Chapter Eight The Madness of Andrew

Sherry stood up and turned to Andrew, angry, and Kimberly lay forgotten. "What are you doing?" she asked, "You were supposed to wait until I got my revenge!"

"You were taking too long," he answered. "Don't worry, you can play your games later. Now keep her away from me!"

"Why do you want the Pixie Dust, Andrew?" asked Kimberly, standing up and glancing at her still-burning spear. It was burned beyond use, now. Sherry was standing and facing her, to make sure she didn't attack Andrew.

"Merely the means to an end," he answered, then looked around at the surrounding Fairies until he caught sight of Queen Clarion.

"Your Majesty," he said, making a mocking bow, "Very nice to see you."

"What do you want, Andrew?" asked the Queen, calmly.

"You will abdicate the rule of Pixie Hollow to me, or all the dust will be lost forever!" he answered, "See this rope? One pull and the warren will collapse. The dust will be beyond recovery!"

"What has happened to you, Andrew?" asked Clarion, shaking her head sadly, "This is not the sparrow man I know."

"Then you don't know me at all!" roared the Tinker, "For years now I have been mocked and ridiculed, and my genius unrecognized. And now I will get my due!"

"You need help, Andrew," said Clarion, "Please, stop this now, and let us..."

"What's it going to be, Clarion?" Andrew interrupted, angrily, "Think carefully before you answer."

The tall, majestic Queen, her dress flowing like Pixie Dust, moved forward. "I will not abdicate. You are not fit to rule Pixie Hollow. Do as you will; I will not yield to evil."

While they conversed, Ronald snuck up behind Andrew and went to the rope leading back into the warren. Taking out a vegetable knife he cut the rope, but held the end up so Andrew didn't notice. The circle of Scouts saw this, of course, and were surprised at the Cooking Talent's bravery. But they kept their eyes on Andrew, so they wouldn't give him away.

Andrew's blue face grew angry, and one would wonder how he avoided an aneurysm. "You were warned, so this is on you." He yanked the rope hard, pulling it out of Ronald's hand.

For a moment there was silence.

"Why isn't the warren collapsing?" Andrew asked. Then he noticed the far end of the piece of rope. He picked it up and looked at it, then at Ronald.

"Sorry, dude," shrugged the Cooking Talent, "My knife slipped."

And the fairies surrounding him, including Sherry and Kimberly, started laughing.

Instead of becoming even more angry, the Tinker Talent grew still and cold. He dropped the rope and turned back to Sherry. "Kill Clarion!"

The laughter stopped like a switch had been flipped.

"Majesty, perhaps..." began Viola, but Clarion held up a hand with a sharp movement, stilling the Summoning Talent's unspoken suggestion.

Sherry stared, eyes very wide, at her friend. "WHAT? What did you say?"

"Kill her, I said!" Andrew repeated, pointing at Clarion, "She is the only thing standing in the way of my rule!"

Equally stunned, Kimberly stepped up beside Sherry. The combatants shared a quick glance, then back to Andrew.

"DO IT!" he roared, eyes bright.

"Are you completely out of your mind?" Sherry yelled back. "I've done a lot of stuff for you and your plans, but that is way outside the line!"

"I have planned and prepared for far too long to be stopped when I'm this close to my goal. Kill the Queen, or everyone will know what you did," he gritted out.

"Oh, so that's it," Sherry said, her voice suddenly soft. "Blackmailing me in case your main plan failed."

"ARE YOU GOING TO OBEY?!" Andrew screamed at her.

Sherry stood still for a long moment, and the tension built. Finally she looked at him. "No, I will not." She took off her gloves and handed them to Kimberly. Then she walked over to Clarion and knelt before her, bowing until her forehead touched the dirt.

"Your Majesty, I am the one who heated the pond and killed everything in it," she confessed.

There was another collective gasp, and several Scouts moved to surround her. Clarion stopped them with a gesture.

"I am so sorry," Sherry continued, "Andrew suggested it as a test for my gloves. I'm not a Water or Animal Fairy; it never occurred to me that anything would be harmed. I surrender. And I promise to accept any punishment given me."

"We will discuss this later," promised Clarion.

"Thank you, Queen Clarion," said Sherry, humbly.

The Scouts helped Sherry stand up, and all were surprised to see tears rolling down her cheeks.

Andrew stood and watched with growing incredulity. At his moment of triumph his plans and preparations had failed, his friend had deserted him, and he was about to lose everything. It was more than a genius of his caliber could take, and his last mooring line to reality snapped.

"You traitor!" he screamed at Sherry, "You backstabber! You will pay for this! All of you! I will have what I am due!"

From a pocket he pulled out a handful of Pixie Dust and tossed it on his wings. Then he took off into the night.

"Find him! Get him!" yelled Nyx, pointing with her spear, and most of the Scouts took off in his wake, led by Fury.

Kimberly started to go with them, but Nyx stopped her, saying she had done enough, so she went over to Ronald and gave him a hug. "Good going!" she praised him.

"Thanks, Kim; glad I could help," he answered. He noticed she was still holding the gloves. "Those are neat!" he said.

"And dangerous," Kim added. "I'm going to give them to Fairy Mary for safekeeping."

The best friends went over to Sherry, who had collapsed to her knees again, and was crying hard. Chase, the blond Scout who was third in command, was squatting by her, trying to comfort her.

