Cory thought about Jonas’s problem as she rode the pedal-bus home. Although she actually came up with a number of solutions, she didn’t like any of them. When she got off the bus in front of her uncle’s house, she decided to send a message to Blue about eating dinner early. She could mention Jonas’s problem while they ate and see if Blue had any suggestions.
When she sent the message, Blue wrote back right away. He was getting off work early anyway. He surprised Cory by showing up less than an hour later while she was giving Noodles a bath. Blue helped hold the squirmy woodchuck still while Cory rinsed off the soap. Taking the woodchuck from her, Blue sent her into the house to change her wet clothes while he dried Noodles with a towel. When she came out, he showed her the picnic basket he’d brought.
“I thought we could eat in the park across the street,” he told her, lifting the lid to show her what was inside. “I picked up soup at Everything Leeks while I was making my rounds today, and stopped by Perfect Pastry for dessert. We can even take Noodles with us if you’d like. I got him a head of lettuce!”
“He’d love that,” Cory said.
She hooked her arm through Blue’s and they crossed the street, leading Noodles on his leash. After following the path into the park for only a minute or two, Cory took the lead, and they left the path to find her favorite spot—a meadow filled with bluebells surrounding a large, flat rock. They let Noodles off his leash and gave him his lettuce before climbing onto the rock. While Cory kept an eye on the woodchuck, Blue laid out the food he had brought. There was warm mushroom soup, with whole-grain crackers, a big bunch of grapes, and a bottle of frosty-cold apple juice. For dessert he’d brought two mini éclairs from Perfect Pastry.
“This is so thoughtful of you,” Cory said as she accepted a cup of soup from Blue.
He shrugged and looked embarrassed. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot, and when I saw the soup I thought you might like some.”
“You were right,” she told him after taking a sip. “Thank you! So tell me, what did you do today?”
Blue reached for some crackers. “Nothing much. I made the rounds with Officer Deeds, and we caught a dog that was picking people’s pockets. He was actually a shape-shifter who could turn into a dog, which confused everyone at the station when he turned back into one after we locked him in a cell. The chief thought someone had brought a dog in, and almost let him go!”
Cory laughed, but her smile faded when Blue asked about her day. “It started off badly with a gift of threatening candy. It was the super-bad-for-you kind, and I’m sure the Tooth Fairy Guild sent it. Then my mother showed up. She was trying to talk me out of testifying against the Tooth Fairy Guild. After she left I went to the Dell to help Jonas McDonald. He’s Old McDonald’s son and owns the farm now. He’s been having a terrible time with flower fairies dropping fairy dust on his crops. Now his corn has tiny ears and listens to you, his potatoes have big eyes to watch you, and his grapes gossip all the time.”
“How does he want you to help him?” asked Blue.
“He wants suggestions about how to get the fairies to stop sprinkling fairy dust as they fly overhead. He isn’t sure if it’s an accident or if they’re doing it on purpose, but no one wants to buy his crops now.”
“Why doesn’t he sell them as novelty gifts?” said Blue. “People may not want to eat them, but they are always looking for unusual things to give family and friends.”
“That’s a good idea!” said Cory. “I’ll have to suggest that to him.”
Blue popped a grape into his mouth. Cory winced, half expecting it to scream like Jonas McDonald’s grapes.
When Blue finished chewing, he asked Cory, “Why are you having another rehearsal tonight? Didn’t you have one just last night?”
Cory smiled. “I forgot to tell you! Zephyr is going to play at Prince Rupert’s wedding. It’s quite an honor to be asked.”
“I’m sure it is!” said Blue. “But you’re not leaving tomorrow, are you?”
Cory shook her head. “Not for a few days.”
“Good!” said Blue. “Because I got tickets for tomorrow’s matinee performance of the water nymph ballet. They’re here for only one day and the evening show was already sold out. I thought we’d go to Everything Leeks for an early lunch first.”
“Oh, Blue! That sounds wonderful!”
Blue smiled and reached for her hand. “Like I said, I’ve been thinking about you a lot. What time do you have to leave for rehearsal tonight?”
“In just a little while,” Cory said. “I’ll have to take Noodles back and . . . Wait, where is Noodles? He was here just a minute ago.”
“I think he went that way,” Blue said, looking toward a taller stand of trees. “See the trail of broken bluebells?”
Cory nodded. “I should go find him before he gets too far. Thank you so much for the picnic! It will be my turn to make one next time.”
After packing all the food away, they followed the woodchuck’s trail through the meadow and into the woods to the spot he had found so fascinating the last time Cory had brought him to the park. Once again he didn’t want to leave, but Blue finally picked him up and carried him back to the house. Although Cory was disappointed to see that her uncle wasn’t home yet, she didn’t have time to wait for him.
Blue offered to give her a ride to Olot’s, but Cory could see that he was tired. When she told him that she was all right taking the pedal-bus, he gave her a long, slow kiss before he left. She felt all warm and delicious as she watched him ride off on his solar cycle.
The pedal-bus was crowded with only one empty seat when it arrived, so Cory rode all the way to Olot’s cave between two full-blooded ogres who made nasty comments about everyone they passed. She had a feeling that they were going to talk about her once she got off the bus, but she didn’t care as long as they left her alone while she was there. However, they had almost reached the stop where she would get off when the ogre sitting behind Cory recognized her.
