“You’re welcome,” Alex said, not meaning it, either. “Enjoy school.”
She left the house in a huff and found Cornelius nibbling on a piece of the roof. She convinced herself that even though her first deed of the day had been unappreciated, it had still been a good one. Alex jumped on Cornelius’s back and waved her wand over him again.
“One wish down, two more to go,” she said. “Take us to our next stop, Cornelius!”
The unicorn’s horn glowed again and he began to run in another direction. Soon they arrived just outside an even smaller village in the northern part of the Charming Kingdom. Cornelius took Alex straight up a hill and dropped her off beside a well where two village children stood staring down into it.
Alex smiled and struck a pose for them with her wand raised. “Hello, children!” she said, but they continued staring down the well. Alex cleared her throat. “How can I help you? Did you drop something down there?”
The children finally looked up at her, but their subdued expressions didn’t change.
“No,” the boy said. “It’s been dried up for a while.”
“Our mom sends us here every day with a pail, hoping there’ll be water,” the girl said. “But every day we return with nothing.”
Alex was happy to hear of their misfortune. “I can help you with that!” she said, feeling useful.
“How?” the boy asked.
“Are you going to build us another well?” the girl asked.
“No, I’m a fairy!” Alex said, a bit disheartened that she had to tell them. She was certain her grandmother never had to tell people who she was. “I can cast a magic spell to make the water come back.”
The village children both raised an eyebrow at her, not buying it.
“If you’re a fairy, then where are your wings?” the boy asked.
“Not all of us have wings,” Alex said. “We come in all shapes, sizes, and variations.”
The children cocked their heads and stared at Cornelius behind her. “Is that a unicorn?” the boy asked.
“It sure is! He’s the reason I’m here—he brought me to this spot knowing I could be of service,” Alex explained. Cornelius lifted his head proudly, showing off for the children, but they were a tough crowd.
“Why is he so fat?” the boy asked.
“Is his horn broken?” the girl asked.
Cornelius lowered his head and looked at the ground sadly.
“He broke his horn when he was a baby and he eats his feelings, okay?” Alex quickly told them. “Now do you want me to fix your well or not?”
The village children shrugged. “I suppose,” the boy said. “It can’t get any worse.”
Alex was so glad to finally get to the point. She instructed the children to stand a few feet behind her. She peeked inside the well and saw nothing but dirt at the end of a very long drop. She raised her crystal wand and swung it toward the well. The sound of water echoed up the well as the bottom of it was magically filled. The village children jumped and clapped for joy.
“You fixed our well!” the boy said happily.
“You are a fairy after all!” the girl said.
“Let’s take you back to the village so they can reward you!” the boy said.
Alex shrugged and her cheeks went a little rosy. She was very pleased to be appreciated. “No need to reward me,” she said. “Everything I do is for the greater good and I never expect—”
Alex stopped talking and the village children became very still. The ground underneath their feet shook and a loud whistling sound came from the well as it filled with more and more water rushing to the top.
“Oh no,” Alex peeped. She and the children and Cornelius slowly backed away. A massive geyser shot out of the well and into the sky like an erupting volcano.
“I was wrong!” the boy shouted. “This is worse! This is worse!”
“Run for your life!” the girl yelled.
The children ran down the hill and back to their village as fast as they could, screaming their heads off. Villagers dashed outside their homes and shops to see what all the fuss was about—they couldn’t believe their eyes. Water from the geyser rained down on the village, drenching everyone and everything.
Alex and Cornelius were getting drenched, too. “Cornelius! Sit on the well! Plug it up until I can think of something to do!” she said. The unicorn looked at her like she was out of her mind. “Please?” Alex pleaded.
Cornelius carefully went to the well. His hooves were messy from all the fresh mud the geyser was creating. He lifted his tail and sat right on the well, plugging it up and stopping the geyser. It was a degrading experience for him but it proved to be useful. The village cheered from below, but it only lasted a moment. The water built up inside the well and shot the unicorn straight into the air. He landed on the muddy hill and slid toward the village like an avalanche. All the villagers ran back into their homes and shops to avoid him.
