The Fairy Boy of Calton Hill

By Sean-Paul Thomas

Copyright 2016 Sean-Paul Thomas - All rights reserved.

Smashwords edition 2016

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any

means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written

permission from the author.

For Mum, Dad, Stewart, Michelle and Benjamin.

Glossary

Some, but not all, of the supporting characters speak in a Scotch dialect, so here are some

Scotch words and meanings that might get a little lost in translation for those not too familiar

with some old and new Scottish speech and slang.

Auld - Old

Ah - I

Aye - Yes/Yeah

Aboot - About

Anly - Only

Aroond - Around

Af - Of

Baw - Ball

Bam/Bams - Idiot/Idiots

Bairns - Children

Baeth - Both

Bin - Been

Bonnie - Pretty/lovely

Braw - Good

Cannie - Cannot

Claethes - Clothes

Dinnie - Don't

Deid - Dead

Da - Dad/Father

Doot - Doubt

Doon - Down

Dae - Do

Daen - Doing

Fae - From

Fanny - Idiot

Fella - Man/Guy

Gie -give

Gud - Good

Grand - Great

Gaen - Going

Gonnie - going to

Hoo - How

Hale - Whole

Huv - Have

Hen - Girl/Woman

Hing - Thing

Hame - Home

Hoose/Hooses - House/Houses

Hail - Come

Jeezo - Jesus

Jobbie - Poo

Jabber - To poke something

Jist - Just

Ken - Know

Kent - Knew

Lang - Long

Lassie - Girl

Lad - Boy

Ma - Mum/Mother

Mibbe - Maybe

Naw - No

Noo - Now

Nay - No

Oer - Over

Oot - Out

Pal - Friend

Pleb - Commoner

Radj - Mental/Crazy Person

Suttin - Something

Spek - Speak

Sae - So

Tae - To

Telt - Told

Twa - Two

Wee - Little

Wrang - Wrong

Whit - What

Wi - With

Whae - Who

Wud - Would

Yin - One

Ya/Ye - You

Prologue

'Are you scared, Liam?' G asked. She flew a little closer towards him. 'Would you like me to

take you back to your own world so that you can forget all about us? I'll do it if you like. I can

take you back there right now if that's what you truly want.'

Liam thought long and hard for a short while, but his mind was made up. His life back home

was boring and dull and seemingly no better than the lives of the fairies here. No, after all the

books he'd read and the dreams that had set his imagination on fire, he wanted some adventure

in his life. He longed for it. Ached for it. Needed and desired it. Finally, Liam glanced back at

G and grinned mischievously. 'No…I want to see your world, G. Regardless of the dangers, I

want to see everything.'

G smiled, elated with Liam's answer. 'Then I'll take you to my favourite place on this

mountain, just beyond the pale green forest. There you'll see some of the most beautiful and

fascinating creatures and sights my world has to offer.'

G turned and led the way towards the lighter green forest.

Hank shook his head in disgust and backed his tiny frame away from them. He felt that he

needed to get far, far away from this charade and as soon as possible, for both his sanity and

his safety. What G was doing with the human boy—talking to him, bringing him into their

world, sharing their secrets—it was too much. She had gone too far this time in her

maddening pursuit of change and enlightenment. The more he stuck around here with her and

the boy, the more he feared for his own future.

'I'm sorry, G,' Hank called out. '...but I just can't have anything more to do with this crazy

scheme of yours, to show this…this human around our world. I'm so very sorry, G. I just can't

do it. I have my family to think about. The painful consequences of it all if we were ever to be

caught far outweigh any pleasures. Yes, it all began as a little bit of silly fun, a new curious

adventure, perhaps, but now…well, now it's over, G. For me anyway.'

G glanced back at Hank. Her eyes narrowed and a flash of anger intruded into her thoughts.

She wanted to say something back, to convince Hank to stay with them, at least for a little

while, but she knew it would be useless and tiring to her soul. Hank, in the end, was just like

everyone else in her village—too scared to question or confront the regime that held power

over them, and far too fearful of new but good changes to their monotonous lives.

Hank was already flying across the clearing when G called out to him, but her tone was only

half-hearted and Hank knew it. 'Hank?'

Hank halted in mid-air and turned back to face her. 'I'm going back to the village, G, but I

promise you that I won't breathe a word of this to anyone. I've kept your secret about finding

this forbidden place and I'll keep it that way. It was fine and dandy when we were just

exploring the hills and forest and larking around. And when we found their world, you swore

you would just look and nothing more. But this…this I'm afraid of. It's too much, G. You've

turned your dim curiosities into a raging obsession. A very, very dangerous obsession at that.

I'm sorry. The risk is far too great for me…I'm out.'

G fell silent. She couldn't reply to that. Hank was a decent fairy and she knew he would keep

his word and vow of silence—or at least she hoped he would. But it was too much to ask of

him to stay with her and let go of all his fears and doubts and inhibitions.

'Just be careful, okay? Show him what you must, but get him the hell out of here by the end of

the day, and pronto. Then forget you ever saw each other,' Hank finished. With that, he turned

and flew out of sight.

As Liam walked, following G towards the pale green forest, he began to notice something

rather peculiar indeed. It appeared that the more he waded through the longer green grass of

the pasture, the more colourful the grass became. Gradually it was changing from light green

and light purple to light blue, then back to light green. 'Why is the longer grass changing

colour like that?' he asked.

G, who was some way ahead of him, turned and stared briefly down, looking almost

bewildered herself. Then she realised that it was only the grass around and close to Liam that

was changing colour. She knew immediately what was happening.

'The grass is alive, Liam.' G cried with delight. 'It's getting used to you. It's acclimating itself

to your mood.'

Liam smiled and gazed around for another few moments at the calm and colourful grass. It

was a wonderful sight to see, making him even more deliriously happy. Of course, when those

happier emotions reflected back into the surrounding grass, it became even lighter, with

yellows and pinks coming into quick effect.

'This is so amazing, G. It's absolutely bloody brilliant.' Liam cried as he started twirling in

circles of delight, leaving a colourful trail wherever he twirled. G giggled at his playful antics.

He was glowing with warmth and it enthralled her. Because G flew pretty much everywhere

and hardly ever set foot upon the ground, she'd forgotten all about the grass that fed on the

emotions of the creatures who waded through it.

Liam continued to twirl and jump around, playfully teasing the grass with his steps and

motions. Then his thoughts drifted to Lucy and how much fun the two of them could have in

this small and magical clearing together, running about like crazy cats and playing joyfully

together, then rolling around and finally lying down and resting upon the ever-changing grass.

