Without waiting for a reply, Pixyforcefully spread his wings and soared down towards the trail belowbefore fluttering off through the apple trees. Nixy stood watchingthe strange party of humans for what seemed to be a long timebefore Pixy returned with scores of other fairies to help transportthe invaders to the Stay Bushes.
“You are taking them to theStay Bushes and not the acid pits, aren’t you?” Nixyinquired.
“Yes, yes,” Pixy sighed. “Ithink they ought to be disposed of, though. One human in the StayBushes is all right, but all of these can be dangerous. Midge foundout somehow and demanded that they be taken to the Stay Bushes andthat I report immediately to Queen Mita. You will have to supervisethe moving. Make sure they are kept asleep even after you havedelivered them.”
Pixy left the mass of fairies assignedto deal with the invaders and flew into the orchard. Soaringbetween apple trees which held the homes of his fellow fairies,Pixy angled towards the very center of the orchard where the greatFather Tree stood, the tree that the Mage had used to restore theorchard after the blight caused by Alutar and his ogres. FatherTree had a hole through its bark, level with a human’s head andsporting a wide protrusion outside of it. It was on this lip thatQueen Mita held court and Pixy set down on it with the precision ofan acrobat.
“Your Highness,” bowed Pixy tothe blue fairy. “We have captured a large band of humans bent oninvading our homeland. Nixy, at this very moment, is escorting theinterlopers to the Stay Bushes. There is one among them that usesoutlander magic and I think we should send them off to acid pits atour earliest opportunity.”
“I did not know that your headwas large enough to accommodate an ogre brain, Pixy,” Queen Mitarebuked. “Would you send every human who comes close to our homedirectly off to the acid pits? Would you have handled the Mage in alike manner when he showed up to restore this orchard?”
Flushing with embarrassment, Pixyresponded, “Of course not, Your Highness, but these invaders arewarriors and come heavily armed.”
“What do the humans looklike?” quizzed the Queen.
“They are all dressed in blackand carry great swords and large bows,” Pixy answered.
“And what were they sayingwhen you observed them?” prompted the Queen.
“He does not know,” answered agreen fairy upon landing on the platform. “According to Nixy, heissued the Sleep Spell before any of them had uttered aword.”
“Thank you, my son,” QueenMita greeted Midge.
“Of course they were sayingnothing,” protested Pixy. “They were trying to sneak up onus.”
“We have a furthercomplication, Queen Mita,” Midge interjected. “We have transportedsix humans, but there are seven horses and they were all beingridden.”
Nixy arrived at that moment and settleddown next to Pixy. “The blond female is the one that is missing,Prince Midge,” she said as she bowed to the Queen.
“How could you lose her?” Pixyblurted out. The Sleep Spell you put on her must not have beenstrong enough.”
“I did not put a Sleep Spellon her,” frowned Nixy. “I thought you had already doneso.”
“I was,” Pixy respondedsheepishly, “until I got distracted by the witch. I thought yourealized that and finished her.”
“Enough!” demanded the Queen.“Midge, we are losing light already. Send out patrols to locatethis missing human and retrieve her. Have them be careful. Pixysays that they are dressed in black and use outlander magic. We maybe facing a band of Black Devils. I would prefer that she besubdued and placed in the Stay Bushes, but kill her if youmust.”
Prince Midge threw himself off thebalcony in a dive and soared towards a large group of green fairiesclad in shiny mail and tiny helmets. The Queen turned to Nixy andfixed her with a look of despair.
“Nixy this is not the firsttime that you have lost a delivery,” rebuked the Queen. “You shallbe in charge of watching over the captives to ensure that they donot wake. Pixy, you shall have the dubious honor of determining whothey are and why they are here. I will not accept any mishandlingof the prisoners, but you will remain within the Stay Bushes untilyou have accomplished your task.”
With a wave of her tiny hand, QueenMita dismissed the other two fairies.
