twenty-one

Sylva felt instinctively that a young fairy should never address the queen directly. But she couldn’t help herself. “Oh, great queen,” she said. “I would never have intruded on the ball if it hadn’t been for the tro—”

“Hush!” said Queen Mab’s attendant, Lady Courtney. “Queen Mab speaks first.”

“But I just—”

“Quiet, I say!” said Lady Courtney. “Queen Mab speaks first always.”

“Thank you, Lady Courtney,” said Queen Mab. “But we don’t use those rules so much anymore.” Then she turned to Sylva, whose four sets of wings quivered. How would the queen punish her for entering the ball without an invitation, and before she was old enough to be there?

“Sylva Bell,” said Queen Mab gently. “You alone recognized the trolls’ danger. You alone came up with a plan. And you alone had the courage to save us all from great and lasting peril.”

“She did beautifully!” came a whispered voice from the crowd. Sylva wasn’t sure, but she thought it might have been Goldie.

“But I shouldn’t be here,” said Sylva sadly. “I’m not eight fairy years old.”

The clock in the fairy palace tolled the last chime of midnight. Sylva had hardly ever been up so late. “I suppose I should go back home, my queen, and help my best friend, Poppy, look after little Squeak.”

Queen Mab took Sylva Bell’s downcast face in her hands. She tilted her chin up so she could look straight into Sylva’s eyes.

“Sylva Bell, sister of Tinker, Clara, Rosy, Golden, and Euphemia Bell”—for that was Squeak’s real name—“it is now past midnight, and you are eight fairy years old. Now you are welcome to stay at the Fairy Ball.”

A great cheer went up from all the fairies. Queen Mab allowed the cheer to go for a full two minutes; then she said, “Quiet, fairies, please.

“Sylva Bell taught us three lessons tonight,” she said. “She taught us that it is good to take risks. Sylva took a great risk in wearing her sisters’ wings and believing she could defeat a troop of trolls.”

The fairies nodded in agreement, especially those who were still sweeping up after the trolls’ mess.

“The second lesson Sylva taught us, including me,” said Queen Mab, “is that perhaps our love of shiny things has made us imprudent.”

“Imprudent?” whispered Goldie.

“It means,” said Queen Mab, “that we could be a bit more sensible at our next ball. We all love elegant dresses and dancing slippers, but we should always make sure we can run in our shoes and move in our gowns.”

“Humph,” said Goldie, but very quietly.

“And the final lesson I’ve learned from Sylva is that the Fairy Ball should be for all fairies, young and old. Next year, every fairy will be invited to the ball. The queen’s fairy palace belongs to all of us.”

This time, the cheer was louder than ever.

Queen Mab gently touched Sylva’s four sets of wings with the Narwhal’s Tusk. They transformed into diamonds, and Sylva felt power surge inside her. Then the queen waved the tusk over Sylva from head to toe. Sylva’s everyday clothes turned into a radiant ball gown, complete with comfortable shoes.

“Go, my child. Enjoy the ball with my fairy blessing.”

“Thank you, my queen!” said Sylva. And even Lady Courtney smiled.

With that, the music started up again, the chandeliers sparkled, and the fairies took their places for the Farewell Dance, with Sylva at the center of them all.