Tanya stuck her finger out and, as lightly as she could, tapped the underside of the platform. Hearing a distant rustling of cloth, Tanya got ready. Queen Mita walked out on the platform and stared around. As quickly as she could, Tanya reached out and grabbed the Queen of the Fairies.
Surprisingly, the Queen did not cry out. Tanya held one finger to her lips and brought the fairy up to her face with her other hand. Tanya quickly realized why the Queen had not cried out and shifted her grasp so the Queen could breath.
“I am sorry,” whispered Tanya. “Make no sound and you will be safely returned.”
The Queen glared at Tanya and spoke in a dignified voice. “You will gain nothing by taking me. The Fairies will not bow down to your kind for the life of their Queen. Another will take my place and your friends will be killed.”
“I wish to talk with you without ending up in your Stay Bushes,” whispered Tanya. “Will you be quiet and come with me or must we have unnecessary bloodshed on both sides?”
“I will talk with you,” declared the Queen, “but we will do so right here. If you manage to get me out of the orchard, my armies will pursue you and we will not have a chance to talk. I guarantee that when our discussion is over, you will be allowed to walk out of here freely.”
“And then be pursued with a vengeance,” Tanya snorted. “You will pledge your son’s life as my guarantee of safety. Swear on Prince Midge’s life that I will not be pursued or harmed.”
“As long as you do no harm to my people,” Queen Mita affirmed, “you have my pledge on my son’s life.”
“Very well,” Tanya accepted as she placed Queen Mita on the small balcony. “I have heard stories of your dealings with the Great Mage and he is said to have believed you an honorable and trustworthy people. I will chance my life on his words.”
“You know the Great Mage?” Queen Mita questioned.
“No,” replied Tanya, “but my uncle knows of his stories including the one where he restored this orchard and had Prince Midge accompany him to imprison Alutar.”
“So that is how you knew my son’s name,” reflected the Queen. “Why have your people come into our orchard?”
“We were captured before coming to your orchard,” Tanya corrected, “but we would have come here anyway. My friends and I seek to end the Dark One’s rule and our journey requires us to speak with you about the Holy Sapphire.”
“What does the Holy Sapphire have to do with ending the Darkness?” queried the Queen.
At that point a shout rang out from somewhere in the orchard that was quickly followed by more shouts. Tanya swung around and saw hundreds of fairies emerging from all over the orchard. As she turned back to grab the Queen, she saw Queen Mita holding her hand up to the gathering fairies.
“Hold,” the Queen shouted. “This human is my guest and will not be harmed. All of you go back to sleep, but send Midge here.”
The fairies reluctantly turned and disappeared. In an amazingly short time, Prince Midge landed on the platform. “As you can see,” Queen Mita stated, “the Mage told the truth. You may trust the word of the fairies. Son, this is the missing human and I have guaranteed her safety with your life.”
Prince Midge just nodded and stood on the platform next to his mother. “You were talking about the Holy Sapphire,” reminded the Queen.
“Yes,” began Tanya while shaking her head. “The Prophecy states that the Dark One will be killed by the Sword of Heavens which we possess. Before the Sword may be used, the seven gems in its hilt must be restored. Your Holy Sapphire is one of those gems.”
A green fairy suddenly landed on the platform, startling Tanya. He quickly whispered something in Midge’s ear and they both flew off. Dismissing the interruption, the Queen sat down.
“The fairies’ very existence is dependent on the Holy Sapphire,” the Queen explained as Prince Midge returned. “We cannot just turn it over to you even if we had a desire to do so.”
“The Sword of Heavens gave us a vision before it led us here,” Tanya explained. “The vision showed the Sapphire and a blue fairy reciting a verse. That verse said that the Sapphire was a lie. Surely you know the verse that was spoken by the fairy in the vision.”
“I know the verse very well,” confided the Queen. “This is the verse you speak of:” Your blood will flow ‘til none is left While darkness around you descends On Holy Sapphire all you have Fate of the Fairies do depend. The Crown of Light the Fairies’ Life Without it all are doomed to die The Holy Sapphire just a patch Redemption only just a lie.”
Prince Midge stared off into the forest as he said: The Bringer knows not what he does But fate has chosen only he Who bears the mark upon his chest The Winged Serpent death doth flee.
Queen Mita snapped her head to glare at her son, but the Prince returned her glare with determination.
“He is here,” Prince Midge proclaimed. “He is one of the humans which we captured today. That is what brought Pixy to the platform moments ago.”
“Wake him and bring him here,” snapped the Queen.
“What is happening?” Tanya asked. “What is this about a Bringer?”
“You have heard only the beginning of the Fairy Prophecy,” Queen Mita explained. “The rest deals with someone known to us as the Bringer. We have always assumed that the Bringer would be a fairy, but my son believes that one of your companions is meant to fulfill the Prophecy. We shall see soon enough. You have asked for my peoples’ restraint. I now ask the same pledge from you. I am having one of your companions brought here in an awakened state. You will ensure that fairies do not come to harm through his actions.”
“I shall,” Tanya agreed as she watched Arik annoyingly march towards the tree.
“What is going on?” he demanded of Tanya. “Why have they freed us and not the others?”
“Arik, please restrain your temper,” Tanya suggested. “I want to know the answers to that and many other questions. Queen Mita has agreed to talk with us in peace and I have promised our cooperation and their safety. Let us hear what the Queen wants with you.”
“So, your name is Arik,” greeted Queen Mita. “This is my son, Prince Midge. Arik, would you kindly bare your chest?”
Arik look stunned and turned to look at Tanya, who was obviously confused about where the Queen was leading. “I would prefer not to, Your Highness,” Arik finally declared.
Tanya was shocked at Arik’s answer to the Queen, but Queen Mita merely smiled. “If you have any chance whatsoever of even seeing the Holy Sapphire, you will have to comply. I am told that you bear a strange mark on your chest and as the Queen of the Fairies, I must make decisions based on what I see. I assure you that I am not asking to embarrass you.”
Tanya nodded and Arik opened his shirt as little as he could and turned so that Tanya could not see but the Queen could. The Queen’s eyes grew wide and she started shaking.
“Son,” she ordered, “free the prisoners and invite them here. I will offer them my apologies when they arrive, but yours may be needed at the time they are released. They are to be treated as guests, but I fear they may take offense at the way they have been treated already.”
After Midge had left to free the Rangers, the Queen returned her attention to Arik. “I am sorry if I have embarrassed you, Arik,” she apologized. “You are a special person to the fairy people and a very honored guest. If you wish not to be embarrassed by this in front of your people, you have only to request it and I will make sure it is not mentioned. As for Tanya’s lips, that is your own problem.”
“What does it all mean?” Arik asked. “It is only a rash which I picked up in Tagaret.”
“It is not a rash, Arik,” the Queen assured him. “It is the mark of the Bringer. You have been chosen to return the Crown of Light to the fairy people. Who chose you or how you were chosen is unknown to me and does not matter. The Prophecy foretells of your arrival and the task that awaits you. If you want the Holy Sapphire, you will have to return the Crown of Light to the fairy people.”
“Where do I find this Crown of Light?” Arik asked.
“I have absolutely no idea,” confessed the Queen. “It has been lost for ages and if any fairy knew where it existed, we would already have it in our possession. It is the very symbol of the Fairy Monarchy.”
