THE RETURN OF THE FAIRIES TO SKYE Once upon a time, not so long ago and not so far away, on the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland, two green-clad soldiers of the sìthichean hurried through the pine trees over rocky ground. They were heading for the land-side entrance of the looming Castle MacLeod with its crenelled, grey stone walls and towers. The castle sat on a jagged crag overlooking the crashing waves and swirling turmoil of the sea at the base of a fifty-foot-high cliff. Between the soldiers and the castle was a ravine. As the sun began its slow descent toward the sea, the trees and boulders made long shadows across the heather- and gorse-covered ascent to the castle. “Oh, no!” “What’s wrong now, Iain?” Sean turned and looked back to see Iain grasping his ankle. “My foot is caught under one of these tree roots. You must help me, Sean.” “At this rate, we’re never going to get there,” Sean said as he grabbed Iain’s ankle. “Ouch! Ouch! Don’t pull so hard.” “There, your foot is free. For goodness sake, look where you’re going. The sun’s close to setting, and then it will be too late. We can’t waste a minute. If we don’t find the Flag before sunset, The Portal will close and we will be separated from our own kind, never to see them again. Come on!” Iain picked up his Balmoral bonnet and slapped off the pine needles before placing it back on his head. He puffed along trying to keep up with Sean despite his sore toe, which caused him to hop every second step. “Now where is this flag supposed to be found? Just suppose we can’t find it?” “Am Bratach Sìth is its proper name—the Fairy Flag. We must find it, Iain. Everything depends on us succeeding in our mission. You remember how the Queen and King admonished us not to fail or we’d be letting down all the sìthichean.” “Yes, yes, I do remember. Of course I remem- ber. We had a very nice breakfast that day with the King and Queen—oatmeal porridge with cream and butter. I do love porridge.” Iain smiled at the memory as he struggled to keep up with Sean. “Well, there’ll be no more porridge for you if we don’t rescue the Flag. So, get a move on.” “This hill is getting steeper and steeper. Why aren’t you out of breath, Sean? I’ve got to take a minute.” “You’re out of breath because you eat too many oatcakes, and when the King wants us to practice marching, you’re nowhere to be seen.” “That’s not fair, Sean. I was on at least one march last month.” “Alright, you’re in fine fettle. So, let’s go. We’re almost there.” The last bit of the climb was the steepest. They hid behind one of the boulders strewn about the grounds of the castle to catch their breath. “That’s strange, Iain. I don’t see anyone guarding the place. And the drawbridge is down.” “Listen. Do you hear the bagpipes and drums? They’re having a parade of some sort. Look, there are some people gathered near the entrance. We may be in luck. They’ll be so busy with the entertain- ment they won’t notice us slipping into the castle,” Iain said. “Not so fast, my friend. There’s a child looking in our direction. Duck down and let’s hope she loses interest.” “What would the people do if they saw us, Sean?” “Probably set the dogs on us.” “But we’re fairies, Sean, not pine martins or cap- ercaillies or something.” “They don’t believe in fairies anymore, Iain. It’s not fashionable.” “How did it become not fashionable?” “Something about us being just superstitions.” “Superstitions. Well, I’m right here sitting on the ground—with a sore toe—so how can I be a superstition?” “Don’t know, Iain, but please stop talking so loudly. I don’t want to find out what they’d do if they knew we were here. There, she’s gone back to watching the parade. Let’s get to the castle. I’m worried that the sun will set before we can complete our mission.” “Let’s make a run across the drawbridge for the bottom step of the main entrance,” Iain said. Sean ran and Iain hopped, furtively scanning their surroundings for possible danger. They were grateful for the shadows cast by the setting sun. As they reached the moss-covered stone steps, Sean whispered, “Be careful! If someone sees you, all will be lost forever! Hurry!” He scrambled up the first step. “I’m having a hard time...