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Emerald Oasis Chapter Three: Our Fairy King

An old lady gets involved with fairy politics.

By Chloe GilholyPublished 3 years ago 13 min read
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Emerald Oasis Chapter Three: Our Fairy King
Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash

"Do you know where Marjorie is?" Joyce asked the nurse on duty.

"She's in hospital. She had a nasty fall and bumped her head."

"Oh dear, that's a shame," Joyce lied.

"At least we'll have some peace and quiet."

As soon as the nurse opened the doors to the gardens, she ran through the doors. The staff told her to slow down otherwise she would fall or get hurt but they soon became a distant sound. It didn't take long before she spotted one fairy hanging on a bird's nest. Joyce picked the fairy up in her hands and patted her head.

"Good morning," she said.

The fairy screamed. "You can see me?"

"Of course I can see you," Joyce said. "You're in my hand."

"Humans aren't suppose to see us," she moaned, wiping dirt off her dress. "I don't know how you're able to see us."

"Because you're real," Joyce said to her. "Anyway forgive me for my lack of manners. My name is Joyce, what's yours?"

"Mimi Dory," the fairy curtsied. "So how many of us have you seen?"

"I've met Emily last night and of course I saw some fairies floating around last night and I met Larry when he was in wolf form."

Mimi dropped her mouth and she crawled backwards towards the tips of Joyce's fingers. "How long have you been here for?"

"This is my second day here," Joyce said. "My son brought me here from hospital."

Mimi shook her head. "Horrible places them hospitals. Worse than prison I think."

"You've been to prison?"

"I used to work in a fairy prison," Mimi explained. "I worked there with someone called Emily. She might be the same Emily that you met yesterday. She's got really bronze skin."

"That sounds like her," Joyce said. "Anyway, I'm sorry for scaring you. You see, it's my first time in an enchanted place. I've always wondered why hardly anybody comes here."

"When it's summer it will get busy," Mimi explained. "We're in March and it's quite windy so it's only the gardeners that will come. In the summer it's packed in here, they bring the barbecues and the picnics. It's quite a sight to see."

"MIMI! JOYCE!" It was Emily flying towards them and hovered next to Mimi. "Wow, I can't believe that you two have finally met. I was trying to find you all night so I could tell you."

"So it is only me that can see you?" Joyce asked.

Both fairies nodded, but only Emily spoke. "It seems like it. It must mean that you have a high spirit."

Joyce wiggled her nose. "What do you mean by that?"

"High senses," Mimi said. "Like high sensitivity and a pure spirit. That's quite rare nowadays."

"It's always been rare."

"So I'm special then?"

"Yes," Emily nodded as she spoke. "You're special. That's why you can see the magic whilst other people can't."

"Then why are trying to hide from everybody?" Joyce said.

"Even though they can't always see us," Emily frowned clutching onto her wings, "they can still hurt us."

The two fairies faded into obscurity. She jilted her head around the garden and didn't see anything until she saw two wondering women walking towards the rosebush. Joyce made her way over to investigate. One woman was around the same age as Joyce and the other appeared to be a woman half her age. The middle-aged woman was wearing a mauve gown and a golden tiara to match her permed hair. She appeared to be a queen of some distant land.

"Look at these lovely roses," the queen said. "Did you have any roses in your garden, Dorothy?"

"Several," Dorothy said, leaning over as she picked a rose up. Dorothy looked up and saw Joyce. "Oh hello there!" She spoke to Joyce as if they were best friends reunited. "And how are you on this wonderful day?"

"I'm fine," Joyce said. "Have we met before?"

"You know what," Dorothy giggled as she clung onto her pink floral dress. "I can't remember. Isn't that strange."

Joyce laughed back. "No not really."

"How are you settling in?" the queen asked Joyce. Joyce managed to get a good look at her. Her eyes matched the colour of the bright sky. The queen was attractive and easy to get lost in.

"Very well," Joyce said as she bowed. She didn't know what country she ruled, but she thought it was only polite to bow. She didn't want the sovereign to think she was ignorant.

The queen smiled. "Very good. I have to go back to work now. I'll leave you two to it." The queen left, humming a deep tune that Joyce used to sing to her children when they were younger.

"She runs this place," Dorothy whispered to Joyce.

"So she's the queen of this enchanted place?" Joyce asked.

"You could say that again," Dorothy said.

It seemed so cold. To make matters worse it started to pour with rain. Dorothy ran off back into the garden, but Joyce had decided to stay in the garden. She twirled over towards the shed and sat inside for shelter. She heard the splatters on the rooftop.