He wondered where she was. His beautiful Lucy. What might she be doing? What might she

be thinking? Was she thinking about him as often as he thought about her? Probably not. She

was somewhere in the mad, vibrant grime of Dublin City. A place filled with constant

distractions and an endless sea of human activity. She'd be helping her father pack things from

their old house, more than likely, and catching up with old friends before leaving them behind

for her new life in Edinburgh.

'Lucy would love this. She would absolutely love it here, I'm sure.' Liam cried even louder.

'Who's Lucy?' G quickly enquired.

Liam went a little red in the face all of a sudden, thinking aloud like that. 'Oh…she's just a

friend. I met her only last night right enough. But she's so cool and smart, you see…'

'And very pretty too,' G teased.

'Aye, but how the hell do you know that?' Liam asked, a little too defensively.

'I saw her too, you know. Last night while the two of you were discussing fairies and other

such creatures at that stone monument thing outside the cave.'

'Oh, I see,” Liam chuckled. 'I almost forgot about that. Hey, you know that stone monument

thing near the cave. We actually call that a fairy stone back in Edinburgh.'

'Really,' said G, sounding genuinely surprised.

'Aye. So it would seem that not everyone in our world has forgotten all about you there, G.'

'I guess not,' G continued, smiling warmly.

'Hey G? Do you think…do you think I might be able to bring my friend Lucy here sometime?

Just to see this place, you know? Even just briefly. Do you think it would be possible?'

'I don't see why not, boy. The more nice, good-natured and decent humans coming here for a

friendly visit, the better, I say. But let's see how we get on today, yes? If this little adventure of

ours turns out to be a trouble-free one, we'll talk some more about it.'

Liam felt delighted and his mind raced all over the place as he thought about seeing Lucy

again. He couldn't wait until she returned from Dublin. He would tell her every single damn

thing that had happened to him today, and in the most picture-perfect detail. If it were possible

to run back and bring her here there and then, he would have done so immediately.

When Liam was done playing and dancing around in the grass, he took another quick glance

towards the dark, eerie-looking woods on the other side of the clearing. The woods where the

trees looked more twisted and intimidating than the ones where G was leading him on the

opposite side of the pasture. For a second he thought he saw someone or something move on

the edge of the dark forest, something very small and very faint, but then it was gone.

'What is that other forest over there, G? And why does it look so much spookier and meaner

and less inviting than the one we're heading for?'

'That's the flesh-eating forest, boy.'

It took Liam a few moments to fully comprehend what G had just said.

'Fairies and most other creatures here with their wits about them don't go anywhere near those

woods,' G continued.

'Jesus. So are there, like, proper meat-eating monsters and other flesh-eating creatures lurking

amongst those trees to give it such a name?'

'No. The trees ARE the flesh-eating monsters. Most of the trees in that forest will eat anything

living or breathing and with blood in its veins. And they will digest you—or whatever unlucky

living creature they happen to catch or entice inside—slowly and painfully, stripping your

flesh to the bone over a hundred years.'

Liam felt sick. Trees that eat meat and slowly digest you over a hundred years? He couldn't

imagine such a thing.

'Oh my god. That's…that's just mental. And I thought stingy nettles were a pain in the arse

back home.'

'Don't worry, though. We won't be going anywhere near them today.'

'So nothing lives inside that forest then, whatsoever? Just the trees, aye?'

'There are legends and tales of some hideous beings who have managed to befriend and tame

the monster trees and live amongst them. But they must be beings with such dark and magical

powers in order to influence a whole forest like that. And if some things do hideaway and live

there, they are probably doing so for a very good reason. However, no one has ever seen such

beings. I suppose they're just legends and stories at the end of the day, that's all.'

'Just like humans living in another world far, far away from here are just legends and stories to

fairies?' Liam retorted with a wry grin.

G turned back to him and smiled teasingly. 'I guess you're right, boy. But I won't be going for

a wander in there any time soon to find out. But if you do ever happen to wander too close to

those woods, beware! They have ways of enticing, say, less savvy creatures than yourself to

come inside for a quick peek.'

'How the hell do they do that?'

'By making you see things that aren't actually there and that you really, really want to see.

Some say that the trees have dark, magical ways of seeing into the deepest parts of your mind.'

Liam glanced back at the first few rows of trees in the flesh-eating forest. For a heart-stopping

second he thought he could faintly hear the trees and their twisted and contorted trunks

groaning and moaning for him to come nearer. For another anxious moment he thought he

saw something else move beside some rocks on the forest edge. But when he blinked and

refocused his attention, just to clear his mind and eyes, there was nothing there at all. Of

course, he told himself, he'd imagined all the strange movements. Perhaps it was a slight gust

of wind moving one of the branches.

Meanwhile, from the very edges of the flesh-eating forest and resting its old, scaly hands upon

a twisted tree trunk, something was indeed watching Liam as he and G continued towards the

pale green forest on the opposite side of the clearing...

Chapter 1

An Angel Princess on the Streets of Edinburgh

One day earlier...

It was a rare and humid summer's evening on the streets of Edinburgh when thirteen-year-old

Liam Rankin first set eyes upon the most beautiful and angelic creature he'd ever seen in all

his youthful days of living in the old gothic city.

Sure, he'd never been outside of Scotland before, so it wasn't like he knew many beautiful

young fair maidens to whom he could compare her with. But Liam just knew that there was

something special and different about Lucy Miller, also thirteen. She was a right "bonnie wee

lassie," as they said around those parts. She made his heart melt and his brain freeze like he

had consumed too much of a good thing every time he gazed upon her. And in the affairs of a

young teenage boy's heart, well, wasn't that really all that mattered?

Liam lived on a quiet wee street in the shadows of Calton Hill, squashed somewhere amongst

London Road and the top of Leith Walk. He'd been living there for less than a year with his

recently widowed mother, who had been coping with the loss of her husband (and Liam's

devoted father) the only way she knew how – alcohol and cigarettes. She combined that with

fewer working hours and the additional social benefits that helped her work those fewer hours.

The situation freed up more time for her and her alone, and not, as you'd imagine, for time

spent with her only child, Liam, who was still suffering greatly – yet silently – from the loss of

his father and was living in his own little bubble-of-grief universe.

