Prologue

In the last story we got to meet Lily the Flower Fairy who had extraordinary magical skills. She could make anything appear including two small kittens that she created for Jessie, Sarah and Kalvin. She made lots of friends once she left her safe haven but because of one small mistake, she was thinking of leaving Fae Land for good. Fortunately Gabriel the angel talked to her and changed Lily's mind. This story starts off the following morning before Alieta comes out of the palace to check the sundial. Lily was waiting on the steps for Ivy to show up and take her to the Fairy Cove or for Alieta to come out of the palace, who ever showed up first. While she was waiting something flew down from the sky...

Lily got up bright and early, just as the sun began to rise as usual then made herself a quick breakfast. She was meeting Ivy this morning who was going to show her inside the fairy cove. After she ate, she changed back into her Flower Fairy outfit and then headed out to the palace. When she got there no one was outside yet so she sat on the steps waiting for Alieta to come out or Ivy to show up. She started to play her finger game to pass the time when she saw something flying down from the sky right toward her. She stood up and what she saw when it got closer surprised her. "An owl, what is an owl doing up and flying around at this time. They are night birds, she thought." The owl flew down and landed on the block beside the steps. "My, I have never seen an owl this close up before," said Lily. "I have never seen a fairy before," said the owl. "You can talk, you must be a Fae owl then," said Lily. "I am a Great Horned Owl. What is a Fae Owl?" he asked. "You must be because owls don't talk, they hoot, said Lily. Have you got a name?" "Yep, Oscar The Great Horned Owl." "Is it okay if I just call you Oscar?" asked Lily. "Yes that is what I said my name was, Oscar, The Great Horned Owl." Lily smiled. "I thought owls slept during the day, said Lily. Why are you flying around when the sun is up?" "The same as you, I can see more things when it is light out, said Oscar. I used to stay up all night and sleep all day but most small animals sleep at night which makes it hard to find supper. A lot more stuff goes on during the day anyway." "That is true, my name is Lily, the Flower Fairy." "Okay Lily the Flower Fairy, nice to meet you," said Oscar.

Alieta came out of the palace then came around the corner and scared Oscar. "Whoa, where did you come from, sneaking up on me were you?" asked Oscar. "Lily, who is this? Why is there an owl out here talking to me? asked Alieta. Did you make this owl?" "Nope, this is Oscar and he just flew down here, said Lily. I figure Oscar is a Fae owl but he said he is a Great Horned Owl." "That is what he is but I didn't think any owls were around here, especially during the day," said Alieta. "Lily, who is this pretty woman with the big wings. Is she your servant? asked Oscar. If she is ask her to fetch me a raw fish, preferably a Bass fish." "No silly this is Alieta the Queen of Fae Land," said Lily. "Oh sorry about that your Highness, you must have left your robe and crown inside. Why are you wearing your night clothes outside?" asked Oscar. "These are not my night clothes, this is my outfit and I don't like to wear a crown and a robe," said Alieta. "Wow pretty hot outfit for a Queen that is for sure, said Oscar. So about that fish, what does it take for a handsome looking owl to get some breakfast?" "Well first just call me Alieta and then just ask Lily if she will make you breakfast." "Alieta, you said, that name means small, winged and noble. Well, you are not small but the rest matches, said Oscar. So Lily, what do you say, can you whip out your wand and make me something to eat. I am starved. There isn't any fish worth catching around here." "I suppose I could figure out something for you," said Lily.

