by Moshe Harel
I moved my attention to the largest building—the palace. Some of the guards were stationed on its roof and tried to do something to stop me. I swiped the roof with my finger, making them all tumble down. Only one seemed to limp a bit after the fall, yet they all ran quickly into a shelter.
A tall goblin opened what seemed to be the main door, waving a flag. He didn’t seem armed and didn’t wear the armor most fighters did. He shouted something that I couldn’t understand. I came closer, trying to look interested in what he wanted to say, still resting one of my hands on the roof.
“Please let this building stand. We’ll do whatever we can for you, just let it stand, and let us live.”
I moved my hand away from that roof, nodding to Brian to let go of the smaller building he was touching.
“What do you want?” the goblin asked. He was still shouting, so we could hear him, yet his voice was clearly trembling.
“Let all prisoners free, those not of your kind,” I said. My voice sounded low and powerful—quite intimidating all by itself.
“We only have a few guests,” he said. Giants were not considered very smart, I’d read. This was probably an effort to trick me.
“The guests must leave now,” I insisted.
The goblin didn’t seem pleased, yet he was too frightened to try some more tricks. “We’ll let them leave. Please wait patiently and don’t inflict more damage on us.”
“I’ll wait a bit. If you don’t send them out, this place will be ruined.”
I already knew that changing size makes perceived time change as well, so I didn’t trust my judgment of time. I used my watch instead, while Brian checked the clock on his mobile phone. It was less than fifteen minutes since my ultimatum, when the goblins escorted Gran out, acting very politely. Two other fairies were also escorted out as well as one pixie. They all looked quite frightened at seeing me, yet it only took Gran a single glance to recognize me. She flew up, landing in my ear. “Thank you, dear. I knew I could trust you to act wisely.”
Margaret came flying into the clearing and escorted Gran back into the wood. Other fairies came to escort the rest of the “guests”. The pixie seemed reluctant for a moment and then joined them.
“Don’t you have any more ‘guests’?” I asked the goblins threateningly.
“No, none at all. The only ones remaining in the palace are goblins, I swear.”
“Good. Remember, guests should be free to leave at will. Don’t ever forget!”
“We won’t,” he promised solemnly.
Brian was moving back to the edge of the clearing. Once there, he waited for me. I moved deliberately slowly, touching lightly some of the remains of the surrounding wall—none had any magic left in it. When I reached Brian, he took my hand and we both disappeared into the forest. A moment later, we joined our army in our fairy form, although we both absorbed so much magic that we were almost glowing.
17 Juniors and Elders
I thought we would return home immediately, but Gran had a different plan. “Come to the Fairy Palace,” she said, rising in the air and beckoning us all to follow.
It didn’t take us too long to reach there. As we approached, I felt that tugging once again, much stronger than the previous times we visited. When we reached the clearing, I felt as if we passed some kind of barrier. It absorbed the surplus of magic that I still carried from the goblin colony, and yet I felt as if it also invigorated me and recharged me with new energies. I had the impression that it did the same for Brian.
Once we landed, the others arranged themselves like a military parade. Just from noticing where each stood, their relative ranks became very evident. Margaret was clearly the highest ranked. She had three groups under her command, each divided into two subgroups, each of ten to twenty fairies with their own commander. Brian and I, as well as Joshua, didn’t seem to be a part of this hierarchy. Joshua stood proudly with his mate, while Gran invited me and Brian to stand at her side. The other fairies that had been captured by the goblins stood aside, unsure about what they needed to do.
Margaret inspected her army and then turned to us and saluted in a military fashion. “Fairlady Edith, we’re all ready to hear you.”
Gran smiled at her. “Thank you, General.” She then turned slightly to officially address the forces. Her voice sounded more formal and as loud as if it was amplified. “My dear fairies, I regret having to call you all here and interrupt your regular life so abruptly. While it is not yet clear what our enemies tried to achieve by keeping me and a few more fairies captive, your immediate action saved us all from whatever plan they had. Thank you all for your prompt response to our call. You will all get the appropriate honors.”
She turned back to Margaret. “I believe you may dismiss the forces now.”
While Margaret and Joshua thanked the forces as well and then dismissed them, Gran motioned the other rescuees to follow her into the palace, along with us. This time, we used the main entrance, where two fairies stood guard, armed with long spears. Both bowed their heads as we approached. The entrance hall was extremely elegant, reminding me of some fairytale palaces. It made me smile. We were actually fairies, staying in the magical realms—if that was not a fairytale, what was?
Gran led us to a large, very elegant office, where she sat at the desk and motioned the rest to sit down on chairs that were scattered in the room. She first addressed the pixie, whom I could now recognize as Kathy. “When did they capture you?”
Kathy seemed confused and a bit overwhelmed. She eyed me and Brian suspiciously before returning her attention to Gran. “I was just playing with the pixies in a flower field. A group of goblins suddenly appeared from nowhere—they probably stayed hidden under the grass leaves—and grabbed as many as they could, including me. A few got away, though. Their commander then looked at each of the captured. He stopped in front of me. ‘You’re not a pixie,’ he said. ‘You’re a fairy and will be treated like one.’ They then released all the pixies but took me with them and set me in a small room in that palace. It was about a week ago, I think. It was hard to know the time in there.”
