The Last Fairy Tale

by Lowell, E. S.

  “Nothing…I’m just thinking,” Olivia replied. She wiped the tears from her eyes. “Humans also destroyed my world. It’s just that I don’t want this one to end up the same way. It’s much too horrible.”

  “But that’s why you’re here, Olivia,” Locke said, smiling and patting her back. “You’ll be able help us save Aeldyn.”

  “Exactly!” Bren shouted. “Let’s stop all this cryin’ and get this fine young girl another root beer.” He laughed and strode over to the counter to speak with George.

  “I wonder how many others are planning on coming,” Olivia said to Locke. She was thankful for the help everyone was offering, but she wished she could complete the journey alone. That way, no one would have to be in danger but her.

  “I dunno,” Locke said, noticing her worried expression. “But I’m sure the ones that do come are doing it because they truly want to help, Olivia. So you shouldn’t worry too much.” He smiled.

  “You’re probably right,” Olivia said, returning his smile. She saw Bren making his way back to their table with George following him.

  “Hello again, Olivia,” said George, drying a mug with a towel. “You know, I think they’re just about finished out there. I think you should go have a look.”

  “W-where? What do you mean?” Olivia asked, looking from George to Bren. They were both grinning.

  “Come, little one,” Bren said and beckoned for her to follow.

  Olivia slowly stood up, eyeing Locke. She wasn’t sure what was going on and it frightened her a little, but Locke was smiling too. She grabbed her staff and journal and followed Bren out of the tavern, noticing that the tavern had become completely empty. They made it to the doors and Bren flung them open, revealing the surprise outside.

  Olivia stepped out, her mouth open in awe. The town was packed with creatures that watched her as she exited the tavern. A sudden eruption of applause and cheers followed by sparks and confetti filled the town plaza. Lanterns that lit up the darkening sky had been strung from shop to shop across the roads. A long line of wooden tables held food and drink of every sort imaginable.

  “A celebration for you, Olivia!” Bren shouted over the cheers. He nudged her, and they began walking out into the crowd.

  Creatures began approaching Olivia and shaking her free hand. Some hugged her, while others simply walked up to her and bowed. Olivia had mixed feelings. She was happy, but surprised and a little frightened. She had never in her life witnessed a celebration of any kind, much less one given by the strange creatures of Aeldyn, so she wasn’t sure how she should behave at a celebration. She looked around for Locke in all of the chaos and finally spotted him next to a table of food. He waved at her and gave her an excited thumbs-up. She smiled and waved back.

  Olivia walked around for quite some time talking to the different creatures and learning small bits of information about their lives and Aeldyn. After a while, she joined Locke at the tables to try some of the foods. One table was filled with all sorts of candies. Olivia had never seen candy before and couldn’t decide on which to try, so she asked Locke for advice.

  “Try those,” Locke said through a mouthful of fudge, pointing to a plate of red taffy. “They’re amazing!”

  Olivia pulled a sticky piece of taffy from the plate and stuffed it in her mouth. It was very sour at first, but as she began to chew, it became soft and sweet. She chewed it for what seemed like forever, enjoying every minute of it. She was about to try another candy when someone near the large fountain made an announcement.

  “Attention, everyone!” yelled a deep voice. The crowd grew quiet. “We would like to honor Olivia Wickworth and her companions at this moment, if they could please make their way to the fountain.”

  A sudden rustling within the crowd started as creatures moved forward. Olivia turned away from the candy and also headed toward the fountain. Upon arriving, she saw a small group of creatures waiting for her.

  “As you all know, Olivia Wickworth has come from her own world to help us save Aeldyn!” the deep voice from a dark-skinned ungulhak near the fountain announced. The crowd burst into cheers. The ungulhak waited for them to quiet. “However, the task at hand isn’t an easy one, nor is it without its dangers. So I ask that you keep Miss Wickworth and her companions in your minds and hearts as they begin their journey tomorrow.” He slowly walked over to Olivia, his tall, shining black horse body making her feel quite small. “Olivia Wickworth, I am Jin. I wish to help you in your quest. The safety of my land and my home is being compromised, and I will not stand idly by and allow that to happen. I am at your service.” He bowed, kneeling down on one of his equine legs.

