Nemesis and the Fairy of Pure Heart

by Ashley Du Toit

  After watching them for a few more moments, she decided that it would be safe enough to step out of her hiding place. These goblins did not seem dangerous at all. She stepped inside the room. The goblins didn’t even notice.

  “Ahem!” she said.

  Both goblins got such a fright that they fell onto their backs. They looked at her and then at each other, as if not believing that this was happening. They tried to stand, but only managed to tangle their legs and fall over each other again, which set them off in even louder fits of laughter. Bella found herself laughing too at their silly antics.

  After their laughter died down, Bella introduced herself.

  “My name is Bella, Fairy of Pure Heart,” she said, wondering if they could understand her. The first, bigger goblin stood up.

  “Pretty fairy wairy,” he giggled, then looked at the other goblin, who was also standing by this time.

  While the goblins turned their attention to her, Bella took a good look at them. The first thing she noticed was that their bodies were a bright burnished orange, and they were very dirty. They wore no shirts, and their huge pot-belly tummies hung over the tops of their pants.

  The first goblin wore blue pants, sheared at the bottom and secured around his waist with a ratty old brown string. The second had green shorts, also frayed at the bottom, with the same kind of worn brown string holding them up. They wore no shoes on their massive feet, so she could see ugly toes with thick black toenails peeking over the edges. Her gaze travelling to their faces, she noted the long, sharp, yellowed teeth, large hooked noses and pointed ears, long matted hair springing out from the back of their large heads. They were two very ugly fellows, and would have looked completely fearsome except for their big, expressive eyes. Their eyes held just a glimpse of childish mischief and delight, an air of innocence that seemed totally in contrast with their huge bodies.

  Bella felt the urge to laugh at their bizarre appearance, but she didn’t want to hurt their feelings, so she said, “Kind Goblins, I am Bella, Fairy of Pure Heart. What are your names?”

  The smaller of the two answered her, “Me name is Pronkzie, and this be me brother ... hmmmm.” He paused, then as if a light had been turned on, finished his introductions: “Gariz.”

  “What are you doing here?” she asked them, although by this time Gariz was sitting singing to himself again, and Pronkzie, hunched over, was picking something that looked to be alive from under one of his toenails.

  “I’s don’t knows,” said Pronkzie, “but I’s sure it’s something important.”

  “Important,” echoed Gariz, nodding his head solemnly.

  “Are you looking for something?” she ventured.

  “Looking,” said Pronkzie, the bewildered expression on his face belying the conviction in his tone.

  “Something,” said Gariz, and he peered around the empty room as if what he was seeking would be found there.

  From the way they were speaking, Bella realised that these two would be of no help to her. Either they were very simple, or something was making them very foolish. At that point, the significance of where she was came to her: The Cave of Forgetfulness. Of course, the goblins were being affected by the caves; they were being made to forget. She decided she needed to keep moving before she ended up in the same situation.

  “Thank you for your time,” she murmured, “I hope you’ll remember why you are here and what you are looking for,” she said as she walked past them.

  They stood and began to follow her.

  “Why’s we’s following the pretty fairy wairy?” asked Gariz from behind her.

  “Shssss,” hissed Pronkzie. “She’ll hear you,” he whispered.

  Bella could not help but grin at this, but impatient with the delay, her humour had faded by the time she turned around. She tapped her foot, and said with mild irritation, “I’m sorry. Is there something that I can help you with?”

  Pronkzie had just opened his mouth to speak when Bella’s loud gasp and look of horror made him pause. Seeing that she was focussing on something behind him, he looked over his shoulder to see Gariz drawing a fat finger out of his nose, with a long sticky stringy strand of grass-green rubbery snot trailing from it. It unravelled from his finger and flew forward, straight towards Bella. Bella jumped out of the way.

  “Grrr,” growled Gariz in obvious irritation. He reached for his nose again.

