Battle at Buttercup Grove
By: Malia Lukomski, Youth Author age 12
Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a little Fairie named Lace. Lace had dark, blonde, curly hair that reached to her shoulders and light brown eyes flecked with green and gray. She lived in a red tulip in Buttercup Grove with her sister, Rose. Their mother and father had died the year before last, and they were left alone to live with each other.
One day, just as the sun rose over the flowers and trees of Buttercup Grove, a screen of black smoke rose from behind the trees. It was slowly approaching the meadow. The smoke was speckled with silver dust.
Dersa was here. Dersa was the evil magician who ruled Nutter Tree, the neighboring colony of magical creatures. The Nutters, his people, were bad and not to be trusted. Their magic was terrible and dark. Dersa wanted to rule the world of creatures, and he wanted to start with Buttercup Grove.
Lace flew above her tulip, sensing something was wrong. Lace cried out in surprise when she saw the cloud of black.
“Rose!” she called to her sister in a high voice. “Rose!” She dove back into the tulip, her white wings flashing in the morning light. She pulled at her sister’s petite arm. “Wake up, Rose, wake up!”
“Wha – what is it?” Rose answered groggily, rubbing her eyes. She blinked a few times. “Lace?”
“It’s Dersa, he’s here again. I have to tell Queen Levvy.” Lace was already flying up, out of the tulip toward the large oak on the north side of the Grove. Rose tried to keep up, but she was small and young and the wind brought her up and down as it caught her pink wings.
“Whoa, Lace! Hey!” she shrieked as she was brought up by an up draft, and then tumbled down when it faded a moment later. “Lace!” But Lace ignored her sister. She just pushed her wings harder on the wind.
“Dahlia, Fox!” Lace called to her friends. “Dersa is here!” She screamed it again until they understood. The two Fairies came up beside their friend.
“Lace, what’s wrong?” they chorused.
“Look,” the Fairie pointed a small, white finger to the southern edge of the Grove. The two creatures gasped.
“Exactly,” Lace said. “That’s why I have to get to Queen Levvy.”
The Fairie guarding the oak let them through, but Emmie, the receptionist, protested vigorously.
“She is having a meeting with her children.” She fussed worriedly. “King Locktus just died, you know, and –”
“It’s Dersa!” Lace said in a sharper tone than she intended. The receptionist fell silent. “We have to see her.”
The four Fairies—Rose had finally caught up—burst through the council doors. They stood shoulder to shoulder, looking at the three Fairies who looked back at them.
“What, may I ask,” Prince Gregor began, “is the meaning of this?”
“Dersa, your Majesty.” Lace curtsied, knowing how much he hated it when Fairies bowed to him. “He has come back, look.” She gestured to the window. Levvy and Fern, the Princess, looked at the window, but Gregor stayed seated, staring at the four Fairies.
“That is nonsense, why would he be attacking now?” he asked, shooting into the air. “This is utter nonsense.”
“Is not,” Fox said. “Look out the window if you don’t believe us.” She nodded to the window. Slowly, the Prince of Fairies turned. Like his sister and mother, he froze and fell silent when he saw the silver-speckled black screen.
“We have no Starlight to protect us,” Dahlia said. “He attacked during the day so we have no protection.”
Princess Fern turned to her mother. “Mama?” she whispered. “What are we to do?”
“We are to fight, darling.”
The four Fairies went back to the Grove. They discussed what they needed to do in order to save their beloved Grove.
“Rose, you notify all the Fairies. Tell them Dersa is coming, and they need to hide, they need to be safe.” Lace said. “After that, I need you to go to Tulip and hide, you hear me? Stay there and hide.”
“But –”
“No buts, Rose. I promised Mother I would take care of you, and I will keep that promise.” Lace twisted the diamond ring her mother had given her before she died around her ring finger. She looked up. Rose was still hovering in the air, a doubtful look on her face. “Go.” Lace said. Rose went.
“What do I do, Lace?” Fox asked. “We need Starlight...”
“The mirrors!” Dahlia said suddenly. “The gems in the mirrors! They’re filled with Starlight!”
“Of course!” Lace said. “Good thinking, Dahlia. Fox, get the Starlight from those gems!”
“On it, Boss.”
“And don’t call me ‘Boss.’” Lace said absently. She looked at Dahlia. “We will go to the battle field.”
The battle field was small and square and quite bare. Brown grass was all that could be seen in the small clearing. But it was ideal for battles against Dersa’s Darkness. The Fairie Fighters were already lining up. There was no sign of Queen Levvy or her children.
Fox appeared then holding eight bags of Starlight. She gave eight Fairie Fighters each one bag. After delivering twelve more bags, Fox flew to where Dahlia and Lace hovered.
“I saw Rose,” she said. “She was headed to Tulip.”
Lace breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Fox.” She looked around for the Queen. She saw no one but her friends and the Fairie Fighters.
“Can I command them?” she asked herself as she flew away. She heard Fox’s cry of surprise as she left, but she kept flying. She didn’t stop until she was over the heads of the Fighters. They swiveled their heads to look at her.
“Attention!” she yelled. “Ready? Aim! Fire!” A wide stream of silver-white Starlight burst from the bags. The Darkness faded significantly, but it was strong.
Just then, Levvy came marching up the field. Lace quickly flew to her.
“We need more Starlight, about a bag for each Fighter.”
“We can do that.” She snapped her fingers and twenty servants went to deliver the Starlight. The Queen looked at her. “Will you command them?”
“Me? I-I… well, sure. Okay. Yes, I can do that.” Lace said with confidence.
“Good. Carry on, then.” the Queen said. Lace flew away. The Fighters had their Starlight.
“Ready? Fire!” Another stream of sparkling light erupted from the bags. Cheers rang out around Lace, but she knew it wasn’t over. Lace watched with grim anticipation as the Magician appeared from the shadows.
Lace acted quickly. She tore the ring from her finger. It felt small in her hand.
“Starlight!” she screamed. Everyone froze. A stream of Starlight escaped from the diamond. It hit the Magician in the chest. He screamed and turned to dust. Everything was silent. Then Lace was surrounded by Fairies.
Dersa was never seen again. Lace never had to use her ring again. Prince Gregor saw Lace in a new light and declared his love for her that day. They were married that year. And so, everyone lived happily ever after.
~The End~
Illustration Copyright © 2009 Feras Nouf
Copyright © 2009 by Malia Lukomski, age 12