Elliot and the Pixie Plot (Underworld Chronicles 2)

He wanted to think about it, but he was too tired. He soon fell asleep between thoughts of Kovol and whether Harold the Shapeshifter had been able to fool his family that day pretending to be Elliot. Harold might be able to fool his sister and brothers, and maybe even his dad. But not his mom. One time, Elliot hadn't wanted to worry her about the black eye he got when Tubs pushed him into a door. So Elliot wore sunglasses to dinner. Didn't fool his mom one bit. Could Harold fool her?

The next morning, Fudd and Mr. Willimaker met Elliot at the mouth of Burrow Cave. Mr. Willimaker was kneeling in front of a large sack, making sure he had packed everything he thought they should bring on their journey.

"Squash greens, turnip juice, branberries--" Mr. Willimaker looked up at Elliot. "Is there anything else you'd like me to bring, Your Highness?"

"Is there any bread left over from last night?" Elliot asked. The bread had been good.

"I'll check." Mr. Willimaker bowed slightly at Elliot and then poofed away.

Fudd tapped Elliot on the shoulder, then handed Elliot a cup with a cream-colored, foamy drink inside. It looked like a vanilla shake. "Breakfast, Your Highness."

Elliot took a small first swallow--just in case it tasted like squash greens or turnip juice, which he hadn't quite decided to like. But this was delicious. A perfect drink, really. It was different from a vanilla shake, maybe even better. He drank the rest in only a few swallows.

"That was great," he told Fudd. "What do you call it?"

"Mushroom Surprise," Fudd said.

Elliot coughed. He was surprised, all right.

"This is a favorite breakfast for Brownies," Fudd added. "I always feel it's wise to drink your daily dose of mushrooms."

"Sure," Elliot agreed. "Why not?"

"Just so you know, this wasn't made with poisonous mushrooms," Fudd said, holding up his own cup. "I made the same drink for myself."

"I know. I trust you." Elliot handed his cup back to Fudd, who held on to it with Elliot for a moment and whispered, "Thank you, sir," before poofing the cups away.

Next, Fudd folded his short, chubby arms, then unfolded them, and finally sort of held them halfway folded. "King Elliot, please don't go."

"Don't worry," Elliot said. "I'll come back. Kovol won't wake up." Elliot hoped if he said the words enough, they would come true.

"But what if the Fairies find out you're helping the Pixies? They won't like it."

"Even if they did find out, what could the Fairies do to me that the Pixies haven't already done?"

Fudd shook his head. "King Elliot, I have to tell you something." Then he fell silent.

"What?" Elliot finally asked.

Fudd coughed. "I own this book, The Guidebook to Evil Plans. It clearly states, 'Choose your friendships carefully. Good friends might weaken your evil plans. On the other hand, evil friends might destroy you so that they can take over your plans (page 16)."

Elliot waited for Fudd to explain why he was saying this. Finally, Fudd shrugged and said, "There's nothing else. I was just quoting."

Elliot asked, "Fudd, do you support me as king?"

Fudd's beady eyes shifted. "I wish you didn't have to ask, Your Highness. My point is that you need to be careful out there. The Fairies want Glimmering Woods just as much as the Pixies do. They won't be happy about this."

"They can join the club," Elliot said. "I'm not happy about this either." Then he jumped a bit as Mr. Willimaker poofed back on his right side and Patches appeared on his left.

"I found bread," Mr. Willimaker said.

"No, I found it," Patches corrected him. She held a large bundle in her arms. "Actually, I put together a whole bunch of human food. Sorry for my dad, Elliot. He doesn't know all the food humans like."

"I just drank Mushroom Surprise," Elliot said. "I liked that."

Patches made a face. "Don't you know what the surprise is?"

"No."