three
Keelie pressed the rose quartz against her chest as rage like hot sap flowed through her veins and poured into her mind. Then the anger stopped as a cool green energy flowed through her. Something furry was rubbing against her leg. She looked down expecting to see Knot, but to her surprise it was a skinny white cat.
“Where did you come from?” Keelie reached down to pet the white kitty. “You probably saved me from having some kind of green lava eruption.” The cat arched its back against her outstretched hand, and then raced into the woods across the lane.
One of the security guards stopped and looked up at the trees. He wiped his forearm across his reddened forehead. “I don’t see why Finch doesn’t chop these trees down. She’s always blowing a gasket over these oaks because the shop owners complain about the acorns.”
Keelie sensed dark green anger sweeping through the trees. The oaks brandished their branches as if a high wind were blowing through their leaves, and suddenly a barrage of acorns rained down on the two security men. One acorn landed, with a hard thump, on her scalp. Arms covering her head, Keelie ran back across the lane to Dad’s shop.
From the safety of the enclosure, Keelie watched the two security guys run down Enchanted Lane like their pants were on fire. Merchants and workers stopped what they were doing to watch them. Keelie noticed several gazing at the trees and shaking their heads. A woman in jeans and a tank top crossed herself and hurried into her shop.
“Huzzah, huzzah, the King is in his chamber and the Queen is in the privy, and what see we here, but a lovely little pretty,” sang three Merry Men dressed in green tunics and matching tights. They’d stopped and circled a woman wearing a bodice that made her bosom pop out of the top like two apples in a tiny fruit basket. She giggled as they crooned more disgusting lyrics and carefully tiptoed through the acorns, followed by the Merry Men. They, too, watched their footing among the nuts.
This Faire had more nuts than those strewn on the ground. Thank goodness she didn’t have to work with that bunch. Keelie planned to take it easy at this Faire.
She looked up at the Heartwood shop’s wooden sign, which had an oak tree with little heart-shaped acorns dangling from the branches. Maybe Dad chose this location so he could be a tree shepherd for the errant oaks. They looked like ordinary trees, but Keelie noticed the roots were gnarled like arthritic hands. Even without magic, a person could see wizened facial features in the knots and lumps on the trees’ trunks.
Next door to Dad’s shop, to Keelie’s delight, was a leather goods booth named Lady Annie’s Leather Creations. Curious, she went to explore. It wasn’t like she needed boots. She had her mother’s old pair, and a pair of everyday boots Janice had given her at the High Mountain Faire.
Lady Annie’s shop was ready for action, and the smell of freshly worked leather cut through the green of the crushed acorns outside. Keelie inhaled deeply. It reminded her of the smell of a new car, which in turn reminded her that she hadn’t had a single driving lesson. Then all thoughts of cars vanished as she caught sight of Lady Annie’s wares. Her mouth dropped open.
Awesome, designer Renaissance footwear filled the shelves—mainly incredible boots, hand tooled, with carved bone buttons all down the sides, in dozens of designs. A framed poster from the Lady Annie’s Boots catalog showed how they fit the wearer’s leg like a second skin. Keelie closed her mouth for fear she’d start drooling, and picked up the handwritten price tag on a gorgeous dark red pair trimmed in black. Her stomach bottomed out when she saw the price: nine hundred dollars.
Wait a minute. Her inner-California girl gave her a mental smack across the face. She’d been hanging around elf daddy, trees, and an obnoxious cat for way too long. This was custom footwear. Think designer prices. This she could go for, and they would work perfectly with the garb Janice and Raven had given her. Maybe this place was new and Raven didn’t know about it. She was all about leather. Keelie smiled as she recalled Raven’s spending spree at a leather shop in Colorado.
“Can I help you?” asked a young woman with tanned skin and long, straight black hair. Dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, she wore an absolutely stunning squash-blossom turquoise choker and a pair of Lady Annie boots with worked leather eagles on the sides. A little pin on her shirt read, “Lady Annie.”
“Do you make these boots?” Keelie asked.
“Yes, I’m Lady Annie, and every pair is leather-crafted by me or one of my family members.”