Gran turned to the fairies. One answered for them both. “We were just enjoying ourselves. Drinking flower nectar and playing around when we were grabbed by the goblins. They let us stay together. We tried to use magic to get free, but it didn’t seem to work. We stayed there for three days.”
Gran thought for a bit. “Well, they clearly wanted to attract my attention. I introduced all three of you to your nature and they probably found out, one way or another. I still don’t know what they wanted to achieve by imprisoning us. They clearly acted much nicer than I could expect them to.” She sighed and seemed to think things over. “You’ve been dearly missed, as your parents contacted me to ask if I knew anything. I suggest you go home now. You can make your portals on the lawn, where we landed on arrival.”
She now turned to Kathy. “Are you still happy to join the pixies?”
Kathy seemed confused. “It’s still fun being with them, but . . . I don’t know . . . I’ll have to think of that some more.”
Gran smiled at her. “Do so. If ever you need my help, you know how to contact me. Now, I believe your parents are extremely worried. I suggest you go to them at once.”
Kathy’s expression lightened. “Sure, Fairlady. I’ll go there immediately. And thank you all for your help. You were really impressive, Junior.”
I had many questions to ask, and Gran knew it, but she raised her hand as if to stop me. “I have quite some paper shuffling to do, and you have your studies. We shall talk over the weekend, and I promise not to keep any secrets. Do you know how to return to the same time you left?”
I nodded. Creating a portal that dismissed the time at Avalon was a bit more tricky than regular portals, but Gran had taught us during the summer and I exercised it a few times since.
Gran smiled and waved us out. A moment later we were back in my room.
Mom knocked on the door. “What was that
conversation I heard a few minutes ago? I didn’t know you had guests.”
“Brian’s parents wanted to ask us something. They only stayed with us for a few minutes,” I told her. “Brian has an important exam tomorrow, you know.”
“And I hope you don’t distract him too much,” Mom said sternly, yet a glint of mischief was evident in her eyes.
“No, not more than usual,” I assured her.
Gran arrived that weekend, looking as cheerful as ever. She spent some time with my parents and with my siblings before finally asking me and Brian to come to her room. With the door closed and our privacy secured by a bit of magic, she turned “all business” as she talked with us. “You two took a great risk, coming to rescue the captives. Although it worked perfectly, I’m very disappointed by your willingness to take risks. Anything I may try to plan for you will turn worthless if you take one risk too many.”
“We didn’t take any risk,” I tried explaining. “Margaret told us that quite many casualties were expected, and I simply couldn’t allow that, as I’m sure you wouldn’t. After having read about the giants and the goblins, and knowing that both Brian and I can turn ourselves into giants, it became less of a risk than crossing the street.”
“You could still get hurt,” she insisted.
“With a hide as strong as half an inch of steel? Not very likely. They tried to shoot some arrows at us, but they didn’t even scratch us. I wouldn’t have suggested this if I didn’t think it would work.”
“But their fortifications . . .”
“Would have done nothing. We started destroying them just by physical force. Your message helped us in making us absorb magic, just like their walls.”
Gran was silent for a moment. “You managed to absorb the magic from the walls? How?”
I smiled at her. “You taught us. Don’t you remember? ‘You can do whatever you can imagine.’ I imagined myself as a sponge for magic, as did Brian.”
It took her a while to think about the implications. “Well, your imagination is certainly wilder than mine. I just couldn’t find any way to defeat those fortifications.”
She shook her head as if getting rid of that subject. “Now, I promised to tell you everything, or as much as I can, at least. Make yourselves comfortable, as it will take some time.”
I cuddled with Brian and let my magic remove our clothing. I didn’t like anything that kept us apart. Gran smiled, yet stayed dressed.
“When I was your age, I was already pregnant, trying to balance my duties as a student with my duties as a mother-to-be and trying to find my way in the adult world, after moving to live alone in another town. It was only about three months after my birthday when I first met my fairy mentor. She was quite an old lady by then, close to seventy, I believe, yet still healthy and energetic like a young girl. She used to visit me twice a week for a few hours each time and only finished teaching me the basics—what I taught you at the club—shortly before I went into labor. For the next two years, I was unable to spend any time on fairy stuff. I was a young, inexperienced mother and got very little help. I still managed to raise my daughter, start my academic education, and even enjoy some sex, occasionally.” She smiled a bit at the memory.
“My Fairy mentor came to see me about five years later. She looked much older and not as healthy, yet still very energetic. She then told me of the position she had in mind for me and taught me what I needed to do to gain that position. I first had to join the Fairarmy—the group of fighting fairies you saw a few days ago. We’ve not spent much time on the subject during the summer, but fairies have some enemies in the magical realms and need to protect their heritage and their position in that world. Our army is small and may not seem too powerful, but with magic, it can be quite formidable.” She smiled at me fondly. “It seems redundant to tell you this after you destroyed the goblin stronghold almost single-handed.”
