Farrah in Fairyland (6 page)

You may be
asking yourselves why the Cornuto attack the fairies of Fairyland?
The answer is very simple. They love to feed on the wings of a
helpless fairy. It is said that the Cornuto gains strength from
eating a fairy’s wings. Fortunately, for the residents of
Fairyland, the Cornuto will not have to feed again for months after
a feeding of fairy wings.

When a Cornuto
is hungry, it will strike with the precision of a Snow Leopard.
Although slow, it is able to rely on the element of surprise. It is
not uncommon for a Cornuto to methodically stalk an unaware fairy
for hours, before it moves in for the kill.

Without the
help of the Securo, there isn’t much chance for a fairy. It is for
this reason that these protectors of the land have to be on guard
24-hours a day.

At present, it
had been months since the last Cornuto attack. Fortunately, on that
day there were only three casualties; a mother, father and their
small fairy child. The family of Acqua fairies had been fishing on
a boat in the middle of the river. There was no place for them to
go when the Cornuto creatures closed from beneath them.
Surprisingly quick swimmers, the pair of Cornutos pounced and in
one swoop, the family was gone.

Farrah had been
lucky to have never seen a Cornuto in her lifetime. Her uncle
Piccolo staved off an attack a few years back when working on a
construction site. A Cornuto had snuck up behind him when the
creature pounced. Coincidentally, Piccolo had swung an axe over his
head, a manoeuvre that ultimately saved his life. He inadvertently
knocked the Cornuto backwards, the butt end of the axe striking him
square in the forehead. With the Cornuto in a daze, Picolotto had
enough time to get away.

Farrah’s own
family had been very lucky not to encounter a Cornuto. Of course,
Couraggio Fancycracker believed that luck had nothing to do with
it. Farrah’s father believed that he had a foolproof system to
figure out when the Cornuto creatures would attack next.

It was a simple
system, which was based on the seasons of Fairyland. There is Neve,
which starts in December, Arbero, which begins in September, Sole,
which begins in June and Primerra, which starts in March. Couraggio
was convinced that the Cornuto always attacked at the beginning of
each season. Despite the entire Fancycracker family believing that
his system was hogwash, they were quick to admit the family had
been very fortunate.

The
Fancycracker family sat down to dinner. Farrah’s father was reading
an article in the Fairyland paper about a potential Cornuto attack
this Friday. He used the opportunity to caution his family about a
potential attack and also to gloat a little.

“Okay, gang,
there is a so-called threat of an attack this Friday. The paper is
urging all of Fairyland to stay indoors. Even though it is pretty
doubtful that an attack will happen, considering that it is now the
middle of the summer, I think that it is best for us to keep the
bakery closed on that day. They are recommending that only Tooth
Fairies go to work on Friday. The King has decided that Fairyland
can afford to miss out on an entire day’s worth of cultivation. You
see, Farrah, aren’t you lucky that you are a baker and that you
don’t have to risk your life?”

Farrah stood
up from the table. She couldn’t take being called a baker any
longer.

“I am not a
stupid baker. I was one of the smartest, most talented fairies at
the Pixie Academy so please stop calling me a dumb baker!”

“You don’t
speak to your father that way young fairy,” reacted Crystaline
Fancycracker.

Farrah’s mother
reached for some Pixie dust and was about to conjur up a spell that
would wash out Farrah’s mouth, when her husband stopped her.

“It’s okay,
Crystaline. I realize that Farrah has yet to come to terms with her
destiny, much like myself when I first became a baker.”

Farrah was a
little shocked by her father’s words. He always seemed like the
happiest baker in the world. Farrah couldn’t believe that there was
a time in her father’s life when he wanted to be something other
than a baker.

“What do you
mean, Dad?” asked Farrah as she sat back down at the table, calming
herself with a deep breath.

“Oh, Farrah,
when I was a young fairy, a few years younger than you are today, I
had this grandiose idea that I wanted to be a Tinker Fairy. I loved
working on toys and other electronic gizmos. I would often take
apart appliances just to see what they looked like inside and then
I attempted to put them back together. It wasn’t until my last day
at the Pixie Academy that I realized that I would never achieve
this dream.”

