The Fairy Godmother Part 105

“So now I have to put up with six months of being told how to run my own country,” King Rufus said to Myrtle after the delegates had gone to their rooms to prepare for the banquette that had been put on it their honour.

“Yes,” Myrtle replied. “You might learn a few things on being a king. At the very least you could learn how they think and how they run their countries.”

“And that would be useful because?” asked Rufus.

“Whilst they are teaching you, they aren’t invading and you could learn what signs to look for if they should still decide to attack,” said Myrtle.

“So what I am doing is keeping them at bay for six months,” Rufus sighed.

“Probably a bit longer than that,” said Violet.

“Yes,” said Rosemary. “They’d have to think of a good reason to invade.”

“Also, it would be hard for them to all agree that that is the best way forward,” said Liam.

“You think that there might be some disagreement on how to divide up my country?” snapped Rufus.

“It would depend on how you reacted to the six different teachers,” said Myrtle. “Some of them my think that you show promise as a leader and would prefer to work with you rather than go to the effort and expense of an invasion. Some might think that there’s might be the next country in line for take over and that once their neighbour has got an army together, they may be the ones being invaded as well as you.”

“Sweet talk them and keep them at bay?” asked Rufus.

“Something like that,” said Violet, as Myrtle’s phone rang.

“Hello Sweetheart, when are you coming home?” asked James.

“Who is it?” asked Violet.

“My husband,” said Myrtle to Violet.

“We are in the middle of something,” Myrtle explained to James. “I’ll give you a ring back soon,” she added and hung up.

“I thought he understood what the job of being a Fairy Godmother was about,” said Violet. “You can’t do any useful work if you are dashing home at 5pm, it’s not that sort of job.”

“I know that,” snapped Myrtle. “And I thought he understood, perhaps he thought that as I was looking after an apprentice and that this is my first day back, that things would be different today.”

“I thought that we would be finishing by now,” said Rosemary yawing loudly.

“I think we can look after things here,” said Liam, looking at Rufus. “You just have to turn the charm on and we both know how well you can do that.”

“OK,” said Violet. “But we will be available at any time, should you need us,” she added looking at Myrtle, waving her wand and taking the three of them back to the Fairy Godmothers office.

“I shall explain it to him,” said Myrtle. “He’s a Doctor, he should understand that sometimes jobs just don’t fall into the 9 to 5 timing.”

“Make sure he does, I can’t have you clock watching,” said Violet. “Meanwhile, you need to get some sleep,” she added to Rosemary. “And you need to understand that part of this job is staying with it till it is sorted.”

“Yes,” said Rosemary, looking rather disheartened.

“It’s just the way it is,” Myrtle smiled at her.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be any good at this,” Rosemary muttered.

“You are here to learn,” said Myrtle. “You’re just starting, don’t give up.”

“OK,” sighed Rosemary, heading for the door.

“Do you really think she has it in her?” asked Violet.

“There’s promise there,” said Myrtle.

“But?” asked Violet.

“It’s been a bit of a full on day for her and she’s had you as well as me watching over her, give the girl a chance,” Myrtle smiled.

“The college said how good she was,” said Violet. “Thought she could go straight in on the job without supervision.”

“The people there haven’t been in the field for over a hundred years,” said Myrtle. “They could probably do with a refresher themselves. It would save us having to fish some of them out of difficult situations.”

“That’s true,” said Violet. “I shall mention it to them.”

“I think you need to do more than just mention it,” said Myrtle. “Some of them, their ideas are so outdated, they don’t even know what a computer is, let alone how to use one.”

“You are right,” sighed Violet. “And I know it, which is probably why I’ve been putting it off. Anyway, you need to get home to talk to your husband and I need to talk to the Head of the Fairy Godmothers College.”

“Good luck,” said Myrtle, giving her wand a quick twitch.

“I’m sorry,” said James as soon as she appeared. “It’s just that I’d got tea ready and then I remembered that you’d gone to work.”

“I know it’s the first day back,” said Myrtle. “But you have to understand that I can’t just drop everything because it’s 5pm where you are.”

“Wasn’t it 5pm where you were as well?” asked James.

“No, it was 11.30 am,” said Myrtle. “And we were in the middle of trying to prevent one country from being invaded by six others that surrounded it.”

“Did you succeed?” asked James.

“The six countries are giving the new mentoring on Kingship,” said Myrtle.

“An interesting idea,” said James. “I take it that the armies are being stood down?”

“For the time being,” said Myrtle. “If all goes well, that wont change.”

“So, no harm done?” James asked.

“Not today, but Violet asked me to explain to you that that sort of thing can not happen again,” sighed Myrtle.

“But,” said James.

“Would you like it if I rang you up at work?” Myrtle asked.

“You wouldn’t,” said James. “Not unless it was an emergency or the baby was about to be born.”

“At the moment, the baby being born would be an emergency,” said Myrtle, patting the bump. “But the same has to go for when I’m at work, you can’t just ring to see if I’ll be home for tea.”

“I thought it wouldn’t be a problem, what with you mentoring an apprentice,” said James.

“Anyone else in charge and I might have lost my job,” said Myrtle.

“But it’s your first day back!” said James.

