Zan In Cumberland

The two of them were riding north towards Cumberland and Zan asked how much longer it was until they got there. Well do you see that big forest area ahead way off in the distance, said Cindy. Yes it looks very far away, said Zan. Well yes but it is about another hour away at this speed, said Cindy. So lets go faster, said Zan and she took off ahead of Cindy. Hey wait for me, Cindy yelled. In less than an hour they were at the forest edge of Cumberland. Okay let the horses rest, said Cindy. Yes it is best if we walk with them together. It is better for their heart, said Zan. Okay then, you seem to know more about horses than I do, said Cindy. Yep I used to ride horses all the time. I could tell they felt better when they kept moving slowly after running fast, said Zan. They continued in and followed the road that lead to the first town in Cumberland. When they got to the town they saw lots of people walking around doing things but no one noticed them at first. They kept walking then a woman noticed them and came running over. Oh my, you are that girl that we thought was a she devil. Yep but I am no devil, said Zan. Yes we know that now, said the woman. Come with me please, there are some people that need to talk to you. Okay, said Zan and Cindy and they followed her. They got to what seemed like the middle of town and the woman, said wait here. Cindy noticed that a bunch of people had followed behind them. The woman came back out with three men. Oh those are the men that tried to kill me, said Zan and she disappeared. Tell her it is okay. We will not harm her, said one of the men. You hear that Zan? Yep and she reappeared. Good, said the man. Now first we want to say sorry for thinking you were an evil she devil. We had never seen a real she devil before so that was our mistake. Now after Apollonia and Ivy came and rescued you, not long after Alieta showed up here very mad at us all. I had never seen her that mad before. She was so mad that she kept changing from English to eleven then back to English. She told us that you almost died if it wasn't for the fact that Apollonia and Ivy came for you and teleported you back to the palace and a fairy was on hand to heal her she would of died. She asked who it was that hit her with the sword. That was me said one of the three men and he came forward. Yep that was him, said Zan. Well she actually came up to me and slapped me hard on the side of my head. I saw stars. Man she is strong. Zan now had a smile on her face. Then Alieta continued to ask questions like why they thought a pretty defenseless girl was a threat to them and how is it possible that she could scare anyone. Then she said something that we all here will never forget. God sent her here to see if she would get excepted by you all first. She is the very last of her kind that was hunted by other men in the south for their horns. Triffies were Gods first creation and he was very sad to see what almost happened here in Cumberland. Most of the woman started to cry and even a lot of the men had tears in their eyes. She wanted to punish us but she said that she was not like that. We will just have to live with the fact that we made a very big mistake. She then flew off still looking mad. Everyone was speechless. We wanted to do something to make up for our mistake but we figured we best not stir the pot that was on fire right now. A couple of weeks later the three of us headed out to the palace to say sorry to the Triffie but several winged sprites stopped us lead by Jazmen and told us to go back. No one from Cumberland is allowed anywhere near Zan or in Fae Land at this time. That was when we found out her name and she actually was the queen of the Triffies. Talk about feeling bad all over again. So we turned around and went back home. Now Alieta kept doing business with Cumberland through her messengers and soon we were able to make deliveries to the palace again. It wasn't until a man named Peter came with an invention that he had that Zan invented for him and took to the factory that mass produced products that we finally thought we could try and make amends with her. We met with the owner of the store that mass produced products and he said Alieta was his investor so we asked him to stop all other work and everyone was to work on Peter's submission. Everything was done at next to no cost and soon the finished games were done and sent out all over Fae Land first. Several free games were given to Peter at his home. That is where we are at with now with out a word from anyone except for now, said the man. You did that with the game I drew up for Peter and his family? asked Zan. Yes we are part of Fae Land and being told off so badly by our queen was devastating, said the man. Well we just had to fix things some how.