"So why are you here so early Lily?" asked Alieta. "I am meeting Ivy here and she is taking me to the fairy cove to see how it works," said Lily. "Well Ivy won't be here for about another hour," said Alieta. "I know, but it is nice and sunny out here compared to my place, said Lily. "So Oscar, come over here on the grass so you don't make a mess up there." "Are you calling me a messy eater?" asked Oscar. "Yep I sure am," said Lily. "Ya, you're right, I will try and be careful," said Oscar then they both flew over to the grassy section. "Well this has already started out to be an unusual day, thought Alieta. A talking owl that seems to have befriended Lily. I suppose stranger things could have happened." Jazmen flew down beside Alieta. "Hi Jazmen what's up. Is Morgron awake?" asked Alieta. "No, he is still sleeping, said Jazmen. We have something else to worry about now." "What is it? asked Alieta. "There is a very unusual looking woman approaching that seems to of come out from nowhere just outside of Fae Land on the Bad Lands," said Jazmen. "Okay, so why are you worried about her?" asked Alieta. "Well first she is on foot walking here and second, she is walking here with a tiger," said Jazmen. "A tiger, like a real tiger from the jungle?" asked Alieta. "Yep it sure looks real to me, a fully grown tiger," said Jazmen. "Is she carrying a weapon? asked Alieta. "No but who needs a weapon when you are walking with a big tiger," said Jazmen. "Yes, I see your point. Let me see what she wants but keep a bunch of sprites above me in case I need help, said Alieta. I have never seen a real tiger in person, just the ones I have seen on my cell phone." "Okay, the sprites are already in position," said Jazmen, then she flew back up. Alieta watched as this woman came around the corner of the palace with this big tiger walking beside her. "Holy crap, tigers didn't look that big on my phone," thought Alieta. The woman walked up to Alieta. "That is far enough, said Alieta. Who are you?" The woman smiled and then turned to the tiger. "Sit Shasta," she said. The tiger sat down. "My name is Tigressa, those who have seen me call me the Tiger Lady. Shasta is my pet and companion. She will never harm anyone unless I tell her to so your people above need not worry because I am not here to make enemies, I am here to make friends." Alieta looked at Shasta that was just sitting perfectly still. "Is that some kind of Titan tiger? She is so big," said Alieta. "No, she is of average size. The males are bigger though," said Tigressa. "Okay, so you came here to make friends, can you expand on that some please?" asked Alieta.

Tigressa turned to Shasta and said down girl. Shasta laid down on her stomach. Shasta went down on one knee and began patting Shasta. "I hope you don't mind but I have been doing a lot of walking, said Tigressa. My legs are strong but I need to rest them some." No that is fine," said Alieta. "Now I bet you are thinking what kind of girl that looks like me and just walks up to a person with a tiger and says, she wants to make friends," said Tigressa. "The thought did cross my mind," said Alieta. "Well I can't help how I look, I was born like this, said Tigressa. I don't know why because I never met my parents. The pixies figured they must of found me hideous looking and left me in the jungle to be eaten by wild animals. Instead of becoming dinner for some animal a pack of tigers found me crying in a basket. One picked up the basket and took me to their den. They all took care of me as I grew up. Pretty strange story so far don't you think?" "Yes but I have heard stranger ones, said Alieta. Go on." Well, the forest was full of pixies that taught me many things like how to talk and count. They were a crazy bunch but fun. The tigers made sure I was well protected and as I got older and wanted to explore more of the forest, always two or three of them came with me. I learned so much about nature during those times. Now one of the tigers gave birth to a cub that I adopted as my friend and named her Shasta. We played and did everything together. A year went by and I decided it was time for me to leave the forest and see what the rest of the world looked like. The pixies warned me that I shouldn't leave the forest and the protection of the tigers but I just had to find out for myself. Shasta looked very sad when I told her I was leaving. One of the pixies said if you have to leave, take Shasta with you and head north to the land of magic where I will be safe. So I did and both Shasta and I began our adventure which started off very bad." "Okay, so when did you leave the forest?" asked Alieta. "About seven days ago," said Tigressa. "There is no jungle with tigers in it that close to Fae Land," said Alieta. "So what happened that was bad when you left the jungle." "First the people that saw us walking together were afraid and ran away from us. But soon men began to hunt us for some reason. We did nothing wrong. I had to get on Shasta and she would run and find safe places to hide. Days went by with us running away from men, eating and drinking just what we could find in small woods and streams. I had lost track of what direction we were going because of all the fleeing to safety we did. I decided people were just mean everywhere and leaving the jungle was a big mistake. I didn't know what to do or what direction to go to get back to the jungle so I just began to cry on the ground. Shasta laid down beside me trying to comfort me. I fell asleep and in the morning when I woke up, I felt the air was cooler and everything around me was different. I was sitting on dry sand with hardly any plants around. I stood up but then saw two wolves running towards me. I woke up Shasta and as soon as she saw the wolves she got up fast and roared at them. Those wolves just turned and ran away." "I guess they would, two wolves against a tiger. They had no chance of doing anything, said Alieta. So then what did you do?" "Not much after that. I saw what looked like a structure in the distance so we headed towards it. Then when I looked up I saw what I thought were big birds above me at first but I have very good eye sight and noticed they were flying people. I don't know how but some way, by some kind of magic we were very close to the land of magic that the pixie told me about." "What did this pixie tell you exactly? asked Alieta. "She said that it was a land of amazing wonders with a kind queen named Alieta and everyone good was welcomed there, said Tigressa. Wouldn't you want to find a place like that if you were living in a hot jungle all your life? Anyways we just started walking towards the building and when we reached the very green grass and began walking on it beside this very big structure, the ground felt so cool and good on my feet. When I turned the corner I saw you and prayed it was the Alieta I was told about. You are the first person that never ran away from us or said anything bad to me. You must be Alieta, right?" Alieta smiled. "Yes I am. Welcome to Fae Land my dear," said Alieta.

