Read Online The Last Fairy Tale by E. S. Lowell - Free Book Online Page B

noisily at the table.
    “Aaaah!” she screamed. “ You are real !” She began to back away, her hands in front of her as if to hold the creature back. “ Stay away !” She ran around the column to hide from the creature.
    Locke stared at her, his eyes wide in surprise. He held a wooden spoon close to his mouth, which hung open in mid-bite. He swallowed hard, and a drop of stew fell from the spoon and back into the bowl, making a loud ploip  as it hit. He smiled awkwardly, looking confused.
    “I’m serious!” Olivia said as she peered around the column at the creature. “Why am I here, and how are you real? Am I insane? I’m obviously not dreaming. Where is this place and how do I get back to the orphanage?” She stopped for a moment as a thought struck her mind. I have to get back to Nachton .
     “Wow, you humans are pretty forgetful,” said Locke, putting his spoon down and rising from his chair. “All I know is that I was to meet you at the Old Oak, take you to my hut, and then travel with you to the Great Fairy’s Hollow the next morning. I know that it’s weird, at least it is to me, but maybe eating some stew will help you calm down. We can talk about my world, and I’ll answer any questions you have. But please, just come and at least have some tea.”
     At the mention of stew and tea, Olivia noticed the pleasant aroma filling the hut. The smell made her realize how hungry she was and her stomach rumbled. Convincing herself that the imp wasn’t trying to harm her, she agreed to eat and walked over to the table. She saw her father’s journal at the edge of the table. Locke watched as she quickly picked it up and hugged it to her chest.
     “That dropped to the floor when you fell asleep,” Locke said. “What is it?”
     “It’s my father’s journal…or my diary,” she replied. “It’s both.”
     “Oh, okay,” Locke said. “It must be very special to you, the way you hold it and whatnot…”
     “Yes,” said Olivia, “it is very special to me.” She sat down at the table, still hugging the journal.
     Locke walked to the pot, dipped another bowlful of stew, and returned to the table. He handed the bowl to Olivia, along with a spoon and a wooden goblet of water.
     “We’ll have tea after.” Locke sat down and resumed eating.
     Olivia placed her diary in her lap and looked at the stew. Floating in the golden broth was a mixture of leaves, nuts, and mushrooms. Olivia wondered if it was edible. The steam coming up from the bowl carrying the wonderful smell almost made her not care.
     “What’s in this stew?” she asked, stirring it around with her spoon.
     “Cabbage, acorns, uh…” Locke poked around in his own bowl with his spoon, looking for other ingredients. “Honey mushrooms, salt, pepper, dried onions, and…I think that’s about it.” He looked up at Olivia and smiled. “It’s an old recipe my mother and I created. It’s basically the standard imp stew recipe, but with honey mushrooms instead of oyster mushrooms.”
     Olivia dipped her spoon into the stew, raised it to her mouth, and slowly slurped. She had never tasted anything but Crud before and had no idea what to expect from other foods. The stew had a sweet, earthy taste, not unlike the smell of the ground she had observed earlier. Accented with the dried onions and honey mushrooms, the concoction was delightful. It warmed her and immediately made her feel better. She felt her strength returning.
     “It’s delicious.” She slurped another spoonful.
     “Thank you,” said Locke. “Now, on to those questions. I have lots of questions of my own, but we’ll need to be going to bed soon, so I’ll let you ask them all for now. Deal?”
     “Sure,” she said, nodding. She took a sip of the water. It tasted clean and fresh. In comparison, the water at the orphanage tasted like chemicals. She took in a mouthful, then swallowed and asked, “Where are we exactly?”
     “Exactly? We’re in my hut in