The Clockwork Faeries Nivia and Luminari Go to the Moon, Sort Of

The Clockwork Faeries Nivia and Luminari Go to the Moon, Sort Of

The Clockwork Faeries Nivia and Luminari Go to the Moon, Sort Of. Characters created by Sarah Frey and Margaret Frey Story and Illustration 2014 by Margaret Frey

When visiting down in Luminari's underground laboratory one day, Nivia asked, Why don't you ever go outside? Is it because you're shy?" "No," said Luminari, "It's because the sun hurts my eyes, and makes my skin turn a very painful purple. And I m shy." Still, you could go out at night. Luminari blinked at her, Night? Yes. When the Sun is on the other side of the planet, and it is dark out on this side, explained Nivia. Oh no, said Luminari. The Sun could come back at any moment and then I would be stuck outside. It really couldn t. All you would have to do is keep track of the time on the clock and you would know when we ll be facing the Sun again. Really? said Luminari, amazed. In fact, said Nivia, checking one of the many gizmos pinned to her jacket, the Sun has been down for at least an hour now. We would have plenty of time to wander around outside. Nivia grabbed her friend s arm and marched out of the castle, through the cavern, through the twisty caves, and out into the cool evening under the trees. Luminari fidgeted and looked around curiously, then exclaimed, Look! My flowers made it all the way out here! while pointing to the huge blossoms with the yellow furry stripes. They certainly did, agreed Nivia. Boy, did they cause a lot of trouble. Look at these trees! They re so tall. Let s go a little farther, Nivia said. You should see the sky if you want to see something really high. See Nivia #1: Nivia the Clockwork Faery Solves the Riddle of the Purple Flowers and Finds a New Friend

When they emerged from the woods, Luminari was speechless. They could see a long way down the hill to mountains in the distance, and the glittering waters of a lake. What is that? she said, pointing toward the sky. That? Just the Moon, said Nivia, pleased that she could show her clever friend so many new things. I want to go there! exclaimed Luminari, enthusiastically. Then let s go! said Nivia, wondering why she had never thought of it before. So they took off, flying straight toward the Moon, going higher than Nivia had ever gone before. But in a very short while, it began to be very cold, and it became hard to breathe, and their wings didn t have any more air to push against. They gasped in the thin air, and fell down, down, down, almost crashing back into the ground. Luminari took a minute to breathe, then said, Oh my gosh! There s no air up there! I know! said Nivia. Who knew? I m going to have to invent something if we want to get all the way to the Moon, said Luminari.

So for a whole week, Nivia brought supplies and sandwiches while her friend tinkered around in the basement laboratory. When Luminari was done, the final result looked very familiar to Nivia. In fact, it looked just like the hovering bee tool bag Luminari had previously made for her. Only bigger. You have a thing for bees, don t you? Nivia asked. Bees are very industrious, said Luminari. Luminari showed Nivia around the new invention, explaining, It has enough space for the two of us, plus plenty of air for us to breathe, and it has rockets on the outside so that it can move even when there isn t any air outside. I m going to call it a Flying Room. It s brilliant, declared Nivia, but how are we going to get it out of your basement? Luminari grinned shyly and pulled a lever. An enormous section of wall slid away to reveal a large tunnel sloping upward. It was more than large enough for the Flying Room. They couldn t wait to get going, so they didn t. The Flying Room whooshed through the tunnel and up into the sky so fast that Nivia and Luminari sank down into their seats. Nivia watched proudly as Luminari nimbly guided the new invention closer and closer to the bright, round object in the night sky. Finally they landed.

Luminari handed Nivia a shiny, silver outfit with a helmet on it. I also invented these special suits so we can walk on the Moon and bring our own air with us. Look, Nivia! Yours has a special attachment for your hair. It fit just right. They stepped out, in their shiny new suits, onto the surface. They were a little disappointed. It s smaller than I expected, said Nivia, speaking through the little radios Luminari had put in their suits. There was just barely enough space on the surface for the two of them and the Flying Room. Yeah. And I think it might be hollow, said Luminari, thumping it with a foot. Wait! This is no moon! And just then, a little ways below them, a door opened in the side of the not-moon, and someone in his own shiny, silver suit poked his head out. Um. Hullo. You re thumping my space pod, said the newcomer. Oh. So sorry! We thought it was the Moon. You see, my friend wanted so very much to see it. And Nivia explained how Luminari couldn t go out in the sunlight, and how it had led them here. It s a good thing you ran into me, then, said the Moon Boy. You see, the Moon only shines so brightly because it reflects light from the Sun. So, if you had made it to the light side of the Moon, you would be standing in sunlight. Also, could you help me get home?

It seems Moon Boy had been very clever about getting up into the sky by means of an enormous slingshot, but he had miscalculated. Instead of landing on the Moon, he had been orbiting it for some time before Nivia and Luminari showed up. Luckily, the rockets on Luminari s Flying Room could be turned around for landing, so they had no trouble getting home. Nivia, Luminari, and Moon Boy were so thankful to have met each other, that they planned many successful adventures together ever after.