hands together in joy. «Then you and I will get along! Darlina once drove the fairies off the estate and stole your father from me.»
«Did she? My father had a fairy fiancée?» Samantha almost clapped her hands in joy. She would have loved to have a fairy mother. After all, fairies could do such magic! You can dress up with them even with an empty purse! It’s worth it to have one fairy friend and there will be no trouble! A fairy will solve all problems with magic.
«Well, I wasn’t exactly a bride,» the fairy’s cheeks flushed, «but I liked your father very much. He was so serious, well-read, and very handsome.»
«Now my father wears glasses and doesn’t look too young and handsome.»
«That’s because he reads too much and studies hard sciences. I, on the other hand, was a windy person. My friends and I used to fly around the estate and make jokes about your father. Once we flew into the library and threw all his books around. We laughed as we threw the heavy volumes off the shelves and then danced among the mess, and then Benjamin caught us. He and I fell in love at first sight. I had planned for us to get married. The dwarf would perform the wedding ceremony and then I’d plant daisies on the estate, but Darlina came to the country. She stole Benjamin from me in a heartbeat! I tried to fight back, but the wicked girl invited the inquisitors to put protective markers on the manor. She banished the fairies, but I got to your cradle when the nursemaids were in the garden with you.»
«Did you put the mole on my shoulder?» Samantha guessed.
«It’s not a mole, it’s a protective mark.»
«Thank you. It helped me out.»
Only fairies can repay good for evil! What wonderful they are! What a pity her father didn’t marry a fairy! Samantha’s mom, as sad as it is to admit, was selfish.
«Did you want to avoid marrying a magical creature?» The fairy hesitated.
«Actually, no one offered me marriage.»
«You see, I made the mark out of meanness. I decided that if I am not destined to marry a mortal, let his daughter can never marry elves, nixes or other magical suitors. The mark of the fairy stands on you as a barrier to magical marriage.»
«But it scares away various magical creatures that want to harm me.»
«That’s a side effect! To make sure you don’t meet anyone.»
«Ah!» Samantha couldn’t believe it. Was the fairy really evil? «I’m still sorry my father didn’t marry you. If you were my mom, would I have been born blonde?»
«I guess so,» the fairy didn’t know. «Do you want to be blonde? I can dye your hair with magic right now.»
«No, you can’t!» Samantha was afraid that the fairy would make her gray instead of blond out of meanness. «Thank you for the dresses. I hope I don’t get a skin rash if I try them on.»
«You try them on!» The fairy’s sapphire eyes glittered dangerously.
At her own risk, Samantha tried them on. She felt like a queen in a dress with a high lace collar. A minute passed, but no skin rash, dizziness, consumption, or other side effects of fairy magic appeared.
«I wish I could steal Benjamin away from Darlina,» the fairy dreamed aloud.
«You do it! My father and I would appreciate it if my mother would stay alone in a crumbling manor and curse at the walls instead of us.»
«Your mom is so selfish! Apparently the gods of the forests and fields punished Benjamin for cheating on a fairy,» the winged beauty smiled smugly.
«My mother, too, likes to say that the gods punished her with a useless daughter and a lazy husband.»
«Well, she herself is not a saint. After all, she stole the fairy’s lover!»
«I also thought that the gods do not punish anyone for nothing!» Samantha concluded.
The blond fairy nodded.
«Elves and fairies were honored by the ancient gods once, when the earth was still young,» she explained.
«Then fairies and elves must have taken it upon themselves to punish people for their misdeeds?»
«I knew a vicious earl who had his wife kidnapped by elves.»
«Too bad the elves didn’t kidnap my mom. My father would have been over the moon, and so would I! I wouldn’t have to go to lvilor in that case.»
«Isn’t it luxurious here?»
«I was more comfortable at home on the estate.»
«Your estate brings back bad memories of love triangles. I don’t like to fly over it, probably because of the trauma I suffered there.»
«My mom also often says that fairy novels traumatize her and give her thoughts of eternally youthful rivals. If she gets her hands on a fairy book, Mom will burn it in the fireplace. She must have had a serious mental trauma after dealing with fairies, too.»
«That’s what’s wrong with love triangles – everyone thinks of themselves as victims,» the fairy said thoughtfully. «I’ll tell you the truth, the only real victim in all this is me – the fairy! Your mother poisoned my sense of love for people. I used to be kind to the people of your estate, but after I broke my engagement to a man, I began to crap on them in small things: I’ll pestilence the cattle, I’ll trample the crops with night dances, I’ll make the fruit on the trees rot. In general, everyone suffers from my fairy pranks. And Darlina is the only one to blame for my bad disposition towards humans!»
«I still wondered why my mother kept saying that my father and I were her punishment. But now I see that the gods don’t punish anyone for nothing. You shouldn’t have stolen the fairy’s fiancé. Then you wouldn’t have been punished.»
«Does mom dislike you so much?» The fairy looked at Samantha with sympathy.
«She says that I don’t see my own profit in anything! For mom, profit is the main thing in life, and I am always ready to give my portion of food to the hungry and refuse to meet important people just because they behaved cruelly. Well, I refuse to marry for convenience. I would never steal a stranger’s boyfriend, let alone a fiancé.»
«Apparently, the thirteen curses I provoked the road leprechaun with should have been addressed to your mother, not you,» the fairy sighed regretfully. «Alas, nothing can be undone!»
And it was the fairy’s fault! Samantha scolded herself for being gullible. You can’t consider a fairy kind just because she gave you a dozen beautiful dresses. Gifts can hide a series of curses and tricks.
«Well, I must go!» The fairy sent a kiss to the girl. «Don’t miss me!»
«Where are you in such a hurry?»
«Fairies aren’t allowed to stay long in the local castle. The king has a very nasty advisor.»
«He’s a wizard, so he can drive the fairies away?»
«It is even worse!»
«I wish I could meet him!»
«Don’t be a fool! You should stay away from him!»
The fairy flew to the window, which opened in front of her.
«Wait! I have a wish,» Samantha called her.
«Is it your birthday to make wishes?» The fairy raised her golden eyebrows in amazement.
Samantha stiffened and mumbled:
«No, but I thought since the fairy is here today, I should take advantage of it.»
«That makes sense! So what do you want?»
«Could you cast a spell on the king for me?»
«You’re so quiet.