Chapter 8: The Reveal
Everybody in the yard turned their attention over towards Glenn, whose sudden remark had them trembling in their bones.
"Fairies?" gasped Luke. "Are you sure?"
"They are real," said Glenn. "I knew it. I just knew it!"
"No!" gasped Kendra, shaking her head. "He can't know! But... how?"
"They're really fairies?" asked Luke, as Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod started to flutter away from him and his father.
"No!" exclaimed Glenn. "Please, come back! I've been so eager to learn about you!"
"Enough!" came Bright's voice, as she appeared on the lawn in front of Luke and Glenn, now in her full-sized body.
"Who are you?" asked Luke. "How'd you do that?"
"It's another fairy!" said Glenn. "She's huge, but she has to be a fairy! She's got hair like a rainbow... and... and wings!"
"How can you tell?" asked Bright.
"I have a method of seeing you."
"We need to talk to this man," said Warren. "Clover, turn us back into humans now. He knows too much."
Clover directed a stream of green sparkles over at Kendra, Seth, Warren and Ingrid, causing them to transform from their cat bodies back into human beings.
"You people!" gasped Glenn. "How'd you..."
"Are they fairies, too?" asked Luke.
"Must be shape-shifters," said the father, as he handed something small to Luke. "Eat this."
Luke stuck what Glenn had handed to him into his mouth and proceeded to chew it. Before Luke had even finished, his eyes lit up, and he spat out some of the chewed-up food that had still been in his mouth.
"Dad, you weren't kidding! She really is a fairy! So are those other ones."
"I think all of us need to talk," said Bracken, as he and Clover grew back into their full-sized bodies.
Kendra, Seth, Warren, Ingrid, Bright, Bracken and Clover, now all properly-sized humans, walked up to the spot where Luke, Glenn and Crusher had all gathered.
"Who are you?" asked Kendra, looking at the aghast faces that the father and son were both wearing.
"My name is Glenn Landry," said the man. "And this is my son, Luke."
"How are you able to see these fairies?" asked Warren.
"I know this sounds crazy, but it was by eating this special cheese."
Glenn extended his hand, revealing several cheese curds in his palm.
"Magical cheese?" asked Seth.
"Where did you get this cheese?" asked Bright, giving Glenn a stern look.
"I got it from an associate of mine."
"Quit the act," said Warren crossing his arms and frowning. "Now listen. This isn't a game! You need to tell us exactly where you got this cheese! Because believe me, we can do a lot more to you than your dog can do to us!"
"Okay!" exclaimed Glenn. "I don't know if you've so much as even heard of him, but he lives in Georgia. His name's Wesley Fairbanks."
"You know the Fairbanks?" asked Kendra.
"I can tell that you certainly do," said Glenn, cracking a smile.
"I don't get it," said Warren to himself. "Why would Mr. Fairbanks just give away such coveted information?"
"I can see we've all got some explaining to do. Let's all go inside the house."
"Wait a moment," said Bracken, glancing towards the far end of the yard. "What about... you know... them?"
"Who's them?" asked Glenn.
"We came here with a few dragons," replied Clover. "Gentle ones, no less. If you cooperate with us, perhaps we'll let you meet them."
"I'm sending a telepathic message to Raxtus and Geminus right now," said Bracken, who had placed his hand against his forehead.
"Dragons?" asked Luke, sounding worried as he spoke. "Dad tells me that dragons are all mean and scary!"
"These dragons are an exception to the rule," said Seth, as Glenn led everybody up onto the back patio and through the back door of the mansion.
The door led into the kitchen, which was very large and newly-furnished, filled with multiple refrigerators, stoves, sinks and dishwashers.
"This way," said Glenn, as he led the group down an arched hallway lined with exquisite paintings, as well as marble flooring.
"This place is huge!" muttered Ingrid, admiring the house.
"They always say everything is bigger in Texas," said Warren.
"Dad, where are we going?" asked Luke, as his father stopped in front of a pair of closed, ebony doors.
Without responding, Glenn pulled a key from out of his pocket and used it to unlock the doors.
"Wait here," said Glenn, as he passed through the doors. "I need to turn off the alarm."
Kendra and Seth listened as Glenn pressed several buttons on a keypad located on the other side of the doors. He then opened both of the doors all the way, revealing a room lined with bookcases and a long, oak board table in the center, which was lined with plush, leather office chairs.
"Please," said Glenn. "Take a seat."
Glenn sat down at the head of the table, while Luke sat immediately to his side. Members of the group seated themselves in the nearest chairs. Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod landed atop the table, in front of where Kendra had sat.
"Now," said Bracken, "we'll be happy to tell you about us. Provided you tell us as to how you arrived at the point you're at."
"Well," began Glenn, "ever since I was a child, I was always fascinated with fantasy. Something about it... It all just felt like it could be real. Even though there was never any concrete proof. But no matter how much I believed in it, everybody kept telling me that it didn't exist. They told me to move on and stop obsessing over stuff such as mystical creatures and magic. Now, I did manage to move on with my life, but I never stopped believing."
"What about the cheese?" asked Warren. "How'd you end up with that?"