So, yes, more time for her to concentrate on the online world that had slowly but surely

consumed her easy-prey mind with its addictive claws. There was nothing more comforting to

Liam's mother – and nothing that could take away the numb pain of losing the love of her life

– than hours upon hours of mind-numbing Internet scrolling. Every day was the same. Get up

around noon, make a strong black coffee with a mountain of sugar, light her first cigarette,

then switch on her laptop and absorb herself in her online world. Wash, rinse, repeat; all day,

every day. Well, except for the late afternoon changeover from coffee to vodka while

consuming as little edible food as humanly possible and soon the day rolled into night and

then into day again.

Liam had only come out of his house that evening to put some rubbish bags into the gigantic

street bins on the side of the road. It was an act he assumed would never or rarely get

accomplished if his mother was left to her own devices. He was thinking deeply to himself

about making a late-supper snack – perhaps some beans with cheese on toast before

continuing on with the latest adventure novel he'd been devouring.

Suddenly, WHAM! BAM! Strike, bolt, boom! And there she was. Like a spontaneous crack of

thunder and flash of lightning from a cool, calm summer sky, directly across the street from

him and beside the steely gates of the enormous Georgian house opposite...Lucy Miller

appeared.

When Liam regained control of his senses, he noticed Lucy was busy directing and bossing

around three mover men as they carried boxes, big and small, along with more furniture than

you might care to find inside two IKEA warehouses, into the huge house from the back end of

a lorry parked out in the middle of his street.

After watching Lucy order the men around for a short time, and putting aside her striking

bonnyness, Liam couldn't help but think how much this girl reminded him of a right proper

bossy wee madam as she barked her commands to the mover men and telling them to which

part of the house the furniture and boxes should be taken to. And you know what? It made

him smile. Still half frozen in a dream-like awe, Liam imagined how on Earth he could ever

gather up the courage to strike up a conversation with such a girl. He supposed he would just

have to watch out for her over the next few days, weeks, and possibly months, from the cover

and comforts of his own bedroom window. Hoping beyond hope that she'd attend the same

high school as he, Leith Academy. Or, if no such luck there, maybe at the very least she'd

leave her home for school at roughly the same time he did every morning. Perhaps he could

time their early morning exits so perfectly that the two of them would open their front doors

and front garden gates at the exact same moment together, until their eyes met for the very

first time. That would then be followed by a neighbourly nod, smile, and wave, and

then...well, Liam fantasised even deeper. He would have to take the next nerve-racking step

and speak to the young lady at hand. At the very least, he would ask for her name as they

strolled along their street together towards the nearby bus stop. Then he'd ask how she was

settling into her new home, and if that went well, he'd offer to take her out for a milkshake and

cookies and show her around the city centre sometime. Maybe even suggest a weekend date at

the local cinema, too, but only after a walk around his favourite place in the whole world

together – the magnificent Calton Hill. And then, and then, and then...

Liam was still caught up in his fantasy world when the beauty across the street suddenly and

quite unexpectedly turned her attention towards him. Without hesitation, she yelled across the

street as though he were one of her workers under her strict supervision, someone whom she'd

just caught sleeping on the job.

'You lad, over there now.' the girl yelled.

It took a few seconds for Liam to realise exactly what was going on. There he was, imagining

future weeks and months of emotional torment and turmoil and a continuous array of near-

misses and opportunities while gathering up the Dutch courage to speak with the new girl on

the block when, quite unexpectedly, one had just presented itself to him almost immediately.

Liam shook his head and tried his best to gather his thoughts. He could see the young lady

looking directly at him and he was almost sure, but not quite one-hundred-percent certain, that

she'd even called out to him. Well, at least in his general direction. Quickly he glanced both

left and right, making sure he was still, in fact, the only person on his side of the street, which

he indeed was. He then returned his eyes back to the yelling beauty's gaze.

'Sure, you with the rubbish bags there lad,' the young lady cried, yelling at him again with a

strange accent that Liam couldn't quite place. She certainly wasn't shy, that was for sure. If

growing up in Dublin town had taught Lucy anything in her young life, it had taught her that

you didn't get anywhere – or get anything done – by sitting at the back of the bus and hoping

that nobody noticed you.

That time Liam heard her loud and clear. Every single beautiful damn word. Most of the street

had heard her, too. A few curtains had been ruffled and pulled back briefly to allow a glimpse

at what on earth all the commotion was out there. Yet most didn't spy too long, as the soap

opera pull of Coronation Street was far more compelling than anything happening in the real

world right outside their windows.

'Me? Are you talking to me?' Liam hesitantly replied.

'Aye fella, you. And don't just stand there gawping at me all day like I'm the bleedin' elephant

woman. Come over here and give us a hand if you're doing nothing else, why don't you.'

Well, Liam didn't need telling twice. He nodded emphatically before hurrying out of his tiny

wee front garden and onto the quiet street which lay just off the top left corner of the huge and

deceivingly never-ending stretch of road that was Leith Walk.

Something made him turn back to his house again though. He realised that he still had the two

rubbish bags in hand. Also, he'd left his front door wide open. His mother would be furious

after the lecture she'd given him only last Thursday about keeping the front door barred at all

times after number seventy two was recently burgled and only their laptops were taken.

Hence, the keywords of her woeful rant 'Laptop' and 'taken.'

Liam dashed back to his house. He leaned into the hallway and called out to his mother who

was still sitting at the table in the back of their dining room, still on her laptop scouring

through Amazon and Ebay for more useless junk to buy that she didn't need, yet compelled to

want. And of course, Liam knew, but would never admit out loud, that that was all just a case

of any old distraction will do to take his mum's mind away from dealing with the real world

again and focussing upon the present, here and now, after their recent tragic loss.

'I'm just heading out Ma. Back soon,” Liam didn't even wait for a response as his mother

hummed, hawed and gently nodded while clicking on another link for more useless crap that

she could purchase and horde away. Next, Liam headed straight for the large bins on the street

outside and dumped the rubbish bags into them, before rushing, perhaps a little too eagerly,

right into the very shadow of the young but stern looking beauty from across the road.

While Liam had been running around like a headless chicken for the past sixty seconds, Lucy

had turned her attention back to the mover men, just to keep an eye on what boxes they were

removing next of course. She soon returned her gaze to Liam though when she saw him

hurrying across the street towards her.

Lucy noticed right away, even in the dim street light, that the boy coming towards her looked

very pale indeed (a trait she'd quickly noticed amongst Scottish people, although, being from

Dublin city, she wasn't exactly one to talk). He seemed skinnier from far away too than he

looked up close, and he was about one inch shorter than she, even with his scruffy out-of-bed

hair sticking up in all directions like he'd just had the most horrific electric shock. He did

seem kind of cute though, with the loveliest pair of bright blue eyes; she’d give him that at

least. Suddenly a flash of thought entered her mind that if ever an opportunity presented itself

at any point in the future for the two of them to kiss (and she hadn't the faintest idea why she

was even contemplating kissing that strange new boy right there and then), well, she was

adamant that she could never go through with such an act. Mainly because, as a general rule of

thumb in life, she didn't kiss anyone shorter or paler than she. Excluding, of course, Frodo

Baggins from The Lord of the Rings movies and Damon from The Vampire Diaries – even

though they were both probably old enough to be her fathers and then some.

