Pumpkin Patch Princess

CHAPTER SIX: What The Cat Dragged In

Mom and Dad had been keeping me so busy that I hadn't had any time to check out the packet from C.A.F.E. Since I had a five-hour ride ahead of me, I decided to learn as much as I could.

There was a slim pamphlet describing CA.F.E.'s humble beginnings as the pet project of a group of meddlesome women with a talent for dabbling in the lives of others. Today, the organization numbered more than 10,000 professional fairy godmothers operating in branches across the globe, with central headquarters residing in Irisia, Finale's capital kingdom.

There was another pamphlet with pictures and brief descriptions of the seven women in the Council, the ruling body of C.A.F.E. I examined the sketch of Madam Anastasia Wandwood, Head of the Council, who looked like a barrel of laughs with her severe gray bob, pencil-thin spectacles, and stern stare. Her magic wand probably didn't have a star on top.

There was also a list of the 77 members of the House of Godmothers. "The best and brightest godmothers are awarded seats in the House based on talent and merit," I read.

I found a schedule for Trainee Week, which would begin tomorrow morning. Each day, I would attend five sessions with names like "The Politics of C.A.F.E.: How Fairy Godmothers Shape the World" and "Reverse the Curse: When Pesky Witches Cramp Your Style."

Finally, I pulled out a map that depicted the sprawling compound of C.A.F.E. headquarters, where two buildings in a grove of trees had been labeled TRAINEE RESIDENCE HALLS. I examined them with queasy excitement, hoping that I would like the other trainees and they would like me. I leaned back and stared out the window, wondering what their backgrounds were and whether there would be other farmers' daughters like me.

I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up feeling disoriented with fragments of a dream swimming before my eyes – something about accidentally breaking Madam Wandwood's glasses and trying to make up for it by transforming them into shoes for her.

A station attendant hovered over me. "Time to wake up, young lady." He jerked a thumb at the door. "Baggage claim to your left."

Startled, I realized the carriage was almost empty. I grabbed my C.A.F.E. packet and followed the last of my fellow passengers onto the platform.

'Baggage claim' turned out to be the driver standing on top of the carriage and shoving our bags to the ground. I grabbed my suitcases, trying not to gawk like the country bumpkin I was, but this station had to be the most magnificent thing I had ever seen.

The spotless wooden platform was ten times larger and fancier than the one back home. Hundreds of carriages were pulling in and out at any given moment and all around me, people hurried to and fro, looking busy and impatient. And the fashion – oh, the fashion – it was unlike anything I could have imagined. Clothes in every imaginable color and style, with expensive shoes to match. I recognized more than a few of Mom's designs, including the alphabet heels.

But nothing could have prepared me for my first astonishing look at the kingdom of Irisia itself, once I had passed through a stone archway.

Polished cobblestone streets stretched in every direction, lined by graceful black lampposts and buildings with slanted red roofs. Every edifice from the shops to the houses had been painted a creamy yellow color that probably looked sunny even on the gloomiest days.

Through the village, I glimpsed a palace on the horizon that made Indigo Castle look like a farmhouse. It had gray stone towers that spiraled into the clouds and a sparkling blue moat wrapped around it like an aquamarine serpent.

"That's the right direction," I murmured, knowing C.A.F.E. headquarters lay just east of the castle.

I hung on tight to my bags and picked my way along the street with care, since carriages and horses were tearing pell-mell through the crowds, the drivers screaming at each other and at the pedestrians to get out of the way. It was all uncommonly rude and I looked at some of the pedestrians to see how they were handling it, but they simply made a few uncouth hand gestures and continued on their way.