“What are we going to do about Ethel?” asked Enid.
“It isn’t as if she knows what she is doing,” said Myrtle. “So we can’t exactly punish her for it.”
“No, but there is something which triggers her to do this, whatever she’s done,” said Enid. “And if we don’t do something about it, it could happen again.”
“The problem is that we don’t know what the trigger is, nor how to remove it,” said Myrtle. “But we may know someone who does know.”
“And you think he’s going to tell us?” asked Enid.
“That would depend on what we offer for his co-operation and what he will get if he doesn’t co-operate,” said Myrtle.
“We should go back to the Fairy Council Hall,” said the Mirror.
“Why?” asked Enid and Myrtle together.
“Something is happening there,” the Mirror replied. “I think they have decided what to do.”
“The Council, come to a decision, in this short a time,” said Enid. “This is record breaking!”
“We ‘d better get there,” said Myrtle. “You know what they’re like for making their minds up. If it’s a quick decision, then it’s usually the wrong one.”
“Most of their decisions come under that category,” muttered Enid. “Do we need to avoid anyone or should we be OK.”
“Probably an idea not to be too obvious,” said Myrtle. “The message may not have got through to everyone.”
“Have you any suggestions on how we are going to achieve that?” asked Enid.
“Velvet may have a delivery due,” Myrtle replied. “I’ll go and ask her.”
An hour later Myrtle was busy driving a laundry van up to the Fairy Council Hall.
“Is this lot for that big do this evening?” asked the guard, busy looking past Myrtle and into the van.
“You know how it is with guests,” Myrtle smiled. “Got to have fresh linen and plenty of it.”
“Do you know where about’s it’s needed?” asked Enid. “We wouldn’t want to drop it off at the wrong side of the building and give everyone more work having to move it to where it is needed.”
“The guests are being put up in the East wing, the dining hall is at that side of the building as well,” sighed the guard.
“There must be a lot of them,” said Myrtle. “That’s a big wing.”
“There’s a lot of guests, their servants and their security,” said the guard.
“I wouldn’t have thought they’d need security,” said Myrtle smiling. “Not with you and your colleagues around.”
“We aren’t good enough for them,” he muttered turning to the next person.
“That doesn’t sound good,” muttered Myrtle.
“The visiting dignitary wants his own security people around him,” said Enid. “I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”
“Sounds like there are a lot of strangers in the place,” said Myrtle.
“I don’t see the problem,” said Enid.
“This thing has only sprung up in the last day and suddenly the place is being flooded with visitors. It’s the first I’ve heard of some grand state visit. I feel sure that the Fairy Godmothers would have been told about it,” said Myrtle.
“I haven’t heard anything about it either,” said the Mirror. “You’d be amazed what people talk about when they don’t realise that you can hear them.”
“That’s a thought,” said Myrtle. “You could get onto all those camera’s that you and Lily put in round the Council Hall. Then we don’t have to go in blind.”
“I was hoping to avoid going in,” said Enid. “It feels a bit like we’d be walking into a trap.”
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?” asked Myrtle.
“Because I knew you’d want to go in whatever,” said Enid. “However, it would be an idea to have a look in and see what’s going on.”
“Myrtle!” hissed one of the cleaning staff. “What are you doing bring the clean laundry?”
“We are staging something,” Myrtle smiled. “And we thought this would be a simple way of getting into the building unobserved.”
“Now we are here,” sighed Enid. “We aren’t entirely sure what to do.”
“We need somewhere to hide whilst we check up on some camera feeds,” said Myrtle. “Then we can work on a plan of action.”
“I can hide you easy, no one comes near cleaning if they don’t have to,” said the cleaner. “I’m not sure about the action bit, not in your condition.”
“I agree with you, Elsie,” said Enid. “Action sounds like something that James wouldn’t approve of.”
“Action is something we haven’t yet decided upon,” said Myrtle. “So I will bare in mind my current state.”
“Follow me,” said Elsie. “The sooner you get out of sight, the sooner this lot will get the heave ho and we can get back to normal.”
“Lead on,” said Myrtle as Elsie lead them into the cleaning staff’s rest room.
“If there’s anything I can do to help,” said Elsie as she headed back to her work.
“Keep your eyes peeled as to who is in the guest accommodation,” said Myrtle.
“How do you mean?” Enid asked.
“I suspect there are few if any women amongst the guests,” said Myrtle.
“You think this is some sort of invading army?” asked Elsie.
“And how will we stop them?” asked Enid.
“An army marches on it’s stomach,” said Myrtle. “I think I know better than most how well it wont be able to march if they all have duff stomach's.”
“That’s evil,” laughed Elsie. “I’ll talk to the kitchen staff about it.”
“Thanks,” said Myrtle.
“So we keep hidden till after the banquet,” said Enid.
“To give things time to work,” smiled Myrtle.
“And then what?” asked Enid.
“Let’s see these live feeds,” said Myrtle. “I want to know what’s going on up there.”
“I have a prisoner to take before the Fairy Council,” said the man who had arrested Liam addressing a man standing outside the Hall of the Fairy Council.
“Who is he?” Enid asked.
“No one I’ve seen before,” said the Mirror. “In fact I don’t recognise any of the security in there.”
“I shall take him in,” said the man.
“It is my duty to present him to the council,” the security officer insisted.
“I am in charge now,” he was told. “And if you continue to question my authority you will be standing trial alongside him,” he added nodding to Liam.”
“I did everything she told me to,” said Liam looking confused. “I’m on your side, I shouldn’t be facing trial.”
“You got arrested,” the man told him. “She didn’t tell you to do that, she told you to sit in that room over there and keep out of trouble. You couldn’t do that, you had to meddle.”
“I thought it would help her if I found out what Enid and Myrtle were up too and where they were,” said Liam.
“She has plans for them,” the man told him.
“But they saw through them, they knew who Belladonna was,”
“Arrest Belladonna and bring her here,” the man told someone another security person who dashed off to do his bidding.
“She probably wont be there now,” sighed Liam.
“If she has any sense, she wont be,” said the man. “But I thought she was rather arrogant, so she might be as easy to pick up as you were.”
“But,” stuttered Liam.
“You know how much she hates incompetence,” the man sighed. “Take them away,” he said to another security men.
“I am,” started the security man who had arrested Liam.
“We know who and what you are,” the man said. “If you’d had any sense you’d have left by now, as it is, you are under arrest.”
“Now what do we do?” asked Enid. “I thought they were supposed to give up once we kicked them off the Fairy Network.”
“They may be working on the idea that no one knows that because all the fairies have been staying clear of their computers just in case,” said Myrtle.
“So what do we do?” Enid asked again.
“We take a leaf out of the sleeping beauty story,” said Myrtle. “And get our wands into action.”
by Janice Nye © 2021
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