The First Magical Adventure of Fairy Petal

By James Morris

Nirvana is a magical land inhabited by fairies, gnomes elves and warlocks.
Fairy Petal is born to an ancient fairy family but she is only half the size
of a normal fairy which gives her a disadvantage. She is however highly
intelligent and is given a pendant by the fairy Queen which she learns has
great magical powers.
She has a knack of getting people to help her and in this fi rst adventure she
enlists a gnome, elf, leprechaun and a white warlock to help her free her
brother Solom who has become entrapped by a wicked Black warlock.
It is a fi ght of good over evil and in this case Fairy Petal represents the
goodness of fairies and Nirvana.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Apr 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469195049

James Morris

James Morris, recently retired from various Chief Executive positions within the Logistics and Support Services Business sector within the United Kingdom, has had an interest in occultism for several years and has transmitted this into fi ctional thrillers for others to enjoy. His interest in children’s fantasy and his books on ‘The Magical Adventures of Fairy Petal’ also introduce ‘soft magic’ for children to enjoy. His Grandchildren Niamh and Eoin love the characters in these books. Happily married for over 42 years to Jennifer whose support for his writings have made these publications possible.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

‘In the beginning . . .’

Everything was quiet and peaceful, as usual, in the land of Nirvana. Swifts were twittering joyously as they swooped and soared in the sky searching for flies and insects buzzing above the myriad of wild flowers in the fields below. It was just after sunrise and only a faint rustling of leaves within the woodland glade could be heard as life in the little hamlets and villages started to stir.

Nirvana was a special place. Indeed, it was a fortunate place, as it was home to many types of magical beings. Elves, gnomes, dwarves, and fairies inhabited different parts of Nirvana. The fairies, however, were the oldest inhabitants in Nirvana with a history going back over seven hundred years, followed by the elves who had been there for five hundred years and the gnomes and dwarves only settling some three hundred years ago. All of them lived well together with the odd exception of the gnomes who could be very mischievous and regularly played tricks on unsuspecting visitors to Nirvana. The dwarves were a very serious and staid race indeed and never looked at the funny side of things. They would not tolerate silly pranks, so the gnomes tended not to be mischievous with them.

In the far west of Nirvana there was a special wood surrounded by sloping green hills covered with large oak trees and numerous fruit bushes. This wood was a magical place as it was home to the longest living family of fairies. They were well known for their kindness and generosity towards others. Fairies were a very secretive race and were always invisible to humans or other outsiders, but on a moonlit night at certain times of the year they could be seen dancing around the bases of mushrooms and toadstools in the quiet wooded glades.

This oldest fairy family was known as the Flutter Family and it was headed by their grandfather called Soril and their grandmother Marl. Both were now over one hundred and twenty years old. Fairies could live to be over two hundred years old, and in fact, Soril’s father had lived to be over one hundred and ninety years old. They were both looked after by their son Thom, who had married a fairy called Merry, who came from the east of Nirvana. Merry was a most happy and friendly fairy who always looked for the best in people. If she had a fault, it was in trusting others too much. Merry was overjoyed to have three children: Solom, a son who was fifteen years old; Greta, a daughter who was fourteen years old; and Petal, who was the youngest daughter at eight years.

Petal had been the smallest fairy ever to be born in Nirvana. She was only three inches high compared to others of her age who were over ten inches high. She was so small and delicate when she was born that her mother Merry called her Fairy Petal, likening her to the delicate and fragrant petals of the wild flowers in the woods. Being so small had many disadvantages for Fairy Petal. At school the other larger fairies would push her to one side when playing games. One of Fairy Petal’s favourite games was hide-and-seek. Because she was so small she could hide in the smallest cracks and holes in trees and never be found, which greatly annoyed the other fairies as they could not hide as well as Fairy Petal and were always losing their turns.

Solom and Greta always looked fondly upon their sister, Fairy Petal, because of her small size and the fact that her small legs and wings seemed so delicate that the slightest puff of wind would carry her away.

Solom and Greta were exceptional scholars at the School of Fairies and were quick to learn, but they were utterly amazed at how quick Fairy Petal was to assimilate lessons. Solom and Greta were in the eighth grade, but Fairy Petal was already in the sixth grade, which was three levels above where she should have been.