Alieta saw Lily peeking over the block beside the stairs. "Lily, what are you doing?" asked Alieta. "Listening," said Lily. "Did you hear everything Tigressa said to me?" asked Alieta. "I did," said Lily. "Okay, so is everything she told me true?" asked Alieta. "Maybe," said Lily. "I know you read her so did she tell me the truth, yes or no." "Yes," said Lily. "Thank you, next time when I ask you if someone is telling me the truth just say yes or no please, said Alieta. Ivy always tells me when someone new is okay and has no secrets but that is all she will do and needs to do for me." "Okay," said Lily. "Who is that behind that block," asked Tigressa. "That is Lily, she is a Flower Fairy, said Alieta. I think she is afraid of Shasta. She scares very easily." "Really a fairy, the pixies told me about fairies and how they can do magic," said Tigressa. "Don't worry Lily. Shasta will not harm you or anyone here. She is here to make friends also." "Okay, said Lily then she ducked behind the block. "So you must be hungry, would you like to come into the palace and have something to eat?" asked Alieta. "I would love that, said Tigressa. I have never been inside of anything like this before. Shasta must be hungry too but maybe I can bring something out for her too if you have any raw meat." "Not sure, Lily can you make something for Shasta?" asked Alieta. "Maybe," said Lily. "Don't worry, she will, when Lily says maybe it almost always means yes," said Alieta. Tigressa stood up and told Shasta to stay. "So she won't wander off anywhere now?" asked Alieta. "Nope she will wait for me, to come back out," said Tigressa. "Lily, will you be okay out here waiting for Ivy alone with Shasta out here?" "Yes, I have Oscar here to protect me," said Lily. "Who is Oscar?" asked Tigressa. "A talking owl, one thing about Fae Land is you will see some of the most unusual things here, said Alieta. It takes a bit to get used to but it sure does keep things exciting around here. Come let's go inside, follow me." Alieta took Tigressa around the other side of the steps and into the palace. Lily and Oscar peeked around the corner of the steps. "That is a very big cat," said Lily. "Yes a fully grown tiger known to be one of the most dangerous and largest from the cat family, said Oscar. A female can reach up to 370 pounds and a male over 600 pounds. Some believe the lion is the king of the jungle but a tiger is faster, bigger and stronger." She does look strong, said Lily. How do you know all this stuff?" "Not sure, facts just come to me when I think about stuff," said Oscar. "Well, her tail isn't wagging so she is happy. I want to meet her seeing Tigressa said she won't hurt me. You can protect me, can't you?" asked Lily. "Sure me against a tiger no problem, said Oscar. I will just think it to death." "You can do that?" asked Lily. No, I was being sarcastic, said Oscar. A tiger can swollow me whole." "Oh, well here goes, I am going out there." said Lily. "Fine I will be right behind you," said Oscar. Lily walked out slowly towards Shasta with Oscar following. Shasta sat up which made Lily step back. "Hey watch where you are going, you almost stepped on me," said Oscar. "Oh, sorry, said Lily. My, she is very beautiful. Shasta put up one of her paws. "What is she doing, asked Oscar. "I think she wants me to shake her paw," said Lily. "Do you think it is safe," asked Oscar. "I don't know I have never touched an animal before and I can't read them either," said Lily. "Well do something before she gets mad at you," said Oscar. "Lily knelt down then put her hand under Shasta's paw and touched it. "Wow, that is one huge paw." Lily looked at Shasta who was looking right at her and seemed to be smiling. She is not going to hurt us at all, said Lily, She actually is a bit afraid of me. How do you know that?" asked Oscar. "I was able to read her when I touched her paw. She is very hungry though, I have to fix that," said Lily.

