Chapter 16

The crowd gasped and whispered among themselves, but they soon fell silent when King Bertram began the ceremony. Sera briefly thought about using magic to change the bride and groom’s somewhat bedraggled clothing into neater attire, but decided that using brand-new magical abilities was a bit too risky. It didn’t matter anyway. Everything was so topsy-turvy that it was somewhat fitting that the bride wore a rumpled blue dress and the groom had green streaks in his hair.

As the ceremony went on, the smoke gradually cleared to reveal delicate blue flowers growing over all the castle walls. Colorful stains floated away from clothing as butterflies, and the decorations that had been knocked over snapped back to their proper places. Even the guards' armor shone brightly. Sera liked to think that she had a little to do with it, but judging by Phina’s brilliant smile, it was the sheer force of the bride’s happiness that made everything so lovely. It wasn’t quite everyone in the crowd who smiled, but there were only a few people who managed to stay grumpy through the whole wedding. Everyone else couldn’t help but smile by the time the happy couple said “I do.”

After the wedding everyone was ordered to the banquet hall for a feast. Prince Kennard and the newly crowned Princess Alexia led the way. Narrowly avoiding a clump of noble girls who were definitely after a favor from a fairy goddaughter, Sera found herself in a kitchen. The cooks looked at her suspiciously so she walked slowly through, carefully avoiding all trays and tables. Eventually she found the servants' hallway and found her way to the banquet hall by following the servers.

Most of the guests seemed to have recovered from the smoke, although Sera noticed most of the king's advisors were absent. King Bertram had a huge smile on his face as he talked to his son, and for once Prince Kennard looked like he was enjoying himself. Phina beamed at no one in particular as she held on securely to her new husband’s elbow. Ruby and Green were a bit harder to spot at first, because they found a quieter corner to compose a letter to her father, explaining the situation.

Nearly all of the carefully-prepared decorations were still on the ground, but since Phina’s blue flowers were still blooming brightly on the wall it was almost an improvement. Cheerful music played, and dozens of people wandered around talking or sat at the tables eating food. Sera bit her lip and looked anxiously for her proper place to sit. She only knew the Stemleys from Tolerable, and they were much higher ranked than she was.

Then she saw Sir Audley motioning for her to sit beside him. Sera stared at him for a moment until she realized that he did in fact mean for an orphaned peasant girl to sit next to the king's most important advisor. It was so mind-boggling that Sera almost didn't notice Swan Stemley's look of dismay as she walked past. Almost. She sat down on the cushioned chair and took the plate he offered her gratefully. It was at that moment she realized just how hungry she was and began wolfing the food down.

“What you’ve done is a very special thing, child,” he said abruptly. She looked at Sir Audley curiously, her mouth full. “The kingdom has not had a fairy godmother in years, and now it has two. Not to mention a loyal servant in your uncle Green, and the fact that I can’t remember the last time I saw Prince Kennard smile that much.”

Sera swallowed her food and said, “I couldn’t have done it without help, sir. And if Phina hadn’t come into town when she did then Prince Kennard and Princess Ruby would be unhappily married and I would still have horrible luck.”

Sir Audley laughed a little. “Fairy godmothers aren’t the only ones who know how to push people in the right directions. King Bertram always liked Phina, but after she left the court for her work there was no choice for Kennard but a foreign princess. I asked my daughter to come home in the hope that her childhood friendship with the prince would save him from a loveless marriage.”

Sera’s eyes widened, and she went from shock to amusement to mild awe in a few seconds. It was no wonder that Phina was so good at being a fairy godmother, with a father like that. “That would explain a few things, sir.”

“Yes. Well, once you're done eating we'll go and find you a proper room to stay in,” he said, putting some more broccoli onto Sera's nearly empty plate.

“Proper room?” Sera asked, trying to keep the bubbly feeling in her chest contained.

“As a fairy godmother you’ll need a place to stay in between assignments, and of course you still have a few things to learn from Phina.”

Sera’s happy feelings collapsed with a puff. “But I’m not a fairy godmother yet.”

Sir Audley laughed. “But you are! You need practice, but you’ll get lots of that. Right now you should eat. I’m sure the king will have plenty of things for his new fairy godmothers to accomplish in the morning.”

Looking around the room, Sera saw the newly wedded couple, the proud king, her happy uncle and his princess. She saw the servants smiling at the nobles, and the nobles smiling at the servants, and for no particular reason. She saw the sun shining in the windows and a faint tinge of blue cleaning the glass until it sparkled blindingly. She saw new beginnings all around her.

Sera turned to grin at the wise old man next to her, feeling the bubbles in her chest rise up until they burst out of her in a loud laugh. She had a place she belonged, and people who loved her even if she bungled and bumped things. It was the happiest beginning she could imagine.