by E. D. Baker
“Do you think they paid a deposit on the weasels, too?” asked Cory. “What kind of a shop rents such things anyway?”
“A vermin rental shop, I suppose,” said Lionel.
“Are the fairies still coming after you?” Micah asked Cory. “I thought they would stop after the guilds lost the trial.”
“I think losing just made them madder,” said Cory. “Macks patrols the grounds with Shimmer off and on all day. Ever since the trial he’s chased away a couple of dozen fairies who were trying to do something nasty. The poor putti who takes care of the garden is forever pulling up poison ivy and thistles that the flower fairies keep planting.”
“The flower fairies have been especially mad ever since Flora Petalsby, the head of their guild, was sent to jail,” said Blue.
“What about the Tooth Fairy Guild?” asked Micah. “Have you heard anything from Delphinium?”
Cory shook her head. “Mother doesn’t want to talk to me any more than I want to talk to her now. If I’m lucky, it will stay that way for a very long time. I doubt that I’ll be invited to her wedding, whatever kind she chooses.”
CHAPTER
2
“You said a few days ago that I had money for whatever I need,” Cory said to her grandfather. “Is it all right if I buy Micah a new rug? I owe him one after Noodles chewed a hole in the old one.”
“Of course, my dear,” said her grandfather. “Micah and Quince can pick out whichever rug they want. Newlyweds shouldn’t start their lives together with holes in their rugs. And you don’t have to confer with me about your money. You have earned it and it is yours to spend however you wish.”
Blue had already gone to the FLEA station, so Cory and her grandfather were the only ones eating breakfast on the terrace. Unless a vision interrupted them, it was the most peaceful time of day for them both.
“Did you have any visions last night?” her grandfather asked.
Cory nodded. “Two. I’m going to go through the books after breakfast to see if I can find them.”
With so many matches to make, most of the people Cory saw were people she’d never met before. Fortunately, her grandfather kept an extensive collection of yearbooks with pictures, as well as all the public and not-so-public listings of people and their occupations in all the major towns in the land of the fey. Cory was about to ask for suggestions on where to look first, when she noticed Weegie and Noodles galumphing across the lawn, heading her way.
“Somebody with real big shoes was in our woods last night,” Weegie said as she hopped onto the terrace. “We didn’t see them at the time, but we found the footprints this morning. Noodles and I’ll keep our eyes open for whoever it was in case he comes back. Just thought you should know.” The woodchuck was starting to turn away when Noodles grumbled at her. “Oh, yeah. Noodles wanted me to tell you that whoever it was smells really bad.”
Cory sighed. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another. I wonder who it is this time?”
She watched the woodchucks meander back toward their den, stopping now and then to nibble tempting grass. A friend had given Noodles to Cory when the woodchuck was just a baby. Recently, Noodles had fallen for Weegie, a wild chuck who had lived in the park across the street from Micah’s house. A witch needing directions had cast a spell on Weegie, which was why the woodchuck could talk. Cory was used to Noodles, who was a normal woodchuck. She was still amazed by how much a talking woodchuck had to say.
After Cory and her grandfather finished breakfast, she went to her office and started looking through the yearbooks. She was getting good at estimating ages from her visions, so most of her searches were getting easier. The first person she looked for was a young woman with distinctive blue hair. Cory found her in the third yearbook. Her name was Brook Waterford and she was only a few years older than Cory. Assuming from her name that Brook was a water nymph, Cory checked the employee list for the Public Water Department. She was not only on the list, but her picture was in the department newsletter for being employee of the month. Cory was in luck. When she looked at the rest of the pictures in the newsletter, she spotted the other person from her vision. Torrent Riversworth worked in a different division in the PWD. Getting them together so she could match them might not be too hard.
Cory wasn’t nearly as fortunate with the people from her other vision. Although she found them in the yearbooks without too much difficulty, her luck ended there. Zarinda Scard and Darkin Flay had both been in the pre-witch program at the Junior Fey School. The problem was, Cory didn’t have any lists for witches. Unless they worked for a public agency, she wasn’t going to be able to find their names or what they were currently doing.
A chime sounded, announcing an arrival in the message basket. Cory picked it up right away.
Cory,
If you aren’t too busy, can you meet me at Dora’s Dress Shoppe to look at gowns at 1:00 this afternoon?
Your future aunt,
Quince
Cory looked up the location of the dress shop. When she saw that it was only a few blocks from the PWD, she sent a message back.
Quince,
I’ll see you there!
Looking forward to being your niece,
Cory
When Cory opened her office door, she saw her assistant, Sarilee, walking down the hall. “Please tell Macks that I’m going out to make a match,” she told the putti woman. “I’m meeting with Quince after that. I’m not sure what time I’ll be back.”
Sarilee whipped out her ink stick and made a note on a leaf. “Very good, miss,” she said. “I’ll let Macks know. And the forms for the match will be on your desk when you return.”
Cory shook her head as she walked down the hall. Her life was getting more and more complicated. She’d never had to fill out forms before. As far as she knew, they didn’t go anywhere other than Sarilee’s files.