 "Make her a fish like you did for me," said Oscar. "I think she is going to need something a lot better than a fish, said Lily. What do tigers eat in the jungle?" "Other animals, said Oscar. Sometimes fish but tigers are red meat eaters mostly." "Okay, so a big chunk of beef and a pork roast then right," said Lily. "I guess just don't make any chicken, said Oscar. Don't give her any ideas." "What do you mean?" asked Lily. "Chicken is a bird and so am I, get it yet?" asked Oscar. "Yep got it," said Lily. Lily got down on the ground and Oscar flew over to the steps. Lily first made a pork tenderloin roast. Shasta got back down on the ground and picked up the pork. Then Lily made the big chunk of beef in front of her paws. Shasta started chewing away on the pork and in no time it was gone and then she put a paw on the chunk of beef and began ripping chunks of it off with her teeth. "Wow, sure glad that isn't me," said Oscar. "Stop worrying Oscar, Shasta is not going to eat you, said Lily. Besides there is not that much meat on you and I am sure she won't like feathers." "Ya, I guess you are right. Maybe I would make a good dessert though," said Oscar. Lily just shook her head and then watched Shasta devour the rest of the beef."

Alieta brought Tigressa into the dining room. "This is the palace dining room where the food in here is always free to anyone." "What do you mean free? asked Tigressa. "Well if you went to a eatery in town you would have to pay for the food with gold coins. It is called trade," said Alieta. "I am unfamiliar with those terms. In the jungle, I always had to help to get the food for the pack." "You hunted for food with tigers?" asked Alieta. "Yep, I can run fast and jump far like them and I am very strong. I would get on the back of one of the tigers usually Sheba, that was Shasta's mother and we would hide behind a bush then a couple of tigers would scare a bunch of elks our way. Then when they got close we would jump out and Sheba would run up beside the slowest one. I would jump up on its back and grab and twist its antlers then pull back hard hurting its neck a lot, slowing the elk down. Then I would jump off and let the tigers kill and bring the elk back to the den. Boy, it sure smells good in here." "Yes it does, said Alieta. In here we don't have to hunt for our food we have cooks that prepare it for us. Please have a seat." Alieta went to her chair and sat down as Tigressa watched her, then she sat down. "You are going to find everything different here compared to the jungle, said Alieta. The people here create and sell things to make life easier for everyone. No one hunts or kills anything in Fae Land. Every animal here, big or small is safe and free to wander where ever they want." "Oh good, I hated having to help kill but we all had to eat," said Tigressa. Sally came out of the kitchen and looked at Tigressa. "Wow, I have never seen a Fae looking like you before. Those are amazing tiger markings on you," said Sally. "You like my tiger stripes?" asked Tigressa. "Definitely, I love looking at pictures of tigers, they are so beautiful. There is none around here of course but they are magnificent animals." "Well there is one here now, said Alieta. This is Tigressa and she brought Shasta with her from the jungle." "There is a tiger here, where?" asked Sally. "Out front of the palace. Lily is making her something to eat," said Alieta. "No way, Lily who is scared of anything that moves fast is outside alone feeding a tiger?" asked Sally. "Nope, Oscar is out there with her, said Alieta. Oscar, who is that?" asked Sally. "A talking owl that befriended Lily this morning," said Alieta. "You're kidding, things just keep getting better and better around here, said Sally. So what can I get you to eat Tigressa." "Not sure, I don't think you will want to know what I ate in the jungle," said Tigressa. "Just bring her some spaghetti and meatballs and a glass of milk, said Alieta. I already had breakfast so just bring me a cup of tea please. Okay, you got it," said Sally then went back in the kitchen. "She is quite nice and likes my stripes. What is a Fae?" asked Tigressa.

