“We’ve been merchandised!” Lucy declared. “Gosh, it’s a real shame we do this stuff out of the goodness of our hearts. We’d make a fortune if we charged admission.”
A hush fell over Fort Longsworth in anticipation of the sixth and final member of the Fairy Council. Just when the citizens started to worry she wasn’t coming, a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl with bright blue eyes and light brown hair descended from the clouds in a large bubble. She wore a sparkling blue pantsuit with matching gloves and a train at the waist, and white flowers were placed in her long braid. The bubble landed gently on the Western Dam beside the other fairies, and the girl popped it with her crystal wand.
“Snow Queens beware—you’re no match for our next guest!” the presenter said. “She is compassion personified and considered a goddess among men—please give a warm Western Kingdom welcome to the one and only Faaaaairy Goooooodmother!”
The citizens cheered so loudly the Western Dam vibrated under the Fairy Council’s feet. People near the front of the dam started chanting and soon the entire city joined in.
“Fairy Godmother! Fairy Godmother! Fairy Godmother! Fairy Godmother!”
Brystal Evergreen was overwhelmed by the passionate greeting. She had never seen so many people in one place before, and every single person was clapping, jumping, or crying tears of joy for her. They held paintings of her face and posters with her name written on them. Little girls (and a couple of grown men) were dressed up as her and twirled fake wands in their hands.
The Western Kingdom’s admiration was an incredible honor, but for reasons Brystal couldn’t explain, all the excitement made her uncomfortable. It didn’t matter how enthusiastically the people cheered for her, Brystal felt undeserving of their recognition. And despite their vibrant welcome, she couldn’t fight the urge to leave. Nevertheless, Brystal had a job to do. So she forced herself to smile and gave the crowd a modest wave.
The other fairies seemed to enjoy the attention much more than Brystal did, especially Lucy.
“Boy, the crowd really loves that Fairy Godmother name,” Lucy said. “Aren’t you glad I gave you a title?”
“I told you I didn’t want one,” Brystal replied. “It makes me feel like an object.”
“Well, as my mother always said, if you’re going to be objectified, you might as well be objectified by family,” Lucy said, and patted Brystal on the back. “Just be glad Fairy Godmother is what stuck—we’ve all been called a lot worse.”
“Excuse me, Brystal?” Emerelda interjected. “It might be best if we make this a quick one. We’ve got a windmill to repair at three o’clock and a farm to defrost at five. Besides, people are starting to foam at the mouth down there.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Brystal said. “Let’s just do what we came here to do and be done with it. There’s no need to cause a bigger fuss than necessary.”
Without wasting another moment, Brystal stepped to the edge of the Western Dam and waved her wand at the damage below her. The giant crack was magically filled with a golden seal, and after more than a week of constant mist, the spewing water finally stopped. To help matters even more, Brystal flicked her wand again and this time sent a powerful breeze through the city that dried all the streets, shops, and homes. The breeze knocked a couple of people to the ground and blew hats off people’s heads, but they returned to their feet with completely dry clothes.
It all happened so quickly it took the citizens a minute to realize their problems were solved. Their roar of appreciation was so powerful it was a miracle the Western Dam didn’t crack again.
“Good, everyone is satisfied,” Brystal said. “Now let’s get going so—”
“Astounding!” the presenter bellowed. “With just a flick of her wrist, the Fairy Godmother has restored the Western Dam and saved Fort Longsworth from a decade of rain! And now the Fairy Council will join King Warworth onstage so he can present them with a token of our kingdom’s gratitude!”
“Say what?” Emerelda said.
The fairies looked down and saw King Warworth was standing on the stage with a large golden trophy. Tangerina and Skylene squealed with delight.
“They want to give us an award!” Skylene said. “I love awards!”
“Can we stay and accept it?” Tangerina asked the others. “Pretty please?”
“Absolutely not,” Emerelda said. “If King Warworth wanted to give us an award, he should have cleared it with me first. We can’t let people take advantage of our time.”
“Oh, lighten up, Em,” Tangerina said. “We’ve worked our butts off trying to gain the world’s approval—and now we finally have it! If we don’t give people a chance to admire us every now and then, we might lose their admiration!”
“I think Tangerina has a point,” Xanthous said. “King Warworth may have broken the rules but his people don’t know that. If they don’t get the ceremony they’re expecting, they’ll probably blame us. And we shouldn’t give them a reason to start hating us again.”
Emerelda groaned and rolled her eyes. She pushed up the sleeve of her robe and checked the emerald sundial around her wrist.
“Fine,” Emerelda said. “We’ll give them another twenty minutes—but that’s it.”
The fairy snapped her fingers, and a long emerald slide magically appeared. It stretched from the top of the dam to the stage below. Emerelda, Xanthous, Tangerina, and Skylene slid down the slide and joined King Warworth on the stage, but Brystal paused before she followed them. She noticed Lucy hadn’t said a word since the dam had been repaired, and instead, she was standing very still, watching the crowd in deep contemplation.
“Lucy, are you coming?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be right there,” Lucy said. “I’m just thinking.”
“Uh-oh,” Brystal said. “It must be serious if you’re missing the chance to be on a stage.”
“Are we doing enough?”
Brystal was confused by the abrupt question. “Huh?”
“We fix dams, we build bridges, we help people—but is it enough?” Lucy elaborated. “All these people traveled here to see something spectacular, and what did we give them? Some sealant and a little wind.”
“Right,” Brystal said. “We gave them exactly what they needed.”
“Yes, but not what they wanted,” Lucy said. “If performing in the Goose Troupe taught me anything, it’s the psychology of an audience. If these people go home disappointed, even slightly, they’re going to be angry with us. And just like Xanthous said, we shouldn’t give them any reason to hate us. If people start resenting the Fairy Council, then soon they’ll start resenting all fairies and boom! The magical community is back to where it started. I think it’d be smart to stick around and give these folks a show.”
Brystal gazed at the city as she thought about what Lucy had said. It was obvious the people were hungry for more magic—they’d been fixated on the Fairy Council since they arrived—but Brystal didn’t want to indulge them. She and the others had worked so hard to get to this point. The idea of working harder just to maintain their position was an exhausting thought. And Brystal didn’t want to think about anything—she just wanted to leave and get away from the crowd.