'Hey! I'm here,' Liam said, almost standing to attention like a private to his sergeant.

'So what's your name, lad?' Lucy asked. All thoughts of kissing short-arsed, hairy hobbits and

sickly, pale vampires evaporated from her mind.

'Liam.'

'Well, I'm Lucy. Pleased to meet ya.' Lucy held out her hand and Liam shook it.

‘How come you talk so funny? I mean, what's with the dodgy accent?’ Liam enquired. In

actual fact, he loved the way Lucy spoke. He found her broad Irish accent fascinating and

refreshing; it was like listening to someone off the telly, as he'd never heard anything like it

before in real life.

Lucy stared at Liam hard steely eyes, the way someone would stare at a chimpanzee if it

suddenly started talking only to insult them. 'My dodgy accent?' she finally replied. 'Sure, have

you ever tried recording your own dodgy accent and playing it back to yourself? I’m sure

you'll be in for a nasty wee shock, lad.'

Liam wasn't quite sure if Lucy had just insulted him or humoured him, her answer had been so

quick-fire and with that lovely accent captivating him even more. Yet before he could even

think about replying, she was already chattering away onto a new thread of conversation

entirely.

'You live over there then, I take it, or were you just passing by when you decided to gawk

uncontrollably in my direction? Didn't anyone ever tell you, lad, that if you're going to stare at

someone it's only polite to come and introduce yourself first, no?'

It was only in the past year or so that Lucy had gradually become more aware of the strange

and curious looks from boys that arrived in her vicinity. Which of course made her father even

more delighted that he'd bit that hard financial bullet and enrolled her full steam ahead into an

all-girls boarding school in the middle of the secluded Irish countryside, far, far away from the

prying eyes of any hormonal teenage boys.

Meanwhile, Liam continued to hold Lucy's hand and gaze. He seemed unaware that he was

still doing so, as his subconscious mind had taken full control of his bodily senses. Plus he

enjoyed the touch and feel of her soft, warm skin. He'd never felt anything like it.

'Aye...I mean...yeah...I just stay at number twelve there.'

'Lovely. I've just made me very first pal here in Edinburgh, then, and we'll be neighbours, too.

How bleedin' marvellous.'

Liam smiled, still in a daze as he held Lucy's hand. Finally she pulled it away and turned her

gaze back to the mover men. She was awaiting the appearance of some boxes with pink

ribbons attached. Boxes she'd packed and sealed herself. Boxes that belonged to her and no

one else, for she wanted the sole responsibility of transporting them from the truck to her

bedroom, no matter how heavy and how many of them there were. In fact, she knew exactly

how many there were (eight), for she had, of course, packed every single damn one of them

herself.

'So you're moving in here then, I take it?' Liam asked. It was the first silly question that came

to his nervous mind and he instantly regretted such an obvious observation.

'Whatever gave you that impression, Liam?' Lucy teased, sharp as a tack.

They both smiled. Liam liked the way Lucy said his name very much. Then they watched as

two of the mover men removed a large fridge freezer from the lorry, revealing smaller boxes

with pink ribbons on top of them. Lucy's face lit up like a Christmas tree. She rushed towards

the back of the lorry.

'Come on. You can give me a hand to me room with these boxes if you like,' she said

excitedly as Liam followed her.

They took a box each and headed into the house and up the wooden stairs of the Georgian

building. Lucy led the way into her bedroom. It was the first right on the first floor landing,

directly beside the upstairs bathroom.

'This is me room. What do you think lad?' Lucy asked, setting her box underneath a huge

window which took up almost the entire wall.

'Wow. It's massive. It's bigger than my ma's dining room and kitchen combined...and it's on

the street side too, nice,' Liam replied, rather excited himself, not because of the room’s size,

but for the selfish reason that Lucy's bedroom lay directly opposite his own across the street.

The teens made another dozen or so trips up and down the wooden staircase that evening, to

and from the lorry outside, carrying all of Lucy's belongings up to her room. On their final

trip, Liam realised that he hadn't even seen any other adults around, apart from the mover

men, of course.

'Where are your parents anyhow?' Liam asked.

'Oh, me father's in the dining room at the back of the house there.' Lucy replied. 'He had to

take an emergency conference call for his work, so I said I'd keep an eye on the mover men for

him, you know.'

'And your ma?' Liam continued his enquiry.

Lucy glanced away from Liam for a second. He noticed an unusual hint of sadness and

vulnerability creeping into her eyes.

'Me mammy...she actually died a few years back.' she continued. 'Car wreck back in Dublin.

It's just me and me father now, you see.'

'Jeeze, I'm sorry to hear that.' Liam replied with a deep sorrow as memories of his own

recently deceased father resurfaced into the forefront of his mind.

'What about your parents?' Lucy asked, quickly changing the focus onto Liam, though she

hadn't even thought for a single second that his answer would be almost identical to her own.

'My da...' Liam said, hesitating for a split second, as that familiar emotional lump began to

form in the back of his throat again every time he thought of his lost parent. '...well, he passed

away, too. Just at the end of last summer there, actually. Leukaemia. So it's just me and ma

now, too. ken'

'I'm sorry to hear that, Liam.' Lucy replied, her mind filling with her own deep sorrow.

'It's okay.' Liam continued. 'We're getting through it. Although Ma spends so much time on

her laptop these days, wrapped up in her own wee online world, that she's almost forgotten

everything and everyone else in her life right now—even me.'

'Yeah,' Lucy replied. '...me father's like that in all. He practically lives and breathes the

internet. Although, to be fair, he is a web designer.'

The two fell silent for a moment, each remembering happy memories of their lost and loving

parents. Then Lucy turned to Liam with a cunning smile. 'Perhaps we should introduce the

two of them some time, you know? Your mother and me father. Sure, wouldn't that be a grand

idea.'

Liam forced a chuckle before grimacing at the mere thought. 'Aye. Wouldn't that be a hoot.

Although we'd be better off finding out their Skype addresses rather than doing any real-life

face-to-face introductions.'

