The Bird Witch (Dark Fairy Tale Queens - Book 5)

Episode 1 - Part 3

"I decided to stop guessing," I say to Eloise at the grove. "I was overthinking it."

"Me too." Eloise is sitting beside me with her perky posture. She looks cute, with a woven band around her short hair. "It doesn't matter who I get. The Sovereign will know best."

Well, I don't believe that for a moment. I've just decided not to worry. I've spent so much time thinking it might be Cindy, that's almost a guarantee it won't be. And the Sovereign isn't flat-out cruel. She'll pick someone I can handle, someone safe and easy.

It's comforting to see the same twitchy anxiety coming from the other fairies. Everyone just wants to know the name of their needy human. We all know refusal will be out of the question. None of us wants to lose our wings.

"Good morning." The Sovereign blinks into appearance at the front of the clearing. We all stand immediately. She's got a Second Order fairy beside her, holding a small braided basket.

Which irks me. The Sovereign's hands are empty, she is perfectly capable of holding that little basket herself. Royalty does this sort of thing all the time, but even when I was royalty, I didn't do that. I carried my own stuff.

"Today you'll receive the name of your assigned needy human, and your test will begin immediately," the Sovereign says with quiet gravity. "Now what do I mean by immediately?"

My head wants to explode. Of course we know what that means! Stop with the wretched rhetorical questions and get to the names!

"It means you will leave here – now – from this grove to go and meet your Needy Humans. You will be granted three days to assist them. Remember, your success will be determined by how satisfied the human is with your help – not us. But do not take that as an excuse to spoil them. Now what do I mean by spoiling?"

I tune out her unnecessary and obvious explanation. If I pass the assignment, I'll be given the care of more Needy Humans, with rising levels of complexity. When I'm promoted to Second Order, I can pick who I want to help, though it must be approved. At Third Order, I can achieve Fairy Godmother status and care for one human throughout their lifetime. At Fourth Order, I can watch over whole villages, live where I please, and work with almost full autonomy, so long as certain laws aren't violated. Nutty was Fourth Order – but it takes a long time to get there. Hunter is still Third Order and he's been a fairy for more than twenty years.

"Are your wands ready?" the Sovereign asks and we hold them up to show her. She nods in approval until her long eyes slide to me. Her lashes flutter. Her lips tighten.

"Really, Beauty?"

"Rose. What's the matter?" I know exactly what the matter is. The 'wand' I'm holding in my upraised hand is actually a pipe – the kind people smoke. It used to be Nutty's pipe, the one she puffed on every day of her life. She was incorrigible. But she's gone now and this is all I have left of her. I made it my magic wand and no one's taking it from me.

"You need a proper wand," the Sovereign says. "I humored you during training, but this is just silly. You can't take that on your first assignment. Go and find a pretty branch, maybe silver birch, and we'll transfer your spells to it."

"Thank you, but I prefer the pipe," I say, trying to keep my tone even. I don't appreciate being singled out like this.

The Sovereign gives me her patient, patronizing smile. "Beauty, dear, it makes you look like a smoker. Or merely childish, at best. You don't need to emulate a foolish old fairy who couldn't even comb her own hair. Helena was an absurdity. An embarrassment. Is that what you wish to be?"

Anger is heating inside me, dark and slow, like bubbling syrup. I try to speak calmly, but that only chills my tone. "My name is Rose. Now what do I mean by that? I mean that my name is no longer Beauty. This pipe is special to me. Now what do I mean by special? I mean that it has value because it belonged to someone I loved. Nutty – Helena – was the person who raised me, and I refuse to use any other wand. Now what do I mean by refuse?" My voice hardens and I lock eyes on the Sovereign. "I mean no."

The Sovereign has lost her smile. Her pale face is hard as marble. She turns to the fairy holding the little basket. "On second thought, I will hand out the names," she says, extending her hand. The fairy hooks the basket onto her fingers and steps back.

The Sovereign looks over the class, avoiding my eyes. "When I call on you, step forward to receive the name of your Needy Human." She lifts a tiny roll of parchment out of the basket, tied with gold thread. "Eloise."

My classmate steps forward to collect her scroll. Then the other fairies are called, one by one. At first, I think this is how she will punish me for my outburst, by making me last. But that would be too easy. The Sovereign is much, much too vindictive to let me off that lightly.

She lifts the final scroll from the basket, wrapped around the tip of her finger. "Rose," she says with obvious contempt.

I walk toward her, my mind scrambling to anticipate what she plans to do. Perhaps when I reach her, she'll crumple the rolled paper, laugh in my face, and I'll be Stricken right there, in front of my classmates. Would she take away my wings for a little mouthiness? Sophina's behavior had seemed far worse, but who knows? I should've been more careful. I should've thought of Hunter. He will grieve heavily if I am lost.

"Your Needy Human." The Sovereign tips the scroll toward me and I have to slide it off the end of her finger. "The name has changed from moments ago. I was suddenly inspired. Since you're so excited to use that precious wand of yours, I think you need a subject who will challenge you. Give you lots of opportunities to use Helena's pipe. Enjoy." She grins, quite satisfied with herself.

I return to my spot on the grass with a tight stomach. The other fairies seemed to have instinctively waited until we all received our scrolls before opening them. Silently, we untie the strings and unroll the tiny papers. I see Eloise breathe a sigh of relief. And small reactions of various kinds from the others. I slowly let my eyes drift downward to read the name on my paper.

Oh... my... heart.

I knew the Sovereign was spiteful. But even as a punishment, this is pure malice. She just gave me the one person I never expected, never even bothered to worry about. The second-worst human being I have ever known, with a nasty, obnoxious personality. The person who tried to feed me to the Beast, who was – did I mention? – my father.

My Needy Human is Cinderella's viciously wicked stepsister. Lunilla.