made out of gold and the shafts were a shiny silver like Tempus' hair

  “Thank you cook” Vince grinned

  “Hmm” The leprechaun groaned, Vince recalled them.

  “Ok let's go” Miss Poli said. They were walking through the forest when Miss Poli abruptly stopped them. Her hands stretched to their full extent. Pinly looked at Vince who didn't seem to know what was happening either. Tempus and Cook were also on high alert. They looked all around the woods as if they were expecting something to suddenly appear. “Stay back” Miss Poli said without looking at them.

  “What's going…” But before Pinly could finish asking, a dozen black robed figures, all sporting tall hats, appeared out of the shadows. A last man pushed his way through the others, his robes were white. He quickly glanced at Pinly and the others then his attention turned back to Miss Poli. He gave her a smug look and grinned in a way that made his young pale face look vicious.

  “Black robes don't suit you Polina” he said as he flung his own robes back and raised his head slightly higher “I'm not very fond of it, once you've put on white robes, black feels so.... what's the word... mundane, don't you think Polina?” The man kept calling Miss Poli: Polina. Pinly immediately understood that they both knew but didn't particularly like each other.

  “Sting” she chuckled “I see they give white robes to just anybody now” Miss Poli replied. Pinly saw Miss Poli's fingers wiggle behind her back and he felt the bond around his ankle disappear. She had just freed him, but he wasn't going to leave her right away, not when she was facing these men or maybe wizards by the looks of them. “What do you want?” She asked. Sting sighed

  “You’ve been troublesome Polina, so unfortunately I'm here for your head” he replied, his face was now very serious

  “Why beat around the bush then?” Miss Poli said “It's sad that your sister would send you to your death like this”

  “Polina, do not underestimate me” Sting replied, a blue spectre appeared next to him. Pinly already knew, but it just confirmed it as one spectre appeared next to each one of the men opposite them. They were definitely wizards. Tempus and Cook unsheathed their swords. Pinly was getting ready to recall his sword but what happened next stopped him in his tracks. He was dumbstruck. Miss Poli's appearance began to change, her robes changed colour, fading from black to dark grey then lighter and lighter until they were white. Her grey hair changed too, they grew longer and turned black. Her figure became slimmer and she straightened up.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, here she is” Sting announced, the other wizards grinned “Polina the great mage” Pinly could not believe what he was seeing or hearing. He looked at Vince whose eyes darted in every direction. She turned around to look at them. Her face was completely different, she was so young and beautiful.

  “Run!” She told them. It took Pinly a few seconds to take it all in and realise what she was saying

  “No, I'm not going anywhere!” He said defiantly

  “Don't be foolish, boy! Listen to her” Sting said

  “You shut up!” Pinly shouted

  “Oh feisty, the kitten bites” Sting said

  “Pinly!” Miss Poli grabbed his attention again “I can take care of this, you both need to leave now!” She said, Vince ran into her for a last hug and so did Pinly with a very heavy heart. It felt strange to be holding her like that, it felt like he didn't really know her anymore.

  “Wait for me in Mendy” she said as she dipped he
r hand in her pocket, took it out in a balled up fist that dripped with fairy dust, when she opened her fist, it released a small blue and yellow bird. The bird took flight and began to fly around him and Vince. Fairy dust dripped off its tiny wings as they beat through the air.

  “Whatever happens, you cannot lose to them” Pinly said

  “I won't, I will see you soon, I promise” she replied. The boys lifted off, away from her and began following the bird above. Pinly who twelve months ago couldn't wait to get away from Miss Poli, now couldn't stop looking back. After all, Miss Poli was still a part of his short-lived childhood. He hated himself at that moment for realising too late just how much she meant to him. He didn't know how strong Sting and his fellows were and for all he knew she might not survive it. Even with the help of Cook and Tempus. It was with great sadness that he left her behind and joined Vince who soared through the air.

