Moon Flowers (Book 1 of the Flower Trilogy) #Wattys2016 #Featured

CHAPTER NINE - HALIA (Edited)

HALIA'S POV

Phi flew into our nest that night and created a gust of wind that startled both Aras and I awake.

"Halia!" she screamed. "You will never guess what happened!"

"My eyes!" my godmother cried. "Dust!"

I gave a severe look to my friend and rushed my godmother to the water reserves to help wash her face. The Tisannieres had greatly diminished our reserves since they had used a big part of it for the curative tea.

"I know what you did," I told Phi while I checked Aras's face. The lack of light did not help. "You left the alley."

It was obvious. I had not seen her all day and we had never been separated before. I had looked for her everywhere and when I learned the king had taken some of the dwarfs and goblins to go with him, I knew exactly where she was.

"You left the alley?" Aras repeated, her eyes wide.

"Oh! Halia!" Phi screamed. "It was wonderful!"

"You disobeyed the king's order," I warned her. "There will be—"

"King Siegfried is not upset with me," she said. "He even saved my life."

"What?" my godmother interjected. "Phi! You should never leave the alley. It's dangerous out there. Humans might have seen you, or thought you were a bird of prey."

I gulped at the idea but Phi seemed untouched.

"It was wonderful!" she repeated. "The world is so big, and this is only a city. I can't wait until we get to the New World!"

"We're going?" I asked, suddenly forgetting about everything else.

"We are leaving today, or rather, after tonight!" she declared.

Aras and I shared a look.

"I have to get ready!" Phi said before disappearing as abruptly as she had entered.

I shook my head and my mouth curved into a smile.

"I wonder how her grandmother can bear her," Aras said, shaking her head.

It was true. Phi always came and went like the wind. Sometimes I wondered if the name "bird fairy" was appropriate. Maybe "wind fairy" would suit her better.

She was right, though. At the first streak of dawn, all the fairies had gathered their belongings and were ready to leave our gray backstreet and bad memories behind.

I was crammed into a carriage, an old human goblet to which wheels had been attached, along with my godmother and other fairies. It was not comfortable, but it was forgivable since the outcome was that I was never going to set foot in the alley again.

Before I knew it, King Siegfried had lifted the mist that had covered our alley for centuries. Nothing of what Phi had told me last night about the world outside could have prepared me for what I saw. Thousands of houses, churches, and animals. A world so big I felt dizzy. So many colours, so many faces. Human men wore ridiculous hats. The women wore impossibly heavy dresses. They looked like clumsy giants the way they trotted up and down the streets. I could almost believe they were gentle, but for that I would need to forget what they had done to our world. I had to remember our curse. I had to fear them.

The feeling in my stomach intensified. Or perhaps it was just eagerness.

We arrived at the alley near Saint-François port where King Siegfried and his troop had encountered the gray cat the day before. The Queen of Complaints used some of her magic to leave a bowl of enchanted milk for him, to protect him from the evil cat fairy that had attacked Phi.