Princess Tulip Morningstar stood in the shadow of Oberon. She couldn’t have fathomed how tall the Tree Lords were without seeing them with her own eyes. Her imagination was great—but seeing the sheer awesomeness of Oberon and his army in reality was more earth-shattering than anything she could have conjured in her wildest of dreams. He stood taller than the Lighthouse of the Gods, dwarfing Tulip, who felt smaller than she ever had before. Despite this, somehow she was not afraid.

She stood silently, waiting for Oberon to speak first. Technically, he was visiting her lands, but he had ruled there first, long before the time of men and women. Princess Tulip wanted to show him the respect he deserved. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long. Oberon’s voice rumbled from overhead, shaking his branches. His leaves cascaded around Tulip as his sonorous voice—one befitting a venerable and powerful being—boomed out of the darkness.

“Princess Tulip, I am honored to meet you. Would you mind if I took you within my branches so we may speak face to face?”

“Not at all, I would like that,” Tulip replied. And she meant it. She had never felt so fearless. As Oberon’s branches gingerly grabbed her, she didn’t fear that she would be crushed within his powerful clutches. He placed her safely atop the balcony of the Lighthouse of the Gods, where they could meet almost face to face.

“Ah, there you are. You have the face of a queen. You possess beauty that surpasses my imaginings.”

Tulip smiled at the Tree Lord, examining the lines in his face. His features were defined by his bark and the deep cracks in his trunk. And it seemed to Tulip that he might have the most benevolent face she had ever beheld.

“Kind words, my dear,” Oberon said, reading her mind. “We are here to protect you from the Dark Fairy, Maleficent. Long ago, she destroyed the Fairylands. We left it to the other creatures of the forest to exact revenge while we slumbered. But now that we have awoken, we cannot let her come to our lands—your lands—and destroy those you love, dear Tulip.”

The princess didn’t understand why Oberon felt such a devotion to her. She didn’t know what she had done to deserve such an honor.

“We were slumbering in darkness and obscurity for what felt like a millennium, until your interest woke us,” Oberon answered. “Your stories, your imaginings of us brought me and my brethren out of our slumber and gave us life once again. We were forgotten in these lands after we were driven off by the Cyclopean Giants following the Great War. But your thirst for knowledge has sparked life back into us, and for that we are grateful. Without your interest and devotion, we would not exist. I witnessed many things while I slept, my dear. There are many wrongs in this world that we intend to right. It is time to take my place among the fairies once more as their benefactor. To deserve that place again, I must destroy the Dark Fairy known as Maleficent for her crimes against the Fairylands.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, why punish Maleficent now for burning the Fairylands so many years ago?” Tulip said.

Oberon seemed to be contemplating Tulip’s question. “Because, my dear, we were sleeping before. We watched her atrocities while we slumbered. We watched in horror as she destroyed every living creature in those lands—all except the fairies themselves. It took the fairies years to repair the damage. Never once did she return to see if anyone had survived. She didn’t even care to find out whether her adopted mother still lived. We were helpless, as if trapped in a nightmare, seeing all of this without being able to do anything about it. But now that we’ve awoken, there is no choice but to avenge nature by making Maleficent pay for what she’s done. She is a danger to all living things. She is a danger to herself. She is a danger to those you love!”

Tulip was speechless. She knew nothing of Maleficent other than the fact that she had put Tulip’s cousin to sleep on her sixteenth birthday. Tulip could not defend the Dark Fairy. “May I ask another question?”

The Tree Lord laughed. “You may ask anything you wish, little one. If it weren’t for you, we would not be here.”

Tulip smiled. “Thank you. Who put you to sleep? I know you ruled these lands long before men and women came to the shores. And I know you and your kind left after the Great War between your kindred and the Cyclopean Giants. But where did you go? Was it the Fairylands?”

Oberon’s laugh rumbled from his chest. “Indeed it was the Fairylands, my dear. We had decided to wander until we could find a place to call home when we came across the fairies. They were living in fear, under constant threat of ogre attacks. The vile beasts had swarmed the Fairylands, burning them again and again. They’d killed everything and everyone in their path. So we stayed, fought off the ogres, and made the Fairylands our home until we wandered into obscurity for our rest.”

“You put yourselves to sleep, then?” Tulip asked.

“I did, my sweet. Our kind live many lifetimes, like your nanny, but infinitely more. Without sleeping for a number of years, we would wither and die. Of course, we take the risk of being forgotten if we cease to exist in the imaginations of the various prevailing inhabitants of the lands. But someone always brings us out of our slumber, like you did, my little one.”

“My nanny, the one you know as—”

“Yes, the One of Legends. She’s one of the most powerful beings of the Fairylands,” Oberon interrupted.