  Chapter 25

  The gates to Mendy

  T he boys followed the magical bird through the skies. It acted like a real one, sometimes joining other birds, which particularly annoyed the boys who had to swoop down and look for it in the middle of immense flocks, sometimes even aggressive ones. At other times, the bird would stop and search the ground for worms or just sit on a branch for an hour or two. Pinly waited on the ground whilst Vince kept a close eye on the bird, up in a tree.

  “Look, it's closing its eyes!” Vince interrupted Pinly who was deep in thoughts

  “Really? That's what your worried about right now? Miss Poli is in danger!” Pinly said

  “Relax, she's got this, they can't touch her” Vince replied

  “You don't know that…” Pinly slumped against a tree and stared in the direction they had come from, conflicted whether to go back for Miss Poli or not. Vince flew down and dropped some fruits next to Pinly. The boy grabbed an apple and took a large bite out of it.

  “Was that Miss Poli's real appearance?” Vince asked with his mouth full, Pinly shrugged “And that guy, Sting, he kept calling her Polina…” He sat down.

  “She probably had good reasons to hide who she was…” Pinly said then paused “She looked so different” Miss Poli's young face kept flashing back in his mind. She had deep green eyes and long black hair. It was hard to believe it was the same person. He knew she must have had a good reason, but why was she hiding her real appearance back in the village? No one would ever have harm her there.

  “Ah well, I'm sure she's fine” Vince brought Pinly out of his thoughts again “and now you get to do what you always wanted to... go after your brother... if only this stupid bird would wake up”

  “We have to wait for her in Mendy, it'll be way easier to get Lion back with her... I hope she's okay, I hope they’re both okay…” Pinly said, trying hard to convince himself “What do you think Mendy looks like?” he asked after a long pause

  ”Hmm, not sure. I don't really want to get my hopes up, so far magical folks haven't lived up to my expectations” Vince replied

  “Shut up!” Pinly giggled “So you want to tell me that you never think about it?”

  “No, I do, but I'd rather see it for real” Vince replied then changed form. He flew up and landed on the branch where the blue and yellow bird was sitting. Vince was not much taller than the bird as a fairy and could easily ride on its back “How do we know it's taking us where we want to go?” He asked as he scrutinised the bird

  “Well unless you know the way, that bird is our only guide” Pinly replied “I wouldn't doubt Miss Poli” he added. Vince hovered in circle around the sleeping bird

  “I'm not doubting her... I just wish this bird could be a little more active” Vince said before discreetly nudging the bird with his foot “Oh I think it's ready” he said as the bird slowly opened its eyes. For a minute, it seemed as if the bird was ready to take off again, it opened its wings and beat them through the air a couple of times. It then used its beak to go through the yellow feathers on its belly “What are you doing?! You don't even exist, why do you even bother doing that?” Vince shouted as his irritation with the bird grew stronger

  “Oi leave it alone!” Pinly shouted from the ground

  “I'm not doing anything” Vince lied and descended back to the ground. The boys fell asleep after hours of waiting for the bird to move. Pinly woke up flying, The bird chirped wildly and flew around their heads. “What's wrong with you?!” Vince was fighting it off with wild gestures.

  “It's trying to tell us something” Pinly said as he watched the bird spiral away. Then it disappeared into thin air, but not exactly. Its body had gradually faded away as if it was passing through a magical gate, but this one did not vibrate like the others. Maybe it was already open Pinly thought. Even though the boys were right in front of it, somehow, they had missed the passage.

  “Where is it gone?” Vince asked,

  “It just disappeared!” Pinly said in shock, they looked at each other with wide eyes

  “This is it mate” Vince celebrated

  “We're here!” Pinly shouted. After a minute of premature celebrations, the boys calmed down.

  “So... How do we get in?” Vince asked

  “I don't know” Pinly shrugged

  “Well why are you celebrating then?”

  “Because you are!”

  “Well did Miss Poli say anything?”