"The cheese was a recent acquisition. You see, when I was younger, my parents weren't too keen about my little... obsession. So I was prohibited from owning any fantastic memorabilia while I was living under their roof. I could see where they were coming from, but their wishes couldn't stop me from appreciating fantasy in secret. Once I left the house and went off to school, I was able to pick up from where I left off as a child. I had a part-time job, allowing me to pay for fantasy-related books and trinkets."
"What kind of books and trinkets are you talking about?" asked Seth.
"Probably nothing special. At that time, all I had access to were books anybody could walk into a store and buy. However, once I graduated from business school, I got into the oil business and over the years, amassed my own fortune. Now that I had money to burn, I was able to purchase anything my heart desired, enough to fill this entire room."
"The cheese?" asked Warren.
"I'm getting there. You see, although my collection continued to grow, I came no closer to finding any concrete evidence that any of this fantasy stuff was actually real. I scoured countless libraries, collectors and internet sites, but wasn't having any real success. However, last year, I went to a shareholders' meeting. While I was waiting for the meeting to start, I was reading a book about nymphs. Never before had anybody cared about my personal interests, until I was approached by one Wesley Fairbanks."
"What did he say?" asked Kendra.
"Well, he asked me if I was interested in magical creatures," replied Glenn. "I told him yes, and he invited me out for dinner that night. He was the first person I'd ever met who truly understood me. Now, Wesley never flat-out said that there really were magical creatures out there, but he did tell me to never stop believing, and even game me some cheese that he had in his hotel room. I had read about magical milk, and surmised that perhaps the cheese really was special. Wesley had told me that I should save it, and that it came from a place called Fablehaven, which I had never..."
"Fablehaven!" exclaimed Seth, whose heart had skipped a beat. "It can't be..."
"Yeah, he said the cheese was made from the milk of a huge, magical cow."
"You don't get it," said Warren. "Fablehaven is where we live."
"Fablehaven is real?" asked Glenn. "You mean it? Oh, where was I? Anyway, long story short, when Luke and I were in Hawaii, he was approached by this strange butterfly. Since I had told Luke all that I knew about the fantasy world, he too was wary of the butterfly. However, neither of us were sure, plus we had to leave to head back home that same day. I never thought the fairy would return. Yet here she is, along with the rest of you."
"Warren," said Kendra, tugging her cousin by her arm, "was it okay for Mr. Fairbanks to tell this guy about our world?"
"Mr. Fairbanks admittedly did not tell me that any of this was real," replied Glenn. "He merely told me that it could be real, and that I should never stop believing. Now tell me already. Who are you people and how did you get to this point?"
"We'll tell you," said Clover. "Under the agreement that you promise to never speak a word of this to anyone."
"I promise," said Glenn, nodding his head.
The group proceeded to introduce themselves to the Landrys, starting with the four humans. Once they got around to the fairies' turns, Glenn and Luke were both quite intrigued.
"Let me get this straight," said Glenn. "The fairy realm is a real place? And you're all from there?"
"Correct," said Bracken.
"The fairy realm. I've only ever read about it in books. But it was mostly conjecture. Information about it, whether it's fact or fiction, is scarce."
The group went on to tell the Landrys about things like preserves, the Knights of the Dawn, their allies, their enemies, as well as the adventures they had been on.
"So what brought you to Hawaii?" asked Glenn.
"Vacation, really," replied Seth. "We were hoping to just enjoy ourselves, but some unwanted guests decided to tag along and crash the party!"
As Seth spoke, he glared over at Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod.
"Luke and I did travel to Hawaii for pleasure. However, I was hoping to get a chance to scope out any possible signs of the magical world, possibly aspects indigenous to Hawaii. Until Luke had spotted what turned out to be Larissa, we'd been having zero success.
"Larissa, why exactly were you drawn to Luke, anyway?"
"I'm not sure..." replied the blue fairy. "He just felt special."
"Luke," said Bright, "before what happened yesterday on the beach, did you think that magic and mystical creatures were real?"
"Well..." said Luke, "I wasn't sure. I wanted to believe they were real. My dad kept convincing me that they probably were. He told me to never give up hope."
"That's correct," said Glenn. "As absurd as some of this stuff seemed, a part of me felt that there had to be some truth to it. That's why I explained to Luke to keep an open mind, and to truly accept the fact that all of this magic stuff could in fact be real."
Kendra stopped to think for a moment. Glenn's attitude towards Luke reminded her of her grandparents trying to introduce her parents, and later herself and Seth, to the magic of Fablehaven. The only major difference was that the Sorensons actually knew the truth, while Glenn was basing everything he knew purely off of assumption.
"Do you mind telling me a bit about Fablehaven?" asked Glenn. "I understand if I can't go there, but I'd be really interested in hearing about it."
"I supposed we can tell you a bit," said Warren. "At this point, what have we got to lose?"
The group proceeded to tell Glenn and Luke about Fablehaven, without giving too much of its actual secrets away. The Landrys were absolutely fascinated by hearing about all of the creatures who lived there. What they said about Viola was truly a wonder to the Landrys, for the very cheese they had just consumed had been made from her milk.
