A Message for Queen Lovely Lilly - James Gerard (best books to read for teens TXT) 📗

them season after season.  The need for storing any food had no purpose, yet she did not say a word.

Leena, as much as she wanted to deny it, knew the truth as to why her friend suffered so.  She looked down at Queen Lovely Lilly and realized it was because of her.

The whisperings were right.  Although, with the help of Cambria and Loxie, she rescued Solange from the nets on that horrible, horrible day, but then abandoned her.  By doing so, she sealed Solange’s fate: The first fairy ever to die.

Leena was certain that was the reason for all the darkness, the barrier cutting off the harvest.  The creature never left the world because of that.  It just waited for the right time to show up.

"Shame on you," a voice whispered.

"What?" responded Leena.  "Who said that?"

"You knew all along that the queen and Foster were behaving very badly and yet you did nothing."

She looked to Loxie then to Solange but both had their heads bowed and were softly sobbing.  Leena then looked up to Cambria.

"Did you say something?"

“Hush,” Cambria said while bringing a finger to her lips.  “Our queen is suffering."

"Shame on you," the voice whispered.  "You did not tell your friends they were doing wrong.  Shame on you."

"But Lilly is the queen and Foster is her best and dearest friend.  They are much better.  They would not have liked it if I had said something."

"Excuses, excuses, excuses," the voice responded.

A fresh flow of tears streamed out of Leena's eyes and crashed onto the ground below.

"Please do not be mad at me," she cried.  "I am so sorry.  Please forgive me."

"Really," the voice scoffed.  "It is hard to forgive someone who has behaved so badly."

“Come to the forest of the mighty oaks,” a voice said.

"The forest of the mighty oaks?" Leena asked.

“Come to the forest of the mighty oaks,” the voice said again.

Suddenly, Leena felt a sense of happiness and hope entering her thoughts.  Her wings began to flap furiously and a smile came to the face.

“Come to the forest of the mighty oaks.”

Leena looked at Loxie to one side, Solange on her other side and then looked at all the fairies with their heads down.

She obeyed the voice and flew to the doorway to the house.   As she neared the door Leena turned back to see Cambria waving goodbye.

Loxie Longs for Love

Loxie’s loving heart hurt for Queen Lovely Lilly.  Just like his friends Foster, Leena, Solange and Cambria he just could not leave the chamber of the queen.  Her suffering just made no sense.  There was simply nothing she could do so bad out of the innocence of her heart.

His very, very hurting heart was not just the result of Queen Lovely Lilly's suffering.  The fear brought on by the shield of darkness keeping all away from the mellow meadows also brought heartache.  Cut off from the fields of succulent and nourishing fruits and vegetables, all the human children might soon perish from starvation.  Even worse, it was the thought that the whole world was about to fall apart.  That the whole world would be in darkness forever and ever.

Loxie wondered if Queen Lovely Lilly’s decision to have the humans and fairies live with each other brought back the darkness.  After all, as a master tinker he knew when it came to work one must work.  Fairies had their work and humans had theirs.

Fairies mostly worked in the spring planting the seeds and in the summer harvesting the succulent fruits and vegetables.  Humans mostly worked clearing the fields for the planting and taking the harvest to the village of the fairies and to their village close to the sea.

A human and fairy rarely crossed paths while working, and rarely crossed paths while living in their own village.  Loxie knew this, yet he did not speak a word.

Loxie also had questioned himself if it was wrong for Queen Lovely Lilly to allow more playtime, but did not speak his feelings.  After all, he figured, long before she was crowned queen she and Foster would sneak off and play together from time to time.  There was certainly no harm in that.  They were the best of friends and loved each other very much.  Besides, he knew it was not his place to instruct the queen on how she should carry out her royal duties.

"Oh what have I done?" moaned Queen Lilly.

Loxie opened his eyes and wiped the tears away.  He looked down on her hoping she might say something other than those same words she repeatedly spoke, but no other words came out.  He then looked to the left where Solange hovered quietly.  Her head was down and tears flowed from her eyes.

"Oh Solange," Loxie said, “all is hopeless."

Solange did not say a word.

Loxie turned his attention back to Queen Lovely Lilly.  He had also questioned himself if it was wrong for her to use the pixie dust to help grow the abundant harvests such as juicy oranges, crisp apples, plump plumbs, and perfect peaches, yet he stayed silent.  After all, the creator gave the fairies hands.  The creator also provided much help.