Cornelius crashed into the side of a barn. He was covered in so much mud he looked like Black Beauty.
“Dry!” Alex yelled, and pointed her wand at the well. “Dry up, I said! Dry! Dry! Dry!”
Suddenly a huge ball of fire erupted from the tip of Alex’s wand and hit the well, blasting half of it into pieces. Thankfully, the water pressure diminished and the geyser died down. The well was broken but full of water—and the village was covered in it, too.
“I fixed it!” Alex happily called down to the village below. The villagers peeked out from their homes and stared up at her, each soaked, dripping, and furious. “The good news is you have water again.” Alex tried to laugh it off, but no one joined her.
The muddy unicorn joined the young fairy at the top of the hill. “Okay, Cornelius, let’s get out of here.”
She climbed on his back and they took off—not in the direction of their next stop but just as far away from the soaked village as they could get for the moment. They found a tiny stream in the woods and cleaned themselves up. Cornelius had a hard time looking at his reflection in the water; he was fat, broken, and dirty.
“Would you like me to use my wand to make you clean again?” Alex asked Cornelius. The unicorn shook his head—he didn’t want what had happened to the well to happen to him. “Okay, then,” said Alex, “let’s move on to our final stop.”
It was a couple hours till noon and Cornelius’s magic horn steered them to the southwest corner of the Eastern Kingdom. A farm appeared in the distance that Alex thought she recognized.
“Haven’t we been here before?” Alex asked Cornelius, but he was certain his horn was leading them to the right place. Up ahead Alex saw a farmer building a fence around his vegetable garden and figured he was the man they were looking for.
“Excuse me? Do you need any help?” she asked the farmer.
The farmer wiped the sweat off his brow and looked over his shoulder at her. He instantly got to his feet and waved her away like she was a wild animal he didn’t want to deal with.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” the farmer said. “I don’t want any trouble, lady!”
Alex was insulted. What about her could possibly make him believe she was bringing trouble?
“Sir, I’m not trying to cause any harm,” Alex assured him. “I’m a fairy. I’m here to help.”
The farmer placed his hands on his hips and squinted at her. “That’s what you said the last time,” he said.
“The last time?” Alex asked. “So I’ve been here before?”
The farmer regretfully nodded. “Yes, you helped me put a fence around my yard to keep out the rabbits and deer,” he informed her.
Alex pressed her index finger to her mouth as she recalled. “Oh, I remember you! You’re Farmer Robins!” she said. “But what happened to the fence I gave you?”
Alex heard a door shut. She looked up and saw Farmer Robins’s son coming out from their house—Alex didn’t have any trouble remembering him. He was tall and strong, no more than a year older than her, had wispy hair that covere
d his face, and in Alex’s opinion, was very handsome.
“The animals ate your fence,” the farmer’s son said with a brash smile. “It was made of vines and leaves—it was fun to watch you make it magically grow out of the ground but it wasn’t ideal for keeping out herbivores.”
“Don’t you have a table to build?” Farmer Robins asked his son.
“I’m on a break,” the son said. Clearly he wanted to stick around now that Alex was there. She tried her best not to look him directly in the eyes—she could feel herself blushing when she did.
“Well, why didn’t you tell me the fence wouldn’t work the last time I was here?” she asked the farmer.
“You didn’t give us much of a chance,” the farmer’s son answered for him. “You just sort of waved your wand and then left, insisting there was no need to thank you.”
Alex shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Gosh, no good deed goes unpunished,” she said to herself. “Well, then I insist you let me make it up to you!” Alex raised her wand; she was just about to make a new fence appear when the farmer blocked her.
“Young lady,” Farmer Robins said rudely, “I’ve got a full day of chores ahead of me and building this fence is just the beginning. The best thing you can do is leave us alone and stop wasting our time.”