The Scouts were an elite Talent, trained to fight and protect Pixie Hollow, but like most other Fairies they were compassionate and willing to help anyone in need. And right now Sherry needed that comfort.

kp/tb kp/tb kp/tb

The next day it was reported that Andrew had managed to elude the Scouts and was gone. But Nyx was determined to keep watch, in case he ever returned.

Sherry was brought to Clarion for trial. When she appeared, she had been bathed thoroughly and clothes washed to remove any traces of Pixie Dust. This precaution would prevent her from flying, and would greatly reduce the use of her Talent. Her hands were tied together behind her back.

Nyx, Kimberly, Ronald, and Wade were present, as were Monique, Tinker Bell, Silvermist, and Fawn.

When brought before Clarion, Sherry knelt and bowed her head.

"Light Talent Sherry, what am I to do with you?" asked Clarion.

"Turn me over to the Animal Fairies, and let them punish me," answered Sherry without hesitation.

Fawn's eyes widened in surprise. She admitted to herself she would like to be in on that.

"The animals that were there no longer remember the incident. Would that be just?" answered Clarion.

"I don't know, Your Majesty," said Sherry, "I am guilty, and I defer to your judgment."

"You said Andrew tricked you." said the Queen.

The Light Talent cringed a bit. "Yes, because I still trusted him, I thought he hadn't realized it would happen either. It would never occur to me that he did it deliberately so he could force me to... to..." she gulped, and tears began to run down her cheeks. "But I still, did it voluntarily."

She looked up into the face of her Queen. "It has haunted my dreams, and my waking thoughts. I hardened my heart because I was afraid of what would happen to me if you found out. But I can't stand it any more. The burden is too heavy. I need... help... something... please..."

"Sherry, you seem different since last night. What has caused this change in you?"

The Light Fairy looked down again. "I watched Andrew slowly sink into madness, and it frightened me. The way his eyes looked. The way he talked, and what he said. I don't want to become like him. I want to give up the way I was and live a normal life as a Light Fairy, if that is still possible."

She began to cry, as did the watching fairies. Slivermist latched on to Fawn, who put an arm around her friend.

"I will not plead for mercy, Your Majesty, but I will ask for your judgement," Sherry said, quietly with a tremor in her voice.

"Very well. Kimberly, I am assigning you to oversee her punishment," said the Queen.

"Yes, Queen Clarion," replied Kimberly with a bow.

"Sherry, you are ordered to return everything that was stolen. You will do so without benefit of flight, your talent, or help, unless Kimberly determines otherwise for the immediate task."

"Yes, Majesty," said Sherry, bowing her head.

"When that is finished, you will report to the Healing Talents, and let them help you settle your heart and mind," she added.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," said Sherry.

"When they release you, you will take over as Chief of Special Effects for Fairy Tale Theater," Clarion added.

"Uh, excuse me?" questioned a confused Sherry.

Clarion smiled. "Because of your problem with projecting any color but green, you have been given very few assignments as a Light Fairy. The last Chief is retiring, and this will give you an important job, and keep you out of trouble."

Sherry looked stunned.

"Now get up; you have a lot of work ahead of you," said Clarion sternly, but there was a hint of a smile on her face.

"But it is honest work! Thank you, Majesty!" Kim cut Sherry's bonds, and the Light Talent bowed to her Queen, tears threatening to spill again.

"I declare this trial concluded!" Clarion announced.

Kim guided Sherry toward the door.

Once outside, Kim, Sherry, Ron, and Wade stood in a group.

"I see you have a new spear," Sherry said to Kim.

"Yeah, we keep a number of backups on hand, just for losses," she answered.

"I'm really sorry about yours," said the emerald eyed Light Fairy, "That was the one that revealed your Talent. I know you miss it."

"Oh, you'll be making it up to me. But where do you want to start, Sherry?" asked Kim.

"By returning the Pixie Dust," was the answer, "That's the most important thing."

The redhead nodded. "Start walking, then. I'll catch up in a minute."

"W- walk? All the way to the warren?" asked Sherry.

"That was the Queen's condition," Wade said, raising an eyebrow, "Are you going to rebel already?"

"NO! But-" she started, then with a sigh, her shoulders slumped. "You're right." And she turned and headed off toward the Fall Forest.

"But I will allow you to use the wagon to bring it all back," Kim called after her.

The Light Talent waved a hand at her in acknowledgment, then disappeared behind a root of the Tree.

Wade snickered. "That's mean, Kim."

"Huh? Why?" asked Ronald, "The dust needs to be returned as soon as possible."

"How is she going to move it, after she gets it filled?" the Messenger asked, "She is forbidden to have help unless Kim says so."

"Ouch," said Ron, scrunching up his face.

"Don't worry, guys, the Queen asked me to test her resolve during her punishment," said Kim. "I'll help her, after some work on her part."

Her friends laughed a bit.

Wade looked up at Ron. "By the way, that was clever on your part; pretending to be blinded so Sherry and Andrew wouldn't pay any attention to you and you could get close to them."

Ron blushed. "Well, I had to do something..."

"We're both proud of you, Ron," said Kim.

"I meant to ask, what did Mary do with those gloves?" asked Ron, changing the subject.

"She told me she hid them away in a spot only she knows," was the answer, "She didn't want to destroy them because they might have a use someday.

And Ron, do me a favor," Kim said, "Sherry and I will be in for lunch at the dining hall, and I'm sure she'll be hungry. Fix something special for her, will you?"

"I'll do that, Kim," he said with a smile.

The crisis had been averted, and things were soon to be back to normal.

At least, as normal as it gets in Pixie Hollow.

The End