The Last Fairy Tale (14 page)

Chapter Eight

Magic

 Olivia awoke, sat up, and wiped the sleep from her eyes. She noticed the orbs of light above her becoming brighter. She heard birds chirping outside her door and wondered if someone had let the birds into the house or whatever it was that she was in. She grabbed her father’s journal and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

All of a sudden, she was aware that she felt the best she had ever felt. Her head was clear and her body was light and strong. She felt as if she could run several miles without becoming the least bit tired.
I bet it has something to do with the air here
, she thought to herself.
Or perhaps it was those amazingly soft blankets
. She smiled.

 The day before had been a tough day for Olivia, but she was handling it quite well, all things considered. She had made up her mind about what decision to make, and although she was still worried and frightened, something about the way she felt that morning was urging her forward. She decided to leave her room to seek out the Great Fairy and tell him of her decision. She walked over to the door and opened it.

 She immediately knew why she had heard the birds chirping so loudly. Outside the room large windows led out into the open air. Birds were lined along the wide windowsills, hopping about and singing their cheery songs. Olivia decided to walk over to the windows and look outside. She took a step out of her doorway, but her foot landed on something firm yet squishy.

 “Huh…mmm…you know…I like…apples, myself…” came Locke’s voice. He was lying on the ground, asleep, in front of Olivia’s door. She looked to her right and noticed another bedroom door next to her own standing open.

“Locke!” Olivia whispered loudly. He didn’t budge. “
Locke
!”

“
I don’t climb trees like girl imps
!” Locke exclaimed, shuffling to his feet. “…on… Tuesdays…”

 Locke had fallen back to sleep while standing. Olivia giggled as he swayed back and forth. She tapped him on his shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes, which grew wide after he realized that he was standing in front of Olivia.

 “Olivia!” he said loudly. “How did you sleep? Are you still upset about yesterday? You’re not gonna leave, are you? I mean, it’s okay if you are, because it’s up to you, but you know…” He scratched his head and leaned up against the wall. “Actually, you know what? Never mind, heh heh.”

 “Don’t worry, Locke,” Olivia said, smiling at him. “I’m going to tell the Great Fairy my decision right now. You should come with me.”

 “Oh, I will,” Locke said quickly. “I mean, you know, that is, if you want me to.”

 “Of course,” Olivia replied. “Where are we exactly?” she asked, walking over to the windows. The birds flew away as she neared them. She stuck her head out of one window.

 Below, Olivia saw the elaborate orchard that she had seen the day before. The river she and Locke had sailed down with Gaw stretched as far into the forest as she could see. She looked upward, into the sky, and saw great white clouds drifting slowly by underneath the boughs of the Great Fairy Tree. She noticed something out of the corner of her eye and looked to her right. Locke had stuck his head out through a window farther down the hallway and was waving at her. She laughed and waved back.

 “I guess we’re in the Great Fairy Tree!” she shouted to him. “Is it as great as you imagined?”

 “Yes, much greater, in fact!”

 Olivia pulled her head back through the window, and Locke did the same.

 “We should probably be getting to the Great Fairy,” Olivia said. “I think we came from that way last night.” She pointed behind her in the direction of the landing at the end of the hallway.

 They took the spiral staircase, which led to another hallway with a large wooden doorway at the other end. They passed through  the doors and entered the Great Fairy’s hollow. Then they walked across the stepping stone pathway and up to the grassy mound in the center of the cavern.

 The Great Fairy was nowhere to be seen. Locke wandered toward the end of the mound near the entrance, while Olivia headed toward the other end. She was curious about what the cavern looked like behind the mound. When she made it to the edge, she looked out and saw that all the small streams of water that had come from the river were running over the edge of the cavern floor in a waterfall. She turned her ear toward the waterfall and listened. She could only faintly hear the splashing of the water as it hit the bottom far below.

 “Hey!” Locke called. “He’s out there.” Olivia looked back at him and saw that he was pointing out toward the entrance. She hurried back across the mound and followed Locke along the path to the entrance of the hollow.

 At the end of the pathway, the Great Fairy stood underneath the archway made of roots, facing the garden and the orchard. He leaned heavily on his cane, his head bowed. As Olivia and Locke neared him, they slowed, not wanting to disturb him. They walked up beside him and stood for a moment, taken aback once again by the beauty of the glen. Olivia took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air and the citrusy scent from the orchard.

 “Beautiful, is it not?” the Great Fairy asked, slowly raising his head to look at the gardens. “Do you enjoy it, Olivia?”

 “Yes,” Olivia said after a moment. “I can’t believe that we had all of this once.”

 “Do you not prefer your complex, computerized lives? Your advancements and your efficiency?” the Great Fairy asked, looking at Olivia.

 “Of course not. Look at where those things have gotten us.”

 The Great Fairy began to chuckle, but coughed. When the coughing fit ended, he said, “I know, Olivia. You are different. You dare to dream. You look at life in a different way.” He squinted his eyes and looked at the forest. After a while, he said, “You remind me of how humans used to be, Olivia. It baffles me that you, in a time as grim as this, stand before me. A human, without a fairy, able to see above the lies…able to see the mockery the humans have made of life.”

 Olivia looked at the Great Fairy. The previous day she had a hard time believing that she was the least bit special. But after hearing him now, she felt that perhaps she did have a purpose.

 “So, Olivia, have you made your choice?”

“Yes,” she said confidently. “I want to help you save Aeldyn. Even if it means that I have to go back to a dying world when I return…I mean,
if
 I return…I would never be able to live with myself knowing that I could have helped someone, or a whole world for that matter, but didn’t just because I was afraid.”

