through them, but as long as you keep the sun on your left overhead, you will be going in the right direction. Eventually, the kelp will become very dense, then you will know that you are only a few meters from the bridge to Olombo.’
‘Is there no other way to Olombo apart from swimming through the kelp fields?’ Zara wanted to know. Willow shook her head. ‘Marissima is a water realm,’ she reminded them.
‘No choice then really, is there?’ remarked Georgia.
‘Once in Olombo, you will be in great danger from the Crocodile-men,’ Willow warned them. ‘You must remain alert and on your guard.’
‘I choose to remain positive,’ Ella announced. ‘Between all of us, we are very powerful. Don’t forget the advice of The Fairy Chronicles,’ she told the others. We must remain positive and focus on the outcome we desire. In this instant, it is to rescue Theodora and return her to the Realm of Marissima. We must not let any thoughts of failure distract us!’
The others nodded in agreement. They had spent many weeks studying the wisdom of The Fairy Chronicles with Mab and Tatiana. Suddenly, their fears dissolved.
‘We are very powerful,’ said Ella. ‘Even you Dominique, when you want to be!’
‘It will take you a couple of days to get through the kelp fields,’ Willow explained.
‘A couple of days? What do we do for food?’ Andrew wanted to know. Willow rolled her eyes. It was well known that Andrew loved his food.
‘The kelp contains all the nourishment you will need. When you are hungry, just break a piece off and eat it!’
‘Yuk!’ Andrew replied making a face. Willow looked at him quizzically. Not a very fairy like comment, she decided.
‘Don’t say that until you have tried it,’ Georgia told him.
After a sumptuous meal which was more to Andrew’s liking, the fairies once more headed out of the grotto and jumped onto the backs of the sea-horses for their journey to the kelp fields. Willow and the Whispers waved to them as they closed the force-field protecting the castle from the Lizard-men.
……………………………………………………………………….
From behind a huge rock near the entrance to the kelp fields, an old crone watched in amazement as a line of sea-horses carrying seven fairies passed her by. Unseen by any of the fairies, she suddenly clapped her hands.
‘The child, the child who tricked me has returned! Wait until Silurion hears about this!’ the crone Merrow cackled in delight from her hiding place. Then she jumped down from the rock and swam swiftly towards the caves of the Lizard-men.
…………………………………………………………………….....
Chapter 5
The crone, Merrow was still congratulating herself on the deal she had made with Silurion. He had given her a huge supply of fish, saving her the effort of obtaining them for herself. In return, she had alerted him to the whereabouts of the fairies and supplied him with the vital ingredient, Lintel, needed to make Lobash.
The pungent smelling herb only grew on the walls of her grotto and the Lizard-men with their great claws were unable to gain access to the tiny crevices where it grew. Merrow knew all about Lobash. It was extremely poisonous to fairies and water-sprites, causing them to fall into a sleep from which they were unable to awake. Eventually, as the poison settled in their system, the unfortunate victim would die. She knew of a water-sprite many years ago who had been captured by Silurion and poisoned. Eventually the sprite had died.
Merrow shrugged. She cared little for water-sprites and even less for fairies. If Silurion had decided not to give her anything, it wouldn’t have mattered. To get back at the fairy child who had tricked her was reward in itself. But why were the fairies headed for the kelp fields? Obviously they were going to Olombo as there was no other place for them to go. But why Olombo? The only thing of interest to them would be the Lion-men, but surely seven fairy children were not going to confront the Crocodile-men! It was all very puzzling. She decided that she wouldn’t waste any more time thinking about a reason. Then she had another thought. If the Lizard-men were planning to capture the fairies before they reached Olombo, then maybe she would try to capture the powerful fairy child. She chuckled to herself. Yes, yes, she wanted the child who had tricked her. This time, she would be more prepared and not be tricked again!
As she thought through her plan, the fairies were riding through the waters. Eventually, the kelp fields came into view. It was time for Lido and his friends to say goodbye. The sea-horses had no desire to maneuver their way through the sea of kelp. Seeing the look of apprehension on everybody’s face, Ella said quickly, ‘don’t worry, we won’t get lost. All we have to do is keep to the direction of the sun on our left. We should reach the bridge to Olombo in another day. At least we won’t have to travel in the dark,’ she reminded them.
The sun never set on Marissima, it just faded to a dull glow. Keeping the direction of the sun on their left did make it easy for them and on the way they were amazed at the beautiful variety of tropical fish that lived among the kelp.
‘Willow told me that the kelp is very nutritious and feeds many varieties of fish,’ Laura said, breaking off a piece and eating it. ‘You should try a piece, Andrew.’
Andrew made a face which communicated to everyone that he would have to be pretty desperate to eat kelp. On and on the children went through the kelp fields until the fading light reminded them that it was time to rest. They floated down to the sea-bed and slept until hours later, the bright sunlight shinning on the water awoke them. After a hearty meal of kelp, they were ready to continue on their way.
Andrew had awoken ravenous, as usual and was left no other option than to try the kelp. ‘It’s surprisingly good!’ he mumbled with his mouth full.
They were swimming single file now as the kelp was quite thick in parts. Ella was at the lead, with Tristan following along closely behind her. The others followed a little distance behind. They all swam silently, using their concentration to maneuver their way through the kelp.
Chapter 6
Deep in the caves surrounding the seas of Marissima, Silurion and his Lizard-men were hard at work as they took turns at stirring a huge cauldron.
‘This time, they will not get away,’ Silurion told his friends in satisfaction. ‘Thanks to the Crone, Merrow, we will be able to destroy the fairies once and for all.’
‘How dare they enter the waters of Marissima,’ the Lizard-men muttered among themselves.
‘It is a particularly strong batch of Lobash,’ Silurion said taking a deep sniff. Then he moved his head back in disgust. This batch of Lobash was exceptionally revolting. When the mixture cooled, the Lizard-men began to shape it into small balls. ‘A couple of whiffs of one of these and the fairies are doomed!’ Silurion said gleefully.
‘You … you mean it will kill them?’ Silurion spun his huge head around in the direction of the voice and sighed. His young son, Horrendous the Second was a great disappointment to him. ‘Of course it will, you idiot!’ he said cuffing the unfortunate creature on the head. The other
