“You can call me Roody,” said Ethelrood, with a grin. “And thanks for thinking I’m cute. I think you’re cute, too.”
“In second place,” said Lady Courtney, “is Sylva Bell, with eighty-five points!”
The cheers began again. Sylva flew up to the stage.
“Here is your prizewinner’s cape for second place,” she said. And she handed Sylva a forest-green cape shot with silver thread. “An extraordinary achievement for your very first competition.”
“Thank you, Queen Mab!” she said. “And I bet you know who I dedicate my Games to: my big sister Clara!” said Sylva.
Clara beamed with pride.
“And in first place,” said Lady Courtney in her loud, clear voice, “with ninety-six points . . .”
Iris Flower sighed aloud.
“Gnomes and fairies, please stand for Alasdair Gnome!”
“Hooray for Alasdair!” they cried. “Hooray for Alasdair Gnome!”
Alasdair mounted the podium. “Thank you, thank you,” he said. Then he asked, “Where’s my wee brother, Rowan? Where’s Rowan Gnome?”
“Hey, Rowan,” said Hamish. “Get up front!”
Rowan was all the way at the back of the banqueting hall. His friends pushed him forward.
“There you are, Rowan,” said Alasdair. “I wanted you to be here to hear me say . . . I dedicate my first-place win to my brother, Rowan. The bravest gnome in all the land!”
A huge cheer went up from the crowd. The Fairy Bell sisters cheered loudest of all.
Clara flew over to talk to Rowan.
“I’m sorry you gave up your chance of winning for me, Rowan,” she said. “You could have beaten Alasdair, you know.”
“That’s water under the bridge—or under the dolphin,” said Rowan, and he grinned. “Maybe next year.”
Queen Mab cleared her throat, and the crowd was quiet. “Which leads me to my final announcement,” she said. “All of you know of the daring and selfless rescue Clara Bell performed during the Round-the-Island Swim. What many of you do not know is that Clara Bell has come into her magical powers.”
There was a murmur of “ooh”s and “aah”s and some “I told you so”s throughout the crowd.
“Clara has powers that I did not realize she would have this early,” said Queen Mab. “She achieved something remarkable out on Sheepskerry Bay. It took some life from her, but she restored that life to herself. Rowan Gnome was a hero, too, for getting Clara back to Sheepskerry and safety. Rowan, please come up and take a bow.”
The crowd cheered again, and Cam and Andy whistled.
“And Clara Dawn Bell, please come take your place next to me. You are now a truly magical fairy.”
seventeen
At first, some fairies thought Clara had not come into her magical powers that night. For Clara’s dress did not transform into a golden gown; her hair did not spin into curls; her arms and throat did not shine with jewels. But those who know Sheepskerry, and the fairies who live there, realized that Clara was indeed an enchanted fairy, even if she didn’t change on the outside. As she flew up to the stage to take her place next to Rowan, her wings were strong, her path was steady, her eyes sparkled, her smile beamed, and there was a glow about her that comes from magic alone.
Rowan and Clara danced the first dance of the Farewell Banquet together. And they danced all the other dances of the evening together, too.
At the end of that beautiful night, as the tide was turning, the gnomes boarded their boats and said good-bye to the Sheepskerry fairies. As Alasdair flirted (he was asking all the fairies for their snail mail addresses) and Ethelrood chatted with Avery, Rowan walked with Clara under the moonlight on Sheepskerry Dock.
“I have something for you,” he said. “It’s why I was late to the banquet.”
Clara looked at what Rowan held out to her.
“It’s . . . it’s a valentine,” he said.
Indeed it was a valentine of sorts, but it wasn’t made of shiny paper or delicate lace. It was made of stone.
“This is the stone I found on Sunrise Hill,” said Rowan. “It’s in the shape of—”
Clara took it from him gently. “It’s in the shape of a heart,” she said.
“I painted it myself,” said Rowan, blushing. “Fairies like pink. At least that’s what Hamish and Cam told me.”
Clara smiled at the splash of pink on the stone heart. Rowan was a better swimmer than he was a painter.
“Look at the back,” said Rowan.
Clara turned it over. Carved into the stone were two little words:
YOU ROCK
“Get it?” said Rowan. “It’s a rock and—”