<<<work in progress>>

A single floorboard creaked. It was one of the elderberry elves of course, the foxglove fairies were as light as, well foxgloves, and simply floated over the dining room floor. Edward, King of the potato pixies was leading the way, and looked round to see who the culprit was.

‘Eldred’, he hissed, ‘put a sock in it’.

Eldred glared back: ‘Do you mind - maybe we look all the same to you - I’m an elf not a dwarf - I don’t wear socks.’

King Edward started to reply and then thought better of it. There were more important things to concentrate on. The fairies were nearly at the kitchen door, and the whole thing was going to get out of hand, unless he got back to the front. Edward simply had to be the first into the kitchen. Running forward he quickly got back to his customary lead position. Then they were all bunching up behind him, as the kitchen door loomed up above them. But how could they get through the door? The doorhandle was a good two feet above him.

‘Princess Paella’, he said., ‘Can you fly up and pull the handle open?’

The fairy princess pursed her lips, folded her arms and said: ‘Of course I can.’

There was a pause.

‘Well, will you then?’

‘You need to say the magic word first.’

‘Pretty please,’ King Edward sighed.

Princess Paella fluttered her eyelashes back at King Edward and then fluttered her wings equally charmingly, as she rose up and sat on the door handle. There was a click and the door swung slightly open. Through the crack, King Edward could see an eyrie glow.

‘Follow me!’ he said. And so they did.

<<< what happens next ?? >>>