“As it was, Violet thought I hadn’t explained the work to you, not properly,” said Myrtle. “And I have an apprentice who came top in her class thinking that she isn’t up to the job!”

“Did you have to tell Violet that I rang?” James asked.

“I didn’t tell her, she was with us,” snapped Myrtle.

“Why?” asked James.

“Her laptop was doing updates, the sort that keep your computer tied up for a day or two, I said she could come along so that she didn’t drive Ethel mad asking her when the updates would be finished,” Myrtle explained, sitting down suddenly.

“And now you are tired,” said James.

“Don’t try to talk me out of working,” said Myrtle.

“I wasn’t going to,” said James quickly. “But I do think it is time you had something to eat.”

“Smells like tea is ready,” said Myrtle.

“I wont ring you at work again,” said James.

“Thank-you,” said Myrtle. “You should have seen the look on Violet’s face when you called me Sweetheart, it was so hard keeping a straight face.”

By Janice Nye © 2021

The Fairy Godmother Part 104

“So, what do we do know?” asked King Rufus.

“You have a conference to go to,” said Myrtle, looking him up and down. “And we need to get you in a fit state to be seen.”

“Do you have a bathroom attached to your rooms?” asked Violet.

“Of course I do, I am the King,” Rufus smiled.

“Liam, run a bath,” said Myrtle. “You could do with one as well, but I’m not sure how we can manage that.”

“My room is near here,” Liam replied. “And I also have a bath.”

“Rosemary, you run a bath for the King,” said Myrtle waving her wand, taking her and Liam to his rooms.

“Shouldn’t you stay with the King?” asked Liam.

“He has the Head of the Fairy Godmothers with him, along with an apprentice, I think they can keep him safe,” smiled Myrtle.

“Do you think that I might be in danger?” Liam asked.

“There are times when it is best not to take chances,” said Myrtle. “At the moment the Valet thinks you are wondering round the labyrinth totally lost and unlikely to turn up for this conference.”

“So whilst he thinks that, we should be OK?” asked Liam.

“Exactly, I’m planing on using my wand to get you in there just in time,” Myrtle replied, putting the plug into the bath and running the hot water.

“What do you think will happen?” asked Liam.

“I don’t know,” Myrtle replied. “But I suspect that some of the delegates wont be expecting Rufus to turn up.”

“You think the valet was working for them?” asked Liam.

“Someone was and I think we are going to find out when the meeting is convened,” Myrtle smiled, turning the taps off.

“You don’t have to watch me bathing,” said Liam looking at the steaming water and then at Myrtle.

“True,” she smiled, her wand twitching behind her back as she sealed the windows. “I’ll be outside if you should need anything.”

“Why did you seal the windows?” asked Liam and hour later when he walked out of the bathroom.

“To prevent anyone from disturbing you,” said Myrtle.

“Is that all?” he asked.

“You aren’t likely to leap out of the window are you?” smiled Myrtle. “So what other reason could there possibly be?”

“I can’t think of any,” he said. “Where are my clothes?”

“I’ve laid out suitable clothing in your bedroom,” Myrtle smiled. “I assume you don’t require any assistance.”

“Will you be sealing the windows again?” he asked.

“They were sealed along with the bathroom windows,” said Myrtle. “Your safety is my prime concern.”

“Surely King Rufus’s safety is more important,” Liam replied, trying to control his towel.

“The Head of the Fairy Godmothers is taking care of that,” Myrtle reminded him.

“I know, but,” said Liam, looking round for inspiration.

“There is nothing to worry about,” said Myrtle.

“Isn’t there?” asked Liam.

“You will not be alone, if the other delegates start to get violent we can always freeze time and get you both out of there,” Myrtle explained.

“How will you time us arriving together?” he asked.

“Simple,” said Myrtle. “Get dresses and you’ll find out.”

“OK,” he sighed, heading for his bedroom.

“Try not to take too long,” Myrtle said as he closed the door.

“I’d like to have this all done and dusted before the baby arrives,” she thought.

There was quarter of an hour to go when King Rufus, Violet and Rosemary appeared in Liam’s rooms.

“I thought we’d be going to Rufus’s rooms,” said Liam looking confused.

“Hopefully that is what anyone else will have thought,” said Violet.

“I don’t understand,” said Rosemary.

“If anyone is looking for us in Rufus’s rooms, they aren’t going to find us there,” said Myrtle.

“That’s because we are here,” said Rosemary.

“It might buy us some time,” said Myrtle.

“Is everyone ready?” asked Violet.

“I think so,” said King Rufus.

“All you have to do is look regal, welcoming and open the meeting,” said Violet.

“I’ll do my best,” he said, not looking or sounding the least bit sure of himself.

“Remember,” said Myrtle. “You just have to look confident, they don’t know if you are or not.”

“Fake it till you make it?” King Rufus smiled.

“Exactly,” Violet smiled.

“Do you know what is going to happen?” Rufus asked.

“No,” said Myrtle. “We suspect that someone may make a move to take control of the kingdom, but we don’t know who or what they intend to do. What we do know is that they don’t expect you to be there, so they may look surprised when they see you.”

“And after that we react to what happens as it happens,” Rufus asked.

“Exactly,” said Violet. “Are you ready to go?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he sighed.

“Remember this is your people you are fighting for,” smiled Myrtle as Violet waved her wand.