“Wow. I love your necklace, too. Are you Native American?” She’d met a Zuni woman who looked just like Lady Annie when she and Mom had taken a trip to Arizona
“I sure am. Navajo.” Lady Annie stared at Keelie. “You’re Zeke’s daughter aren’t you?”
Keelie nodded. “How did you know?”
“You look like him.” Her eyes glinted. Another of Dad’s conquests. “I met your father and your cat, yesterday.”
Okay, not an old Zeke girlfriend. Yet. “My cat must have made an impression.”
“He sure did. He knocked over a display of boots.” She smiled. Obviously a forgiving cat lover. “I just saw him across the street.”
Keelie turned around and saw Knot batting at some acorns on the ground. Stupid cat! She saw a feithid daoine, a bug fairy, buzzing nearby. It was shiny bronze and looked like a beetle if you didn’t look too closely. Knot didn’t have a good relationship with the bug fairies—his fault, since he loved to torment them. Not her problem. Knot could have the fairies, Dad could have the unruly trees, and Keelie could have new boots. The thought thrilled her. She breathed in and focused on the displays, trying to decide between the soaring hawk and the rearing unicorn emblems.
“If I were to design a pair of boots for you, I would have to suggest tree leaves, with hand-carved buttons shaped like acorns—sort of like these.” Lady Annie pulled out a really beautiful pair of boots, green, with tooled brown leaves climbing up the sides. The buttons were silver oak leaves.
“Those are gorgeous.” Keelie hoped she wasn’t actually drooling. In a nonchalant movement—a contemplating-a-purchase kind of gesture—Keelie checked for drool. Whew, none.
“If you want a pair, you need to place your order early. I can only make so many each Faire season.”
“Custom-made boots. This is so Italian.”
“Yeah, I’ve even made boots for rock musicians when they’re on tour.”
“Impressive.” Maybe Keelie had discovered a designer side to the Faire: California Cool meets the Middle Ages.
“How long would it take for you to make me a pair?”
“Three weeks if I start today. You have to make a three-hundred-dollar deposit before I measure you, or you can pay in full using your Lady Visa or Master Card.”
Dad had confiscated all of Keelie’s credit cards when she had gone online and ordered new clothes from La Jolie Rouge. She’d been feeling really sad and upset about Mom. Dad had gone all parental unit when he saw the total—$400.00. But Keelie had bought everything on sale. He hadn’t understood how much money she’d saved. Dad had absolutely no shopping logic whatsoever. It had to be because he was all elf.
She didn’t need credit cards. She had a bank account bursting with cash. Talbot and Talbot, her mom’s California lawyers, had sent a letter saying that Mom’s estate had been put in trust until she turned eighteen and was attending college. Her eyes had bugged out when she saw how much money was there. Maybe Dad could front the cash, and she could go ahead and put her order in so that she could have them for this Faire. He’d want her to have themed footwear to coordinate with the business.
“I’ll have to get the money from Dad. He’s going to love the leaves and acorn theme. I’ll come back later to get measured.” He shouldn’t have a problem with her ordering a pair of boots she was paying for with her own money.
Lady Annie motioned casually with her hand. “Since you’re Zeke’s daughter, we can go ahead and measure you now, and I can start cutting the leather today, because once the Faire starts tomorrow, it’s going to be crazy.”
“Let’s get started.” Keelie sat on a small wooden stool (birch from West Virginia) and Annie got to work.
As Keelie left Annie’s booth an hour later, she almost ran into a man carrying a stack of boxes. This was one busy footpath. Up the lane, three hunky actors read from scripts, practicing their lines. They were part of Prince John’s guards. This Faire’s story line was that Prince John’s betrothed, Princess Eleanor, was coming and there was to be a wedding. Robin Hood and his Merry Men were going to disrupt the ceremony to rescue Maid Marian, who was being held prisoner and was serving as Princess Eleanor’s handmaiden.
Underneath the veneer of modern-day medieval madness, Keelie sensed the trees’ magic edging on her mind. Her hands were tingly from it. She reached inside her pocket and touched the rose quartz. Instant calm enveloped her. Remembering the lovely boots, Keelie smiled in anticipation. Just wait till Elia got a load of Keelie’s new boots. Perfect Elf Girl’s forehead was going to crinkle up with envy. Maybe she’d get some permanent wrinkles. Keelie would be more than happy to make Elia look her full sixty years, instead of seventeen.