 The Great Fairy closed his eyes and breathed deeply. After a moment, he turned and looked up at Olivia. “I am grateful, my child.” He tucked his cane under one arm and took her hands in his. “I fear that I will never be able to thank you enough, Olivia. All of the people of Aeldyn are in your debt.” He smiled at her for a moment before releasing her hands. He then grabbed his cane and began to hobble toward the bridge leading down to the orchard. “Now, we shall go to the orchard. I hear you like apples, Olivia? There are many other fruits, too, you know!” the Great Fairy exclaimed, his hand waving in the air above him as he walked.

 Olivia looked over at Locke. He was grinning from ear to ear. Neither of them knew what was to come, but they didn’t care. Somehow, Olivia was going to save this world. They both turned and followed the Great Fairy to the orchard.

 The orchard was indeed filled with many types of fruits—trees of apples, pears, peaches, and figs. Between one of the rows of trees were small bushes filled with blackberries. A network of muscadine vines twisted around a fence down another row of trees. Olivia twirled this way and that through the trees, taking in all the wonderful scents and observing each fruit carefully.

 “Over here, my girl!” the Great Fairy called.

 Olivia turned and hurried over to him, Locke following close behind. The Great Fairy was sitting under an apple tree on an upturned wooden bucket with an apple in his hands, his cane across his lap.

 “Would you like an apple?” he asked them.

 “Yes, please,” said Olivia, remembering the apple that Locke had given her the day before. Her stomach rumbled, and she realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since.

 “Pick one,” the Great Fairy said. “Any one you like.” He took a bite out of his own apple as he watched Locke and Olivia choose theirs. After they had each picked one, they sat on the ground beside the Great Fairy and ate, Olivia being the noisiest of them all as she enjoyed her apple.

 “Would you like another, Olivia?” the Great Fairy asked, noticing she had finished hers quickly.

 “Yes,” Olivia said, feeling embarrassed. “I mean, if it’s okay.”

 “Of course. You didn’t have any supper, after all,” said the Great Fairy. She stood up to pick another apple, but he stopped her. “Olivia, would you like to try getting the apple down another way?”

 “What do you mean?” she asked.

 The Great Fairy held his cane up to her, and Olivia took it, confused. She turned it over in her hands. It was a sturdy wooden stick that was knobbed on one end so as to make a handle. She wondered if he wanted her to try to knock an apple down with the cane.

 “Are you human or not?” the Great Fairy asked.

 “I…am?” said Olivia, still confused.

 “Then prove it, my child,” said the Great Fairy. “Choose an apple, one you can’t reach on your own. Then point to it with the cane.”

 Olivia looked up at the apples on the tree. She chose one on a branch above her. “I’d like that one,” she said and pointed the cane at it.

 “Good,” the Great Fairy said. “Now, get a good look at the apple. Study it very closely.”

 Olivia looked up at the apple. It was beautiful, bright, and had a red-orange color. It hung slightly to the right from its stem. She looked closer and noticed a spotted ring of yellow near the top of the apple.

 “Do you think you have a good image of it in your mind?” the Great Fairy asked.

 “Yes,” said Olivia, still staring at the apple.

 “Good. Now, close your eyes,” the Great Fairy said, closing his own eyes. “Focus on the image of the apple in your mind, Olivia. This will take some practice if you do not already have a strong imagination. The image must be very clear in your mind. Don’t let any other thoughts in.”

 Olivia focused on the apple in her mind. She didn’t have as much difficulty doing it as the Great Fairy seemed to think she would. However, focusing on only the apple wasn’t easy for her. Other thoughts continuously floated about. She strained to clear out the other thoughts.

“Now, imagine with all your strength, or
will
 I should say, that you are reaching out and picking the apple.”

 The Great Fairy’s voice disturbed Olivia’s concentration, so she focused again on the apple. After a moment, she imagined her hand moving up to it and touching it. Suddenly, she felt the cane twitch in her hand, and she heard the leaves rustling on the limb above her. Her eyes snapped open, and she saw the apple swinging back and forth from the branch as if she had touched it. She looked over at the Great Fairy, who was laughing.

 “Oh, very, very good, Olivia!” he exclaimed. “Your imagination is quite strong!”

 “W-what?” she stammered. She looked from the Great Fairy to Locke. “What just happened?”

 “You’ve performed magic!” shouted the Great Fairy and then continued to laugh.

 “Olivia!” Locke said in awe. “You can do…magic?” He looked up at her, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. “You can do magic!” He jumped up and danced around her, pulling his violin from his back and playing a cheerful melody as he leapt about.

 Olivia giggled as Locke danced around her. She wondered if he was performing music magic, but she decided that he was just playing a happy song. He stopped and stood beside her, smiling.

 “Yes, Olivia, you have performed magic, but there is still much for you to learn,” the Great Fairy said. “You must learn to focus on an image and will it into being by channeling energy.”

 “It sounds very complex,” said Olivia. “But it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Actually, I still can’t believe I even did it.”

 “That is because you have already learned one of the most difficult parts of magic,” he said. “One of the most basic yet fundamental concepts of magic is focusing on an image using your imagination. This concept you have learned all on your own. The next part you must master is willing the force into being. Channeling is simple; you just need to have something you are comfortable with that is able to channel the power. But, Olivia, there is an important lesson to be learned in all of this.” He stood up from the bucket and held his hand out for Olivia to return his cane. “You can pick an apple with your hand. Doing so does not take a lot of effort, but still, it does take some. You must not rely on magic to replace effort, Olivia. Magic is intended to aid you. Indeed, it is one of the things that has been missing from your life. But it is not the only thing. You have heard what the lure of powerful magic can do to a human who has no fairy. Be smart in how you choose to use it. As you’ve noticed, performing it is not difficult. Let that be a lesson of its own.”