PHI'S POV
The night before, the king had said he was going to find the goguelins. I wanted to join him. At the first light of day, I hid in the fog covering the alley and I waited there until I saw King Siegfried, along with goblins and dwarfs, crossing the fog at the end of the alley towards the outside world.
I tiptoed behind without them knowing. They were particularly hard to follow when they all climbed into three carriages pulled by four mice each. I flapped my wings, desperate to keep up with them.
I had never flown this far before. My first time out of the alley. My dream of finally stretching my wings came true. But only by directly disobeying the king. That's why I had to stay out of their sight. The thrill made my heart race like never before.
If nothing happens to me, no one needs to find out. Right?
I had never seen so far out in the village, these angles. Multiple roads, thatched roof houses. Even if up in the air, I could smell the dirt and filth of the humans. Like the stench of the animal carcasses a man was trying to sell on the market place. The horror of humans. Still, I was flying, so what did I care? The world was big and there was so much to discover!
Siegfried and his troop fled unseen through the narrow streets. I knew they were heading towards the port, towards the sea, where they were most likely to find the goguelins. In a human ship. I followed close with anticipation. It would be my first time seeing the sea.
They king had taken dwarfs and goblins with him to find the creatures. That was because dwarfs and goblins were the closest relatives of the rarely seen goguelins, and that increased their chances of spotting one.
*
At last, I saw the shimmering waters of the sea before me. I heard the sound of its waves dying on the beach. I smelled the salt in the marine air. Glorious. I folded my wings and sighed, taking in the new sights and scents. I noticed the little troop had disappeared in an alley very similar to our own. I then spotted them getting out of their carriages. The king and his entourage were about to tell the mice to wait for them when a black tailless cat jumped in their way.
The cat bared his fangs and hissed. For a moment, I feared the feline would eat them alive.
This was no normal cat. It was a black fairy cat, a merciless beast that lurked where death did. They would wait by their deceased victims until their souls left their bodies, and then seize them to lead them to hell. In short, they were the black cats evil witches keep as their pets.
I watched Siegfried, his troop, and the mice retreat before the abominable creature. Then, a gray cat with an ear half torn appeared. The gray cat growled at the fairy cat as if he thought the latter was intruding in his territory. Meowing and hissing ensued as the two leapt on each other.
Ryn, a young dwarfâand my sword masterâreflexively turned to help the unfortunate gray cat, but the king stopped him.
"It's useless," I heard him say. "We are not powerful enough to regain our normal size and fight him off. We don't have enough magic."
What? He was the king of the fairies! He has vowed to protect all innocent creatures.
I needed to do something, and I no longer cared if the king saw me. Nothing would die on my watch. I dove down as fast as I could and kicked the evil fairy cat on its nose.
"No!" I heard the king scream.
His shout made me lose focus and I did not see the cat swat at me as if I were a fly. I plummeted to the ground. The fairy cat loomed over me. I could feel his breath in my hair.
The gray cat took advantage of this moment and jumped on the fairy cat's back. But it was useless. The gray cat was knocked back against the alley wall, bleeding.
When I thought all was lost, rocks flew in in the fairy cat's direction, hitting him several times. The wicked cat scrambled out of the alley. The gray cat chased after him.
"What are you doing?" the king asked me, picking me up in his arms. "You should not be here."
"I needed to leave the alley," I replied, opening my wings wide. "I could not bear it any longer."
He knew I was telling the truth.
Halia had been sick feeling the future, a natural gift. Wasn't my distress also a call of nature?
*
King Siegfried forgave me for disobeying. At least, it seemed as he did. He kept me close to him to ensure I would not get into trouble again, and we walked up to the port. When we arrived, it was already dawn. The sun spread its colors on the sea water. Such an amazing sight.
"Goguelins, goguelins, we need your precious advice," shouted the troop. I was glad to join in the chorus.
After a few moments, the small heads of creatures appeared over the walls of a ship named La Petite Belette. I assumed they were the goguelins.
