The Moonlight Boy | Ferry's Tale # 1

The Spear of Justice

For a moment, time stood still. No one expected the Queen's strike. Not even the Guards or the Wandering Fays.

"Filthy lizard," the Queen spat the words. "Look what you made me do!" she turned to Ferry. Her gaze was blurry, and her voice harsh.

Ferry could see clearly now. The Queen had tried to hurt him, and Izzy had taken the shot for him. But there was something else he understood ─ the Queen was strong; she was dangerous.

At the sight of Izzy lying on the ground, Rosemary burst out crying. She threw herself at Fae Queen's feet. "Please, Your Majesty, please, let me heal him. He needs help..."

After a moment of hesitation, the Queen nodded. One of the guards cut Rosemary's ties so she could go to Izzy.

"I'm going to need the Moonlight Boy's sack," she said. And after another guard gave it to her, she took out the flask that Ferry's completely forgotten about. She leaned on Izzy. The arrow of steam had touched half of his face, but he was still alive. Rosemary fomented his wound with the water in the flask. Izzy moaned and open one eye. The only one he had left.

Everyone breathed easily again, fay and people. Only the Queen was still, untouched by the pain she had caused. But Ferry had now another reason for being worried. He had lost the stone. Whether for his agitated moves or because of the unexpected Queen's attack, he'd lost it. He searched around with his eyes, but no trace of it. Now that the Moon was fading, his chances of finding the Moon's Tear were getting smaller.

"I'm tired of all these," the Queen's teeth gnashed. "Get the stone!" she ordered.

The Guards grabbed Ferry and shook him, despite his friends' protests. Baldie was even threatened with a sword by Doruh. The Guards carefully searched his pockets and clothes. Nothing.

"Where is it?" the Queen dashed at Ferry.

"I ─ I don't know..." he muttered.

The Queen screamed with fury. Her shout made everyone throb.

"It's one of your games. Don't you know there is no way out of here?" she guffawed. "The Moon will leave soon. You are doomed to stay here," she shouted and her voice hit the wall of the mist fortress and broke into thousands of echoes. "Doomed..."

Ferry and his friends shivered. Even Baldie, although trying to keep his temper, looked worried by the unusual turn of events. They looked to the Moon and they could see its light fading, making room for the thin fire stripes of the sun. Far away, the Fae People were still celebrating. Far away, there was light. But beyond the wall, it was still dark. And the darkness was growing.

The last beams of the Moon were caressing the faces turned towards the sky. One of them was brighter than the other.

"I won't let you hurt them," Ferry heard Lavender's firm, calm voice.

For a moment, Fae Queen forgot about Ferry and turned to Lavender, fuming. "You can't stop me," she laughed. "You've been a mortal for far too long to use your fairy powers again."

Yet, something interrupted her venomous speech. Something made everyone stop and watch that light. At first, Ferry thought the Moon was saying goodbye, sending them its last beam of light, the last he was going to see for a long, long time. But it wasn't just a beam. It was the moonlight falling over the lost stone. Somehow, somebody found it but didn't keep it. Instead, that somebody threw it under the soft moonlight. But who? And why?

Ferry didn't have the time to think about it. Inside that long, thin beam tying the sky and ground, something was shimmering somewhere above them, like a star. It was the head of a spear. At the sight of the spear, the Guards kneeled.