“Yara-ma-yha-who are dangerous creatures on their own,” he said in his ancient, dry voice. “What makes them even more fearsome is that they always work in a tribe.”
Pancake was on his belly on the table Vidya sat at, a pen and paper in front of him, copying the picture of the creature in slow, careful strokes. Vidya had to admit that he was getting quite good at drawing. She squinted at the diagram of the small red goblin on the blackboard. His head was bigger than his body, and on his hands and feet, Master Sunny had drawn small round circles.
“Excuse me, Master Sunny,” Vidya called. “What are those on his hands?”
A little way down the table, she heard Lobey made a rude snorting noise. Vidya ignored her as Master Sunny turned, stroking his long, faded, yellow beard.
“Ah,” he said. “Those are the most concerning things of all.” He lifted his own hands, wiggling his fingers. “Yarama have suckers on their hands and feet. They use these for several things. Climbing trees, and—” he lowered his voice as if revealing a great secret, and the class leaned in to hear, “—they use them to take your nose right off.”
The class exclaimed loudly, Pancake made a retching noise.
“Didn’t you already know that?” sneered Lobey to the others. “Aunty Sandy had her nose stolen last year.”
“Ah, yes,” wheezed Master Sunny. “If I remember correctly, the Duchess luckily had her nose put right back in place by the King the next day.”
He pointed a stern finger at them. “Stories like these warn us of the perils of the Fae forest. It is with good reason Fae are not allowed beyond the boundary set by Queen Mab the second thousands of years ago.”
“But how did Uncle Farrion get her nose back?” asked Luna, anxiously pulling on a blue lock of hair.
“King Farrion,” Lobey corrected as Luna rolled her eyes.
“Well,” said Master Sunny, “being the ruler of the Fae comes with many perks. The ruling King or Queen can talk to all plants. Not just their guardian plant. Secondly, upon their coronation, they can create a new plant all together, thus the creation of the Book Tree, the Messenger Tree, and many of the Portal Trees. But the most important thing of all is that all creatures of the Fae forest are bound by the King’s Law. And that means, in the Safe Zone, there is a truce, and no creature may harm a Fae in that part of the forest. That is the rule created by the old Fae. It has never been broken.”
A yell sounded from outside the library, followed by several loud shouting voices. Toad twitched violently, and Vidya and Lobey jumped out of their seats, Pancake leapt from the table into Vidya’s arms, burying his nose in the crook of her elbow.
“Remain where you are!” roared Master Sunny, rushing toward the library entrance. The stern look he gave them made Vidya and Lobey freeze on the spot. “I will see what it is.”
Vidya stepped from foot to foot, her magenta wings dancing, itching to follow. But Master Sunny had taught her since she was a baby, and she knew he was almost always right. She patted Pancake reassuringly and exchanged a worried glance with Lobey, Toad, and Luna. Vidya strained her ears to listen to what was going on outside. The library was right next to the main entrance to the palace, so whatever was happening there had probably come from outside. There were a few loud voices talking at once, but not loud enough to make out the words. She heard Master Sunny’s deep commanding voice and the other voices went quiet. There were shuffling sounds. It was all too much for Vidya. She needed to know what was happening.
“I’m not waiting,” muttered Vidya, pushing her chair aside. “I’m going to see what it is.”
Vidya, cradling the still trembling Pancake, strode across the library toward the large double entrance doors, but just as she put her hand on the handle to open it, the door swung open, and Master Sunny, pale faced with his yellow hair askew, rushed through. Pancake jumped in her arms, and Master Sunny frowned deeply upon seeing them standing there.
“I believe I told you to remain where you were, Princess,” he said disapprovingly.
“What happened?” Vidya asked, nervously.
Master Sunny quickly closed the door behind him, making sure that Vidya couldn’t see anything in the entrance hall. “It remains to be seen,” he said in a dark voice.
Vidya made a face. That was not an answer at all, but Master Sunny was striding quickly back toward the class, and Vidya had no choice but to follow him.
“What’s going on?” Lobey asked in a voice that was even more rude than usual. Vidya returned to her seat, pulling Pancake into her lap.
The old Master came to stand in front of the class, a look of deep thought on his face. For a long moment, he didn’t answer, and the students held their breaths.
“Nothing is certain at the moment,” he finally said, his voice tight. “But I’m sure it will reveal itself with time.”
“What does that mean?” sneered Lobey, unimpressed. “It sounded like someone was hurt or something bad—”
Master Sunny held up his hand and gave Lobey a stern look. She felt silent immediately but had to chew on her own lip to control herself.
“The Fae are resilient people, Lobey, remember that. When winter comes, we weather the storms and wait until spring comes again. Why is that? What makes the Fae brave?”
It was Willow, a navy haired, quiet boy whose guardian plant was the Bilberry and was the strongest aim with a bow
