Page 18 of Enchanted By a Pirate
Anton let out his deep, slow laugh. "That's right. We always said that just like you wrap your hair around your finger, you do the same with living creatures."
Anna raised an eyebrow. "I supposedly wrap people around my finger?"
"Humans, giants, fairies…" Margerite smiled again, but Anna returned to her musings until an idea popped into her head.
"Can you show me where the source is? Maybe that way I can figure out how to get it working again."
Margerite hesitated.
Anna looked at her in surprise. It had to be in Margerite's interest for the fairy dust to flow again. "What?"
"Well, Iris certainly wouldn't be… You heard what she said. Well, she'd go berserk if she found out."
Anna lowered her voice involuntarily. "She doesn't have to find out. And given that the source has dried up anyway, I can't hand out more fairy dust to terrible pirates, can I?"
Anton nudged Margerite with his finger and she almost lost her balance. "Don't be like that. We have to give her a chance to fix everything. She can do it. I trust her and you should too."
Anna smiled gratefully at the giant.
With a soft sigh, Margerite agreed. "But we should turn into fairies, because otherwise, it will take us forever. I have to be back at the fairy tree before nightfall or else I can't be certain Iris will ever let me in again."
Anna stared at her in disbelief. She was supposed to turn into a fairy? "But…I…am not really a…" She paused. Crazy people had to be beaten at their own game. "How is that going to work?"
"I'll show you." Margerite closed her eyes. "Just imagine being small. And feel your wings, which belong to you and areinvisible at the moment but are a hidden part of you, and there you go." A bell tinkled and Margerite shrank. In no more than the blink of an eye, she barely reached Anna's ankle and was standing with her sparkling wings on the pine needles in front of her. "I'm back in my natural form." She beamed as if it were the easiest thing in the world to transform from human to fairy. "Now you."
Anna chuckled. "I don't think I'm…" she said, thinkinga fairy,but saying out loud "…able to do that, but if you say so."
"Wait, you don't have any fairy dust on you. And you don't have a pouch on your belt either. We'll have to correct that. It makes transformation easier."
"I thought it was almost gone."
"The small amount I give you won't make a difference." She reached gleefully into the bag, flew up, and sprinkled a tiny amount over her. The glittering particles slowly scattered over Anna. It looked magical, and Anna could almost believe in these fantastic things.
"Now." The little fairy looked so happy, as if Anna's attempt was reason enough to hope for a successful conclusion.
Anna couldn't help but grin as she closed her eyes and imagined she was a fairy. It couldn't do any harm and then the two of them wouldn't be able to accuse her of not trying hard enough. Tiny, wings, barefoot, leafy dress. She laughed again. This was ridiculous. Nevertheless, she took great pains to focus and narrowed her eyes. She tried to imagine wings growing out of her back, but she couldn't feel any of the fairytale magic. She balled her hands into fists, tucked in her head, made herself smaller — maybe that would help — and opened her eyes. Nothing happened.
"Now!" Margerite cried out. But Anton shook his head, causing another shower of leaves to fall on Anna's head. An oakleaf sailed directly toward Margerite, who swerved quickly to avoid the falling leaf.
"She doesn't sense it, nor does she believe it. I can see it in her face." With the giant's calm words, Margerite's happiness vanished. Disappointed, she looked at Anna, who shrugged in resignation.
"I'm sorry, but all of this is actually beyond my imagination. Until a few hours ago, I was a completely normal person in a world where magic only existed in stories. Okay, I saw a flying pirate ship, a giant, and a fairy, but actually I still believe that I…"
Curious, Margerite leaned in closer. "That you what?"
"That she's dreaming." Anton sighed heavily and flopped down onto the ground. The earth shook so much that Anna only kept her balance with difficulty. There was another crack in the forest and several trees fell over.
"Be careful, Anton, otherwise I'll have to ban you. You can't destroy our forest."
"Sorry." He sniffled. "I just never thought that…that…" He sniffed again. "…that Anemone wouldn't remember me when she returned."
Pain gripped Anna's heart. She hurried to the edge of the forest and into the glade where Anton sitting with outstretched legs and his head hanging. She stroked his legs, thick as tree trunks, as he looked at her sadly. Tears glittered in his long, dark eyelashes and countless more had already dripped from his chin, forming a small puddle in the meadow.
"I believe in you, Toni. You are…real, even though my mind tells me otherwise. But my heart knows we belong together, that we have been friends forever. I trust you and know you can do it too."
The corners of his mouth twitched and in what was for him a quick gesture, he placed her on his palm and brought her closeto his hairy face. "That's the most beautiful thing I've heard in a long time, Anemone." He gently brought her to his cheek and Anna nestled against him. The feeling of his long whiskers brushing against her face felt familiar. Suddenly, an image flashed through her mind. She saw herself and Anton by a raging waterfall. Birds were chirping, countless flowers were blooming, and they were both laughing heartily. Then the image blurred, but the memory remained.
Anna opened her eyes. Was it all true after all? Stunned, she looked at the giant. "Toni, I do remember you!"