  “No, she didn't exactly have time to explain, remember?” Pinly replied

  “Maybe we can't get in, because I wasn't born a fairy and you don't have wings…” they both thought about it for a few seconds

  “No” they both waved off that option

  “Let's take a minute to figure this out, it makes sense that it's not easy to get in, otherwise just anyone could go through the gates” Pinly said

  “We can't even see the gates” Vince said. The two fairies paced back and forth while they thought of a plan to get into Mendy. Vince seemed to think of quite a few ways to try and get in. He raised his finger and gasped a few times, but seemed to realise none of his ideas could work before he even telling Pinly.

  “What if?” Pinly said as he stared at where the gate to Mendy supposedly was. He reached inside his pocket and took out the bag of fairy dust

  “P what are you doing? Don't go wasting it”

  “Hush, let me speak” the fairy waved “the bird…” he then said

  “What about it?” Vince asked, Pinly kept staring straight ahead as if he was hoping to see or hear something coming from fairy country “what about it?” Vince impatiently insisted for an answer

  “It was made out of fairy dust…” Pinly said

  “So?” Vince looked confused

  “Don't you get it? Maybe if we cover our bodies in it, we'll be able to go through” Pinly explained, he then dipped a finger into the powder, poked through the air and just when they didn't think it was going to work, the gate vibrated into existence and his hand sank exactly where the bird had disappeared. They looked at each other. Words were missing. They were about to enter the place they had been talking about for a year.

  “Move away from the gate!” they heard a very deep voice growl. It made Pinly’s body quake. One thing was for sure, that voice wasn't remotely human. They both flew away from the gate. Footsteps that matched the voice approached. Even though his feet weren't on the ground Pinly could feel how powerful the footsteps were just by the sound of them. A monstrous figure made out of rock appeared in front of them. Pinly's heart began racing. He was conflicted, not sure whether to fly away or attack. The giant looked exactly like the ones who helped destroy his village. Except that this one had eyes like holes that shone with what could only be magical light and a mouth carved on its imposing face.

  “What are you?” Vince asked before Pinly's fear could take the best of him

  “What am I? You're asking the wrong question, matter fact you don't ask questions, I do” the giant replied

  “Go ahead then” Vince said puffing his chest. Pinly was glad Vince was being so brave and
doing all the talking. He wasn't sure he would have been able to face that thing. He stood tall next to Vince nonetheless, trying not to look too shaken.

  “We want to pass into fairy country... Mendy” Pinly said

  “Do you now? A lot of creatures want to pass into fairy country. Unfortunately for you boy, you are not a fairy or powerful enough to pass”

  “I am a fairy!” Pinly shouted in outrage

  “Where are your wings?” the giant chuckled

  “I don't have wings” Pinly replied

  “What kind of fairy doesn't have wings?” it said

  “My kind” Pinly replied, the giant grunted

  “And you” he faced Vince “what is a humming fairy doing out of Mendy and how are you able to speak the common tongue?” The giant's question took them off guard. They weren't told enough about fairies and didn't know anything “you will not pass, go back”

  “No!” Pinly screamed “We're not going anywhere, we will pass whether you want it or not”

  “P calm down” Vince whispered. An evil laugh came from the giant

  “And how do you plan on passing by me boy, even if you did manage to do that, only fairies can walk through this gate uninvited” Pinly hated the way the giant kept calling him boy and doubting the fact that he was a real fairy “there is no way you will pass” the giant said, by the time he had finished his phrase Pinly had already conjured his sword “it will take more than a stick to take me down, bigger and smarter folks than you have tried before… Boy” as he said boy again, Pinly charged at him, the giant stepped to the side with a speed that Pinly did not expect from a creature of that size. He felt the cold stony hands cup him and throw him to the ground where he rolled for several meters. As he struggled to stand back up, he heard clinking, metal against stone. Vince flashed left and right, up and down around the stony figure. The giant covered its face for a while then grabbed Vince in the palm of its hand, like a man catching a fly. Pinly gasped in horror for a second, thinking Vince had been crushed. But the immense hand opened and there was Vince, back in his human form. The stone giant seemed in shock when it realised it was holding a young boy, not a fairy anymore. It dropped Vince who went crashing down. His shock changed into anger as he looked at the both of them “You are not fairies, what are you?!” he demanded.