The Magic Mirror of the Mermaid Queen - Delia Sherman [1]
I dropped the white cloth on the kitchen floor. “The Pooka? You’re putting out the good china for the Pooka?”
“He’s your fairy godfather, pet. Why shouldn’t I?” Astris leapt onto a high stool and opened the oven door carefully. A delicious scent of falling leaves and frost curled around my nose.
“And autumn cookies!” I exclaimed. “Okay, Astris. What’s up?”
Astris pulled a tray of leaf-shaped cookies from the oven. “What kind of a question is that?” she asked sternly.
“Well, it’s not officially autumn yet. And the Pooka broke a plate last time, remember? You said you’d never use the china for him again. Something’s got to be up.”
Astris sat up on her haunches. It’s hard for a large white rat with pink paws and powder-puff fur to look stern, but she did her best. “I need fewer questions and more work here, young lady. Your godfather will be along any moment.”
The Pooka arrived just as I was getting out the teapot. He had the bright look of a trickster who is just about to drop you into a heap of trouble, and a bunch of roses from the Shakespeare Garden, slightly brown around the edges. My suspicions, already roused, jumped up and danced.
He handed me the roses with a flourish. “Sweets for the sweet.” He sniffed the air. “Autumn cookies? Astris, it’s the wonder of the world you are.”
I put the roses in a plastic jar and set them on the table while Astris poured tea. We sat down. Cups were handed around. The Pooka dipped a leaf-shaped cookie into his tea and stuffed it, dripping, into his mouth. Astris glared at him. I ate one cookie and reached for a second.
“You’ll be starting school tomorrow, Neef,” Astris said brightly.
My hand fell to the table.
“Miss Van Loon’s School for Mortal Changelings,” the Pooka added helpfully.
I looked from one to the other. “School for Mortal Changelings?” I repeated stupidly.
Astris nodded. “Mortal as butterflies, pet.”
A school for mortal changelings. A school for me. When I was little, Astris brought me to live with her in New York Between, leaving a fairy twin to take my place Outside. I’m the only mortal changeling in Central Park. I used to think I was the only changeling in New York Between, but last summer I’d met my friend Fleet, and she told me there were plenty of other changelings. I’d been wanting to meet some of them ever since. And now I was going to.
I whooped happily. The Pooka laughed. Astris covered her pink-leaf ears with her paws. A white rat can’t smile or frown, but if you pay attention, a wrinkled nose or a whisker twitch can give you a lot of information. What Astris’s whiskers were saying right now was, “Mortals are so emotional.”
“Well, I feel emotional! I’m going to school tomorrow!” I hesitated. “Astris . . . what’s school?”
It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen the word before. Mortals are always leaving magazines and books in Central Park, so I know about lots of things I’ve never actually seen. But a school in New York Between probably wouldn’t be the same as a school in New York Outside.
The Pooka swallowed a gulp of tea. “Well, that’s the thing of it. We’re not entirely certain what a school might be.” He hesitated. “I’ve heard tell you learn things there.”
“I learn things here, in the Park,” I pointed out. “Astris teaches me Folk lore. Mr. Rat teaches me fishing and rowing, Stuart Little teaches me sailing, and the Water Folk teach me swimming and water sports. The Shakespeare Fairies teach me poetry. The Old Market Woman at the Metropolitan Museum teaches me ancient languages and art appreciation, Iolanthe teaches me dancing, and you teach me questing and trickery. What else is there to learn?”
Astris fixed me with a stern ruby eye. “We don’t know. And that’s why you have to go to school.” She hesitated. “You’re growing up, Neef. You’re changing every day. I’m used to mortals growing from little to medium-sized, but—” She stopped, her whiskers twitching unhappily.
“None of them grew up,” I finished for her. “Yeah, I know.”
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