THE SECRET SEA: EXPANDED EDITION

73

"Pteridophia?! Is it really you?" asks Magistrate Pon. "We never thought we'd see you again!"

"She remembers you," says Eve, holding back tears. "She wanted to reconnect with the faerie folk before magick fades away."

"Oh how delightful!" says the magistrate. "Your mother, Miss Enganxa, was so fearsome but her heart was huge. I sense she's now gone from this world. I'm sorry for your loss."

Doors on the vegan-friendly homes start swinging open. Scads of spritely beings emerge, some hovering a bit off the ground, some simply running. Their eyes are wide and their faces covered in wide smiles. They surround Eve and pet and paw at her feathers. Pteridophia! Pteridophia!

"If someone tries to give us ruby slippers, I'm out of here," I remark.

"You were such a precocious child with those wide, curious eyes and sharp, sharp talons. So very sharp." The Magistrate winces. "Anyhow, we are delighted to have you here as our guest! And your associates, of course." The plump man leads us through the center of town.

We soon arrive at the great dining hall of the fairy folk. Its impressive facade resembles a thousand pumpkins that have somehow been welded together. I hold Eve's scaly hand as we crouch down to enter the lumpy chamber. She remains in her Aloja form to ease the faeries' minds. A ginger haired waitress in a purple frock leads us to a short table to enjoy a feast with our hosts. VarnLiqn has predictably disappeared. We indulge in the bizarre but aromatic smorgasbord without him.

With our bellies full and our minds sloshing with rosehip wine, we nearly forget the end of these delightful people is at hand. Though happy songs and laughter fill the hall, an undercurrent of sadness resonates beneath the frivolity.

"Pteridophia learned our ways so quickly!" says Magistrate Pon. "She absorbed every tome in our sprawling library and then some. She practically lived among the books. We were sad to see her go. Please tell her that I'm sorry she was lost for so long."

Eve nods. "Pteridophia doesn't blame the faery folk for what happened."

A slim and shaky woman approaches the table and punches the magistrate in the shoulder. "Are you going to tell them about it, or what?"

Magistrate Pon laughs. "Don't mind her. Just one of my wives."

"My name is Agni, and don't let him fool you! I'm his only wife. I killed the rest."

Eve and I laugh. We quickly go quiet once realizing it isn't a joke.

"I assure you, they deserved it," says Agni, straightening her patchwork dress. "Anyhoo, Pon here knows a way to save us all. See ya." She walks away leaving us dumbstruck.

"She may be exaggerating!" says Magistrate Pon, sweating. A mob of children run up and swat at his round belly. They scamper away giggling. "Ugh. My children. A true blight."

"Please tell us what's going on," I beg.

"Come with me," says the magistrate, looking around nervously. "Anh and Wem will accompany us. They are my most fearsome guards." Two angry but incredibly tiny gentlemen approach, carrying makeshift spears and helmets that look to be constructed from wadded tinfoil. "Let us not tarry! We shall go forth, into my secret chamber."