“How did you
know, Dad?”

Couraggio
tilted his head and looked into his daughter’s eyes, as if to feel
her aching heart.

“The Fairy
King had come to visit us graduates at the Academy that year. I can
remember how he took the time to shake every one of the Superiora’s
hands. He completely ignored all of us Ordinaria. He then went on
to give a speech about how these Superiora standing before him
would be the future leaders of Fairyland. He didn’t so much as look
at us. At the end of his speech, I actually stood up and asked WHAT
ABOUT US? Taken aback, the King took a moment before he answered
simply, “Well, the Ordinaria are also needed, of course. You are
here to do all of those jobs that nobody else wants to do. Without
you, Fairyland would fall apart.”

Couraggio
Fancycracker could remember the smug expression on the King’s face.
He could hardly keep it straight when speaking the last line about
Fairyland falling apart.

“Just before
the Fairy King was about to leave that day, I walked right up to
him and asked, “What if I want to be a Tinker fairy, or something
else?” The King just stood there laughing. It was a few minutes
before he blurted out, “You, a Tinker Fairy? My dear boy, leave the
important jobs to those fairies that can actually fly. Plus, you
don’t have the talent to be a Tinker Fairy.”

Farrah’s
father looked even deeper into his daughter’s eyes.

“
I
realized then and there that it didn’t matter how smart or talented
a fairy I was. As long as
this
King was in power, no Ordinaria would ever hold an
important job in Fairyland.”

“So you just
gave up, Dad?”

“What else
could I do, Farrah? I know when I’ve been defeated. From that day
on, I channelled all of my energy into being the best baker
Fairyland has ever seen. I can honestly say that today I am the
happiest person in the world for making that decision. My hope is
that you too will eventually love to be a baker as well.”

Farrah
couldn’t believe that her father had given up so easily. She just
sat there at the table dumbfounded, shaking her head back and
forth. She then stared back at her father with as serious a face as
she could muster.

“Dad, I will
never give up my dream. You may have given up on yours, but mark my
words, I will be a Tooth Fairy one day.”

The next
morning, Farrah was reluctant to look at her delivery list, out of
fear that she would have to make another stop at Samantha’s house.
Finally working up the nerve to read the list, she let out an
excited yelp when she saw that the Scarcity household was not
listed.

Farrah
completed her deliveries as quickly and painlessly as possible. She
actually felt good for a moment, until she remembered the
conversation about lost dreams that she had with her father the
night before. To get her mind off of things, she had made plans to
meet Giuseppi at Mount Michelutz after work.

With Farrah on
her back, Bella shot straight up into the air to give her a better
view of her surroundings. She spotted the great mountain off in the
distance to her left and without a word, Bella bolted. Giuseppi was
already there waiting for her. As usual, he was picking at a few
strands of grass, as he sat cross-legged on the ground.

By the look on
Farrah’s face, he could tell that she was upset. Her usual cheery
smile had turned into a deep frown.

“What’s the
matter, Farrah?”

“Ah, you know
the same old stuff - my parents won’t support me in my desire to be
a Tooth Fairy. To make things worse, I found out that my dad didn’t
even want to become a baker. Instead, he was forced into that job
when he realized that he could never be a Tinker Fairy.”

As Farrah
sat beside Giuseppi, she peered down at the Earth through a tiny
hole in the clouds. Instantly, she realized that Fairyland must
have floated over Egypt. With the smoke below having decreased, she
could see the once white-capped point of the Great Pyramid.
Silly
people, how could
they have ever thought that a human made something so
magnificent?
Farrah
thought to herself.

Anticipating
that Farrah was in need of some cheering up, Giuseppi took out a
tiny silk pouch from his pocket. The tiny blue pouch was invaluable
to Giuseppi. His grandfather had given it to him just before he
passed away last Sole. Giuseppi unravelled the leather string of
the pouch and took a pinch of silver Pixie dust. He sprinkled it
onto Farrah’s nose, which made her sneeze. Within seconds, her face
turned purple, her hair yellow and her eyes grew five times their
normal size. The Bruta spell was one of only two spells that
Giuseppi knew and it took him over three years to learn it.

