Fatal Fairies (Renaissance Faire Mystery Book 8) (4 page)

It was a long evening full of flat beer and leftover pizza with the rain beating down on the roof. I really hadn’t meant to spark a conversation about whether or not time travel was possible, or if it was happening in the Village. After one in the morning, I just kind of fell asleep in the hard chair. The voices around me kept going until much later.

But I woke abruptly when my cell phone chimed at five a.m. I’d never set an alarm on it. If I had, it certainly wouldn’t have been for that time of the morning. The Village didn’t open until ten. Nights were late here. No one got up before nine.

It took me a few minutes to turn off the alarm. By that time, I was completely awake. The living room was empty, but I could hear snoring from the bedrooms around me.

“Good morning, dear. I hope you’re feeling better this morning.”

I glanced around and finally found a short, older woman sitting in the chair beside me. She was smiling at me and kicking her little feet about a foot off the floor. She was dressed in a bright blue version of Little Red Riding Hood’s hood, cape, and gown.

“I guess I’m okay,” I answered carefully. “Who are you?”

She giggled, kicking her feet until her layers of blue petticoats were bouncing. “I’m Starshine, your fairy godmother, of course.”

Chapter Four

“Of course.” I got out of the chair and stretched. My back hurt and my legs were numb. “I’m going to get breakfast now, if I can find anything besides cold pizza to eat. I’ll see you later.”

“I’d rather go with you, if you don’t mind. We have a lot to talk about and very little time to act on the problems that have been created by your wish.”

“My wish?” I just thought yesterday was weird. “I don’t remember making a wish.”

“Silly girl. I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t made a wish.” Starshine tapped my cheek with her finger. “I suppose I would technically still be in Renaissance Faire Village if you hadn’t made that wish, but I certainly wouldn’t be in this hovel. I don’t think you would be either.”

Her voice was beautiful. It had a chiming quality to it that made it sound as though she were singing. Her hair was long and silver. It hung down her back past her waist. She was only about three feet tall, and that might only have been if she was stretching.

“Okay. I’m in. Why not?” I stared at her as I ran my fingers through my hair so it wasn’t sticking up all over my head. “What wish did I make?”

She cleared her throat.
“I wish that Chase wasn’t the Village Bailiff.”

I sat down again. “How did you know I said that?”

“Because I’m your fairy godmother. I hear all your wishes, Jessie, even the ones I think might be better off left unwished—such as this one. There are catastrophic side effects to this kind of wish that most people just don’t realize.”

“I’m asleep, right? Maybe I’m in a coma or something which would explain everything that happened yesterday and you too, with your tiny little feet. No one can walk on feet that small.”

She had feet that would have been too small for some large dolls. And she kept kicking them.

“Or you made an unwise wish and you’re dealing with the aftermath.” She smoothed back her fine hair with a tiny hand.

For just a moment, I was terrified. Was this real? Was she right? Had I lost my mind?

Then I realized that no one really had a fairy godmother. No one is out there granting crazy wishes for unsuspecting museum directors. It was all part of the prank—a prolonged, carefully planned and executed prank to be sure. But still a prank.

“Okay. Thanks for the information. I have to go.” No one was fooling me with this, and someone was going to pay when I pranked them later.

“No. Wait. You can’t go out looking that way,” she said.

“Are you gonna change this to a poofy, sparkly gown so I can go to the ball?”

“Some people are so hard to learn,” she told me. “I gave you exactly what you asked for. What more do you want?”

“If you really did this to me, did you think I’d be grateful?” I demanded. “Chase isn’t Bailiff anymore—Canyon is. Chase is with Princess Isabelle, and I’m alone. I’m not the museum director, I’m back doing apprenticeships. None of this is a wish come true.”

She smiled very kindly as though she were dealing with a slow child. “Except for the part about Chase not being Bailiff anymore. That wish has been granted. It’s not my fault that you don’t like the repercussions. That happens sometimes when people haven’t thought through their wish. But you can change that.”

“Change my life back to being happy again?” I mocked her.

