The voice caught Ronaldo by surprise. He had been quite sure he was alone; Thursdays were always his days to be alone. Papa always worked late on Thursdays, and Mum started her night shift early, which meant Ronaldo was left home alone. It wasn't that he liked the solitude, exactly, but he liked being able to do whatever he wanted, no adults to tell him he couldn't.
Today, Ronaldo had decided to go on an adventure in the woods behind the old house his parents owned. After packing his Princess Jasmine backpack with the essentials - crackers, a bottle of milk, a jump rope, a box of crayons, and an extra pair of socks for just in case - Ronaldo had put on his shoes and ventured out into the warm almost-summer air.
He had been sitting on a rather large rock he'd come across in an otherwise strangely clear area of the woods when he'd heard the voice. It wasn't just the voice that had caught him off guard, but the question. What kind of question was "what are you?" anyways? With a frown on his face, Ronaldo looked around the clearing, trying to find the source of the voice. He didn't see anyone, and his heart beat a little faster in his chest.
"Can't'cha talk?"
If it had only spoken once, Ronaldo might have chalked it up to being alone, but whatever was out there had spoken a second time. The boy was terrified, and he clutched his backpack to his chest. Whipping his head from side to side, he tried to spot whoever was talking to him. He must have looked ridiculous, because whoever - or whatever - it was started laughing at him. Whatever it was, it sounded like a girl, and that made Ronaldo feel just a little bit worse. Girls were scary.
Maybe, Ronaldo thought, if he just sat there doing nothing, whoever - or whatever - it was would get bored and leave him alone. Besides, hadn't his parents always taught him not to talk to strangers? He felt that went doubly for invisible strangers.
"Well, if ya can't talk...maybe if you act it out. Just sorta wave yer arms in the air when I get it right - you got arms, don't'cha?"
Ronaldo wasn't sure he could act out anything that would get someone to guess "boy." He was always the worst at Charades and preferred not to play. So he just kept sitting there, still as he could manage.
"Goblin! Imp! Dwarf! Brownie! Cyclops! No, wait - they only got one eye."
"I-I'm a...a boy." Ronaldo found he was speaking before he even realized he'd decided to say anything.
"A boy? Never hearda that before. That a type of Gnome?"
It worried Ronaldo that he still had no idea where the voice was coming from. Grasping his backpack tighter still, he peered carefully around the clearing, looking for the source. He thought he saw something moving behind one of the trees off to his right, but he couldn't be sure - it was a little ways away.
"You're kinda boring, aren't'cha? And here I was, thinkin' you were tryin' ta go on an adventure or somethin', what with that sack you got."
An adventure? That certainly caught Ronaldo's attention. He sat up a little straighter and looked for the source of the voice a little harder. He definitely wanted to go on an adventure - that had been the whole reason for coming out into the woods in the first place, after all. That was when he saw it: the source of the voice. Sitting on a barren branch of a tree right in front of him was a tiny girl - couldn't have been more than seven inches tall. Her skin was a sickly looking yellowy-green color, but Ronaldo decided it made her look like a leaf.
Whatever she was, she seemed to realize that Ronaldo had spotted her. She fluttered down off the dead branch, spreading wings that looked like torn leaves, fresh from a tree in the middle of spring, and she hovered right in front of the boy's nose. Ronaldo could see now that her eyes were completely black, and her teeth pointed. Up close, her appearance frightened him, and he could feel himself trying to draw back, away from whatever she was.
The thing rolled her eyes - or she seemed like she did, anyways - and put her tiny hands on her tiny hips. "I ain't gonna hurt'cha." The way her voice cut through the air, she almost sounded offended. "Don't'chu know what I am?" Ronaldo shook his head slowly, afraid to make a sudden movement.
"I'm a fairy, you idiot!"
A fairy? Ronaldo had never really believed fairies existed, and if he had, he never would have imagined them looking like this thing. Before giving himself time to think or react, Ronaldo had lifted his own hand away from the safety of his backpack and jabbed at the fairy with his forefinger. "Watch it!" The fairy yelped as she darted to the side, avoiding the finger. She did not looked pleased about the jab.