The walls if Liam’s rooms faded to be replaced by those of the council chamber.

“He should be here,” said someone anxiously

“He’s probably gone fishing again,” someone else snapped.

“What do we do?” asked another court official. “The delegates are waiting outside.”

“Then open the doors and let them in,” said King Rufus. “It wouldn’t do to keep them waiting would it.”

“Of course not, Your Majesty,” stuttered the footman closest to the door, he signalled to the other footman and they both opened the double doors together. The senior footman coughed to attract the attention of the delegates.

“About time,” muttered the one nearest to the door.

“King Augustus,” said the footman, bowing low. “And his chancellor. If you would kindly make your way to the table, you will be seated to the left of King Rufus.”

“I’m so glad you could make it Augustus,” said Rufus smiling broadly. “I know things are a bit difficult for you at home.”

“I didn’t see you there,” King Augustus replied with a start. “Everything is fine at home, just a few extremists getting a bit agitated. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Glad to hear that,” smiled Rufus.

“King Frederick,” the footman introduced the next monarch. “And his Prime Minister.”

“Why don’t they say the names of the people accompanying all the monarchs?” asked Rosemary when the last of the people sat down, six monarchs and their various assistants.

“They change so often, it’s hard for anyone to keep track of who is who,” said Liam. “It wouldn’t make much difference anyway, they are only here to make a note of what their King’s agree to.”

“Why aren’t there any women?” Rosemary asked.

“It’s a good question,” said Myrtle. “But this is not the time or place for questions.”

“We called this meeting today because we, the assembled Monarchs, don’t think that you are taking your role as King seriously,” said King Frederick.

“In what way?” asked King Rufus.

“That is not important,” snapped King Frederick.

“I would have thought that that was the heart of the matter,” King Rufus replied.

“You are unfit to be King and therefore we have decided that your territories should be divided up between the assembled monarchs so that they can be exploited properly,” said King Frederick.

“On what authority to you base this decision?” asked King Rufus.

“We are Kings, we do not need any other authority,” King Frederick snapped.

“You are Kings of your own countries, you are not Kings in this country and therefore you do not have any authority here,” said King Rufus.

“What?” shouted King Augustus.

“Guards,” said King Rufus. “Kindly arrest the delegates and take them to the dungeons.”

“Of course, your Majesty,” said the Officer in charge of the Guards. “You have your orders,” he said to his men.

“You can’t do this,” stuttered King Augustus, trying to push away a guard who was busy trying to put handcuffs on him.

“I can do it and I will do it unless you retract your threat to divide up my country between you,” said King Rufus.

“We have armies,” said King Frederick.

“So do I,” said King Rufus. “I also have you, so your armies had better stay in their barracks.”

“Are you threatening us,” asked King Henry, the last of the monarchs to sit at the table.

“No,” smiled King Rufus. “I’d just like you to give me time to get used to being a monarch before you threaten to depose me.”

“You have been King here for two months,” said King Augustus.

“If I remember rightly,” said King Henry. “You were still celebrating the death of your predecessor after two months. It took six months before you were even crowned King, the lawyers were busy checking for alternatives.”

“OK, but, there is an instability in the centre of our little group, I am worried that those outside it might think to take advantage of this,” said King Augustus.

“All the more reason for us to be united in helping our newest member, King Rufus,” said King Henry.

“Good morning gentlemen,” said Myrtle. “We are representatives of the Council of Fairy Godmothers. May I suggest that each of the monarchs agrees to spend a month here mentoring King Rufus and helping to prepare himself for the responsibilities of his position.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” King Henry

“It would be good to have some guidance,” said King Rufus. “I think my Father wasn’t expecting to pass on for a good few years and therefore didn’t want to burden me with the problems of state. Perhaps it would have been better to be more prepared, but I also think that the lose of a much loved parent is impossible to prepare for.”

“I suggest we ask the Fairy Godmothers to supervise this mentoring,” said King David, looking at Kings Augustus and Frederick whilst he said it.

“All in agreement say I,” said King Henry.

There was a general call of I

“Carried unanimously,” said Violet.

“Thank-you,” said King Rufus. “I hate to be at loggerheads with any of you.”

By Janice Nye © 2021

The Fairy Godmother Part 103

“Ethel,” said Myrtle as soon as she appeared back in the office.

“Tell her the update has only just started, there is no way I can do anything with it for at least one day,” said Ethel slowly looking up.

“We told her that,” said Myrtle. “But that isn’t what I’m here about. Her phone’s died.”

“I sorted that out last week, there’s nothing wrong with it,” snapped Ethel.

“Except she couldn’t ring you,” said Myrtle.

“That shouldn’t happen,” Ethel replied trying to ring Violet.

“This number can not be found,” the phone explained.

“I suspect it is place related,” Myrtle replied.

“Do you think it is something to do with their computer system crashing?” Ethel asked.

“The King had a row with their computer person, they left, the computer system crashed and when the King started to sort it out, it got worse and now he’s gone fishing,” Myrtle explained.

“You think the computer person crashed the system?” asked Ethel.

“Everything points to that way,” said Myrtle. “But it doesn’t smell right. Violet’s phone not working does rather underline the whole thing.”

“I don’t understand?” said Ethel.

