Zally's Book (16 page)

We're here now; we'll help you. We're friends. The queen is a good healer
. Then I opened my mind to allow him to think back at me. After Imishi finished her description, I said to the queen, “Xel is having trouble catching a deep breath, and it hurts when he breathes.”

The queen raised a hand, as if looking for something. Two of the fairies who had followed us into the room came forward to offer their help. Queen Carmina quickly described a root and herbs and asked the fairies to boil and mix them with oats for the ailing horse. She also told the fairies to apply a special ointment to Xel's eyes and boil a pot of herbs in the corner of the room so that the king of horses might breathe
the healing vapor. When those two fairies had flitted off, two more fairies appeared.

Last, the fairy queen held out the Shadeblossom that Imishi and I had brought her and told King Xel to eat it. “This will begin your healing immediately and make the herbs more powerful. You should feel stronger within the hour.”

Kir took heart when Queen Carmina assured him that the king of horses would be completely healed within a week. We left the herd and Kir behind to watch over his sire.

In the next chamber, a long-legged bird was covered with a blue growth. The two fairies following us were assigned to his care.

As we moved from chamber to chamber, we developed a routine. The fairy queen did an examination by touch, smell, and hearing. Imishi gave descriptions of how the creature looked on the outside and anything unusual that she could see. Queen Carmina asked questions of each patient, and I gleaned what useful information I could from the minds of those who could not speak. After each diagnosis, a pair of fairies carried out the queen's instructions, and a new pair arrived.

After a while, Grimblehart sent us outside to a
courtyard with a deep pool, where we met a mermaid who could hardly swim. By the time darkness fell, every fairy of the Kib tribe had already been assigned at least three patients and was returning for another assignment. All of the seriously ill patients were taken care of and being treated.

At this point, for the sake of speed, every creature who could walk, fly, crawl, slither, or hop was gathered in front of the palace pyramid, instead of the queen going from place to place. Grimblehart brought her fresh clothing—a flowing dress in a kaleidoscope of animal patterns. Several fairies from the tribe brought braziers and torches and set them up at the base of the palace pyramid, where we continued our work.

Finally, Monty. Queen Carmina had one of her fairies make a special brew that she said would help him regrow his tail feathers in a matter of weeks. Carmina prescribed a slightly different brew for Imishi and reset her broken wing. “No flying for at least three hours,” the fairy queen warned my friend.

Imishi laughed out loud and clapped her hands with delight.

Suddenly the night sky overhead was filled with hundreds of swirling lights and a whisper of voices.
“Are those swamp gnats?” I asked in alarm.

Imishi giggled. “No, those are fairy lights. Just wait.”

The lights swirled downward. As they did, they grew larger, and I could see more than a hundred fairies, all carrying torches.

Monty squawked, “They're here, they're here!” as Queen Patchouli of the Willowood Fairies landed in front of us, holding a torch that sparkled with diamond-clear fire.

“We are indeed here—to help,” Queen Patchouli said. “We brought fairies from six tribes. And we brought dinner.”

The Willowood Fairies and the friends they had gathered set to work in a whirlwind of activity. Tables began arriving from every direction. The fairies set them up in concentric circles, along with seats for everyone who was there. The brightly colored fairy torches lit the circles. Next, platters of rosemary biscuits and jam made of red fruits like strawberries, raspberries, and some fruits I didn't recognize, which must be special to Aventurine, began arriving, along with pitchers of nectar. Without waiting to be asked, Imishi described the scene for Queen Carmina, whose face glowed with delight.

Before I knew it, we were all sitting down to eat
together and celebrate the healing of Kib Valley. No one could have been more surprised than I when Queen Patchouli herself stood, raised her goblet of nectar, and proposed a toast. “To Zally, for her courage, for bringing hope back to Kib Valley, and for showing us the way in these dark times.”

I blushed furiously, and all of the fairies raised their goblets to drink. But I couldn't take all the credit. I stood and held my own goblet high. “And to Prince Kir and Imishi, who risked their lives by leaving Kib Valley to find help, and who helped me learn to use my gifts. Without them and Monty, I never could have made it here. They are true friends and true heroes.” The fairies all drank to the toast, and I sat back down.

Now Queen Carmina lifted her voice and her goblet. “To Imishi, Prince Kir, Monty, and our fairy-godmother-in-training, Zally, for bringing healing to us all.” Although the fairies drank to the toast and went back to talking with each other, I choked on a swallow of nectar.

Beside me, Imishi turned pale. “But we didn't heal
you
, Queen Carmina,” she said.

Queen Carmina shook her head, beaming. “But you
have
. Zally helped me find my way out of the despair in which I had become lost. Imishi, you helped me understand that an injury, no matter how crippling
it may seem, is not the end of my usefulness. And the two of you, along with Kir, have shown me that I am not alone. Every creature who we help is someone who may return the favor or help someone else in need.” She lifted her goblet once more and said, “Thank you, all of you. You healed something far more important than my eyes. You have healed my heart.”