* * * *
Tanya lay under the windswept pile ofoak leaves from last fall’s dropping and watched with fascinationas the fairies levitated the other Rangers away. She wasn’t surewhy she had not fallen prey to their magic, but it was apparentthat her friends were being taken captive and not harmed. Shestarted to fall asleep like the others, but suddenly the feelinghad just departed. At first she had thought to lash out at thefairies and free her comrades, but, thankfully, she remembered thereason for their journey. It was the Sapphire of the Fairies thatthey were after and they had found the fairies, no matter theircurrent predicament, so Tanya slid off the trail and quietlycrawled away.
Tanya cringed involuntarily as anotherslimy thing crawled across her leg. The half-year-old leaves stillheld the moisture of winter and decomposition and she shuddered atthe thought of what type of creatures inhabited them.
When the last of the fairies left shethought about following them, but quickly decided to wait for thecoming darkness. She spent the time trying to remember Uncle Boris’tales about the fairies. She shoved her face further out of thesmelly pile of leaves and was rewarded with the sweet, fresh smellof the apple orchard nearby.
Uncle Boris had told thousands oftales, but not many stories that involved fairies. All of the taleshe did tell seemed to indicate that the fairies were a good andwell-intentioned people. She could only remember one specificnarrative and it dealt with Prince Midge, the son of Queen Mita,and the Great Mage traveling to imprison the Great Demon, Alutar.In the story the Mage created a homeland for the desolate fairiesand centered it around a giant apple tree. She was wondering ifthis was that same orchard when a dozen mail-clad fairies marchedby scanning the forest.
She froze as the fairies passed andpulled her head farther into the leaves when they were out of sightin case they doubled back. An hour passed and the small fairy armyhad not returned. Darkness had fallen over the forest and Tanyayearned to be free of the decomposing pile of leaves and the tinycreatures that lived in it. Slowly she pulled herself out of thepile of leaves and looked around. The forest was dark and eerilyquiet. Slowly she crept in the direction her fellow travelers hadbeen taken. Within a few dozen paces the oak trees thinned and theapple orchard began.
Tanya deeply inhaled the sweet scent ofthe orchard and squinted her eyes to make out the little figuresmoving among the trees. Subconsciously, she stuffed her long blondhair under her leather cap and sat behind a bush to observe thefairies. She watched for several hours and saw several armedparties returning, but no sign of the Rangers. She did observe thereturn of the patrol that had passed her pile of leaves, but theycame into the orchard from another direction.
The amount of activity in the orchardstarted to diminish as fairies flew into holes in the apple treesand did not return. Remembering the lessons that Garth had giventhe Rangers on penetration of hostile encampments, Tanya started amethodical circuit of the orchard. Remaining in the darkest shadowsof the oak forest, Tanya worked her way around the circumference ofthe orchard. When she had almost completed the circle, she stoppedat the sight of Garth Shado.
She had seen Garth first because of hisheight, but the others were there, as well. Each Ranger was tied toa vertical pole in the center of a dense, circular bush. There weremore bushes than Rangers and it appeared that whatever security thebushes provided, the fairies could accommodate a few moreintruders. The bushes had large, sharp thorns, but Tanya failed tosee how a few cuts and bruises would ensure that a prisoner did notescape. Given enough time, she was sure that Garth would be able toescape the rope that bound him and then he would be able to pushhis way through the bushes to free the others. Tanya saw one smallblue fairy sitting on top of one of the bushes looking bored. Everyonce in a while, she could spot a green fairy flying from onep
risoner to another.
Tanya ducked her head down as a pair offairies came walking by between her and the bushes that held theRangers. Only the fact that both of the fairies were looking theother way saved Tanya from detection. Holding her breath, she heardthe voices of the two fairies.
“I did not know that Nixy’shead would hold the brain of an ogre,” the first fairy chuckled.“She sits on the Stay Bush without a thought to the consequences.One prick of those thorns would kill an ogre and she sits amongthem.”
“She will be there all night,”the second fairy laughed. “Queen Mita was very annoyed that sheallowed one of the humans to escape. They have had patrols outlooking for her for hours, but . . .”
The voices trailed off and Tanya couldhear no more, but she had heard enough. Whether the fairies meantto kill the Rangers or not, no longer mattered. Tanya knew that theRangers would attempt to escape and they were not aware of thepoison in the thorns. One by one, the Rangers would die and she wasnot going to stand by and let that happen.