“That’s right. But just as you have side effects from your original wish, there could be side effects from you making changes to it.”

I didn’t know if I should scream or sit down and have her tell me what I should do. My life had taken a turn for the weird. Maybe it was the fault of a bad wish. Everything that had changed seemed to have something to do with me or Chase. If I could put everything right again, maybe it would change back.

“Let’s say I believe you.” I started pacing the miniscule uncluttered area of the room. “What would I have to do to change things?”

“Well, you’d certainly want to make Chase fall in love with you again. When you took the part of him away that wanted to be Bailiff, you lost the part of him that wanted to be with you. Human beings are very complicated that way. It’s difficult to change one tiny part of them without changing other aspects.”

“Okay. I took him away from Princess Isabelle once. I could probably do it again. I’d need the right circumstances, but I’m sure he still loves me. He just doesn’t know it right now.”

“And you’d have to solve the murder of the poor fairy that innocently came to the Village with perfectly good intentions, only to find herself struck down in her prime.”

“You mean Apple Blossom? What does that have to do with me and Chase?”

“I would’ve thought that was completely obvious, Jessie. Use your brain, please do. You have to get Chase to help you solve the murder. It was the basis for your wish.”

“In other words if Chase doesn’t get interested in being Bailiff again—”

“No happy ever after for the two of you.” Her miniature, wizened face was sad as she wiped a tear from her eye.

“Wait a minute. If you knew this was going to happen when you granted my wish for him not to be Bailiff, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I had no idea, my dear. Not that I could have stopped you from making your wish.” Starshine straightened her shoulders. “Fairy godmothers have a certain code of ethics.”

“Which doesn’t include telling someone if they’re going to make a wish that will ruin their lives?”

“That’s right. Now, what’s your plan?”

“I don’t know. I need coffee and a cinnamon roll for my brain to function. Let’s go.”

She came along readily. The small wings on her back beat rapidly like a humming bird as she lifted up from the chair and accompanied me out the door. That really threw me. I had to be imagining all this.

Morning sunshine and the hard feel of cobblestones beneath my booted feet made me feel better. Yet, there she was beside me. Her small head bobbed back and forth like a child’s checking for traffic before crossing the street. I decided to check my own sanity and ask the first person I saw if he could see her.

It was an older pirate, one of those that had been around for many years. He wore his hair braided and had a large, real, black mustache that draped across his face.

“Good morrow to you, sir,” I said with a respectful head bow. “I was wondering if I might ask a boon of you.”

He eyed me with the red-eyed gaze of someone who hadn’t slept the night before, and reeked of rum. “Why certainly, lass. What is it ye need?”

“Here. On my right. Do you see anything?”

With one eye closed, he scanned the space beside me. “What is it yer looking for?”

“A fairy, good sir. She is little more than two feet high, dressed in a blue cape, and flying with tiny wings.”

The pirate burst out laughing. “Ye obviously had an even better night than myself, lass. I only saw a green dragon on my way here! Good day to ye.”

He was still laughing as he left.

“There.” Starshine smiled. “Does that make you feel better, Jessie?”

“I wish it did. But when Wanda was dead, some people could see her and some couldn’t. He might be one of those who couldn’t.”

“And did that make Wanda any less real?”

“No.” I grunted. Why did all the crazy magic have to come my way? “Let’s get some coffee.”

I hadn’t realized where Tony had brought me last night. It had been raining too hard, and I’d been too upset to notice.

We were actually close to the camel and elephant enclosure. I could smell them and hear the elephants bellowing. It was a long walk across the Village Green to reach the
Monastery Bakery
. I could have stopped at one of the spots on this side of the Village, such as
Sir Latte’s Beanery
, but I preferred the coffee at the bakery. And I really needed a cinnamon roll.

The grass was wet and deep, lush green in the humid morning air. My boots were very thin and soaked right away, along with the hem of my gown. I hadn’t wrangled with Portia at
Stylish Frocks
for a new costume in a long time. I wasn’t looking forward to it. But sleeping in damp clothes made anything sound better.

