Chapter 11

A Huge Mistake and a Huge Rampage! “If songs are the key to reviving the sacred trees, then I might know one that’s useful, too.” Even though he was still bemused by this turn of events, Alan fully intended to keep going. “It’s different from Feoras’s, though,” he said before beginning to sing. His rhythm was just a little off, but he sounded as if he was enjoying himself. The old one overlooks the hill; snow-white flowers guide the lost. And at the end of their journey, love’s paradise is not so far. A wish shall become your strength on a blessed night of falling stars. So should we just do what this song said? Well, to start, we decided to summon a spirit, just as we’d done earlier. Lotte sang and placed her hand on the thick, imposing trunk of the oak tree—the seventh of the sacred trees. As she did, a stout elderly man appeared in front of us. Could he be “the old one”? As we silently looked on, the spirit called over the forest lady from the first tree and clasped her hands affectionately. From that point on, everything happened so fast. Together, the two approached the eighth tree, the holly tree, and blew little white flowers and red berries into being, one after another. The songbirds pecked at these flowers, scattering silver pollen snowflakes in the direction of the ninth tree, the hazel tree. Then the pollen was gently stirred up by their fluttering wings, drifting and rising into the night sky to form the shape of a pillar. Upon seeing this, the old one and the lady nodded to each other and floated up into the sky. As they began to dance and waltz among the stars, the tenth tree—the apple tree—started to bear bright-red fruit below their lithe steps. The next thing we knew, all four sacred trees were bright and alive once again. “…Wow.” Not that I had helped out with anything. But my heart was pounding like crazy—the way it had when I’d first watched Chariot’s show. To think Lotte’s song would spark a chain of events and produce a miracle like this! Magic was really, reeeally fantastic! My heart was beating so fast, it could have jumped right out of my mouth. “We only have three to go!” But Lotte was totally drained from singing three times, wiping sweat from her forehead. So we all decided to take a short break, sitting down right where we were. And you know, Jasminka’s snacks really came in handy! Ivy, the eleventh tree, was a little different from the rest. To start with, it wasn’t technically a tree, and there was a big stone marker as tall as the other trees in its spot. There, the plant’s stalks intertwined, meshing around it and covering it with a thick blanket of leaves. “There’s something written here, too.” Amanda parted its leaves to reveal more of the Luna Alphabet on the stone. I’ll get it this time, I thought, squinting at the monument. I sighed with relief. Oh, good, I could certainly read that much. “‘What is your wish?’” The moment I said those words aloud, the world around me went pitch-black. This time, I knew it wasn’t a dream or anything. It felt as though we’d all been left behind in the dark abyss of outer space. Even though they had to be right beside me, I couldn’t hear anybody breathing. I almost called out to them. But I stopped myself when I saw a woman appearing from the depths of the darkness. She radiated an iridescent light and wore silver bracelets that jingled delicately. You’re—! I tried to yell, but the words wouldn’t leave my mouth. It was the first Sifla, the one I’d seen in the dream! But something about her was different. What was it? She was still pretty, but she emanated a cold frigidity at the same time. Involuntarily, my hands tightened on the Shiny Rod. “What do you wish for?” Agh, she spoke! Startled, I backed up hastily. Um, um, my wish, my wish is obviously… I was this close to answering, but she wasn’t looking at me. Her eyes were fixed on someone else. Another light appeared in the direction of her gaze, brightening to reveal Feoras. Oh, he was on edge, his fur standing on end and his tail lashing. It sort of made him look like a normal cat. “Who are you? The first Sifla?” He tensely responded with a question of his own. “What on earth are you trying to do here? One role for three people? There’s no way we could do that! I’m the one who’s going to become the fairy king. I’ll protect the current Sifla and the hill!” he spit out, on the brink of tears. In spite of myself, I wanted to hug him, but I couldn’t move or speak, either. Someone or something was telling me not to get in the way. She just repeated her question. “What do you wish for?” “…I’ve said it over and over already. I want to be the fairy king.” “Why?” “That’s the wish of all Cait Sith. We want to dominate the Cu Sith and put them in their place for good. Not just them but all the fairies on the hill. This is necessary to protect Sifla.” “Necessary? Why?” “You need power to protect someone. And I want enough power to silence anyone who dares complain and make them acknowledge me as king.” Liar. That couldn’t really be what he wanted. I mean, he looked so alive when he was with Alan—even when he was upset! Sifla gazed