Drawing his hand back quickly, Ronaldo eyed the fairy for a little while longer. She was interesting to watch, moving the way a fly might, zig-zagging through the air. She darted this way and that, moving towards a path Ronaldo had not noticed before. It was set perfectly between the two tallest trees surrounding the clearing, their branches bent together, giving the path a natural-looking doorway. Something about it felt magical, and Ronaldo could hardly take his eyes off of it now that he saw it.
"You comin' or not?"
Nodding carefully, Ronaldo put his Princess Jasmine backpack on his back and carefully climbed down off the rock, his eyes wide with wonder as he stepped closer to the doorway. As he did so, it seemed to shimmer, the way a moth's wing might. He stood staring at the magical doorway, in awe. The fairy hovered in front of his face once again, a look of annoyance on her leafy face.
Looking almost ashamed, Ronaldo stepped through the shimmer. As he did so, the world around him seemed to change. The forest melted away, a metallic sea of silver grass waved at him. He heard himself gasp, felt himself whip around to look for the doorway. It was gone.
"Where are we?" Ronaldo's voice had a quiver of fear to it. The fairy stuck her miniature face in his, looking rather confused. "What'd'ya mean 'Where are we?'!? Yer a fay, aren't'cha?" Ronaldo carefully shook his head. He didn't even know what that meant. "No?! I coulda sworn they told me yer the kid of Morgan..." The fairy flew in her zig-zags, and Ronaldo was sure he heard her muttering something about "nabbing the wrong kid." Looking at the sea of shiny grass around him, Ronaldo thought for a moment.
"What's yer name, kid?"
"Ronaldo."
"Ronaldo? What kinda name is that for a- nevermind. Yer mum, what's'er name?"
"Morgan?"
"Is she Morgan Fay? Is yer mum Morgan Fay?"
"N-no? She's, er, Morgan Pellichero... She's got the same name as me and Papa." The fairy fluttered away, clearly frustrated. Ronaldo stood there, looking worried, wondering how he was going to get home. "'Scuse me, er, Ms. Fairy?"
Ronaldo's word drew and angry glare from the leafy fairy. "It's Uri." The fairy's voice showed more than a little irritation. She continued on her zig-zagging path, back and forth, muttering angrily to herself about something Ronaldo didn't understand. She stopped suddenly, turning to look at Ronaldo with an almost suspicious expression. "What'd'ya want?"
"It's just... How do I get home?"
Uri laughed at the question, and it was like the chiming of delicate bells. She dropped a few feet in the air, having laughed so hard she forgot to keep her wings going. "Yer a hoot, Kid!" Ronaldo wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel worried or afraid at her response. Did that mean he wouldn't be going home? Ever? He felt the heat rise up in his cheeks, the tears were already threatening to fall. The first tear slipped over his cheek.
Uri stopped laughing, hovered mid-air, her mouth ajar, as she stared. "Oh no. Don't cry, Kid..." It was obvious she didn't know what to do with a crying kid. "It's just... y'know... There's this thing we gotta do! A....adventure! Yea!"
Ronaldo sniffled and wiped the tears off his cheeks. "An adventure?" That sounded...well, fun. It was what he'd been hoping for all along, even if he hadn't really known it would be an adventure as big as this was turning out to be.
"Yea, Kid. C'mon. We gotta go meet the Queen of Morterre or whatever."
"REALLY?!" His excitement was nearly tangible. Uri was not anywhere near as excited about it as Ronaldo was.
"Er...yea, really. Just, er, follow me, awright?"
"Alright!" Ronaldo punched the air in his excitement, afterwards looking slightly abashed that he'd done such a silly thing - people didn't actually do that in real life. Uri - somehow - rolled her eyes again before fluttering away and back. "Well, c'mon, then."
Ronaldo hurried after the fairy, a grin on his face, the tears forgotten. His Princess Jasmine backpack leaped for joy as Ronaldo ran through the grass. It was softer than he thought it would have been - it felt like a puppy's fur, and the boy let his hand graze the top of the grass as he ran.
Before too long, Ronaldo and Uri came to a small stream. It was just too barely too wide to jump across. Uri, of course, had no problem flying straight across the water. Ronaldo on the other hand frowned, trying to judge how deep the water was. Uri shouted something from across the stream, but Ronaldo hadn't heard her. He decided to take off his shoes and wade through the water. The current didn't seem like it would be strong enough to drag him down, so with a smile on his face, he did just that.