“Say!” he bellowed. “Aren’t you that fairy who plays the drums for Zephyr? I like your music! Olot is a cousin of mine, four times removed on my mother’s side.”
“Really?” Cory said over her shoulder. “That’s nice.”
“Yeah! You tell him that Itchy Butt likes his music. I got a birthday coming up and I might just have Zephyr come play at my party.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him,” Cory said, relieved that she could see her stop just ahead.
When she got off the bus, the two ogres waved at her, so she waved back. It had been a strange encounter, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. And somehow she didn’t think that they were saying bad things about her as they rode away.
For the first time in a while, Chancy didn’t answer the door when Cory knocked. Instead it was Olot, wearing a dark green tunic and a jaunty cap with a feather. He didn’t look happy when Cory glanced at his clothes.
“Chancy is making me wear it,” he said. “She’s been finding out everything she can about Rupert’s kingdom, including what they wear. She made me some outfits for our trip. Don’t you dare laugh at me! She made outfits for all of us.”
“I wasn’t going to laugh,” Cory said, stifling a smile. “I think you look very nice.”
“At least I don’t have to wear anything as gaudy as the clothes she has planned for you and Daisy,” he said, turning to go back into the cave. “I told her no red sparkles for me!”
“Red sparkles?” Cory asked, wondering if she should be worried.
“There you are!” Chancy cried as Cory followed Olot into the cave, where everyone else was gathered. “I don’t have your gowns finished yet, but I’m going to work on them all day tomorrow, so they should be ready by tomorrow night. Come see what I made for Daisy!”
Daisy looked up from where she was admiring herself in front of a full-length mirror. She was grinning from ear to ear, and her smile was almost as bright as her clothes. The flower fairy was dressed in a revealing gown of filmy red material covered in sparkles and didn’t look anything like she did normally.
“I love it!” Daisy said, the gown shimmering around her as she turned.
“It looks good on you,” Cory told her friend.
“All right, everyone, we’re here to rehearse. You can talk about your finery after we practice. Let’s start with ‘Morning Mist’ tonight.”
They played one song after another, trying to get each one perfect, and it was later than usual when they finally quit. Everyone was packing up their instruments to go when Chancy called for their attention.
“Just so you know, I plan to have everyone else’s clothes ready for them to try on tomorrow night. And I’ll find some pictures of the castle so we’ll know what to expect.”
“I’m not wearing any goofy hats,” Cheeble said, giving Skippy a pointed look.
“I like my hat,” said the satyr, patting the tassels that dangled down one side. “I think it looks good in profile, too.” He struck a pose that was so exaggerated that Cory had to giggle. When he turned and winked at her, she laughed out loud and was still smiling as he took the arms of his two girlfriends and started for the door.
“I didn’t know you were such a good seamstress,” Cory told Chancy, who’d come over to walk her out.
“I’ve had lots of practice,” the ogre’s wife replied. “When I was a handmaiden to the wicked queen, I had to stitch and embroider until my fingers bled.”
“That’s awful!” exclaimed Cory.
Chancy shrugged. “You do what you have to do, but my life improved a thousandfold when I met Olot, and I couldn’t be happier now.”
“Oh, I forgot! I met an ogre named Itchy Butt today. He wanted me to tell Olot that he really likes Zephyr’s music and might want us to play for his birthday.”
“I’ll tell Olot,” said Chancy. “That sounds like it might be one of our more interesting engagements!”
It was dark out when Cory left the cave, so no one could see her fly. She landed in the park across the street in case anyone was taking their pet for a late walk, and waited to make sure the street was clear before she hurried to her uncle’s house. She was disappointed to find that Micah was already in bed asleep, because she had so much she wanted to discuss with him. Noodles was curled up in his own bed as well, his paw draped over his nose. After changing into her nightgown, she brushed her teeth and washed her face, then crawled into bed. Exhausted, she was asleep moments later.
The house had been quiet for only a short time when Cory began to dream. She was walking down the street in the middle of town when she reached a big stone building. A sign in front of the building announced that it was the Fey Museum and Courthouse. As she climbed the staircase, she knew that she was there to testify against the Tooth Fairy Guild. The moment she stepped inside the building, everything changed. She was no longer in the old courthouse, but was now in the very modern building that the Tooth Fairy Guild claimed as its headquarters. A long corridor stretched in front of her, and there wasn’t anyone in sight. It was quiet, too; the only sound was her footsteps as she began to walk the corridor’s length. She hadn’t gone far when the lights began to dim. Hearing someone behind her, she stopped to look back. Although she didn’t see anyone, she could sense that whoever was there was coming closer. She stood still, hoping she was wrong, until she heard the scraping of nails on the floor and the panting of something large.
Cory began to run. She ran until her breath sounded ragged in her ears. She ran until she had a painful stitch in her side. When she glanced back again, there was still nothing there, yet suddenly the walls were mirrored and she could see the reflection of a large creature behind her. It was too dark to see clearly, but the creature was getting closer as she watched.
She ran faster now, her heart thundering in her chest. Even though she was running as fast as she could, she knew it was right behind her. She cried out when she felt its breath on her neck and the prick of sharp claws on her back, knowing that there would be no escape. Taking one more step, she stumbled and . . . woke up, terrified. Cory’s heart felt as if it were about to beat its way out of her chest as she lay staring into the dark. It was a long time before she was able to go back to sleep.