Farrah in Fairyland (18 page)

“Giuseppi?”
Said Farrah loudly, trying to get his attention.

“So what’ll it
be?”

“Oh, sorry,
Farrah, It’s got to be the Sphinx!”

As Farrah
started to descend to the ground, Giuseppi’s eyes fell on her
unmoving wings. Hesitantly, he spoke.

“Farrah, how
are you able to fly – your wings…”

“It has
nothing to do with my wings, Giuseppi. It is the star that allows
me to fly.”

Giuseppi
smiled as he glanced down at the Giza Plateau.

“You think
that you can pull this off.”

“It’ll be a
challenge, but I guess we’ll find out,” responded Farrah as she
headed for the top of the ancient monument.

Giuseppi
hesitated as he stood before the mammoth foot of the Sphinx. He had
longed to see it his whole life. Noticing that Giuseppi was having
a moment, Farrah gave him a few minutes to savour the experience
before she called out to him.

“Giuseppi, get
up here!”

“What do you
want me to do?”

“When I say
now, I want you to jump down on the head of the Sphinx as hard as
you can.”

“Okay,
Farrah,” said a bewildered Giuseppi as he quickly rushed to the top
of the monument.

“Okay, ready –
1, 2, 3. Now!”

As if the
monument sat on quicksand, it began to sink, slowly at first, but
then with much more velocity as it sank out of sight.

Back at the
auditorium, the crowd waited patiently until a young boy sitting in
the Ordinaria section called out.

“There’s
something over there!”

In a nearby
field away from the auditorium, the ground creased until the head
of the Sphinx poked out like a gopher jumping out of a gopher hole.
Much of the crowd had left their seats and made a circle around the
monument. Like a submarine rising from the water, the sphinx
re-surfaced, however, neither Giuseppi nor Farrah could be
seen.

“What happened
to them, Mommy?” asked a young Forest Fairy as she tugged at her
mother’s dress.

Then, Farrah
and Giuseppi appeared on the back of the Sphinx as if they had been
sitting there the entire time. They waved to the crowd, which
erupted into the loudest cheer yet. A few fairy children began to
climb up onto the monument as if it was a jungle gym. Even
Giuseppi’s mom felt giddy, pacing around the front of the ancient
statue, staring at the weathered nose of the Sphinx. The only fairy
that wasn’t impressed, was the King. He had abruptly fluttered away
from the circle and headed for the podium. He leaned into the
Talking Ear to get the crowd’s attention.

“Uh, huh! That
sure is a fine and dandy trick, Miss Fancycracker, however, I
believe your act is still unfinished. You mentioned something about
wanting to show us fearless courage?”

Farrah didn’t
want to press her luck, so she jumped down from the back of the
Sphinx and headed for the stage. She high-fived a few of the
fairies as she passed by them. Walking up to the podium where the
King was still standing, he whispered into Farrah’s ear.

“You got lucky
on that one, young Ordinaria. Now hurry up and get your act over
with, we have an award to hand out.”

Trying hard
not to let the King’s words get to her, Farrah closed her eyes to
find her sense of calm. The King floated back to his seat as Farrah
mumbled under her breath to herself.

Farrah gave
herself a little pep talk before she opened her eyes. She often did
this during times of great peril - a trick her grandmother had once
taught her.

“
Okay,
Farrah, you are doing great, just one more to go! It’s just like
the way I practiced. Everything will go perfectly. All I have to do
is to summon a Cornuto creature and let my instincts do the
work.”

Farrah checked
her pocket to ensure that the Star of Fantaseea was safe and sound
before she dug in for some more Tooth Fairy Dust. Satisfied, she
walked back over to the podium to speak to the crowd.

“Fairies of
Fairyland, I must ask that you not leave your seats for the next
part of my act. It is also important that you be as silent as
possible. This next part is very dangerous, and I will need
complete concentration.”

This caused a
bit of a stir from the crowd. A beautiful Tooth Fairy in the front
row grabbed the hand of her young son tightly in anticipation. The
King stared cruelly at the Queen, a second warning that it would be
on her head if anyone got hurt. Back on the stage, Farrah stood
focused and ready.

