My Unfair Godmother(31)

Robin Hood bowed again. “I fear I’m set in my ways. When a man is a master of his craft, he doesn’t apprentice for another.” Chrissy turned to me and shrugged her slender shoulders. “Well, I did my best. It looks like they want to stay bandits.” Her gaze went to her watch. “And now I really have to go or I’ll be late. But don’t worry.

I’ll have Clover check in on you later. That is if I can pull him away from his poker games.” She wrinkled her nose. “Really, as if he hasn’t already lost enough money. You would think he’d find a support group for that or something.”

A couple of the Merry Men ran to our cinder-block fence, jumped up, and hauled themselves up so they could survey the area. “Robin,” the first called, “the street lies straight ahead.”

“Or,” the second man added, “we can see what bounty lies in yonder house.”



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“Don’t!” I said to Robin Hood. “You can’t break into my neighbors’ homes.”

In response to my words, several more of the Merry Men scaled the fence. A couple ran toward the street, and a few dropped into my neighbor’s backyard. Robin Hood took my hand and kissed it. “Next time we meet, I would fain linger and refresh my memory about your wishes. As for the present, my men have places to explore.” He let go of my hand with a smirk, then strode toward the fence. “Wait up, lads,” he called. “I’ll lead the way.” I turned to Chrissy, pleading. “You’ve got to stop them.” Chrissy casually replaced her wand in her purse. “Well, I bet you’re glad now that your father installed that alarm system in your house.”

Before I could answer, a green puff of smoke appeared in the flower box. Clover materialized, brushing off his green suit. “I’m here,” he announced, “and ready to assist you with your magical needs, so you can’t tell the UMA I’ve been slacking off.” He glanced over at me.

“The lass isn’t crying anymore. Things must be going well.” I stared back at him, a wordless protest on my lips. Apparently, he didn’t notice the large group of bandits climbing the fence in my backyard. Scary men with swords roaming around your lawn never equaled

“things are going well.”

Clover straightened his hat. “So then, I’ll be in the pub if you need me.”

“Wait!” I said. I couldn’t let them go. Who knew how long it would be before they checked on me again.

Both paused and looked at me.

“Yes?” Chrissy asked.



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I could only think of one thing I could do to fix the Robin Hood problem. Magic had brought them here, so magic had to take them back.

And maybe that was what my fairy godmother was trying to teach me—that I had to take responsibility for my actions instead of waiting for someone else to change things for me. Still, it was hard to force myself to say the words. “I want to make my next wish.” Chrissy pulled her wand back out of her purse. “All right. What is it?”

“I want you to send Robin Hood and his men back to the Middle Ages where they belong.”

Instead of being proud of me for sacrificing my second wish, Chrissy let out a huff. “Well, that’s a waste of perfectly good magic.

Honestly, you ought to make up your mind before you wish for things, but fine, if that’s what you want.” She turned to Clover. “Assistant, round up Robin Hood and the Merry Men and send them back to Sherwood Forest.”

“Me?” he asked indignantly. “That’s fairy work.”

“I’m late for my shift,” she said. “And it’s about time you actually assisted, so I’m granting you the magic you’ll need.” She flicked her wand at him, and a short, stubby wand appeared in his hand. A circle on the top of the wand flashed the number thirteen. “You have thirteen men to find,” Chrissy told him, and the next moment, she vanished, leaving nothing but a trail of minty glitter falling to the ground.

Clover let out a sound that was half grumble, half growl, and disappeared too. The Merry Men, however, still circled my yard and climbed the fence.

“Weren’t you supposed to …,” I started, but as I said the words, a Merry Man vanished. One moment he was climbing the fence; the next, a puff of green smoke appeared in his place. A scraggly man 106/356

straddling the fence was the next to go, then one who was poking through my parents’ shed. Robin Hood noticed the men disappear. His head spun to face me and he took several steps in my direction. “What mischief is this?”

“I’m sending you home,” I said.