Taking a walk around a lemon tree, Berry searched for a sign of the Sour Fairy. Her red boots crunched on the sour sugar coating the ground. “What does the Fairy Code Book say? What type of home does she have?”
“Look!” Raina exclaimed. She pointed to a sign on a lemon tree a few feet away. A small piece of fruit leather had “Lemona” etched on it. “She must live over there.”
Lemona’s house! Berry’s heart began to race. She wasn’t sure what to say to the fairy, but she knew she had to talk to her. She had to confess that she had given the candy to her friend without testing it first. As hard as that would be, Berry knew she had to find out the truth about the candy. And the secret of the magic hearts.
Before they stepped closer to the tree, a small sugar fly flew up to Berry. The messenger buzzed around her ears.
“You have a message for me?” Berry asked.
The sugar fly nodded and handed her the note. Immediately, Berry saw that the note was from Melli. Her breath caught in her chest and she gasped. “Oh, Raina! What if something horrible has happened?” she cried. Berry’s wings started to flutter and she flew up in the air. “I will never forgive myself if something has happened to Dash. What was I thinking, giving out candy that I didn’t know about!”
Raina touched Berry’s arm. “Let’s see what the note says. We don’t know what this is about yet.”
Berry’s hand was shaking. “I can’t,” she said, handing the note to Raina. “Would you please read this for me? I can’t bear to read any more sour news today.”
“Maybe the news isn’t bad,” Raina said. She tried to smile encouragingly at her friend.
“Please read it,” Berry pleaded.
Raina opened the letter. “Dash is fine,” she read. “But she is now orange! Please hurry and send along any information that you get.” Raina looked up from the note. “Oh, sugar,” she said. “This is worse than I thought.”
Berry’s eyes grew wide. “What do you mean?” she gasped.
“Well, she’s turning more than one color,” Raina said. “That’s not a good sign.”
Berry turned to see the sugar fly. He was waiting for a return note. Quickly, Berry scribbled a message back to her friends. “We’ll soon be on our way with help,” she said as she wrote the note. “Hold on. We’ve just arrived at the orchard.” She folded up the note and handed it to the sugar fly. “Please give this to Melli or Cocoa,” she instructed the sugar fly.
“Are you all right?” Raina asked, looking at Berry.
Suddenly Berry was juiced up. Dash needed her help, and she was going to get her out of this sour mess. She wasn’t going to be afraid. She was simply going to ask Lemona what was in her candy and how to help get Dash back to normal.
“Let’s not dip our wings in syrup yet!” Berry said. She put her hands on her hips, charged with confidence. “We’re here, aren’t we? We need to have brave hearts!”
Raina grinned. Her spunky friend was back! And just in time. If they were going to talk to Lemona, they needed to be brave and confident.
“Lemona will help us,” Berry said. With a burst of hope, she walked toward Lemona’s tree.
Just then a cloud passed over the full moon, blocking the bright moonlight for a brief moment. Berry and Raina stood still in the middle of Sour Orchard, unsure of what to do. They were so close to Lemona’s tree, but they couldn’t see a thing!
Licking lollipops!” Berry cried. “It’s too dark!” How could they talk to Lemona if they couldn’t find her front door?
“Wait,” Raina said. “I have those peppermint candies that Dash gave us before we left.” She dug around into her bag and pulled out a bright candy.
Berry smiled. “When we get back, we’ll have to thank Dash for giving those to us,” she said.
In the pale green light of the glowing peppermint, the two fairies were able to find their way to Lemona’s tree.
Berry paused before knocking on the door. There was a strong scent of lemon in the air, and Berry turned to Raina. “Ready?” she asked.
“If you are,” the Gummy Fairy said, trying to sound brave.
Berry took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The door opened, and there stood a small, older fairy.
“Hello,” the fairy said. She peered over her glasses to look at Berry and Raina. “Two young fairies at my door past Sun Dip?” she asked. “What brings you two here?”
“We’ve come for some help,” Berry said bravely.
The older fairy nodded, and opened her door wider to invite them in. Her pale yellow hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and her wings and her dress were both yellow. “Come in,” she said kindly.
