"The Green Fairy" by Ashley Jane Brodie

In this land there lived a beautiful girl named Matilda Gordon, daughter of a prosperous businessman and Lord. Her hair was soft and golden, and she wore only the most beautiful dresses of light, rippling silk. Her skin was soft and flawless and her eyes were amber like a fawn. She wore white lace gloves and dainty velvet slippers.
At the moment she was standing in front of her mirror while Karly the maid tightened her whalebone corset for her.
“Maid,” She said in a soft, dreamy voice. “Pass me my brush. I must look perfect for the Prince if we are to marry.” The maid finished with the corset and collected Matilda’s golden brush off the dressing table for her.
“Here you are miss.” Karly whispered, passing her the brush and curtseying slightly. Karly never spoke above a whisper.
“Thank you maid.” Said Matilda. She began to brush her wavy, golden hair, a task she alone was allowed to do.
“Which dress would you like to wear today miss?” asked the maid, walking towards the large, oak wardrobe where Matilda’s clothes hung.
“The pale blue, silk, low-cut, half corset, diagonal hem dress with the diamond brooch.” Answered Matilda immediately.
“Yes miss.” Said the maid. She opened the wardrobe doors and collected the dress. She then closed the wardrobe doors and turned, clutching the soft, blue material in her scarred, trembling hands. As she turned her foot caught on the Persian rug and with a muffled cry she fell, face-forwards, landing on the dress and creasing it, so it was no longer suitably wearable.
“My dress!” Wailed Matilda, “What have you done you insolent child!” Matilda kicked Karly in a very un-ladylike manner and snatched the dress from her. In her minds eye Karly saw her mistresses face transform to that of a ferocious beast, lips hanging loose, drooling, eyes wild. She shook her head and blinked and the image faded. Matilda was about to kick her again when a knock sounded at the door. “Get up!” Matilda snarled at Karly, “Stop snivelling and find me another dress to wear!” Karly painfully clambered to her feet and shuffled over to the wardrobe to find Matilda a new dress while Matilda put on a robe and went to answer the door. “Who is it?” She called gently. Her voice once again in it’s soft and kind disguise. “Pardon me,” came the reply, “but it’s Mr Wilkins the new butler. You father told me that I must come up and introduce myself to you. Your father said you would want to see me, and also if Karly the maid is in there I have been told to ask her to come down to the kitchens, for Cook wishes to see her.”
“Please could you wait a moment while I finish getting dressed?” Said Matilda. “I shall only take two minutes.” Matilda quickly slipped the lilac dress that Karly handed her over her head, and waited patiently while Karly fastened up the back of it.

“You may come in.” She called after all was done and the dress was properly tied. The new butler opened the door and promptly stepped inside. Matilda and Karly gasped in unison, for the butler looked just like the Prince! He was almost identical. He bowed humbly to Matilda and seeing the look on her face smiled grimly and knowingly, for he obviously knew what she was thinking.
“Good morning ma’am.” He said to Matilda. “And forgive me for seeming so sharp, but no, I am not the Prince, nor am I related to him in any way, chance has bestowed upon me this peculiar resemblance to His Majesty.” He could see Matilda relax immediately at his words, but it was obvious that Karly was still suspicious of him. “Maid,” Said Matilda sharply “You heard what Mr Wilkins said. Go and see Cook if she is asking for you!”
“Yes miss.” Said Karly as she scampered out the room and left Matilda and Mr Wilkins to talk.

Now, to get from Matilda’s room to the kitchens quickly is very difficult. Matilda’s room was on the 6th floor and the kitchens were in the basement, just above the servants’ chambers. Well, actually it was only difficult if you weren’t Karly the maid. Karly was eighteen ears old and she had been working at the Gordon household since she was just over nine years old. (About three years longer than cook). She knew every room of the house, every hallway, every secret passage, she even knew about rooms that the family themselves didn’t even know about! She knew every staircase; she knew which steps creaked and which needed replacing. She was definitely the most valuable servant in the household so, needless to say, Cook absolutely despised her and would use any excuse to make her do all the disgusting jobs.
She reached the kitchen in less than five minutes much to the annoyance of Cook, a middle-aged and excessively grumpy woman, with hands the size of frying pans and wrists as thick as rolling pins.
“There you are!” Growled Cook in her usual greeting. “Lord Gordon wants to see you, but you must take this up to ‘im!” She handed Karly a silver tray, covered with fine foods of very variety.
“Could I please have a clean apron if I am to appear before his lordship?” Whispered Karly politely.
“No time for that.” Bellowed the Cook, her ears turning red with anger. “Get a move on!” She growled, waving a ladle with a threatening glare. “Go girl! Go!” Karly ran out of the kitchen, clutching the tray firmly in her hands. She reached Lord Gordon in his study in less than ten minutes and knocked on the door.