There were many an animal to lend a hand.  Fluffy baby bunnies and many mice with their wispy whiskers worked with their friends. The creator also provided wet wiggly worms, lovely ladybugs, buzzing bees and a host of other friends to help with the planting and harvesting. Again, Loxie felt it was not his place to either instruct Queen Lovely Lilly on her royal duties or question such decisions.

Then again, as a master tinker, Loxie felt he could be the cause of the darkness and the barrier.  As a friend, he found himself guilty for not speaking to his friend about her poor choices.  This judgement, he could not deny.

Being a master tinker, Loxie built and repaired for a reason.  If a wooden wheel from a cart carrying any crop happened to break, then either a replacement wheel needed building or the broken one repaired.  To Loxie, his tinker mind knew this.  This was true for anything in need by both human and fairy children.

It was that simple. If someone needed a tool then the tool needed making or repaired.

When Queen Lovely Lilly came to Loxie and asked him to build storage barns, his tinker mind thought all sorts of thoughts.  Build a storage barn; use a storage barn.  If he did build the storage barns and filled them, then who would eat the food?  After all, there was so much succulent and nourishing fruits and vegetables from each harvest that some was for feeding the wet, wiggly worms and the rich, brown soil.

"Oh no," cried Loxie.  "What have I done?"

All the whisperings he had heard after Queen Lovely Lilly began to suffer started to make sense to Loxie.

"She has barns built to let the food rot," a voice whispered.

"Only the creature itself would do something so bad like that," a voice responded.

"Does she think she can do much more that the creator?"

"She certainly must."

"And just think, the creature has taken her over and the darkness will never go away."

"Oh we are left hopeless."

Loxie opened his eyes.  The tears dried up.  He then looked down at Queen Lovely Lilly and knew she was neither his queen, lovely or Lilly anymore.

"Shame on you," a voice shouted.

Loxie looked to Solange but she hovered in silence.  He then looked up to Cambria hovering behind him and Solange.

"Did you shout that?"

"Hush," Cambria said while bringing a finger to her lips.  "Our queen is suffering."

"Master tinker, huh," the voice scoffed.   "Your tinkering has really tinkered up a mess this time."

"I was just obeying the command of Queen Lovely Lilly."

"Excuses, excuses, excuses."

"I could not disobey my queen."

"You have behaved very, very bad Loxie."

"Please forgive me.  I am so very, very sorry."

Loxie bowed his head.  Fresh tears came streaming out of his eyes.

"Oh what have I done?" he sobbed.

"Come to the forest of the mighty oaks," a voice said.

"The forest of the mighty oaks," cried Loxie.  "Why?"

"Come to the forest of the mighty oaks," the voice said again.

All of a sudden, Loxie felt excitement run through his mind.  The tears stopped.  His wings furiously flapped.  He flew off towards the door of the chamber.

Loxie looked back and saw Cambria waving goodbye.

Solange's Suspicions

Solange, as still as a rock, wings as quiet as a hummingbird’s, and eyes as dry as a summer day,  looked down at Queen Lovely Lilly.  Just like Foster, Leena, Loxie and Cambria she too would not leave the queen’s chamber.   Having the light of love in her heart, however, she was not in the chamber out of sadness.  No, Solange prayed and hoped with so much love that her dear queen would awaken soon.

“We love you Queen Lovely Lilly.  Come back to us,” she softly whispered.

At first, Solange was not alone in hope.  Foster, Leena, and Loxie also had hope.  Her words of love to them and to all of the fairies crowding the chamber not to lose faith in the queen were clear and loud.  She even spoke loudly the same words of hope at the human children just outside the chamber.  As time slowly passed, however, she could see that all the children stopped listening.

Not so soon after Queen Lovely Lilly started to suffer, it seemed as if every fairy and human child became lost in hopelessness.  The hopelessness led to questions.

More and more through the past three seasons, Solange would question not why the queen suffered so, but how.  After all, Queen Lovely Lilly had a heart of pure innocence, and nothing so horrible could come out of something so good.  Besides, she knew Foster shared that heart and he too could commit no crime to bring about such suffering.  Yet, from the beginning of the queen’s suffering Solange could not ignore the hints as to how the suffering could be.

The hints did not always come from a voice of a fairy or human child.   Mostly the hints came from sad faces, trembling hands, moaning and groaning, constant crying of so many, many sad children, and the sound of so many tears hitting the cold, hard ground. Such sights and sounds filled the chamber at all times of the day and night.  Such sights pointed to the something so very horrible, but what had Queen Lovely Lilly done that was so very, very bad?

Finally, as she hovered with hope still in her heart, Solange had to admit what was causing the queen’s suffering.  The lack of love.

“Oh what have I done?”