  “Th…thank you…very much,” Olivia stammered, awed by the powerful-looking creature. Jin rose from his bow and backed away.

  “I, too, wish to aid you, but you already know that eh?” said Bren, chuckling.

  “Yes,” she said, smiling. “Thank you.”

  “So shall we!” shouted Rufus.

  Olivia knelt down, looking at Holli, Rufus, and Kili. “Thank you…all of you,” she said.

  “Miss Wickworth!” said a stern voice behind her. She turned to find what looked like a tall fox standing on its hind legs staring down at her with strict eyes. Another shorter foxlike creature stood next to it. “I am Jei-Tu of Paamaa. This is my son, Kai-Tu. He will aid you in your quest. We kettu have high expectations for him, so he should prove useful.” He looked over at his son, who was rolling his eyes.

  “Thank you very much, sir,” Olivia said, bowing. She didn’t know why she bowed, but she felt like it was the right thing to do in the presence of such an austere and noble creature. Jei-Tu bowed in return and walked away. Kai-Tu sighed and slunk over to the food tables.

  “Well, Olivia,” said Locke from behind her. “I hope you know that I’m here to help you, too.”

  “Of course I do, Locke,” she said turning to him and smiling. “And I’m especially grateful that you are.”

  Suddenly, two creatures approached Olivia. They were both black, fuzzy, and skinny, like spiders except humanoid. They moved in unison as they approached. Their faces and torso were covered in strips of black cloth so that only two large, shining black eyes on each of their faces could be seen peering out at her. They blinked as she stared at them, shocked.

  “Um, hello,” said Olivia. When they didn’t respond, she asked, “Are you two okay?” They still said nothing. “Are you here to come along on the quest?” she asked. Suddenly they looked over at one another, turned back to Olivia, and bowed. Olivia turned to Locke for advice, but he had none. She turned back to the creatures, but they were gone.

  “Spindelum have always creeped me out,” Locke said, shuddering.

  “Those are spindelum?” Olivia asked. “Do they speak?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Locke said. “I’ve never seen one long enough to have a conversation with it.”

  “Why do they creep you out?” Olivia asked.

  “Well, besides the fact that they’re Aeldyn’s undertakers…” Locke replied, shivering.

  Another creature approached Olivia. This time it was Miss Isabelle, the rolipol she had seen earlier in front of the tailor’s shop. Her tiny legs moved in a blur as she slowly hurried over to Olivia. When she finally made it, Miss Isabelle held a package up for Olivia and then turned to the crowd. She rolled up a piece of paper she was carrying and shouted through it.

  “Good people of Aeldyn, I would like to present Miss Wickworth with a gift in honor of her good deeds!” Miss Isabelle turned back to Olivia and took the package back from her. “First, a lovely dress for such a lovely young lady,” she said and smiled up at Olivia. She opened the package, pulled a dark purple dress from it, and handed it to Olivia. “Purple seems to suit you, dearie. I hope you like it.” She opened the package again and pulled out a pair of dark brown boots. “Second, a dashing pair of boots to compliment that lovely white hair.” She handed the boots to Olivia, who was overcome with joy. Olivia had never received ne
w clothes and had never expected to, especially not like the ones she had just been given. “There are some nice wool socks in the boots, dearie,” said Miss Isabelle.

  “Thank you so much!” Olivia said. She bent down to give Miss Isabelle a hug.

  “Oh, you’re very welcome, my dear,” Miss Isabelle exclaimed. “There is one more thing.” She reached into the package and brought out a woven pouch, similar to the one Locke carried, and held it up to Olivia. “This should be handy on a journey. It’s a sack made from pure spindelum web, woven together by us rolipols.”

  Olivia thanked her and beamed, looking over at Locke and holding the sack up to show him.

  “You’re welcome, dearie,” said Miss Isabelle, smiling.

