She’d abandon you for a sliver of glory.
Brystal tried to ignore the thoughts, but the harder she tried, the louder they seemed. She covered her ears to block them out, but she heard them just as clearly as before. Lucy raised an eyebrow at Brystal and took the gesture personally.
“Are you seriously covering your ears?” she asked.
“Lucy, please, I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Brystal said.
“Why is it so difficult for you to listen to me?”
“There’s just a lot on my mind and I—”
“This is about the Western Dam, isn’t it? What will it take to get you to trust me again?”
“No, it has nothing to do with—”
“Then what’s your problem? Why are you acting like this?”
Brystal sighed and sank into the chair behind her desk. Part of her wanted to tell someone about the distressing thoughts, but she was still so confused she didn’t know what to say. Besides, it wasn’t a great moment to have a heart-to-heart with Lucy.
She wouldn’t understand.…
No one would.…
Everyone will think you’re crazy.…
They’ll find a way to use it against you.…
They’ve been waiting for a reason to get rid of you.
Brystal didn’t want to think such horrible things, but she had no control over what the thoughts said. Lucy crossed her arms and studied Brystal like she was a human riddle.
“Something is troubling you,” she said. “I can sense it—trouble is my specialty.”
“I told you, I don’t want to talk about it,” Brystal said.
“Why not? I tell you everything about me!”
“Please, stop—”
“No, I won’t stop! I’m not leaving this office until you tell me what’s going on!”
“Fine! Then I’ll leave!”
Brystal jumped to her feet and marched to the door, desperate for some alone time. But just as she was about to exit her office, the double doors swung open. Tangerina and Skylene skipped inside carrying the PRAISE and REQUESTS bins. Both bins were overflowing with envelopes.
“We’ve got more fan mail!” Tangerina announced.
“You won’t believe how much we got this week!” Skylene said.
The girls were followed by the massive knight with antlers who guarded the border. The knight was dragging two enormous bags that were bulging with even more envelopes.
“What’s Horence doing with the mail?” Brystal asked.
“The border’s been pretty safe since the world fell in love with magic,” Tangerina said. “We needed someone to manage the mail, so we gave him a new job.”
“Brystal, where do you want us to put your letters?” Skylene asked.
“Some of those are for me?” Brystal asked.
Tangerina and Skylene looked at her like she was kidding.
“They’re all for you,” Tangerina said.
Brystal couldn’t believe how many people had taken the time to write her. There were hundreds—maybe thousands—of letters and every one of them was addressed to The Fairy Godmother.
None of those people actually care about you.…
They only want something from you.…
They’ll always want more and more.…
They’ll never be content.
Brystal stood as still and stoic as possible so the others wouldn’t notice how much the thoughts were affecting her mood.
“Just put them by the tea table,” she said. “I’ll look through them later.”
“We’d be happy to sort through your mail if you like!” Tangerina said.
“Sometimes people send gifts!” Skylene said.
Lucy crossed her arms and scowled at the girls.
“Do you guys mind?” she asked. “Brystal and I were in the middle of something before you interrupted.”
“Actually, I was just leaving,” Brystal said. “Feel free to sort through the mail and keep whatever gifts you find.”
Tangerina and Skylene sat on the glass sofa and excitedly went through the mail. But once again, before Brystal reached the doors, they were pushed open by another guest. Emerelda charged into the office at a determined pace, making notes on an emerald clipboard.
“Brystal, do you have a minute?” Emerelda asked. “I’ve been going over our schedule for next week and I have a couple questions for you. I’m trying to iron out all the details so there aren’t any surprises. I won’t let another entitled royal take advantage of us again. Hoodwink us once, shame on them; hoodwink us twice, shame on me.”
“Honestly, Em, right now isn’t a good time,” Brystal said.
“Don’t worry, this won’t take long,” Emerelda said, and checked her clipboard. “Queen Endustria would like to name a ship after you while we’re in the Eastern Kingdom next week. I told her it depends on what type of ship it is—I don’t want anyone using the Fairy Godmother to harpoon whales.”
“Good foresight,” Brystal said, inching closer and closer to the door. “I agree—it depends on the type of ship.”
“Next, King White wants to name a holiday after you,” Emerelda said. “They want to commemorate the day you sent the Snow Queen into seclusion. I don’t see a problem with it as long as we get to choose the name of the holiday. We should also find out what kind of festivities will take place on this day. We don’t want people playing pin the wand on the fairy to celebrate you.”
“Sounds good,” Brystal said. “Is that all?”
“Not quite,” Emerelda said. “King Champion XIV would like to place a statue of you in the Chariot Hills town square. If you’re comfortable with that, I suggest we ask for approval over the sculptor. The last thing we want is something abstract that traumatizes small children.”
“Tell the king I’ll get back to him on that,” Brystal said, and reached for the door. “Now if you’ll please excuse me, I’m going to get some fresh air.”
“Brystal!” Lucy said. “Are you seriously going to leave before we finish talking?”
“Brystal!” Tangerina said. “Someone from the Northern Kingdom sent you the most beautiful bracelet! It looks gorgeous on me!”
“Brystal!” Skylene said. “Someone from the Southern Kingdom sent you a dead caterpillar! Oh wait, the letter says it was supposed to be a butterfly by the time you opened it. Well, that’s a shame.”
As Brystal opened the door, a bubbly old woman entered the office. She had violet hair and a purple apron and was very glad to see Brystal—but Brystal groaned at another visitor.
“Oh good, you’re here!” the old woman said. “You’re a difficult person to track down. Either you’re incredibly busy or incredibly good at avoiding me! HA-HA!”
“Hi, Mrs. Vee,” Brystal said. “What can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if you made a decision about the request I sent you?” Mrs. Vee asked.
“Um… I’m sure I did,” Brystal said. “Remind me what your request was again?”
“I want to knock down a wall and expand my kitchen,” Mrs. Vee said. “We have a lot more mouths to feed than we used to. One picture may paint a thousand words, but one oven does not cook for thousands of people! HA-HA!”