She shivered as she rubbed her arms together in a shape of a cross. She wished that she brought a coat with her. When she turned around she saw an army of fairies all lined up on the shelves. Emily and Mimi were out on the front row on the top shelf. Before Joyce had a chance to speak, a red fairy that hovered around her blew a whistle.

"Shut that door!" he demanded and within seconds the shed's door was closed by the wave of the wind.

"Excuse me," Joyce said with her arms in the air. She gulped before she asked her questions. Although the magic excited her, she felt more frightened than anything else. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"I am Fore," the red fairy said with a harsh accent, pointing at the crown on his head. The crown was dripping in jewels and velvet. His silver cape blended with his wings. "I'm the fairy king. This is my palace."

"This shed is your palace?"

"Correct."

Joyce couldn't have been more disappointed. Where were the colours and where were the fountains, portraits of renaissance and dance halls? "Well you could have made it a bit more lively couldn't you?"

King Fore stomped his feet as his cheeks glowed red as steam popped out of his ears. "DON'T YOU DARE GIVE ME ANY CHEEK YOU FOOLISH HUMAN!"

"Don't talk to me like that!" Joyce waved her finger at King Fore "I'm bigger than you remember!"

King Fore shrugged his shoulders. "I have more power."

"Well, I don't if you've noticed," Joyce snarled at King Fore, "but I'm not a fairy. I could squash you with my bare hands."

"Joyce!" Emily cried out. "You shouldn't talk to the fairy king like that?"

"Why not?" Joyce said. "If he's your king, then he should learn to respect his subjects."

"So," King Fore huffed, stamping his feet. "It's time for our meeting. I don't know who this woman is and how she can see us, but this woman is at risk of destroying us."

"NO!" Emily called. Mimi dragged Emily behind her as she was about to fly. "Joyce is a gentle and kind lady."

"Gentle and kind?" King Fore laughed. "MY ARSE! Are you deaf or daft Emily? Did you not hear her? She said she would squash me." By the way King Fore was dashing about he seemed to be like a little red devil who had too many energy drinks. Nothing about his bloated figure and messy hair spelt regal. "We need to kill this old bat."

"I think I'd rather get wet then listen to this wretched creature," Joyce hissed as she stood up. She tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. She kicked the door and tried to slam herself against the door but nothing happened. She sighed as she sat back down. She turned around and saw that there was nobody there. Then she looked above to the ceiling and saw that they were all up above.

"Your Majesty," Mimi said. "I think you should apologize to Joyce."

"Why should I?"

"Because you've upset her," Mimi stated. "You were out of order after all."

"Don't talk such bollocks," King Fore roared. He patted his chest as he spoke. "I'm the king, I'm always in the right."

"Still," one of the fairies said. "You have no valid reason or excuse to kill the lady."

"These old nutters will leave us extinct," King Fore announced. "We need to do something in case of self-defence."

"Is that why you're trying to hide from us?" Joyce asked, trying to be reasonable. She couldn't believe that fairies like King Fore existed. She always imagined fairies as being kind and gentle. She never thought that they would be ruled by a sheer dumb dictator.

"We don't want punters like you screaming at us saying OH LOOK A FAIRY, LET'S TAKE A SELFIE."

"Did you just make that up?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Well that's not very good is it?"

"I'm the king," King Fore repeated. "Everything I do is always good."

"What an arrogant little arsehole you are."

King Fore sighed. "I guess you're right. My social skills are crap. Let me show you what my palace really looks like."

"I thought this was your palace?" Joyce said. She was confused.

"This is part of the palace," King Fore explained. "It's a form of transport. It takes me anywhere that I want to go."

"Can you take me to Blackpool?"

"Certainly!"

As far as Joyce was concerned it could have been the last holiday that Joyce will ever have. She had doubts that she would be able to leave the home again. She wouldn't be surprised if ever be allowed out of the building again. She decided right then and now that she had to make the most of what little she had left.

She couldn't even remember why she was in the hospital. One minute she was climbing the stairs, and then she woke up and she was bedridden in the hospital.

King Fore's servants pulled the shed door open. Joyce's eyes squinted at the light beaming at her. She walked out of the shed and cuddled her arms together, hearing the crashing sounds of the waves behind her. "I wish I brought my coat."

It seemed deserted, other than a few trams plodding along the tracks. She noticed that many of the shops were closed and the iconic Blackpool tower had been bordered up for refurbishment. The place was dead. Joyce was expecting vibrant colour but got a washed out town.

When she thought of Blackpool, she thought of children riding donkeys, couples on the benches, gentle strolls and the beaches and piers and a plethora of entertainment and quirky little candy shops. This was not the Blackpool that she knew and loved.

