Fairy Godmother

It wasn’t supposed to be like this…. Lena had been repeating that phrase to herself almost constantly over the last three days.

She had been invited to the Quinquennium Festival. Well, not invited per say, she had been assigned a duty. She was working, but she got to attend!

The ruling courts of all Five Kingdoms were here. They only gathered once every five years and they rotated which kingdom hosted the huge party. There was no way Lena would get to travel to another Kingdom for the festival and it would be 25 years before the festival returned here. She would be so old by then. Like 37 years old! Teacher Deliska wasn’t ever that old.

Master Vartigan had entered her class just three days before. The magic School Master could cause the sun itself to fall asleep when he spoke at length. And in the seat behind her, Resi was whispering to whoever would listen that Vartigan plucked out his black whiskers and eyebrows so only the grey ones remained in an attempt to look older and wiser. Lena’s just caught herself before she dozed off when Master Vartigan said “each of you will have a role to play. Teacher Deliska will help you choose and prepare you.”

Lena’s wandering mind thought that if Master Vartigan was collecting grey hairs, that Teacher Deliska could donate the ones that she plucked from her own head. Wait… Did Master Vartigan just say SHE would have a role to play! She would be able to go to the Quinquennium Festival!!!

And that was how it all started. Teacher Deliska, her thin lanky black hair specked with chalk dust wrote on the wall slate:

Duty Roster - 2nd year apprentices

1 Assistant to Master Vartigan

5 Pages

1 Fairy Godmother

5 Food Tasters

1 Junior Privy Steward

She then turned and rolled the knuckle bones on her desk, she spent a moment considering what she saw and declared “we will choose assignments according to age, youngest to oldest.” Teacher Deliska like to do things like rolling dice to make decisions, she said it allowed fate to more easily let its will be known. Lena didn’t know what fate wanted, but picking in reverse order of age meant that she would pick 3rd and Lena wanted to be the Fairy Godmother.

Peony had the first pick and without hesitation she shouted “Food Taster!” as she bounced out if her seat. Peony had a gift for detection magic, the best nose in the class and an insatiable sweet tooth.

Maxine had the second pick. Max deliberated slowly and carefully over her choice. Lena’s heart beat heavily in her chest. It beat quickly but ponderously and Lena felt a flutter in her tummy. Max wouldn’t pick Fairy Godmother… would she? Max may have been young but she was shrewd and ambitious. She would never be a mere food taster, casting detection spell after detection spell in anonymity. And Privy Steward, what was that? A chamber maid?!? Out of the question. Lena pitied whoever got stuck with that one. That left Page or Fairy Godmother. A Page would get to carry messages between members of the court, surely that would appeal to Maxine. But there were five Pages, Max would never willingly be just one of five. That left Fairy Godmother, exactly the sort of prestigious position Maxine would covet.

Maxine began to speak and Lena despaired… she just couldn’t see herself doing any of the other jobs. “Assistant to Master Vartigan” declared Max.

Wait, what? Maxine was going to follow the old, boring, stuffy… Master Wizard into every event, every room, every meeting. She would be at the center of everything important. Max was brilliant! And she left Lena’s first choice available!!!

“Mayleen, your choice is next” droned Teacher Deliska. “FAIRYGODMOTHER” Lena said it like a single word and with so much enthusiasm the Teacher looked up with wide eyes. “Very well, Mayleen, you will be the Fairy Godmother.” Teacher Deliska said, and Lena was so excited she didn’t pick up on Deliska’s patronizing tone.

Resi ended up as Junior Privy Steward. Lena giggled all day, she was a Fairy Godmother and Resi would be cleaning chamber pots.

Lena didn’t giggle about it any more. It turned out that the 2nd year class was assigned to the royal household from the Kingdom of Western Dantoria. The Dantorians had brought their eldest eligible daughter and son. Princess Aretia and Prince Leonotis. The Princess was an adorable and precocious three year old and the Prince was the most handsome, dashing and courteous fourteen year old Lena had ever met. His eyes were a honey brown, he had a dimple on his right cheek when he smiled and he had the most perfect dark blond hair. And… he had caught Lena staring half a dozen times. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment just thinking about the last time she got caught by the Prince, then Lena’s cheeks flushed in anger when she remembered how Resi had stepped in front of the Prince and smiled condescendingly at Lena.

