Rainbow Swirl

by Helen Perelman

  Raina sighed. She leaned on the table in front of her.

  “Don’t worry,” Berry whispered. She stood close to her friend and squeezed her shoulder. “I think Princess Lolli liked the berry very much.”

  “Do you really think so?” Raina asked. “Maybe she is saying those nice things to all the fairies who made candy.”

  “I don’t think so,” Berry said, shaking her head.

  Raina wasn’t sure what Princess Lolli was thinking. She was only sure that she would find waiting for the awards ceremony very difficult!

  CHAPTER 10

  The Sweetest Award

  Finally the caramel horns blew again, announcing that the awards ceremony would begin shortly. All the fairies moved to the center of the gardens, where a stage was set up. Princess Lolli, Tula, and three other Royal Fairies were sitting on royal chairs on the stage. Princess Lolli was in the middle, sitting in her candy throne bedazzled with crystal candy jewels.

  “Welcome to Candy Fair!” Princess Lolli said to the large crowd of fairies. “This year was an extraordinarily sweet year. A big fairy thank-you to all the fairies who prepared so many candy treats.” She turned to smile at the advisers behind her. “We had a very difficult decision to make. There were many, many worthy candies this year.”

  Raina held Berry’s hand. Standing around them were Melli, Cocoa, and Dash. At that moment Raina was happy to have her friends near. Without them, this moment would not have been as special.

  Dash moaned and rubbed her belly. “I think I ate too much candy today,” she said. “Princess Lolli is right. Everything was so yummy. I couldn’t stop myself!”

  “That’s why Candy Fair is every four years, not every year,” Berry said with a grin.

  “And now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for,” Princess Lolli said. She looked around at the crowd, smiling. “I am pleased to present this year’s sugar medal to …”

  Everyone was quiet. Raina closed her eyes and squeezed Berry’s and Melli’s hands.

  “The winner of the sugar medal is,” Princess Lolli announced, “Miro the Gummy Fairy for her beautiful and tasty gummy flowers!”

  A roar of applause erupted. Raina turned to see Miro. She was grinning as she flew up to the stage to get her medal.

  Though Raina felt disappointed, she was proud of Miro. The young fairy had listened to the fruit flies’ warnings and taken good care of her crops during the storm. She deserved praise for her fine gummy candy. Raina was very happy that for the first time ever a Gummy Fairy had won the medal.

  She felt Berry squeeze her hand. She squeezed Berry’s hand back, thankful again that her friends were by her side.

  “And finally,” Princess Lolli said. She put her hands up to quiet the crowd. “There is one more award this year.”

  A hush came over the crowd of fairies.

  “It is not often that this award is given,” Princess Lolli said. “And I am especially proud to award this to a very special fairy.”

  “What is this about?” Raina whispered to Berry. She had no idea what the princess was talking about. The sugar medal was the first prize. What other award could there be? She had never read about another award in any of her books. Sure, there were honorable mentions, but another award?

  Berry shrugged and looked back to the fairy princess.

  Everyone was eager to hear what the princess had to say.

  “I would like to award the great honor of the pink candy heart to Raina the Gummy Fairy,” Princess Lolli proclaimed. “The special pink candy heart is for her dedication to the animals in Gummy Forest. On behalf of the entire Candy Kingdom, and all of Sugar Valley,” the princess said, “we thank you for your hard work. The animals would not have had a place to stay after the storm if it hadn’t been for your quick thinking and dedication.”

  All the fairies in the Royal Gardens cheered wildly. The Gummy Fairies were the loudest. Raina gave a small wave, blushing. She didn’t win the sugar medal, but the pink candy heart was a thrilling surprise. As Princess Lolli said, the pink candy heart was not given often, and it was a true treasure.

  She looked over and saw Tula smiling at her.

  “This will go down in the books as a very special day for all the Gummy Fairies,” Princess Lolli continued. “And for all Candy Fairies everywhere.”

  “Well, go get your award,” Berry said, nudging Raina toward the stage.

  Raina looked at her friends. “You all need to come with me. We all worked together that day, and you deserve the honor too.”

  The five fairies held hands and flew up to the stage. Princess Lolli pinned the sugar crystal pink heart on Raina’s dress.

  “I’m very proud of you,” the fairy princess told her. “And those rainbow gummy berries were delicious!” She leaned in closer. “Do you think we can grow more of them?”

  “Sure as sugar!” Raina blurted out.

  “I’m glad,” Princess Lolli said. “Thank you, Raina.”

  Raina took in all the praise, and then looked up at the princess. “Thank you, Princess Lolli,” Raina said. Then she grabbed her friends and brought them onstage with her. “But I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without my friends. They were a great help. I want to share this award with them.”

  The loud cheers from the Royal Gardens swept up high into the Frosted Mountains. Raina beamed with pride.

  “You look great with that candy heart,” Berry said, smiling at her friend. “Well deserved!”

  “And it’s so sparkly and shiny!” Dash remarked.

  “It is special,” Melli said.

  “Congratulations!” Cocoa added.

  “Thank you,” Raina said. She hugged her friends. “This was a sweet surprise. And I’ll treasure this award forever … just like I treasure all of you!”

  Raina’s candy hadn’t turned out as she planned, and Candy Fair did not go as expected. But she couldn’t have been happier. Indeed, the sweetest events are not always the ones planned. And they are made even sweeter when surrounded by good, true friends.

  The caramel stalks on the hill glowed golden in the late afternoon sun. Melli, a Caramel Fairy, took a deep breath. She smelled the sweet, sugary scent of fresh caramel. Sitting on a branch of a chocolate oak, she gave a heavy sigh. It was nice to relax after a day’s work in the fields.