steadily at him and sighed. “So that’s your wish.” She tilted her head, then looked past me on the other side. “And what do you wish for?” Under a bright light, Alan appeared, just as I expected. His tail stuck out stiffly, perfectly horizontal and full of fear. “I…” He faltered, looking troubled and shooting a glance at Feoras out of the corner of his eye for a fleeting moment. He looked down again right away. “…Feoras can do what he wants,” he choked out. Her face clouded over again. “Then you have no desires of your own?” “Well, I…” Alan glanced again at Feoras. “I don’t really care about being the fairy king, and it’s not as if I want to fight the Cait Sith. It’s just, Feoras is really stubborn.” He grimaced. “It’s all just a pain. If he wants to settle this, then I’ll do that.” “…You’re always like that,” Feoras snapped. “I’m amazed you can call yourself a king when you’re that indecisive. Oh, how I pity the Cu Sith.” “It’s because you don’t listen! It makes me feel bad for your tribe. Why can’t you be mature?!” “I don’t want to hear that from you! …I was right. I can’t leave the hill to a coward like you. I’m going to become the fairy king! If you think it’s too much work, then shut up and obey me.” “…I told you—that’d be its own kind of annoying.” “In that case, we’ll settle this with force.” Feoras’s eyes flashed with anger. “We should’ve done that in the first place. Who cares about the trial?! If we fight with our fists, it’ll be clear which of us is stronger. No one will be able to complain about the outcome.” “Enough. I understand your wishes.” Her voice was icy and expressionless, causing Feoras and Alan to actually shut up for once. “I’ll grant them all for you. Acquire vast power and fight each other to your hearts’ content.” “…What?” “What do you mean?” Shing, ting, ting-a-ling-a-ling. Her silver bracelets jingled as she extended her right index finger and swept her hand up, pointing toward the sky. “Pity. With those wishes, you won’t be able to make the stars fall from the sky. Let us end this trial for now.” She swung her finger at the two of them, and they were enveloped by motes of light like sparks from a fire. I didn’t have time to stop her. I didn’t even have time to speak up. All I could do was watch what was happening in front of me in disbelief. Expanding and growing. Stretching and lengthening. Their bodies swelled out to make them bigger and taller. Basically, they were growing enormous. As they got bigger and bigger, the light around them grew until the force sucked me in. When I finally opened my eyes again with a gasp, I saw I was standing on top of the hill. Feoras and Alan immediately filled my field of vision. They’d gotten so big, they could have bumped their heads on the moon as they grappled with each other, their fur bristling. At their feet, everyone was running around in confusion, screaming shrilly. …Hold up. Everyone? “Did we…make it back?” “Sure looks like it,” replied Lotte, and Sucy nodded in agreement. They were right. Although there was no telling when we’d gotten there, we were standing in front of Stone Doras aboveground. “Girls, get back! Calm down!” Professor Finnelan shouted with a stern face. As she issued directions, Alan took a thundering step right beside her. “I’ll take care of it!” shouted Diana, and a light shot out of her extended wand, protecting the students from getting crushed. “Thank you, Diana!” “Never mind that—just evacuate. Hurry!” Following the professors’ instructions, they flew into the entrance of the leyline, one after another. I watched them leave with my hands still clenched around the Shiny Rod. “Girls, why are you just standing there? Let’s go, quickly!” Professor Ursula grabbed my shoulder, which brought me back to my senses. But I ignored her as I clung to Amanda’s arm. “…Amanda, let me ride with you!” “You got it. Tia Freyre!” Straddling her broom, I put my arms around her waist. “Huh? Um? What?” Leaving the flustered professor below us, we shot up into the night sky. “Feoras! Alan!” We got right up close to their ears and shouted. But their burning, bright-red eyes couldn’t even see us. “Feoras! Hey, Alan!” Instead of a response, Feoras’s paw flew at us, sharp claws extended. His paw pads knocked us away before he aimed his fist at Alan’s left eye. “Awooooooooooooooooo!” As his claws pulled through Alan’s cheek and left diagonal gashes in their wake, Alan let out a long howl. “Alan!” His heavy-looking eyelids snapped wide-open. In fact, there wasn’t a single trace of his lazy attitude anywhere, and with another snarl, he bared his fangs and bit down on Feoras’s shoulder. “Mrooooooowr!” Why did things have to turn out like this?! These weren’t the two I knew! As my eyes blurred with tears, I saw Diana racing smartly toward the two of them on her broom. She started chanting some sort of spell, pointing her wand at the pair. Before I could open my mouth to shout, Amanda flew in front of her, shielding the combatants. “Diana, wait!” I yelled, and she froze for a moment. “Please don’t hurt those two.” “What is the meaning of this?” She scowled fiercely. “What are those monsters?!”