Chapter
One
“Fairy, fairy, quite contrary, how does
your boredom grow?” I stared at my reflection in the courtyard fountain’s translucent
water while plucking plum-colored petals from an orchid’s long stem. I dropped
them into the fountain and watched as they floated out of reach to the other
side. If I sprinkled some fairy dust in the water, I’d be able to observe into
the human world, but I’d grown weary of having only a bird’s eye view.
“You are outrageously
melodramatic, Juniper.” My best friend and fellow fairy, Iris, sat on the edge
of the fountain and crossed her ankles. The ends of her wings dipped into the
water. She lifted her face toward the sun, exposing her pale, slender neck.
A palace guard stumbled
over his feet as he passed by. He caught himself before spilling to the ground
and his cheeks turned a rosy shade of red. I understood his clumsiness around
her. Iris was the second most beautiful fairy in our land. My mom, Queen Poppy,
being the first.
I waited for the guard
to disappear down the corridor before lowering my voice to a near whisper. “Are
we on for tonight?”
Iris grumbled a few unintelligible
words under her breath and the tips of her wings flickered to highlight her agitation.
She reached into her dress pocket and retrieved the parchment. She placed it on
the edge of the fountain. “You are the biggest cliché. The sheltered princess
has everything she could possibly desire but wants to slum it with the humans
instead.”
I tossed the orchid
stem at her and picked up the missive, glancing around again to make sure we
weren’t being watched. “Be judge-y later. What’s the fairy errand?” I unfolded
the paper and read the name and address. John
Bleaker, 325 Palmer Road, Lilac Cove.
“The human male needs a
sprinkle of fairy luck to help with an interview tomorrow. This is the closest
FE I could snag. He’s a boring man who lives only a few miles away in a boring
little town on Florida’s gulf coast. Lives by himself and is in bed most nights
by nine p.m. It’s a simple in-and-out job.” She grasped my wrist and gave it a
gentle squeeze. “If we get caught, your parents will feed me to the trolls. Or
worse, they won’t let me live in the palace anymore.”
“Now who’s being
dramatic? We won’t get caught,” I assured her, but she only fluttered her
eyelashes in an exaggerated eye roll and fluffed the blonde curls that circled
her head like a golden halo.
I’d been planning my one-night
excursion into the human world for more than a year, ever since my twenty-fifth
birthday, when I should have been allowed to join my fellow fairies as a fairy godparent.
I’d trained alongside all the other fairies and, at the last minute, my parents
had pulled the palace rug out from under me.
Being a godmother was
my birthright, after all.
I took in the lush,
green courtyard and the pristine gray bricks of the palace walls. Being the
only heir to the North American fairy throne happened to be my birthright, too.
According to my parents, that took precedence. Not to mention that a couple of
fairies had left our world to live in the human world over the past couple of
years and that made the entire kingdom nervous. There were only so many of us
left.
For twenty-six years
I’d been trapped inside the protective magical dome of our home in the swamps
of Juniper Springs, Florida. That’s right,
I’m named after our fairy land.
Every other fairy took
on the responsibility of godparent on their twenty-fifth year. They then
ventured out to wave their wands and sprinkle enchanted dust to help the
humans. We called them fairy errands or FEs. With so much evil in the world, humans
needed every sprinkle we could give them. That’s what I needed to be doing, too.
Instead, I had to spend
my days preparing to ascend to the throne.
Don’t get me wrong. Living
with the humans on a permanent basis didn’t hold any appeal so my parents fears
were unfounded. And fairies who chose that path didn’t get the option to come
back. Just ask my Aunt Mossandra, who I’ve never actually met and have only
seen in a portrait hanging on the palace wall.
But day after day of
palace duties like arranging nobility banquets and settling fairy disputes and this
gal needed a little break in the routine. An adventure.
My only two connections
to the world where everyone else traveled was the courtyard fountain and the
human-written books Iris smuggled back from her assignments.
The king’s distinct voice
boomed from somewhere inside the main halls.
“Uh oh. King Hypnum
sounds mad. Again. I’m out.” Iris stood and shook the water off of her wings. She
stretched out her arms and allowed a pout to pull down the edges of her glossy
pink lips. “I’m losing my shimmer and am in desperate need of a glitter bath.” She
pulled me to my feet and placed light kisses on both of my cheeks. “There’s
still plenty of time to change your mind about tonight.”
I tilted my head to the
side and held her violet gaze. “You know I won’t.”
Her shoulders sagged.
“That’s what worries me most—your inability to let go of something once you’ve
set your mind to it.” She fluttered her wings and lifted a few inches from the
ground. She glided to the nearest exit but picked up her pace once my father
came around the corner, his always present entourage close behind.
