Farrah in Fairyland (20 page)

All four
fairies squatted down behind the huge desk at the centre of the
room. It was made of abero wood, the hardest wood from the rarest
trees in Fairyland, but Farrah knew it would provide no security
from a Cortnuto attack. Farrah crouched low to the ground
instinctively.

“We’re no
match for that mob of Cornuto Creatures! There must be twenty of
them out there,” shouted one of the Securo Fairies, whose nose was
to the ground and butt was pointed up oddly to the ceiling.

“Yeah, not to
mention that a Cornuto can shoot fireballs out of its mouth, like
machine gun bullets. Fireballs? What about their magnetic tails?
You know that they can send shockwaves into the air scrambling the
minds of anyone around. Don’t forget their ability to explode a
fairy’s head.”

“That’s
enough…get it together will you!” shouted the King having tolerated
enough of the Securo’s jabbering.

With the room
now quiet, the fairies realized that the sounds from outside had
stopped.

“Do you think
they’ve gone?” whispered Farrah cautiously.

“If we are
lucky,” responded the King. He ordered a reconnaissance mission by
the Securo Fairies to check if the coast was clear, which they
agreed to reluctantly.

By simply
rubbing a pinch of dust onto the door, it became invisible. This
Fore Spell allowed the Securo Fairies to see the surroundings
beyond the door without actually having to leave the room. They
cautiously scoured their surroundings, but everything seemed calm.
They turned back to await orders. Still feeling a little nervous,
the King instructed them to go outside to get a better look.

“Be careful,
but be thorough,” instructed the King as he continued to duck
behind the desk. His eyes were only slightly visible as he peered
over the top of the desk.

Two of the
Securo fairies floated cautiously out the door. It didn’t take long
for Farrah and the King to realize that something had gone horribly
wrong. First, there was one thud, like a tree falling to the
ground. Then a second. Farrah would later discover that this was
the sound of the Securo Fairies’ lifeless bodies having dropped to
the floor.

Out of the
darkness of the prison, appeared the silhouette of a creature. It
was standing at the entrance of the office. The creature huffed and
puffed as red liquid oozed out of the mouth of the beast. As it
moved closer, there was no mistaking that it was blood, most likely
that of one of the Securo, that had stained the beast’s mouth. The
massive Cornuto Creature now set its sights on the King.

The beast that
stood before them was somewhat different from the Cornuto that
Farrah had summoned back at the talent show. It was twice the size
with a much larger head and much larger teeth. Even its eyes seemed
larger and more bloodshot. Locked on the King, it slowly
approached. The items on the desk bounced about with each stomp. At
first, the King was paralyzed with fear. When he finally came to
and reached for his desk, it was too late. The Cornuto had grabbed
him by the neck.

As the claws
of the Cornuto dug deeper into the King’s neck, blood seeped out
like a fountain. The Cornuto let out a vicious roar, which forced
the King’s head back. His claws tore into his skin, opening the
wounds even further. Unbelievably, the King attempted to talk, but
all that came out was a faint whisper.

“You will
never destroy Fairyland.”

Although it
looked as if the Cornuto was about to laugh, his eyes turned and
were unmistakably filled with murderous rage. The Cornuto swung his
tail and wrapped it around one of the King’s wings. In one swift
motion, it was ripped right off. The Cornuto’s tail then swung
around in the other direction grasping the King’s other wing, once
again ripping it shear off. The King dropped to the floor, landing
in a pool of his own blood.

Inching closer
to the King, the Cornuto hovered above him. The stench of his
breath could be smelled from where Farrah stood. Looking on in
horror, Farrah saw the Cornuto open his mouth to expose a tiny
fireball. It whirled around on its tongue until it got bigger and
bigger. The heat that was coming off the fireball caused Farrah to
sweat. The King let out a gurgling scream just as the fireball shot
out.

Like a tidal
wave, the King was swallowed whole by the ball of fire. When the
fire died down all that remained was a small mound of ashes. The
King had been completely disintegrated.

Satisfied with
his work, the Cornuto turned his attention to Farrah. As he marched
slowly toward her, Farrah screamed out.

“No…get away
from me, you beast!”