“This is such a wonderful place,” Starshine twittered as we crossed the Village. “I can understand why you’d want to live here.”

We went past several performers practicing for the day. Lord Maximus had his birds of prey out, swooping down from the pale blue morning sky to get their treats. Galileo was setting up his telescope and table where he lectured on heavenly bodies—including the lovely young women who visited him.

William Shakespeare aka Pat Snyder was having an in-depth conversation with Sam Da Vinci who was a regular at the Village. The Tornado Twins, Diego and Lorenzo, were trying to make their pet pig follow Lady Godiva in her flesh-colored body suit. But the little pig was too afraid of the beautiful white horse she rode.

“It’s rather like living at the circus, isn’t it?” Starshine asked. “You never know where to look next.”

“That’s true,” I agreed. “I love it. I always have. Chase does too.” I frowned. “Or at least he did.”

“Cheer up.  Chase is still the same man you’ve always known and loved. You’re the same person too. Life is different because of your wish, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be together again.”

“Maybe your wishes should come with warnings.”

She frowned. “You might be right. People are more complicated now than when I was a girl. There was less to get wrong when things went bad, you understand.”

“When was that? When were you a girl?”

“Let me see.” She screwed up her face. “I think it’s been a while. I believe—no wait—I’m sure. The real Da Vinci was painting then.”

“You’ve been alive for hundreds of years?”

“In one form or another.” She stopped moving before we went through the door into the
Monastery Bakery
. “Perhaps there’s something else I should tell you. I don’t want it to come as too great a shock to you.”

But before she could tell me, Canyon saw me and came over.

“Jessie. My lady.” He made a gallant try at a graceful bow. “Why are you telling everyone that I kicked you out? I didn’t even know we’d broken up until Manhattan told me. Is something wrong between us? You know I’d do anything to make it right.”

To prove himself, he put his arms around me and began kissing my neck.

Across his shoulder, I saw my fairy godmother clapping her little hands and smiling.

“Whose side are you on anyway?” I hissed. “This isn’t Chase.”

“No. But it is the present Bailiff who will be involved in the murder case. This is your chance to start back to where you want to be.”

She was right. But she didn’t have to be so happy about it.

“Are you on your way in for coffee?” Canyon asked.

“Yes. I’m so glad I ran into you.” I smiled like I was happy about it too. “I wanted to talk to you about the murder in the Village. Have you started investigating that yet?”

“Not really.” He held the rounded door open for me. “You know how I hate these things. I was hoping Detective Almond might solve it before I had to get involved.”

Starshine flew in with us like a large, blue bird. She hovered at a table. Canyon and I took a seat.

The rough wood tables and chairs fit the Renaissance air of the bakery. This was the only place in the Village where no one paid the employees. The monks of the Brotherhood of the Sheaf took their vows to make bread seriously and did so in a religious fashion. I wasn’t sure with the changes around me who was head monk at this time. I saw Brother Carl in his black robe, but Brother John was also there.

“I’ll get us some coffee and cinnamon rolls,” Canyon offered. “I know how you like it, honey. You just sit right here and relax.”

He was trying to be nice. He just wasn’t Chase.

Starshine made a buzzing sound that I hoped she wouldn’t do very often. It reminded me too much of a large bee.

“Look! There he is!” she whispered.

I didn’t need to look to know it was Chase. I could feel that he was close by. He and I had a bond that was difficult to explain but it was very strong. Knowing it was gone made me want to cry.

“Jessie. How are you this morning?” He sat close to me, concern in his eyes. “You look much better.”

If I have to win you back, I might as well start now.

“I look like a wet dog. That’s what happens when you spend the night at a frat house and sleep in wet clothes.”

He laughed. “I didn’t notice that part. Really. I meant you don’t look so sad and confused.”

“I think I’ve found an answer to my problem. Thanks for helping me last night. You’ve always been such a good friend.”

It was true. For years before we were lovers, we were friends. We joked around when we saw each other. I went to watch him at Vegetable Justice where visitors and residents could hit people with squishy fruit and vegetables when they were angry at them. We liked each other before we loved each other.