The Land of Stories: Rewriting the narrative

Chapter 13: A Friend In Me

In all the chaos surrounding her mother, Aurelia had completely forgotten about her missing friends, and she hated herself for it. She'd also forgotten that she told Coral about them, but she hated herself slightly less about that. She had followed Coral out of Rosette's room without hesitation, if only to make up for all the attention she hadn't paid Trix and Noodle recently.
"What happened to them? Are they back? Are they okay? Coral, please tell me! I've had enough suspense for at least a week already!"
"How about I let them tell you?" Coral said with a wink, and pushed back the curtain that separated the main corridor from her room.

It was very, very pink. Aggressively pink, really. The wallpaper was a soft pale pink decorated with creamy pink roses, and the floor was rosewood, so dark it was almost red. The chair in the corner was dusky rose, the carpet under it was magenta and the cushion on it was the same vivid hot pink as the frame that held the certificate acknowledging Coral's acceptance into the Fairy Council. A flamingo pink blanket lay on the ballet-slipper bed, and a bubblegum-coloured music box sat on the low Turkish rose table, along with a fuchsia lamp that emitted a soft pink glow. The wardrobe was actually coral, as were the decorative coral stalks and curtains. Even Fisher's bed was salmon pink. It hurt Aurelia's eyes, but she forced herself to look. Because among all the pink were two splashes of turquoise and orange: Trix and Noodle.

"What happened?" She blurted out. "I was so worried!"
"Well." Noodle began, sitting on the pink-and-white bed. "That magic practitioner clearly hadn't practicioned in a while, because she sent us all the way to the Eastern Kingdom! I know! Took us ages to get back!"
"I-I... are you OK?" Aurelia asked tentatively.
"We're fine, just tired." Trix smiled. "What did we miss while we were away?"
Coral and Aurelia shared a look.
"My mum had a... little accident." Aurelia confessed.
"What, you mean like she wet herself?" Noodle asked, giggling at the thought of the dignified Alex Bailey peeing her pants.
"No, she, um, hit her head. But, uh, she's alright now."
Keeping truths from friends. Don't you value the truth?
No, so shut up.
You do. You value the truth. You need to know the truth.
No, I don't! A little white lie never hurt anybody.
Ah, that's what they all say.
Go away!

Aurelia was relieved that her friends were alright, but there was a niggling feeling in the back of her mind. Why had the magic practitioner sent Trix and Noodle somewhere else? Why not transport all three together? Her first thought was that maybe humans and fairies had to travel separately, but she was part fairy! But maybe the old woman didn't know that. The absence of glittery wings did seem to mark her out as 'normal'. She puzzled over this all through lunch, causing several prods from Coral and Violetta, seated either side of her.

It wasn't until later that Aurelia realised the voices hadn't gone away after the healing spell. But what did that mean? She opened the book again and read the passage. Then read it again. Oh great. Magic voices. That's just what I need. She lay spreadeagled on her bed. Something was wrong here... the old woman... the voices... it was like an itch that moved when you tried to scratch it. The answer was somewhere, but just unobtainable.

Aurelia had a restless night. She counted unicorns, she named fruits beginning with every letter of the alphabet, but she just couldn't sleep. Eventually, though, she must have drifted off, because she woke up to shouts from outside.

☆

"Do you know who did it?" Alex asked, staring at the pillar. None of the Council members responded. "Do you know who did it?!" She demanded.
"No, we don't. We tried a tracing spell but it came up blank." Tangerina said, the bees around her head buzzing anxiously.
"Impossible." Alex breathed.
"That's what we thought too." Xanthous said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Alex, we're dealing with powerful magic here. We need to be careful."
Alex shrugged his hand off. "What we need is to work harder. The person who did this is guilty of vandalism, treason, and unlawful use of magic. Whoever they are, they're no match for the Fairy Council, surely?"
"Alex-" Violetta began.
"No. We restored peace after the Literary War, and everyone thought that was impossible! This criminal is outright offending us, and I for one am not going to rest until I find them!" She jabbed her wand skywards and disappeared. The Council members exchanged glances as a faint wisp of white smoke rose from where Alex had been.
"She's been practicing her signature disappearance for ages now." Coral commented. "I preferred the doves."

☆

"This is bad. This is bad this is bad thisisbadthisisbadthisisbad."
"Merkle! We get it." Trix snapped.
"Ohh, this is so so bad." Merkle whimpered.
"Yeah, we know, now be quiet!" Noodle reprimanded her.
"Oh, so so bad. So very bad."
"MERKLE, SHUT UP!" Trix and Noodle chorused.
"Sorry. It's just..."
"Bad?" Noodle rolled her eyes.
The three fairies surveyed the scene before them. The pristine marble pillars of the Fairy Palace were marred with dark red words: OTHERWORLDER, LIAR, DISLOYAL, FAKER. A crude picture of Alex with devil horns and fangs was tacked up to the ornate golden gates, and papers littered the ground.

Do you really want an outsider as a Fairy Godmother? One read. Alex Bailey, if that's even her real name, wasn't born here like the rest of us. She spent the first decade of her life in a world devoid of magic! Can you really expect someone like that to lead you? Other leaflets proclaimed:
FAKE FAIRY! Why Alex Bailey can't be trusted. Or: The truth about the Fairy Godmother: Alex Bailey's evil deeds and the Council's secret fears. There was even what looked like a genuine newspaper article that said:
Alex Bailey's Lies and Secrets: Everything The Council Doesn't Want You Knowing About The Fairy Godmother.

"I hate to say it." Trix sighed. "But Merkle is right. This is bad.