“If the phone system isn’t working, how come the Valet managed to call us for help?” Myrtle replied.

“Are Violet and Rosemary in any danger?” asked Ethel.

“I don’t think so, it’s like the Valet called them there to have a witness to something,” said Myrtle. “Can you locate either the King or Liam, that’s their computer person.”

“I should be able to,” said Ethel, turning to her laptop. “What the!”

The look of panic that crossed Ethel’s face caused Myrtle to wave her wand and put everything on pause.

“Looks like the computer failure is spreading,” thought Myrtle. “Or at least someone is making it spread,” she added winding the clock back to just before Ethel tried to find the King.

“You asked me to do something, I think,” said Ethel looking at her laptop.

“Can you protect our system from any computer bug that might come to it from their system?” asked Myrtle.

“Yes,” said Ethel, “But if I do that I wont be able to use our computer system to find out what is going wrong with theirs.”

“We wont be able to use our computer system if it crashes as well,” said Myrtle.

“Hadn’t thought of that,” said Ethel, redoubling her efforts to prevent any contagine.

“I think we will have to go old style to do that,” said Myrtle, heading for the Hall of the Fairy Council.

“What do you mean?” asked Ethel dashing after her.

“We’ll go talk to the mirror, she knows everything,” smiled Myrtle.

“But wont this update affect her?” asked Ethel.

“Why should it, she’s a mirror, been around longer than any computer and doesn’t need an update, because she is perfect the way she is,” said Myrtle smiling at the mirror.

“You are supposed to say “Mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all,”, but I like what you said, so we’ll skip that. How can I help you?” asked the Mirror.

“We are trying to find King Rufus and his computer expert Liam,” said Myrtle.

“And you are asking me instead of the computer,” said the Mirror.

“There are a lot of updates freezing the computer system,” said Ethel.

“The computer system is in danger of being corrupted,” said Myrtle. “Whilst we know that nothing and no one could corrupt you.”

“That sounds like you are buttering me up,” said the Mirror.

“We need answers and we know you can get them,” said Myrtle. “We wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t important.”

“OK,” said the Mirror. “When Rufus became King he wasn’t really ready for the responsibility. His Valet suggested that, when things got too much he could go fishing, to help him relax. Rufus wasn’t that keen on the actual fishing bit, but the Valet said all he had to do was go out on the boat, he didn’t have to catch anything.”

“Wouldn’t he be seen going to the boat or something?” asked Ethel.

“The Valet told him of a secret way to get to the boat, down a hidden staircase, into a labyrinth, under the castle, through that to a hidden boat, he and Liam could then go fishing on the lake without anyone knowing about it,” the mirror explained.

“Surely it would be simple enough to look for a boat on the lake?” asked Myrtle.

“The Valet put the route to the boat on a map on Rufus’s mobile phone,” the mirror explained. “And Rufus was using the torch on the phone to find his way. Rufus and Liam both put their phones on charge at night, the valet slipped into their rooms and took them off charge. As the two were heading for the boat, the batteries died and they were stuck underground, in the dark in a labyrinth that goes on for miles.”

“And they are still there,” said Myrtle.

“Walking round and round in circles,” said the Mirror.

“All I have to do is find them in time for the conference,” Myrtle smiled.

“Might be an idea to give yourself a bit of time to make them presentable for the occasion,” said the Mirror. “It’s not exactly clean down there and some of those delegates will take insult from the least thing.”

“Thanks,” said Myrtle. “I’ll bare that in mind. How are you liking it here?”

“It’s nice seeing people coming and going,” said the Mirror. “But it would be nice if they stopped for a chat sometimes.”

“I’m along here a lot,” said Ethel. “It would be nice to have someone to talk to sometimes.”

“It would be nice to talk,” smiled the Mirror.

“I’d better go,” said Myrtle. “You know what it’s like, Kings to find, conferences to kick into action, Kingdoms to save.”

“Take care you don’t get lost,” said the Mirror as Myrtle waved her wand.

“If we had something to draw on the wall as we went along,” said Liam searching through his pockets for the umpteenth time.

“It wouldn’t make any difference,” said Rufus. “We can’t see the wall, let alone anything we drew on it.”

“I’m trying to think of a solution,” shouted Liam.

“I know,” said Rufus. “And I appreciate your effort. But it wont work. So if you could just keep quiet for a little while, perhaps one of us can think up something that might work. And before you say it, string is not a good idea either, nor is fishing line because we didn’t bring the fishing gear with us.”

“I knew I’d forgotten something,” said Liam, putting his hand out towards the wall. “There’s something warm here,” he added his hand coming into contact with Myrtle.

“I take it you are King Rufus and Liam?” asked Myrtle.

“Yes,” said King Rufus. “And who are you?”

“I am Myrtle, your Fairy Godmother,” she replied. “You can take your hand off me now,” she told Liam, turning up the wick on her storm lantern.

“And can you get us out of here?” asked Rufus.

“No sooner the word than the deed,” said Myrtle waving her wand.

“These are the King’s quarters,” said the Valet, opening a door for Violet and Rosemary to walk through and then slamming it shut behind them and locking it quickly.

“I don’t think these are the King’s quarters,” said Rosemary.

“And what gives you that idea?” asked Violet.