Tanya slid back into the oak forest andsearched for the largest oak tree. When she finally found it, shestarted climbing. She continued climbing until the thin branchesthreatened to break under her weight. Clinging to the trunk, shegingerly settled herself down to a tenuous sitting position on athin branch where it met the trunk. She gazed down at the orchardand had a clear view of the layout of the village. The Stay Busheswere very visible and she could now see the green fairy flittingfrom one prisoner to another. The fairy seemed to be searching themany pockets and pouches of the prisoners. The rest of the orchardwas less visible. Tanya could detect the placement of the trees andcould easily see the trunk of the largest one in the center, as ithad a clearing around it, but the branches and leaves of the appletrees obstructed her view of a good deal of the orchardfloor.
She clung to the trunk for a whilewatching the Stay Bushes. Every once in a while her vision wasdrawn to returning patrols. Each returning patrol sent one fairy tothe large center tree and on a platform partway up the trunk thefairy bowed to a blue fairy that came out of the hole behind theplatform. Tanya surmised that she was observing Queen Mitareceiving the reports of the returning patrols and an idea formedin her mind.
Tanya continued watching the villageuntil no more patrols returned and the only movement below wasaround the Stay Bushes. Unaware of how many hours she had beensitting in that awkward position, Tanya flexed her muscles andquietly climbed down the large oak tree. Slowly and silently, shemaneuvered her way around the orchard to the point that would offerthe shortest distance to the large apple tree.
Slowly, step-by-step, Tanya inched herway towards the Queen’s tree, stopping every few steps to listenfor any sounds. Half-way there, Tanya had to press her back againsta tree and hold her breath as a fairy came out of his hole and flewto another. Two many hours of being cramped up in a tree or behinda bush caused Tanya to feel weary, but the adrenaline of sneakinginto the fairies’ stronghold kept her alert. Finally, after whatseemed an eternity, Tanya reached the Queen’s tree. She put her earagainst the tree, but nothing could be heard. Steeling her courage,Tanya scrapped her finger along the underside of the platform onthe other side of the tree. Leaning so she could just see aroundthe large tree’s trunk, she waited. Nothing happened.
Tanya stuck her finger out and, aslightly as she could, tapped the underside of the platform. Hearinga distant rustling of cloth, Tanya got ready. Queen Mita walked outon the platform and stared around. As quickly as she could, Tanyareached out and grabbed the Queen of the Fairies.
Surprisingly, the Queen did not cryout. Tanya held one finger to her lips and brought the fairy up toher face with her other hand. Tanya quickly realized why the Queenhad not cried out and shifted her grasp so the Queen couldbreath.
“I am sorry,” whispered Tanya.“Make no sound and you will be safely returned.”
The Queen glared at Tanya and spoke ina dignified voice. “You will gain nothing by taking me. The Fairieswill not bow down to your kind for the life of their Queen. Anotherwill take my place and your friends will be killed.”
“I wish to talk with youwithout ending up in your Stay Bushes,” whispered Tanya. “Will yoube quiet and come with me or must we have unnecessary bloodshed onboth sides?”
“I will talk with you,”declared the Queen, “but we will do so right here. If you manage toget me out of the orchard, my armies will pursue you and we willnot have a chance to talk. I guarantee that when our discussion isover, you will be allowed to walk out of here freely.”
“And then be pursued with avengeance,” Tanya snorted. “You will pledge your son’s life as myguarantee of safety. Swear on Prince Midge’s life that I will notbe pursued or harmed.”
“As long as you do no harm tomy people,” Queen Mita affirmed, “you have my pledge on my son’slife.”
“Very well,” Tanya accepted asshe placed Queen Mita on the small balcony. “I have heard storiesof your dealings with the Great Mage and he is said to havebelieved you an honorable and trustworthy people. I will chance mylife on his words.”
“You know the Great Mage?”Queen Mita questioned.
“No,” replied Tanya, “but myuncle knows of his stories including the one where he restored thisorchard and had Prince Midge accompany him to imprisonAlutar.”
“So that is how you knew myson’s name,” reflected the Queen. “Why have your people come intoour orchard?”