Lucy chuckled too before Liam realised that her idea could quickly turn into his ultimate

nightmare and the worst suggestion of all time. If their parents ever did meet and hit it off, the

lovely Lucy would end up being his bloody sister, of all things.

Just then a dog barked loudly from the ground floor, interrupting Lucy and Liam's thoughts.

To Liam it sounded like a huge beast of a hound too, and he'd be half right. Lucy knew that it

was only her German Shepherd, Benjamin, who must have escaped from the large hallway

cupboard downstairs. Perhaps one of the mover men had opened the wrong door and let him

out by mistake.

'Shoot. Benjamin! Come on,' Lucy cried before darting for the stairs. Liam wasn't far behind

as they hurried to the ground floor. He froze at the bottom of the steps when he caught sight of

the large beast barking at the mover men in the middle of the hallway, his powerful tail

wagging from side to side. Benjamin looked to be standing his ground and preventing the men

from bringing any more boxes into the house.

'These are the last of them anyway, Miss Lucy.' said the mover man in charge. 'Can we just

leave them on the doorstep the now then, aye?' he continued rather nervously, not daring to

take another step inside the house or take his eyes from Ben.

Lucy grabbed Ben by his collar like she'd done a thousand times before. She pulled him back

towards the open cupboard underneath the stairs. He obeyed her without so much as a snarl or

a whimper. Both Liam and the mover men looked well impressed by Lucy's dog handling

skills.

'Sure. That's grand.' replied Lucy, still ushering Ben inside the large, lamp lit cupboard. 'And

thanks so very much for all your help today, lads.' Finally, she pushed him all the way inside

and shut the cupboard door. Out of breath, she rested her back against the door and turned to

Liam, who was still standing on guard at the bottom of the stairs. 'Is there somewhere around

here where I can take him for a good, long, decent walk, you know?'

'Aye,' Liam answered, smiling as the image of his favourite place in the whole world came

into his mind. 'Calton Hill. It's just along the road there. There's plenty of grass, fields, and

trees for him to explore.'

'Grand,' said Lucy, smiling widely.

Liam was about to say '...and for us to explore, too,’ but he hesitated, thinking that she might

have had her fill of him for one evening.

Instantly, though, like the very first time he'd laid eyes upon her, she took the thoughts and

words right out of his mouth. 'So, are you coming for a wee walk then too? You can show us

where this hill of yours is and I'll buy you some tasty fish and chips on the way back home for

your troubles and for all your hard work this evening.'

'That sounds braw. I'm in,' Liam said in a heartbeat and smiling from tip to toe as his entire

body flooded with sheer delight. He wanted to say that the hill wasn't exactly hard to find,

since it was pretty much the highest point to be seen on this side of town.

'Nice one.' Lucy answered back. 'I'll just quickly let Father know we're heading out.'

Chapter 2

Do You Believe in Fairies?

Liam and Lucy approached the lower north side of Calton Hill at a point where a large public

footpath branched off from Royal Terrace and headed along the west side of Regent Gardens

towards the hill. The two youngsters were in mid-conversation, with Lucy telling Liam a bit

more about her background. They had taken almost fifteen minutes to walk the five-minute

jaunt to the bottom of the hill from their street, all because Ben—in new territory, let's not

forget—stopped at almost every single damn lamppost along the way to have a good old sniff

while, in turn, leaving his own scent at selected locations.

At the beginning of the gardens, Lucy was finally able to let Ben off his leash so that he could

sniff and leave his scent to his beastly heart's content.

'So, where was I now?' Lucy said, gathering her thoughts with a sigh, relieved to no longer be

pulled all over the streets of Edinburgh by Ben. 'Oh yeah, we've been living over in Dublin

ever since I was born,' 'Me father's originally from Edinburgh, though, which is one of the

reasons he moved us all the way over here in the first place. You see, me grandpa, me father's

father, he passed away last month there. Just poof. Died in his sleep, poor fella, with no

explanation at all—just old age, they say. He was still fit as a fiddle too, you know. That's his

house we're moving into. It's the family home. I think it's been in me father's bloodline ever

since the mid-eighteenth century, so he just doesn't have the heart to sell it right now.'

'I see,' Liam replied, intrigued that Lucy's sudden appearance in his street and his life was

slowly but surely making more sense. 'Actually, now you mention it, I think I remember your

grandpa. We've only been in the street ourselves since last autumn, my ma and me. We used

to stay over in Morningside when my da was alive. But I remember your grandpa alright. He

was always smiling and friendly to everyone passing by whenever he was out cutting the lawn

or doing some gardening, whenever the weather was good for it like.'

'Oh, good god. I suppose me father will make me cut the bleedin' grass now too and keep the

garden intact, just to keep me on me toes, so I can earn me bleedin' keep, you know,' Lucy

said, frowning at the mere thought. She wasn't scared of hard work or getting dirty by any

means. It was because she knew how her father's mind functioned in teaching her the ethics

and values of working hard, making yourself useful and earning your own way in life. Even

though her father was fairly well off, with his own web design company, she'd never, ever

been handed anything on a plate. Even as a child she had to do some kind of chores to receive

the latest toy or chocolate bar she had set her eye upon.

Lucy lost her train of thought when she heard Liam trying to cover his sniggering mouth,

which made Lucy chuckle, too. 'What's so bleedin' funny?'

'I'm sorry.' Liam replied, desperately trying to control his bout of chuckles but with little avail.

'It's just that every time you say 'me father,' it makes me laugh, that's all. I meant no offence

like.'

'Well, he is me bleedin' father,' Lucy shot back while teasingly pushing him away. 'What else

am I suppose to call him?'

'I'm sorry,' replied Liam, still sniggering like a four-year-old. 'It's just that no one I ken says

'father.''

'You're one to talk. And just who the hell is this bleedin' 'ken' guy anyhow?' Lucy winked and

smiled at Liam as she said it. 'So, what do people in Scotland call their fathers, then?'

'Dunno.' Liam replied back and thinking hard. 'Mostly just Da, Pa, Dad...auld yin, I guess.'

'Hmm.' Lucy said, pondering for a second. 'I suppose I should just try and learn some of the

local lingo, then, if I'm gonna be staying here for a wee while 'the noo, then eh, aye, ken?'

They both giggled at Lucy's pretty good attempt at a random Scottish accent and

pronunciation.

'Well,' Liam said, still giggling. 'If you ever need a Scottish linguistic lesson, then you can

give me a shout any time lassie.'

'You know, I might just do that, laddie.'

They continued walking in silence for a short time.

'So, I never saw you up here before today, though' asked Liam, breaking the comfortable

silence. 'I take it you guys haven't visited much recently?'

