The Queen Of All Strange Things

14

Everyone in school thought I was suspended for three days for skipping class after the interval.  And of it weren’t for Mrs. Warbler (who thinks I’m this sort of an innocent saint) was kind enough to search for the reason and inform my class. On the next day of school, I was showered with condolences in the death of my favorite aunt. I was tired enough to convince them that I had undergone some physiological trauma.
‘So,’ asked Isabelle. ‘How was Hampshire?’
‘Well, it was nice,’ I said.
‘You never told me that you have relations in Hampshire?’
‘It’s complicated,’ I said. I banged my locker close. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Andrew and Salzar standing at the end of the corridor. Under me, Trevelyan was reading “The Daily Invisible”. Fairies were fluttering around, some peaking out of my backpack. They all insisted to come.
‘Excuse me for a while,’ I said to Isabelle and walked over to Andrew who had his arms crossed.
‘So,’ I said. ‘What is it this time?’
Salzar twisted around us, while staring at the fairies that were hiding in my Backpack and under my hair. Andrew pulled out an old book from his back pack and shoved it to me. ‘Athena told you to study it.’
I gave a frown. I was heavy and leather bound. Inside in the first page was a scribble made by ink which said “Make knowledge your weapon.”
I turned to the next leaf.
“A Guide to the History of Sightless.”
‘Perfect,’ I said. ‘I have three days of work to cover, and then this!’
Andrew shrugged. ‘Zeus told you to be careful. Keep a few fairies around you.’
‘No need reminding me of that,’ I said. But they were now out of sight. I guess it’s because of Salzar.
‘How’s Slitzer?’
‘Who?’
‘The Kelpie.’
Andrew gave a good to Salzar. Salzar bowed at me. ‘There is no sight of him, your highness.’
Hearing him say that made me flinch.
‘Must you really call me that?’
Andrew, for once, smirked. ‘You’ll get used to it.’
I just hope Isabelle is not wondering why I am talking to thin air. I left Andrew and followed Isabelle to the Chemistry lab.
‘What’s that all about?’
‘Book club,’ I said.
Although Isabelle was hanging out with me again, I could sense that something was wrong. I bit my lips, trying to imagine of the things she must be feeling about me. My behavior for the past few weeks were… well… different.
‘Isabelle,’ I said, thinking of a way to ask her. ‘Is there something that’s bothering you?’
You cannot be sure. Maybe she’s having problems of her own. She lost her mom about two years ago and things don’t always go so well with her dad.
‘No,’ she said. ‘Why ask?’
‘Nothing,’ I said. ‘It’s just… I don’t know. We are not like before. You know, fun.’
‘You don’t hang around me so much now,’ she said, ‘and you seem so distracted and distant, ever since the halo moon.’
‘The halo moon? Maybe it has a psychological effect or something,’ trying to fake a laugh.
‘Maybe,’ said Isabelle. But she seemed lost in thought. Then I saw why. Shane was passing by. He was one of the nerdish jocks in school, a very off combination. Isabelle has a thing for nerds. She had been crushing on him ever since I can remember. I can tell Isa’s crushes by just looking at her listening to her rambling about that person, although I’m not really an expert on the area.
School turned out to be really boring. I had a lot of work to cover up and I spent most of my time at home filling notes and doing homework. I didn’t finish it all, but my head was so about to burst that I went downstairs and turned on the TV, only to find an elf grinning at me.
‘It is now known when, but the Council has announced to hold a vote about whether Sightless will have Amethyst Stone as her Queen_’
I switched in to some other channel and settled with a cartoon. Seriously. Then I switched in into a discovery channel which showed koalas hanging on a tree.
Tyke was eating popcorn next to me.
‘If you become queen, will this house become a castle? Can we live in the castle? Is palace food good? Will you wear a crown?’
‘If I become queen, Tyke,’ I said. ‘Don’t keep too much hope on it.’
‘I hope you’d become queen… It’s cool if I were a king. Will you marry me? Then I’ll be King!’
The way my face flushed must have alarmed Mrs. Trolsky because she gasped, ‘Tyke!’
I laughed. ‘What about I will make you one of my champion warriors?’
‘Awesome!’ cried Tyke. And he went off to play swords.
Mrs. Trolsky, who was knitting on a chair, sighed. ‘His dreams are endless.’
‘It’s nice to dream,’ I said.
‘But he’s a troll,’ she said. ‘Not a human. I guess it comes from Tolly.’
‘Tolly?’
‘Sorry dear. Tollsome’s pet name... I call my husband as Tolly. Well, if he hadn’t dreamt, he would have never become a lawyer.’
I really could not imagine Mr. Trolsky dreaming.
‘You must be nervous,’ said Mrs. Trolsky.
‘Huh?’
‘About everything in Sightless,’ she said. ‘You seem very tired.’
‘Oh,’ I said. ‘It’s just scary…. You know. I hardly know about Invisibles… Mrs. Trolsky, can I ask you something?’
She nodded with a smile while knitting a scarf with red wool.
‘Did you know I was an Enchantress? You knew before I got to know… I know you all lived here for a long time before us.’
She shook her head. ‘No really…. Well, it explains why neither of us felt to chase you and your mother out when you settled in here. We fairies have a very mischievous nature, and rather territorial.’
‘Oh,’ I said silently. ‘I find that rather hard to believe.’