“It’s dark in here, I’ve just walked into a hoover and the place stinks of polish,” Rosemary replied.

“I agree with you,” said Violet. “This is much too small for the King’s quarters.”

Violet waved her wand, she and Rosemary arrived in the King’s quarters at the same time as Rufus, Liam and Myrtle.

“I get the feeling that the Valet is at the bottom of all of this,” said Myrtle.

The Fairy Godmother Part 103

“Ethel,” said Myrtle as soon as she appeared back in the office.

“Tell her the update has only just started, there is no way I can do anything with it for at least one day,” said Ethel slowly looking up.

“We told her that,” said Myrtle. “But that isn’t what I’m here about. Her phone’s died.”

“I sorted that out last week, there’s nothing wrong with it,” snapped Ethel.

“Except she couldn’t ring you,” said Myrtle.

“That shouldn’t happen,” Ethel replied trying to ring Violet.

“This number can not be found,” the phone explained.

“I suspect it is place related,” Myrtle replied.

“Do you think it is something to do with their computer system crashing?” Ethel asked.

“The King had a row with their computer person, they left, the computer system crashed and when the King started to sort it out, it got worse and now he’s gone fishing,” Myrtle explained.

“You think the computer person crashed the system?” asked Ethel.

“Everything points to that way,” said Myrtle. “But it doesn’t smell right. Violet’s phone not working does rather underline the whole thing.”

“I don’t understand?” said Ethel.

“If the phone system isn’t working, how come the Valet managed to call us for help?” Myrtle replied.

“Are Violet and Rosemary in any danger?” asked Ethel.

“I don’t think so, it’s like the Valet called them there to have a witness to something,” said Myrtle. “Can you locate either the King or Liam, that’s their computer person.”

“I should be able to,” said Ethel, turning to her laptop. “What the!”

The look of panic that crossed Ethel’s face caused Myrtle to wave her wand and put everything on pause.

“Looks like the computer failure is spreading,” thought Myrtle. “Or at least someone is making it spread,” she added winding the clock back to just before Ethel tried to find the King.

“You asked me to do something, I think,” said Ethel looking at her laptop.

“Can you protect our system from any computer bug that might come to it from their system?” asked Myrtle.

“Yes,” said Ethel, “But if I do that I wont be able to use our computer system to find out what is going wrong with theirs.”

“We wont be able to use our computer system if it crashes as well,” said Myrtle.

“Hadn’t thought of that,” said Ethel, redoubling her efforts to prevent any contagine.

“I think we will have to go old style to do that,” said Myrtle, heading for the Hall of the Fairy Council.

“What do you mean?” asked Ethel dashing after her.

“We’ll go talk to the mirror, she knows everything,” smiled Myrtle.

“But wont this update affect her?” asked Ethel.

“Why should it, she’s a mirror, been around longer than any computer and doesn’t need an update, because she is perfect the way she is,” said Myrtle smiling at the mirror.

“You are supposed to say “Mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all,”, but I like what you said, so we’ll skip that. How can I help you?” asked the Mirror.

“We are trying to find King Rufus and his computer expert Liam,” said Myrtle.

“And you are asking me instead of the computer,” said the Mirror.

“There are a lot of updates freezing the computer system,” said Ethel.

“The computer system is in danger of being corrupted,” said Myrtle. “Whilst we know that nothing and no one could corrupt you.”

“That sounds like you are buttering me up,” said the Mirror.

“We need answers and we know you can get them,” said Myrtle. “We wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t important.”

“OK,” said the Mirror. “When Rufus became King he wasn’t really ready for the responsibility. His Valet suggested that, when things got too much he could go fishing, to help him relax. Rufus wasn’t that keen on the actual fishing bit, but the Valet said all he had to do was go out on the boat, he didn’t have to catch anything.”

“Wouldn’t he be seen going to the boat or something?” asked Ethel.

“The Valet told him of a secret way to get to the boat, down a hidden staircase, into a labyrinth, under the castle, through that to a hidden boat, he and Liam could then go fishing on the lake without anyone knowing about it,” the mirror explained.

“Surely it would be simple enough to look for a boat on the lake?” asked Myrtle.

“The Valet put the route to the boat on a map on Rufus’s mobile phone,” the mirror explained. “And Rufus was using the torch on the phone to find his way. Rufus and Liam both put their phones on charge at night, the valet slipped into their rooms and took them off charge. As the two were heading for the boat, the batteries died and they were stuck underground, in the dark in a labyrinth that goes on for miles.”

“And they are still there,” said Myrtle.

“Walking round and round in circles,” said the Mirror.

“All I have to do is find them in time for the conference,” Myrtle smiled.

“Might be an idea to give yourself a bit of time to make them presentable for the occasion,” said the Mirror. “It’s not exactly clean down there and some of those delegates will take insult from the least thing.”

“Thanks,” said Myrtle. “I’ll bare that in mind. How are you liking it here?”

“It’s nice seeing people coming and going,” said the Mirror. “But it would be nice if they stopped for a chat sometimes.”

“I’m along here a lot,” said Ethel. “It would be nice to have someone to talk to sometimes.”

“It would be nice to talk,” smiled the Mirror.

“I’d better go,” said Myrtle. “You know what it’s like, Kings to find, conferences to kick into action, Kingdoms to save.”

