Green Planet

  ‘Wat ya saying mun? we’ve come ta save ya, ma bruther mun!’ Paulina exclaimed, almost offended by Frank’s rude attack.

  ‘Why do you speak so funny, you sound like a drug dealer or something?’

  ‘A’m frum Africa. A’m originated frum tha African violet mun!’ Paulina exclaimed, starting to get a bit hot under the petals.

  ‘How can you say you’re from Africa, when you haven’t been anywhere near earth before? You little violet prat!’ he ranted in an angry sarcastic tone.

  ‘Ag, never ya mind dat mun, it’s a lung storay mun!’ Paulina replied, feeling a strong burning resentment for the boy starting to tug at the pit of her tummy.

  ‘I really don’t care where you are from! Talking or not!’ Frank snapped, shaking himself in frustration. ‘You’re on planet Floran now, and all of you creatures here are exactly the same, treacherous and evil!’

  ‘How dare ya…!’

  Lily Madonna quickly shoved her hand over Paulina’s mouth, cutting short a vicious outburst of rage.

  ‘Listen here, my dear fellow,’ Madonna spoke in a very calm elegant tone. ‘We are aware that you have had some very bad experiences on planet Floran, and I do apologize for that, but you must understand that we aren’t all as evil as you say we are, my boy.’

  ‘I’m not your boy!’ Frank snapped, lashing his feet out in rage. ‘As far as I’m concerned, you can all go to blazes, thank you very much.’

  ‘Okay, fine then! If that’s your attitude, we’ll just leave you here!’ Lily Madonna snapped, turning her back in disgust and slowly flying off across the open field. ‘Enjoy hanging there my boy; it’s going to be a long day in the blistering heat for you.’

  Paulina was still hovering motionless in front of Frank with her dainty arms folded.

  ‘What do you want here, you flying African imbecile? Get lost!’ Frank yelled, showing bitter distrust towards any flower creature inhabiting that terrible place.

  ‘Ya do realize dat ya wizurd frend Chimzen sent us ta find ya? He had ta go back ta earth for an emerguncy mun!’ she explained, almost desperate to win Frank’s favour, yet hating the idea all the same. With that final statement, the anxious violet fairy turned up her delicate nose and flew after her flustered fairy friend.

  Frank stared after the violet fairy in disbelief. A million and one thoughts rushed through his mind all at once. How did she know Chimzen? What if they really were his friends? Maybe he was being foolish to send them away? What if the Indian plant tribe came back?

  ‘Come back! Come back!’ Frank screamed, not wanting to miss his only possible chance of freedom. After all, what did the poor boy have to lose at this stage of the game?

  Madonna and Paulina turned their heads to face Frank in his desperation, grinning wickedly from ear to ear.

  ‘Wait Paulina!’ Madonna cried, chuckling under her breath. ‘I think that aggressive bad-mannered excuse for an earthling needs to learn a little lesson, wouldn’t you say?’

  ‘Af corse Madonna, af corse,’ Paulina chuckled.

  ‘Please come back, please!’ he howled, thinking that it was already too late to make amends. The flower fairies kept their distance for a while, very pleased to hear Frank’s mournful cries. Then they slowly returned to his side, trying their best to look as serious as possible.

  ‘Ah thank you! Thank you, flower ladies!’ he exclaimed, panting with relief. ‘I thought you weren’t coming back!’

  ‘Well, we weren’t going to, my dear,’ Madonna said in a rather dignified manner, ‘but we did give Master Chimzen our word, so I guess we have to tolerate your pathetic schoolboy attitude.’

  ‘Look, I’m really sorry, but you must realize I’ve been through hell up here.’

  ‘Ya we do mun, that’s why we huv cum ta help ya, ma frend mun,’ Paulina said with sarcastic sincerity, winking deceitfully across to fairy Madonna.

  ‘How are you going to get me down from here?’ Frank asked, doubtful that the tiny one-foot tall beings had the strength in them to carry him.

  ‘Don’t you worry about that my dear boy; we will make sure that you are on solid ground in no time,’ Madonna stated confidently, carefully untying Frank’s hands with her surprisingly strong, delicate little fingers. ‘You just sit back and relax! A friend of Chimzen’s is a friend of ours!’

  Frank felt a bit nervous, suspended so high up in the tree. He was beginning to feel unsure of whether the two fairies had the strength in them to handle such a weighty task. If they dropped him the poor boy would be dead meat.

