Molly spungle : The Secret of Red Stone

King Simon and his faithful servant, Hoddi, were almost to the top of the hillside. Hoddi cleared a path for the king with his sharp claws. Fearing he would be easily spotted with his red skin, Ran-Da decided to fly around the hill and meet the two of them at the Mobi tree from the other side.

Screams of terror pierced the air, halting King Simon and Hoddi momentarily in their climb. “That sounds like Molly!” gasped King Simon. “She sounds as if she is in terrible danger! We must get to the top quickly if we are to help her!”

Without further delay, they increased their pace up the hillside. Upon reaching the plateau where the Mobi tree stood, the two paused, mesmerized by the scene before their eyes.

Molly, standing alone in the shade of the tree, screamed in panic. Jar-Ed’s men were dragging Molly’s fairy friends from the cave. Their wings still bound, each had a sharp looking knife held to their throats by one of Jar-Ed’s men.

Terrified, her eyes wide and staring, Molly pleaded with Jar-Ed not to harm them. She dared not reach for the wand in case it placed her friends in more danger than they were in already.

“I will give you all the potions you want if you set the fairies free! Look, I have them with me!” she shouted in desperation. Pulling one of the tiny jars from her pocket, Molly threw it on the ground.

Jar-Ed, watching the jar in fascination, snatched it up as it rolled close to him. It seemed to calm his wild anger of a moment ago. The men removed the knives from the throats of the fairies at Jar-Ed’s nod. “I will give you only one more chance to agree to marry me and share all of your potions, dear Molly. That is the only way to save your friends and yourself. If you try to fly away again,” he said, eyeing her unfurled wings, “they will be killed immediately.” Jar-Ed paused. The glittering cold blue of his eyes reflected his menacing warning.

Without hesitation, Molly opened her mouth to agree to his horrid plan, wanting only to protect her friends. Before she could make a sound, however, she heard a voice behind her. Whirling around, her heart beat with hope. There stood King Simon and Hoddi, knives ready in each hand.

“I am afraid Molly cannot agree with your plans as she is betrothed to me,” the king said, his voice as chilly and every bit as cold as Jar-Ed’s.

Jar-Ed, shocked at the sight of King Simon, screeched in frustration. “You are still alive? But I left you for dead!” Furious, he yelled to his men, “Slit their throats! We will then deal with these idiots who think they can conquer us with a few knives!” His icy laugh echoed about the plateau.

Molly screamed in terror. “No! Don’t touch them!”

Jar-Ed’s men again placed their knife tips to the fairy throats, ready to do Jar-Ed’s terrible bidding.

Just then, Molly heard a thunderous roar from somewhere behind her. It was enough to make Jar-Ed’s men hesitate. Their mouths gaped as their eyes transfixed on something lurking behind the fairy. Their knives fell to the ground, the fairies quickly seizing their chance to move away. Even the evil sorcerer looked frightened. Molly turned in a daze.

There stood Ran-Da, hissing and spitting fire, his huge nostrils flaring. He was an enormously frightening sight thought Molly, but a very welcome one.

King Simon and Hoddi, moved quickly to Molly’s side, knives ready to fight if necessary.

Furiously angry, Jar-Ed ripped the lid from the fairy potion pot Molly had thrown at him. Smearing it on his hands, he yelled, “Tell that monster to back off or I will rid myself of every last one of you with your own magic!”

Looking at the jar Jar-Ed picked up, Molly almost wanted to laugh. He would find it difficult to kill anyone with the potion that removed toenails from pet toads. She giggled silently but quickly sobered when she realized that they were nowhere near out of danger yet.

“I’m afraid not, Jar-Ed,” Molly gladly informed him. After she explained what it was for, his fury exploded and he threw the small jar right at her.

At that point, Jar-Ed seemed to lose all reason, lunging at Molly with his own large knife in hand. “I’ll slit your throat first, my little fairy!” he threatened, pure evil visible on his face.

Molly watched a red flame pass over her head, striking the group of Jar-Ed’s men first. Upon seeing the flame now headed toward him, the sorcerer stopped in his tracks, flinging the knife wildly at Molly. The young fairy did not flinch, knowing that she was now protected from the sorcerer’s wrath with her newly activated magic. The knife clattered noisily to the ground a few inches from her feet. Looking up again, Molly witnessed the enraged Jar-Ed whirling around rapidly, his black cloak now tightly around him. He disappeared before the red flame could strike him.

“Look!” cried King Simon, dropping his weapon in sheer surprise.

Jar-Ed’s men were encased in red stone, their outstretched arms frozen in mid-air. The Spungle fairies quickly realized just how close they had come to being killed.

Hoddi breathed a huge sigh of relief. “I thought we would never escape this one, Master!”

Ran-Da’s voice was quiet. “They won’t bother us again,” he promised. Flames still smoldered around his nostrils, and a pool of red stone was hardening at his feet.

“Our main problem still remains,” cautioned the king. “Our friend Jar-Ed has disappeared! He may be heading for my palace or your home, Molly, as he threatened. We must go after him! There’s no telling what havoc he may cause, seeing what he is capable of!”

Quickly the king and his faithful servant freed the fairies from their bonds, allowing them to fly again.

“You must remain here where it is safe,” ordered King Simon. “We will check out the Spungle village first.”

Hoddi nodded his agreement with his master’s plan. “We’ve a risky task before us and it’s unwise to place you in any more danger!”

“We will go to the sacred circle,” Margil declared, her wings already unfurled. “We can take the potions with us to restore our magic as you have, Molly, and return home when we know it is safe to do so.”

Molly agreed, stating firmly, “I will go with the king to show the way. I am protected now,” she said, waving the wand in the air.

In no time, King Simon and his servant were seated on the fearless Ran-Da’s broad red back. Molly flew ahead, leading the way, her heart pounding with dread at the mere thought of seeing the horrid, callous sorcerer again. She hoped with all her heart he had not gone to her village and her friends there were safe and unharmed.