The Secret Tavern
Gouache on paper.As soon as we stepped into the alleyway, the deep shadows peeled away to reveal a secluded street filled with warm light. A murmur of chatter floated in air that gently shimmered in vague wisps of colour around me; the floors and walls seemed to shine with softer edges that made me less certain of my steps. I could barely see the sky for the buildings that crowded around this secluded nook and light only came from the lamps and buildings surrounding us. The path we followed led to a ledge where there were no ordinary steps, but ones made from tree branches, sprouting from a wooden giant sitting like a sentinel below. At the bottom, the fairies, the same as those who caused Lirita and me to become lost on our way to Varla, played games below and hollered in childish voices.
I couldn’t believe it. ‘There they are!’ I shouted, so loudly everyone could hear.
A fairy with a head resembling that of an orange slice looked up. ‘Oh jiminy fobblewozzle,’ it said. ‘She’s found us!’
I gave chase down the grassy steps with Mubiki keeping up next to me. ‘Where’s the queen?’ I yelled.
The other fairies scattered while the citrus fairy gestured wildly at the sentinel. ‘Grumpus, do something!’
The sentinel ignored the fairy. It held a soft, fleshy creature in its branch-like arms, which nibbled at the leaves and fungi that grew from them. It tore off a whole branch and started chewing. The tangled steps I ran down wobbled, and I would have tripped if not for Mubiki’s steadying hand.
‘He he he that tickles,’ said the sentinel in a cracking voice.
‘Fizzlegibbets.’
I leaped off the last step and picked up the fairy before it could run away. ‘You furry cobblewort!’ it hollered while kicking the air. ‘Put me down or you’ll be sorry!’
Mubiki calmly stepped up next to me and said in a low rumble, ‘There is a certain way you need to talk to the fae. Trust me.’
I took a deep breath and nodded.
Mubiki stepped forwards and looked at all the buildings around us. ‘I do not think we will find the queen after all,’ he said. ‘How will we sort out your problem?’
The fairy suddenly stopped kicking. ‘What problem?’
‘Oh it is nothing. We just need to ask her something. It is private, very private in fact.’
‘This sounds awfully like she has a secret,’ said the citrus fairy suspiciously.
‘Does it?’ admitted Mubiki thoughtfully. ‘How remiss of me to say out loud. Yes, she does.’
‘I do?’
Mubiki ignored this. ‘I have something I need to tell her too, a secret only the Queen of the Fae can hear.’
The fairy began to rage again. I struggled to keep hold of it as it waved its limbs about. ‘Is it a big secret? A juicy one? Must be if you want to see the queen.’
Mubiki tugged thoughtfully at his beard. ‘I suppose it is. Huge in fact.’
The fairy made an agitated squeaking noise. ‘How big?’
‘How big would you say it is, Dew?’
The question caught me off guard. ‘Oh, it’s the size of a five tier choissao pile balanced upon a diplodocus riding atop a whale stuck in a tree,’ I said.
The fairy was silent for a moment. Its mouth hung open. ‘That big?’
‘It is why only the queen can help,’ I said. Mubiki gave me a subtle nod. ‘Only she can hear something this embarrassing.’
‘Embarrassing too? Watcha tubnutblets! Look, here’s the deal. If you tell me this secret, I will show you to the queen. That’s fair, right?’
‘Do you really want to hear it?’ said Mubiki.
‘Yes!’
‘And you’ll help us meet the queen?’
‘Yes, yes!’
Mubiki sighed. ‘You are too clever for us. I do not know...’ He pulled an uncharacteristically shy expression that almost made me laugh. ‘I do not think it is embarrassing enough.’
‘But you said you would! Don’t you want to see the queen? Gimmie it then will you?’
‘Come on Dew, let us go. We will find her on our own.’
‘No, don’t go!’ The fairy finally pulled itself free, dropped to the floor, and hopped after us along the path. ‘You must tell me! If you were going to tell the queen it must be good! Too good! I need it!’
Mubiki opened his mouth as if ready to tell the fairy, looked thoughtful, and instead said, ‘Thinking about it, I do not think it is a very good secret after all, not for a fine fairy such as yourself. It is poor in fact. I do not know what a good secret is after all.’
The citrus fairy looked ready to burst. The stalk atop its head vibrated as if it was going to launch into the air and pierce the moon. ‘Pumnibblers! How can you not know what a good secret is?’ it yelled. ‘I have all the best secrets! I know what a good one is!’
‘I do not believe that for a second,’ said Mubiki. ‘How would we, if we do not know what it is?’
The fairy hopped angrily on the spot. ‘I’ll tell you an embarrassing secret you cobbleworts! It’s when a fairy sleeps with their cuddly butterfly named Mavis, hugs it tightly when they’re sad, believes that when they’re asleep the butterfly comes to life and flies around making friends with all the other cuddly creatures in the room, sings songs to it at night, has tea parties with it and-’
The fairy stopped suddenly. Mubiki lowered his voice. ‘You want to know our secret? Our secret is that we now know your secret. If you want it to stay that way, you need to show us to the queen.’
A multitude of expressions flashed across the citrus fairy’s face in that moment. The expressions swirled around its face like a whisk stirring a bowl of cake mix. ‘Jibwibblets. Fine! Follow me. But no speaking of this to anyone, understand?’
‘You have my word,’ said Mubiki. Now mumbling angrily in a low voice, the fairy led us to a nearby building.
‘How did you know that?’ I asked.
‘You don’t live in Varla long without meeting a few fairies in its corners. They trade in secrets, but they are not very good at keeping them.’
‘I really did think you were going to tell him a secret of yours for a second.’
‘Maybe I would have if I needed to. But as a rule, you should never ever tell your secret to a fairy without them holding up their end of the deal first. Did you want to hear it?’
I felt my face flush. ‘Maybe I would.’
Mubiki made a grunting sound in his throat and looked towards the fairy, who led us to a nearby building.
‘But now we know its secret, is it a secret anymore?’ I asked.
Mubiki smiled. ‘What defines a secret? How many people must know? It will still be a secret, only if the fairy wants it to be.’
The fairy opened a door and a wall of noise burst from within. People crowded on every available surface inside a tavern, whether they were fae, people from Varla, or all manner of feilish people from around the world. No one paid attention as we entered. We almost lost the citrus fairy in the midst of the crowd and those moving between the tables and shelves.
‘I didn’t expect so many people here!’ I said loudly. All the tangled threads of chatter and the noise of musical instruments played by folk from the surrounding forests clogged the air. I wasn’t sure if Mubiki heard me.
He kept his eyes firmly on the fairy. ‘People who know to look will find this place. Some come across it unexpectedly. You might even find it in other parts of the world.’
The fairy took us to a large curtain that covered a door. ‘Fobwozzle, she is through here,’ said the fairy. ‘Don’t tell her I sent you!’ It then angrily stormed back through the tavern.
With a nervous smile, I looked at Mubiki, who reassuringly looked back at me, and together we pulled back the curtain and stepped inside.Sep 15, 2021
#fairy
#tavern
#fantasy
#traditionalart
#gouache
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