  The fairies massaged Frank’s ears with sweet words and he was finding it very easy to put his trust in them. After all, they were good friends of Chimzen; what more could he ask for?

  ‘Are you aware that my friend Philip is also hanging in a tree nearby, ladies?’ he asked.

  ‘Af corse mun, af corse! Our uder frends are taking care of him, don’t wurry mun!’ Paulina exclaimed reassuringly.

  In a very short space of time Paulina and Madonna had untied Frank from the suspended vine and magically lowered him carefully to the ground.

  ‘Wow, that’s amazing!’ he cried. ‘How did you do that, with such tiny hands?’

  ‘Never underestimate the power of a woman, my dear,’ Madonna chuckled, always glad to receive a bit of flattery.

  ‘Ya cun call it flower power mun,’ Paulina chuckled, taking a seat on Frank’s shoulder and softly stroking his spiky hair. Frank was absolutely beside himself with the two flower fairies, enjoying every minute of their sweet-scented company. His body was feeling stiff and his back ached after a long night of swaying from the tree, and he felt quite soothed after doing a couple of boxing warm-up exercises.

  ‘I sure am glad to be back on solid ground again,’ he remarked, stretching towards the sky and blasting the air out of his lungs in relief.

  * * * * * * * *

  Now Gallica was a Rose fairy, originally rooted in France. She had a very neat arrangement of red French roses sprouting from her head in place of hair, with dark oval leaves in between, leaving behind a powerfully captivating scent. Her complexion was pale white with the most incredibly alluring dark blue eyes, which almost seemed to reflect innocence.

  Her upper garment was a collection of tiny oval dark green leaves, sprouting neatly from the neck down to her waist, spread out over the arms, closely knitted to an end near her elbows, leaving her delicate back exposed. Her short dainty skirt comprised several layers of large pink and white petals sprouting from the waist. Her shoes were made from neatly woven dark oval rose leaves, and her large fairy wings were a transparent flowery light pink. In essence, she was a magnificently beautiful floral being.

  ‘What if ze wizard catches us in ze act, Azor, zen zwe will really be in ze trouble, won’t zwe?’ French Rose Gallica asked, flying anxiously towards Philip through the morning mist.

  ‘Don’t worry about it Gallica, he’s miles away from us,’ Jasmine Azor replied reassuringly, patting her fairy friend on the shoulder. ‘We’ll be long gone before Chimzen arrives; don’t you worry now!’

  ‘Oui, I hope so,’ Rose Gallica answered softly.

  Rose Gallica was treacherous and deceitful just like her sister fairies, only, she wasn’t quite as confidently wicked as Jasmine. She was far more sweet and seductive in her manner, luring victims with her pleasant charm and spellbinding beauty.

  Jasmine Azor was a cunning flower fairy, the most deceitful of them all. She was considered the flower fairy ring leader, master of all treacherous schemes. She originally held a Greek accent, a foreigner just like the others, but decided to train her voice to speak a more ordinary English, just to stand out amongst the others. She had a light tan complexion, with slightly harder, more linear facial lines than her sister fairies possessed.

  Sprouting from her head in place of hair was a neat arrangement of star shaped white jasmine blossoms and tiny oval leaves, twisted into a neat floral bun, held in place with a couple of Indian plant arrows. She was clothed in an evergree
n climber, sprouting from her right shoulder, spread out over her tiny chest in several closely intertwined floral lengths and wrapped neatly around her waist in a splendid sweetly-scented stylish jasmine blouse. Her skirt consisted of several large light green oval leaves, closely overlapped to form a short pressed leaf garment. Her little shoes were made from neatly stitched jasmine leaves.

  Her eyes were an icy pale blue; making it difficult for her to project any kind of pleasant radiance with her wicked stare. Although incredibly beautiful and delightful to smell, Jasmine Azor was, quite simply, rotten to the roots.

  Philip noticed the two figures slowly approaching from a fair way off.

  ‘And so the saga continues,’ he muttered, shaking the dew off his twisted mat of red hair. ‘I wonder what they are up to? Can’t be much good I’m sure.’

  He swayed from the tree feeling tired and frustrated, fed up with all the punishment this place had to offer. Rose Gallica and Jasmine Azor floated in front of the anxious schoolboy, staring and smiling sweetly. He hadn’t bothered to even spare them a glance, cowering away with his head hung down, expecting a beating of some sort at any moment.

