Page 85 of Enchanted By a Pirate
"How can I do it?"
"Close your eyes and trust yourself! But most of all, forgive yourself for what happened back then! Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, everyone trusts the wrong person sometimes. You have to learn a lesson from this, but you can't hide behind the guilt and grief forever. Step back into the light, Anemone, and give us fairies new strength!"
Calla's words did something to her. She listened in amazement, and a pulse moved through her arms and legs that hadn't been there before. Warmth and… some form of light.
"Forgive yourself, Anemone! I did, long ago."
Her words were a balm, and Anna wanted to believe her. She closed her eyes and felt inside herself again. She sensed the wings she'd had in her memories, relived the moments when she had flapped them, and trusted that they belonged to her.
A tingling sensation spread through her, growing stronger and stronger until it filled her entire body and was as much a part of her as her heart. Her fingertips began to glow and she felt something strange on her back. Strange and familiar at the same time, as if it had never been any different.
Then she felt them.
Wings.
Wings so big, they almost dragged on the ground. At the same time, she felt her body growing smaller. Her strength swelled, and her energy grew and grew as if she were stronger than before in her small form. Maybe she was. Hadn't Margerite explained that the magical powers were more powerful in fairy form?
When she opened her eyes, Calla had assumed her fairy form and was standing before her. They both looked at each other at eye level. That had to mean… she had succeeded.
Anna looked down at herself. The leaf dress had shrunk with her, as had the necklace with the sun-shaped pendant, which dangled over her dress. Only the large pirate boots lay uselessly on the ground. She stood barefoot on the rocks, looking at her fingers, their tips tingling, and peering over her shoulder. When she saw the magnificent wings, tears welled up in her eyes. She heard a noise growing louder and louder. Was it shock? Or from the happiness at being herself again?
The sound, however, didn't come from inside her — no, it was coming from the basin. Calla fluttered excitedly toward it. Without thinking about whether she could or not, Anna jumped into the air, flapped her wings hard, and glided over to the source. The feeling was indescribable. Joy flooded her, true bliss. She marveled at the pool in awe, its interior sparkling in all colors.
"How…?"
Calla balanced on the edge of the bowl and jumped into the air. "You did it, Anemone! The spring bubbles again. Your trust has brought our magic back."
Anna stared in disbelief at the hole in the wall that had been empty the last time she'd visited the cave but where a powerful stream of glittering dust now poured out, landing in the stone basin.
The spring was bubbling again and the fate of the fairies changed.
Anna was overjoyed and for a moment forgot about the grief and guilt, which was why she didn't notice the dark shadow behind her.
"No, you did it, Calla!"
Anna turned, startled. Who had spoken? At that moment, an iron cage closed around her. When she saw the familiar eyes light up, she couldn't believe it. They had laid a trap for her and Anna had fallen right into it…
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The familiar brown eyes, the many jingling keys, and the clicking of the pocket watch confirmed that she was not dreaming. In front of her stood Freddy, the captain's key master, and behind him, the five pirates who were part of Chris's crew and who had abducted her from her apartment took up positions around the basin. How had they woken up?
"You did well, Calla. Finally, the spring is running again."
Calla giggled and transformed into her human form. She sat lasciviously on the edge of the basin and bobbed her feet. She let Freddy pull her into a hug and kissed him uninhibitedly. "I've missed you."
The pirate winked at her. "I had to keep up the pretense. Since Anemone came back, I've stayed on the ship, just to be safe. And as you can see, our plan worked."
Wait, what was that supposed to mean? "What are you doing? Calla, what's the point? Let me out!"
Freddy lifted the cage she was trapped in and held her close in front of him. "So you can thwart our plans again just before we reach our goal?"
"What plans? What's that supposed to mean?"
Calla giggled. "She's so simple." She broke away from Freddy's embrace, took the cage from his hand, and held it in front of her face. A face that Anna should never have forgotten. "I'm tired of working for people day in and day out and never getting anything more than a thank you. We fairies have the greatest power in the land and we must use it."
"But we do that, for the good of all!"
"Oh, Anemone, if you weren't so annoying, I would find you amusing. But you almost stopped us with your ever-curious nature. At the time. Who would have guessed that the magic of fairy dust was tied to each individual fairy. And I would never have thought it possible that a single fairy would be able to hinder our powers."
