Jayden

On our way to the government library—something they called Library of Tales—Herman, like an over-loving mother talking about her son, gave me a crash course on Surviving Fairy Tale 101. Touching on subjects that struck me so dumbfounded, I temporarily forgot to feel overwhelmed about the whole ‘wish myself into another dimension’ thing. 

It’s like getting kidnapped by aliens in the middle of the night—not that I had been kidnapped before. The whole thing’s just so absurd, at first your brain’s going to tell you it’s all a dream and a stage of ‘underwater’ kind of calmness would take over. 

By the time you realize it’s freaking real—after falling down a couple of times, scraping your knees and blisters formed on your feet from walking in uncomfortable medieval shoes—you no longer feel the need to prove the possibility of it all.

We went through rainbow coloured forests filled with strange-looking animals. Tigers with straight, dentist ads worthy teeth were chewing on purplish grass beside the road. Squirrels that appeared harmless possessed talons and rows of miniature meat grinder in their tiny mouths. Once in a while, one or two would dash across the branches over our heads and threaten to bite our ears off. 

And while Herman had generously lent me his clothes, I soon realized there wasn’t a need to deliberately blend in. There was nothing modern or ancient about the way they were dressed. In fact, there was no dress code at all.

To the left, a dwarf lady with a stained apron was talking to a much taller elf in white Roman garb. On the right, some forest nymphs dressed to rival girls in nightclubs were laughing at something the human knights, in what seems to be the cross of night robe and leather vest, told them.

The weather, on the other hand, changed so fast and  abruptly, it was impossible to predict what kind of clothing would be most suitable. After some sudden gust and rain and scorching sun, I have somehow convinced myself to act Zen while steaming in Herman’s winter clothes. 

What was stranger was the fact that I had sweated buckets yet didn’t smell like gym after class. It might be another wonder of the fairy tale world that bad smell naturally evaporates itself. 

No one wants their princes or princesses dripping in sweat and smelling like the locker room filled with footballer’s socks after all. Herman for one, seemed and smelled like he just got out of a flower bath even though he wore more layers of clothes than I do. 

Blue stopped in front of another dwarf lady in earth coloured smock and began to smell pouches of what appeared to be leaves with sharp edges. Her face took on a dead serious look as she began a fervent discussion with the vendor.

Herman on the other hand, had vanished without a sound. 

Being alone for the first time since ‘arriving’ gave my mind the time it needed to take more of the world in. The air was cooler, fresher even, as if we were on highlands. No dust, no smoke and definitely no stench of the sewers that ran through cities. Only an endless supply of green and natural stones stretched across the horizon. 

Dwarves hung around corners of small cottages made of hay and planks, each with the windows and doors combined to form a smiley face. Jolly laughter echoed throughout the village with soft music of lyre mingled in. 

Despite the Grimm Brothers’ darker tales, these didn’t look like the sort who would go on a frenzy and start attacking people without advance notice. 

Images of toes cut off and hot iron shoes danced across my eyes just as Herman waltzed up soundlessly behind me. I jumped, nearly sending the brown bag he stuffed into my hand flying.  

“God dammit, you're a ghost or something?” Despite how sturdy he appeared, the dude sure was light-footed. 

Herman only nodded towards the bag in reply, another identical bag in his other hand. “Fairies and their teeny waists,” he said with a weary smile, “Thinks all creatures in the whole realm can survive on petals and berries like they do.” 

I peeked into the bag and found two loaves of pita bread, some meat jerkies and a waterskin. Before I could thank him though, Blue sauntered over to us, circling an emerald pouch by its golden rope on one finger. Her face radiated the message that the pouch of whatever leaves will save the day. 

Herman smiled his brightest smile and whispered without moving his lips. “Keep it a secret from Blue though. The lass isn’t a fan of meat.” 

“What were you guys talking about while I am gone?” Blue prodded with her arms crossed, the edge of one side of her lips curled up slightly.

