Farrah in Fairyland (15 page)

“Well, Farrah,
or should I say Tuttatti? It’s been a very interesting day,”
Giuseppi said sheepishly as he kicked at the wind with his feet
nervously.

“Oh, shut up,
you! For all I know, this could all be a hoax. Plus, even if I do
wind up being a Tuttatti with all this power, we will forever be
friends.”

Giuseppi
stopped kicking. He looked much more serious.

“Come on,
Farrah, you know that your life will change instantly the moment
everyone finds out that you are a Tuttatti. They will have you
fixing all of the problems of Fairyland. You won’t have time for an
untalented fairy like me.”

“Don’t you
dare talk like that, Giuseppi!” responded Farrah with some
irritation. Her emotion turned to one of thankfulness as she placed
her hand on Giuseppi’s cheek. This sent shivers up Giuseppi’s
spine. He loved her touch and wished it would last forever.

“If it wasn’t
for all of your help, I would not be where I am today.”

Giuseppi gave
a smile, turned and then headed inside. With darkness upon her,
Farrah walked briskly back home.

She was happy
to discover that her mother and father were asleep. She didn’t
really have the energy for conversation and didn’t want them to see
her bruised body. Farrah walked up the stairs and splashed into bed
falling instantly asleep.

Over the next
few days, Farrah would come home after work and go straight up into
her room. This scheme, along with a makeshift disguise of a toque
and sunglasses, helped to shield her bruises as she healed.

Farrah had a
plan for the talent show and it no longer required her to go to the
training grounds. After spending the entire week perfecting her
act, she finally felt that she had it down. As she floated with
some extra gusto down the stairs, she joined her father at the
kitchen table. The weekend had finally come and the talent contest
was only a day away.

“Dad?”

“Yes, Farrah,
what is it?” Couraggio Fancycracker answered, as he placed the
newspaper down and sprinkled some dust into his coffee to reheat
it.

“Umh, have you
ever heard of a Tuttatti Fairy before?” She asked as she removed
her toque and sunglasses, confident that her wounds had finally
healed.”

Couraggio’s
face became sour.

“Who told you
about the Tuttatti?”

“Oh,
umh…nobody. I just wanted to know if they exist,” Farrah spoke in a
timid whisper.

“Farrah, I
don’t know why you like to consume yourself with all of this fairy
folklore all the time. The Tuttatti are just a myth – that’s all,”
Couraggio responded very abruptly.

“But what do
you know about them, Dad?”

Farrah’s
father was a little reluctant to speak. When he finally did, Farrah
could see a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Farrah hardly ever saw
this look anymore.

“Well, the
Tuttatti Fairy is the most powerful fairy of them all. They
encompass all of the talents of all of the fairies that exist in
Fairyland. They can transform from a Tooth Fairy, to a Fairy
Godmother, to a Fairy Prince to an Acqua Fairy to a Mezmo Fairy and
then back to a Tooth Fairy in mere seconds. A Tuttatti is virtually
unstoppable.”

Farrah leaned
in closer to her father to make sure that she caught every word
that he was saying.

“Wow, Dad, the
Tuttatti seem incredible, but what is their purpose?”

Couraggio
looked at his daughter giving her a smile.

“It is said
that in Fairyland’s greatest time of need, a Tuttatti will appear
to save our world.”

“Why would
Fairyland ever need saving?” asked a shocked Farrah.

“I don’t know
and I don’t even want to think about it. But don’t worry, it’s just
a legend, the Tuttatti don’t exist and Fairyland is safer then
ever.”

Couraggio
emphasized the last part of his speech, making sure that Farrah got
the point.

“Okay, Dad,”
she said as she got up from the table, and used some Baker’s dust
to clear both her and her father’s dishes. She tried to walk away
from the table when her father stopped her.

“Farrah, I’m
glad you took off the toque and sunglasses. You know that you
weren’t fooling anyone right?”

“How did
you…”

“Don’t worry
about it. Just promise me that you will be safe,” interrupted
Couraggio.

“I will,”
nodded Farrah as she walked outside to the Volareport where Bella
waited. She didn’t have to tell Bella the destination, Farrah just
patted her head and they were off.

