Nemesis and the Fairy of Pure Heart Read Online Free Page B

castle. The land looked so different now that she didn’t have her wings. Long blades of grass and shrubs were taller than her and she found a new respect for all those fairies born without wings, realising how different their lives must be. No wonder the wingless fairies hardly ever left the haven, she thought to herself.
    She walked faster moving her body gracefully, treading through plants and bushes that littered the land in the trolls domain. For a moment Bella wished that she had her wings, that she could swish them and stretch them and take off straight towards the open skies. She wished that she could feel the cool swirling mists of the clouds as they enclosed her body, and that she could release her thoughts within their cool cloaks.
    The emptiness that dwelt in her heart weighed even heavier now that she’d given up her wings, but Bella knew that there had been no choice at all. She walked for a long time, or so it seemed to her, before she felt her small body begin to tire. She slowed her pace and looked around, realising that she was no longer within the troll realm. In front of her was a beautiful field full of the brightest yellow sunflowers she had ever seen. She walked forward and was soon completely surrounded by bright green stalks that stretched high into the air to cradle the luminous yellow flowers.
    Bella decided she needed to rest, so she sat down on the soft grass that grew so lushly in the shade of the giant flowers. Reaching into the small bag that hung around her neck, she took out the enchanted parchment which shimmered in the sunlight as she unrolled it. There in bold black-printed words was the list of tokens that she needed to gather for Nemesis.

    Not knowing what she should make of the strange list, she just continued to stare at it. What sort of things were these? she wondered. It must be a riddle of some sort, she thought. Yarg was right; this wouldn’t be as easy as she’d thought it would be. Well, she decided, I just need to collect exactly what’s written on my list. So the first thing would be laughter. How does one, capture laughter? Can laughter be caught?
    Rubbing her hand through her hair, she realised she was totally confused. Absolutely nothing came to mind.
    Standing up, Bella started walking again, talking softly to herself. “Laughter’s gift …, laughter’s gift,” she mumbled, while in her heart she was wishing that a clue would just drop from the sky.
    Her mind still twirling the phrase around, Bella walked further into the field, the sweet smell of the sunflowers growing ever stronger. The sunflowers gave way to a small clearing, and she stopped as she entered it. Before her was a gathering of the cutest pixies that she’d ever seen, all of them just as small as her, seated on toadstools on the soft grass, talking and laughing.
    The pixies were so busy entertaining each other that they didn’t immediately notice the fairy in their midst, so Bella had time to take stock. Knowing that pixies rarely leave their own land, it dawned on her that she must have entered the Pixies Knot. Since by nature these little folk are fun-loving and filled with innocent mischief, Bella knew she had nothing to fear.
    The pixies wore bright blue knee-length shifts trimmed in glossy shades of yellow, cinched around their waists with twined leaves woven into pretty belts. Tiny sparkling drops of sunflower glitter were randomly scattered through their clothing, and dainty flowers woven into necklaces graced their necks. They wore simple sandals made from the strong inner cores of the sunflower stalks. More of the tiny flowers were stitched along the bottom of their sandals, and delicate straps of twined leaves criss-crossed their legs to end just below their knees.
    The pixies each wore a sunflower leaf artfully shaped into a tiny hat to protect them from the sun’s strong glow. Silky dark locks peeped from under their hats, parted to make way for