The next morning, the redheaded girl burst into the room. “Lily, I don’t know why or what happened, but there’s a fairy at the door who looks important and is asking for you.” She ran off without another word. Lily was up in a flash, muttering “Oh no, oh no, I overslept” to herself as she scrambled to get dressed and run a comb through her hair. At last, she was ready. Lily raced down the hall and out the door. The Fairy Palace looked huge from a distance, but up close it was so tall Lily felt like a tiny bug. A servant took her inside, through the lavishly decorated rooms and hallways, until they came to… a dining room? Lily tapped the servant on her shoulder. “Excuse me, but aren’t I supposed to find Princess Eden and stay with her all day? I mean, I think that’s what she said.” “The princess is currently having breakfast.” “Oh.” Lily poked her head through the arched doorway and saw the princess, who dabbed at her mouth with a napkin and raised a hand in greeting. “So I just… go in?” Eden waved her over. “Come in! Sasha, thank you for bringing her.” The servant nodded and left. The royal breakfast was fairly simple, much less of a feast than Lily would have expected. It was delicious though–yogurt with berries in it, muffins, and orange juice in the fanciest glass she’d ever seen. “Your Highness?” a different servant came through the door. “Your presence is requested at the Color Gathering.” Eden nodded and started to leave, then glanced at Lily. “Oh, I’ll stay out of the way,” Lily offered, but was secretly hoping she could attend. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! “Of course you’ll come,” Eden said matter-of-factly. “The purpose of your visit is to see what I do as a Royal Fairy. How can that happen if you don’t come to meetings?” Lily nodded and followed the princess down the hall. She couldn’t help but feel intimidated as she walked behind Princess Eden into the room apparently used for Color Gatherings. One part of her excitedly thought, That’s the queen! And Lady Evergreen! And all the other important people! But most of her was terrified, thinking, Don’t trip don’t trip but still look up but be respectful and I’m probably supposed to curtsy and oh wait I’m supposed to sit down? A Desert Fairy servant was offering her a chair, patiently waiting for Lily to use it. Chagrined, Lily took a seat, and the servant nodded and left. Taking a moment to look around, she noticed a Rock Fairy a bit older than her standing near Lady Turquoise of the Rock Fairies, if she remembered correctly. A daughter? Or maybe a servant? They looked nothing alike, between Lady Turqoise’s straight, dark hair and They sat in silence for a moment until a white-winged man strode through the door and to one of the two unused thrones. Lily didn’t know his name, but he was obviously the Lord of the Sky Fairies. “First, thank you all for coming on such short notice,” Queen Ava said, clearly concerned about something. Perhaps the fact that Lily, a commoner, would be listening to every word that would be said? Also, why were they starting when there was still an empty spot? “I’m sure you’ve all heard about the Light Fairies disappearing three nights ago,” the queen continued. Lily could have smacked herself in the face if she wasn’t trying so hard to act the right way. Duh! “We should send out a search team immediately!” someone said, followed by someone else saying “But what if it was voluntary? The Light Fairies weren’t exactly in a good spot before this. Lady Serena may have led them into hiding for their own safety.” “She wouldn’t do that,” Lady Andrea of the Flower Fairies said. “Not with… the current issues happening,” she added vaguely with a glance at Lily. Lily almost offered again to leave, but stopped herself. Better to act invisible. “If it wasn’t voluntary, could they have been abducted?” the Lady of the Desert Fairies suggested. “If you’re accusing one of us–” someone started. Queen Ava stopped him. “No one is being accused. It is definitely possible that someone could have abducted them all, but again, we’re all united with the ‘current issues.’ We all know how important the Light Fairies are to this. It could have been other fairies within the colors, or perhaps they disappeared for a different reason.” The Lord of the Water Fairies folded his arms. “Yes, I’m sure a strong wind blew every single one of them out to sea, leaving the other colors behind. Of course they were abducted! The question is, how are we going to find them?” “Search teams are probably the best idea.” Eden spoke for the first time. “Send groups in every direction, having them question fairies they come across.” She looked to her mother for approval. “What if they disappear, too?” someone asked.