  “Ah, that reminds me, Olivia,” said Bren from beside her. “I also brought you a little somethin’ from the forge. Made it meself before I left the Camicara Mountains…” He pulled a chainmail shirt and leggings from his beard. “I think ye’ll be able to wear ‘em under your pretty new dress.”

  She cheerfully thanked him as Bren laid the chainmail on top of the pile of gifts in her arms. She was beginning to have trouble carrying all of them.

  “I also have a bandolier for you,” said Bren, rummaging through his beard again and holding up a strip of leather with slots cut into it. “They’re very useful when you run out of space in your beard!” He laughed, waving his beard around. Olivia giggled as he draped the bandolier over her shoulder. “My, my! Looks like you’ve got quite a stack o’ gifts there. Maybe it’s time to head back to the tavern and–”

  “Wait, wait, Bren!” cried Rufus. “We have a gift for Miss Wickworth ourselves.” He scuttled over to Olivia and raised three small glass bottles in the air. Olivia knelt down and took them. “These are some potion and herb bottles that we think will be useful on the journey. We would be happy to teach you how to use them, if you would like.”

  “I would like that very much,” Olivia said, tucking the bottles carefully under her arm. “Thank you!”

  “Thank you, Olivia,” said Holli, pointing a tiny finger in her direction. “We are ever so grateful!”

  “Aye, we are!” shouted Bren. “Come, Olivia. I’ll help you into the tavern so you can sort out your gifts. We’ll be stayin’ in some rooms on the second floor tonight, so you’ll have a chance to change into your new clothes.”

  They started toward the tavern, but a child-like shout coming from behind stopped them. Olivia spun around and saw a tiny rolipol child trying its best to catch up with her. She ran back to meet the child. The rolipol child held up a small doll and squeaked, “Doll!” Olivia knelt down, took the doll, and the child ran back into the crowd before Olivia could thank her.

  “Haha! The little one wanted to give you a gift, too!” Bren laughed.

  Olivia looked at the doll made of soft cloth. It had blue button eyes and hair made of white yarn. The doll wore a purple dress and had little brown boots on its feet.

  Olivia was baffled by the sheer generosity of the people of Aeldyn. She wondered if she could help them. She felt sad thinking that someone or something was hurting them. Staring down at the doll made some of her doubts fade away. She would do everything she could to save Aeldyn.

  “Are you comin’?” Bren asked.

  “Oh, yes, sorry,” said Olivia, tearing her gaze from the doll. In the tavern, Bren led her up some back stairs to a second-floor hall with bedrooms where travelers could sleep. Bren opened the door to one, and she laid the stack of gifts on the bed.

  “They’ll be wantin’ to say good-bye and wish you good luck, so we had better get back down there,” Bren said from the doorway.

  Back in front of the tavern, Olivia could see that the crowd had thinned out considerably and people were starting to go home. Many of them came up to her and said their farewells and wished her luck. After most of the crowd had left, Olivia tiredly searched for Locke. The celebration and good food had worn her out, and she was barely able to stand.

  “You look extra tired,” Locke said when she walked up to him. He had been sitting on the edge of the fountain, staring up at the moon. Olivia sat next to him and stared up at it, too. It was bright and beautiful.

  “I am,” Olivia said wearily.

  “Well, let’s get you to your nice comfy bed,” Locke said, standing up and holding a hand out to Olivia to help her stand. He led her to the tavern and up the stairs. Some of the creatures that were staying the night there spoke to her along the way, but she was too sleepy to understand them. After Locke helped her move the gifts from her bed, she climbed into it and fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow.

  Chapter Eleven

  The Journey Begins

  “We’ll be leaving in a few minutes, Olivia,” Locke said from the other side of Olivia’s door. “I’ll wait for you out here. Don’t forget your gifts.”

  Olivia yawned, crawled out of the bed, and shuffled over to the stack of gifts she had received the previous night. She took the dress and chainmail from the top of the pile and laid them on the bed. She took off her old, stained orphanage uniform and put on the chainmail shirt and leggings. They were padded on the inside with some sort of soft cloth, which made them comfortable. She then slipped the dress on over the chainmail. It fit perfectly. It was sleeveless and fitted around her torso, but flared out at the bottom. She took a few steps and twirled a couple of times around the room, the skirt billowing around her. It felt good on her.

