by Polana Fehu

Created on: June 11, 2009   Last Updated: January 31, 2012

Daylight peeped in through the top of Fagin's duvet. She was still cradling the book and torch in her arms and the batteries were now dead. Shivering, she realised her duvet was soaked. She sleepily thought there might be a water leak or something and she would get pneumonia if she stayed in a wet bed, so she threw back the duvet in preparation for the chilliness of the room.

To her surprise, as she blinked in the sunlight which greeted her opening eyes, she realised she was no longer in her bedroom she was outside, in a forest. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, trying to focus and saw that she was in a clearing, surrounded on every side with thick undergrowth and the tallest trees she had ever seen. They seemed to stretch up into infinity. But the scariest thing about the forest wasn't the size of the trees it was the fact that they all seemed to be made of ice.

As Fagin looked around, shivering in the cold and noticing that everything around her was either made of ice, or covered in it, she had the uneasy feeling that she was being watched. Turning slowly, and scrutinising the trees for signs of life, she heard again the strange whispering noise that had disturbed her the day before. She looked around nervously, but couldn't tell where it was coming from.

Who's there? She called.

Suddenly, out of the shadows, a figure appeared. She was as tall as Fagin's mother, but stick-thin. She had brown skin and a smooth, hairless head and was dressed in a long flowing robe which looked like it was made of frosted leaves. Her expression was smug and when she spoke, Fagin felt an icy chill go through her:

So, she began, and Fagin felt her blood turn to ice, here we have the druid child. She appeared to be addressing a crowd and, as Fagin looked around, she thought she could see dozens of eyes peering out from the trees.

Did your poor mother think she could hide you from me by giving you a boy's name? Foolish human! and she gave out a piercing laugh. Ice fell from some of the branches and crashed to the forest floor. Fagin looked round at the eyes in the trees and saw that there were faces attached to them.

Take a good look around you, druid child. This will be the last place you see.
Who are you? Fagin trembled.

I am the Queen of the Fey and you will address me as Your Majesty! Boomed the awesome figure. She then addressed the assembling throng:

See we have here she began, the druid child, as prophesied. Seven times seventh child of the druid who imprisoned me. Let us

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