The Realms of Faerie. Linda Massola

a claw over the statues. They began to shimmer at his words and then they simply disappeared.

      Ella in the body of Putrida gave a sigh of relief. ‘Now we can relax!’ she told Drabon. ‘You’ll see, within a few days the Hatchlings will begin to act as they should! Now you can return to your cave and nap in peace; you will need your energy for the hunt later tonight!’

      Leaving Drabon in his cave, she quickly ran towards the outside entrance, morphing from Putrida’s shape to that of Drabon. When she got to the entrance, she saw Putrida still sitting there. Having finished picking her nose, she was now pulling lice out of her straggly hair and popping them into her mouth. Ella inwardly shuddered in revulsion.

      ‘I’ve figured it out, Putrida, I’ve figured it out!’

      ‘Figured what out?’ Putrida asked in boredom.

      ‘Why the Hatchlings are acting the way they are!’ Putrida sat up suddenly, discarding the last lice she had picked from her hair. ‘You have?’

      ‘It’s those statues. Mab has still been able to work magic even though she is a statue of crystal. She has enchanted the Hatchlings, I am sure of it!’

      ‘You are sure?’

      ‘Yes. There is no one else left with that kind of magic in the Kingdom of Fairy!’

      ‘What can we do?’ Putrida asked.

      ‘Do? I’ve already done it! I put a spell on the statues and removed them to the banks of the

      River of Forgetfulness. They are out of harm’s way and will no longer be able to influence the Hatchlings. They should be back to their normal selves before long!’

      ‘Great,’ Putrida said, settling down again to her meal of lice. Once out of sight of Putrida, Ella morphed from Drabon’s body back into a flea. She flew out of the entrance, quickly nipping Putrida on the way out. When she arrived back in the forest of Gloomia, she morphed into her shape as Ella and faced the others with a smile on her face.

      Chapter 8

      The stone statues of Mab and Oberon sat quietly on the banks of the River of Forgetfulness.

      ‘Don’t go too near the edge!’ Dominique warned everyone. Although she had no memory of her time as a flower on the banks of the river, she had no desire to expose herself to that possibility again. ‘What do we do now?’ Ella wanted to know.

      ‘We have to find a way to reverse the spell,’ sighed Tatiana.

      ‘It will be a mammoth task getting Drabon to reverse the spell,’ said Janus.

      ‘Don’t forget what The Fairy Chronicles says,’ Dominique reminded him. ‘You need to focus on a positive outcome – not the worst thing that could happen!’

      ‘You are so right my dear, you think just like a fairy!’ Tatiana smiled at her. ‘There is trouble brewing at the foot of the caves,’ one of the Ciduries informed them. ‘The gnomes are congregating. I fear that they are planning an attack on Drabon and the goblins.’

      ‘No, this must not happen!’ Tatiana sprung into action. ‘They will be decimated. There will be no winners. The Fairy Chronicles states that we are to find peace, not war. We need to do something – quickly!’ She motioned for the fairy children to form a circle and hold hands.

      ‘We must send out a humming which can reverberate through the forest to the foot of the caves.’

      As the humming began, she told them softly, ‘we have to send thought waves to the gnomes. Why do they need the gold? Why do they need to die fighting for gold? Now send your thoughts to the goblins. Tell them that the gold is not worth dying for and that Drabon and Putrida are using them!’ The humming began softly then it intensified. On their way up the mountain, the gnomes stopped in their tracks.

      ‘What’s that noise?’ Zebulon wanted to know. Then the humming became unbearable, causing the gnomes to lay down their weapons and hold their hands over their ears. As they did so, voices began in their ears.

       Why do you want the gold?

      ‘We need it!’ shouted Zebulon.

       Gold won’t bring back your dead children. You have so much, why do you want the gold?’

      ‘We need to avenge our children’s deaths,’ the gnomes shouted above the humming and voices in their ears.

       Gold won’t bring them back. Neither will killing the goblins. You have all you will ever need. Go home to your families!

      The gnomes looked at each other. Then they turned towards Zebulon their leader for direction.

      You can create peace, Zebulon. You are a great leader. Go home to your wife and child! Zebulon let his hands fall from his ears.

      ‘Go home. Go home and rebuild your lives,’ he told his people. ‘We don’t need gold; we have everything we need!’

      As the gnomes turned and walked away from the caves, Drabon and Putrida were also fighting the humming noise in their heads.

       Go back. Leave the gnomes. Begin a new era of peace!

      ‘No!’ screeched Putrida.

      ‘No!’ Drabon echoed in anger, calling to Losing-it and Lost-it who seemed to be hesitating.

       Drabon is using you. You don’t need him. You are the keepers of the gold. The gnomes don’t want it!

      By this time, the humming was becoming unbearable for Losing-it and Lost-it too. Drabon and Putrida’s screeching didn’t help. The only ones who didn’t seem to be affected were the Hatchlings who were surveying the others, oddly.

      You don’t need Drabon and Putrida! The voices were insisting. Think for yourselves! Then Losing-it and Lost-it did a very strange thing. They sent out a whistling vibration which summoned all the remaining A to Z goblins alerting them that somehow Drabon and Putrida were the cause of the painful humming in their ears. Slowly the goblins began to advance and surround them.

      ‘Quick - to the sky!’ Drabon screeched to Putrida. Frantically flapping their wings, they headed out of the caves and soared into the night sky towards the forest of Gloomia. As they did so, they passed Zebulon and the gnomes retreating to the Village of Toadstools. The humming noise faded as Losing-it and Lost-it, together with the goblins watched Drabon and Putrida in flight. The Hatchlings quickly surrounded them, looking deep into the eyes of Losing-it and Lost-it. The anger and fear disappeared from their eyes and they stood in dazed confusion not understanding what had happened to them.

      ‘They have been altered; their minds have been altered!’ the Hatchlings said among themselves. When Lori and the other wives saw their husbands coming down the mountain, they could hardly believe their eyes.

      ‘We don’t need gold; we have everything we need!’ Zebulon said.