When Cory stepped out the front door, Macks was standing on the curved drive with his solar cycle, Lucille. He looked fierce in his troll skull–shaped helmet with its horns and drops of blood-red paint. The helmet he handed to Cory was one he had picked out for her. Pink with red and white hearts, it wasn’t something Cory would have chosen, but she wore it so she wouldn’t hurt his feelings.
Macks climbed onto his cycle first and waited for Cory to sit down behind him. Cory would have taken the pedal-bus if she could have, but it wouldn’t have been safe with the guild members still trying to torment her.
“Where are we going?” asked Macks as they started down the drive.
“The Public Water Department building first,” Cory told him. “I don’t know how long I’ll be there.”
“That’s all right,” said Macks. “I brought my book so I can work on it while I wait.”
Like most ogres, Macks liked mazes. He not only liked solving them, he liked creating them and was making a book of mazes for other ogres to solve. Cory had seen some of his mazes and thought they were really hard. Macks often said that he hoped they weren’t too easy for his friends.
The solar cycle was silent as they drove through Lionel’s neighborhood of big houses and large lawns, eventually turning onto a busier street that headed downtown. The PWD was in the center of town, so it took them a while to get there. Although a lot of people had recognized Cory before the trial, she had become even more famous since then, not only for the trial, but for being in the band Zephyr. Contrary to what some of the restaurant owners had thought, Zephyr had become even more popular after guild members harassed them during performances. When she and Macks drove by, more than one person raised their hands and waggled them as if they were beating drumsticks.
The Public Water Department was in one of the taller buildings downtown, so she spotted it when they were still blocks away. When Macks pulled up in front of it, she took off her helmet and handed it to him. “I’ll be out as soon as I finish,” she told him.
“No hurry,” he told her, patting the book that was peeking out of his pocket.
&nbs
p; When Cory stepped into the front lobby of the building, she stopped to look around. A large mural of a sylvan glade and a stream tumbling over rounded pebbles covered an entire wall. The floor was made up of blue tiles with a pattern that looked like crystal clear, sun-sparkled water. It made her feel as if she were standing on water and she was a little disoriented at first.
Trying not to look down, she walked across the floor, heading to the ladies’ cleaning-up room. Being recognized for any reason would only make her job harder, so she hid her hair with a scarf and put on a pair of glasses she didn’t need. She hoped that would be enough. When she left the room, she went straight to the directory on the wall. The division that Brook worked in was on the third floor; Torrent’s division was on the second.
“How am I going to get them together?” she muttered to herself, earning a glance from a woman who was passing by.
Cory decided to look around and started walking to the back of the building. Along with the watery-looking tiles on the floor, there were framed pictures of water everywhere. She saw waterfalls, rivers, lakes, ocean waves, dew drops on leaves, falling rain, and even puddles. It wasn’t long before she started to feel thirsty.
After passing a number of meeting rooms, she followed a group of people to the cafeteria. A large, bright room with lots of windows and a splashing fountain in the middle, it was a very appealing place to eat, especially for a group of water nymphs. A long line had already formed leading to the food tables, but it seemed to be moving quickly.
“Do most of the employees eat their lunch here?” Cory asked the woman at the end of the line.
“Just about everybody,” she said. “The food is delicious and doesn’t cost much. I eat here every day.”
Cory nodded. This was the place to wait for Brook and Torrent, then. If it didn’t work out, she’d have to find a way to bring them together some other day.
When Cory didn’t see either of the nymphs from her vision, she got in line and bought a salad and a glass of juice. Taking a seat near the table where she’d paid, she watched the people coming out of the line. Although she saw a lot of nymphs with blue hair, as well as green, lavender, and all the colors a human might have, she didn’t see anyone with Brook’s shade of blue.
Cory was halfway through her salad when she saw Brook in the midst of a group of lady nymphs. Brook was talking and laughing with her friends when she passed Cory’s table. Picking up her salad and drink, Cory moved to a table that was close to theirs, but where she could still see the end of the line.
Although Cory dawdled over her lunch, she finished without seeing any sign of Torrent. Fewer and fewer people were entering the cafeteria, and Cory was starting to think that she had wasted her time when Torrent finally walked in, deep in conversation with another male nymph. Cory glanced at Brook, who had just stood up and was collecting her trash. The nymph’s friends were standing up as well, leaving Cory without a clear shot. She’d have to delay Brook until Torrent was a little closer.
Torrent was getting in line when Cory hurried to intercept Brook. Walking around some of the other nymphs, Cory pretended to bump into her. Acting surprised, she said, “Don’t I know you? Brook Waterford, right?”
Brook looked at her and frowned. “I’m afraid I can’t …”
“Don’t tell me that you don’t remember me!” Cory cried, even as she sneaked a glance at Torrent. He was coming down the line now, with only a few people blocking her view.
“You do look familiar …,” Brook said, frowning.
“Junior Fey School, remember?” said Cory.
“Uh,” Brook said, her frown deepening.
Cory glanced at Torrent again. She sighed with relief when she saw that she finally had a clear shot.
Bow! she thought, holding out her hands. Time stood still as she reached for her first arrow.