“We were captured beforecoming to your orchard,” Tanya corrected, “but we would have comehere anyway. My friends and I seek to end the Dark One’s rule andour journey requires us to speak with you about the HolySapphire.”
“What does the Holy Sapphirehave to do with ending the Darkness?” queried the Queen.
At that point a shout rang out fromsomewhere in the orchard that was quickly followed by more shouts.Tanya swung around and saw hundreds of fairies emerging from allover the orchard. As she turned back to grab the Queen, she sawQueen Mita holding her hand up to the gathering fairies.
“Hold,” the Queen shouted.“This human is my guest and will not be harmed. All of you go backto sleep, but send Midge here.”
The fairies reluctantly turned anddisappeared. In an amazingly short time, Prince Midge landed on theplatform. “As you can see,” Queen Mita stated, “the Mage told thetruth. You may trust the word of the fairies. Son, this is themissing human and I have guaranteed her safety with yourlife.”
Prince Midge just nodded and stood onthe platform next to his mother. “You were talking about the HolySapphire,” reminded the Queen.
“Yes,” began Tanya whileshaking her head. “The Prophecy states that the Dark One will bekilled by the Sword of Heavens which we possess. Before the Swordmay be used, the seven gems in its hilt must be restored. Your HolySapphire is one of those gems.”
A green fairy suddenly landed on theplatform, startling Tanya. He quickly whispered something inMidge’s ear and they both flew off. Dismissing the interruption,the Queen sat down.
“The fairies’ very existenceis dependent on the Holy Sapphire,” the Queen explained as PrinceMidge returned. “We cannot just turn it over to you even if we hada desire to do so.”
“The Sword of Heavens gave usa vision before it led us here,” Tanya explained. “The visionshowed the Sapphire and a blue fairy reciting a verse. That versesaid that the Sapphire was a lie. Surely you know the verse thatwas spoken by the fairy in the vision.”
“I know the verse very well,”confided the Queen. “This is the verse you speak of:”
Your blood will flow ‘til none isleft
While darkness around you descends
On Holy Sapphire all you have
Fate of the Fairies do depend.
The Crown of Light the Fairies’Life
Without it all are doomed to die
The Holy Sapphire just a patch
Redemption only just a lie.”
Prince Midge stared off into the forestas he said:
The Bringer knows not what he d
oes
But fate has chosen only he
Who bears the mark upon his chest
The Winged Serpent death doth flee.
Queen Mita snapped her head to glare ather son, but the Prince returned her glare withdetermination.
“He is here,” Prince Midgeproclaimed. “He is one of the humans which we captured today. Thatis what brought Pixy to the platform moments ago.”
“Wake him and bring him here,”snapped the Queen.
“What is happening?” Tanyaasked. “What is this about a Bringer?”
“You have heard only thebeginning of the Fairy Prophecy,” Queen Mita explained. “The restdeals with someone known to us as the Bringer. We have alwaysassumed that the Bringer would be a fairy, but my son believes thatone of your companions is meant to fulfill the Prophecy. We shallsee soon enough. You have asked for my peoples’ restraint. I nowask the same pledge from you. I am having one of your companionsbrought here in an awakened state. You will ensure that fairies donot come to harm through his actions.”
“I shall,” Tanya agreed as shewatched Arik annoyingly march towards the tree.
“What is going on?” hedemanded of Tanya. “Why have they freed us and not theothers?”
“Arik, please restrain yourtemper,” Tanya suggested. “I want to know the answers to that andmany other questions. Queen Mita has agreed to talk with us inpeace and I have promised our cooperation and their safety. Let ushear what the Queen wants with you.”
“So, your name is Arik,”greeted Queen Mita. “This is my son, Prince Midge. Arik, would youkindly bare your chest?”
Arik look stunned and turned to look atTanya, who was obviously confused about where the Queen wasleading. “I would prefer not to, Your Highness,” Arik finallydeclared.
Tanya was shocked at Arik’s answer tothe Queen, but Queen Mita merely smiled. “If you have any chancewhatsoever of even seeing the Holy Sapphire, you will have tocomply. I am told that you bear a strange mark on your chest and asthe Queen of the Fairies, I must make decisions based on what Isee. I assure you that I am not asking to embarrassyou.”
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