"Well Fae are beings different from humans, said Alieta. Pixies are Fae for example. Sprites, elves, fairies, unicorns and other special beings are all Fae. Most people with pointed ears are Fae." "Okay, so which one are you?" asked Tigressa. "I am a hybeed sprite, said Alieta. There are regular sprites that you saw in the sky today and there are forest sprites that you haven't met yet with green hair and eyes that talk to trees, helping them grow properly. Sally the girl that is making you food is an elf." "So I am Fae then, why does that make me special." Alieta smiled. "You girl are more special than you think. You were brought here by the creator and he brings all the special people and animals here." "So is Shasta special too?" asked Tigressa. "Let's see, a wild tiger from the jungle that understands what you say and will not harm anyone or anything, I would say that is very special too," said Alieta. Sally came out with the food and drinks. "Did I hear you say that Shasta is friendly?" asked Sally. "Yes she is my best friend," said Tigressa. "So it is safe for me to go outside and see her?" asked Sally. "Of course, she loves being scratched behind the ears," said Tigressa. "Cool, is it okay, Alieta. I won't be long I just have to see a real live tiger," said Sally. "Go ahead, wait until you see how big a tiger really is," said Alieta. "Thanks," said Sally then ran out of the room. "This smells really good but steam is coming off it," said Tigressa. "That is because it had to be cooked with fire. People here don't eat raw meat and some other foods need to be cooked in order for you to eat them, said Alieta. Pick up that fork beside the food then stick it in the middle and twirl the fork in it until it is full. Then blow on it to cool it down a bit. Then eat it." Tigressa did as Alieta said then put it in her mouth. This tastes amazing, much better than raw meat," said Tigressa. "You are going to taste some of the most amazing foods here in Fae Land, said Alieta. Spaghetti is just one of them."

When Sally got outside she found Shasta lying on the ground sleeping. She also saw Oscar up on a block beside the steps. "Hello there, you must be Oscar that Alieta told me about," said Sally. "Yep, Oscar the Great Horned Owl. Who are you?" "I'm Sally, I wanted to come down and see Shasta." "Well there she is, said Oscar. Lily gave her enough meat that would have lasted me a couple of weeks." "Where is Lily now? asked Sally. "She left with Ivy to go see some fairy cove. That Ivy is something, isn't she?" "Yes, she is, So what did Ivy say about Shasta?" "Well, she was a bit scared at first but then Lily told her to touch Shasta so she could see she would hurt anyone. Then after that Ivy was all smiles. Then she talked to me for a bit then they flew away," said Oscar. So they just left you here alone with Shasta." "Yep, someone has to stand guard over her," said Oscar. "You an owl are guarding a tiger," asked Sally. "Yep, I kind of like her now, she hasn't tried to eat me yet and she had plenty of chances so I am guarding her while she sleeps." "Guarding her against what?" asked Sally. "Not sure, I just thought it to be the right thing to do," said Oscar. Shasta opened her eyes and saw Sally talking to Oscar. She sat up and yawned. "Wow she is very big, said Sally. I didn't think tigers got that big." "Yep that is why I am staying up here out of the way," said Oscar. Sally walked up to Shasta. "You are so beautiful plus so majestic looking, said Sally. Hello, my name is Sally. I am the cook in the palace and just made some food for Tigressa." Shasta looked at Sally and smiled. "Look she understood me," said Sally. "Yep, she seems to know what people say. Probably being in the jungle with all those pixies, said, Oscar. That dust does things to people and animals. Just makes me sneeze." "Really, it probably made it so you could talk," said Sally. "Ya maybe, I never thought of that," said Oscar. Sally reached over and began scratching Shasta behind her ear. "Look she does like this, she is smiling again." "Of course, it is hard for us to scratch behind our own ears, said Oscar. Especially me, I have no hands." Sarah, giggled, you are a funny one," said Sally. "I will do you next when I finish with Shasta."

