The Perfect Match

  Ah, thought Cory. They’re water nymphs, not fairies. Both races were extremely beautiful, and could have hair of any color, but only water nymphs could stay underwater for hours at a time. If Rina is a water nymph, that must mean . . .

  “Is Rina the nymph who was transferred to Junior Fey School early because she came into her abilities unexpectedly?” asked Cory.

  “I’m afraid so,” Minerva said. “She’s very talented, but she’s so young that control is hard for her. She also has to learn that she can’t stay in the water day in, day out. She needs to learn how to live in both worlds. That’s another reason I want you to take her to the park. There’s no lake there.”

  Or plumbing, Cory thought, remembering why the school was closed.

  “Oh, good! Here’s my girl!” Minerva said as Rina came down the stairs. “Cory, here’s a token for the pedal-bus and money for ice cream. I’ll be home by five, so try to be back by then.”

  Rina pouted as they went out the door. She slouched beside Cory, kicking at the dirt road while they waited for the pedal-bus to arrive. The dust Rina stirred up made Cory cough.

  “Please stop doing that,” Cory told her.

  Rina scowled and moved farther away, but she stopped kicking the dirt.

  A few minutes later, the chime of the bus announced its approach. A tall, thin elf was on the front seat of the bus while a goblin rode in the back. Cory recognized them and gave them each a friendly smile. Seeing Cory, the elf smiled back and waved while the goblin grunted hello. Two fairies and a human took up three of the seats, leaving three to choose from. Rina didn’t hesitate, and climbed on the seat behind the elf. Cory took the one behind the girl.

  The ride to the park was fairly quick with only one stop to drop off the fairies and another to pick up a gnome. As soon as they arrived at the park, Rina started to walk off.

  “Stay where I can see you!” Cory called after her.

  Rina sighed and looked back. “I will,” she said, then ran to claim a swing.

  Cory took a seat on a nearby bench and settled back to watch.

  Although the Junior Fey School was closed for the day, Rina’s old school was open. Some mothers had brought their younger children, but there were only a few even close to Rina’s age. Cory wondered why even those few were there, until it occurred to her that they might be homeschooled.

  There was plenty for children to do at the playground, and Rina seemed to be enjoying herself. The swing set was made of wood with thick vines holding up large clamshell seats. Rina used her legs to pump the swing as high as it could go. When she tired of that, she ran to the ladder that led to the top of the oversize seashell that swirled around and around inside. Some of the children came out dizzy and staggering, but Rina slid down it a dozen times and always came out laughing. Next she ran to the maze shaped like giant intersecting honeycombs, and spent a long time climbing through it, peeking out at Cory from one opening, then from a different section minutes later. Cory waved each time she saw her and it became a game of who could wave first.

  Eventually, Rina spotted two fairy children trying to make a daisy-shaped platform spin. She climbed down from the maze and went to help them, holding onto the petals as she ran beside it until the daisy spun fast enough that it began to play music.

  When Cory saw what Rina was doing, she hurried over to the platform. “Hop on,” she told Rina. “I’ll run with it now.”

  “I’m fine,” Rina panted as she continued to run.

  “I know you are, but you’re here to have fun, too. Go ahead. Get on.”

  Rina flashed Cory a quick smile before hopping onto the platform. Cory ran and ran until the music was pouring from the platform, and the children riding it were shouting with delight. When she couldn’t run anymore, Cory hopped onto the daisy and rode it with them. Her smile was so broad that her mouth hurt when she got off, too dizzy to walk. She and Rina plopped down on the ground and laughed at each other as they waited for the world to hold still around them.

  By the time they stood up, the lower-level school had let out and the playground was filling with children. There was only one piece of playground equipment left that Rina hadn’t tried, but it was one that was more fun when there were lots of children. The tall pole had been placed at the edge of the playground. A star-shaped disc was attached at the top, with long vines and swing seats hanging from the star. The star ride would work only if someone bigger turned a wheel located on the pole. When Cory saw other children getting on, she told Rina, “Run and get a seat before they’re all taken.”

  Rina grinned and darted to the closest empty seat. When they were all occupied and the children were buckled in, Cory began to turn the wheel. The ride was a lot like solar cycles and solar mowers; once it started, it could run on its own. It was hard to move at first, but a few cranks were enough to get it going. When she could, Cory let go of the wheel and turned to watch the swings. As the star spun, the swings began to tilt and rise alongside the pole until the children were flying straight out from the star. Shrieking and grinning, the children held on so tightly to the vines that their knuckles were white.

  Cory let them ride for a while, but when she noticed that other children had gathered for their turn, she lifted a lever that slowed the star, lowering the swings until the children’s feet were touching the ground. Some of the children wanted to stay on, but Cory noticed that Rina gave up her seat to another girl without any fuss.

  “Can we have ice cream now?” Rina asked her as they walked away from the star ride.

  “What flavor would you like?” Cory said, turning toward the stand where a satyr was selling the cones. “I’m going to get blackberry.”

  Rina crinkled her nose. “Blackberry ice cream has too many seeds. I like watercress.”