“Take care you don’t get lost,” said the Mirror as Myrtle waved her wand.

“If we had something to draw on the wall as we went along,” said Liam searching through his pockets for the umpteenth time.

“It wouldn’t make any difference,” said Rufus. “We can’t see the wall, let alone anything we drew on it.”

“I’m trying to think of a solution,” shouted Liam.

“I know,” said Rufus. “And I appreciate your effort. But it wont work. So if you could just keep quiet for a little while, perhaps one of us can think up something that might work. And before you say it, string is not a good idea either, nor is fishing line because we didn’t bring the fishing gear with us.”

“I knew I’d forgotten something,” said Liam, putting his hand out towards the wall. “There’s something warm here,” he added his hand coming into contact with Myrtle.

“I take it you are King Rufus and Liam?” asked Myrtle.

“Yes,” said King Rufus. “And who are you?”

“I am Myrtle, your Fairy Godmother,” she replied. “You can take your hand off me now,” she told Liam, turning up the wick on her storm lantern.

“And can you get us out of here?” asked Rufus.

“No sooner the word than the deed,” said Myrtle waving her wand.

“These are the King’s quarters,” said the Valet, opening a door for Violet and Rosemary to walk through and then slamming it shut behind them and locking it quickly.

“I don’t think these are the King’s quarters,” said Rosemary.

“And what gives you that idea?” asked Violet.

“It’s dark in here, I’ve just walked into a hoover and the place stinks of polish,” Rosemary replied.

“I agree with you,” said Violet. “This is much too small for the King’s quarters.”

Violet waved her wand, she and Rosemary arrived in the King’s quarters at the same time as Rufus, Liam and Myrtle.

“I get the feeling that the Valet is at the bottom of all of this,” said Myrtle.

“Makes a change from the Butler,” said Rosemary.

“He walked out after a row with the Valet, I’ve been trying to get a replacement to no avail,” said King Rufus.

By Janice Nye © 2021

“Makes a change from the Butler,” said Rosemary.

“He walked out after a row with the Valet, I’ve been trying to get a replacement to no avail,” said King Rufus.

By Janice Nye © 2021

The Fairy Godmother Part 102

“Are you King Rufus’s valet?” Myrtle asked of a rather startled looking man in a formal suit, holding a mobile phone to his ear.

“Yes,” he stuttered. “I don’t mean to be rude, but who are you?”

“I am Violet, Head of the Fairy Godmothers,” said Violet. “You rang me.”

“Yes, but I thought you’d just send someone to handle things, I didn’t expect you to come yourself! Or that you’d bring people with you,” he added looking quizzically at Myrtle and Rosemary and then back at Myrtle.

“Today is your lucky day,” Violet smiled. “We have a new apprentice Fairy Godmother come to see what the work is like,” Violet nodded towards Rosemary.

“Hello, my name is Rosemary,” she smiled.

“And this is Myrtle, who is here to supervise her,” Violet added.

“And Violet, the Head of the Fairy Godmothers, is here to supervise me because this is my first day as a supervisor,” smiled Myrtle.

“And also because my computer decided to do an update and if I am lucky it should be finished in a day or two,” said Violet, deciding that the whole truth would be a good idea.

“We have that sort of problem with computers as well,” sighed the Valet. “Do you have someone who knows about them to sort out the problems that always occur when you have a big update?”

“Yes, Ethel,” Violet smiled. “I left my laptop with her, she knows what’s what in that regards, but she does seem to get things done better if I don’t watch over her all the time.”

“Take good care of Ethel,” said the Valet. “We had someone like that, his name was Liam,” he sighed.

“What happened to Liam?” asked Myrtle.

“Is this relevant to the problem with King Rufus?” asked Rosemary. “Because from where I am standing we are in danger of getting side tracked into small talk.”

“It might be,” said Myrtle.

“Don’t interrupt,” Violet told Rosemary.

“He had a row with Rufus and left,” sighed the Valet. “The computer system went down two days later. Rufus said he could sort it, but everything just got worse and nothing he did seemed to make any difference, all the files started to delete themselves, including the arrangements for the conference. That is when he decided that he didn’t want to be King any more and that he was going fishing.”

“Has he gone fishing,” asked Violet. “Or just threatened to go?”

“He’s gone,” sighed the Valet. “And before you ask, no we don’t know where he has gone to.”

“And you don’t have anyone who would know?” asked Myrtle.

“Liam usually went with him,” said the Valet. “And we can’t find him either.”

“So what would you do?” Violet asked Rosemary.

“Go to my tutor and tell them I don’t understand the problem,” said Rosemary.

“That is not an option,” Myrtle smiled.

“So what will you do?” the valet asked. “Because the conference starts tomorrow morning.”

“First, I think we should get Ethel over here to sort out your computer system,” said Myrtle.

“But she’s busy working on my laptop,” said Violet.

“That will spend at least twenty-four hours churning through uploading files, so she wont need to do anything to it till it has finished doing that,” Myrtle smiled.

“If it’s the update I think it is, it could be up to thirty-six hours doing that,” said Rosemary.

“In the mean time she could be here looking through the computer system to see what Liam did to spanner it and then find out what Rufus did to make it worse,” said Myrtle.