  “Stops that,” growled Pronkzie, reaching for Gariz’s hand, but he was too slow and his brother’s finger shoved its way into his other nostril, tugging down. This time he managed to keep the strand wrapped around his finger.

  Bella wrinkled her nose in disgust as she watched him pop the sticky snot straight into his mouth. I’m going to be sick, she thought.

  “Mhmmm,” said Gariz blissfully.

  “Yuk,” growled Pronkzie with disgust.

  “How delightful,” drawled Bella. “At least he found lunch all by himself.”

  “Listen,” she continued, “it was lovely meeting you both, but I really must be going,” and she stepped past the brothers. Pronkzie tugged Gariz’s arm and the two of them began to follow her. Bella stopped again.

  “What is it that you want?” she asked, the exasperation now clear in her tone.

  “We doesn’t knows whys we’s in these caves,” groaned Pronkzie “We doesn’t knows how to get out eithers. We thinks it woulds be bestest if wees stayed with yous.”

  “I don’t have time to help you, I need to find something in these caves,” she began, then sighed. But who knows how long you could be lost down here by yourselves, walking around as if your heads were up in the clouds, so you might as well come with me, she thought.

  “All right, come on then,” she invited. “But we need to hurry.”

  The goblins fell into step behind Bella. They made jokes and laughed and sang silly songs, and before long Bella again found herself laughing. As they moved further along the tunnel, Bella realised that it was becoming warmer. She rubbed her hands over her arms. “We must be close to fire’s heart,” she whispered. Although I’m not sure exactly what fire’s heart is or what it could do, she thought as they walked on.

  After some time, they reached another opening off the main tunnel, and entered it, to find themselves in a large cavern. Bella looked around. Rock shards lay scattered around, and natural rock formations that resembled miniature mountains dotted the floor. Her eyes travelled upwards to see more of these formations hanging from the cave roof. They shone, reflecting red and orange lights. Trailing up the wall was a series of notches, obviously not natural formations, which led to a high ledge.

  And on that ledge was a blazing fire.

  Bella gazed into the flickering, deep red and orange flames. Inside rested a deep blue heart that pulsed with life. She could feel the life force flow around the room. She shivered. The goblins beside her dropped to their knees.

  “Its beautifuls,” said Pronkzie.

  “Ahhhh,” Gariz breathed out in awe.

  Bella also sank to her knees, content to just watch the flames lovingly cradling the heart, flickering against its blue depth as if caressing it. The flames swirled higher, then sank, only to rise again. She sat silent for a long time, mesmerised, lost in no thoughts at all, until Pronkzie disturbed her, bumping into her as he was rising.

  “Oh, hellos,” he said smiling at her. “Who are yous thens?”

  Glancing at him, Bella thought, I have to get out of here soon, before these caves make me like them.

  The goblins asked Bella question after question; no sooner would she finish telling them the answer, than they would forget and ask again. Sighing after a few attempts, she gently mentioned that she had to get the heart of a fire for her quest. Pronkzie looked at Bella, then turned to look at the heart that burned deep blue.

  He seemed to cons
ider something, then he said: “Ifs we helps you gets the heart, yous’ll takes us outs of heres.” His words were strained now, as if he had to think very hard before talking.

  Bella nodded her head. Pronkzie stood up, gesturing to Gariz to do the same; they walked up to stand just under the ridge. Gariz pushed Pronkzie down to the ground and then he climbed onto his back, trying to balance himself as he pushed upwards, but he was still short of the ledge.

  “Stands ups, Garizie,” he said to his brother.

  Gariz began to follow his brother’s direction, wobbling a little as he did so. In danger of falling, Pronkzie grabbed at Gariz’s bold hair, yanking it as he tried to regain his balance.

  “Owie,” screeched Gariz, at which point they both toppled to the ground.

  Bella was too lost in her own thoughts to pay much attention to what either of the goblins was doing. She knew that she had to work fast; already she could feel her thoughts dissolving almost as soon as she could grasp at them.

