Chapter Eight

A Little Fairy-Dust Magic

Several weeks passed and Gizmo was growing stronger by the day. Every morning and evening, Ozette and Gizmo practiced their new way of seeing. Soon it was second nature to both of them, and they were amazed at how much richer their lives were since they had become more intimately involved with the forest.

Princess Abrianna began teaching them how to prepare the different fairy dusts and how to use them. Ozette and Gizmo enjoyed following the princess’s formulas, grinding herbs and working with magical stones. They learned the magical words needed for activating some of them. “Bristlemufflet-Goodykuntz-spiellomba” Ozette and Gizmo chanted as they ran an amethyst over a batch of fairy dust.

Each day, Farlandia seemed to become more alive as they developed their skills for talking to the creeks, rivers, stones and plants. Ariel, Sydney and Annika would sometimes join them, turning the teaching into a social event. The princess often loaned Ozette books on magic that had been written centuries before. The books were yellow with age and had been passed from generation to generation. Ozette and Gizmo would stay up late into the night reading. Ozette knew it would take many years for them to learn all there was to know about magic.

One sunny day, when a slight breeze was whispering through the tree branches, they were at Princess Abrianna’s cottage, helping her grind herbs to make fairy dust to animate tree energy. Ozette painstakingly ground sage, motherwort and oak leaves with a mortar and pestle, so they could be added to a fairy dust formula they had concocted several days ago. The day was unseasonably warm, and a gentle breeze blew through the open windows in the cottage, filling the cottage with the scent of fall-blooming flowers.

“See, Gizmo,” the princess said, handing the baby squirrel a brilliant opal. “When you move the stone over the fairy dust four times in a clockwise direction, it activates the magical energies and makes it so much more effective.”

Gizmo nodded eagerly. He was a quick learner and adored the princess, although some days he would prefer to frolic in the forest with his animal friends. Ozette and the princess tried to find a good balance.

After Ozette had finished with the formula, she wrapped the fairy dust in squares of pale green, silk fabric and tied each of them with a bow. Gizmo was restless, so the princess sent him outside to throw sticks for Cassady while she and Ozette fixed lunch. Ozette loved the time she spent with the princess and was learning so much about the herbs the princess grew in her garden or gathered wild in the forest.

They were getting ready for lunch when Sydney flew into the princess’s cottage. “I stopped by your nest, and when you weren’t there, I thought you might be here,” Sydney said. “Princess Abrianna asked me to make something for you and Gizmo, so you can carry fairy dust with you.”

The fairy held out two pouches woven from honeysuckle vines. The pouches had intricately woven thin straps that could be fastened around the squirrels’ middles.

“Those are beautiful, Sydney,” Ozette said, opening hers and examining the various pockets in the pouch for storing different fairy dusts.

“You do such beautiful weaving,” Ozette said, as she admired her friend’s handiwork.

“Here, Gizmo. Let’s see how this looks on you,” the princess said, fastening the pouch around Gizmo, who had hurried into the cottage when he saw Sydney. The excited squirrel raced around the cottage pretending to sprinkle fairy dust everywhere while the princess invited Sydney to join them for lunch.

“I’d love to, but I promised Annika I would have lunch with her today,” Sydney said with a wave, as she flew out of the door to shouts of “Thank you,” from the squirrels.

They dined by the pond on Salad Supremeo, Egplantini, Pumpkin Breadettes and mint tea. An exhausted Gizmo fell asleep on a rocking chair by the pond. Ozette felt such tenderness for him as she placed a tiny pillow under his head and tiptoed back into the cottage.

“While Gizmo naps, let’s whip up a batch of harness-the-wind-fairy dust and some fanciful-fairy-flood dust just in case. You never know when we may need it. Timing is going to be everything when we have to defend Farlandia,” the princess said.

She opened her pantry and pulled out jars of burdock root, basil leaves, birch bark, angelica, mistletoe, holly and a pinch of marjoram. “We can only do what we can do,” she said, setting the jars on the table.

Ozette’s arm was tired by the time they had ground the herbs together and perfumed them with a special blend of oils Princess Abrianna kept in a cut-glass vial with a flower-shaped stopper. Ozette sniffed the delicate fragrance of the herbs, then spread them evenly in squares of red silk. She folded them and tied them with white ribbons.

“I think we have a great start,” the princess said, tucking the various fairy dusts into the squirrels’ new pouches.

The princess slipped outside to check on Gizmo and carried the barely awake squirrel into her cottage. She made a pot of strong rosemary tea, sweetened it with honey, pulled out a book and sat at the table.

“Okay. Now I’ll teach you how to use the various fairy dusts,” she said. All afternoon they experimented with different fairy dusts–formulas that helped them see water sprites, wind sprites, and all kinds of nature more clearly. Next, the princess taught them how to harness their energy when needed.

As they practiced their skills talking to creeks, rivers, plants and stones, Farlandia became more alive to the squirrels.

“These are powerful forces we’re dealing with here,” Princess Abrianna warned the squirrels. If they’re misused, who knows what could happen! Be sure you use them exactly like I have taught you. The fate of Farlandia is at risk if you don’t follow the rules.”

Ozette and Gizmo nodded solemnly. The squirrels placed their paws over their hearts and vowed to be respectful of all forest magic.

It was late afternoon when the exhausted squirrels headed home. Ozette’s head was swimming, and in her mouth she held a “cheat sheet” the princess had made for them, so they could memorize formulas and how to use them. Soon both squirrels had confidence that they could use the fairy dusts correctly.

When Ozette tucked Gizmo into his moss-lined bed, the baby looked thoughtfully at Ozette and said, “I wonder what would happen if you mixed all the fairy dusts together?”

“Gizmo, remember what we promised Princess Abrianna,” she said sternly. “No experimenting, Gizmo. Who knows what could happen. This is powerful magic, and nature cannot be entirely controlled even using the fairy dusts. No fooling around with it–ever!”

Gizmo nodded, yawned and fell asleep.