Fairy Tale

Chapter 10 Alternities

While Kara was busy checking out the lower two cottages, Ed was in the topmost one with Chizora. She didn't give him much time to ponder a way out of the dilemma with her incessant demands on his attention. At the moment, she was stirring up something in a wooden bowl, so Ed took time to look around. The space resembled a hollowed-out tree, even having leafy vines running along the ceiling. A small throw rug lay beside the bed, itself positioned by a round window with branches for panes. A bunny and a large frog hopped about. Finally the fairy presented him the bowl, filled with a type of gray porridge. Ed recalled the taboo about eating fairy food—it was another life sentence. Chizora gave him a stern look, but decided to try it herself with two fingers. It needed something, in her view. Ed tried to recall from his academy days what the ingredients were.

He perched on the bed. "Let's see—bluebell petals, fairy dew, hare's milk, frog bubbles, and those are just the ones we know about." He watched as Chizora picked up the frog, the size of a cat, and squeezed. A large bubble appeared at a nostril, which she collected on a fingertip and popped over the concoction. Again she offered Ed the bowl. "Here goes." He dipped two fingers in. "Hm. Not bad. Like baby cereal in a way, but I can't describe it." Between them, they finished off the bowl. Ed had to find out how Kara fared.

He walked out onto the small patio and saw it was possible to climb down the gabled roof of Chianna's cottage. Carefully working his way down, he looked in to see Kara seated next to the blonde Chianna watching a small TV, of all things. An episode of The Honeymooners, of all things.

"Ed," Kara said, holding up a soda can. "I'm not familiar with Mountain Dew, but I've tasted it before somehow."

"That's because you know it as Kickapoo Joy Juice. In a couple of years in your era, some marketing genius is gonna rename it." So this is what fairies did all day. "Any luck with Chiella?"

Kara rose to go out on the patio, where Chianna wouldn't hear. "I think she's the key. Her cottage is a boutique full of mirrors and vanities. She has lots of dresses, all red, of different cuts. I'm thinking we might be able to offer her a new look. She isn't in right now, so let's climb down."

They made it down to the lower patio, where winding steps were carved into the massive trunk the complex was built on. In the distance, Chiella was flying toward them. Chizora had flitted down to join them as well. Chiella held a water ball she apparently intended to place in a bird bath, but Chizora held out her hand for it. Then Chizora presented the water ball to Ed, and of course it dripped through his fingers. "Hilarious," Ed said. Chizora grinned, batting her wings about his face.

"Ho, mates!" An older gent hailed from the ground below, looking like an eighteenth century chimney sweep. "The ladies got two more I see. My, but women in your time sure dress scandalous!"

Ed and Kara walked down the steps to meet him. He word a battered stovepipe hat and soot-stained clothing. "We have the advantage of being able to summon the fairies," Ed said. "I'm hoping that gives us some leverage in getting out of here. What's your story?"

"The age old transgression, mate. I fell asleep in a fairy circle. Didn't know it at the time. Just a circle of mushrooms far as I was concerned. Say, want to meet the folks? We got a village down the way."

"We'd like that," Kara said. "I'm getting an idea." Undeterred by the fairies, the trio set out toward a ridge lined with blue trees, which bordered a gully where bushes grew strange fruits. In the distance, smoke curled from cottages in the human village. "I take it you don't age here."

"Not a bit, miss. Don't get sick, either, and if anyone gets hurt, Chianna is a healer. My missus is quite the seamstress. Married her eighty years ago, even though we both are about fifty five."

"Don't look now," Ed said, "but we've been followed." Chiella, the red fairy, stood atop a boulder, watching them. Green-tinted wings contrasted with long black hair and enormous fairy eyes.

"No worries, mates. She likes for me to sketch her picture." He whisked out a pad and pencil, began drawing. "Loves to pose, that one. Loves to look in mirrors and shiny things, but I do sweat about pleasing her."

"Chiella?" Ed said. "I'm sorta scared of her myself."

Kara's plan suddenly formed. "You're an artist? Can your wife make a dress from one of your drawings?"

"Sure, miss. What are you getting at?"

"A possible way out of this fun house," Ed said. "Lead the way, my man."

Minutes later they were introduced to the chimney sweep's companions in the communal hall. Kara laid out her vision for the artist, Blake by name, and soon her vision was on paper. The dress was sleeveless, white, and had floral patterns of red and purple. A black skirt completed the look, along with black shoes.

"We don't have to wait for the dress to be made," Kara said. "Let's present it to Chiella and see if she goes for it." Back to the glade they went, where Chiella still remained, curious as to what they were up to.

"Okay," Ed said, "this is where I go up there and make the pitch." Gathering courage, he climbed up to present the fairy the drawing. "This could be you, Chiella, but only if you let me and Kara go home. What ya say?"

Chiella looked it over, uttered some indecipherable fairy speak, and looked over her shoulder at him. It wasn't a displeased look, though it was just about impossible to read their expressions. Suddenly she took wing and flew toward the fairy cottages.

Kara came up to join Ed. "That's a good sign, since it takes all three to open a portal."

Blake looked up at them. "If this works, mates, I'm givin' it a go myself!"

In minutes, all three fairies flew to the know beneath trees, where Chizora took it upon herself to deliver some important reminders. She used a twig to draw a triangle in the dirt, along with a stick figure Ed figured was himself. She drew an arrow from the figure to touch the triangle edge, then stood up, and went in Ed's face with a scary growl.

Ed waited for his heart to slow. "Right. Touch the edge of the portal and I'm toast. Ready when you are, ladies." The fairies linked hands, then moved apart, with Chianna flying upward to complete a triangle. Ed was looking down at his unsuspecting teammates in a tent. "Right behind ya, Kara." Kara jumped through, followed by Ed.

Badlands tent

Kara was instantly able to fly down, but Ed crashed into the bundled backpacks. Immediately Bonnie and Zena had him in their fragrant embrace. "This I could get used to." He and Kara explained their adventure in the fairy world, holding out hope that Blake would make it back with his wife.

"He may be better off where he is," Dan said. "He'll go back to wherever he was taken from in England, two hundred years later. The poor guy will be committed if he starts talking about being on the fairy plane."

Bonnie was already on the scry disk with the good news for Sisra up on the floating city. She and Zena gabbed with Sisra and Orchid for a time, before Pete got their attention. He was flapping his fingers like a hyperactive mouth. "Comical," Bonnie said. "So Dan—do we go ahead with the Cloudsea mission?"

"We do. But this time—no fairies!"

"I don't know," Ed said. "I'd kinda like to see Chiella in that new dress."