Читать книгу The Realms of Faerie - Linda Massola - Страница 3

While Tatiana now known as Scowla, plotted with Drabon and Ratbonia in the land of Gloomia, the Kingdom of Fairy was rejoicing. Mab had given birth to a little girl and as the Mage Odin had predicted, five other fairies had each given birth to a child on that very day. These were the children, who according to Odin’s prophecies were each born on a coloured ray; children who were endowed with special gifts that would manifest as they grew.

Much feasting and merriment was taking place as Mab and Oberon stood on the battlements of the castle and held up their tiny daughter for the people to see. Alongside them, were the five other fairy parents. A loud cheer went over the countryside as the people saluted the new babies which were to be the future of the Kingdom of Fairy.

In front of the huge crowd of fairies assembled at the base of the castle, the Mage turned to each child in turn.

‘Aurora – come forward!’ he commanded the beautiful fairy dressed in a brilliant red dress. Aurora and her husband stepped forward holding their small baby boy. Odin directed his golden orb towards the baby saying, ‘This boy child has been endowed with exceptional physical strength! Step into the light of the orb!’ Aurora and her husband stepped into the light beam emanating from the golden orb. As they did so, a beautiful red feather appeared on the battlements of the castle.

‘Come Arabella,’ the Mage commanded, directing the fairy in the shimmering gown of yellow to step into the light beam with her husband and small son.

‘This child has the gift of invisibility!’ he declared, as a brilliant yellow feather appeared next to the others on the battlements.

Then the fairy Esmeralda came forward into the light beam with her husband and small daughter. ‘She has the power of healing,’ Odin smiled as the green feather appeared on the battlements. The fairy Isabella and her husband eagerly stepped into the light beam holding their small daughter. ‘She has the power of the mind; a very powerful child!’ they were told as the orange feather appeared. When the fairy Lottie and her husband stepped into the light beam holding their small daughter, the Mage gave them a gentle smile. Lottie was his favorite fairy.

‘Your child has the ability to communicate with animals!’ he told the elated parents as the blue feather appeared on the battlements.

Then it was Queen Mab’s turn. As she stepped into the light beam with Oberon holding their daughter, the crowd gave a roar of approval.

‘This child has the ability to shape change. She is a shape shifter!’ Odin told them as the last feather of indigo stood beside Mab’s violet one. Seven feathers now stood on the battlements of the castle; seven feathers of the rainbow; the seven feathers of power. The babies had not yet been named. In accordance with tradition, the naming would not take place until Midsummer’s Eve. As the parents talked excitedly about the futures of their special children, they were totally unaware that far away in the land of Gloomia, Scowla plotted with Drabon and Ratbonia. In front of her crystal ball in the fortress of Gloomia on Midsummer’s Eve, she pointed out the whereabouts of each of the babies they were to steal.

‘The babies are in the castle under the care of nursemaids,’ she told them. She peered once more into the crystal ball and found Mab and the fairies in the forest celebrating.

‘They are waiting until midnight, when the babies will be brought to them for naming. You need to get them while they are still in the castle. That way, Mab won’t be expecting trouble and won’t be warned in time to use her magic!’ Ah … so Lottie has also given birth to a special child, she thought to herself. ‘Make sure you get the cook, Lottie too,’ she told Drabon and Ratbonia, pointing to the fairy in her crystal ball. ‘I am sick to death of cooking for the Whorls! And remember, the fairy babies must be unharmed and quickly taken to the Land of Mortals to be exchanged. We may need them as bargaining power in the future!’

Drabon made a mental note of it. He considered Scowla a lot smarter than Ratbonia. Ratbonia would never have come up with an idea like Scowla’s. If Scowla had said the fairy, Lottie was a brilliant cook, who was he to argue? He had commissioned six of his most trusted Whorls with the task of stealing the babies. ‘Take a good look at the cook,’ he instructed Ratbonia. ‘Make sure you grab her!’

Ratbonia looked in disdain at the image of the fairy, Lottie in the crystal ball. ‘She’s revolting!’ she shuddered.

‘It will be so simple,’ Scowla told them. ‘The Kingdom of Fairy has no army.’

‘Yes, yes, so simple,’ Ratbonia nodded. ‘With no army they won’t be able to chase us to Gloomia, will they?’

‘The fairies have no hope against our Whorls,’ Drabon agreed with her. Then he assembled his huge army, the Whorls of Gloom, who were crouched on the treetops outside the fortress. ‘Prepare the torches!’ he shouted to them. ‘Prepare the torches! Burn what you can – kill what you can!’

‘Burn! Kill!’ the Whorls echoed.

‘Are you with us Scowla?’ Drabon was anxious to get started. She shook her head. ‘No, I am not ready to face Mab yet!’

‘Suit yourself,’ Drabon shrugged. ‘To the Kingdom of Fairy! To the Kingdom of Fairy!’ he shouted excitedly. ‘To the Kingdom of Fairy! To the Kingdom of Fairy!’ Ratbonia echoed. She couldn’t wait to get her claws into some fairies.

Alone in the fortress, Scowla smiled her toothless grin as she heard the flapping of wings which signaled that the raid was about to begin.