“Thanks,
Giuseppi, I needed that,” laughed Farrah and she shook her head
back and forth three times to release the spell.

“Farrah, I have
a question, but don’t get mad,” stated Giuseppi, sounding quite
nervous.

“Don’t take
this the wrong way, but what happens if you’re unable to be a Tooth
Fairy?”

Farrah got to
her feet, flapping her hands at Giuseppi, who continued to sit on
the ground.

“Well, there
are a number of options. Firstly, I can become a Tinker Fairy. Just
like the great Tinkerbell, I love to fix things. I’m always
tinkering around with my dad’s electronic gizmos. Or a Paper Fairy
– working for the newspaper would be great. Especially if I get to
use the Verita spell to find out whether the person I’m
interviewing is telling the truth.”

Farrah began
to walk in a circle around her friend, as if in some sort of a
trance. Giuseppi, however, had heard this same story before and his
mind drifted off as Farrah continued to speak.

“Then of
course there is an Aqua Fairy. Not only do I love the water, but I
would also love the opportunity to work with the mammoth Serpent
Dolphine, they are such misunderstood creatures.”

Farrah’s mind
raced a mile a minute, thinking of all the endless possibilities
that would be open to her once she proved her worth.

“Oh, I can’t
forget a Toddle Fairy – I have some great ideas for new toys and
Peter Pan seems like a fascinating fellow. A Mezmo Fairy would be
interesting too, although having control over someone’s mind is a
big responsibility.”

Farrah stopped
directly in front on Giuseppi, who was startled for a moment.

“
But
don’t worry, Giuseppi, I
will
become a Tooth Fairy.”

Giuseppi
gulped again, feeling more nervous.

“
But,
Farrah,
how
are you
going to do this?”

Farrah took a
seat beside her friend on the ground. She grabbed his hands and
squeezed them tightly. She turned her body to sit face to face with
Giuseppi. Looking into Farrah’s eyes, Giuseppi blushed. Lucky for
Giuseppi, Farrah was too focused on what she was about to say to
notice.

“
With
your help of course, silly. You are going to help me train for the
talent contest. I will be
so
good
that they will have to let me become a Tooth Fairy.”

Farrah grabbed
hold of Giuseppi’s hands and pulled him to his feet.

“Okay - step
one, let’s see if I can pull off that spell to get you your
Scorpotoe.”

“Wait!”
shouted Giuseppi, before Farrah had a chance to do anything.

Giuseppi
grabbed some tissue from out of his pocket and shoved it up both
nostrils. Farrah glared at her friend.

“You know,
just in case you summon one of those Honkers again.”

With the Pixie
dust in her hand, she flattened out her palm and then blew the dust
into the air. After about three minutes, the two of them saw
something. Then out in the distance there it came. It was large,
too large to be a Honker. Its two wings flapped almost in slow
motion as the massive creature floated toward them. It was
beautiful. Its three golden horns shone brightly as it came closer
and closer, until finally it had landed smack dab in between the
two fairies.

“Wow, cool,
Farrah. Look at how beautiful he is! I’ve never seen such big horns
before, and look at the size of his feet. He could crush a house
with those things.”

“Yeah, yeah,”
Farrah responded, sounding disturbed.

“That’s’ good
and all, but I wasn’t trying to summon a Xaxxon.”

“Oh, right –
but you have to admit, he’s pretty cool.”

The Xaxxon
purred as Giuseppi stroked him on his smooth, feathered back.
Meanwhile, Farrah had taken some more Pixie dust, attempting the
spell once again. In just over a minute, a large Aracholiz
appeared. The lizard-like creature with its eight hairy legs
surprised the Xaxxon who jumped into the air and inadvertently
landed on Giuseppi’s foot.

“Fairy of a
Gun!” He shouted as he grasped his throbbing foot tightly.

For the next
hour, Farrah continued her attempt to make a Scorpotoe appear. Over
that time, she summoned two Geedos, which ran around and around in
circles pecking at the tiny insects on the ground, a Turtoth, which
looked a little drowsy as it moped back and forth much like a
tortoise and a Manian, which chased after the rest of his creatures
with his claws held out in front of his head. Farrah was about to
try one more time when she was stopped by Giuseppi.