'Only the once before last Christmas.' Lucy replied. 'And a fleeting visit at that. Plus, the

weather was so God awful at the time I didn't really care to go out much. But me father always

preferred to fly Grandpa over to Dublin for his holidays instead of us coming up over here.'

Lucy came to a brief halt and stared towards the top of the hill. An ancient Greek-looking

monument had caught her eye, mainly because it looked so wildly out of place on a Scottish

hill. 'What the hell is that strange and enormous bleedin' building doing there on top of that

hill?'

Liam glanced up too, following Lucy's gaze. He knew right away what had caught her

attention, yet he took his time in answering. His own father, while alive, had taught him that a

little bit of deliberate anticipation when telling stories or explaining things, whether fact or

fiction, was good for the soul—especially when people asked about such things before you

had a chance to tell them. 'Oh...that's just the national monument, or the 'national disgrace' as

some people around here like to call it.'

'Jesus.' Lucy replied, still gawping up at the huge monument in awe. 'It looks more like

something from ancient bleedin' Greece or Rome.'

'Yeah, they started building it way back in the mid eighteenth century, you know.' Liam

continued as his dad's old and rekindled knowledge of Edinburgh's history filtered through

him. 'They wanted it to be like a monument dedicated to the Scottish soldiers who lost their

lives in the Napoleonic War, and then eventually to be a tomb to bury great and important

Scottish people in. But the builders at the time managed to complete only about one-quarter of

it. The men funding it ran out of money and never got to finish their masterpiece. That's why

they call it the national disgrace.'

'Wow. You seem to know an awful lot about it, Liam.'

'My parents,' Liam said, hesitating for a moment. '...well they were...are...Edinburgh tour

guides, you see. My ma still is on occasion. Well, when she can be bothered going into work.

Which isn't really that often these days. That's how they met, you see. My ma was an expert on

Edinburgh's Old Town and gothic, ghoulish history, right back to the dark ages and medieval

times. My da was an expert on Calton Hill, the development of Leith and its docks,

Edinburgh's artists and the building of the New Town. They actually met for the first time

when their tours got tangled up outside Calton Cemetery one day. They ended up getting into

quite a heated debate about who would get to do their little talks about David Hume's tomb

first. But this very hill was both my parents' one truly favourite place in the whole world. And

mine too now, I guess. My father in particular loved it up here, with its history and majestic

views of Edinburgh, Leith and the North sea. He was a bit of a painter, and loved to draw and

paint the surroundings from up here and from all different angles, too.'

'Wow, that's so cool, Liam. I love to paint and draw now and again myself too, you know. I'd

love to see your father's work sometime. If you still have some of his paintings lying around,

that is?'

'Are you kidding? Aye, we have loads,' Liam replied enthusiastically as he remembered that

his mother had hung most of his father's paintings all over the house. Paintings of Calton

Hill's most panoramic and scenic views, sunsets and moonrises hung in the living room and

kitchen. More drawings and paintings of the various architecture and buildings scattered

around the hill were hanging in the bedrooms, bathroom, hallway, stairs and landing of his

new home. No space had been left unfilled by his mother. Liam had actually counted the

pictures on a dull and rainy Sunday afternoon in the middle of another gale-force winter. He

felt sure that there must have been at least fifty-odd paintings and drawings hanging from the

walls and corners of their home. 'My ma hangs them up everywhere...and I mean everywhere,

I tell ya.'

As they emerged onto the very top of the hill, they approached the old astronomers’

observatory and its surrounding fort-like walls on the far western front. The observatory

building, which had been built in the late seventeen-hundreds, had long since closed down,

while a new observatory had been built in its place on top of Blackford Hill on the far

opposite south side of Edinburgh.

Liam and Lucy, followed by a dawdling Ben, slowly walked around the old observatory walls,

admiring the breathtaking views of old Edinburgh Town at night.

'Wow, Liam...it's just so...bleedin' amazing up here. The views are simply stunning...

breathtaking, in fact. No wonder your da loved to paint from up here. In all the times I've

come to Edinburgh, I can't believe I've never been here before. Thank you, Liam. Thank you

so much for showing me such a wonderful place. I'm going to come back here all the time

now; every day, in fact, if I can.'

'I actually come here all the time too,' Liam replied while staring at the towering gothic spire

of the Walter Scot monument and the hauntingly huge Edinburgh castle perched upon its

rocky throne peak beyond. It was a view like no other. An image he could never, ever become

bored with no matter how many times he came up here. 'Especially in the spring and summer,'

he continued. 'I love just sitting on the grass here during the day. Reading my books.

Watching all the people and tourists going about their daily lives, you know.'

Liam turned to Lucy and watched her looking dreamily over old Edinburgh Town. In that

moment he couldn't decide what was more beautiful, Lucy's angelic features or the stunning

views around them. Suddenly he remembered an old trick his dad had taught him once upon a

time. 'You know, if you squint your eyes and look out towards the Old Town there, the dim

electric street lights soon begin to merge into the old-looking lantern-lit street lights that used

to stand down there, and you can imagine what the city must have looked like a few hundred

years ago.'

Lucy did it. She squinted her eyes just like Liam had told her to and amazingly, it happened,

just like that. It was if she were transported back through time in a heartbeat. She could almost

hear the old horses and carriages clattering away on the cobbled streets below. She thought

she even heard the chatter of the ladies and gents of the day too, all wearing their best

Victorian garments.

Liam and Lucy continued their walk along the edge of the hill until they reached the northern

side of the observatory walls. Even though Lucy found herself caught up and distracted by the

views on this side, with the night lights of Leith and the point where the grey River Forth met

the bleak and brooding North Sea. Something else suddenly stood out in the foreground. She

found herself staring straight towards the northwest part of the hill and a small mound in

particular, just beyond a shallow dip in the ground. Upon the mound stood a lonely stone

pillar, no more than four feet in height.

'What's that wee stone pillar thingy over there then?' Lucy swiftly enquired.

Liam chuckled as he remembered the very first time he'd seen that pillar—a stone rectangle

that his father had told him many strange yet magical stories about. 'That was actually my da's

favourite thing on this whole hill. He called it the 'fairy stone.''

'The fairy bleedin' what now?' Lucy replied, baffled as hell.

'The fairy stone,” Liam chuckled. 'This place is famous for its old fairy stories and tales of

witches and ghouls and fairies who all lived underneath the hill once upon a time, you know.

And still do, if you believe such legends,' Liam said with a slight teasing wink. 'Or so my da

used to say.'