“We both did it,” I insisted. Gran just nodded.
“Anyway, I soon proved myself there, rising in ranks, until I became a colonel—the commanding officer of a third of the army. By then I knew that my mentor was Fairlady Anna—one of the Elders.” She stopped and asked us, “Have you read about the fairy hierarchy? Can you tell me what you already know?”
“The fairies have a kind of republic, ruled by the Elders. These are selected according to their intelligence and their magical abilities, as determined each time they visit the Fair Palace. Each of the Elders usually has a specific interest area where she takes responsibility and of which she reports to the assembly,” I recited what we’d already learned.
Gran smiled. “Correct. Each of the Elders is called a Fairlady, or Fairlord when there were still males there. They also elect one to preside over them and assume responsibility when others are unavailable for any reason. I am currently the president of the Elders, and by extension—of the whole Fairy population.”
I suspected she was important, but not that important. She certainly didn’t act like a president of a nation—large or small.
Gran didn’t let us dwell on it. “Back to the story. Fairlady Anna summoned me to her office in the Palace and told me that I was to become her Junior. I didn’t understand what it meant, so she told me. A Junior is a kind of understudy, learning from the Fairlady all that she can and ready to replace her when the time comes. A Junior may also need to take the Fairlady’s place whenever the Fairlady is unable to attend her duties for whatever reason. One can only become a Junior if the Elder assembly agrees, effectively electing her as a future Elder.”
“But I’m too young!” I protested, remembering being called Junior.
“Becoming Junior or even Elder has nothing to do with age, as the number of Elders changes. There were times when the Elder assembly numbered more than a few hundred and other times when there were less than ten. Right now there are thirty-four Elders. When you and Brian are ready to join, we’ll be thirty-six.”
It took me some time to comprehend it all. While I didn’t feel mature enough to even be a Junior, I could accept it, yet becoming an Elder before reaching thirty seemed a bit absurd.
“But if you think we shall join on our own, why is Sophie a Junior?” Brian asked.
“You are as well. A Junior who’s worthy enough is made an Elder regardless of the Fairlady that mentored her . . . or him. I know you’ve already visited the palace several times, returning home with a multitude of books. I’ve seen you studying them seriously more than once. You’re both powerful and imaginative, as you’ve shown only a few days ago. You’re the ones who can make a change in the direction the Fairy nation goes.”
I didn’t want to think of that at the moment. I’ve never found politics too interesting and doubted it would change. I tried to change the subject. “How were you captured?”
Gran looked at me as if saying, ‘I know why you changed the subject, but you can’t escape your destiny.’ She still answered. “I was contacted by the parents of the missing fairies. They are all aware of their daughters’ abilities and they’ve all known me as their daughters’ mentor. I started checking and found that they all went missing after saying they were going to the magical realms. When in Avalon, I found out that they went missing quite close to the goblin settling. The pixies were not very cooperative, but they eventually told me about Kathy being taken by goblins. It became clear to me that the goblins were trying to attract my attention, as all the missing fairies were my students. I thought I needed to talk with them.”
“You should have gone there with some guards,” Brian said.
Gran shook her head. “It wouldn’t have changed. I could go there with two or three guards at most, yet it would have served nothing. The goblins are many and they can use magic. While their magic is much cruder and they are unable to do much with it, what they do is more than enough to knock a fairy unconscious or even kill her, not to mention their other weapons. I didn’t want to put them into unnecessary dangers.”
Brian nodded, as Gran continued. “I wa
s surrounded by goblins as soon as I came out of the forest, yet none touched me. They only asked me to come with them and be their guest. There was no safe way to refuse. They set me in a luxurious apartment in their palace and left me there, free to do as I liked, except for leaving that apartment. When I tried to remove some of the bars on the windows, I found out about the absorption of magic. I was served a meal, quite a good one according to goblin standards, although unsuitable for a fairy, but left alone otherwise until you came to rescue me.”
“What could they have in mind?” I wondered.
“It’s hard to tell. The goblins don’t let other species learn much about them. I suspect they have a new ruler, one who wanted to talk with me but didn’t know how to contact me. Subtlety and understanding are not qualities common among goblins. They may rethink their tactics now. It’s especially good that there was no open confrontation between the two species. The giants are not known to be allies with the fairies.”
We had more than enough to think of, although I felt like I had many questions to ask. Gran smiled at us. “Go have fun. We can talk tomorrow some more.”
18 Research
The more I visited Avalon, the more I was wondering about some things. At first, it didn’t seem too odd that I could understand all fairies, even some coming from distant countries. Doesn’t everybody learn some English, even in other countries? But after chatting with elves and with gnomes and with pixies and even with goblins, I started giving it more than a bit of thought.
The next time we visited Avalon, I stopped a bit farther from the elf village and simply listened. My elongated fairy ears made my hearing much more acute than in human form. I could clearly hear them talking, yet I couldn’t understand even a single word. Their language sounded like nothing I’ve heard on Earth, not even some of the “make-believe” languages we had as small children or in some fantasy books.