Solom said, ‘Greta, another year and Fairy Petal will be at our level!’

‘How does she do it?’ remarked Greta in great wonder.

‘Well, I think when she was born so small and fragile, the Fairy Queen must have decided she needed to have a special gift to help compensate her for her life ahead,’ answered Solom.

‘Yes, you are probably right, Solom. After all, when Petal was born, the Fairy Queen visited her and touched her forehead with her wand and stars and sparks flew everywhere,’ exclaimed Greta.

‘They were not sparks,’ retorted Solom. ‘I believe they were magic fireflies, at least so I am told.’

‘Really!’ said Greta. ‘I have heard that such fireflies are always there to help such fairies in times of dreadful need and remain invisible until called upon.’

‘Humph,’ snorted Solom. ‘That is just gossip and tall tales. I don’t believe they hang around fairies waiting for a call. I have never seen any appear at any time.’

‘Well, they are magic fireflies,’ retorted Greta. ‘So anything is possible, and because they are magic, they can do what they want!’

‘Well, we perform magic. All fairies have some magical powers, so we should be able to see them if they do exist,’ countered Solom.

‘Yes, I know that,’ sighed Greta. ‘But there is some magic we are not supposed to see, and these magical fireflies are obviously one of those!’

Solom looked at Greta for several minutes in silence and then sighed, ‘I suppose you could be right. It is just like you and I can do so much magic but Fairy Petal can do twice as much already and from one so small too!’

‘But we must always remember that our magic can only be used to help people or better the fairy world. Use it for personal gain and it will fall badly against us.’

Solom nodded in agreement. ‘I wonder if Fairy Petal realises how strong her magical powers are?’

‘Probably not,’ suggested Greta. ‘She just accepts that she can do things easily without much thought.’

Solom heard a rustling behind the bins at the base of the mushrooms next to their large toadstool house and peered around the corner to see what all the noise was about only to find Fairy Petal on all fours looking very forlorn and upset.

‘Hello, Fairy Petal, what are you up to?’ asked Solom.

Fairy Petal looked up at Solom with a tear in her eye. ‘I have lost the special pendant given to me by Mother, and she will be so cross if I cannot find it.’

‘Nonsense,’ retorted Solom. ‘Mother is never cross with anyone.’

‘Greta, come and help me find Fairy Petal’s pendant!’ shouted Solom.

Greta came over towards the bins and smiled at Fairy Petal. She took out from under her wing a small pink handkerchief and gently wiped the tears from Fairy Petal’s cheeks. ‘There, there,’ Greta said in a soothing and calming voice. ‘Do not get upset. We will find your pendant.’

Greta looked kindly upon a very sad Fairy Petal, very concerned that she was so upset.

‘Is it the one you got when you were three years old?’ asked Greta.

‘Yes, it is,’ replied Fairy Petal, remembering that all fairies received a special gift when they were three years old, which they were expected to keep safe for the rest of their lives.

Greta sighed, ‘Then we must find it as it is very special to you! Now, when did you last see it?’

‘Well, I left it on the windowsill last night, and when I got up this morning, it was gone. I thought perhaps it had fallen off the windowsill into the litter bins below,’ suggested Fairy Petal.

Solom flexed his strong arms and moved all the bins but could not find the pendant anywhere around the bin storage area.

‘We will have to empty all our bins on to the ground to see if it has fallen into one of them,’ suggested Greta.

‘Oh, but it will cause such a mess,’ cried Fairy Petal.

‘I have an idea,’ said Greta. ‘We could utilise a special spell to locate it.’

‘I don’t think so,’ said Solom. ‘Remember that magic performed for ourselves will be a terrible thing and will fall badly upon us.’

‘But it is not for you or me,’ exclaimed Greta. ‘It is for the sole benefit of Fairy Petal, and as her third birthday gift is such a special one, it warrants special measures.’

‘Of course you are quite right!’ shouted Solom. ‘A great idea. Go on then, Greta. Cast a special spell.’