“Just you and your bad habits,” Herman joked, skilfully steered the topic and ended with Blue rolling her eyes, mumbling something about boys before dragging us both by the arms. A few dwarves with a jungle of braided moustache tipped their pick-axe at us as we left. 

Behind Blue’s back, Herman raised a finger to his lips and winked an inaudible, our secret.

 In a louder voice, he added, “And I got a bag of coals from the dwarves too. I’ll have you teach me how to carve a pen out of them when we get the time to.”

♦♦♦♦♦

“This is the Library of Tales?”

Two streets and a river away from the Dwarf’s Village, the castle-version of the state’s library floated three-storey high above the ground among purplish trees. A long circular staircase of transparent glass extended from the golden clouds against a stretch of silvery blue sky. 

I may not be a certified acrophobic but it’s seriously no joke to walk on something you were sure would break at one point. The steps weren’t connected to one another. They exist as separated, hovering, individual glass pieces and handrails were non-existence. Having a clear look of the ground that got smaller with each step did not help in keeping ones’ legs straight either. 

Of course, these didn’t seem to apply to permanent residents of Taledom. 

Blue pretty much hopped the entire way up with Herman trailing languidly behind her, as if they were just taking a morning stroll through the garden and not halfway climbing up steps without anything remotely stable to hold on to break a fall. 

Fairy tales were definitely not for the faint of hearts. Judging from the way my legs wobbled, mine wasn’t as strong as I thought it was. 

Trying not to look down for too long, I projected my thoughts on capturing the correct shades of the silvery purple that surrounded the area. The trees were soon miniature versions of themselves (not helping at all), models used in interior designing classes, as I trudged my way up, a turtle behind the two oblivious hares. 

If this was a cage of protective iron, I would be fascinated by the scene straight out of a painting—but we were in the path of vengeful wind that got more violent the higher we went.

Herman cleared his throat and I glanced up in time to see that we had reached the top. Somehow, still in one piece. Blue was a few steps ahead, a hand placed on one of the humongous gates embedded with intricate vines and lilies engravings plated in gold.

“Your clothes,” Herman sighed with a disapproving look at Blue.

She took a quick glance at her pale blue dress and grinned as if she was spotted leaving the house in a pyjamas. 

“Sorry, kind of slipped my mind there,” she said before whipping a wand out of the locket hanging around her waist. I still have no idea how that thing works in the world of physics—or any worlds for that matter. 

She barely waved it in a circular motion over her head when rings of glitter dust showered down and pooled around her feet. Her dress brightened by several shades, changing in form. When the shimmers died down, she stepped out in an entirely different gown.  

The bottom which used to be straight and flat against her knees now cascaded to the ground and flared out from either sides of her waist. Her satin sleeves shrank and puffed at her elbow, revealing layers of white laces. Its back was left bare to reveal a pair of bejewelled azure wings that spread high and proud behind her—something I suspected had been hiding beneath the folds of her cotton dress all along. 

What surprised me most was the abrupt change chest up. The Blue I met from the start may feel like the Blue fairy but she never looked like one. 

She was beautiful, no doubt, with her peerless white skin that flushes pale pink, platinum blond hair pale as moonlight and blue eyes that seemed to change shades according to her emotions. I had thought she was more of a princess who just happened to be wearing villager’s clothing. But now, I wasn’t sure anymore.

I was never a fan of elaborated makeup. From a fine arts’ student perspective it was the equivalent of mixing too much white to make a paint lighter but ended up making them dirty, impure colours; the work of an unskilled hand. But what Blue had on, was no doubt a work of a master.

Thin swirls of royal blue spiralled from the tails of her eyes—now cyan in colour—formed a pair of butterfly’s outspread wings on both sides of her face. Her eyelids were painted silvery blue with three teardrop-shaped sapphire dotting her lower lids. Every pores oozed shimmering dust that matched the blue mist surrounding her dress. 

She was every inch the Blue Fairy, no one could deny her the title now.