Inadvertently
Farrah smacked into the desk as she backed away from the creature.
Looking back, Farrah noticed that a drawer of the desk had been
knocked ajar. Peering inside, Farrah saw it. It was the Star of
Fantaseea. Farrah quickly dug her hand into the drawer and grabbed
the star. Just as the Cornuto was about to pounce, Farrah pointed
the star at its head.

A lightning
bolt shot out, knocking the Cornuto back against the wall. In that
instant, the beast was knocked unconscious. Moving closer to the
Cornuto, Farrah could see a tiny stream of blood that oozed out the
corner of its mouth. Not wanting to take any chances, Farrah ran
out of the room and out the front door of the prison.

She was
shocked to see the carnage outside. It was as if a plasma bomb had
been dropped on Fairyland. The beautiful crystal buildings that
once stood as beacons of goodness, had been reduced to a pile of
rubble, reminiscent of war torn earth below.

Off in the
distance, Farrah could hear the deep blasts that had started up
once again. She tried to fly, hoping the Star that she still held
in her hand would assist her. However, that was not the case, as
Farrah crashed to the ground having only lifted a few feet. Farrah
sat on the ground for a moment and closed her eyes, wishing that
Bella were there.

As if reading
her mind, the Star of Fantaseea glowed a bright orange. Then out
beyond the clouds Farrah spotted something. As it got closer,
Farrah knew that it was Bella. She was flying faster than Farrah
had ever seen before. Fearing that she was being chased by the
Cornuto Creatures, Farrah ran toward her. Unfortunately, as Bella
landed beside Farrah, her fears were confirmed. Two massive Cornuto
Creatures had been tailing Bella - these beasts even larger than
the one back at the prison.

Farrah quickly
mounted and like a flash, they were in the sky. Fortunately, they
were able to out-fly the much slower Cortnuto Creatures, speeding
past them as they headed for home.

Farrah was
aghast at the site of all the destruction, the disgust almost
causing her to vomit. Many of the Pixie Dust stacks had been
destroyed after having been looted by the Cornuto Creatures. The
homes of hundreds of fairies had been demolished, forcing many to
flee into the lake to take cover. As Bella approached Farrah’s home
she was pleased to find it still standing. The sight that awaited
her inside was one that she would never forget.

Farrah could
see through the transparent walls of the house. Her mom had
collapsed to her knees. She was sobbing uncontrollably into her
hands. The crack of the door made her flinch out of fear that
another Cornuto had returned. This went unnoticed by Farrah. The
horrific sight of her father dangling from the chandelier in the
dining room had rendered her body paralyzed.

Couraggio’s
limp body hung helplessly. Neither a rope nor a noose of any sort
could be seen. Blood dripped off the soles of his shoes. He had
been massively wounded and was bleeding through his clothing.
Shaking the fog from her head, Farrah rushed to them.

“Mamma! What’s
happened to Dad?” She asked, barely audible as she began to well up
in a spasming sob.

“They - they
came in and, and…”

Farrah’s mom
tried to recite for Farrah what had happened, but what she had just
witnessed was far too painful to live over again. Farrah crouched
down in front of her mother and threw her arms around her neck to
comfort her. With the sobbing having subsided, Farrah thought she
would ask the question again, this time using a more delicate
voice.

“Mo- Mom. What
happened?”

With her face
buried in Farrah’s chest, she attempted once again to speak.

“The…the
Cor-nuto Creatures came out of nowhere. You-your dad and I made it
home safely and as he-he turned around to close the door, one of
those beasts burst in. There was nothing he could do.”

“What did the
Cornuto do, Mom?”

“It all
hap-pend so fa-ast. A flash knocked your fa-father flying against
the wa-all. Then there was a second flash and – your father hit the
ceiling. His he-ad bounced off it a few ti-imes and then it just
stopped. He’s be-en hanging the-ere ever since. I-I-I-I, ca-ant
feel a pulse Farrah.”

Dismayed, but
still able to function, Farrah slowly popped back up to her feet.
Her head stood at her father’s belly. As she reached up to her
father’s chest, she could feel that he was ice cold even with his
clothing on. Terrified, Farrah confirmed that her father did not
have a pulse. Instantly, she became sick as she grabbed for a
nearby wastebasket and vomited into it.

