Except the Queen (47 page)

My Dearest Sister, Meteora:

I have but a small time to write before we three take to the skies again. You would not believe what I am learning. Flying is not just wings up and soar. There are loop-de-loops, dives, stoops, back wings, soft landings and hard.

And it turns out that three really is a magic number. Shawnique and Blanche have been waiting for me for quite some time, even before you and I were thrown out of Faerie. You see, they have farsight much greater than mine, but I am getting there. I know, for example, that my scare-bird will soon be a father. I believe even you had not guessed that. I wonder if he and Sparrow even know yet. Best not tell them. Let them reveal it to you. Act surprised. I know you can do that.

And tomorrow, since the crones and I will be grounded by bad weather, the Man of Flowers will stay the night. But I don’t need foresight for that. We have been growing closer for some time. I even work in his store now and then. Oh, not for money, but to help out. And to pay him back that I not be beholden. Oh—I now know what a “spick” is, and the boys who said it all came down with bloat tongue one week, and prick rot the next. Something
else crones taught me, and helpful it certainly was. I think those boys will stay out of the neighborhood for a while. It is quieter with them gone.

Jamie Oldcourse stops by now and then. She thinks she is my one friend, besides my “boss,” Mr. Flores. I let her keep thinking that. She might not approve of the loop-de-loops. Or Shawnique and Blanche.

I hear them scratching at the window, so must close with love. Next week I am going to learn a tame-iron spell. Shawnique promises that it will change my mind about living in the city. But I am already changed, you see. If I need a touch of the Greenwood, I can simply go across several streets and avenues to the park by the sluggish river and visit with the made-woman. She says little, but sometimes after many days with the crones, I find such silence comforting. She’s a good listener, though. Even better than you.

Your sister for always—for that will never change,
Mabel Serana Farmers

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