Our quest is to find the way into Salix’s home wood That’s why I’m here in the Crosswood again I should be mad at Salix for dragging me along But I’m not A Faerie quest is a lot better than chores and school To be honest I’m not enjoying high school very much I keep getting into trouble I’m not good at making friends And there’s a lot of homework It’s stressful I’ve even been having trouble sleeping What is this wood of yours called anyway I ask as we set off If I’m going to help you look for it I should at least know what it’s called Merwood Salix says Merwood I repeat And you said it’s a few days walk from here At least Finola says Salix nudges her I can tell they aren’t telling me everything That’s just the way Faeries are I’m getting used to it We should go over the rules again Salix says Since you’ll be here in the Faerie Woods for a while 5
Probably smart I say So as we walk Salix and Finola remind me of a few things about Faeries How they can’t lie for example How if you know a Faerie’s full name you can command them to give you three wishes That only works once though remember Finola reminds me So you can never use it on me again That’s how I helped her turn back into a human You can command them to do anything with your three wishes Even magic stuff Only humans can do it though That’s why Faeries try never to let humans learn their full names Yeah I remember all this stuff I say But is there anything new I should know Salix scratches his green hair with one webbed hand As long as you’re with us you’ll be safe he says Although you should always watch out for wild magic 6
Oh yeah Finola says You need to be very careful of that What’s wild magic I ask It sounds a bit scary Sometimes when a Faerie does magic a bit of it escapes Finola says And it can get into other things Salix says And make them do magical things Like toadstools Finola says Remember Salix what happened to King Oren’s rug Hmmm Salix says That was an accident Finola and I giggle The Faerie Woods can be scary sometimes But they’re fun too I’m about to ask for more information about wild magic when Salix Flapfoot What have you done We all stumble to a stop Oren the Faerie King of Farwood has suddenly appeared It is like he popped out of the ground 7
Salix drops to one knee and bows his head Your Majesty he says Stand up idiot child Oren says I don’t know why he calls Salix child Oren doesn’t look like he’s much older than me Salix stands His green face grows pink with shame Why is Blue Jasper here Oren asks Didn’t I say the human should stay away from the Faerie Woods You did but Oren is angry Not so much at me though He’s half brother to Indigo and Violet That makes him my brother too in a way He’s angry at Salix for bringing me here And once Salix explains Oren knows about our deal a Faerie pact It means I had no choice in the matter It’s nice for someone else to be in trouble for a change Now that I’m here I realize I don’t want to go home He asked me to help find his wood I say I’d like to help No one should be without a home 8