Berry and Raina walked into the fairy’s house. Berry eyed Lemona. Her yellow dress was simple and neat, and her wings were gold. She had large almond-shaped eyes that were a bright green, complementing her blond hair. She didn’t look sour and mean, but Berry couldn’t be so sure.
Lemona strode over to a chair near the fireplace. There was a large yellow cauldron on the fire and a plate of lemon drop candies on a table. She stirred the pot and dropped a few lemon candies in. A poof of smoke flew from the pot. Lemona sat down in her chair and waved to Berry and Raina to have a seat on a small couch.
“What are you cooking?” Raina asked. She smelled the air. “Whatever it is, it smells delicious.”
“It’s a lemon broth for the candy hearts I am making,” she said. She settled herself in her chair. “I’m getting too old for this!” she exclaimed as she leaned back into the chair. “Heart Day always sneaks up on me and I wind up rushing.”
Berry nodded. She knew exactly how Lemona felt!
“Actually, that is why we’re here,” Berry said. She took a deep breath and told Lemona her story. As she sat by the fire she was amazed how easy it was to talk to Lemona. Berry wound up telling her all about Fruli and how she wanted to make a new dress. Then she explained how she had found the magic hearts.
“All the way by Chocolate River?” Lemona remarked. “My sweet sours, I have never heard of the wind carrying the seeds that far!”
“You mean this has happened before?” Raina asked. She sat on the edge of her seat, listening. This should be entered in the Fairy Code Book!
The older fairy nodded. “Yes, sometimes the strong winter winds make the seeds take flight.” She reached over to stir the pot. “What did you do with the candy?”
Berry looked down at her hands in her lap. “Well, I let my friend Dash the Mint Fairy eat one,” Berry told Lemona. “I know that I shouldn’t have done that.” She looked up at Lemona. “Now Dash is turning colors. She was yellow and now she’s orange!”
Lemona shook her head. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “You know that candy doesn’t always look the way it tastes.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Berry said. She kept her eyes on the ground. She was more embarrassed than ever. That is one of the first rules of candy making.
Lemona heaved herself out of her chair and walked over to the pantry. She opened up the cupboard and took out a jar. Inside were brightly colored crystal sugars, and Lemona poured a stream into the pot. “And how is Dash feeling?” she asked.
“She seems to be fine,” Berry told her. “Except her color is off. She doesn’t want to be a yellow or orange Mint Fairy.”
“I understand,” Lemona said.
Berry couldn’t believe how kind Lemona was being. When she sat and talked to the young fairies, she didn’t have a sour face at all! In fact, Lemona was being so sweet that Berry started to relax.
“Those wild flavors are a bit tricky at times,” Lemona finally said. She stood up to add a few more lemon drops in the cauldron.
“Can you help Dash?” Berry asked.
“I believe I know just the thing for your Mint Fairy friend,” Lemona said thoughtfully. She pulled a book down from the shelf behind her.
Raina’s eyes widened. She had never seen that book before. She leaned over to get a closer look at Sour Orchard, Volume III.
“Will it say in there what to do?” Berry asked anxiously.
Lemona wrapped a yellow shawl around her arms carefully. “Let me just make sure,” she said.
Berry glanced over at Raina. She hoped this trip to Sour Orchard would turn out to be worth their while. She couldn’t bear to get another sugar fly message that Dash had turned yet another color!
Please, please, Berry wished as Lemona bent over the large book, please find what you are looking for in there!
Berry and Raina sat on the edge of their seats as Lemona reviewed the large Sour Orchard history book. The two fairies watched as Lemona slowly turned the pages. She stopped once to take a sip from her yellow teacup. It was so hard to wait patiently as Lemona tried to find the answer to their question. This was worse than waiting for fruit-chew jewelry to dry!
Looking around the room, Berry noticed that Lemona had many pieces of art hanging in her home. Lemona reminded Berry of her great-aunt Razz. She was a wise and beloved Fruit Fairy. Razz had pieces of art hanging in her home too. Berry never would have imagined that she would feel so comfortable in a Sour Orchard Fairy’s house! She couldn’t wait to get back and tell Cocoa, Melli, and Dash. That is, if Lemona could solve Dash’s dilemma.