Bella landed
gracefully on the front lawn of the Piscini residence. Farrah was
taking the time to admire Mrs. Piscini’s wide array of colourful
Fairy-Eating-Flowers when one snapped at her finger, causing her to
jump backward. She fluttered up the steps and was about to knock on
the door when she overheard an argument between Giuseppi and his
mother. Although their voices were muffled, Farrah was able to make
out the conversation from where she stood.

“
I can’t believe your silly friend has the audacity to think
that she is a Tuttatti. If that’s the case, she’s clearly lost her
mind and I don’t want you hanging around her anymore!”
shouted Mrs.
Piscini.

“
But, Mom, she’s my best friend! AND I LOVE HER,”
added Giuseppi inaudibly, as he
simultaneously began to cry.

“
I don’t
care, Giuseppi, when someone is that delusional, bad things can
happen. She could put you in danger. All I need is for you to go
off trotting into some unsafe place thinking that you two are
invincible. You could get hurt or even killed!”

After his mom
was finished speaking, Giuseppi stormed out the door. If not for a
quick sidestep, it would have flapped open onto Farrah’s face.
Farrah followed Giuseppi onto the grass where he took a seat.

“Hi,
Giuseppi,” Farrah greeted cautiously as she sat beside him.

“Oh, when did
you get here?” asked a startled Giuseppi.

“Just a few
minutes ago – I heard everything.”

“You did?”
asked Giuseppi, his face red with embarrassment.

“You know,
Farrah, when I said that I loved you, it is not love, love, it is
more like friend love. You know, I love hanging out with you and
stuff. The other kind of love would just be gross,” babbled
Giuseppi, trying to cover up his true feelings.

The last words
stung Farrah, having actually thought for a moment, that Giuseppi
had feelings for her. She decided instead to focus on what
Giuseppi’s mom had said.

“That was some
pretty intense stuff your mom said.”

Feeling
ashamed, Giuseppi didn’t have the heart to look at his friend in
the eyes.

“Farrah, don’t
worry, my mom can’t tell me who I can and can’t hang out with.”

“Giuseppi,
she’s right.”

“What do you
mean she’s right?”

“
Exactly, what I said, she
is
right. I don’t want to ever put you in danger. I think I’ve
already done that enough,” replied Farrah giving a little chuckle,
although her words were deadly serious.

“Giuseppi, a
Tuttatti is serious business. Apparently, they are sent to
Fairyland in a time of crises to help protect the land.”

Giuseppi
stopped pulling at the grass and turned his body so that he faced
Farrah.

“Farrah, if
you truly are a Tuttatti, you can’t save Fairyland on your
own.”

Farrah now
pulled at the shards of grass, not wanting to look at Giuseppi in
the eyes.

“I’d have no
choice, Giuseppi. If this is my destiny then this is my destiny.
Tomorrow at the talent contest I’ll find out once and for all if I
am Tuttatti.”

Giuseppi
didn’t like the tone in Farrah’s voice. He was worried once again,
that she was going to do something stupid.

“What do you
mean you’ll find out at the talent contest?”

Farrah looked
up at her friend.

“What I have
in store tomorrow will leave no shadow of doubt.”

Farrah was both
excited and nervous about the big talent contest. She knew that it
would be her one chance to show Fairyland what she was made of. She
also knew that her act had to be perfect. After she went over her
plan a dozen times, Farrah finally fell asleep with the Star of
Fantaseea tucked under her arm.

Not wanting
her parents to find out what she was up to, she quietly slipped out
the front door. Farrah left a note pinned to the back of the door.
It read:

“
Going over to Giuseppi’s and then heading over to the
Spectacolo Stadium for the talent contest.
”

*****

Farrah landed
softly behind the giant stage of the Spectacolo Stadium. The stage
would be the forum for which all the acts in the talent contest
were performed. Bella ducked her head low so that Farrah could
dismount. The large stage captivated her.

Although it was
too early and no one had yet to arrive, the stadium looked
magnificent. It was much larger than Farrah thought it would be-
about the size of six transport trucks squished together. A large
spotlight hung high above the stage like a droopy lily that had
wilted in the hot sun. Farrah tried to hop onto the stage.
Unfortunately, her wings gave out half way through the jump. As she
crashed to the ground, a tiny splinter of a crack formed in the
hardwood floor of the stage. Wanting to stay focused, Farrah
ignored the damage that she had done to the stage and started to
pace the perimeter of the floor.