“If one color has gone missing, they could, too,” Queen Ava acknowledged. “But that could happen with anyone. If we try to make a risk-free plan, we won’t get anywhere. I agree with Princess Eden. But who should we send?” “Of course we’ll need a Portal Fairy,” Crown Princess Selena stated. “And a Sky Fairy to speed things along weather-wise. A Rock Fairy would also be beneficial, to use the earth to sense who’s near.” The nobility of the respective colors agreed. “You could also include a Nature Fairy,” Lady Evergreen offered. “The animals may have seen something useful.” “I’ll do it.” Everyone’s attention suddenly shifted to Lily. The teenaged Rock Fairy shook her head almost imperceptibly. Why doesn’t she want me to talk? “And who is this?” One of the lords asked. “This is Lily. She’s my guest for today,” Princess Eden answered, calm and controlled. “It seems I made a mistake by assuming she would know that only the nobility should speak during a Color Gathering,” she added with a pointed glance at Lily. Oh. That was why the Rock Fairy had signaled for her to stay quiet. But Lily continued. ”You need a Nature Fairy. I’m one. I know some places where the Light Fairies could’ve gone.” Queen Ava frowned. “You? You’re what, thirteen?” “Next moon. But I really want to help. Please? I promise I won’t slow anyone down.” “And how do you expect to keep this promise?” The queen didn’t sound skeptical at all. Instead, it sounded like she was genuinely considering it, but wanted more information first. But maybe Lily was just imagining it. “Uhh…” Lily was about to say that she would do as well as anyone else when she caught the Rock Fairy’s eye. She was shaking her head again, slower and more noticeably. Then she whispered something to Lady Turquoise, who nodded. “My daughter would like to make a point, and as she /is/ aware of the protocol, she has asked me to say it on her behalf.” Turquoise looked at Lily. “This girl is merely a child, with no experience in matters such as these. Her going on this quest would endanger not only herself, but the whole team, as someone more qualified would have to come along as well to make up for where she lacks, in which case resources would be wasted on her.” “Her reasoning is valid,” the queen told Lily. “As much as you want to help, I’m afraid it would be better if you didn’t. Lady Evergreen will choose someone who is older and has more experience.” Lily blinked. The subject closed, the nobility began discussing what might be the most efficient strategy to find them as fast as possible. Lily wasn’t listening. She was too busy having an angry staring contest conversation with the younger Rock Fairy – Lady Turquoise’s daughter. /Why did you do that?/ Lily said with her eyes. /You should have known better than to speak in a Color Gathering/, came the response – or at least that’s what Lily thought she saw. She wasn’t the best at reading facial expressions. /If not for you, the queen might have given me a chance!/ /It was for your own good!/ Lily saw in the Rock Fairy’s face. Either that, or she was saying something like /You will do whatever I tell you, no matter what/, which seemed less likely. Lily turned away sharply, making it clear the face conversation was over. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Rock Fairy smile in… relief? When the Color Gathering was over, and everyone had finally decided what to do, Lily noticed her nod expectantly and leave the room. Where is she going? Why? What does she want from me? “Princess,” Lily whispered, “I know you said to stay with you, but may I go talk to Lady Turquoise’s daughter in the hall for a minute?” Once she had received permission, she walked out. The Rock Fairy was waiting. Before Lily could get a word out, the stranger grabbed her wrist and dragged her down the hall and into an empty room. “There are better ways to help with something like this than drawing attention, breaking a rule, and generally acting stupid,” the Rock Fairy said without preamble. “I… um… I wasn’t… what?” “I have information that can help you, but not if you insist on sabotaging yourself.” “Who are you exactly?” “Amethyst, daughter of Lady Turquoise.” Lily’s next question: “If you have important information, why didn’t you say so earlier? You didn’t have a problem with tossing me out of the tree like that.” Amethyst poked her head out the door to make sure they were alone. “The royal search teams won’t get anywhere.” “I’m listening.” “No matter how good their plan is, it won’t work if someone high up wants them to fail.” Amethyst paused, as if waiting for Lily to figure out what she was implying. Lily’s eyes widened. “You mean someone in the nobility is behind this? Who?” Amethyst peeked around the corner again. “I really shouldn’t tell you. You’ll get in trouble, I’ll get in trouble, and who knows what else could happen.” https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/930427791/