Tulip looked surprised. She had just gotten used to the idea of her nanny being a witch, and now Oberon was telling her she was a fairy.

“Yes, my dear, she is a fairy of the highest rank. Should she want to admit it or not, she is of that realm and always shall be,” Oberon said, reading Tulip’s thoughts. “She is the purest of fairy kind. I ceased to sense her magic in the world as I slept. I thought she was gone from us forever, but lately I have sensed her once again. Did you awaken her the way you woke me, my little one?”

Tulip shook her head. “No, it was Pflanze, the odd sisters’ cat. Or so Nanny believes, anyway.”

Oberon’s laugh echoed through his branches, shaking his leaves and making them cascade around Tulip once again. “The odd sisters! They are still in this world? I stopped feeling their spirits after Ursula died. I feared they were lost to us, leaving us with the best parts of themselves.” Oberon smiled at the confused expression on Tulip’s face. “Oh, yes, I know the odd sisters. All their deeds, all their secrets, all their betrayals and loves—but they are not for me to speak of. What concerns me now is making the Dark Fairy pay for her transgressions. I have felt her coming here and her dark intentions. It was torture for me to hear the screams of our brethren when Maleficent burned the Fairylands. They burned, and I was powerless to do anything about it. But now we are free. And we have been waiting a very long time to make the Dark Fairy pay with her life.”

From far away, Tulip heard a tiny scream. Oberon heard it, too. He looked down to see Nanny standing at the base of the lighthouse.

“Come up here, my dear, use your wings,” Oberon commanded. A moment later, Nanny appeared beside Tulip and hovered in the air.

“Only for you, Oberon,” Nanny replied.

The King of the Fairies looked tenderly at Nanny. “And I suppose you’re going to try to make a case for your former charge, your daughter? You’re going to try to save her from my wrath, even though she deserves it? It breaks my heart to hurt you, my wee one, it really does, but I cannot let her deeds go unpunished. And how did she repay you for your kindness to her? She nearly killed everyone in the Fairylands. She nearly killed you, and she still may.”

“You know it was a mistake,” Nanny insisted. “You know it was my fault. If you have to hold someone accountable, punish me.”

Oberon chuckled. “You have punished yourself far too much already, my dear one. There is nothing I can do to you that you have not already done to yourself.”

Nanny was heartbroken. “But so has Maleficent. The odd sisters told me she punished herself for years. She tortured herself for what she did!”

Oberon shook his head. “She’s learned nothing from it. She’s only slipped further into darkness. Her deeds are not redemptive. Had she taken another path, had she become the witch you hoped she would be, we wouldn’t be here. You know that I speak the truth. And you know that I am compassionate and fair. I don’t dole out punishment unjustly. Use your powers. See her crimes. I saw them all as they happened. You refused. That’s probably your only crime against her.”

“What of my sister’s part in all of this?” Nanny asked. “What of the three good fairies? Are they to flitter off into the sunset as usual without even—”

Oberon interrupted her. “No, my dear, they will not. But I will not deal with the good fairies until their charge is safe and her kingdom is no longer asleep. As for your sister, she is one of the reasons I am here. She has disappointed me greatly over the years. I intend to restore compassion and open-mindedness to the Fairylands once again. For far too long have I seen a corruption of fairy magic, and in my name! This will not stand!” Oberon was becoming angry, his voice causing the earth to shake.

“Excuse me, King Oberon?” Tulip said softly.

The King of the Fairies looked down at Tulip, remembering she was there. “Yes, dear heart?”

“Your voice, it is so loud, I’m afraid you will shatter Mr. Fresnel’s lens, which helps light the way of the many ships that traverse our kingdom,” she said, motioning to the beacon in the lighthouse.

Oberon laughed. “Yes, my dear, you are right. And he was rather crafty. He was never drawn to the mines like other dwarfs. He always preferred the light. He worked very closely with my enemy Vitruvius, the Cyclopean King, to create the most magnificent lighthouse of any age. I see your castle is built around that lighthouse. But I will not hold that against him or you. He was a true artist and craftsman, an absolute gentleman, and quite articulate for a dwarf. But I digress.”

Oberon stopped and looked down at the strange expression on Nanny’s face. “Am I boring you with my stories again, my dear one?”

“No. I was just thinking. I should cast a cloaking spell around you and the other Tree Lords. I don’t want Maleficent to know you’re here when she arrives,” she said firmly.

Oberon’s face became grave. “I see.”

“Please give her a chance,” Nanny said. “Please don’t hurt her.”

“I promise to give you the opportunity to speak with her and to let her know how much you still love her. If she loves you in return, I will show her compassion. I may even spare her life,” Oberon agreed.

“Will you give her a chance to redeem herself?”

“I will, my wee fairy, you have my word. But I’m afraid she will disappoint you once again.”