Greta moved her right wing into the air and took a small silver wand from beneath her bright yellow tunic and pointed it towards the bins. And as she slowly waved it in a slow and deliberate circle in the air, sparkling dust fell from the end as she gently whispered,

‘By the power of the fairies we need your help. Our sister has lost her special gift and with this wand we need a lift. So bins be good and separate your things so we can see what it may bring.’

The bins all suddenly jumped into the air and rustled about with all their contents flying into the air and hanging suspended as though frozen in mid-air.

‘Oh, look over there!’ cried Fairy Petal, pointing at the bin furthest away from them. ‘There is my pendant.’

Solom and Greta looked and saw a small pendant frozen in mid-air. It had a ruby red stone mounted on a silver heart-shaped base supported by a silver chain. Greta reached over with her wand, and the pendant flew towards it and wrapped itself around the base of the wand. Then, at the same time, all of the rest of the rubbish and litter fell back into the bins as though there had been no disturbance at all.

‘Here you are, Fairy Petal,’ Greta smiled and pointed her wand towards her and the pendant flew off her wand and fell around Fairy Petal’s neck, fastening itself safely.

‘Oh, thank you, thank you,’ stammered Fairy Petal. ‘How can I ever thank the both of you. How can I ever repay you?’

‘You do not have to repay us. After all, we are family and we have to help each other whenever there is a need,’ said Solom.

Fairy Petal looked down at her pendant and vowed never to take it off ever again. She touched the red ruby stone and it glowed brightly in response to her touch.

Greta gasped, ‘Oh, look how the pendant glows, Solom. I have never noticed that before.’

Solom looked astonished too. ‘Has it ever done that before, Fairy Petal?’

Fairy Petal looked surprised and a bit frightened too. ‘No, I have never seen it glow before. I also felt it vibrate as I touched it.’

Greta rubbed her chin and mused quietly for a few minutes, ‘I think I know what is happening. You have just turned eight years and all special gifts given when you are three do change after five years, and this is what has happened to your pendant. Oh, how exciting!’

Solom smiled, ‘Yes, you are right, Greta. My third-year gift was a special leather belt with a small dagger, and after five years it developed two special pouches and the handle of the dagger turned gold.’

‘Yes, and my bracelet expanded with special chains and little golden figures when I turned eight too!’ laughed Greta.

Just then, at Greta’s laughter, the pendant glowed more fiercely and a green and yellow stone appeared on either side of the red ruby stone.

‘But how is this happening now?’ asked Fairy Petal. ‘I was eight years old three months ago.’

‘Well, it all depends on certain circumstances,’ explained Solom. ‘It can take up to one year for any changes to happen. But I think the fact that magic was applied to it by Greta has caused the sudden change.’

The pendant glowed even more brightly as the red, yellow, and green precious stones shone outwards. Solom and Greta had to shade their eyes as it was so bright, but Fairy Petal only saw a soft warm glow.

‘It is so bright it hurts my eyes,’ cried Greta.

‘It does not affect me,’ answered Fairy Petal.

The pendant then stopped gleaming and the stones went back to their normal sparkle.

‘How exciting,’ laughed Fairy Petal. ‘I wonder when it will do that again?’

A voice called to them from their large toadstool house, ‘Children, come inside for breakfast,’ cried Merry. ‘You must eat before you go to school.’

Solom moaned, ‘Oh, school again, just as well that I have only three weeks left and then no more school. I will be able to go off on an adventure.’

Greta frowned, ‘Lucky you. I have another year to do yet!’

‘Well, what about me?’ queried Fairy Petal. ‘I have ages left at school!’

‘Well, the way you are passing all of your tests and examinations and leaping ahead in all of your classes, you may well finish school earlier than you think!’ offered Solom.

Merry heard the children and scolded Solom and Greta. ‘No, she will not have a shorter time left at school,’ said Merry. ‘All fairies finish when they are in their sixteenth year and not before!’

‘But we need to have great adventures together,’ they all cried.

Merry looked sadly at the three children. ‘Only Solom can think of having an adventure as he is now entering his manhood years. Fairies of his age need to leave home to learn new things and visit new lands.’

Fairy Petal looked up at Merry sadly. ‘Oh, how disappointing,’ she sighed. ‘I will never be able to have an adventure with my family’

‘Come on, stop daydreaming.