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“Goodness, you’re no help! I’ll take care of it myself, then!” The Fairy Godmother waved her wand with an air of annoyance as she conjured gaudy pink bows on the backs of the seats around the council table. She stood back and surveyed her work. “It looks lovely, don’t you think?”
Nanny looked around, laughing to herself as she realized, what with the blooming cherry blossoms and the Fairy Godmother’s decorations, she was surrounded by the color pink. She was in the Fairylands. She asked the gods to give her the strength to be patient with the fairies. Especially her sister.
As Nanny and the Fairy Godmother finished up their preparations, the other fairies on the council began to assemble. Nanny and her sister had set everything up in the courtyard, near a fountain with a life-sized statue of Oberon at the center. Cherry blossoms had fallen into the water and were littering the cobblestones. Being there again, Nanny started to feel the pangs of heartbreak as she remembered Maleficent. But she pushed them away. She hated that Circe was so far away, especially now that her mothers were at large and Grimhilde was up to something. And what if the odd sisters could truly summon Maleficent from the dead? How would Nanny be able to face her? She tried to push all her fears away. At least she wasn’t afraid for Tulip. She was safe with Oberon. He would protect her. One less person to worry about.
But Circe. Nanny hadn’t heard from her, and she was starting to fret. “Sister, I’m going to slip away and talk to Circe, just for a moment. I’m worried about her.”
“There isn’t time. Everyone is here.”
Nanny sighed.
“And I see you’ve forgotten your wings!” the Fairy Godmother added, tapping her sister on the back with her wand. “Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo! There you go!” Nanny took a deep breath, willing herself not to be angry with her sister. She hated that bibbidi-bobbidi nonsense. And she hated her wings.
Nanny could never stand the weight of them. They felt oppressive and heavy. She remembered talking to Maleficent when her charge was still rather small, lamenting her lack of wings. My darling, wings are not all they’re cracked up to be! I promise, you are not missing a thing. Nanny had to laugh. How did she find herself here in the Fairylands, doing her sister’s bidding and wearing wings? You think fairies have freedom because they can fly wherever they want, my little fairy-witch? she had once said to Maleficent. Well, my dear, you have more freedom without them. One day you will understand. You will be happy you don’t have wings.
All the fairies were assembled in the courtyard, cooing over the decorations and gossiping about the news of the odd sisters. “Fairies, fairies, please take your seats!” said the Fairy Godmother, clapping her hands like a stern headmistress trying to get the fairies’ attention, then taking the center seat with her back to the cherry blossom tree. “Sister, sit here to my right.” She tapped the chair next to her several times with her wand, sending up a spray of glittering sparks with each tap. Nanny didn’t think she meant to sound bossy, but there was always something in her sister’s demeanor that made her come off that way. The same went for Merryweather, her sister’s favorite, who was taking delight in scolding Fauna and Flora.
“Fauna! Flora! Sit down,” the fairy barked. “Look at this splendid feast that has been laid out for us! And on such a beautiful day! Now be careful not to splash any tea or spill the jam on the lovely tablecloth.”
Nanny laughed. “It’s always a beautiful day in the Fairylands, is it not? I can’t imagine it ever being gloomy here. My sister wouldn’t have it!”
The three good fairies laughed nervously. Only the Blue Fairy looked at ease in Nanny’s company. “Hello, Nanny. I’m so pleased to see you again.” Nanny never quite got used to the Blue Fairy’s luminescence, but she always found her to be such a lovely soul, the very embodiment of what Nanny thought a fairy should be. Kind, loving, and nurturing.
“I’m so happy to see you!” said Nanny. She wanted to tell her that she’d always held a place for her in her heart, ever since the Blue Fairy had supported Maleficent during the fairy exams many years earlier. But she didn’t want to make the other fairies uncomfortable. So she just smiled at the Blue Fairy, hoping she knew the esteem she felt for her.
“Now, once we all have our teacups and plates full, I’d like to start the meeting! We are here to discuss the very serious matter of the odd sisters,” said the Fairy Godmother, piling little pink cakes on her rose-patterned plate. “Oh, Merryweather! I think you will like these little cakes we have today! They’re lemon poppy seed, your favorite! And, Fauna, you will simply swoon when you taste the rose hips tea! The honey Flora gave me from her garden is delicious. Everyone must try it!” The Fairy Godmother’s chirping about the various delights on the table was driving Nanny to utter distraction. “Oh! It looks like we’re already running out of little cakes! Well, there we go!” she said, filling the three-tiered cake stand once again with a gleeful smile.
Nanny couldn’t help feeling her sister wasn’t taking the situation seriously at all. This was exactly the sort of thing that frustrated Nanny about the Fairylands: the needless frivolity in the face of destruction. Earlier that day her sister had been sputtering and in a panic, and now she was making tea and serving cakes rather than calling a war council as she should. Was there something in the water in the Fairylands that made everyone giddy and dim-witted? Nanny cleared her throat, making the Fairy Godmother give her the side-eye. “I’m sure my sister, the One of Legends, though here we affectionately call her Nanny, would like us to get down to business. She has been long away from the Fairylands and forgets her fairy ways,” said the Fairy Godmother, giving Nanny a look that didn’t deter her from taking a more serious approach than her sister was taking.
