The Battle of Fairyland

Chapter 5

      It took several months to fully repair the city. Clouds formed in the holes and solidified with the help of newly acquired water fairies. As the dark fairies inhabited the light kingdom, their natural colors returned, and many of the older fairies rejoiced, holding a giant party. However, not all was well.
      Luna had returned to her residence near the borders and Angel had nowhere to go. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the cold night air. Streetlights lit her path as she flew into the night sky.
       Inside the castle, Lavender was lounging in her throne, sipping on her moonsprite. "Ah, what a lovely evening." A knock interrupted her. "Yes?" she said sourly.
          "Your Majesty." The servant kneeled, his hands shaking as he unfurled a scroll. "The dark fairies have requested better housing."
       She placed her glass down on the tiny table beside her. "Why, though? They are able to live here. Isn't that enough?" The servant shook his head. "Those fairies are so ungrateful." She kicked her heel off of her foot, and it landed right on the servant's head. "That's for giving me bad news on my day off!" The queen stormed off, and the servant slinked away, placing the heel behind a pillar with a note within the shoe.

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      Another fairy noticed the shoe and picked up the note, pocketing it and passing it along to another fairy, who transferred it to another fairy, and so on and so forth. All of the fairies who received the message wore a small badge of a namoore on their clothes. Jenny shined her pin with her handkerchief, sticking out her chest in confidence. Jill entered her apartment and hugged her. "Oh, I'm so proud of you, sweetie. You're all grown up!"
        Jenny rolled her deer-colored eyes. "Mom, I've been grown up for the last two years."
      "I know. It's just... you're part of something bigger than yourself, and that's amazing. Just... please don't put yourself in harm's way, okay?"
      "I'll try not to." The fairy tossed her fur coat onto her shoulder and flew off, waving to her mother. She dived into a near-invisible hole near the library, weaving through various traps as easily as possible. Poison darts couldn't hit her, and she made it to the end of the cave. Several others were there, including Luna, Angel, Matthias, and the old non-binary person Jenny met the first time she crossed the border. Jenny sat on the ground at the head of wooden round table. "The meeting has now commenced. First order of business is the queen's refusal to accommodate your needs. Angel, your thoughts?"
      She placed a strand of hair behind her ear and took a breath. "I fear... I fear that my sister will never forgive my betrayal, and she's taking it out on my people through refusing to readjust social norms in order to better accommodate us, refusing us affordable housing, and tossing us to the dogs in terms of healthcare."
"How do we solve this?" Jenny crossed her arms, tapping one of her fingers on her arm.
The fellow, named Ambrosia, raised their hand. "The only way to resolve these problems is to overthrow the queen and instate the rightful queen, Luna, to the throne. After all, our current dictator is stubborn as a mule." Everyone nodded firmly. Discussion rose about the plans. Diagrams and maps flooded the table space, pens scribbling on all of it.
Jenny returned home, straining her head both ways, making sure that no drones reported her misdemeanors. Her hands trembled as she checked her pockets. A jar of star fruit jam met her nerves, and she sighed, relief filling her racing heart. Jenny threw off the animal fur. She left the jar on the stairs near the ruins of her old school. She tossed and turned as moths invaded her mind, fretting around with uncertainty.
A fairy gathered the jar and read through the ingredients label.

"Star fruit, sugar, osvsq, starfruit preserves, mashed starfruit, morgen, high fructose corn syrup, NO"

They knew to spread the message throughout, and the next day, a large crowd gathered at the golden fortress's doors, with pitchforks, rakes, shovels, spears, swords, and other objects fetched from the now almost abandoned dark kingdom. Matthias stood on top of the stairs. "We're not going to stand for this!" Cheers erupted, and he continued hyping them up.
Jenny adjusted the pin on her chest, contemplating the plan and imagining every way it could fail. Her face stared back, and she smiled at her reflection, nervous energy coursing through. She flew out the window, her wings jittering and her heart pounding. The skies were clear of those awful spying machines. All of them sparked electricity on the clouds, broken and useless.
Luna, with a deep breath, closed her eyes and focused, blue energy enveloping her body. Waves surged over the lands, injuring only the electric-reliant technology and washing over the natural world and its inhabitants harmlessly.
Ambrosia snuck into the fortress through the guards' secret entrance, trailing a soldier who didn't realize he was being followed. Their wings ceased flapping, touching the bright floor without a sound and going around, hiding from guards and servants. They found the security room. All of the screens displayed static, and they smiled, leaving the scene without a trace. The entire fortress shuddered, cracks forming on the golden shine. Their wings lifted them from the floor, and they sped to the soldier's quarters. Thorny vines burst from the clouds, grabbed the guards, and knocked them out by slamming them onto the floor.
Angel streaked through the city with a spray can in hand. Safe places were marked with the sigil of the dark kingdom, and other places unassociated with the revolt were left alone. After her job was done, she went to the hidden passage underneath the library. The mass of fairies rushed through the streets, trashing unmarked buildings. She felt the thundering of their actions, smiling while reading a book.
The queen looked over her kingdom from her bedroom's window. Seeing the chaos, she screamed for her guards and servants. A draft simply blew by. Her fists pounded the windowsill until blood stained the precious minerals that made up the fortress. Her voice, hoarse from screaming, echoed throughout the city through magic means. "My dear citizens. Do not worry. I will absolutely punish the unseemly mob who caused this chaos, and justice will prevail." Her words had the opposite effect she expected. The non-revolting citizens scattered even more, and a few escaped to the dark kingdom. Those in the right, the "unseemly mob" were encouraged by her speech, anger thundering through their veins. Water crashed through buildings, plants creeping towards the castle, and armies of eagles controlled by animal fairies filled the skies.
Ambrosia kicked down the door. Lavender spun around, surprise decorated on her face. "Oh, you little-" Her words ceased due to a plant encasing her in its vines.
Jenny and Luna glided in through the window. "Sister, your time is up. You gained my rightful place by illegitimate means, and you mistreat your citizens unfairly. We shall proceed to court to discuss your misdeeds and punish you fairly."
An opening allowed the queen to talk. "Who will oversee the court rulings?"
"Me." Ambrosia said, stepping forward. The fairies present announced the queen's trial via magic, and they whizzed through the city, Lavender being carried in a bag.