“Enter!” Bellowed the familiar, flamboyant voice of Lord Gordon. Karly carefully opened the door and slipped inside, being careful not to drop the tray or scrape the door, and placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the fire.
“Cook said you wished to see me sir.” She whispered, curtseying to the large, ginger haired man in front of her.
“Ah yes, um… Karly is it?” Said the Lord, putting on a pair of large spectacles. “Yes sir.” Whispered Karly.
“I see you have been with us a long time Karly.” Commented Lord Gordon, looking at a document in his hands.
“Yes sir.” Whispered Karly.
“Almost ten years isn’t it?” He commented. Karly knew the question was rhetorical but felt impelled to reply.
“Yes sir.” Whispered Karly.
“I also see that you used to be one of my wife’s particular servants before she passed on.” Said the Lord, still looking at the document in his large hands.
“Yes sir.” Whispered Karly.
“Well Karly,” Said the Lord, looking up. “Be all that as it may, I’m afraid that I have had a few complaints about you, and I am simply warning you that I must hear of some significant changes or I will be forced to release you from your services. Is that understood?” Karly looked at him, flabbergasted at what he had just said. Complaints, significant changes, release her from her services? She just couldn’t take it in, she was one of the hardest working servants in the entire house, and everyone knew it.
“Is that understood?” He repeated.
“Um, um… Yes sir.” She whispered, turning to leave.
“Oh and Karly,” Said Lord Gordon, finally putting down the document. “Please do something about the disgraceful state of that apron, it’s simply appalling.”
“Yes sir.” Whispered Karly, closing the door behind her.
Karly immediately went downstairs to the kitchen and spent the rest of the day doing exactly what a very smug looking Cook told her to do. Just before she went to bed she saw Mr Wilkins hurrying down the hallway towards her.
“Karly, could I have a word?” He asked, placing a hand on her arm and directing her to a corner where no one would over hear them.
“What is it?” Whispered Karly, thinking how unusual this must look to the other servants.
“I know who has been complaining about, why and how you can stop them.” Said Mr Wilkins, lowering his voice and gesturing for her to follow him into an empty room.
“How do you know that?” Exclaimed Karly. “Who are you really?”
“I will tell you if you swear not to tell anyone else.” Whispered Mr Wilkins.
“I swear!” Promised Karly.
“I am really Prince Bartholomew in disguise as you suspected I was.” He whispered, lowering his voice even further. “Matilda has been complaining about you because she knows of a certain prophecy to do with you. She tried to poison you last night when I visited but I saw her do it and got rid of the poison. To stop her you must go to the Relokion Forest and seek out the Green Fairy named StalMaria. She will help you.”
“Why are you telling me this?” asked Karly, amazed for the second time that day though for a completely different reason.
“A few months ago I met a man who told me of an ancient scroll that he had found in the desert. On the scroll there was written a prophecy of a servant girl, who was to save a young Prince from marrying her mistress. A woman who would become The One Evil Queen. In order to do this the girl was to go to the Old Hollow Oak, in the centre of the Relokion Forest and see the Green Fairy StalMaria who would help her stop the wedding and save the land from the torment and plague stricken years when The One Evil Queen was in power.” He looked at her with such desperation in his eyes that at that second Karly decided that it was her destiny to help the prince and save the land.
“What do I do when I find the Green Fairy?” She asked quietly.
“That I do not know,” Said the Prince “but this I do, if you see any red fairies stay away! They are mischievous and have lured many travellers to their doom. You must leave now, for Matilda is once again planning to rid this house of your presence.
“Yes Your Majesty.” She whispered, smiling. “I shall leave at once.”
Despite her saying this it took Karly nearly an hour to prepare for the journey through Relokion Forest. As the forest was full of dangerous creatures and poisonous plants the Prince made Karly take his own personal dagger, lent her his hunting gloves, which were made of the strongest and thickest leather known to man, and he made her wear thick tights to protect her legs from the stings. He gave her money to buy food on the way and a flask for water which she filled in the kitchen. He called for a carriage to take her to the Forest and paid for it for her. Just before she was about to depart he stopped her, and he gave her a blood red ruby on a pure gold ring for luck, the same ruby his mother had given to him before she died. He told her the rings would protect her from the red fairies.
The journey to the Relokion Forest was long and Karly slept most of the way to help her conserve her energy. The carriage stopped only once in a town to buy food and rest the horses. When they arrived at the edge of the Relokion Forest the driver woke Karly again and told her that he would go no further, as he was a superstitious man and the stories of pixies, goblins, gargoyles and evil fairies kept him away.
Karly thanked him and bade him farewell. She continued her voyage alone. She used the Prince’s dagger to hack through the stiff bushes and plants and her tights and gloves protected her adequately from both the cold and the poisonous plants. When it became very dark she removed a gas lamp from her pack and lit it to continue her journey.
When she was about halfway to the centre of the forest she saw some curious red lights in a circle. She walked over to them and realized that they were the red fairies that the Prince had warned her about. She hastened away from them as their devilish faces scared her, but she still had faith in the ring.
Ten minutes later she saw some more of the fairies and stayed away from them, but ten minutes after that she accidentally walked straight into the centre of a fairy ring. Their evil, glowing eyes stared at her and they all began to dance around her, chanting