“The odd sister situation is quite serious, and I think we do need to get down to business before we are faced with the destruction of the Fairylands once again,” said Nanny. She continued before her sister could answer. “We should be sending for Oberon and his Tree Lords and anyone else willing to fight at our side to defend us, not drinking tea and conjuring bows!”
“Now listen, I know you ruled the Fairylands after Oberon left, but you abandoned your post and left it to me. I won’t have you barking orders at my own table!”
The Blue Fairy smiled at the Fairy Godmother. “I’m sorry, Godmother, but I think Nanny may have a point. If Oberon hadn’t learned of the odd sisters’ plan to rouse Maleficent’s spirit from the dead, we would never have known. Quite honestly, I’m surprised he isn’t already here, making plans to defend the Fairylands. And now we find that the odd sisters have been released from the dreamscape. I’m sorry, Godmother, but Nanny is right. Something has to be done at once!”
“The odd sisters have always been a menace. From the moment I saw them, I knew they would be nothing but ruin and chaos!” said the Fairy Godmother.
“Oh, poppycock!” spat Nanny, getting frustrated with her sister. “They were babies when you first laid eyes on them! How could you possibly have seen?” Nanny looked at the fairies’ shocked faces. Clearly they had never seen anyone stand up to the Fairy Godmother, who looked like a perturbed bird shaking water off her feathers, she was so angry.
“Now listen here! The odd sisters’ offenses will be heard! They will go down in the records!” she said, shaking.
“They are in the records! In the book of fairy tales! One only has to read it to see their various offenses!” said Nanny, upset that her sister was wasting time.
“I will have them down in fairy record!” screeched the Fairy Godmother. “Their evildoing has been going on for far too long! Allow me to present my case against them.” She cleared her throat. “Charge number one: Snow White. The odd sisters tormented the poor girl and drove her mother mad, encouraging her to murder Snow! Thank goodness she only succeeded in putting her in an enchanted sleep! And they gave Snow White a mirror with the ghost of Grimhilde trapped within! And if that’s not enough, they are still invading the girl’s dreams after all these years. Charge number two: Belle. The sisters encouraged Circe to curse the poor Beast, the misunderstood creature that he was, and his entire household. But Belle was the real victim here. They cast devious spells to send poor Belle into the woods to be devoured by wolves!” The Fairy Godmother cleared her throat again. “Charge number three: Ariel. As if the previous charge wasn’t reprehensible enough, they plotted with Ursula to kill Ariel! Not to mention their plans to take Triton off the throne, and they almost succeeded in killing Prince Eric. Let the record reflect there are two additional victims for this charge! Charge number four: Aurora. They helped Maleficent by means of foul, putrid dark magic to create Aurora! And though we love our princess, my goodness, that poor girl, what if she actually did take after her mother? That was completely irresponsible of them to put a future princess in danger like that! Charge number five: Rapunzel! They colluded with and helped that horrid baby-snatching witch Gothel to conceal Rapunzel’s whereabouts from her heartbroken and worried family!”
Nanny rolled her eyes. Yes, everything her sister had just said was true. But it wasn’t the entire story. As usual, she didn’t take the victims who were not princes or princesses into account.
“Yes, let the record reflect the various charges we intend to bring against the odd sisters during their trial, should we actually survive their attack,” said Nanny
, casting a serious look at her sister. “I know some of you are going to have a hard time with this, but I do feel it’s partially our fault the odd sisters have gone so far. If Maleficent had someone looking after her, the odd sisters wouldn’t have taken it upon themselves to try to help her by creating a daughter for her.”
“Nanny,” said the Blue Fairy gently, “you know I’ve always had a fondness for Maleficent, but I have to say, she did have a fairy looking out for her: you.”
Nanny looked into the Blue Fairy’s eyes, and she saw only sweetness and none of the malice the other fairies had when they spoke of Maleficent.
“Yes, but I failed her. If I had stood by her and protected her, searched harder for her, none of this would have happened. Maleficent would never have become an unfeeling monster if she hadn’t given all the best parts of herself to her daughter. She would still be with us today. I failed her. The fairies failed her, and we need to take responsibility by making sure this never happens to another young woman or young man in need again.” Nanny took measure of the fairies and saw only the Blue Fairy seemed to agree with what she was saying. She continued, hoping with all her heart she would be able to bring them around to her way of thinking.
“I feel we need to revisit the idea of who the fairies help. Maleficent had a very good case for this when she sat for her fairy exams. She felt it was Grimhilde who needed help in Snow White’s scenario, and I have to agree. Maleficent overheard the man in the mirror tormenting Grimhilde, and decided to help her, and was penalized for not helping Snow White when it was clear it was Grimhilde who was in danger!”