'I can't tell if you're trying to scare me, convince me or humour me now, Liam,' Lucy teased as

she playfully pushed him again.

Liam and Lucy carefully approached the small stone pillar. It was pitch black on the hill, so

they had to be careful where they stood when coming off the main pathway. Only a little light

from a half-glowing moon and the dim streetlamps from the city below showed them the way.

When Lucy reached the pillar, she rubbed her hand, ever so gently, all over the cold, hard top.

She found some rusty nails embedded into the rough surface of the stone.

'So do you believe in fairies then, Liam?'

Liam smirked and shook his head. He knew he didn't anymore. Not since his father was alive

and had filled his head with such magical stories. And even then his belief in magical beings

and other worlds had dwindled the older he got. Just like Father Christmas and the Easter

Bunny, he'd long since grown out of those farfetched imaginings—even though a tiny part of

him desperately wished to believe in something wonderful and magical again. Still, his lack of

belief didn't faze his love for reading books about such things. 'No...I guess I don't believe in

fairies and fairy tales anymore, no. And neither did my da, I reckon. We both just liked the old

stories and fairy tales and the writers who wrote about them. Like John Barrie, who wrote

Peter Pan. He came to this hill quite a bit when he studied in Edinburgh, you know. And

Walter Scot too...Rabbie Burns...Arthur Conan Doyle.'

'If you knew anything about real-life fairies,' Lucy shot right back at him. '...then you'd know

that you aren’t suppose to say such things like that out loud,' said Lucy, lowering her voice to

almost a whisper.

'Such things like what?' Liam curiously replied.

'That you don't believe in them.' Lucy said with a wry smile.

'Why not?' Liam asked.

'Because,' Lucy continued, savouring the fact that she finally knew something that this smart

and well read boy did not. 'according to legend, every time somebody says they don't believe

in fairies, a fairy dies. Didn't you ever read Peter Pan?'

Liam looked confused as hell. 'But didn't you just say it?'

'I meant, if you say it and mean it.' Lucy replied. 'Really mean it, you know.'

'Maybe that's why we don't see fairies or elves or even dragons around here anymore, then.'

Liam said with a sorrowful tone filling his voice. 'Nobody believes in them, so they all died

off.'

'Maybe,' said Lucy almost in a whisper as she felt some sad truth in Liam's words. She knew it

had been years since she herself had believed in anything fantastical. In fact, she could

pinpoint the exact date and time when her beliefs had diminished from her life completely. To

put a shiny label on it, it had been the fault of the Tooth Fairy, of all creatures. It was when

one of the last of her baby teeth fell out. After four previous baby tooth fall-outs, she'd made

the slight connection that every time she told her parents about the tooth in question, they in

turn told her to put the tooth under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy to collect it. In return, the

Tooth Fairy would leave her a nice, shiny gift, possibly some money or even something sweet

and delicious to encourage more of her teeth to fall out. One night, when her last baby tooth

did fall loose, Lucy decided to try a little experiment and not tell her parents anything about it

at all. Instead she would wait for the Tooth Fairy herself to come and collect her prize and

hopefully negotiate a fee. After all, it was her job to know when certain teeth were ready for

collection.

Two weeks went by and every night Lucy left her tooth underneath her pillow. Every morning

she awoke to find the slowly rotting thing in the exact same position. After a third week went

by and still the tooth remained exactly where she'd placed it, she told her parents...and lo and

behold, the very next morning the tooth had disappeared and a shiny pound coin had landed in

its place.

'I thought it was when you sneezed that fairies died? Someone told me that once,” Liam said,

interrupting Lucy's thoughts.

'I suppose at the end of the day it all depends on who's telling the story.' Lucy replied. 'And

until the day when someone does finally get to meet and interview an actual, real-life fairy,

then I guess we'll never truly know.'

Lucy still had her hand on top of the stone pillar. Once again she ran her palm over the rusty

nails sticking out from the top.

'Why are there so many nails sticking out from the stone there?' Lucy curiously enquired.

Liam paused for a second. He tried to remember what his dad has told him about the stone

almost two summers ago. 'I think my da said it was something to do with the people who lived

around here in the old days, you know. They used to put the nails there to keep away evil

spirits or something like that.'

'Maybe it was to keep away evil fairies,' Lucy replied, grinning back.

Only a few short yards away—and completely unbeknownst to the teenagers—was G, a tiny,

real-life fairy. She fluttered around the entrance of a magically sealed cave hidden on Calton

Hill while listening avidly to the two young teenagers and their talk of fairies and magical

worlds, which was beginning to make her feel very excited indeed.

G was small; no bigger than a man's fist, to be exact. She was clothe-less, too, inside her dim

glowing ball of fairy light, which radiated from a core glow both inside and around her waist.

At first glance, she was a seemingly sexless creature. She had no gender organs on display.

Only a flat chest like that of a young child, with pale grey skin covering her entire body. From

behind she had a thin but strong grey tail which could stretch past her feet. Upon her back sat

a pair of beautiful crystal-clear wings, which, when they weren't folded behind her, stretched

when she flew to almost her entire size in height and width. Upon her tiny, pale grey face sat

her big, round, beautifully dark blue eyes. So big were her eyes, in fact, that they took up

almost half of her entire face. Last but not least was her hair—so smooth, silky, black and

long as it sprawled down the back of her grey shoulders in tied ponytail and then some.

G recognised Liam from all the times he'd come up the hill the past few years. He'd even come

with his father back in the days when she'd first discovered the cave. She'd noticed a good

while back that Liam's father no longer came up the hill with him. Liam had always come

alone and that made G sad. But now she felt happy—happy to see Liam again this very

evening, and with a human female of his own age, both seemingly having a good time in the

mix.

Of course, G had seen many other humans passing by from the sealed entrance of the magical

cave. A secret gateway into her world that nobody but she and a few other fairies knew about.

But there was always a deep sadness and aloof loneliness in Liam to which she could

somehow relate. That made her want to build up the courage to one day break the strict rules

of her world and start a simple conversation with the human boy. Well, that was her dream,

anyhow. But in her world, this was utterly forbidden. Any contact with the world of man had

been outlawed two centuries ago by the great fairy king of her mountain, who, immediately

after his inauguration, had sealed up every magical fairy cave leading into the world of man,

leaving the fairies to be forever forgotten.

For G, being there in that cave right then would be a fate worse than death if the fairy king or

his miserable wizard, Zorn, ever found out about her presence. But the two leaders of her

world, or her mountain, should she say, rarely came to her village on the far western front on

the huge mountain—just their annual trip once every blue moon, which was more or less

every few Earth years, to round up the latest batch of young fairies and absorb their powers for

their own selfish purposes.