  Bella really needed some help, and not the sort the two goblins were giving her!

  Her thoughts turned to the King of the Water Sprites and the gift he had given her. If she could find water, perhaps she could the use it to summon his help. Water would also help get past the bright flames that danced around the fire’s heart.

  She looked around, trying to find a small stream or trickle of water of some kind, but there was nothing to even suggest a drop of moisture would be found anywhere in the cave.

  She looked over towards the goblins who were now sitting in a corner playing together—they’d already forgotten all about her.

  Just great, she thought, but at least they are out of the way.

  She frowned as she noticed that Gariz had a fat water bottle sticking out of his pocket. Walking up to them she asked for a sip of water. The goblins, believing they were meeting her for the first time, asked her name and were having great fun just teasing her. Bella was patient with them, playing their game, until finally Gariz gave her the bottle. Losing interest, the brothers returned to their game.

  Bella waited a few minutes to ensure they were absorbed in their game, then crossed to a small hollow in the rock floor. She poured the water in, reached into her bag for the opal crystal, and placed it into the water. She rubbed its smooth surface and waited to see what would happen.

  She didn’t have long to wait. A few minutes later Zeis popped his head out of the water, smiling at her.

  “So, Fairy, you needed me sooner than you thought, hey?” he smirked.

  Bella grinned right back. By rights they should not be friendly after the stunt he pulled on her, but since she was of pure heart, she couldn’t hold a grudge, and he was here to help her.

  “Yes, Zeis, I need to retrieve the fire’s heart, and I would like you to quench part of the flames long enough for me to put my hand in and grab it. Do you think you could do that?”

  Zeis looked insulted that she would even ask. He said, “Yes, but you do know that once you remove the fire’s heart, the caves will come crashing down, so you’ll have to hurry if you want to get out alive.”

  Of course, Bella had not known that, and she shuddered. She called the goblins towards her. Gariz and Pronkzie looked at Bella as she explained that she wanted them to start moving towards the entrance of the cave. They were not to stop for any reason, she emphasised. Reaching into her bag, she took out some of her blue shimmering dust and sprinkled it over them in the hope that it would work for the goblins and keep them safe. Urging them to go, she turned towards Zeis.

  “Ready Water Sprite, when you are,” she said, and together they moved towards the ridge.

  Bella used the footholds notched in the walls of the cave to climb to the ridge above her. When she reached the top, Zeis was already there waiting for her. Zeis nodded his head up and down and started racing around and around the bright flames that licked and stretched even higher now with the wind of his passage. When Zeis nodded to show that now was the time, and Bella put her hand into the fire and withdrew the heart. It pulsed wildly in her hand. She carefully took Zarg’s parchment from her bag, and wrapped it around the heart to protect it.

  Two things happened at once. Zeis bid her goodbye, disappearing before she even had chance to move off the ridge, and the cave started to rumble, deep groans coming from the centre where she stood. Suddenly, it seemed that the mountain itself was shaking. Bits of rock from the roof began crashing to the ground, chunks of rock from the walls broke off and fell with loud bangs. The ground below her opened, small and then larger chasms chasing each other across the cavern floor.

  Bella’s heart racing, she clambered down from the ridge. She jumped the last few notches and landed heavily on the hard floor below. Scrabbling to her feet, she ran towards the entrance. As she raced, she dodged pieces of the cave roof and walls that were falling around her. The air became heavy with dust, which rose up in the air, choking her and making her eyes stream. She tried to run faster, but she could hardly see and she was afraid of stumbling and hurting a limb, then becoming trapped in the collapsing caves.

  She rounded the final curve in the tunnel and ran straight into the goblins, who weren’t running at all, but rather laughing at the sight of the chaos and destruction around them. They’ve finally gone mad she thought, as she shouted at them to follow her.