As soon as Ronaldo stepped in the water, though, something grabbed his ankle, and he yelped in terror. Uri flew up to his face and growled, "I told you not to touch the water!"
The hand around Ronaldo's leg was slimy and cold. The boy couldn't bring himself to look down at whatever was holding him hostage, but he wasn't ready for his adventure to end. Whimpering and afraid, he peered downwards, one eye closed. The thing in the water was staring up at Ronaldo with a toothy grin on its face. "Boy. You dare think to cross my waters, Boy?" Ronaldo didn't know how to respond to the creature. He looked around for Uri, but she was nowhere to be seen. Turning his frightened gaze back to the water creature, Ronaldo looked pathetic. "No one crosses my waters without paying the price."
Now Ronaldo was really worried. He didn't have any money! He hadn't even thought to bring his piggy bank with him! This pulse quickened with his breathing. "What can you offer me, boy?" Offer? Nothing! He had nothing!
Then he remembered: his backpack was full of treasures!
Ronaldo pulled the jump rope from his back pack and held it out to the creature. The creature's eyes widened in awe. "You would really part with this, Boy?" Ronaldo nodded quickly, as the creature's slimy hand pulled the jump rope out of the boy's hands. "Thank you. You may pass."
Moving as quickly as he was able, Ronaldo finished crossing the stream. Once he was on the other side, he sat down, panting. After catching his breath, he changed into the dry pair of socks that had been for just in case. The wet ones were put in the water bottle pocket of the back pack, and his shoes were returned to his feet. Feeling ready to continue on his adventure, Ronaldo stood and looked around. He was no longer in the warm silver sea of grass. Instead, he was on the edge of a golden forest. The leaves on the trees looked like they had been forged from gold, copper, and bronze, and they gleamed in the sun. The bark, though, was a soft blue that seemed to move up and down the trunks. It was breath-taking. "Whoa..."
Realizing he was quite alone again, however, Ronaldo called out, "Uri? Uri!?" in a frightened tone.
Uri was not the one who responded to his cry, however. Instead, it was a girl - a girl who looked to be about his age. She jumped down from one of the nearby trees, a basket full of ripe purple fruit in her hand. "Hello."
"Erm...H-hello. I'm...I'm Ronaldo."
"My name is Shansa. Are you lost?"
Ronaldo nodded, glancing around once more for his fairy companion. Turning back to the girl in front of him, he noticed her eyes: They weren't quite normal. The color of them kept shifting from a bright beautiful blue, to a warm welcoming green, to an unearthly violet, occasionally slipping into an angry red. "I...I was with Uri, but I've lost her."
"Uri? I do not know this name." Blinking a few times and tilting her head to one side, she continued, "You are odd. I do not believe you belong here." Her tone worried Ronaldo. He took half a step back. "Oh, do not worry. I do not intend to eat you." Ronaldo felt a pinch of relief. "But I cannot speak for my father, and I do intend to bring you to him." Fear paralyzed the boy, his eyes widening. Shansa took the boy's hand, a wicked grin on her face. "Come with me."
It was very difficult, Ronaldo found, to resist this girl's orders. His legs followed her steps without him willing them to. He whimpered pathetically, looking around, hoping beyond hope that Uri would return and help him. But it seemed he was quite on his own.
"W-wait! Before you...bring me to your father..." Shansa stopped and peered curiously at the boy. "M-maybe I can trade you...er...something? You-you let me go, and I-I'll give you...," he paused as he tried to think of what she might like from his back pack. "I'll give you a bottle of milk!"
Shansa leaned in closer to Ronaldo, eyeing him suspiciously. "Milk? Real milk?" He nodded quickly, as he had with the stream creature. Her eyes narrowed as she demanded, "Show me."
Ronaldo quickly took the bottle of milk from his back pack and offered it to Shansa. The strange girl opened the bottle, tested the milk, and gasped. Looking at Ronaldo with wide eyes and a new respect, she released his hand. "Deal. I will lead you through the woods, avoiding my father. In return, I get this whole bottle of milk." Ronaldo quickly agreed, feeling quite pleased with himself for making such a brilliant trade.