Farrah looked
out at the fluffy bleachers that floated like clouds before the
stage. The bleachers were lined up neatly throughout the grounds,
swaying slightly with each gust of wind. It wasn’t long before
every last bleacher was filled by the entire community of
Fairyland.

Farrah grabbed
a broom and pretended to sweep, hoping that she wouldn’t be
questioned about being on the stage. Ignoring the other fairies
around her, she visualized her act. She pictured all of the fairies
in Fairyland giving her a standing ovation. For a moment, she was
tempted to hold the Star of Fantaseea high above her head like a
trophy, but as she spotted Roula Rouge’s family taking a seat, she
decided against it.

Farrah quickly
jumped off the stage and out of sight as the Mezmo Fairies took
their seats in the front row. The reserved sections marked Fairy
Princess and Prince, Fairy Godmothers and Fathers and Tooth Fairies
filled up quickly.

They were all
dressed in their most fancy clothing. The fairy women wore long,
bright coloured gowns that twinkled in the sunlight. The men were
wearing colourful suits with tails and top hats. All had decorated
their wings with jewellery of precious gemmed necklaces. One Forest
Fairy was having a hard time moving around as his wings were
weighed down by what was far too much jewellery for his wings to
support. Luckily, he was able to perform a quick, Tranperto spell
to summon a chariot that appeared under his feet.

Dozens of
Farfallo creatures were dressed in tuxedoes. They would serve as
the waiters for the day and had begun to serve drinks to the
fairies in the crowd. Farrah always chuckled at the sight of the
Farfallo looking much like chimpanzees, but with three arms - one
that poked out of the top of their chest. They came in handy,
especially when balancing three trays at once.

The Farfallo
waiters started to serve food from the platters that were placed
carefully on the blunt horns at the top of their heads. Farrah had
taken a seat at the back of the outdoor stadium in the section
reserved for the Ordinaria. A Farfallo bent down in front of Farrah
to offer her some strawberry puffs, which sat on a platter on his
left horn. Farrah waved off the waiter who moved along to the row
behind her.

Directly in
front and at the centre of the stage were two golden chairs
reserved for the Fairy King and Queen. Securo Fairies stood like
statues in front of the golden thrones, awaiting their arrival. As
usual, they were fashionably late with the show scheduled to start
at noon and it was now ten past. As the King and Queen finally
entered the stadium, a hush came over the crowd as all eyes were on
the Fairyland royalty.

Both the King
and the Queen were riding on Colomolo’s. This was the first time
that Farrah had ever seen one. The Colomolo looked much like the
camels that Farrah often saw when she looked down on the remote
parts of Africa. These creatures were winged and were known to fly
long distances without having to stop for food or water. The King
slowly steered the Colomolo through the crowd with the Queen
directly behind him.

Both the King
and Queen waved to the crowd, but at no one in particular. The
Colomolo floated onto the stage allowing the King and Queen to
dismount. The King adjusted his royal blue robes and the Queen her
crown as they approached the podium. With a little Pixie dust
sprinkled onto the podium, a silver horn shot up through the floor.
The King used this to amplify his voice as he spoke to the
crowd.

“
Welcome, Fairyland, to the 30
^th
Annual Talent Contest. I am pleased to announce that we
have over 50 acts for you, by the most talented Superiora Fairies
in Fairyland - the most in history.”

The crowd
erupted into applause as well as hoots and hollers. A few rowdy
Tinker Fairies threw Pixie dust into the air. This popped and
exploded like fireworks with sparks spraying down on the crowd. The
hat of one of the Forest Fairies caught fire, but a pair of Acqua
Fairies that doused the woman with water quickly handled this. The
King raised his hand to quiet the crowd.

“
There
will be a wide variety of acts this year, some that will dazzle
you, some that will perplex you and other acts that will SCARE you.
Many fairies will be pushing their limits this year to produce some
of the most dangerous and magnificent acts ever performed by
our
Superiora
Fairies.”