“Any help given was by accident, I assure you.”
“Oh, I know,” said Vidya lightly. “But in any case, we are here to apologise. The Fae children have recognised the error of our ways… on the condition that you recognise the error of your ways.”
The Leaf Master sneered at King Farrion.
“Interesting child you have brought up, King of the Fae.”
Farrion smirked at the Leaf Master, and Vidya stepped forward with the tree cutting they had planted in a large pot. She placed it on the ground between them and returned to stand next to her father.
“Indeed, I have, Master Koala. She has come up with a fine solution for your little tax issue.”
The Leaf Master looked sharply at the potted plant. “What is that fruit tree?”
“I call it the Riddle tree,” said Vidya, pointing at the small button nose hanging from the tree.
“You gave me the idea, of course. With my Queen’s right, I grew a plant of my own imagination. It grows noses for you. Boogers and all, I’m guessing.”
The Leaf Master’s eyes widened. “What a thing…”
“Indeed,” said Farrion. “You are granted the use of this plant to keep you fed, on the condition that you do not terrorise the Yara-ma-yha-who or any other creature here.”
The Leaf Master’s silvery-grey face surveyed the Fae in front of him.
“Is that a deal?” asked Vidya with a polite smile.
The Leaf Master nodded. “It is.”
He slid off his toad and with surprising deftness for someone so round and big, snatched up the potted plant and leapt back up onto his toad. Without another word, they hopped back into the shadows of the deep forest.
“Charming fellow,” commented Farrion.
“You have no idea,” murmured Vidya.
Next, the troupe travelled through the clean green lawn of the home of the Wollemi Pine King and his cassowary guard.
This time, they took a petal of the Flower of Awakening as a gift.
“Oh,” whispered Akurra, her bird eyes reflecting the golden light. “His highness will be very happy with this.”
Vidya, Lobey, Lotus, Lily, and Willow spoke with Tree King for hours, relaying the story of how the Fae children fixed the Flower of Awakening and battled the Bunyip army. The Wollemi Pine was delighted to hear such a grand story, ‘ohing’ and ‘aahing’ at all the right parts.
“I remembered something you said when we were here last,” said Vidya at the end. “What was the other name for the Flower of Awakening? The name you said you knew her by?”
“The Phoenix flower,” said the King fondly. “That is the name we give to fire that comes from within the earth.”
Vidya explained baby Mahiya’s fire powers.
“Ah,” said the King. “The flower called upon her to be born when she felt her power wane. She knew what she needed, even if she couldn’t say it. Princess Mahiya will be called a Phoenix Fae.”
King Farrion and Princess Vidya left the Wollemi Pine King with smiles on their faces.
“Another mystery solved,” mused the King.
“Too right,” said Vidya. “I’ve had enough mysteries to last me a lifetime.”
King Farrion smiled knowingly at his daughter. “When you are Queen, there’ll always be one mystery or another.”
Vidya smiled thoughtfully. “Well, it seems to me if I solved this problem, I can basically solve anything.”
Then she and Pancake ran toward Lobey, Willow, Lotus (with his new nose), and Lily and together, they laughed and danced their way back to the palace thoroughly happy that they would never have to set foot in that part of the forest ever again, and even if they did, they wouldn’t have a problem with it because they were Fae and whatever difficulty they faced, they’d be able to sort it out together.
Afterword
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Acknowledgments
My heartfelt thanks to my mum, Shobna and my cousin Rachna for their tireless and tactful constructive criticism, which allowed me to make this story so much better while still preserving my feelings.
A sincere thank you to Marnie for her wonderful editing and super kind words of encouragement.
Thank you to Adrian once again, for his beautiful illustration of Princess Vidya and the Flower of Awakening for the cover.
And lastly, thank you to my niece Vidya, for being my inspiration for this story.
About the Author
Ektaa Bali is an emerging Australian author of fantasy fiction for all ages. This is her second middle grade book. Find all her work at ektaabali.com and check out the Pacific Princesses website at pacificprincesses.com where you can sign up for the newsletter for exclusive updates and sneak peaks before the rest of the internet!
