The Cloud Castle

The Fairy Guardians

The two winged creatures stared at us with icy blue eyes. They looked like fairies of some kind, with long blue hair that sparkled. Each one had a thin gold crown around her forehead.
   Before any of us could speak, one of them grasped a small HARP that was attached to a gold chain around her neck. She started to play a sweet melody with low, serious tones. Then the second fairy grasped her harp and began to play in harmony with the first. 
   "Should we SAY SOMETHING to them?" Colette whispered.
   "It would be rude to interrupt them while they are playing," Paulina said. "We should wait until they are done."
   We listened for a few more minutes, but the fairies showed no sign of ending their song.
   "Hmm," said Will thoughtfully. "Maybe they are trying to communicate through music."
   I nodded. "I think you're right. The music be their language. By playing, they are trying to tell us something."
   Paulina looked excited. "That makes sense! The crystal elevator in the Seven Roses Unit responds to musical commands."
   "But what are they saying?" Colette asked. 
   "I have no idea," I admitted. 
   I noticed that Will was rummaging through his backpack.
   "Now, WHERE IS IT?" he was muttering. 
   After a few moments of searching, he pulled a YELLOW instrument from the backpack -- a recorder. We all watched him curiously as he brought the recorder to his lips.
   Will began to play a tune. It was a melody all his own, but it perfectly matched the tune being played by the two fairies. The sweet tones of the recorder melded with the clean tones of the two harps. The sound was truly beautiful! 
   "I wish I had my VIOLIN with me," Violet said wistfully. "I would join in!"
   We stood there listening, enchanted, until suddenly the two fairies stopped playing. They let go of their harps and listened carefully to Will play his recorder. Then they whispered to each other, smiling.
   As if by magic, the silver gate slowly opened!
   Will stopped playing his recorder. "WE DID IT!" he cheered.
   "Well done, Will," I said. "It's a good thing you had that recorder with you."
   "MUSIC is very important in fantasy lands, so I always bring an instrument with me," Will said. "A good agent is ALWAYS PREPARED."
   "And how did you know what to play?" Violet asked.
   "I simply tried to meld with the music the fairies were playing," Will explained. "After the first few notes, the tune just came flowing through me."
   "It sounded beautiful," Paulina said.
   "It did," Colette agreed. "But maybe we should GO through the gates before these two lovely fairies change their minds."
   She pointed to them, and they both looked at us with very SERIOUS expressions.
   "Good thinking, Colette," Pam said.
   We quickly passed through the gates, smiling and nodding politely at the fairies. 
   "Thank you," I said.
   Then, to my surprise, they began to speak.
   "We are the Fairy Guardians Of The Land Of Clouds," they sang together. "Welcome! It is a pleasure to have friends of music visit our world." 
   "And it is an honor for us to visit," Will said. "Thank you for opening the silver gates for us."
   "Yes, thank you," the THEA SISTERS said.
   The fairies smiled back at us, and we were all struck by their beauty. Then, without another word, each one slipped back inside her COLUMN, leaving us alone.
   "I was very nice of them to let us in," Colette said, "but I wish they hadn't left so quickly. I had a million questions for them!"
   Will nodded. "Yes, I would have liked to ask for directions to the CLOUD CASTLE."
   "That would have been nice," I agreed. "But somehow we always manage to find our way to where we need to go."
   Violet nodded. "Things can be very magical in these fantasy lands."
   All we could see ahead of us was an enormouse expanse of clouds.
   "They look like whipped cream," Pam remarked.
   We looked around, enchanted, as the silver gates closed behind us. 

We Had Arrived In The Land Of Clouds.