Keelie peeked into her father’s shop. Dad wasn’t in, and she needed to get her cash. Here again, if she had a cell phone she could’ve called him to ask about the boots. If he had a problem with her ordering them, well, it was his fault because he should’ve replaced her cell phone by now so that he could’ve told her not to buy them.
On the other side of Dad’s shop was a bright Pepto-pink building, with a trellis of dark green ivy growing up one side and a sign that read, “The Gingerbread House.” Her mouth watered until she saw that there were no gingerbread cakes or cookies here. Instead, the shelves were filled to overflowing with something else she loved: puppets. There were fluffy white unicorn hand puppets and marionettes in the form of knights and princesses and dragons. They all looked so fun.
Keelie found herself on the shop’s porch, although she couldn’t remember climbing the three wide steps. From up here she could see Sir Davey walking down the path.
The shop drew her attention once more and she drifted inside. The walls were lined with shelves, which were draped with bright colors and crowded with hand puppets and stringed marionettes, as well as with the little puppets that could sit on your shoulder. The shop was so cute, and smelled like cookies, too, which added to the enchantment. Keelie could imagine the little puppets all coming to life.
A woman with blonde hair piled up in a disheveled bun came out and smiled at Keelie. “Hi, I’m Lulu, the puppet lady.” Her eyebrow was pierced with a little silver hoop, which had a tiny red heart dangling from it. She gave off a really cool vibe. Keelie’s anxiety melted away, and she was filled instead with a languid warmth as fuzzy and sweet as cotton candy on a hot summer’s day.
Their hands touched with a zap of static and Lulu jumped back from the shock. She waggled her hand in the air. “Hey kid, you have some zing there.” Her face had gone splotchy as if she’d eaten shrimp and was having an allergic reaction.
“Are you okay?” For some reason, Keelie really liked Lulu; she genuinely seemed like a nice person, someone Keelie could hang out with when the Faire got boring.
“I’m fine. You work here? What’s your name?”
“I’m Keelie Heartwood. My dad’s shop is next door.”
Sir Davey saw her and waved, although he frowned when he saw Lulu. “You okay, Keelie?”
“Fine. Just visiting the neighbors.” Keelie wondered why Davey looked so wary. Knot hissed and arched his back.
“Is it safe to have that cat loose? He should be on a leash or in a crate.” Lulu looked queasy.
“You can’t walk a cat on a leash.” But the idea of Knot in a crate was actually pretty good. “Besides, he’s part of my dad’s business.”
Keelie sensed the oak trees across the lane. Green energy was building up, and the oaks were definitely angry. She looked around, but didn’t see anything that would anger them. Not a lumberjack or beaver in sight. Acorns began pinging on the tin roof of the puppet shop.
Lulu groaned. “Not again. I’ve complained to the Faire director, and she said it’s being handled, but whatever she’s doing is not working.”
Keelie looked out. The trees were now like multi-limbed wooden creatures aiming their acorns like little projectiles at the gingerbread shop. Another tingle shot through her, making her shiver. A major dose of tree energy was coming their way. Keelie grabbed her rose quartz and stepped out onto the path. She addressed the trees.
Stop it. Leave the puppet lady alone. Her unspoken command rang through the clearing.
No response. Worse, it was as if she’d hit a wall. She was being ignored.
Shocked, Keelie turned around. This was the first time the trees had rejected telepathic communication with her, and she didn’t like it one bit. It was like calling someone and having them rudely hang up on you.
Lulu’s gaze traveled past Keelie and up to the branches of the oaks. A breeze swept down the winding lane and acorns showered down around them like green hail. Keelie threw her arms over her head, but no acorns hit her. She looked up.
An invisible umbrella surrounded her. She could see the acorns hit the air a foot above her, and then careen off as if they’d bounced from something solid. Lulu was gone, fled back into her shop, and Keelie was trapped in a bubble in the middle of an acorn storm. This wasn’t her magic, so who was protecting her?