(( AN: Sorry this took so long to get out, been feeling under-the-weather. ))
31.
Toby laced up her sneakers, which had mysteriously been cleaned so expertly they looked like new. Sitting up, she brushed her long brown hair back off of her shoulder and let her eyes wander around the small room. She hadn't even lived her for a whole week but in those days it'd come to feel comfortable and safe. She sighed, telling herself not to dwell on it. She was sure she'd be back here soon enough.
They just had to find Rosepink and... Turn her into a gopher or something.
She looked up at the sound of the curtain rustling, smiling at the sight of Dominic. Behind him, however, was a veritable train of people. Verum, Fizzybink, Georgette, and Valiance were all behind him, filing in as if it were some sort of ceremony. Toby straightened up, confused as to what was going on, especially at the sight of a throng of Fairies behind Verum, all peeking in as if to catch a glance of their infamous Princess.
"What's going on?" she asked Dominic, standing and brushing her hands off on her jeans. It was almost weird seeing him in normal clothes after seeing him dressed up like an honest-to-goodness Knight.
"Apparently it's a tradition with the Fairies to give gifts to the Princess the night of her coronation ball. Since that didn't happen... well, they wanted to do it right now." Dominic shrugged and glanced over at Verum who smiled at Toby.
"All you need to do is thank each one for their gift, Princess. I promise it's fairly painless."
Toby didn't hesitate, but nodded. "All right. I don't look like much of a Princess right now, but you can send them in."
Verum nodded and moved towards the doorway. Toby glanced around the room, trying to figure out where would be the best to receive them, but then decided the futon she'd been sitting on was probably the best bet. So she sat down again, reaching up and brushing her brown hair behind her shoulder. Dom moved to stand behind her, putting a light hand on her shoulder. A faint blush sprang to Toby's cheeks at the touch, but she smiled at him, thankful for his support. Truthfully, however, she wasn't afraid anymore. Dying and then coming back seemed to have put things in perspective for her, and she felt a quiet confidence she'd never had before.
She could handle a few Fairies.
A 'few' Fairies turned out to be basically every Fairy in Avalon. They filed in through the doorway, approaching her one at a time. Then they would bow or curtsey before her, holding out a trinket to her, often with a smile or a murmured comment to the effect of 'we're happy to have you as our Princess.' The gifts were everything from small feathers that sparkled with irridescent light to jewels and gems that glittered and shone in the light. There were odder ones, little boxes full of powder she couldn't identify, a pendant with a pearl goose outline inlaid in it, even a pair of tiny jeweled shoes. One fairy even gave her a small bag of the tiniest golden-brown acorns that Toby had ever seen.
Toby didn't ask what each one was, feeling like that would be too insulting. Instead, she took the gift, thanked the Fairy, and tried to burn his or her face into her memory. There was no way she was going to remember any of their names -- Peaplant? Skee? Beesbuzz? -- but she could at least try and recognize them the next time she saw them.
One Fairy, a delicate shade of blue, even had tears in her eyes. "Rosalinde was my best friend in the whole world," she said softly. "She would be so proud to have a Princess like you to bring our land back to life."
Then she kissed Toby's hand and rose. As she left the room, Toby saw her embrace Fiz out of the corner of her eyes.
Toby handed the small sealed box that the Fairy had given her to Dom, and he set it down on the table behind them, a table that was rapidly becoming cluttered with everything that she was receiving.
By the time the last few Fairies approached her, Toby's head was spinning. Every single Fairy had looked at her and smiled, had noticed her and had been happy to see her. The brunette had never had that sort of attention before, and it was dizzying. She was suddenly, intensely glad that she'd refused to give in, that she hadn't left these people without a Princess once more.
When she looked up again she found, to her surprise, that Georgette was standing in front of her, her white silver armor shining in the light of the room. She held out a sword in its scabbard and Toby reached up to take it.
"Thou wilt need to train. Dominic doth carry his own sword and thou hath Kjavaeos, but thou canst not practice with a sundered blade. This blade doth be called Skysyr. It wilt serve thee well until thou hast repaired Kjavaeos." Then she bowed to Toby. She hesitated and for a moment Toby thought the blonde Knight was going to say something else to her. But instead, Georgette simply smiled, straightened, and walked away.
Valiance's hooves clipped on the ground as he approached her, stretching out his neck. Toby cupped her hands and he dropped a small pendant into her hands. It looked like a twist of red blown glass on a silken cord.
"It's a Verastone," he said. "It is a shard of glass from the volancoes in my land. If it is taken from the ground, it will lose its powers unless collected by one that has not uttered a lie in the past sixty years. Wear it around your neck against your skin and it will heat up whenever someone is lying to you."
