I spent most of Saturday morning organizing and completing my homework and make-up work from the week before. I decided to spend the rest of the day in the magic garden and left shortly after lunch.
As I stepped through the Grand Hall's mirror and entered the garden, I found a small group of fairies waiting for me. Tanilla was the head of the fairy party.
"Hi, Sara! We were, like, expecting you. So, like, come on! We're going to see the Fairy Queen. What are you waiting for? Don't just stand there, come on!" Tanilla said, in less than a ten seconds.
"Lead the way." I said, following the excited fairies. The fairies led me to a part of the garden that I had never seen before and when I stepped into a small clearing surrounded by flowers, the group stopped. In the blink of an eyes, the clearing had transformed into a wondrous, outdoor court.
Tiny stones paved the small courtyard and tiny benches, made of tiny wooden planks, were all along the sides of the courtyard. Straight ahead of me, at the end of the courtyard, upon a throne of petals, sat the Fairy Queen, the Fairy Princess at her side. I was in awe. Never before had I seen anything like the fairy court.
"Welcome." said the Fairy Queen, her voice sweet and smooth.
"Uh, thank you for inviting me to your beautiful.... courtyard." I answered, searching for the right words. Tanilla flew up to the queen and knelt before her.
"Ah, Tanilla." the Queen addressed her, "Thank you for loyally caring out your task."
"Any time, your majesty." Tanilla said, without her usual quickness. She made another bow and then disappeared into the crowd of people in the courtyard. I felt like a giant intruding on a celebration.
"And, Moonlight." the Fairy Queen said and all eyes turned to me. "Thank you for not telling your guardian the secret which Tanilla entrusted in you."
"It's nothing. I would never tell anybody anything that I wasn't supposed to." I said, kneeling on the grass at the edge of the stone court.
"I suppose that you would like to know why you are here." she continued.
"Yes, I would." I replied.
"How would you feel about spending the rest of your afternoon being taught by our finest teachers?" the Fairy Queen asked.
"That would be so great!" I exclaimed. "I would love it! Well, I don't think that he would approve of it but that's okay, he wont know."
The Fairy Queen smiled, "It's good to hear that you are excited. I shall come to check on you every hour and change your teacher, that way you shall have a good variety of knowledge."
The rest of the afternoon flew by and I could hardly believe it when the sun began to set. I had learned so much from so many different fairies with so many different styles. The Fairy Princess had even been my last teacher and become my new friend.
As I waved good bye to the fairy court and stepped into Chrestomanci Castle, I was greeted by a fearsome glare. Startled, I jumped backwards a step.
"And where have you been these past few hours?" Chrestomanci demanded.
"I was just in that magic garden that Brian showed me." I answered, confused.
"When I said before dark, I meant in this world. Being in a garden where it is always summer, you may have forgotten that it is actually winter at the moment." he replied.
"Oops." I said, and turned to ascend the staircase. Then I turned around, "Hey, how come you were standing exactly where I came out. Weren't you looking for me?"
"Yes, we were looking for you." Chrestomanci said, rolling his eyes. "When someone or something comes through that mirror, I am alerted magically and I can choose whether or not I wish to be transported there."
"Oh." I said, and continued up the stairs. "I'll tell everyone I got back and not to worry."
"You do that, I've wasted enough time already. And one more thing, is your homework done yet?" Chrestomanci asked.
"Yes. And since when are you interested in my homework?" I inquired, glaring at him. "I can take care of my own schoolwork."
"You missed an entire week of school. Being your guardian-" he started.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's your responsibility as my guardian. You know, my parents are also my guardians and they don't ask me if I've done my homework." I interrupted.
"I was just making sure that you had done your homework because I don't need any guardian/teacher conferences right now. I do have a busy sched-" he started, and then he winked out. I assumed it was to a magical emergency so I just went up to my room without caring.
It had been a long and exhausting day so, as soon as I had told Hannah that I was back, I fell into a deep sleep. When I woke up, the moon was out and it was snowing. The moonlight fell gently across the cold stone floor as I got out of bed. Quietly, I went over to the window seat and pulled a blanket around me.
I don't know how long I sat there, just looking at the moon, but I do know that I was at peace with the world.