  ‘Why do you look so sad young man?’ Azor asked, using her sweetest possible tone. ‘There’s no need to look so glum, we’re here to help you.’

  Philip faced the two fairies, looking solemn, and a bit shaken by the unexpectedly pleasant introduction.

  ‘Who are you?’ he asked softly. Then his face lit up delighted with the presence of the two hovering beauties.

  ‘Zwe are ze flower fairies,’ Gallica replied in a soft seductive tone, ‘and zwe have come to save zyou, oui.’

  He stared at the Rose fairy with his freckled mouth hanging wide open, completely in awe of her amazing beauty.

  ‘Y-you, h-have!’ Philip stammered in disbelief, spellbound by Gallica’s incredible beauty. The Rose fairy returned his fixed stare with a sweet smile, flapping her eyelids and wings in innocent succession.

  ‘Of course we have, young man!’ Azor snapped, flying in front of Gallica with a stiff sarcastic smile, in an effort to steal attention for the sake of vanity. ‘We are not all evil creatures here on planet Floran, believe it or not.’

  His transfixed gaze snapped back to the surroundings, realizing the reality of his situation. There was something about that Jasmine fairy that he didn’t quite trust, something about those cold blue eyes.

  ‘Of course not,’ he answered after a lengthy pause, trying his best to look convinced.

  ‘Zwe will unztie zyou, oui?’ Gallica asked, gently stroking the boy’s head with her tiny hand, captivating him once again, this time with her amazing rosy scent.

  ‘Okay,’ he replied, as if asked by the school beauty to accept a kiss from her for the first time. Not that there ever was a first time.

  The two flower fairies carefully untied the boy and gently lowered him to the ground, much to his amazement.

  ‘How did you do that?’ he gasped, struggling to regain his balance after the long period suspended from the tree.

  ‘Never underestimate the strength of a beautiful lady my boy, never underestimate it!’ Azor cackled, grabbing him by the shoulders to prevent him from falling over, in a forced attempt to show concern. Gallica clutched on to Azor’s shoulder, forcing her out of Philip’s hearing range.

  ‘Azor, zyou must be more gentle zwith zhim,’ she whispered into Azor’s leafy ear. ‘Please zshow zhim some respect, or zhe will run zaway, oui.’

  ‘I know that, flower child, how dare you order me around!’ she barked, forcing the French flower fairy to back off in fear. ‘I will try, but I hate them, I hate them, I hate human beings!’

  Philip looked on from a distance while the two flower fairies squabbled, straining his ears to try and make sense of the heated conversation. His back was aching from the ropes and his whole body was feeling unpleasantly stiff. He felt uneasy about the situation, but decided rather to keep quiet for now. He was far too tired for any confrontation at this stage of the game.

  By now the mist was clearing and the golden rays of sunlight shone across the clear blue sky.

  ‘Where is Frank?’ Philip asked, walking across the open field.

  ‘Your friend, of course, you will see him now,’ Azor said, applying all her effort to come across as someone pleasant.

  Gallica fluttered at Philip’s shoulder, running her tiny fingers through his sticky matted thatch of ginger hair, and giggled softly to herself. He looked up at her splendid head of roses, smiling from ear to ear. The girls at school treated Philip like the plague, not even sparing him a glance. Gallica on the other hand had lots of time for him and even though she was tiny, her beauty far outshone any of the classroom treasures at his school. He was feeling a lot more at ease now with the presence of the rose fairy. Azor decided to keep her distance though; it would be far safer that way as she struggled to disguise her bitter hatred towards him.

  ‘Frank! Is that you?’ Philip yelled, noticing a tall figure outlined in the distance.

  ‘Philip!’ Frank answered, jogging towards his beloved friend in delight. The boys embraced each other tightly, both filled with immense relief.

  ‘I didn’t think I would ever see you again Frank. Boy, am I glad to see you’re okay!’

  ‘Tell me about it! Did you see those flames? We nearly got cremated!’

  ‘Phew, that was a close shave!’

  ‘You’re alive my friend, you’re alive!’ Frank roared, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and dancing a jig, overwhelmed with relief.

  ‘You can say that again – we’re alive!’

  The four flower fairies hovered above the excited boys, laughing and screaming in their deceit.

