The Queen's Riddle: A Faery Story

Don't Be Foolish

Chapter 5- Don’t Be Foolish

"Pearls don't lie on the seashore. If you want one, you must dive for it."  -Chinese proverb

“Yes, My Queen,” Poppy said, bowing her head.

“And have the seamstress make a dress for Nora. She is our guest of honor and must look the part. Nora, I will be expecting your response to my offer for sanctuary by midnight.”

Nora nodded, silently wondering if a few hours was enough to decide if she could last three months in a strange new place.

“You two are dismissed,” the Queen said, waving her hand.

Poppy curtsied and gave Nora a stern glance, motioning for her to do the same. Clumsily, Nora bent her knees and lowered her head. Out of the tops of her lashes, she saw an amused smile spread across the queen’s face. Lowering her head, Nora wondered if she could ever fit in at a court with such formalities.

“This way,” Poppy whispered, flying towards a door on the far side of the room and pulling on Nora’s sleeve for her to follow. “I have to introduce you to the royal seamstress.”

Nora tried to keep pace with Poppy’s erratic movements as she fluttered through the air. “Slow down. I can’t keep up with you going so fast.”

“Humans really should have wings,” Poppy muttered to herself. “You’d get around much faster.”

Poppy swung open the door, revealing a maze of stone archways and passages all seeped in golden light. The large granite pillars lining the walls were all covered in crawling ivy and moss. Dangling roots draped the ceilings, creating elaborate designs as they sprawled down the walls in curlicues.

The two made quick lefts and then rights through the elaborate tunnels until Nora had no idea how to get back to the Queen’s chambers if she tried. “Where are we, Pops?”

“We’re in the residential part of the Seely Court. The royal families live here. See the doors?”

Nora nodded as Poppy pointed out the bronze doors, tucked behind intricately carved archways, each with elaborate designs covering them.

“Each family has their own quarters,” Poppy explained. “The closer your family lives to the Queen, the higher your place is within the Court and the more royal your blood.”

“And where do you live?”

“I attend to the queen, but I am not a royal. I live on the other side of the court with the others who have served the queen since we were hatchlings.”

“A hatchling?” Nora asked feeling confused as she continued to follow her friend through the maze of archways. “Like a bird?”

“Oh, no. Baby faeries. We hatch from eggs ... so they call us hatchlings when we are young.”

Nora realized that she had never asked Poppy about her childhood or what is was like living in the court, even though Poppy knew every detail of Nora’s life growing up.

“Do you ever wish you were a royal?” she asked, following Poppy through the winding passageways.

Poppy slowed down and lowered her voice. “Never. Those who aren’t of royal blood have more freedom. I can go out to the human world if I wish and also can be here within the court. I prefer it. I wouldn’t have met you if I was a royal.”

Nora imagined what it would have been like to have never met Poppy. No one there to comfort her when she cried at night or to play dolls with outside in the forest. No riddles to solve late at night or beauty advice about growing your hair faster by only cutting it on a waxing moon. “I’m glad you’re not royal, Pops. It wouldn’t have been as much fun without you.”