"We are the fairies of Relokion Wood
We act evil, as we should
You’ll really wish that you weren’t here
For us fairies, you do fear!"

The red fairies chanted this over and over, and with each chant the ring on Karly’s finger glowed brighter until-

FLASH!!!!!

Her ring sent out a dazzling explosion of red light and the fairies disappeared With tears streaming down her face, Karly ran as fast as she could until she stumbled into a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a huge oak tree, The Old Hollow Oak, and sitting on a low branch was an oddly beautiful fairy, small enough to lie in Karly’s palm. Her hair was long and green, and she was wearing a minute dress, made out of tiny green leaves sewn together. On her feet were miniature, green, pixie shoes, with curled toes. She wore a crown of tiny, interwoven daisy petals and her features were so small, precise and delicate that they made her beautiful. She had a bow with arrows made of rose thorns, they were coated with a deadly mixture of poisons and her tiny dagger was a thorn sharp enough to go through Karly’s finger.
“Karly.” She said in a kindly voice though her accent was strange. “Do not cry about those evil fairies! They were mean-hearted and cruel. They would have killed or drove you mad if they had had the chance. Do not cry! I am StalMaria.”
StalMaria raised her glistening wings, which looked as delicate and beautiful as a spider web coated with dew-drops, and flew to Karly’s shoulder.
“Karly,” She whispered into her ear, “if I am to help you, then you must let me change you into a fairy, so I can find out which kind you would be. Will you let me do that?” Karly nodded and wiped her eyes. StalMaria quickly explained that there were four kinds of fairies.

There were evil, red fairies who liked to cause pain and suffering and can do strong though easily breakable spells which lack longevity.
There were kind, green fairies who helped people and were very wise and could do brief spells to help people.
There were rare, blue fairies that were very intelligent and could do very powerful magic, they could speak every language in the world and knew all the secrets of the earth.
And lastly
There were beautiful, yellow fairies, who revealed people’s true beauty by the beauty of their hearts