To an outsider this would seem like a disgusting and heinous act, and a huge breach of fairy

rights. But it had been happening to the fairies for so many centuries that they themselves had

come to accept it as the norm. To the newer enslaved generation of fairies, it was as normal as

a glowing moon on the darkest night and a shining sun on the brightest day. And, of course,

the whole fairy population had been convinced long, long ago that the surrender of their

powers was to protect them from far greater evils well beyond their mountain.

G, though, being a young and curious creature, and one of the few fairies who still had access

to her powers in her village, had come across this wonderful cave by chance one day—less

than a year ago in Earth terms. She had been flying around, wandering deeper and deeper into

the unexplored regions of her mountain's forests with her best friend, Hank, when they

happened upon a secluded forest clearing. At the far end of this clearing was a rock face

covered with hundreds of cave entrances, each of which had been filled in with rocks and

boulders. It had taken G and a reluctant Hank a good few weeks, with the help of a friendly

local swamp monster that had huge, flat rocks for hands (ideal for bashing and scraping), to

make a decent-sized hole in the first rock-filled cave they explored. When they snuck inside,

they found a hidden passageway that led to an ancient world and civilisation. It was a world

they had heard about only in legends and scary bedtime tales meant to stop curious little

fairies like G from wandering too far from their villages. They had also been told about these

strange other worlds in history lessons at fairy school. They learned how the wicked and evil

world of men had once tried to take advantage of the kindness of fairies and waged war upon

their world when the old gateways were open to them a long time ago. They were told how

men had tried but failed to take their beautiful world for their greedy selves and make

everyone in it their eternal slaves. It was the brave and valiant fairy king, with the help of his

trusty wizard Zorn, who had led an army of the most magical and fearsome creatures from

across their mountain, stopping the invasion of man and sealing the magical gateways

between the two worlds for good. Until G and Hank accidentally stumbled upon the entrances,

nobody had the slightest clue—or even cared less, for that matter—where these secret

gateways lay hidden. In fact, everyone on the mountain had completely and utterly forgotten

about the caves or had passed away peacefully, taking any remaining knowledge of the caves

to their eternal graves.

However, over the last few years, the immortal and paranoid king had forbidden and erased

from all fairy existence the mere mention of the word 'man' or any talk of the men's world. Of

course, in time the world of man had passed from reality to legend to scary bedtime fantasy

for little fairies who needed to be kept in line.

Although there were one or two very old fairies who still remembered a tiny little fragment of

the days of old, before the reign of the fairy king and his miserable, evil wizard. A time when

both man and fairy lived in peace and harmony with each other. These old and rare fairies

knew the truth and the reasons behind the sudden, brutal end to their peaceful alliance with

man. However, these days they preferred to keep themselves well hidden indeed, enjoying

their peaceful existences while playing dumb to such thoughts and truths. Or perhaps they

were really just waiting for a curious little fairy like G to come along and change the rules of

the game; perhaps to even create a fairy revolution to some extent.

After clearing a passageway into the cave and making her way up the long, winding entrance

and narrow caverns, G found the first of many secret magical gateways into the world of man.

This particular cave led into a place called Calton Hill and Old Edinburgh Town. Well, at

least that was what she had overheard the past few months while observing and listening to

the various and wonderful conversations that humans had when they frequented the hill.

Over the next few months, G jumped at every chance she got to return to the hill and observe

the events that went on beyond the entrance to this fascinating new world. She took every

opportunity, with more passion and enthusiasm than she'd ever felt for anything in her life.

She loved to spend her time looking out through that magical barrier and watching the people

and scenic views of the strange new world, even though it was only a small window into a

forbidden place.

Strangely, though, in all the times she'd spent watching and waiting and hoping, she hadn't

actually witnessed these supposedly bad human folk do anything horrendously evil, especially

any of the frightening and hideous acts about which the fairy king had warned her own people.

No, most of the humans she saw coming and going from the hill this past year, morning noon

and night, seemed similar to her own people in some way or another. Good, kind-hearted,

cheerful, interesting and peaceful souls. This made her all the more suspicious about her king's

motives and all the more curious about humans and what had really gone on between the two

species in their long-forgotten pasts.

Suddenly, G's thoughts were rudely interrupted. She used her strong little wings to flutter back

some distance in fright. It was Benjamin, Lucy's huge beast of a dog, that had startled her as

he came trotting out of nowhere to begin sniffing around the entrance of her magical cave. She

watched with cheery wonder as his long snout came right up to the see-through barrier that

had been put in place by Zorn to prevent anyone from man's world who had the gift of fairy

sight from coming into her world and waging another war upon them.

As Ben continued to sniff around the area in front of the cave, a rather cheeky and

mischievous thought came to G's mind, just like such thoughts did to most young fairies who

still had their powers. She wanted to play a little trick on the big, dumb animal with the large,

wet nose. She flew right on up to the magical barrier of the cave—a barrier she had been

careful not to fly all the way through, as it had been drilled into her mind that if ever a fairy

did come across one of these hidden barriers and tried to go through it, neither her breath nor

her powers would work beyond it, and, alas, she would die a painful death. (No one had

questioned the fact that before the barriers went up, both fairies and men had been able to

travel between the two worlds freely and without harm.)

Remembering the warnings from legend, G was careful to put only her tiny little hands and

arms through the magical barrier and then quickly squeeze the big dog's nose. Of course, Ben

jumped back with such a fright that he startled Liam and Lucy from their conversation. They

turned to face Ben as the crazy old dog began barking for Scotland and running around in

mad, demented circles. Lucy and Liam tried desperately to see what the hell had spooked the

poor beast—perhaps a hiding rabbit or a sleeping bee. But there was absolutely nothing and

no one in sight all around. Even right in front of Ben, there were only rocks, grass and more

mounds of dirt, with longer grass beyond that.

'Come on, Ben. Stop that now. Crazy bleedin' dog,' Lucy cried as she chuckled and shook her

head.

Liam chuckled too, remembering something his dad had once told him. 'Whenever our old cat

back in Morningside went crazy like that for no apparent reason, my da always used to say

that a fairy had played a trick on him.'

Lucy smiled and shook her head again as they continued to watch Ben run in frantic circles,

barking at nothing and no one in particular.

Back inside her hidden cave, G had a good hard giggle at her cheeky prank.

'So then lad, will we go and see to these fish and chips then, aye?' Lucy asked.

'Absolutely,' Liam replied. 'I'm famished.'