“We’re philanthropists, Lucy, not performers,” she said. “If people expect a show from us, we’ll always have to give them a show, and where will it end? It’ll be easier to please people and manage their expectations if we keep things simple. Now let’s accept the king’s award, shake a few hands, and keep it moving.”
Brystal slid to the stage before Lucy had the chance to argue, but they both knew their conversation was far from over.
“On behalf of the Western Kingdom, I would like to thank the Fairy Godmother for her grand acts of generosity,” King Warworth told his citizens. “As a token of our eternal gratitude and undying appreciation, I present her with the most prestigious prize in our kingdom, the Dam Cup.”
Before King Warworth could hand the trophy to Brystal, Skylene snatched the award from him and cradled it like a baby. Tangerina nudged Brystal forward, forcing her into an impromptu acceptance speech.
“Um… well, first I’d like to say thank you,” Brystal said, and reminded herself to smile. “It’s always a privilege to visit the Western Kingdom. The Fairy Council and I were very honored that you trusted us with such an important piece of your country. I hope from now on, whenever people look up at the Western Dam, they’ll be reminded of all the potential magic has to offer.…”
As Brystal continued her speech, Lucy studied the citizens in the crowd. They were hanging on every word Brystal said, but Lucy worried it was only a matter of time before they lost interest—they didn’t want to hear about magic, they wanted to see magic! If Brystal wasn’t going to give them the spectacle they desired, then Lucy was. And she was confident her specialty for trouble would do the trick.
When she was certain all the eyes were on Brystal, Lucy snuck off the stage and tiptoed to the base of the Western Dam. She rubbed her hands together, placed both of her palms against the stone landmark, and summoned a little magic.
“This should spice things up,” she said to herself.
Suddenly, the Western Dam started to crack like an eggshell. Chunk by chunk, the dam began to crumble, and water from the Great Western Lake sprayed through the structure. Lucy had figured something strange would happen—it always did when she used her magic—but she hadn’t expected the whole dam to fall apart! She screamed and ran back to her friends as fast as she could.
“… if we leave you with anything, let it be a newfound appreciation, not just for the Fairy Council, but for magic as a whole,” Brystal said as she concluded her speech. “And in the future, I hope mankind and the magical community will be so close it’ll be hard to imagine a time when there was any conflict between us. Because at the end of the day, we all want the same—”
“Brystal!” Lucy shouted.
“Not now, Lucy, I’m finishing my speech,” Brystal said without looking.
“Dam!”
“Lucy, watch your mouth! There are children—”
“NO! LOOK AT THE DAM! BEHIND YOU!”
The Fairy Council turned around just as the entire Western Dam collapsed. The Great Western Lake surged toward Fort Longsworth like a thousand-foot-tall tidal wave.
“Lucy!” Brystal gasped. “What did you—”
“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!” King Warworth screamed.
Fort Longsworth was consumed with panic. The citizens pushed and shoved one another as they tried to flee, but the city was so crowded there was nowhere to go. When the tidal wave was just a few feet from colliding with its first victims, Brystal leaped into action. A wind with the power of a hundred hurricanes erupted from the tip of her wand and blocked the wave like an invisible shield. It took all of Brystal’s strength to hold her wand steady, and she was able to stop the majority of the water, but there was too much to stop on her own.
“Xanthous! Emerelda!” Brystal called over her shoulder. “You two stop the water coming around the sides of my shield! Skylene, make sure the water doesn’t spill over the top! Tangerina, help the people get to safety!”
“What about me?” Lucy asked. “What can I do?”
Brystal shot her a scathing look. “Nothing,” she said. “You’ve done enough!”
As Lucy watched helplessly, the rest of the Fairy Council followed Brystal’s commands. Xanthous ran to Brystal’s left side and blasted the oncoming water with fire, causing it to steam and disappear. Emerelda created an emerald wall to block the water on Brystal’s right side, but the wave was so powerful it knocked the wall down, forcing Emerelda to rebuild it over and over again. Skylene waved her hand in a large circle, and the water spilling over the top of Brystal’s shield looped through the air and poured back into the Great Western Lake. While her friends blocked the water, Tangerina sent her bumblebees into the frantic crowd, and the swarm scooped up children and elderly people before they were trampled.
Although the Fairy Council put up a quick and effective barrier, Lucy knew her friends couldn’t block the wave forever. She disregarded Brystal’s instructions and came up with a plan to help them. Lucy whistled for her geese, and the flock swooped down and plucked her off the ground.
“Take me to the hill next to the lake!” she said. “And make it quick!”
The geese carried Lucy to the hill as fast as they could. They dropped her off on the hillside, and, once again, Lucy landed on her behind with a thump—but she didn’t have time to scold the birds. From the hill, Lucy had a perfect view of the Fairy Council as they fought off the monstrous wave. She could tell her friends were getting tired, because the water was pushing them closer and closer to the city.
“I really hope this works,” Lucy prayed.
She summoned all the magic in her body and hit the ground with a clenched fist. Suddenly, hundreds and hundreds of grand pianos appeared out of thin air and tumbled down the hillside. It caused a thunderous—not to mention musical—commotion. All the panicked citizens froze and watched the bizarre landslide in awe. The pianos crashed onto the ground and piled up between the Fairy Council and the enormous wave. The instruments kept coming and coming, and soon the pile grew over the fairies’ heads. Within moments, a completely new dam was created, and Fort Longsworth was saved by a barrier of broken pianos.
It had been the most stressful and chaotic five minutes in the Western Kingdom’s history—but the citizens had also just witnessed the most spectacular sight of their lives. They clapped and cheered so loudly the ovation was felt in neighboring kingdoms.
Lucy hurried down the hill to check on her friends. The fairies were so furious none of them could look her in the eye.
“Well, that was a doozy,” Lucy said with a nervous laugh. “Are you guys all right?”
“You walking nightmare!” Skylene shouted.
“What the heck were you thinking?” Tangerina asked.
“You could have killed us all!” Emerelda yelled.
“And obliterated an entire city!” Xanthous cried.
Lucy shrugged innocently. “Hey, at least I gave a dam.” She laughed. “Get it, guys? Get it?”
Brystal let out a long, aggravated sigh to make her anger perfectly clear. Lucy was used to infuriating the others, but she couldn’t remember the last time she had disappointed Brystal. She sheepishly lowered her head and kept her hands in her pockets for the remainder of their visit.