  From the tree she could see out to Caramel Hills and Candy Corn Fields. This was one of her favorite spots in Sugar Valley. A gentle breeze blew her short, dark hair. The cool air reminded her that the weather was turning colder. While she was sorry that the long, sunny days of summer were over, Melli loved the change of season.

  Autumn was the busiest time of year for the Caramel Fairies. Many of their candies were grown and harvested in the autumn months. And Melli’s favorite was candy corn. Not only did she love the sweet treat, she loved the Caramel Moon Festival, too.

  This event, the best event of the fall, was held during the evening of the full moon in the tenth month of the year. Princess Lolli, the ruling fairy princess of Candy Kingdom, officially named that moon Caramel Moon. The candy corn was at the peak of perfection at that time, and the candy crops needed to be picked when they were ripe, so all the fairies in Sugar Valley came to help. The festival was a giant party with lots of candy corn, music, and dancing.

  “Hi, Melli!” Cara called out. Cara was Melli’s little sister. She flew up and sat on the branch beside Melli.

  “Hey, Cara,” Melli said. “How’d you find me?”

  “I knew you’d be here,” Cara told her. “It’s almost Sun Dip and you always wait for Cocoa here.”

  Melli laughed. Her little sister was right. The chocolate oak at the bottom of Caramel Hill was at the edge of Chocolate Woods. The old tree was the perfect meeting spot for Melli and her best friend, Cocoa the Chocolate Fairy. They always flew together to see their friends at the end of the day when the sun dipped below the Frosted Mountains. Sun Dip was a time for meeting friends and sharing candy and news of the day.

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p; “I just heard some golden news,” Cara went on. A smile spread across her face. “You’ll never guess who is playing at the Caramel Moon Festival this year!” Her lavender wings fluttered so fast that she flew up off the branch.

  “You found out who is playing?” Melli asked. Her dark eyes sparkled with excitement.

  All year long, fairies tried to guess who would play the music at the late-night celebration. After the candy corn was picked, all the fairies cele- brated by the light of the moon. Good music was a key ingredient to making the party a success.

  Since this year Melli was old enough to have planted the seeds in the fields and stay late to help pick the candy corn, she was even more excited about the music at the festival.

  Cara grinned at Melli. She usually didn’t hear juicy information before her older sister. Melli wanted to savor the sweet moment of knowing something before Melli.

  “Come on,” Melli urged. “Please tell me! I want to know!” She grabbed Cara’s hand.

  “Well, it’s your favorite band,” Cara said. She looked as if she would burst with excitement.

  Melli’s mouth fell open. “The Sugar Pops are coming here?” Her purple wings began to flutter, and her heart began to beat faster. “Are you serious?”

  “Sure as sugar,” Cara said. “I was at Candy Castle to make a delivery and I heard the Royal Fairies talking about the Caramel Moon Festival. The Sugar Pops are really coming!”

  The Sugar Pops were the greatest band in the entire kingdom. Their music was fun to dance to and Melli knew every single song by heart. She also knew everything about Chip, Char, and Carob Pop. The three Pop brothers sang and played instruments. They had the sweetest songs and were the most popular band in Sugar Valley.

  “Hot caramel!” Melli exclaimed. “Wait until I tell everyone at Sun Dip!” She reached out and hugged her sister. “Thanks for telling me, Cara. This is fantastic news.” Her mind was racing. “If they sing ‘Yum Pop,’ I will melt!”

  Cara nodded. “Oh, they have to play that song!” she exclaimed. “It’s their best one.” She smiled.

  Melli looked toward Chocolate Woods. She kept an eye out for Cocoa. Cocoa loved the Sugar Pops too. Actually, all her friends did. And this year they would be able to stay and help harvest the crops, which meant they’d also get to see the Sugar Pops perform.

  “What about me? Do you think I can see the Sugar Pops?” Cara asked.

  “I’ll see if I can get you permission,” Melli said. She leaned in closer to Cara and put her arm around her. She didn’t want to see her sister so sad. “Maybe you can come for one or two songs.”

  “Thanks, Melli,” Cara said. Her wings perked up a little at the possibility of seeing the band play.

  Just at that moment, Cocoa flew up to the chocolate oak. “Hello fairies!” she called out. “What’s new and delicious?”

  Melli and Cara both grinned.

  “What?” Cocoa asked. She looked at the two sisters. “What are you up to?”

  Melli’s wings flapped and she floated off the branch. She couldn’t contain her excitement! “Cara found out that the Sugar Pops are playing at Caramel Moon Festival!” she burst out.

  Cocoa clapped her hands together. “Choc-o-rific!” she shouted. “That is the sweetest news I’ve heard all day!” She sat down on one of the chocolate oak’s branches. “Wait until the others hear about this. And this year we’ll get to stay the whole night!”

  Melli nudged Cocoa. She knew that Cara was feeling sad about not being old enough to stay for the night concert. “We’re going to see if Cara can come for at least one song,” she told Cocoa.

  “‘Yum Pop,’ I hope,” Cara said. She held up crossed fingers.

  Melli and Cocoa laughed.

  “Come on,” Cocoa said. “Let’s head over to Sun Dip and tell the others.”

  “I want to go check on the candy corn crops before Sun Dip,” Melli said. “All the Caramel Fairies were working on Caramel Hill today. I haven’t been since yesterday. I’ll meet you at Red Licorice Lake.”

  Melli gave quick hugs to Cara and Cocoa.

  “I’ll see you later,” Cara called as she flew back home to Caramel Hill.

  “See you soon, Cara,” Cocoa said. “And, Melli, bring some of your caramel!”

  “Of course!” Melli called. She still had a smile on her face as she flew toward the fields.

  The Caramel Moon Festival was bound to be the most extraordinary event of the year!