StalMaria took a pouch from her belt and sprinkled some of the contents over Karly. A blinding flash filled the clearing and next to StalMaria there fluttered a beautiful yellow fairy.
“As I suspected.” Muttered StalMaria. She replaced the pouch and took out another. She sprinkled some of the contents of this pouch over Karly and she reappeared.
“I was yellow!” Cried Karly. “What does that mean?”
“It means that I can help you.” Said StalMaria. “Charalette!” She called. “Charalette!”
“I’m coming!” Came the reply. A beautiful, yellow fairy fluttered out of the Old Hollow Oak. “What do you want?” She asked in a clear voice.
“Do your magic on Karly.” Said StalMaria.
“She was yellow?” Asked Charalette.
“Yes!” Replied StalMaria. “Now do your magic, please!”
“Okay, okay!” Grinned Charalette. Charalette flew over and landed on Karly’s shoulder and began to sing. As she sang Karly’s auburn hair began to grow and thicken. It reached her shoulders and became glossy and smooth. The hairs then curled themselves into a naturally wavy style, cascading over her shoulders and the bright auburn slightly brushing the base of her spine. Her bonnet disappeared and a ring of pink rosebuds took its place to rest upon her crown. Her eyelashes lengthened and curled and her violet eyes became brighter and more pronounced. Her broken nose straightened and her lips became full and red as the ruby on her finger. Her clothes transformed under her amazed gaze from a scruffy maid’s uniform and travellers cloak to a beautiful long, pale pink, silk dress. Her scarred hands became soft and the scars became fainter and fainter until they disappeared entirely. Her cheeks blushed a healthy, pale pink colour and her bitten nails lengthened and smoothed out. She changed from scruffy, scarred Karly the Maid, to sophisticated, elegant Karla. Lastly, to add the elegance and new-blossomed beauty, a blue fairy flew softly from within the Old Hollow Oak and placed a thornless, pale pink rose in her hands. Karly was speechless and all she could do was breath a sign of amazement.
“Your appearance has changed.” Said the blue fairy Donnelona. “Yet your heart will not. Your name is no longer Karly. It is now Karla. You have blossomed and your full beauty and potential has bloomed. You will do great things; I can see it in your eyes.” The fairy looked the new Karla directly in the eyes and could not help but gasp at the colour of them and the intensity radiating from them. “Yes.” She whispered. “Great things.”
“I believe that is satisfactory.” Said StalMaria. “Now Donnelona and I shall send you home.” StalMaria and Donnelona both removed pouches from their belts and flew around Karla’s head, sprinkling the dust over her. They stopped and joined hands, hovering directly above her head. They began to chant a verse in Latin. After a moments delay the earth began to spin very fast beneath Karla’s feet. It spun faster and faster and Karla rose up into the air, glitter, luminescence and bright, shining stars surrounding her and obscuring her vision. She reached out to touch one of the stars but it moved as if it was alive and scared of her. She tried several times to catch one but it took her what seemed to be a long time in a world without time to finally grasp one in her hand. When she finally caught it the feeling was amazing, it felt as if she was clutching a tiny world in her hand and she was the only one who could decide on its fate. She released it and the moment it left her hand she fell with a thump to the ground, back in the Gordon household.
She picked up the rose, which she had dropped on the floor, and looked up into the eyes of Matilda.
“Who are you?” Asked Matilda, the act she had used to fool many people into believing she was a ‘nice’ girl securely in place. Karla rose to her full height and looked straight into those penetrating amber eyes of Matilda and said evenly,
“Your worst nightmare.” Karla stretched out her right hand to shake Matilda’s. Matilda took it glaring suspiciously at this strangely beautiful young woman. Suddenly she let out a yell and jumped backwards clutching her hand and moaning in agony. On her hand, was a peculiar red burn, blistering even as she looked. The burn was situated in the exact place where Karla’s ring had touched Matilda’s hand.
“Who are you, witch?” She cried, stumbling away from Karla’s penetrating violet glare.
“I am Karla, better known to you as Karly. I am here to avenge you for I know of your plot to poison me due to the prophecy I am about to fulfil. Follow me, do not struggle, it will only worsen your situation.”
Karla led Matilda down the hall into a back chamber. She then forced Matilda down a narrow, cobwebbed passage and into a small room filled with artwork and heavy leather and oak chairs. Next she dragged Matilda down a rickety staircase, hidden behind a large tapestry depicting a foxhunt in the small room they were previously in. She then continued to lead her through a large library filled with dusty volumes of old love stories. She pulled back a great, red, book which revealed yet another hidden staircase, which led down into an immense chamber with walls lined with metal tripods. On each of these tripods was a pewter bowl filled with dry leaves and they were all blazing brightly. In the middle of the room was a huge stone block, similar to those used in ancient sacrifices, with heavy leather straps attached to it at ten centimetre intervals. The block itself was about four metres long and one and a half metres wide. The straps were each about ten centimetres wide and five centimetres thick.
Karla took the Prince’s dagger and forced Matilda onto the obscure stone block. She tied Matilda down with the thick leather straps and raised the dagger above her heart. With a flash of white light, StalMaria, Donnelona and Charalette appeared by Karla’s side.
“STOP!” Shouted StalMaria. “It was written in the scroll of the Prophecy of Carlos Antinido, that the servant girl in question would be possessed by an evil red fairy, who would force her to do the one deed that could stop the prophecy from ever being fulfilled. Kill the woman, who would become so evil that in trying to stop her, a cure would be found for all diseases. The only way to stop the fairy in her soul is for her to fight it, overcoming evil with good. So Karla, you must fight her or all will be lost.”
Everyone present could see Karla’s hand trembling. The dagger was shaking so violently that Matilda was afraid it would drop on her. Then-

FLASH!!!!!

Light erupted from the ring and Karla fainted, falling heavily onto the cold floor and dropping the dagger beside her.

When Karla awoke, several hours later, she was in a room she had never seen before. She was lying in a four poster bed with silk sheets. All the furniture was of the finest mahogany and was now wearing a white silk nightdress. In that moment she realised that she was in the presence of Prince Bartholomew.
“How are you feeling?” He asked courteously.
“All right I suppose. I’m a bit unsure of where I am.” She replied nervously.
“You are at the palace.” He told her, “and you need not worry about Matilda. The fairies have testified in royal court and she has been sent to prison until we see fit to release her. You are not in any trouble, as we know that you were under the influence of an evil red fairy and you are safe here.” He smiled at her. “I shall leave you now, for you must rest.” The Prince stood up and left the room, leaving Karla to sleep.
Two years later Karla and the Prince were married with three daughters. They named them StalMaria, Donnelona and the other Charalette, in memory of the fairies who had helped them so much.
They all lived in the palace and in the end, despite the troubles they went through, they all lived happily, ever, after.

THE END