“When I find out who’s
been skimming, they’ll spend their eternity with a wad of thorns stuck up
their…” He caught sight of me and stopped short.
I waved the tips of my
fingers at him. “Don’t stop on my account, Daddy. Where will the thorns be
going?”
He pursed his lips and
met me at the fountain. “Hello, dearest. I didn’t see you there.” He gave the
top of my head a quick peck. Between my parents, I mostly resembled my dad,
with his dark brown hair and gray eyes with a sharp, pointy nose settled in between.
I warmed under his
affection, almost feeling guilty for my devious plans later on that evening. Almost.
“Who’s skimming what?”
I asked.
Irritation returned to
his expression. “The enchantment dust harvesters are reporting stolen crop.”
“We’ll find the
culprits, your majesty,” Amaranth, the captain of the royal guard and my
on-again, off-again boyfriend, assured the king.
Amaranth and I avoided
eye contact with each other as at this moment we happened to be in the
off-again territory. He’d caught me outside the palace walls with a copy of the
works of Edgar Allen Poe. Long story short, we’d argued about what he’d called
my “infatuation with the human world.” The nerve. Just because something
interested me didn’t mean I’d become infatuated with it.
Dad must have noticed
the tension between us because he cleared his throat a few times before
gesturing toward the main hall. “Your mother awaits me in the throne room, so
we’ll be on our way. You have your itinerary for the remainder of the day, I
assume. Will you be dining with us this evening?”
I turned on my
sweetest, daughterly smile but my pulse quickened. “Iris and I have plans
tonight. Tomorrow?”
“I look forward to it.”
He led his private guards and the other palace lackeys out of the courtyard.
I blew out a hard
breath and waited for my heart to return to its normal pace. My wings twitched,
and I flicked them to work out the tension. At least I’d been able to avoid my
mom all day. She could take one look at me and know when I was up to something—like
a sixth sense.
I glanced at the sun
and estimated that I had four hours before I set my plan into motion. Just
enough time to immerse myself in my newest book. The itinerary my father spoke
of, which included picking flower arrangements for the main hall’s dining
tables, could wait.
I snapped my fingers,
making my wand appear in the palm of my other hand, and then withdrew the
miniaturized version of Pride &
Prejudice from my pocket. I tapped it three times and said, “Big.” The book
grew to normal size and I clutched it against my chest.
If the person I planned
to visit tonight was half as interesting as Elizabeth Bennet or Fitzwilliam
Darcy, I was in for quite the treat.
Chapter
Two
A succession of knocks in a rhythmic
pattern sounded from the other side of my door shortly after sundown. I cracked
it open and found Iris on the other side, dressed in a hooded cloak.
“What’s with the weird
knocking?” I asked.
“It’s a secret knock so
you’ll know it’s me.” She pushed through the door, a dress laid over her arm
and a bag in her hand.
I closed it behind her
and turned the lock. “It wouldn’t have mattered who knocked, I still would have
opened it.”
Her expression warred
between a smile and frown. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
I took the shimmering
dress from her and worked it over my body. A little tight, thanks to my curves
and Iris’s lack of. I regarded myself in the full-length mirror. “Why? Because
I don’t get the point of the secret knock?”
She took my hand and
pulled me around to face her. “I love you lots. Like the sister I never had.”
“You have a sister. Her
name is Marigold, remember?”
She looked up at the
ceiling like I’d just made her point for her. “Don’t take this the wrong way,
but you’re a bit naïve about the way the human world works. It’s not your
fault. It’s your sheltered palace life that’s to blame.”
I yanked my hand back
and placed it on my hip. “You’ve been going to the human world for only a year,
and you live in the palace too. I’ll be as world-wise as you before morning.”
She perched on the edge
of my bed, staring off at something distant out the window. “But I’ve seen
things. So many things. They’re seared in here forever,” she said, tapping the
side of her head.
I dug my toes into the
plush carpet. “I want to see things, too. Searing or not. And if you really
loved me, you’d stop trying to change my mind and help me finish getting
dressed.”
Her eyebrows drew
together sharply. “Manipulative. Nice. You might do well in the human world
after all.” She opened her sack and pulled out a yellow mop that reminded me of
a dead animal covered with pollen.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Your wig. We have to
change your appearance to look more like me. While my wand will get you past
the gates, the guards still know you, and a lot of them know me too, if you
know what I mean.” She winked and made a kissy face.
Despite her claim of my
naivety, I knew exactly what she meant. Iris was a shameless flirt.