Raina looked over at Berry and smiled.
Berry was so glad her good friend was with her. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you,” she whispered.
“Oh, sure you would have,” Raina said, swatting her hand. “But I am happy to be here now. And I think Lemona is going to be able to help us.”
At that moment Lemona spoke up. “Oh, here it is!” she exclaimed. She took off her lemon-colored glasses and waved them in the air. “I knew it was in here somewhere.”
“Oh, please tell us,” Berry pleaded. “I want Dash to be back to her normal mint self.”
“It’s just as I had thought,” Lemona said. She peered over at Berry. “This will take some work, and you’ll have to act quickly.”
“Anything for Dash!” Berry declared.
“Tell us what we need to do,” Raina said.
Pointing to the open page, Lemona read the instructions. “You must gather leaves from Pepper mint Grove,” she said. “The leaves must be fresh from the vine, not from the ground.” She gazed up at the two fairies.
Both Berry and Raina nodded.
“Fresh mint leaves,” Berry repeated.
Lemona returned her attention to the book and continued to read. “Make a strong cup of peppermint tea,” she instructed. “Eat three peppermint candies from the old mint tree in the northern part of Peppermint Grove, and get plenty of rest.” Lemona looked up at the two young fairies. “If she does all that, in the morning she’ll wake up her own self.”
Berry popped off her seat. “Peppermint tea will cure her?” she asked.
Lemona nodded.
“You’d be surprised how many ailments are cured by peppermint tea!”
Raina stood up. “I know the tree you are talking about,” she said. “We’ll get those things to Dash straightaway.”
“Thank you very much,” Berry said to Lemona. “You have been so helpful.” Then she paused for a moment. “Thank you for being so sweet to us.”
The Sour Orchard Fairy threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, please,” she said. “We all make mistakes. I hope you’ve learned that you can’t assume a candy is a certain way because of its color and shape.”
“Yes!” Berry exclaimed.
Sure as sugar, she thought. She would never again assume any candy would be a certain way. She pulled off two candy jewels from her dress and handed them to Lemona. “I’d like to give you something.”
“Did you make these?” Lemona asked. “They are beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Berry said, blushing. “I’d love for you to have them. They make neat hair clips,” she added.
Lemona reached out and gave Berry a hug. And Berry gave the yellow fairy a tight squeeze back.
“We must get going,” Berry said. “We’ve got to get Dash her tea.”
“Yes, it’s getting late,” Raina added. “We should be going.”
Lemona stood up and walked the fairies to the door. “Thank you for coming,” she said. “And for the candy jewels.”
“Thank you,” Raina said. “It really was a pleasure to meet you. Will we see you at Heart Day?”
Lemona smiled. “Of course,” she said. “I love Heart Day. I’ll be there, and I’d love to see you and your Mint Fairy friend as well.”
“Licking lollipops!” Berry said. “We all wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
For the first time since Dash had taken a bite of the magic heart candy, Berry had hope that everything could go back to normal. She may not have a new dress to wear to Heart Day, but maybe Dash would be back to herself for the celebration.
As fast as fairies can fly, Berry and Raina flew to Peppermint Grove and got the peppermint leaves for the tea and the three candies. Then they quickly flew to Red Licorice Lake, where they knew Melli, Cocoa, and Dash were waiting.
“They’re back!” Cocoa cried when she spotted her friends in the air. “Did you find Lemona?”
“Was she sour like Mogu?” Melli asked. “Or did she agree to help you?”
Berry looked around. There were a few peppermints giving off a soft glow to light up the area. “Where’s Dash?”
“I’m here,” Dash said. Her voice was muffled.
“Where are you, Dash?” Berry asked. She looked to Melli and Cocoa. Both of her friends pointed to a stack of picked licorice stalks.
“She hasn’t come out of there since she started to turn orange,” Cocoa told her.
Berry knelt down and peered inside the nest of licorice. “Dash, can you come out? It’s just us. Raina and I have something for you.”