"What happened here?" Joyce cried out, feeling as if she was on the verge of tears. "Why is everything closed? Where are all the people? It's July for heaven's sake: it should be booming."

King Fore shook his head. "It's February. They might drop by later cause it's Valentine's day, but there won't be a lot of people here at this time."

"Oh crap!" Joyce raised her voice and slapped herself on the face. "I forgot Maxine's birthday again." She ran back into the shed. "Take me back, I've gotta ring Maxine up."

The fairies did as they were told. Hardly anybody seemed to have noticed Joyce's disappearance. By the time Joyce had left the shed, the fairies had already vanished and left her to it. It was just her in the garden now, most of the other residents had sat in their seats ready for lunch.

Joyce wasn't ready to eat yet. She ignored her rumbling stomach and went over to the reception area where she spotted a spare phone in the office. "I want to ring my daughter."

The receptionist nodded with a phone jammed in her ear. Joyce marched into the office, focused on the piles of paper on the desk and notes all over the floor. She made the call and dialled the numbers fast.

"Hello?"

"Hello dear," Joyce said as she took a seat on the chair behind her. "Happy birthday."

"Wow, Mother!" Maxine gasped. Joyce couldn't tell whether Maxine was pleased or sarcastic. She was leaning towards the latter, as Maxine seemed to enjoy being miserable. "You actually remembered this time?"

"For some reason, I thought it was July," Joyce admitted.

"It has been nice weather in Warwickshire."

"How's your lad?"

"He's fine," Maxine responded. "Going through a lot, but my baby will be fine. So, what did you get up today?"

"I went in the garden and then the fairies took me into the shed. They said I could go wherever I wanted to go, so I went to Blackpool. I was awful. I was only there five minutes; it was like a ghost town. I asked myself why it was dead in July and then the fairy king told me it's actually Valentines Day."

"Mother... have you been smoking that rubbish again?"

"I don't smoke: never did!"

"Then what's Cleo been doing filling your head with this fairy mumbo jumbo?"

"Will you stop picking on Cleo," Joyce snapped. "He did nothing to you. I saw the fairies with my own two eyes."

"You must have been dreaming," Maxine insisted on telling Joyce that everything she saw wasn't real. "There's no such thing as fairies."

"You've got to see it for yourself," Joyce persisted. "Not only that, the home is owned by a Princess. Larry the rabbit can turn into a wolf and the place is filled with monsters, dragons, trolls and every kind of mythical creature you can think off. Cleo has put me in an enchanted castle."

"So you're telling me that you've seen monsters, dragons and trolls as well?"

"I haven't seen any of those yet," Joyce admitted. "But I know they're here. Emily, the fairy told me that they're here."

"I'm getting the doctor out to see you," Maxine had decided. Joyce frowned. It was clear that Maxine was not going to believe in her.

"I don't need one," Joyce insisted. "You're blinded by your own hatred."

"I'm going to ring him now!" Maxine said. "You better go and get your lunch. Goodbye Mother..."

"Wait!" Joyce cried out. "I'm not hungry. I want to talk to you some more. I must know about Whitney, my grandson and your husband. How are all your family doing. I really want you all to come and visit me sometimes. And if Whitney is feeling adventurous, I want to see what else she's been drawing lately."

"Slow down," Maxine gasped. Joyce heard a slam through the telephone coming from her daughter's side. "You're talking too much and too fast: you need to slow down."

"Is Whitney still drawing?"

"Someone paid her £60 to do some drawings."

"Oh isn't that wonderful?"

"No, it isn't."

"Why not?"

"Because a lot of these people who commission her from the internet are nothing more than starving perverts. I found her drawing naked men the other day."

"Well sometimes she has to draw nude people to study anatomy," Joyce explained.

"No Mum," Maxine roared. "You don't understand. She was drawing hard willies and hair bums in the hair. Oh my god it's disgusting. She's still at school, she shouldn't be doing things like that. If her father knew, he'd be calling the police."

"Oh leave it," Joyce said. "She's a teenager. Girls her age do silly things all the time. It's just a faze: she'll get over it eventually."

"The sooner the better."

"At least she has a job and is earning her own money," Joyce chuckled with a smirk on her face. "Oh, I'm so proud of her. I wonder if her brother draws anything?"

Maxine slammed the phone down. Joyce tilted her head. She really thought that she was getting somewhere.

humanity
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About the Creator

Chloe Gilholy

Former healthcare worker and lab worker from Oxfordshire. Author of ten books including Drinking Poetry and Game of Mass Destruction. Travelled to over 20 countries.

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