“Wha-at are we
gonna do, Farrah?” Asked Crystaline as she held her child’s hair
back with her head buried in the garbage can.

This time
however, Farrah couldn’t speak. She wiped the remnants from her
face and fell to the ground, hitting her head hard.

“Farrah,
Farrah, wake up!” Shouted Crystaline as she shook her daughter, but
there was no use. Farrah had succumbed to a combination of
exhaustion and terror.

Panicked,
Farrah’s mother got a pot from under the cupboard next to the large
wood oven. She used a dash of pixie dust to fill it with water and
dumped it on Farrah’s face. That startled her. Although Farrah
started to flap around like a fish, the water had done the trick.
Looking up all she could see was her lifeless father. Deep down,
Farrah actually would have preferred her unconscious state to the
horror hanging above her head.

“We have to
get him down,” said a more composed Crystaline as she helped Farrah
up to her feet.

Farrah nodded
and walked over to the kitchen. She returned with a chair and
placed it by her father’s hanging feet. She hopped onto the chair
to get a better look at his face. It was bruised. His eyelids were
so swollen that they were closed shut.

She
placed her hand on her father’s head, much as
he
always did when Farrah was sick in bed. Suddenly,
the Star of Fantaseea in Farrah’s pocket grew warm, so warm that
smoke actually emitted form her pocket as the liner was
singed.

Acting again
on instinct, Farrah carefully took out the star. She juggled it
like a hot potato until it was at eye level with her father’s head.
It got so hot, that Farrah had to drop it. It did not fall to the
ground, however. Instead, it floated three inches off the ground
directly underneath her father’s body. He was submerged in the
bright red light of the star. It began to spin around until it
looked like a blur, much like a top that is spun by a skilful human
boy. Gradually the star stopped spinning and fell to the ground,
but not before a large round bubble had encompassed Couraggio’s
body. Seeing that, Farrah’s mother shouted out in horror once
again.

“Farrah, what
did you do?”

“I don’t know,
Mom, I just got this strange feeling that I could use the star to
help dad. It started to get warm; my instincts were telling me that
I could help him.”

“How on
Fairyland is this going to help him?” asked Farrah’s mother,
sounding both saddened and angered as she poked the large red
bubble that encapsulated her husband.

Farrah began
to cry when she heard a voice coming from above. She was startled,
yet delighted when she realized it was her father’s voice. He had
opened his eyes and was looking down on Farrah.

“Don’t cry, my
sweet Farrah, I am okay.”

“Dad!” shouted
Farrah as she hugged the bottom of the egg-shaped bubble.

Farrah’s
mother joined in as they kissed the bubble repeatedly, in relieved
jubilation.

“I can’t
believe you’re okay, Dad. We thought you were…gone,” said a choked
up Farrah as she began to cry once again, but this time the tears
were ones of joy.

“There’s only
one problem, guys, umh, how the heck do I get out of this
thing?”

Winking at her
father, she picked up the star. Without hesitation, she threw the
star at the red bubble. Like a pane of glass, it smashed into
pieces, falling like rain to the floor. Farrah’s father fell hard
to the ground, but at that moment, he felt no pain. Farrah rushed
over to him, throwing her arms around him.

“I’m so glad
you’re okay.”

“Me too,
Farrah, me too.”

The
Fancycracker family remained hugging one another for several
minutes. They did not want to stop hugging each other out of fear
that if they did, something bad would happen. They would have gone
on sitting and holding each other all night, if it was not for the
siren of the Telephonito. Farrah’s mother walked over to the tiny
table next to the refrigerator where the bowling ball shaped
communication device sat. She pressed the tiny button at the top
end of the Telephonito to project the image onto the ceiling.
Surprisingly, the Queen was calling.

The Queen did
not look like her royal self. Her robes had large slits in them,
her hair was out of sorts, and her tiara, void of many of her fancy
jewels hung off the side of her head.

“My Queen,
what can I do for you?”

“We need your
Farrah’s help,” she responded, without hesitation and with a sense
of urgency.