“Will it make me return to my normal color?” Dash asked. “I’m red now!”
Melli’s hand flew to her mouth. “Hot caramel,” she said. “This is getting serious.”
“Don’t worry,” Berry said. “We found Lemona, and you just need to drink some peppermint tea and eat some peppermint candy.”
“All things you love,” Raina added. “And we picked everything fresh from the grove. Honest.” She peered over Berry’s shoulder to look into the licorice nest. “Fairy Code honor.”
There was a bit of rustling, and a few licorice stalks shifted. Dash’s head popped out. “No laughing!” she said, her hands covering her face.
“Oh, Dash,” Berry said. “I don’t care what color you are, you will always be my friend.”
“But look at me!” Dash cried. “I’m red!”
Raina stepped forward. “But not for long, Dash.” She handed her a candy teacup of peppermint tea, and the three peppermint candies. “Lemona said to have these and then get a good night’s rest.”
Dash took the tea and candy from Raina and gulped everything down. She sat down on the red sugar sand and peered up at her friends.
“Do I look any different?” she asked.
“Not yet,” Berry said.
“You match the sand,” Cocoa blurted out.
Melli shot Cocoa a stern look.
“But I’m sure you’ll be feeling like yourself soon,” Cocoa added quickly.
“Lemona was so sweet, Dash,” Berry told her. “She looked up the problem in a book and was so willing to help. In the morning you’ll be feeling minty fresh, sure as sugar!”
Dash pulled the hood of her sweater over her head. “I hope you’re right,” she said. “Otherwise, there is no way I’m going to Heart Day like this.”
Berry’s heart sank. Heart Day without Dash? That would be awful! This peppermint plan had to work.
Berry raced across Sugar Valley in the early morning light. She was rushing to get to Dash’s house. She hoped that when Dash greeted her at the door, her friend would look like herself. She couldn’t bear to see Dash red, pink, purple, or any other color!
The Royal Gardens were already set up for the He
art Day celebration. From the sky above, Berry could see that the Castle Fairies were hard at work. There were small red and pink candy hearts draped from the tall sugar gates, and large heart-shaped candies hung from the royal candy trees. It was one gigantic heart fest!
Sighing, Berry hoped the day would go as she had planned. She wanted to be at the party with all her friends. She knew that if Dash wasn’t herself, the proud Mint Fairy would not go to the castle party. And that would be all Berry’s fault!
Berry raced up to Dash’s door. She knocked several times. Berry was not known for her patience, and the Fruit Fairy couldn’t wait a second longer at Dash’s doorstep.
“I’m coming!” Dash finally cried from the other side. As she opened the door, the bright morning light made her squint. She rubbed her eyes. “Berry?” she said. “What are you doing here so early?”
“I wanted to come see you first thing!” she blurted out. For the first time ever Berry was extremely early! She had jumped out of bed and quickly dressed. She wanted to be at Dash’s side when she woke up.
“Holy peppermint,” Dash said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you anywhere so early!”
Berry didn’t even respond. She pulled Dash out into the bright sunlight. She gasped and reached out to give Dash a hug. “You look like your old minty self!” she cried.
“Never underestimate the power of peppermint tea,” Dash said, grinning. “I am feeling much better.” She smiled up at Berry. “And looking much better too,” she added. She rolled up her sleeves and grinned at her normal color. She was back!
“Oh, Dash,” Berry gushed. “I am so glad! Sweet strawberries! This is going to be a great day!”
“But you didn’t have a chance to make your heart candy or finish your new outfit,” Dash said. She eyed Berry’s dress. “And you’re not even wearing the new dress you made.”
“Don’t make that sour face,” Berry said, smiling. “That other dress was stained. Besides, I love this red dress. It’s red for Heart Day!” She twirled around in front of Dash. “Look, I even added a sugar crystal heart here on the waistband.” Berry leaned down and showed Dash the sparkly heart she had sewn on. “I’m going to give Princess Lolli my heart-shaped fruit-chew barrettes.”
Magic Hearts Page 3