By the time Shansa had led Ronaldo to the other side of the forest, the sun had set on the horizon, lining it with a blanket of rainbow, akin to the colors in her eyes. "I am sorry for treating you poorly, Ronaldo. I do hope you bring more milk the next time you visit." And despite the fear he'd felt at first, Ronaldo decided he rather liked the strange girl.
Turning back towards the horizon, Ronaldo spotted something that looked like a castle. With a smile on his face, he began walking towards it. "Glad you got out, Kid. Sorry I left ya. Had to, though. Fairy business, y'know?" Ronaldo found himself glaring at the source of the voice, even if he secretly was glad that Uri had come back.
"No thanks to you."
"Oooo, yer gettin' gutsy, Kid. Better not talk like that to the Queen!"
Ronaldo looked at the ground. The sand was quite orange, and the boy wasn't sure how he felt about orange sand.
"C'mon, Kid. We gotta get to the palace before the moon rises."
"But why?"
Uri stopped zigging around to land on the boy's shoulder. "Because I said so, that's why. But also 'cause once the moon rises, the doors kinda disappear."
"Oh." Ronaldo nodded and quickened his step.
It really wasn't a long trek to the palace. In fact, it was quite a bit closer than Ronaldo had expected. It was also smaller than he had expected. There was no way a human boy would ever fit in such a small piece of architecture.
"You wait here. I'll get the queen, 'kay?" Ronaldo nodded as he watched Uri fly off to the doors and enter the palace.
It felt like forever, Ronaldo decided as he stood in the sand, waiting for Uri to return with the queen. Humming a song his mother used to sing to him when he would have a nightmare, he sat down in the sand, and the next thing he knew, he was looking at a tiny version of his mother. Expect her skin was the color of spring, she had wings that looked like the petals torn from a budding rose, and a crown on her head. "Mum?"
"No, my dear boy, I am not your mother. But your mother is my daughter." Ronaldo seemed confused. "I had Uri here, one of my most loyal subjects, lure you here to Morterre in hopes of your mother returning here herself." The boy looked at Uri, hurt at the betrayal. She simply shrugged at him nonchalantly.
"But I want to go home!" The queen laughed, and it was a wicked laugh.
"Oh, my sweet child. I cannot let that happen."
Worry was creeping up Ronaldo's legs, reaching for his heart. What was he going to do? What would his parents do when they found he was missing? Would they come looking for him? Panic was tightening its grip on his chest. He had already overcome his fears twice in his journey to this palace. No one was holding him back now but himself. Taking a deep breath, Ronaldo reached out and picked the fairy queen of out the air, holding her tightly in his fist. "Send me home, Grandmother! Or I'll crush you."
And the queen looked genuinely terrified. She looked at Uri for help, but the leafy green fairy shrugged stating, "Yer on yer own with this one. I don't wanna be crushed, yer highness."
The queen glared at the boy with a seething rage that only queens seemed able to really muster. She gnashed her pointed teeth at him as she wriggled, trying to free herself. It wasn't long before she gave up, but Ronaldo was certain that had she taken any longer, his will would have given up on him.
"FINE! I shall release you. On one condition." The queen had a wicked smile on her lips as she spoke, watching the boy. "Your mother must take your place here and stay with me for the rest of eternity."
Ronaldo thought for a moment, and then a moment more. "Alright," he said as he nodded. "Open the door." And the fairy queen opened the shimmering portal that would return Ronaldo to the human world. A bold smile on the boy's face, he ran through it, the queen still grasped tightly in his hand.
"What are you doing! No! RELEASE ME!" But he did not release her. And before she could work her magic and close the door, they were through it.
Ronaldo returned to the same rock he'd been sitting on so long ago. In the distance, he could hear his parents calling his name, and he ran towards the sound, the queen of Morterre still clutched in his sweaty palm.
Emerging from the woods, he ran to his parents, calling for them. The three of them embraced as they collided, smiles and tears on all their cheeks. Until, of course, the fairy queen yelled out, "I DEMAND YOU RETURN TO MORTERRE WITH ME, MORGAN."
"Mother?" Ronaldo's mother looked surprised at the voice. Then with the same surprise on her face, she looked at her son. "I am so sorry I never told you, Ronaldo. I am so glad you're home safe."
The family entered the warm old house, placed the queen in a rather spacious jar, and that was that. They lived quite happily ever after.