Lens muttered under her breath “How was I to know that the Junior Privy Council was Prince Leo’s closest friends and advisors and that Junior Privy Steward was a kind of ambassador from the school to the Prince?”

Her best friend, Max, looked over and commented “I knew. I decided that learning the politics of the adults was more important than building connections with the young royals. Ultimately, I could be mistaken. Resi has ingratiated herself well with the Junior Court.”

Lena’s cheeks burned hotter, ingratiated indeed, she was practically hanging on the Prince.

Lena was out of her daydreams of strangling Resi when Max stated, probably louder than she intended “Your duty is here.” And the sound of Resi snickering was clearly audible.

Little Princess Aretia came running over, her feet pattering on the ground, and exclaimed “BUTT MAMA!”

Resi sauntered over and gloated “Yes, Butt Mama, do your doody.”

Being Fairy Godmother meant being a babysitter. She had to do everything for the Princess: help her dress, prepare tiny bites of food, watch to make sure she didn’t get into mischief, tell her stories, play with her and yes, change her diaper. To make it worse, Aretia couldn’t say Fairy Godmother. The Princess had been overjoyed when she was introduced to Lena and pronounced her the “Fawy Butt Mama”. It was the closest little Aretia could come to saying the title and it would have been endearing if Resi had not been standing right there next to Prince Leo to hear.

All Lena had wanted was to be the benefactor of legend, a wizardess who could use her magic to help a child’s dream come true. Instead, she was one dealing with chamber pots.

It was the third and final day of the Festival. It had not been the experience that Lena expected, but she enjoyed her time with Princess Aretia. The girl’s merriment was infectious. Lena just could not help but have a good time.

Aretia’s favorite game seemed to be disappearing for a period of time and then returning to show Lena something she had discovered. Lena had panicked the first few times, but after the Princess had run off a score of times on the first day alone, Lena had gotten used to the inquisitive child’s behavior.

Today they were in the royal gardens which were nestled at the edge of the King’s forest. It wasn’t a large forest, the entire thing was inside a walled perimeter, but some of the oldest known trees were to be found in it. In her first year of school, Lena had spent a lot of time amongst those trees and she was thrilled when the second year lessons had included listening to the woodland.

Lena watched as as Princess Aretia disappeared behind a hedge. The little girl was gaining confidence in the garden and was wandering off for longer and longer periods of time. Lena took these periods as personal time to spend paying attention to the Festival and talking with her friends, though she never strayed far from where Princess Aretia had last spoken to her.

Lena went over to the refreshment table and picked out some fresh bread, aged cheese and wild berries. Three things she found she enjoyed and feared she would not get to taste once the Festival ended.

Maxine wandered over casually, a little too deliberately casual. “What going on?” Lena enquired.

“Well…” Max hesitated “They aren’t telling the Junior Councilors yet but…”

Max made a point of referring to Lena as a Junior Councilor, like she was a peer to Resi, and it meant a lot to Lena that Max was making the effort.

“But what?” Lena promoted. And it came out of Max in a rush “There is a thief at the festival!” Lena started to roll her eyes, of course there would be thieves in the city who would try to profit from all the people who had come to enjoy the Festival, Lena never thought Max was that naïve.

Max saw Lena’s reaction and said with earnest seriousness in a whisper “No, a thief right here in the garden.”

A thief in the garden!

Lena’s heart stopped.

“Aretia!” She thought the name but she must have said it under her breath because Max looked concerned all of a sudden too.

Lena started walking toward the hedge as quickly as decorum would allow. It wasn’t time to panic yet. Aretia had been out of sight a handful of times already today and had returned as usual. Just because there was a thief amongst the guests here in the garden didn’t mean that Aretia was in danger. Still…. She had to find Aretia and keep her close by for the remaining few hours of the Festival. If anything happened to the Princess, what would happen to the Alliance? What would happen to her Kingdom? To her home? What would happen to her? And what would happen to that precious little girl?