  A dim light showed ahead and Bella could just make out the entrance to the cave. They were so close now. Her heart pounding in her chest, her lungs straining for breath, and her legs cramping with exhaustion, she finally reached the entrance. Bella just had time to turn and see the goblins come crashing through behind her before the entire front of the cave crashed in, sending dust and rocks flying in all directions.

  The force sent them catapulting through the air and they came rushing towards the ground, landing heavily, the two goblins in a tangled heap, herself a little away from them. Bella breathed a sigh of thankfulness. She was so glad to be out of the cave unharmed and with no signs now of the fogginess that had threatened her sanity, but she was tired and sore. Bella lay back on the soft patch of grass that she’d landed on and promptly fell asleep, without even a thought for those in her company.

  She woke much later and looked around trying to work out where she was. Gariz and Pronkzie sat silently nearby, watching her. She blinked her eyes and sat up. Gariz smiled tentatively at her.

  “Hello. Have we met before?” he asked, not at all sure what Pronkzie and he were doing here with a tiny fairy, and all three of them covered in dust and small rocks at that.

  “Oh yes, Gariz. You and I and Pronkize were together in the Cave of Forgetfulness, and true to their name, they seem to make you forget things, which is why you don’t remember me. We barely escaped with our lives when the caves collapsed. But don’t worry, now that you and your brother are out of the caves, your memories should return.”

  Gariz shook his head as if to clear the confusion, but he didn’t seem to know what to say. Standing up, Bella smiled at both of them, “Thank you for your help.”

  The goblins just stared at her.

  “Go home,” she whispered, then lifted her fingers to her mouth and blew. Within moments Teague was landing beside her. He pushed his head into her arms, reassuring himself that she was well.

  “I’m sorry that I cannot stay here until you are yourselves again,” she smiled. “But I bid you a safe journey home.”

  Giving the brothers one last look, she and Teague took to the skies.

  9

  A Rainbow Sliver

  Bella gently wound her fingers through Teague’s fur. She tallied all the tokens that she’d been able to collect; Laughter’s Gift, A Rescued Kiss, Life’s Wind, Fire’s Heart, and checked them off her list.

  “Only one token left to collect. I need to get a rainbow sliver,” she said to Teague and he playfully flew in between cl
ouds.

  I know, he telepathed. We’re on our way to see Nirb.

  “You are a fairy’s best friend,” she whispered into his neck. “Are we going to Leprechaun Hollow? It’s been ages since I’ve seen my friend Nirb. Do you think he will be there?”

  Let’s find out, Teague replied, as he lightly came to land in a cool, lush clearing surrounded by old leafy oak trees. High overhead, their strong branches touched each other and closed full circle, forming a haven for the leprechauns who lived there. Dotted between the grassy patches of the clearing were giant mushrooms and tiny white leprechaun flowers.

  Bella felt eyes staring at her, even though she knew she wouldn’t see anyone until they were ready to be seen. Leaves rustled in the faint breeze as if the trees were talking amongst themselves. A hammering sound floated on the air towards her, she grinned and called out,

  “Nirb, my leprechaun friend, are you here?”

  No one answered. The hammering continued. Bella smiled at Teague over her shoulder as she set off in the direction of the hammering to find Nirb. As she neared one of the old oaks with a tiny brown door set into its massive trunk, she could tell that the hammering was coming from within. She knocked on the door.

  A leprechaun popped his head out of the door. He looked around, not knowing who to expect, then he spotted Bella and gave a gigantic grin. Dropping his hammer on the counter behind him, he grabbed Bella by the hand and pulled her towards him for a hug.

  “Bella, me pretty fairy, has ye brought me some gold to store?”

  Bella laughed as she returned Nirb’s hug, thinking that leprechauns never change.

  The Leprechaun folk are guardians of two things: rainbows, and gold, which they store in crocks at the rainbow’s end. They stand about hip-high to Bella in her human form, although they are quite a bit taller than a fairy. They have stubby bodies, and wear green jackets and red pants.