Our wands were our main
source of identification, each fairy having a particular wand fashioned from a
juniper tree and blessed by the king and queen. “I’ve planned for that. I know
the guard schedule tonight. It’s a newbie. I’m almost positive we’ve yet to
cross paths.”
“Still, wear the wig,
just in case.” She twisted and piled my dark hair onto my head and jammed the
wig on top, securing it with a few bobby pins. “There. Now for your face.”
I poked at the thing on
my head. “I have to change my face, too?”
“I wouldn’t be caught
dead without a healthy layer of glitter. Since you’re technically going to be
me, you should play the part.” She nudged me to sit in front of my vanity.
“Close your eyes.”
I did as she instructed
and felt a pouf bounce across my face. I sneezed after some powder went up my
nose.
“Okay, open,” she said,
and stood back. “Perfection.”
I opened my eyes to a reflection
of true ridiculousness. Purple, pink, and silver glitter covered every inch of
skin on my face. I shifted the wig. Good thing I’d be able to hide most of it
beneath the cloak’s hood.
Iris clapped her hands.
“This might actually work.”
“Of course it will.” I’d
waited a year for this perfectly-planned night. Rarely was the palace without
guests, but tonight it was only the royal family.
A chime from the main
village sounded three times, alerting the fairies that is was time for them to
attend to their godparent duties. The main guard would turn an hourglass and
for fifteen minutes an exit would form in the protective dome. After the sands
finished sifting through, the exit would close until they turned it over again
at daybreak. No one else out and nothing could get in.
I lifted off of the
ground, the excitement pushing my wings to beat faster.
Iris removed her cloak
and arranged it around my wings and shoulders. She pulled the hood over my
head, and I could see her hands shake.
I kissed her on each
cheek. “I’ll be back by daybreak, and we’ll laugh over all the wonderful and
amazing things I’ve seen.”
She bit her bottom lip,
but nodded and opened my door.
I stepped into the
hallway checking for voices. “All clear.”
As soon as I vacated
the doorway, the door shut hard behind me and I heard the lock click into
place. I lifted off the ground and navigated to and through the palace kitchen.
The kitchen workers bustled around and nobody so much as glanced in my
direction. With a rush of adrenaline, I whooshed out the back door and floated
down to the village.
Fairy men and women formed
a line at the main exit. The dome shielded us from human eyes, as well as other
magical beings that would like to see fairies become extinct.
I kept my gaze trained
on the ground and when my turn came up for my bag of enchantment dust, I
lowered my voice. “Nice evening, huh?”
“I guess,” the gate
guard answered.
I presented my wand and
as he handed over my bag, a familiar voice caught my attention.
“I’ll take over here,
soldier. Why don’t you take a break?”
Amaranth.
I snatched my bag out
of the guard’s hands. “See ya.”
“Wait,” Amaranth called
after me.
I stopped, not wanting
to cause a chase scene. I pulled the hood down further around my face and
waited for him to approach me.
“Juniper?” He leaned
down into my face while lifting the top of the hood. “What are you doing?”
“Shh.” I pulled him to
the side and glanced at his face for the first time since our argument. It was
a face I’d seen almost daily since we were six years old. As handsome as any
fairy male could be, his chestnut hair and matching eyes were features I’d
memorized long ago. “How did you know it was me?”
He lifted an eyebrow.
“The birthmark near your elbow.”
Ah. Apparently he’d
memorized some of my features too. The birthmark must have shown when I reached
for the bag. My own impatience had done me in.
His gaze took in my
moppish wig and glitter disguise. “Please tell me you aren’t sneaking out to
the human world.”
I smiled and tugged the
hood back into place. “Okay, I won’t tell you.”
He squared his
shoulders. There were many great qualities about Amaranth, the top being he
took his job as captain of the guard seriously. “I can’t let you go.”
My smile died along
with my excitement. I’d been so close. “You can. You don’t want to.”
He crossed his arms.
I grabbed his forearm.
“Please do this for me. I’ll be back before anyone else knows I’m gone.”
The newbie called to us
from his position near the stacked bags of dust. “Hey Captain, the gate is
closing in a minute. Is she going through or not?”
“She’s not.” He shook
off my hand. “It’s for your own safety, Princess.”
My chest tightened. Why
didn’t he understand?
The sands poured
through the hourglass faster by the second. I gripped my wand tight and turned
as if walking back toward the palace with him.
Then I did something I
haven’t done since we were kids. I lifted into the air and shoved him hard
enough to knock him down. “I’m sorry, but I am going.”
Before Amaranth could scramble
to his feet, I zipped through the portal and turned to watch as it closed
behind me. Anger had lit up his face, but I’d deal with that and his
disappointment in me later.
If I didn’t have my
adventure tonight, I’d never have another chance.