“Arretia!” Lena called a little louder and with a little more panic.

“Butt Mama!” Lena heard Aretia call her in the sweetest voice she had ever heard. “Butt Mama, come look. I found pigeon!”

And just as the quickly as the Princess had appeared, she began running in the opposite direction into the King’s forest.

Just then, behind her, Lena heard a commotion. A voice exclaimed “My coin purse, thief!’ It wasn’t just any voice, it was the voice of Althea of Dantoria, Her Majesty the Queen. Aretia’s mother.

Oh no! Lena started sprinting after Aretia. She could hear the uninhibited cackles of a child playing a game. This was no game. Lena had lost sight of the Princess and only sounds indicated the direction in which Aretia was traveling. Pattering feet and giggles.

Lena slowed to listen and get her bearings. Aretia was headed into the deepest part of the forest. The sounds were beginning to get tough to localize. Lena knew a tracking spell. She had learned it in these woods. But the spell was limited in arc. She had to cast it in the correct direction. She also knew that the spell’s strength waned the more times she cast it in succession. She would have two attempts at most. There was lake, Lena knew, off to the left. If Aretia went that way, she would not get far. She stopped and concentrated on her spell. She flung it out to her right, like she would toss a handful of sand. And there, illuminated in bright green were small footsteps.

Lena held the spell in her mind concentrating hard. She had never tracked anything successfully for more than a few yards, but she refused to lose the footprints now. Her vision narrowed and darkened until all she could see were the glowing footprint. Her head began to feel light, was she breathing? She felt like she would lose the spell, or maybe she was feeling like she might pass out. Then just up ahead she saw the footprints stop at a small, green, shining figure.

Lena released the spell. It felt like she had just surfaced from a dive. The green light faded away while the other colors returned to the world.

And there before her was Princess Aretia, holding a coin purse, embroidered with the segil of her mother’s house. Aretia was plucking out coins and tossing them underhand one by one, like bread crumbs. A gold coin arced through the air, shining as it broke the rays of light shining through the leafy canopy. Then another gold coin. Lena watched, transfixed, unsure if why she she didn’t move or speak.

Then Aretia tossed a silvery coin and the shadows moved. Scales shimmered, Lena wasn’t sure there was a color that existed that could describe them: black and red and blue… purple?… indigo? The scaled head moved, tracking the coin as it flew, and snatched it out of the air and Lena sensed: satisfaction.

Aretia broke Lena’s revery saying “Good pigeon. You like the silvery ones. Queen Mommy calls them pat-num”.

Aretia hadn’t found a pigeon, she found a dragon. The princess spoke to the creature again in an attempt at a courtly intonation“Pigeon, meet Butt Mama. Butt Mama, this my pigeon.”

“And,” Lena told Max, “I just watched as she fed the dragon coins like they were bread crumbs.”

“I wonder why it preferred the platinum coins?” Max pondered.

“I tell you Princess Aretia is the thief everyone is looking for and she befriended a dragon in the forest in the backyard of the castle and all you can do is wonder why it likes playing with silvery coins more than golden ones!?!”

Well, Maxine continued “I suppose it could be the color like you said. I doubt the Queen carries silver or copper coins. But I’m thinking it was the metal and not the color.”

Sometimes Lena couldn’t understand what went on in Max’s head.

Resi entered and indignantly spat “I don’t understand why Lena is being talked about as some sort of hero. The thief nearly made off with the princess and the Queen’s purse. It never should have happened, what if the thief was not a coward who dropped his prizes and ran off?”

Prince Leonotis entered behind Resi and stated “We will never know, because Lena was there. Thank you Mayleen for returning my family’s property and rescuing my sister. You are truly a Fairy Godmother.” The Prince took Lena’s hand and kissed it. Lena felt her skin flush scarlet.

When they were once again alone, Max reflected “Resi kinda has a point, how did you get away from the dragon?”

"That was all Aretia's doing," Lena said with a wink. "It turns out dragons don't like the smell of poopy diapers."