"What is it?" asked one of them who wore a cavalier hat. An attempt to make himself look more imposing and taller than the others?
"If you please," said King Siegfried, "we have a few questions for you."
"Three questions," the goguelin replied. "What would you give us in return?"
"Fruits," answered the king. He presented them with dried fruits, leftovers from the feast. "I hear you rarely have them."
After much deliberation, they let us come aboard the ship. The goguelins were neither ugly nor beautiful creatures. They looked like a prettier version of goblins. The same grotesque noses and crooked teeth, but much shorter and with bushier eyebrows.
"You may speak," said the goguelin with the hat before taking a seat on a barrel. His posture indicated that he most likely was their king or leader.
"First thing's first," said Siegfried. "I would like to invite another person on board."
"Who else, if you were the only ones on the dock?"
"The other person did not arrive yet. So if you do not mind, I would like to call upon her."
"Us goguelins do not like to waste our time," the goguelin king complained. "We must return to our hold, well hidden, before the sailors arrive."
"I understand," our king said. "May I call her, then?"
As soon as the goguelin nodded, Siegfried turned to the sky and solemnly said, "I call for the Fee Carabosse! Carabosse, we need your cruel wisdom!"
The moment the words left his mouth, I saw the goguelins cower. The fairy had a reputation, and perhaps she would turn them into a frog, a fish, or biscuits for the sailors to eat if they did anything to displease her. I, too, was a little nervous upon hearing her name.
Carabosse appeared in a large cloud of smoke. She looked as severe as her fame stated. Unlike other fairies on the verge of disappearing, she could afford to keep her human size. She had black and gray hair tightly pulled back, sharp eyebrows, and a gray dress to complete her stern look. At every point, she looked like a human. And that made her even scarier!
"Carabosse," said King Siegfried. "Thank you for coming so quickly."
"Trust me, I would not bother if it were not for those idiotic vows we took to help one another for the sake of Faerie," she answered, rolling her eyes. "Now every time someone calls for me, I have to let go of anything I am doing to go and see themâI was baking the most marvelous macaroons!"
I was starting to like her.
"So sorry to hear of your displeasure but this will only take a moment of your time," said the king. "I need your assistance to confirm that what the goguelins are about to tell me is the truth."
Carabosse sighed, but nodded.
"All right, goguelins," started the king. "Have you ever been to the New Land?"
"You needed to bring her to get us to answer that?" asked the goguelin king. "Of course we have."
"What does the New Land look like?" Siegfried asked.
"Huge . . . sparsely populated by humans but heavy in wildlife. There are vast forests, mountains, large hills, beautiful beaches, great rivers, clear waterâ"
"Last question," said the king. "May we join you on your next trip to the New Land?" The goguelin king hesitated. "We will, of course, share all our reserves of food with your during that trip."
The goguelin king smiled and the others jumped up and down, clapping their hands. Hah, who knew dried fruits could elicit such a reaction?
"You are, in fact, standing on the ship commissioned by the human King of Bretonnie to do such voyage," the goguelin king said. "It is leaving in two days."
Siegfried turned to Carabosse with a questioning look.
"No! They did not lie," she answered with a wave of her hand. "If they had, I would have taken the naughty pleasure to hang them to the masts by their feet!" She pointed a threatening finger at them.
"This won't be necessary," said Siegfried, looking at the frightened goguelins rushing to their stalls. "Thank you, my friend," he then said to the fairy. "Should you want to come with us, you are more than welcome."
She snorted at the idea and disappeared as fast as she had appeared. The goguelins smiled at her decision.
I was not surprised Fee Carabosse did not want to come with us. Miss Independent. She had everything for her in the Old Continent. Humans had written fairy tale stories about her, immortalizing her. She was never going to die, because she was never going to be forgotten.
Soon we won't have to worry about the humans'ridiculous disbelief. With ourreconnection to nature in the New World, we will once again be invulnerable. And most important of all, I will be free!