  They didn’t have to wait in line very long. When it was their turn, Cory asked for two watercress cones. “I’ve never tried this before,” she said after her first lick, “but I like it!”

  “It’s my favorite,” said Rina. “My father likes it, too.”

  Cory led the way to an empty bench where they sat side by side, licking their ice cream. They had almost finished their cones when she said, “Tell me, how do you like Junior Fey School?”

  “It’s okay, I guess,” said Rina. “I liked my old school better, though. All my friends go to that school. Everybody at the Junior Fey School is older than me and some of them aren’t very nice.”

  Cory frowned. “What do they do that isn’t nice?”

  “They get mad at me a lot. I can’t help it if water likes me. It calls to me all day long, asking me to let it out of the pipes.”

  “You shouldn’t listen when it does that,” said Cory.

  “That’s what Mother keeps telling me, but it’s really hard. I’m thirsty. Is it okay if I get a drink?”

  “I’ll come with you,” Cory told her as she got to her feet.

  Cory was following Rina to the drinking fountain when she heard someone call her name. She turned to see the girl who had eaten her porridge at the Bruins’ house hurrying after her.

  “Fancy meeting you here!” said the girl when she caught up with Cory.

  “How do you know my name?” Cory asked her.

  The girl shrugged. “I asked around. Apparently, you’re pretty well known, what with trying to take down the guilds and everything.”

  “I’m not trying to take anyone down,” Cory said, annoyed. “I just want them to stop persecuting the people who quit.”

  “Whatever,” said the girl, flipping a lock of her long, blond hair over her shoulder. “Say, I heard that you’re in the matchmaking business. I want to be a client.”

  “You couldn’t afford me,” Cory told her, not because it was necessarily true, but because she didn’t like the girl and didn’t want to have anything to do with her.

  “I can if I want to!” the girl replied. “How much do you charge?”

  “I’ve been getting fifteen gold crowns,” said Cory.

&nb
sp; “Is that all? I’ll have it for you by tomorrow. I want you to match me up with Jack Horner.”

  “It doesn’t work that way,” said Cory. “You tell me the kind of person you want to meet, and I find him for you.”

  “The kind of person I want to meet is exactly like Jack Horner. How about it is Jack Horner and we save ourselves a lot of time and trouble?”

  “I don’t think I can—”

  A woman’s shriek made Cory turn suddenly and she gasped when she saw Rina. The girl was standing beside the drinking fountain, which was gushing water everywhere, soaking a woman and her son.

  “Rina!” Cory cried as she began to run.

  “My name is Goldilocks,” the blond-haired girl called after her. “Don’t forget about that date!”

  Cory had almost reached the fountain when Rina turned and saw her. “I didn’t mean to,” she said as the woman dragged her little boy away. The child was crying, but the woman stopped soothing him long enough to look back and glare at Cory and Rina.

  Hustling her charge away from the fountain, Cory bent down to ask, “What happened?”

  Rina looked away and said in a quiet voice, “I got in line at the fountain, but when it was my turn, that woman cut in front of me. She said her son was really thirsty, as if that made it all right. At school they make us wait our turn, but she didn’t! I didn’t say anything though, because he was little and maybe he was thirstier than me. And then the water was coming out really slowly in a little trickle and the boy was complaining about it, so I thought I’d help it come out faster.”

  Cory nodded. “I understand, but I think it’s time we go back to your house. Your mother should be there soon.”

  “Are you going to make me tell her what happened?” asked Rina.

  “Do you think you should?”

  Rina bit her lip. “I guess.”

  They were walking to the street when Cory stopped again. “What do your parents do for a living?” she asked the girl.

  “They own a company that brings water into houses and big buildings,” said Rina.

  “Ah,” said Cory as she took the pedal-bus token out of her pocket. She didn’t say anything more as she helped Rina get on the bus, and thought the whole way back to the house by the lake.

  “What do the teachers do when you make the water come out of the pipes at school?” Cory asked as they started walking.

  “They make me sit in a corner until my father comes to get me. He’s always really mad. Last time he yelled at me the whole way home. Look! His solar cycle is here! He must have come home early!”

  Rina took off running into the house, while Cory dug Rina’s bus token and the change from the ice cream out of her pocket. When she reached the porch, Minerva was waiting for her. “How did it go?” she asked Cory. “Did Rina listen to you?”

  “I didn’t have any problems with her. She’s a sweet girl and we had a good time together. I know it’s not any of my business, but have you ever thought about homeschooling Rina? At least until she gets more control over her abilities. I bet you and your husband know more about water and pipes than the teachers in the Junior Fey School do.”

  “To be honest, we had thought about it,” said Minerva. “I know this is a confusing time for Rina, what with getting her abilities at such a young age, and learning about the new baby. I just don’t know if she’d listen to us.”

  After Minerva paid her, and Cory had returned Rina’s bus token and the change from the ice cream, Cory walked away thinking about the little nymph and wondering what she herself would have been like if she had come into her abilities early. It was too awful to think about it, she decided, considering that her own mother was the least understanding person she knew.

  Cory took the pedal-bus to rehearsal that night, planning to fly home when it was dark and no one could see her. Olot’s wife, Chancy, looked excited when she opened the door, but she refused to tell Cory why. “It’s Olot’s news,” was all she would say even though Cory asked more than once.