“You think that Liam did this?” asked the Valet.

“He’s the computer geek,” said Rosemary. “So he’d know how to make a right mess of the computer system.”

“Then Rufus thinks he knows how to sort it, makes it worse and decides to head off and leave us to sort it out for him, again,” said the Valet.

“Does he do this often?” asked Violet.

“It isn’t usually the computers,” said the Valet. “But, it’s like this conference thing. He was out hunting, forgot where the boarders were and before he knew it, he’d ridden through land belonging to at least three of our neighbours, creating a fair amount of chaos in the process.”

“Hence the conference,” said Myrtle.

“He said he’d taken care to stay in our boarders,” sighed the Valet. “But they had tracked his route and it clearly shows that that is not the case.”

“And the tracking system, can we access it?” asked Myrtle.

“Wouldn’t be much good if you did,” sighed the Valet. “That was the first of the systems to crash.”

“So first things first,” said Violet. “I’ll ring Ethel.”

“But what do we do?” asked the Valet.

“You have important guests due to arrive,” said Myrtle. “You must do the usual things that you do to make them welcome.”

“They will expect to see the King,” said the Valet.

“The phone isn’t working,” said Violet.

“The signal tends to be a bit up and down,” said the Valet.

“I shall nip back and talk to Ethel,” said Myrtle giving her wand a quick flick.

“I always thought that Fairy Godmothers were very slim and graceful,” said the Valet, looking slightly worried.

“Normally they are,” said Violet. “Myrtle is a special case, she happens to be pregnant.”

“So she didn’t eat all the pies,” he laughed. Rosemary looked confused.

“No, she didn’t,” said Violet. “Do you need our assistance with preparing for your esteemed guests?”

“No, the staff know what to do,” he smiled.

“Then may I suggest that you take us to the King’s rooms so that we may see if we can find any clues as to where he has gone,” Violet smiled.

“I’ve looked around and found nothing,” said the Valet. “I wouldn’t want you to waste your time.”

“We have to check everything out,” said Rosemary, sounding as if she was quoting from a text book. “Even if it is only to confirm what we have already been told. We are, after all, the professionals and we may notice something that everyone else has missed.”

“If you insist,” muttered the Valet. “But I think you are wasting your time and the first of the delegates will be here shortly.”

“All the more reason to get started,” Violet smiled. “Is there any special ceremony planned to great them?”

“Not as far as I know,” said the Valet. “They will be arriving early so they can start work fresh in the morning.”

“Then we had better get to work now,” Violet smiled. “Lead on,” she added to the Valet.

By Janice Nye © 2021

The Fairy Godmother Part 101

“You don’t have to do this,” said James.

“I am a Fairy Godmother,” Myrtle explained slowly. “There is nothing wrong with me.”

“You are pregnant!” James shouted.

“A perfectly normal, biological condition,” Myrtle interrupted him.

“One which most fairies avoid,” he pointed out.

“I have asked your colleagues and they say there is no reason why I can’t go back to work now that I have stopped being sick all the time,” Myrtle smiled. “I know you worry, but I will be all right.”

“Some of the jobs you’ve told me about have been rather risky,” James reminded her.

“Don’t worry about that Violet is sending me on some of the more sedate jobs,” Myrtle sighed.

“I didn’t think you did any sedate jobs,” James replied.

“They are just standard things, the sort of thing that apprentices train on,” said Myrtle. “Mine will be more of a supervisory role, I stop them before they make a total mess of things. That’s the idea.”

“And if everything goes right?” asked James.

“I just sit around in the background observing them,” said Myrtle. “And getting bored.”

“I like the sound of that,” said James.

“So can I go to work?” asked Myrtle.

“Only as long as you promise not to do any heavy lifting,” said James.

“What do you think I have a wand for?” asked Myrtle. “I don’t lift things. I make them lift themselves.”

“OK,” sighed James. “But I want you to ring back and tell me how things are going.”

“If there’s a problem it might not be possible to ring back,” said Myrtle. “But I will ring back as often as I can,” she added quickly.

“Promise to come home the moment you start feeling tired,” said James.

“Stop mollycoddling her,” said Enid, appearing next to them.

“What did I tell you about appearing?” Myrtle asked Enid.

“Not to do so before breakfast,” said Enid looking pointedly at the breakfast dishes sitting in the sink waiting to be washed.

“I’ve got to go,” said James looking at his watch. “Don’t do anything that you know I wouldn’t like you to do,” he added. “But if you could wash the dishes, before you go.”

“You need to let her get on with her work,” said Enid. “You will regret it if you don’t.”

“Is that a threat Mother?” asked Myrtle.

“I don’t make threats, you know that,” said Enid, trying to look innocent.

“No you carry them out,” said Myrtle.

“It saves time,” Enid smiled. “And in general, it stops people thinking about disobeying me the next time. Now, would you like me to walk with you to work?”

“Better do the dishes first,” said Myrtle, looking at the sink. Enid waved her wand, the dishes washed themselves, dried and took a quick walk to the cupboards and the place they waited in till the next meal.

“Thanks Mum,” said Myrtle.

“Good morning Violet,” said Enid and Myrtle together. “We’ve come to see what work you have for us.”

