Page 14 of Enchanted By a Pirate
"Anna?" The fairy tilted her head skeptically and looked at her. Her long blonde strands fell over her shoulders. Aside from her tiny size and the wings, she looked so…normal.
Anton took a restless step, causing the forest to tremble. "She's forgotten everything," he cried out, peering down at them through the oak trees. Anna was surprised he could even see the fairy at all, given her size. She herself was quite small compared to Anton, as the fairy was to her. How tiny this delicate creature must have seemed to him!
Astonished, the fairy glanced back and forth between the giant and Anna. "You what…?"
Anna broke out in a sweat. She needed some semblance of normalcy to hold on to. "Can you tell me where my parents are? Toni promised they would explain everything to me."
"Your parents? But…" She looked up at Anton again. "She's forgotten everything?"
Anton nodded, and the sad expression returned to his face. But then he clenched his gigantic hand. "Tell her. I'm sure she'll remember and save us all."
"Save us all?" boomed an imperious voice from one of the oak trees. "After the stupid thing brought about our downfall?"
Torn between irritation and bewilderment at what she hoped was an unjustifiably angry outburst, Anna peered over at the old tree. Another fairy had emerged from its knothole. She stopped in the air in front of Anna and flapped her wings slowly so that she could examine Anna leisurely. She had puffed out her chest, folded her little arms across it, and was peering at Anna disparagingly. Her long black hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail and her dress of purple petals wasn't quite as sophisticated as the other fairy's, but it still looked pretty. The fairy had a stately, domineering appearance. Was she perhaps the queen?
"Who are you?" Anna tried to keep her tone calm, betraying neither her outrage at the cruel accusation nor the trembling in her voice. The fairy, however, mercilessly stared her down with her blue eyes. A vein pulsed furiously on her forehead, giving her a frightening air despite her tiny size. Could fairies also conjure up evil? Anna involuntarily took a step back.
The other fairy quickly flew between them. Was she also afraid that the angry woman would harm Anna with a spell? She raised her hands placatingly. "She's forgotten everything."
The dark-haired fairy's angry gaze remained unchanged. "So I heard — but that doesn't undo the injustice!"
"Take her with you," Anton said, "and explain it to her. Perhaps… "
"Never!" the fairy angrily interrupted.
What kind of request was that anyway? How was Anna supposed to fit into that knothole? And as if she would accompany the crazed fairy. She preferred to stay with the giant. Before she could comment, the fairy added coldly, "Anemone is no longer welcome here!"
The words hit Anna like a slap in the face. Even though she didn't know what was going on, the statement disturbed her, as if someone had pulled the rug out from under her.
"Don't be too long, Margerite." While the angry fairy decisively turned her back and disappeared into the knothole as quick as an arrow, the blonde one stayed behind. Anna breathed deeply until she was certain the angry one wasn't coming back and her pulse went back to its normal pace. Maybe she would learn something helpful from the nicer fairy.
"You're Margerite?"
The fairy nodded and looked at her with pity.
"Please, could you tell her everything?" Anton urged.
Margerite put her hands together and kneaded them. "I'm also extremely skeptical about your return, but…well…everyone makes mistakes sometimes — even if yours threw everything out of balance."
Impatience and anger boiled up in Anna. Why were the fairies so angry and reproachful? "I don't know what you want from me. Actually, I live among humans, in a world without magic. I don't remember ever being here and yet you claim I'm the main villain in your magical land. If you don't explain to me what's going on, I might as well say goodbye and go home. Do I need to go that way?" She pointed in the direction she'd come from with Anton.
"No," the giant whispered in a strangled voice. His eyes were shining as tears welled up in them. Anna smiled at him comfortingly as Margerite sighed in resignation.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but not here. We should keep our distance from the others, especially Iris. Otherwise, I can't guarantee anything."
"Iris is the angry one?"
Margerite nodded and peered anxiously at the knothole. "Come on, let's take a walk. The movement will help you take it all in."
Finally!
"I'll stay close to you, Anemone, don't worry." The giant's voice was gentle — too gentle as if he were speaking to a small child who shouldn't be afraid. She probably wouldn't like what Margerite had to say.
Anna hid her inner turmoil so Margerite wouldn't feel vindicated in her accusations. With an oppressive feeling in her chest, she walked alongside the fairy as she flew slowly through the forest. Apart from Anna's footsteps and the delicate tinkling of Margerite's wings, for a while there was nothing to be heard. The fairy seemed to be searching for words while Anna examined the forest. She'd give the fairy time to deliberate until they reached the pine tree ahead, no longer. Her patience was gradually wearing thin.
They'd taken five more steps and still had a good ways to go before arriving at the pine tree. Anna couldn't take it anymore. "What happened back then?"
Margerite sighed again. "I don't know how to begin."