“That’s silly,” Alex tried to argue. “All I have to do is wave my wand and the fence will be done—”
“I said LEAVE!” Farmer Robins yelled, losing his patience with her. “We don’t want your help and we don’t need it. I know you people solve everything with just a flick of your wrist, but people like us know how to take care of ourselves. So please go turn a maid into a princess somewhere before I do or say something I’ll regret.”
Alex’s mouth dropped open. She wasn’t going to let someone speak to her like that, especially after the awful morning she had been having. Farmer Robins had picked the wrong day to mess with this fairy.
“No!” Alex yelled back at the farmer.
“What?” the farmer said.
“No, I will not leave,” Alex said.
The farmer’s son perked up—this was going to be interesting.
“I’m really sorry for going out of my way to help you but you aren’t the only one with a job, buddy,” Alex said. She stepped closer to Farmer Robins. “The fact is, you need my help whether you want it or not, and that’s why I’m here! That’s why my unicorn brought me! So swallow your pride, step back, and get out of my way because I’m not leaving until this fence is built!”
Farmer Robins looked genuinely terrified of Alex. His son bit his fist and choked on the laughter building up inside of him. Alex set her wand on the ground and rolled up her sleeves. She walked over to the farmer and reached for his hammer.
“What are you doing?” the farmer asked.
“Give me your hammer,” Alex demanded. “I don’t need magic to build this fence.”
She yanked the hammer out of his hand, picked up a couple pieces of wood, and continued to build what the farmer had started. Farmer Robins and his son stood motionless and watched the young fairy work.
“If you two have so much work to do today, I suggest you get to it while I build this,” she snapped with a dirty glare. They didn’t argue. Farmer Robins went to work a few feet away, pulling carrots out of the ground, and his son went back inside the house to finish the table.
Alex built the fence at a very quick pace. Fueled by frustration, she had the whole thing done in just under two hours. She pounded the final nail into the last piece of wood and returned to her unicorn.
“I’m done!” she called to Farmer Robins. His son stepped back outside to see the completed fence—he was very impressed by the young fairy’s craftsmanship. She retrieved her wand from the ground and jumped onto Cornelius’s back.
“Have a nice day, gentlemen!” Alex said. “And by the way, no need to thank me! BECAUSE I’M A FAIRY, IT’S MY JOB!”
Alex and Cornelius galloped away, leaving the two stunned farmers in the dust behind them. It was a few minutes past noon by the time Alex made it back to the Fairy Kingdom. She left Cornelius in the meadow at the edge of the gardens and hurried toward the Fairy Palace, not wanting to keep her grandmother waiting a minute longer.
“Oh come on now, they aren’t going to sting you!” said a perky voice in the garden. Tangerina was feeding acorns to a family of squirrels in a tree when Alex ran past her. The bees flying around Tangerina’s beehive were making the squirrels very apprehensive.
“Hi, Tangerina,” Alex said.
“Oh my goodness, what happened to you?” Tangerina asked when she saw Alex hurrying past her. Between fixing the well and building the fence, Alex had become filthy. “You look like you fell into a stream!”
“It’s a long story,” Alex said, trying to avoid getting wrapped up in an explanation.
“Did someone say stream?” an airy voice asked from across the garden. Skylene surfaced in the nearby pond. Her long, silky hair and gown were one with the water as she floated through it.
“Poor Alex has had a rough morning,” Tangerina said.
“Just trying to help as many people as I could before my noon lesson with Grandma,” Alex told her fairy counterparts.
“Don’t work too hard, Alex,” Skylene said. “You’ve got a big day coming up!” She floated through the pond and gently touched the surface with her finger, causing gorgeous white lilies to appear around her. “I’m getting a head start on the decorations. I’ve always loved a good fairy inauguration celebration. It’s an excuse for the kingdom to look its best!”
“I can’t wait for the Inaugural Ball! My bees are making me a brand-new honeycomb gown as we speak!” Tangerina said.