As everyone cheered, Queen Patchouli leaned toward me. “Your quest was a success, Zally; you are on your way to becoming a fairy godmother.”

“Oh! That reminds me,” I said, pulling the map from my bag and handing it to her. “Here.”

Queen Patchouli regarded it with a smile. “This map will be important in the training of many more fairy-godmothers-to-be.” With that, she rang a glass bell that she seemed to produce out of thin air. Her fairies began flitting about, clearing everything as the banquet wound down.

While Queen Patchouli and Queen Carmina talked late into the night, Imishi, Kir, and I went for a walk. King Xel's fever was gone, and he had fallen into a restful sleep, so Kir no longer carried his worry; instead he gamboled like
a foal. Imishi, her wing healed, fluttered into the air after every few steps. I wondered how my happiness showed.

A field of stars glittered overhead. For an hour, we took turns pointing out the animal constellations to each other. Then Imishi showed us her herb garden. Seeing all of the medicinal plants reminded me that Imishi had said Kib Valley had nothing like my cacao pod.

I pulled the talisman out of my bag and broke it open. I took out a few of the beans, knelt, and buried them in the earth of the herb garden. Kneeling beside me, Imishi covered the planting with both hands and closed her eyes. Looking over our shoulders, Kir made a gentle blowing sound, giving his blessing. The ground beneath Imishi's fingers sparkled as if sprinkled by, well, fairy dust.

She opened her eyes and nodded at me. By the time we stood up, wiping the dirt from our hands, my cacao pod had resealed once more, and a green shoot had sprung up from the ground. The three of us took a few steps back and watched. Within minutes, there was a full-grown tree with cacao pods of its own. In my hand, my cacao pod talisman glowed. The cacao pods on the new tree glowed in response.

Imishi gave me a hug. “Thank you for sharing
the healing power of this plant. Whenever I see it, I will think of you.”

Kir whinnied, shoving his head against me once more, this time playfully. Imishi and I both threw our arms around his neck and hugged him.

When we returned from our walk, Queen Patchouli and Queen Carmina asked to meet with me. Two fairy queens! With me, Zally Guevara!

“What did you think of your quest?” Queen Patchouli asked, pouring me a goblet of nectar.

I took a drink. “It's the hardest thing I've done in my whole life, and I hope I never have to do anything that scary or dangerous again,” I said truthfully. I drew a deep breath. “But I will if I have to.”

“Thank you,” Queen Carmina said with a catch in her voice.

“We're all grateful,” Queen Patchouli agreed. “And what of your map, Zally? Would you do anything differently?”

I grinned. “The map is pretty amazing and wonderful, but it sure would have been useful if it showed places in three dimensions, so we could plan better for the terrain. And if I could wish for any improvement I wanted, I'd add a way to ask the map questions and have it answer them.”

“Very well,” Queen Patchouli said. “You have the ability to make that happen, Zally; it is part of your gift.”

“Although you could change the map yourself,” Queen Carmina said, “I think we can help you make it even better. Will you trust us to do that?”

“Of course,” I said. “What do I need to do?”

“Touch both maps,” Queen Patchouli said. I put one hand on each of the twinned maps. Queen Patchouli covered my right hand with hers and raised her left hand to the sky, palm up. Queen Carmina completed the semicircle with a hand on mine and one raised.

I felt as if I was falling into a mapping trance, but the feeling lasted only a moment. When I focused my eyes again, one of the maps was gone.

I bit my lip. I had worked so hard to make those maps! “What happened?” I asked.

Queen Carmina smiled. “You guided me out of my despair, showing me that the truest map is in the heart. Now the map of Aventurine is in your heart. And the intuition of your heart is in our map as well. You will always be linked to the Aventurine map, even in the waking world.”

I was speechless.

“The other features you wished for are in the
map now,” Queen Patchouli said. “Is there a greeting you would like to add?”

I thought for a moment. When I spoke, a spray of red-gold sparks rose to form glittering words in the air above the map. “It should say,

Sister dreamers
,

This is the only map of Aventurine. I hope it helps you on your quest. Aventurine's geography can change for each dream or dreamer, so this map is not the kind of map you are used to
.

Zally

When I finished my greeting, the words dissolved and fell into the map. I touched the spot where they had fallen, and an image of the volcano grew from the page and hovered in three dimensions above it, like a hologram. It was perfect.

“Now
that's
a helpful map,” I said. “Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

Queen Patchouli shook her head. “It's time to say good-bye to your friends, Zally,” she said. “For now, at least.”

Then Kir, Imishi, and I went for a farewell ride, and the jaguar ran beside us in the moonlight.

12
The Magic