This Friday Flash is a sequel to The Duel. The beginning of this mini-serial is The First One.
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Cathy watched the motes of dust in the sunbeam that fell across the kitchen table, sucking at the cut on her finger. Their dreamy tumbling captivated her, she had reached the other side of panic. Her body simply wasn’t capable of maintaining that tension for so long, and now, even though nothing had changed, she felt lighter somehow.
Three hours ago she’d dried her eyes and showered. Two hours ago she’d been violently sick. One hour ago she decided that she’d die alone, childless. That would negate the punishment for not impressing Lord Poppy.
Her thoughts drifted to her childhood. She recalled her father reading three wishes she’d agonised over for hours, and demolishing them in moments. She’d been mortified to hear why world peace was the worst thing she could have listed, and when he said that she’d disappointed him, she’d run to her room and cried for hours. It became a regular Friday afternoon ritual; come up with three wishes, have them mocked by her parents. Now she realised why they’d been so cruel; because the fey lords and ladies were even crueller.
She plucked her wrinkled finger from her mouth and watched the wound weep again. Who was she trying to fool? Lord Poppy would bend her destiny to lead her to pregnancy, whether she wanted it or not. A drop of blood splattered onto the tabletop, the colour of the poppy petal that landed beside it moments later.
“Time’s up!” the fairy chimed with delight.
“It’s not; I’ve still got over 16 hours,” Cathy retorted.
The fairy sighed. “Lord Poppy has been so patient, considering how dreadfully boring you’ve been. The time is up because-”
A burst of lemon juice arced from the half that Cathy had been concealing under the table, straight into the fairy’s eyes. She squealed like a tiny piglet, dropping onto the table with a delicate thud, giving Cathy the chance to squirt more of the juice on top of her head.
“You evil mundane minx!” the fairy screeched as her eyes puffed up and her wings drooped. “Euw! Lemon! Lemon!”
“Fresh lemon, you little tic turd,” Cathy gloated, grabbing the fairy in her fist, knowing that she only had moments to enact her plan. “Stop squawking and listen to me. If you don’t give me some damn good advice, my third wish will be that you’ll wear a thick copper necklace for the rest of your days.”
The fairy quivered, hearing the undeniable truth in her voice. “Yes, yes, I’ll help!” she wept, watching Cathy retrieve the other half of the lemon from her lap and hold it only centimetres from her head. “Listen very carefully, the words are important…”
Every time Cathy stepped into the other world, she thought of two things. The first was the day she learnt the rules of other world conduct, designed to protect her from easy mistakes that that dropped mortals into slavery faster than captured beetles in a specimen jar. The second was the Wizard of Oz; the stepping into a world of such glorious Technicolor that it made the mundane plane seem monochromatic.
She saw Poppy’s wood straight ahead, the fairy had brought her through mercifully close. She didn’t waste any time. This was like a dentist appointment; better to get out of the way as swiftly as possible. Soon she was at the edge of a clearing with a cluster of red blousy blooms crowded around the fey lord in the centre like adoring children.
“Ah, my little sunlit one,” he smiled and held out a hand towards her. “Time for your third wish, Katarina Papaver. I wanted to hear it in person. I like to watch condemning words fall from mortal lips, it amuses me so.”
His long fingers clasped around her hand and a pulse of magic rippled through her stomach. Then a thought hit her mind like a woolly hammer.
He’s baiting me. I won’t condemn myself; I’ve already won. She looked at him, feeling the effects of her second wish coursing through her, slowing her racing pulse. She knew how to impress him; defeat the best swordsman of the fey-touched families without lifting a finger. That’s what the fairy had done; she’d alerted Iridaceae to the one behind the magic that had stolen the Gucci-goon from him, how else could he have found out so quickly? The fairy had known that if she survived that, Poppy would be impressed. And now the wish completed itself with her realisation of that fact.
Cathy reined in her elation. It wasn’t over yet, and she was an entire world away from any Arbiter’s protection. “I hope my third wish will impress you, Lord Poppy,” she said steadily, “if I haven’t already.” When he said nothing, she took a deep breath. “I wish that I could achieve my full potential, in accordance with the laws of the mundane plane, in such a way as to not draw the attention of the Arbiters, nor endanger my life, my health, my happiness, nor those of the individuals- be they fey, mundane or fey-touched- upon whom I place good regard and care.”
Lord Poppy remained motionless, scrutinising her intensely for a moment before resuming his cold, detached affect. “Very well, return to Mundanis and purchase several canvasses and a variety of paints. The rest will become clear.”
“But I can’t paint!” Cathy frowned.
“Oh, my dear, you can, you should and you will. No mundane teacher could draw out what I can unlock in a moment.” She smiled as he released her hand. “I’m afraid I can’t entertain you as a guest; I understand that Lord Iris will be at Court today.” He winked at her, and for the briefest moment, she allowed herself to enjoy his regard. “I wouldn’t want to miss the look on his face when I mention your name.” He sighed like a sated lover. “Katarina Papaver, I will watch your progress with interest.”
—
Read the next story from the Split Worlds: The Golden Ball Trick
This Friday Flash is part of a year and a day of urban fantasy stories set in the Split Worlds. There is an index of the the stories here and some more info on what the year and a day is about here. And if you liked it, you can subscribe by email if you like, so you get the rest delivered to your inbox.
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Good lord, woman, I’ve finally figured this out! You are a genius, hiding an autobiography in a multi-part #FridayFlash series!
This third wish explains everything perfectly. Brilliant, just brilliant, Emma.
One tiny criticism, though. It’s pretty easy to see through the “canvasses” and “paint” to reveal the fact that the fey lord told you to go buy a word processor, a personalized URL and a few pounds of tea. Better change that part to something that doesn’t resemble you so closely.
Katarina! We will see her again won’t we? I’ve grown fond of her. FYI, if I had a last wish, I would wish for a billion more wishes!
I’m afraid to ask…did she win?
I love Tony’s reply!
I liked Tony’s comment, too. I haven’t been following the serial and it helped shed a little light on the story.
I adore *that* moment in the Wizard of Oz! And I love the world you’ve created here, too. Good for Cathy, I’m so pleased she won out in the end (well, I’m assuming she did).
I’ve always wanted to know how to deal with those tricksy little fairies. I’m off to buy some lemons … and not for my tea, either!
I love Tony’s reply, too, and like Diana, I hope we’ll see more of Cathy at some point.
Nice one, Em!
Such a wonderful and satisfying end to the story of this world, Em. I will miss Cathy.
And as I look around outside I can see that despite the sun, the glorious flora, and Spring urging Winter to take itself away for well deserved hibernation, this mundane plane could never shine with the brilliance of Oz.
Loved the series. It was brilliant!
I love how you tied in the other parts of the story (especially the 2nd wish) into this to make it a satisfying ending. Like others have said, I hope we get a glimpse of her again sometime in the future to see how she’s getting on. Great story (not just this installment, but the story as a whole).
All I can say is this: GREAT NAME!
Very nice. I think. I hope this isn’t the end of the story, there is so much more to discover.Hopefully. And it’s part of my weekend now. I very much like the fresh lemon, did not know you can use that against them little beasts. I will always have some ready now. Where did Cathy get hers from, considering she has milk in her tea?
“”Fresh lemon, you little tic turd,”"
LOL, organic too I’ll wager ;D