“How fancy is this Inaugural Ball?” Alex asked them, feeling a hurricane of anxiety forming inside her. “I thought it was just a simple ceremony. Do I have to dress up?”
Tangerina and Skylene exchanged the same worried look—as if she had asked them what the sun was.
“Sweetheart, the Fairy Inaugural Ball is how you’re introduced to society,” Skylene said. “You need to look how you want to be remembered.”
“Every fairy in the kingdom will be there,” Tangerina said. “And they’ll all be there to see you!”
Alex closed her eyes. “Oh great…,” she said, “as if joining the Fairy Council wasn’t enough, now I’ll have to worry about looking nice in front of the whole kingdom. Why does it seem like fairies always spare the details until the very last minute?”
“Not to worry, dear, you’ll look fine in whatever you choose,” Tangerina said.
“Yes, just don’t choose that,” Skylene said, and pointed to the dirty dress she was currently wearing.
Alex sighed quietly. She waved her wand over her body and her dress sparkled until it was like new again. “Well, good talk, girls! Thanks!” she said, and continued to the Fairy Palace.
Alex rushed up the golden front steps of the palace, down the main hall, and up a flight of stairs to the top floor, where her grandmother’s chambers were. They were some of the only parts of the palace that had four walls, so Alex had to knock.
“Come in, dear,” Alex heard her grandmother say, and she stepped inside. It didn’t matter how many times she had been there, her grandmother’s rooms always dazzled her.
To call the Fairy Godmother’s chambers anything but spectacular would be an understatement. The furniture was made of rosy-dusk clouds and floated around the room. Her bed was under the branches of a white willow tree with crystal leaves. Instead of a fire burning in the giant fireplace to one side of the room, bubbles emitted from it and filled the air. A chandelier made of a hundred perched doves floated above the center of the room, although there was no ceiling for it to hang from.
Every surface in the room was covered with the Fairy Godmother’s collectibles. Jewels given to her by monarchs from both worlds over time covered the mantel. A large table near the fireplace was covered with colorful bottles of potions and el
ixirs. A glass display case mounted to the wall contained the Fairy Godmother’s wand collection. A mini-library of books of spells, fantasy, and history covered the wall across from the fireplace.
But in front of all these valuables were countless family photos of Alex and Conner and their dad, crayon drawings they had done for her as kids, math and spelling tests they had received A’s on, and horrific macaroni creations the twins had made her for Grandparents’ Day. She hadn’t thrown out anything the twins had ever given her.
In the back of the room, elevated on a platform, was the Fairy Godmother’s desk, made entirely of glass—although Alex never saw her sitting behind it. She always found her standing by one of the four tall windows behind it that looked out to a breathtaking view of the Fairy Kingdom.
“Hello, Alex,” Grandma said by one of the windows. She was in her trademark blue robes that sparkled like a starry sky.
“Sorry I’m late, Grandma,” Alex said. “Things got a little carried away today when I was granting wishes.”
“Oh?” Grandma asked. “Why is that?”
Alex sighed. “Sometimes I don’t know if I should be a fairy,” she confessed. “Don’t get me wrong: I love magic and I love helping people. There are days I’ll get up and feel so good about what I’m doing for people, and then others when I feel like I’m just screwing everything up. Some days I don’t think I’m helping enough people, and then other days I don’t think people even want my help. And when I don’t feel confident, my magic suffers—it becomes so unpredictable. And when that happens I feel like I have no business being on the Fairy Council.”
Alex sat on the steps of the platform and rubbed her tired eyes. Her grandmother walked over to her and gently stroked the top of her head.
“You’re overexerting yourself, Alex,” the Fairy Godmother told her granddaughter. “You’re only one person. No matter how hard you try, you can’t help everyone. And you’re beginning to learn that some people can’t be helped, not because they’re helpless, but because they don’t want to be helped.”
Alex looked at the floor—this was a hard lesson to learn.