Zan was very happy and went to each man and hugged them. When she hugged the man that cut her the most then he said ouch. Oh sorry, said Zan. Oh no that was not your fault. I had to wear a neck brace for two weeks after Alieta hit me and it still is a bit sore, said the man. Zan smiled and said, "That woman, is stronger than she makes out to be". Alieta is very strong woman". I sure know that now, said the man. So you two are our guests for as long as you want to stay and please stay for at least a day or two to see that we really are not bad people. Okay, said Zan. I am hungry. Is there a good place to eat? They all smiled. You bet Zan and it is on the house, said a man that owned the finest eatery in town. Everyone else dispersed but the woman that had gathered around wanted to do something special for Zan so they took off to figure out what they could do. In the eatery the owner gave the two of them menus. Order what ever you want, he said. Zan looked at the menus then asked the man why everything was mixed up. Well as we create something new we just add it to the menu on the bottom of the page, he told her. That is too confusing, said Zan. Why? he asked. Well if you put all fish dishes and all beef dishes and all pasta dishes and so on together separately then that would not be confusing, said Zan. Wow look at the prices, said Candy. More than three times that in Fae Land. Zan looked around and saw only one other couple in the place and no kids. You make people pay too much also. You make money here. Well yes but not a lot, said the man that was beginning to see that Zan was no dummy. Okay if you want to make lots of money then make prices like Fae Lands. Then in here will be always be full of people and you will make many more times the money that you make now. Yes I tend to agree with you there but it takes time to make these special dishes, he told her. So what. People will wait if the food is very good and put free bread and butter on the table while they wait. Maybe bread with garlic baked in it, she said. You know that would probably work, he said to her. What is this I don't understand this word. Oh that is escargot, he said. It is not in the dictionary. Cindy smiled and told him that she read the entire dictionary. Your kidding she read the entire book?asked the owner. Yep she is extremely smart, said Cindy. Must be he said. Well that is French for snails, he told her. Oh I don't know French yet, she said, where do they speak French? asked Zan. He smiled. Far away but they are baked in the oven in a special bowl with lots of butter and cheese on top then sprinkled with seasoned bread crumbs. It is an appetizer he told her. Okay we start with that okay, said Zan. Then she looked at Candy. Snails really? Okay why not and I will have the curried chicken please, said Candy. Me too, said Zan what ever that is, then they both gave the menus back to the man. Can we have some nice pink fruit juice too please, asked Cindy. Yes you can and he left. He then returned with their drinks. He went to the other couple and asked if they had made up there mind yet. Well everything here is too much for our budget so I suppose we should go somewhere else, said the man with his wife. The man looked at Zan then said to the couple that everything on the menu is two thirds off and will remain that way from now on. Really they both said. Okay then we will eat here then and bring our kids next time too, they said. He took their order then went to Zan and said you are a genius then went back in the kitchen. Soon he came out with the escargot that smelled really good. Well here goes, said Cindy and she picked one up with the small fork then shut her eyes and put it in her mouth. Hey this is pretty good, she said. Why haven't you tried yours yet. I wanted to see if you liked it first, said Zan. Do you think I am stupid. Cindy laughed. You are a character, she said. They finished the appetizer and the man came out with a sign and put it in the window. Then grabbed their bowls. Was that okay he asked them. Yep, perfect snails, said Zan. What was that you put in the window? Cindy asked. Oh it is a sign telling everyone the new low prices, he said. Now you are smart too, said Zan and smiled. A man came in and told the owner that the room is ready for them to sleep overnight in. Oh good, said Zan. After we eat it will be getting dark soon. Triffies need to sleep a lot to feel best the next day. Okay then, no wake-up call then, said the man. No I can wake up all by myself. Cindy chuckled. She is adorable, said the man. What were we ever thinking. I saw the price changes too. Good move man. Not my idea hers, and he pointed at Zan. Amazing I am so glad God has let her back into our lives. Then he left.

After they finished eating, Candy went to pay the waiter but he said the owner told him it was on the house. What does that mean" asked Zan. It means all you had here is free, said the waiter. Really so do you have ice cream too? asked Zan. Well yes we do of course, direct from the dairy farm in Cumberland, said the waiter. It is the freshest and best ice cream anywhere. Do you make milkshakes, like the fairies make? asked Zan. There are fairies in Fae Land now? asked the waiter. Yep seven right now I think, said Zan. Wow, I never knew that but yes we make very nice milkshakes too, said the waiter. What flavor would you like? Chocolate please, said Zan. Me too please. Ivy always says there is room for ice cream, said Candy. It would be so nice to see Ivy again on a much better situation, said the waiter. She has only been here once and that was at a bad time. I have heard she is an amazing forest sprite. She is more than that she is the Queen of the forest and all of the plants and trees in Fae Land, said Zan. Ivy is the girl that makes everyone so happy in Fae Land. Really. I hope she comes to Cumberland then, I would love to meet her, said the waiter. The owner came back out. So was everything okay he asked. Yep just want our milkshakes, said Zan. Zan be polite, they already gave us enough, said Candy. Don't worry about that, there is never enough we can do here for Zan, said the eatery owner. Have as many as you want. One each will do, said Candy. It is getting late and almost time for bed. Yes it is, he said. Give these two creamed topped milkshakes then show them where the hotel is across the street when they are done.