It was after one o’clock when Cory walked out of the PWD. Macks was sitting on a bench outside the door, drawing a new maze.
“I’m late for my meeting with Quince,” Cory said as they started toward Macks’s solar cycle. “I was supposed to be at Dora’s Dress Shoppe by one.”
“I know where that is,” said Macks. “Estel likes to look in the window when we go past. It isn’t far from here.”
“Maybe I should walk there,” said Cory. “There aren’t very many parking spots and you already have one for Lucille.”
“It’s all right,” Macks said as he started the cycle. “There’s a lot more spots by Dora’s than there are here.”
It took only a few minutes to drive to Dora’s. Macks was able to get a parking spot in front of the store. “I’ll stay right here with Lucille,” he said, taking out his book. “Estel would never forgive me if she heard I went anywhere near Dora’s without her.”
Cory turned and looked at the store. Three bridal gowns were on display in the window; one was ogress-size, one was human- or nymph-size, and one would be just right for a sprite no taller than Cory’s knees.
“So Estel likes to look at wedding dresses?” she asked Macks. “Is there something I don’t know?”
Macks groaned and shook his head. “Not yet,” he said. “I’m not ready to ask her and she knows it.”
Cory was smiling when she walked into Dora’s store. Her smile grew even broader when she saw Quince inside, looking at the human-size dresses.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Cory told her. “I had some business to attend to and it took longer than I’d expected.”
“That’s all right,” Quince said. “There are so many dresses to choose from that I don’t know how I’ll ever make up my mind.”
“Then it’s good that I’m here,” Cory told her. “It always helps to have a second opinion.”
“That’s not the only reason I wanted you to come today!” Quince said with a laugh. “We need to find you a dress, too!”
“Then let’s start with yours,” said Cory. “It is the most important dress, after all!”
The girls looked through the racks of human-size dresses together. They saw dresses with long sleeves and some with no sleeves. There were dresses with frills, lace, and sparkles, and some that were very plain. With Cory’s help, Quince was able to pick out six dresses to try on. They were starting to look at bridesmaid dresses when a group of ogresses came out of the fitting rooms in the back. The bride was carrying a big, poufy bright-pink gown covered in ruffles, while her friends carried ruffled dresses in a bilious green.
“I’m so glad you found the perfect dress,” said one of the bridesmaids. “You’re going to look beautiful!”
“And the dresses you picked out for us are the most divine color!” said another ogress. “Who would have thought they’d have dresses the exact shade of your eyes.”
Cory had to look away so they wouldn’t see her grimace. She’d rather wear a fertilizer bag than a dress that shade of green.
Only a few minutes after the ogresses disappeared into the room where the seamstress worked, the door opened and a dozen lady sprites came in, bringing five of their children with them. While the knee-high adults crowded around the little racks of dresses at one side of the room, the tiny children began to play, running between the racks of bigger clothes and hiding between the floor-length dresses. Cory almost tripped over a little boy, and Quince let out a small shriek when a girl jumped out from between two dresses, giggling.
It took Cory a while to find one she liked. She pulled it off the rack and thought it was heavy. Turning the dress to look at the back, she found a sprite child swinging from the bow. Cory put the dress back. She wasn’t much on bows anyway.
After finding three dresses to try, Cory decided she had enough. “Let’s go try these on,” she told Quince.
They went to the back of the big showroom to the even bigger area that was divided into individual fitting rooms. Cory went into one room, while Quince took the room next to it. Cory was trying on her second dress when two tiny girls peeped behind the curtain. “Mommy, there’s a lady in here p
utting on a pink dress!” one of the girls cried out.
“That’s nice, honey,” said her mother.
“Please close the curtain,” Cory told the children.
The little girls laughed and let the curtain drop. A moment later, when Cory heard Quince say, “You may not come in here!” the girls laughed again.
Cory settled on the peach-colored dress that she tried on next. After putting the other dresses on the rack outside the door, she went to the room that Quince was using. “I’m out here if you need any help,” she told her.
“What do you think of this one?” Quince said, opening the curtain.
“I love it!” said Cory.
Quince grinned. “Great! I do, too. I don’t look good in ruffles or flounces.”
The pale blue dress was simple, yet elegant. Cory agreed that it was the best choice.
After picking out shoes to match their dresses, they visited the seamstress’s station, where a dwarf was waiting to help. She was pinning Quince’s gown so it would fit perfectly when Cory noticed that the sprite children had followed them into the room. “Shoo!” Cory said.
The children giggled and ran behind the curtain, but Cory could still hear them. Cory’s dress didn’t take long to pin, and paying for the dresses was even faster. The only problem came when the female elf behind the counter asked for the day they needed the gowns. When Quince told her, the girl said, “That doesn’t give our seamstress much time, not with all the other gowns she has to alter. We’ll have to deliver them to you the day of the wedding. Here, give me all your information and we’ll make sure they get there on time.”
Quince filled out the information cards. A minute later, Quince and Cory were standing in front of the store.
“I still need to pick out my flowers,” said Quince. “I’m getting artificial ones for my bouquet. Would you like to go with me?”
