Daffodil by Anny Cook

I thought you might like a sneak peek at Daffodil, the third book in the Flowers of Camelot series.

The events in Daffodil are set in motion when she loses a tooth at age six. Her mother trades Daffodil's tooth to the sorceress Morgana in exchange for a love potion.

Pansy the tooth faery is sent to retrieve the tooth before Morgana can use the tooth to induce Daffodil to commit a heinous crime. Here we have Pansy's first encounter with Daffodil.

Bright moonlight poured through the high narrow window, illuminating the small room where a little golden haired child slept soundly. A dull thunk heralded the less than graceful arrival of Pansy, the tooth faery as she landed on the window sill by the skin of her toes. Teetering wildly, she grabbed for the rotting window frame which promptly disintegrated, leaving her with a handful of moldy wood splinters.

Plunging two stories down, she landed in a large lilac bush. Muttered curses filled the air as she extricated herself from the prickly bush and stomped across the weedy yard. When she was far enough from the building to have a clear vantage point, she turned and sourly surveyed the high window above the lilac bush. She brushed straggles of pale pink hair back from her dark purple eyes and frowned in deep thought. No doubt about it. She was going to have to land just right. Or…

She could just blink in. Blinking was forbidden. She knew that but some rules were made to be broken! And this seemed to be the perfect time to break the commandment against blinking into strange rooms. Surely there couldn’t be that many obstacles in the small space she’d glimpsed before falling from the ledge. With a faint shrug, she closed her eyes and blinked into the small bedroom.

And promptly fell over a doll cradle, landing with a resounding thud.

Holding her breath, she froze while she waited to see who would rush through the door in response to the noise. After long endless moments, when no one appeared, she slowly climbed to her feet and straightened her tattered pink dress before planting her hands on her hips and staring around the tiny room. What a dump! It was barely bigger than a closet. The child’s belongings were arranged with painful neatness with everything in its place but that still left minimal free space in the room.

She slowly shook her head. For such a big house, it was a shame that the little girl should be stuck in this broom closet of a room. Moving with cautious care on silent dusty bare feet, Pansy approached the bed. If the kid put her tooth where she was supposed to, Pansy could swap it for a coin and be out of here in seconds.

She slipped her hand beneath the lumpy pillow and felt around. Nothing. Pansy withdrew her hand and straightened up, pondering for a moment before tiptoeing around the narrow bed. She knelt down and slithered her hand beneath the pillow from this side. Nothing. She slid her hand back out and tapped her chin with impatient fingers. Where the heck did the kid put her tooth?

“Who are you?” a little piping voice inquired softly.

Pansy realized that the kid was watching her with a curiously calm gaze. The faery thought if she had awakened with some stranger feeling around under her pillow she would have been screaming blue gummy murder. What kind of kid just asked you who you were? “I’m the tooth faery,” she explained quietly. “Where’s your tooth, kid?”

“I’m not a baby goat,” the little one pointed out precisely. “My name is Daffodil and I’m a girl.”

“Good enough. Daffodil. So where’s your tooth, Daffodil?”

“Mama gave it to the witch woman.” Daffodil’s expression was too old and wise for her age, thought Pansy. Far too old.

“What witch woman?” Pansy asked calmly though her stomach was suddenly leaping about with trepidation. “Do you know her name?”

“Of course.” Daffodil sat up in the bed and scowled at Pansy. “Her name’s Morgana. She’s the most famous witch in Avalon.”

The faery, intrigued against her will, perched on the side of the rumpled bed and pursed her lips in thought. “Did your mama say why she gave your tooth to Morgana?”

Daffodil’s springy curls bounced wildly when she shook her head. “No. But my sister, Chrysanthemum, said that it was a very bad thing that Mama did. And Honeysuckle, my other sister, said that she will get it back from Morgana.”

“Oh yeah? How’s she gonna do that?” Pansy asked curiously while she absently pleated the soft filmy fabric of her skirt.

“Honeysuckle said she’s going to sneak into Morgana’s house and steal it back. She said that Mama would have to buy her love charm some other way. Anyway, a love charm won’t bring Papa back.” Daffodil’s grave explanation told Pansy more than she really wanted to know about the little girl’s mother. In effect, Daffodil’s mama had sold her to the witch for a love charm. As long as Morgana had the child’s tooth, she could control her actions.

Pansy pondered for a few moments. “Well, your sister is correct. We need to retrieve your tooth from Morgana but I don’t think Honeysuckle’s quite old enough to battle a witch.”

“But she’s a very good spy,” Daffodil offered soberly. “She never gets caught and she knows everything that’s going on in the manor. She even saw Michael the blacksmith’s thing.”

“His thing?” The faery stared at her in confusion. “What thing?”

“You know. His thing. He sticks it inside Mildred the cook.”

Pansy’s eyes widened abruptly and she sat straight up. “All righty, then. Moving right along now… I’ll go to Morgana’s place and see if I can find your tooth. You go back to sleep.”

“What about Honeysuckle?”

“Don’t you worry about your sister. I have a notion that she can take care of herself. I’ll try to find a way to let her know that I’m on the job.” Pansy climbed down from the bed and straightened the covers up over Daffodil’s shoulder. “Go to sleep.”

“May I ask you something?”

“Sure. Whatcha wanna know?”

“Where’s your wings? Don’t faeries have wings?” Daffodil demanded with a yawn.

“Some do, some don’t. I don’t. Now go to sleep, Daffy.”

“Don’t call me Daffy. My name is Daffodil.” Even on the verge of sleep, her high little voice was firm.

Pansy gently patted her shoulder. “All right. Daffodil. Go to sleep now. I’ll take care of your tooth. Don’t you worry.”

“Okay.” Obediently, Daffodil closed her eyes. “Don’t fall out the window this time.”

Anny

I would remind you this is the last week of my February Scavenger Hunt. For rules and clues please stop by my webpage at http://www.annycook.com/ and find the Contest Box on page two.

Drop by Amarinda's Place to read her instructions on catching cane toads at http://www.amarindajones.blogspot.com/ and then pop over to Kelly's blog for her instructions on how to knit a dragon scarf at http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com/ Blessings on your day