  When she walked into the big main room and found Olot talking to Skippy, the satyr, and Skippy’s two girlfriends, Cory went straight to the ogre and said, “So, what’s your big news?”

  Olot played the lute, but he was also the bandleader and handled all the scheduling. If he had news, it probably meant they had a new job.

  The ogre’s craggy face crinkled as he smiled. “I’ll make the announcement after rehearsal. I don’t want everyone to be distracted while we play.”

  “But now we’re going to wonder about your news!” said Cory.

  “Anticipation always makes the broth tastier!” said the ogre.

  “What’s he talking about?” one of Skippy’s girlfriends asked. “Is he going to give us broth?”

  Daisy, a flower fairy and Cory’s oldest friend, grinned at Cory. “I’m dying to hear what it is, too. I wish we could get started so he could tell us that much sooner.”

  There was a loud banging on the door. While Chancy went to answer it, Cory uncovered her drums and started doing exercises to limber up her wrists. She didn’t look up when Cheeble, the brownie, strode into the room, but he came over to her and planted himself in front of her drums.

  “I was in a high-stakes game of jacks today when an associate asked me about you,” he told her. “He said that you’re testifying against the guilds in an upcoming big jury and that the guilds are really steamed.”

  Cheeble was a professional gambler who specialized in jacks, horseshoes, and marbles. He often heard interesting information from his associates. Although he only came up to Cory’s knees, he had a deep voice that carried and was able to get a lot of volume out of the ox horn he played.

  Cory looked up, wondering how many of the other band members had heard Cheeble. Perky, formerly one of Santa’s elves and a talented bell player, was looking in her direction. “People are talking about it already? How is that possible?” Cory asked the brownie in a quiet voice. “I just heard about it today.”

  “Word like that travels fast,” said Cheeble. “I’m telling you so you know to be careful. Don’t hang out in any dark alleys or go down any deserted roads by yourself at night, especially when it’s cloudy and there’s no starlight, or moonlight, come to think of it.”

  “I don’t normally do either of those things,” said Cory.

  “Why not? I do,” Cheeble said, looking surprised.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to begin,” Olot said in his big, booming voice.

  Cheeble raised one eyebrow and squinted the other eye as if to emphasize what he’d told Cory. Turning on his heel, he tromped to the stool he always used when he played the ox horn.

  When everyone began to tune up, Cory raised her drumsticks and pounded away, but she wasn’t focused on her playing the way she should have been. Instead she was thinking about what Cheeble had said and what it might really mean. The Tooth Fairy Guild had been mad at her for quitting and had taken it out on her in all sorts of ways. How much worse would it be if they were really mad, or if some of the other guilds were mad at her, too? And hadn’t Goldilocks said something about everyone knowing that Cory was trying to take the guilds down? Maybe word really had gotten around.

  Even after the band started practicing their songs, Cory was so preoccupied with what might happen that she missed more than one cue. By the time rehearsal was over, all the band members except Cheeble were shooting her curious looks.

  “Tell us your news now!” Daisy called to Olot as the last chords faded away.

  The big ogre grinned, making his ugly face truly hideous. “A human named Sorly contacted me today. It turns out he’s the steward for Prince Rupert, crown prince of Dorrigal. We’ve been asked to play at the prince’s wedding!”

  “Really?” cried Daisy.

  And then the shouting began. Everyone was too excited to listen to anyone else, and Olot finally had to roar, “Be quiet!”

  He was so loud that it made Cory’s ears ring. When she saw Cheeble stick his fin
ger in his ear and twiddle it around, she knew that she wasn’t the only one.

  “I wasn’t finished,” said Olot. “I’ve already hired a coach to take us and all our instruments there. We’ll be leaving in four days. In the meantime, we’re going to practice every day. We want this performance to be perfect!”

  The uproar began again as soon as he finished speaking. While everyone talked, Olot made his way across the room to Cory. “Can you wait until everyone else is gone?” he asked. “I want to talk to you.”

  “Sure,” Cory said, although she was really thinking, Now what?

  It took the band longer to leave than usual, but when Cheeble and Skippy finally shut the door behind them, Olot turned to Cory. “What is it?” he asked. “I know that waiting for my announcement didn’t distract you that much, so it had to be something else. Was it something Cheeble said?”

  Cory nodded. “He told me that the guilds are mad that I’m going to testify against them. He warned me to be careful.”

  “He’s right about being careful,” said Olot. “We already know that the leaders of the guilds can be nasty when they’re crossed. Do you know when you’re supposed to testify?”

  “I was told it will be in a week or two,” Cory told him.

  Olot grunted. “Then it’s a good thing that we’ll be out of town for a while. The invitation couldn’t have come at a better time.”

  CHAPTER

  5

  It was raining when Cory got dressed the next morning. Noodles was still asleep, snoring on his back with his feet in the air. He rolled over as she was leaving the room, and ambled in front of her, heading straight to the front door. When she opened it to let him out, she noticed that a package was lying on the sea-grass mat. TO CORIALIS FEATHERING was written on the wrapper in big, bold letters.