“Right,” said Violet, looking down at her laptop, not that she needed to, but it did give her a moment to gather her thoughts. “Enid, you were suspended till you did a course.”

“I know, the one on not taking advantage of my position,” Enid interrupted.

“You haven’t done it yet,” Violet reminded her.

“I don’t see that there is anything that lot could teach me that I don’t already know,” Enid blustered.

“How about following the rules you claim to know so well,” said Violet. “It’s one thing knowing the rules, but you have to follow them.”

“This is stupid,” said Enid. “I know the rules, I’d fly through the exam.”

“Prove it,” said Violet. “Because you are not getting any work till you have handed me the exam certificate. And it better be a good grade, non of this scrapping through.”

“Go on Mum,” said Myrtle. “If you think you know it all, it should be a doddle.”

“Fine,” muttered Enid. “But this is a total waste of time.”

“The sooner you do it, the sooner you will be back at work,” said Violet. Enid waved her wand and vanished.

“Let me know how she gets on,” said Myrtle, frowning slightly.

“It all depends on how much she knows,” said Violet. “They have just added a few new things to it which she may not be aware of.”

“And if she listens to the lecturers rather than argue with them,” Myrtle smiled.

“I hope I am doing the right thing,” sighed Violet.

“Would you do anything differently if she was anyone else?” asked Myrtle.

“No,” Violet replied.

“Exactly, you have to treat her just like any other Fairy Godmother,” said Myrtle.

“Just like I have to treat you like any other pregnant Fairy Godmother?” said Violet.

“I wouldn’t expect you to do anything else,” Myrtle smiled.

“Meet Rosemary,” said Violet ushering forward a rather small, nervous fairy. “She has just graduated from the Fairy Godmother school.”

“I came top in my class,” Rosemary stuttered.

“Yes,” said Violet. “One of the most talented pupils they have had in a long time.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Myrtle.

“I’ve read up on all the work you have done,” said Rosemary. “I’m not entirely sure that I would have tackled them all in the same way, but I’m sure we could discuss that.”

“Things aren’t always so clear cut when you are in the field,” said Myrtle. “Sometimes you just have to improvise.”

“There are guidelines on problem solving,” said Rosemary. “Shouldn’t we stick to them?”

“The guidelines are a good place to start,” said Myrtle. “However, they don’t always fit the situation and it is necessary to learn how to adapt in order to solve the problem.”

“I’ll have to think about that,” said Rosemary

“And you want me to observe her?” Myrtle asked Violet.

“And step in should the need arise,” Violet smiled.

“Why should it be necessary for her to step in?” Rosemary asked Violet.

“That’s a good question,” Myrtle smiled at Violet.

“We have to allow for the unexpected,” said Violet. “But as it is unexpected, we can’t say what it will be.”

“Right,” said Rosemary frowning and obviously thinking over what she’d been told.

“So, what is our first job?” asked Myrtle.

“It’s a simple task,” said Violet, pressing a few keys on her laptop. “When I can find it.”

“Do you want me to look?” asked Rosemary eagerly.

“Do you want a hand?” asked Ethel, looking up from her computer screen.

“The sodding thing’s hung,” Violet snapped, picking it up and looking as if she felt like hurling the machine across the room, but couldn’t think of a direction to throw it.

“It’s probably the big update,” said Ethel, carefully taking the machine out of Violet’s hands.

“So how long will it be before I can use it this time?” asked Violet.

“A day, maybe two,” said Ethel. “It is a big update and it has been causing problems for some people, I have done a lot of research into how to sort any, should they happen.”

“And what am I supposed to do whilst I am waiting?” asked Violet.

“You could always come with us,” said Myrtle. “Then you can observe me, observing Rosemary.”

“Doing what?” asked Violet. “I was just about to give you your job and the thing went down!”

“Don’t you know what it is?” asked Myrtle.

“I can’t keep everything in my head,” Violet snapped. Ethel ducked down and concentrated on the offending laptop and Violet’s phone rang.

“Hello,” said Violet, struggling not to snap at the caller.

“Hello,” came a voice.

“Who are you?” asked Violet.

“I am the valet of King Rufus the third,” he replied.

“And to what do I owe the honour of this call?” asked Violet.

“We weren’t sure who else to turn to,” the Valet replied. “The King has decided that he has had enough of being a King and he wants to go fishing.”

“Is that a problem?” asked Violet.

“This is a big week for us, we have delegates from all the neighbouring countries coming to discuss boarder issues. If we aren’t careful they will just divide the kingdom up between themselves and that will be the end of our country,” sobbed the valet.

“That way the King wouldn’t be a King any more, so he would get his wish,” said Rosemary. “That would conform to the least interference principle.”

“There is more at stake than the wishes of a mere King,” said Myrtle. “There is what his people think about the idea of being divided between his neighbours without a bye your leave to them.”

“You are right,” said Violet.

“So what are you going to do?” asked the Valet.

“We will be with you in a second,” said Violet.

“Thank-you so very much,” said the Valet hanging up the call.

“Shouldn’t we work out a plan of action or something first?” asked Rosemary. “It is what we did in class.”

“Sometimes there isn’t the time,” smiled Myrtle. “Sometimes you just have to hit the ground running and fly by the seat of your pants,” she added, waving her wand.

By Janice Nye © 2021