Ivy brought Lily into the cove and let her look around. "It is really nice in here, said Lily. Just fairy magic did all of this?" Yep, fairies created the cove and pool plus the entire forest. Everything in here was made by fairy magic, said Ivy. There are paths through the forest that I created through the forest leading to different sections of the forest like a swimming pool, a sauna and even an outdoor eatery." "Wow, so fairy magic is very strong then, said Lily. How did they make the forest if they can't create living things like trees?" "They did it by using their wands to to turn all the desert sand into soil then planted seeds everywhere, said Ivy. Pippa had all the pixies fly over them dropping pixie dust every day that made everything grow very fast plus I was there talking to all the trees and plants as they grew too which kept the new forest happy. The forest just kept spreading out but after the fairies made this cove with the magic pool, that is when things really sped up and the forest kept getting bigger until it reached the size it is now." "So the pool is where all the magic comes from now?" asked Lily. "Mostly plus all the pixie dust magic that all the pixies leave in here and all over the forest help too, said Ivy. Now over here is the overviewer I told you about. This is where I control all the magic but not just in here but everywhere in Fae Land. I had to plant two golden beacon trees to expand the magic from Eden to the Pixie Forest and draw magic for Haven where the human town is." "Wow, so what is a golden beacon tree?" asked Lily. "Well just outside of the cove, over there through that archway is a very magical tree with gold leaves, said Ivy. It absorbs and stores unused magic being created by the pool but most important that magic can be used to defend the forest from creatures trying to get in. The stored magic rushes into the pool when activated then a huge energy blast is sent out in all directions sending anything trying to get in over a mile away and leaving them in great pain. Now a branch can be taken from this golden tree and carefully planted elsewhere in Fae Land. It will grow very fast and once it is big enough, magic will be drawn to it and stored just like the tree in here. Then I can use the overviewer to control the stored magic in the golden beacon tree and send it to places that need it that are not close enough to Eden where the magic comes from." "This is pretty complicated stuff Ivy, how do you know how to do all of this?" asked Lily. "I have been here from the start of the forest and took control over the pool so it is like you know how to do all that you do and control magic around you and I know everything it takes to run the cove and control the magic from here," said Ivy. "Wow this is a really big job you have," said Lily. "Well Sara helps me and Tulip knows how to work the overviewer also so it is just not me doing everything," said Ivy. I made a mistake by saying my magic was stronger that reular fairy magic, said Lily. It is kind of the same, they just do different things together with their magic. I could never make anything as big and beautiful like this by myself. So you said the water in this pool is good to put your legs and feet in, does it heal too like my pond?" "It does heal but is nowhere near as powerful as your pond. It does rejuvenate the skin and takes aches and pains away, cuts and bruises too, said Ivy. You have to remember this pool is in control of over a hundred twenty square miles of trees and structures and not just a small spot in the woods where your Haven is. Come let's sit on the side of the pool and put our feet in." They both sat down and dropped their feet in the water. "It does feel good, not uncomfortable at all," said Lily. "Yep, Alieta comes here to soak in the pool and even the fairies too. The pixies, stay away from the pool though, water washes the pixie dust off their wings so they can't fly so good until more pixie dust grows back after their wings dry. Pippa is okay with it, she comes swimming with me some times." "So you and Pippa are very good friends then," said Lily. "Yep she is my best friend," said Ivy. "Ya Quinn is my best friend then Pippa. I love them both though," said Lily.