Then he tossed his head, his ears flicking back, and Toby smiled. "Thank you, Valiance." He dipped his head in a horse-like bow, then turned and trotted over to where Georgette was.
Verum was next, a simple silver cord that looked like it had been made from spun spiderwebs laying across her palms. "Kjavaeos will not let itself be taken from you anymore Princess, but you cannot simply carry an artifact of such great magic in the mundane world without drawing unnecessary attention. This cord has a spell woven into it such that when it is wrapped three times around Kjavaeos's scabbard it will hide the sword to all but those who you wish to see it. It will only work if you keep the sword sheathed and on you."
"I was wondering about that," Toby admitted with a soft laugh and took the cord from Verum. She wrapped it three times around Kjavaeos's battered scabbard and knotted it. Then she looked up at Verum. "Did I do it right?"
The Fairy Godmother-in-training smiled. "I cannot see the sword anymore."
"Neither can I," Dominic said, sounding impressed. "That's really useful, Verum."
The silver-haired young woman beamed at the compliments. "See? I do get things right. Verily vapid, indeed!"
They laughed. Once the laughter had died away, Toby turned to see Fiz standing in front of her. She hardly recognized him. There was the familiar sparkle in his eyes, the energy that seemed to drive him, but now not only was he her size but he looked the part of a King. Gone was the armor he'd worn, replaced by rich, deep green robes that set off his pale hair. Encircling his brow was a twist of gold, the hint of leaves crafted into the crown.
"Your majesty," she said, and Fiz waved his hand at her.
"To you, Princess, I will always just be Fiz."
"Okay, but then you can't call me Princess. It's not fair," Toby pointed out, and Fiz held up his hands, chuckling in defeat. He knelt in front of her, then took one of her hands in his -- though, Toby noticed, not the one Rosepink had pricked her with.
"As a Princess, you will always be welcome in the magical and hidden places of our world. I wish I could give you the tour that you deserve, from the mountain caves of the Gryphons all the way to the tiny Pixie villages and the deep forest homes of the Unicorns. That, unfortunately, will have to wait. I can only hope that some day you will be free to see all of our world. Until then, my gift to you, Princess, is a Key. If ever you need to seek entrance to our lands, this will guide you to the nearest entrance and aid you in opening the door."
He reached out and placed a small box in her hand. Toby gazed down at it, running her finger along the intricate vine designs inlaid in the top of the burnished brown wood. "Open it," Fiz prompted. When she did, she found herself looking at a.. compass? The little needle was swinging back and forth between several points, coming to rest at one of the point of the rose etched into the wood underneath it before moving to another, as if it couldn't make up its mind which way it wanted to point.
"This compass will point wherever you ask it to point. All you need to tell it is where you want to go and it will guide you. So in order to return to Believe, simply ask the compass to show you the nearest Door and it will do so."
Toby concentrated on the compass in her hands. Show me the Door to Avalon.
Instantly, the needle flicked around, pointing towards one of the walls in the room. Toby felt a thrill of satisfaction; she knew that was the direction that the stump-entrance lay. She looked up at Fiz and smiled. "Thanks, Fiz."
He winked at her, then stood. Toby tucked the compass into her pocket, then stood as well, looking over in time to see Verum waving her wand and making all of the gifts Toby had received zoom into a chest that she'd conjured out of thin air or something. Once she was done, she flicked her twig-wand at the chest and it suddenly animated, coming to life on four little stubby feet.
Toby shook her head; Verum and her walking furniture.
"All right, Princess. Do you have all of your belongings? We're ready to take you home now." Verum tucked the little wand away again, peering at Toby.
The brunette took a moment to look around the room, then looked up at Verum, nodding. "I'm ready."
The Fairy Godmother-in-training turned and led them from the room. As Toby let the curtain fall behind her, she found herself standing in the middle of two lines of Fairies. All colors and sizes, they stood shoulder to shoulder, as if guarding her way to the entrance. She hesitated, but Dominic gently put his hand on the small of her back.
She started walking forward.
No one said anything, just watched her as she passed, followed by Dominic, Georgette, Valiance, Fizzybink, and the chest trundling along. As she walked underneath the tree that had, so recently, been shriveled and dead, she noticed, for the first time, small pink buds forming on the edges of the branches. The branches still bore many of the pale white flowers they had sprouted when Toby's magic had re-awakened it.
It had come back to life, and for whatever reason, the sight reassured her even as she entered the shadow of the stump and began climbing the stairs to the surface, leaving Avalon and its shining Fairies behind her.