  Olivia returned to the gifts and grabbed the boots. She pulled on the thick, warm socks and then slipped the boots on and buckled them. She walked around again. The boots fit nicely. They felt sturdy, but weren’t as heavy as she had expected them to be.

  Lastly, Olivia grabbed the bandolier and fastened it across her chest. The bottles Holli and Rufus had given her fit perfectly into the small slots that were cut into the bandolier.

  Before leaving the room, Olivia looked around, making sure she hadn’t left anything. She picked up her father’s journal and the little doll and placed them into the sack that Miss Isabelle had given her. She closed the flap on the bag and slung the strap over her head, so that the bag rested comfortably at her hip. Grabbing Locke’s cloak and her staff, she opened the door and stepped out.

  “Woah!” Locke exclaimed, his eyes widening. “You look awesome.”

  Olivia giggled and thanked him. “I really like it. The rolipols did such a great job.”

  “Indeed they did,” he said, looking at her dress and clearing his throat. “Ahem…well, we’d better get downstairs. Everyone’s waiting for us.”

  Olivia and Locke hurried down the stairs into the tavern and joined Holli, Rufus, Kili, and Bren who were sitting at the counter eating toast and chatting with George.

  “My, my! Your new things fit you well!” Bren exclaimed through a mouthful of toast.

  Olivia thanked him, blushing as everyone else turned to look at her.

  “Would you like some toast?” Bren asked, holding up a piece of his own.

  “Sure,” said Olivia and Locke together. They sat on two of the empty stools and waited for George to fix their toast. Olivia looked around but didn’t see the others that had said they would be coming on the journey.

  “Where is everyone else?” she asked, turning to Rufus.

  “They’re outside,” Rufus replied. “You’ll come to find that some of the people of Aeldyn prefer to stay outdoors. It’s just their way of life. We gnomes, for instance, really prefer to stay underground.”

  Olivia nodded to show that she understood.

  George brought them their toast, and they scarfed it down. When everyone had finished eating, Bren announced that they would be leaving shortly. Olivia began to feel the same nervousness she had felt back at the Great Fairy’s Hollow. Then she remembered the celebration the night before and how wonderful everyone had been. The nervousness soon faded.

  Outside the tavern, Olivia looked around at the town plaza that had been so crowded the night
before. Now early in the morning the main road was covered in fog. Dew covered the brightly colored lanterns that were hung for the celebration. Seeing the town so empty almost made Olivia sad, but she reassured herself that in a few hours it would be bustling again.

  “Are you ready, Miss Wickworth?” a deep voice from her right said. It was Jin, the ungulhak. He was approaching the group, carrying a large scythe.

  Olivia nodded, glancing at the scythe.

  “I thought I would bring along a tool with which I’m handy,” he said, noticing her gaze. “Ink said the journey may be dangerous, and although we Aeldynians know nothing of fighting, we know when it’s time to protect ourselves.”

  “Aye!” Bren shouted. “I, too, have brought a familiar tool.” He reached into his beard and pulled out an enormous hammer. “I’ll bet it can do some damage if I were to face any real danger.”

  “Well, let’s hope that we don’t face any real dangers,” Holli said.

  “Indeed,” Rufus agreed. “Let’s go and do what must be done and get back to living our lives peacefully. Hopefully with our poor son, Ronald…” He looked down at the ground, shaking his head.

  “We’ll do just that, and we’ll find your son,” Olivia said.

  “That’s the right attitude!” Jin shouted, raising his fist in the air. “Is everyone here? If so, let’s get going.”

  Olivia looked at the group around her, but didn’t see the kettu or the two spindelum. The group started toward the edge of town, following Jin’s directions. Maybe they decided against coming, she thought. I can’t really blame them.

  “I say as soon as we get out o’ town, we head north toward the Nocturnal Archives,” Bren said to Jin.