Page 22 of Enchanted By a Pirate
The fairies hadn't made it? It was different hearing about nameless fairies who had disappeared, but Lilie and Calla sounded like somebody — people, a story, two individuals. She felt a pang in her heart. "I'm sorry. About Lilie, Calla, and all the others who died back then."
Margerite's shoulders slumped sorrowfully. "I find it terrible that some of the remaining fairies are in a kind of hibernation. They don't talk, they don't move, and some of their bodies are so translucent, we fear they will disappear sooner or later."
Alarmed, Anna gasped. That sounded terrible. "What made the fairies…sick?"
"Less flowers, fewer newborns, less work, less fairy dust. A cascade effect."
A shudder seized her and she was only able to shake it off with difficulty. When she replied, her voice was merely a whisper. "Do you believe it's all my fault?"
Margerite looked at her with pity. "Giving the pirates our fairy dust set things in motion. Strictly speaking, it was the results of your rash action that led to this."
Anna didn't know what to say to that. The burden of such guilt weighed heavily on her shoulders. And the thought that it could be true and that she was primarily to blame for this terrible situation released energy within her that hastened her steps. She had to find a way to reactivate the source of the fairydust and revive the fairies. This opportunity would also let her find out who she truly was and what had happened many years ago.
The path through the forest grew increasingly difficult. While in the beginning, Anna had been able to weave around bushes and jump over streams effortlessly, the plants now grew so densely that she needed both hands to fight her way through.
Margerite flew helplessly beside her. "I would magically clear the way for you, but considering the distance we have to go, my bag would be empty before we arrived at the source."
"It's okay." Anna snorted and pushed a maple branch aside. "It's a shame Toni wasn't allowed to come with us. He could have easily carried me over the tops of the trees."
"Don't you think it's strange you met him first?"
Anna squeezed by the maple tree and fought her way onto a thick, fallen beech trunk. When she reached the top, she paused and stroked her crimson cheeks. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, you were missing for so long, and on the day the pirates abducted you and bring you back, he was napping in the exact same meadow you were fleeing across."
Everything inside Anna cried out at the insinuation, but she remained calm, if not just because she was completely out of breath. "Toni was my friend. Some bits of memory have come back."
"He was your friend, but is he still your friend?"
"Why do you mistrust him?"
"I don't mistrust him, I've just become cautious and alert. It all sounds like one hell of a coincidence to me."
"I consider it lucky…" Anna hopped off the trunk and continued moving forward. She would not allow herself to be deprived of the only pillar of strength she had found in the darkness of her memories.
"Don't make the same mistake you made back then. You're too trusting."
Anna didn't reply. It was no use arguing about it. Anton was her friend — she felt it in her heart. If there was anyone she could trust in this magical world, it was him. But she wouldn't tell Margerite that. She trudged on determinedly, and then they passed a raspberry bush with a few small berries hanging from it.
"Finally." Ravenous, Anna pounced on it. She had always enjoyed fruit and salad, but nothing beat an oversized plate of spaghetti to appease her empty stomach.
Margerite picked one of the berries, sat down on a porcini mushroom, and ate it delightedly while Anna popped one raspberry after the next into her mouth. Although she was famished, she couldn't eat the bush bare. After two handfuls, she paused. Was she full? Truly sated?
Margerite giggled. "You see? At least your stomach remembers that you don't actually need to eat as much."
Surprised, Anna put a hand on her stomach. "Incredible. I could have eaten a horse yet now I'm full after a few measly berries?"
"That's great, now let's go. We've wasted enough time. The sun has passed its zenith so we have to hurry. You also should find a good hiding place before darkness sets in."
Okay, then that was all cleared up. Margerite was planning to leave Anna to fend for herself that night. But she didn't want to think about it any further. Her legs felt leaden. After the day's walk, she would lie down on some patch of moss and fall asleep — that much was certain.
Anna continued walking without pausing. Even though her stomach was hurting and sore — from a few raspberries??? — and she'd felt exhausted, with every step she becameincreasingly refreshed. Now she was able to follow the flying fairy faster than she had before snacking.
Margerite spoke about the world of fairies and the different flowers and plants they usually tended, but Anna's memory still didn't return. Anton had managed to trigger a few recollections, as had the scent of the anemones, but Margerite's prattle was getting on Anna's nerves. Had she always been such a chatterbox? A fleeting scrap flashed through Anna's mind, but it was gone so quickly that she couldn't be sure if she'd imagined it.
The fairy's narrative grew increasingly tedious. Now she was talking more about plant lore than the everyday world of fairies, which was why Anna only half-listened. She already knew everything Margerite was saying — whether from working in the garden department of the home improvement store or from before, she couldn't say. Either way, she was tired of following the imposed lesson plan. Her mind wandered and returned to the start of her adventure. What else had she seen when she'd encountered the anemones in the park? Suddenly, she remembered: lots of glitter dust — it must have been fairy dust. And a ship — possibly the pirates? Was that perhaps the moment she'd given the fairy dust to the captain? She had heard a woman screaming and then a terrible feeling had overcome her. The feeling of falling into infinity. What did that mean?
A cuckoo called out and Anna glanced up. Margerite flew up next to her and explained which teas she made from which leaves and flowers and which ailments they helped. Anna was no longer paying attention to the fairy but was still heading in the same direction. Did that mean her subconscious knew the way to the source?