She closed her
eyes and pictured the biggest, most gruesome Cornuto Creature that
she dared to imagine. As she threw the dust into the air, she
clutched the star in her pocket for comfort. A gust of wind
captured the dust and whirled it up to the clouds. Farrah knew that
it wouldn’t be much longer until the biggest threat to Fairyland
appeared. A few moments later, the ghastly screams of the fairies
in the crowd were an unmistakable indication that the time had
come.

“It’s a
Cornuto!” shouted a Mezmo Fairy as he ducked under the cloudy
bench.

Upon seeing
this, the Securo Fairies stood ready in a line in front of the
stage. Farrah, however, waived them off and raised her palm to the
crowd asking for both quiet and confidence. The creature looked
even uglier as it got closer. It had a Gautuso clutched in its
claws and it was bleeding profusely. The blood from the Gautuso
dripped on the heads of a few Tinker Fairies in the crowd as the
creature glared at Farrah.

The bushy
beast landed calmly on the stage. It flung the Gautuso into its
mouth and chopped down. The crunch of the bones was heard from
where Farrah stood. The expression on the Cornuto’s face did not
mimic a threat however. Instead, it looked agitated, as if he had
just had his dinner interrupted. It wasn’t until the Cornuto
spotted the King sitting in the crowd that its mood changed.

The Securo
Fairies noticed this, and fearing an attack on the King, they stood
ready. They gathered in front of the King and Queen to act like a
shield. Now even more agitated the menacing Cornuto let out a loud
roar. It was a combination of a Lion’s roar and the cackle of a
Pterodactyl. The wind that emitted from the Cornuto’s mouth blew
the hair off an older fairy. She had been sitting in the Ordinaria
section when she thrust her body onto the floor. On her hands and
knees, she tried to retrieve her wig. Suddenly, the Cornuto lifted
off its feet.

The beast
hovered in mid-air until it floated slowly over the crowd. He was
in position, ready to strike. With sweat on their foreheads, the
worried Securo did not want to wait any longer. Fearing that the
Cornuto would indeed strike, Farrah pulled out the star and held it
directly over her head with both hands.

The Cornuto
redirected its stare at Farrah. When the creature realized that it
was the Star of Fantaseea, it lost focus and plummeted to the
ground. He nearly landed on a plump Fairy Prince who was in one of
the middle rows.

For a second,
the Cornuto was no longer visible as it vanished into the crowd.
When it re-emerged, it lunged at Farrah. Although scared to death,
Farrah did not move. Her instincts were telling her to stay
put.

As if an arrow
shot out of a bow, the Cornuto sped toward Farrah. As it got
closer, the star in Farrah’s hands glowed a bright yellow. It also
became warm, causing Farrah to juggle it in her hands. The crowd
looked on as Farrah seemed destined to be the Cornuto’s next
pray.

Suddenly, a
rainbow of lights shot out of the star. It struck the Cornuto
square between the eyes, causing it to land backwards. It crashed
hard to the floor of the stage creating a splinter that was
followed by a crack. A few flanks of the stage flew out on the
crowd as the Cornuto thrashed to get back up onto the stage.

The beast
approached Farrah much more cautiously this time. With blood
dripping from his teeth and the whiskers of his mouth pushed back,
exposing his large incisors, the Cornuto let out another roar as he
leapt. This time, he only got within five feet of Farrah before
another rainbow coloured bolt shot out. It encapsulated the Cornuto
like a bubble. Although the Cornuto could see clearly, as he stared
out at Farrah, the rest of his body was completely paralyzed.

Farrah walked
closer to the bubble taking one cautious step at a time. She walked
directly under the floating Cornuto and placed the star on the
ground underneath it. As she stepped back, the star glowed even
brighter.

This time a
silver colour glowed from the star. With a loud crack, another
silver bolt shot out of the star forcing the Cornuto into the air.
With lightning speed, the bubble-encased Cornuto sped upward like a
cannon into the clouds and out of sight.

Feeling safe
once again, the audience rose to their feet. They cheered for what
they thought had been the most remarkable act they had ever seen. A
few of the fairies had rushed up onto the stage and lifted Farrah
onto their shoulders. They paraded her back and forth across the
stage in celebration of undeniable winner of the competition. The
celebrating would have gone on even longer if not for the
distraction of a heated dispute between the King and the Queen.