‘Are you ready?’ Drabon shouted. In reply the huge army of Whorls rose into the sky with dreadful shrieks and headed towards the Kingdom of Fairy. Leading them were Drabon’s T to Z group of Goblins. These were brainless goblins who acted out orders without question. They were viscous warriors who went in for the kill; most of the time, getting killed themselves!

They were also joined by the N to P group who were basically used as slaves. Not being very bright, they did all the dirty jobs that nobody else wanted to do. As long as they received their share of the kill from a hunt, they were happy.

The inhabitants of the Kingdom of Fairy were taken completely unawares. Dressed in their finest clothes, they were preparing to dance and sing together, and then share a sumptuous feast. Later, the six new babies would be summoned for the naming ceremony. It was in the middle of this feast, which was occurring in the moonlight on long tables under the candlelit trees, that the Glooms struck.

While Drabon’s six especially chosen Whorls raided the castle and kidnapped the babies, the rest of his army descended on the fairies in the forest. Fairies scattered in all directions. Ratbonia had managed to scoop up a few fairies in her claws, tear their wings and then drop them from a great height as they were trying to escape. Tiring quickly of this activity, she headed for the fields to claim some animals.

‘Leave the animals, you idiot – get the cook – the cook!’ screamed Drabon.

‘Oh – the cook – yes!’

Ratbonia dropped the small animal she had begun eating. Without bothering to wipe the fresh blood off her mouth, she headed back to the scattered fairies. She recognized the cook, Lottie hurriedly making her way back to the castle with her husband to collect her baby girl.

‘Not so fast,’ Ratbonia grinned, swooping the poor fairy up in her claws and carrying her kicking and screaming over the treetops towards Gloomia as her husband looked on helplessly.

Drabon set fire to the first tree, and then the Whorls followed his example, torching many fine trees and dwellings outside the castle walls.

‘The babies – the babies!’ Mab shrieked, placing a protective shield around Oberon and the fairy fathers, urging them to return quickly to the castle. ‘Hurry, hurry!’ Then she turned and raised her arms, calling on her power. Suddenly, the air around the forest clearing began to shimmer. A huge ball of protective light surrounded the fairies.

Drabon, Ratbonia and the Whorls stopped in mid-air. Angrily, they clawed the space around the fairies.

‘The queen has put a protective shield around her fairies,’ Drabon called to his Whorls in frustration. ‘No matter, we have the babies! To Gloomia, To Gloomia!’ he shouted to them. ‘Don’t forget, we have the cook! Ratbonia told him in satisfaction.

As Drabon, Ratbonia and the Whorls took to the sky, Mab made her way quickly towards the castle. Oberon was sitting with his head in his hands. ‘We are too late! We are too late!’ the fathers of the babies said over and over. They had arrived just in time to see Drabon’s especially chosen Whorls rising up in the air with the babies in their claws.

‘No!’ screamed Mab. ‘No!’

The Whorls headed out into the night with the still sleeping babies. Eventually, they came to a clearing where Drabon awaited them. Most of the babies were now crying loudly. Drabon was not overly fond of crying babies, so with a flick of his wrist, he threw a silencing spell over them. ‘Quick, we have no time to waste!’ he told his helpers urgently.

‘Couldn’t we just keep one?’ his head Whorl, Oblong asked with a grin. Oblong was a particularly devious goblin. Unfortunately, he was cross-eyed and when he looked at someone, they were never quite sure if he was looking at them or not. Everyone knew not to upset him as he had a very nasty temper and on occasions had done much damage to friend and foe alike.

‘This one looks so tasty!’ he drooled over the baby closest to him. ‘Fool! Unless we exchange these babies with mortal ones, we do not have a hope of taking over the Kingdom of Fairy in the future!’

Oblong’s grin disappeared quickly as he tried to focus his eyes. ‘Of course my Master, of course!’

Drabon then summoned his six especially chosen goblins from the A to E group who would be taking the fairy babies to the Land of Mortals to exchange them for mortal babies. Abductor, Abandon, Abuse, Abscond, Abstract and Acid from this group were the slyest and most treacherous, but also the most talented group of goblins. They were the cleverest, the nastiest and the most deceptive. Brilliant thieves, they never got caught and did quite well making minor spells, usually directed at each other out of spite. If Drabon needed anything of importance to be done, these were the goblins of his choice.

He instructed Oblong and his helpers to hand the babies to the goblins. The goblin, Abuse, peered into the eyes of the baby he had been given. The baby quickly closed his eyes. Abuse scowled. Drabon reminded him that the child was to be quickly taken to the Land of Mortals and exchanged, unharmed.

‘Of course, My Master, of course,’ Abuse lowered his eyes. He did not want to risk upsetting Drabon. He was in the top group of goblins who received many favors. Drabon directed the six goblins to face the moon, while holding the babies in their arms. Then stretching out his large bat wings, he began his special spell which could only be performed on Midsummer’s Eve. He spat on his long spindly claws until they were dripping, then he began to claw the air in front of him. To the Land of Mortals – To the Land of Mortals he spat at them, flicking the drool from his claws towards the six goblins holding the babies, until one by one, they disappeared from sight.

As dawn broke, an eerie glow began to emanate over the Kingdom of Fairy. One by one, the six colored feathers which stood for each of the babies slowly disappeared from the battlements of the castle, until there was only one standing – Queen Mab’s violet feather.