"Can you show us some magic?" asked Luke. "I haven't really seen much. The cats turning into people happened so fast."
"Magic?" asked Bracken, squinting his eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Could you?" asked Glenn.
"I suppose we can," said Bright. "Watch this."
Bright extended her hand and unleashed a flow of rainbow sparkles towards Luke. Suddenly, Luke began to levitate upwards and off of his chair, so that he was hovering a few feet above the table.
"I'm flying!" exclaimed Luke, as he flailed his arms and legs around, trying to position himself. "I'm really flying!"
"I don't believe it," said Glenn, staring at his floating son with his mouth hung low. "How'd you do that?"
"Magic," said Bright, as she used her power to lower Luke back down onto the floor in a standing position.
"I really flew!" said Luke, as he jumped into the air, only to drop down immediately after. He then jumped up again in an attempt to fly, but unsurprisingly failed.
"Luke, stop jumping in the house," said Glenn, turning his head towards the group, as he mouthed something in astonishment.
"This really seems like a large house," said Seth. "Anybody else even live here?"
"I'm afraid not," said Glenn. "My wife passed away two years ago, so it's just been Luke and myself. And Crusher. We have a few staff who work for us, but none of them reside on the premises. I treasure my family's privacy."
"Do more magic!" cried Luke. "That was so cool!"
"Luke, try to show some respect for our guests. You can't expect them to just perform on command like circus animals."
"Speaking of animals," said Warren, "would you like to see the dragons now?"
"They're nice, you said. Yes?"
"Believe me," said Warren, "if we had wanted to pose a threat, we would have done it the minute we got here. We clearly have the resources to devastate you if we so chose. But we won't, because we're the good guys."
Glenn got up from the table and walked back towards the door, gesturing for Luke and the group to get up from the table and follow him.
"Look, I don't want you folks to see me as a bad guy either," said Glenn, as he opened up the doors to the hallway. But I can understand if you feel wary. I mean, you guys have access to real magic and powerful creatures. All I've got for protection is Crusher, my pistol, some insurance and a team of lawyers."
Glenn led the group through the hall and back towards the kitchen. From there, the group went back outside onto the patio, where they were greeted by Crusher. Now in friendlier spirits, Crusher was panting and wagging her tail.
"Come here, girl," said Warren, as he rubbed the Doberman Pinscher on her head.
"You're not afraid of her?" asked Glenn.
"What big teeth she has," said Warren. "But to answer your question, no way! We've dealt with nastier dogs than her. Heck, most of the creatures at Fablehaven could be considered a bigger threat than a dog, even though we're on good terms with them. Most of them, anyway."
"But these dragons..." said Seth, as they made their way across the yard. "Well, you'll see."
"It's okay, you four," said Bracken, as the group stopped in front of a hedge. "These people know about you. You can reveal yourself."
Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall all rose up from the crouching positions they had been in on the other side of the hedge, poising the upper halves of their bodies over the plants.
"Dragons..." gasped Glenn.
"Holy moly!" muttered Luke.
"Glenn and Luke, these four dragons our are friends," said Kendra. "They are Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall. "Dragons, this man is Glenn Landry, and his son is Luke."
"Um, hello," said Raxtus, speaking cautiously.
"You can talk?" exclaimed Glenn.
"Can you dragons breathe fire?" asked Luke.
"I can," said Firesquall, as he bent his head upwards, opened his mouth and shot a small burst of flames into the air.
"Amazing," said Glenn. "But try to keep it down. I don't want to attract any attention from my neighbors."
"Can the rest of you breathe fire?" asked Luke.
Raxtus, Geminus and Skyfrost shook their heads.
"Well, Geminus and I can exert light energy in a fiery form," said Raxtus, "but it's not actual fire."
"Light energy?" asked Glenn. "But how?"
"We're fairy dragons, Raxtus and I," replied Geminus. "Dragons with fairy attributes. You see, Raxtus is a dragon who was raised by fairies, while I was originally a fairy who voluntarily became a dragon. I'd say we compliment each other well."
"As for me," said Skyfrost, "I'm the twin brother of Firesquall. But I specialize in ice, not fire."
Skyfrost proceeded to shoot a small breath of ice onto a patch of grass, coating it underneath a thin layer of frost.
"Wow," said Luke. "We never get snow here!"
"I must say," said Glenn. "Now that we've gotten to know each other, is there anything else that you would like to discuss?"
"Well, I couldn't help but notice that you had an entire collection devoted to your interest in the magical world," said Warren. "Perhaps you would be so kind as to show us around a bit?"
"Really?" asked Glenn. "That's what you want to see?"
"What's wrong with that?" asked Seth.
"There's nothing wrong with it. It's just that you people are already well acquainted with this world, and my possessions, as informative as they are, are either filled with false information, or won't tell you anything you don't already know."
"Not necessarily," said Warren. "After all, one man's trash is another man's treasure."
Glenn nodded. "I understand. Let's go back inside and I'll show you around some more. How's that sound?"
"That sounds... great," said Bracken.