The King still
believed that the Mezmo Fairy deserved to win the competition and
he was trying forcefully to convince the Queen.

“We can’t let
an Ordinaria make a mockery of our competition!” shouted the King
banging his cipher on the ground.

“Ordinaria or
not, she was by far the most talented fairy in this competition, if
not in all of Fairyland. Just look at what she did! Not only did
she find the Star of Fantaseea, she was also able to defeat a
Cornuto!” refuted the Queen as she stood nose-to-nose with the
King.

“
Well,
I’m definitely not going to award
her
the coveted cloud of Comadiso.”

The Golden
Cloud of Comadiso, which the King currently held in his hand, was
the medal awarded to the winner of the Fairyland Talent Contest. It
was one of the oldest artefacts in all of Fairyland. It had been
brought back from earth by a Tooth Fairy after finding it deep
inside Mount Kilimanjaro. The Tooth Fairy declared that it was to
be given only to the most talented Fairy in all of Fairyland.
Obeying her wish, the King and Queen had awarded the Cloud annually
to the winner of the talent contest. It was by far the most
prestigious award that a fairy could receive. At that moment, the
King was disgusted by the thought of an Ordinaria being awarded the
prize.

“
Then
I’ll
do it!”
Responded the Queen as she snatched the Cloud of Comadiso from the
King and floated onto the stage.

The crowd
cheered in anticipation as the Queen landed on the stage next to
Farrah. Although an incredible amount of emotion had overcome the
young fairy, she still had the right mind to bow down to the Queen.
Before placing the medal around Farrah’s neck, the Queen spoke.

“It is my
pleasure to award the Cloud of Comadiso to this year’s most
deserving and most talented Fairy. This act was second to none. Not
only did we see mysticalness and ingenuity, we also saw extreme
courage. Fairyland is proud to have Farrah as her daughter. Without
further adieu, this year’s winner of the Fairyland Talent Contest
is Farrah Fancycracker!”

The next few
moments seemed like a dream to Farrah as she looked out into the
crowd. The disapproving stares of the Superiora section had changed
to those of jubilation and even envy. Farrah’s parents were also
seen out of the corner of her eye. Her father continued to jump up
and down with overexcitement. Farrah tried to savour the moment,
soaking up all of the sites and the sounds. She had finally done
it. She had proven to all of Fairyland that she was indeed, much
more than just a baker.

Farrah was
busting with excitement. The Queen placed the golden cloud around
her neck and she couldn’t take her eyes off of it. Thinking it
prudent, Farrah bowed to the King, but he did not acknowledge the
gesture. Instead, the Queen stuck out her hand to be shaken. Farrah
was all smiles as she glanced over to her parents who were now in
tears. After the King took his seat, Farrah started for the podium.
She was ready to deliver her victory speech when she was
interrupted.

“She’s a
criminal!” A voice shouted over the screaming crowd.

Farrah scanned
the audience, looking for the root of the heckle. Although most of
the crowd had quieted down, the protesting fairy was still
indistinguishable. It wasn’t until this fairy stood up and began to
float toward the stage that her identity became known. Samantha
Scarcity had shouted out from the audience.

Farrah glared
at Samantha as she approached the stage. In one swift motion of her
wings, she landed gracefully behind the podium. She pressed past
Farrah who was knocked to the floor. Before Samantha spoke to the
crowd, she looked back at Farrah and gave a tiny chuckle. Farrah
locked eyes on her as she got back up to her feet.

Samantha
cleared her throat, which rang like the bark of a dog amongst the
quieted crowd.

“I’m sorry to
interrupt the show, but I just thought it was important for
everyone in Fairyland to know what kind of person Farrah
Fancycracker really is.”

Samantha
paused for effect and then in an elaborate gesture, she pointed to
Farrah.

“Farrah is a
criminal, plain and simple. I know that many of you here see her as
a hero. I will admit, Farrah, your act was pretty good. However, I
thought the King and Queen should know what kind of ruthless
lengths you have gone through to pull off this act.”

Farrah
attempted to push Samantha away from the podium, which raised some
shocked awes from the crowd. Once Samantha regained her balance and
resumed her position, she continued to address the crowd, flailing
her arms about.