  ‘Philip, I want you to meet Violet Paulina and Lily Madonna, my saving angels!’ Frank exclaimed, motioning towards the two radiant flower fairies with boasting pride. ‘Aren’t they absolutely priceless?’

  ‘Of course, Frank, of course,’ Philip replied, almost nervous to say so.

  ‘I see you also have a couple of flowery heroines!’

  ‘Yes, well um, this is….uh,’ Philip answered, pointing awkwardly to the two fairies.

  ‘I zam Rose Gallica and zis is Jasmine Azor,’ Gallica responded sweetly, after a prolonged pause, noticing that the poor boy had no idea what their names were.

  ‘They say that they are friends of Chimzen, Philip!’ Frank exclaimed confidently, ‘which means we will be going home soon!’

  ‘They are?’ Philip responded in disbelief.

  ‘Yes of course, didn’t your fairy er....’

  ‘Rose Gallica,’ the rose fairy chirped.

  ‘Yes, didn’t Rose Gallica tell you?’

  ‘Well no, not actually.’

  ‘Yes it is the truth, my dear,’ Madonna interrupted in her smooth English voice, ‘the good wizard has been friends with us for years, and it is our duty to take you boys to a place of safety to await his return. If we weren’t friends with him my dear, then how could we ever know his name?’

  ‘I dunno,’ Philip mumbled, not at all convinced.

  ‘Don’t look so worried, you will be safe with us, my boy.’

  Philip watched Frank’s growing excitement, not feeling quite as confident as he looked. He was a bit overwhelmed with his friend’s positive response, expecting him to be the one that would respond negatively towards them. Frank was in a trance, absolutely spellbound by the flowery beauties. Philip couldn’t say what was wrong; he just had an unpleasant feeling about them all of a sudden, churning at the base of his tummy. Maybe he was just being paranoid because of all the other nasty things that had happened to them on Floran.

  ‘Okay,’ Philip said, lifting his hands in surrender, ‘so where are we going, then?’

  ‘Well ya have ta just follow us; we will take ya ta a place af safety mun,’ Paulina said, motioning the boys to follow after her attractive violet scent.

  ‘She’s a beauty Philip, what do you say?’ Frank whispered; walking ahead with
a naughty smile plastered on his face.

  ‘Yeah Frank, whatever,’ Philip muttered, lacking the certainty his friend possessed.

  Gallica and Azor flew behind them, spying on their general behaviour. They had to make the journey as smooth and as comfortable for the boys as possible, if they were to have their way. Noticing Philip’s tension, Gallica rested herself neatly on his right shoulder and brushed herself almost seductively against the side of his face, with her sleek dark green tiny oval leaf garment massaging his sticky ear lobe. She cunningly whispered sweet nothings into his ear in an effort to soothe his tension. It worked like a charm; he calmed himself after a short while, chuckling at Frank in an effort to brag. Frank was always the one that received all the attention from the girls, being the school boxing champion; now it was his turn to gloat.

  Frank watched Philip giggling and chatting to the stunning flower fairy and couldn’t help feeling a bit neglected. Then much to his delight, Lily Madonna placed her petite lily butt on his shoulder and chatted sweetly into his grubby ear. She had noticed his look of disappointment, and decided that it would be best to keep the vibe as pleasant as possible. So all was fair and well.

  ‘Zwe will prepare zyou ze nice food, zyou will have ze nice bath and ze nice zsleep, oui,’ Gallica whispered to Philip, pampering his sweaty ear lobe with kindness, enticing him to remain in a neutral frame of mind.

  The party walked through a peaceful forest, with no sign of plants, shrubs and creepers, only firmly planted trees shaking up an angry storm of leaves.

  ‘Do you have any idea what happened last night to cause all the plants to just disappear like that?’ Philip asked Gallica out of the blue. Caught off guard, the rose fairy started blushing. Her complexion turned from fair to a bright red that almost matched the colour of her rosy head arrangement.

  ‘Oui, er…’ she answered, struggling for words. Azor appeared in front of Philip like greased lightning, and stared him up and down with frosty blue eyes of death.

  ‘It was a meteorite!’ she snapped, addressing his question as an insult. ‘Many of my kind have been killed because of last night’s disaster. It is an extremely sensitive issue for us, and I would really appreciate it if you kept your trap shut about it.’

  ‘Yes mam,’ Philip answered, almost falling over backwards in fright. ‘I’m really sorry, mam, I didn’t know…’