Suddenly, Puck fell to his knees. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Sabrina rushed to him, knelt down, and used her scarf to wipe them away.
"When I was barely out of diapers he took me aside and told me I would never be king. He said I was a disappointment to him and he would never give up his throne to me. I went to my mother in tears and she explained him to me. She said he was worried about the kingdom's future and feared that his successor would destroy it--even if that successor was his own son. But my mother swore that one day I would wear the crown, and he would never see it coming. Until then, I would have my own kingdom. Then she gave me my name: the Trickster King. I've worn it proudly ever since.
"When I got older he tried to force me to marry Moth. So I told the old man he was nuts. Disobeying your father is a crime in our world. He banished me. But, here I am, the King of Faerie anyway. My mother was right. He never saw it coming."
He stood up and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "If you tell anyone I was crying, you'll regret it, pus-brain."
"I won't tell, stinkpot," Sabrina said affectionately. "Looks like you and me finally have something in common."
"What's that?"
"Families we're not sure we want to be part of," Sabrina replied.
"The old lady told me you're quitting," Puck said.
"I'm not quitting. I'm retiring. You can't quit something you never wanted to do in the first place," Sabrina said defensively.
"You can't quit something you never tried either."
"I tried! But people got hurt when I tried," Sabrina said. "Look at Mr. Canis, and you!"
"Oh, poor Sabrina. Such a walking disaster. I was there. Mr. Canis didn't get hurt because you were being stupid. You were the one that saved him, and the rest of us. If you hadn't done what you did we'd all be dead. The truth is, and I hate to admit it, but you're a hero and a pretty good one. You help people when no one else can. From what I hear that's what your mother did, too. It's in your blood, and blood isn't something you can walk away from."
"When did you suddenly become Mister Maturity?"
Puck laughed. "Don't worry. It won't last." Then he belched in her face. "See! It's over."
"So, I guess you're going to have to stay and take over what's left of Faerie," Sabrina said softly.
Before Puck could answer, there was a loud commotion up on the hill overlooking the river. People were shouting and screaming.
Puck and Sabrina looked at each other and then ran to find out what was going on.
Mr. Hamstead was lying on the ground. Bess knelt beside him. Tony Fats was hovering above the couple with clenched fists. Poor Mr. Hamstead looked as if he had been socked in the eye.
"I told you to leave my girl alone!" Tony Fats yelled.
"And I told you I'm not your girl anymore, Tony!" Bess cried.
Mr. Hamstead crawled to his feet. "Bess, I can handle this." He turned to Tony Fats. "Is this how you want to do it? That's fine with me."
The two men rushed at each other, throwing fists and landing horrible blows. Tony Fats was the first to fall but he quickly got up and knocked Mr. Hamstead into a mud puddle. The portly man fell with a painful thud.
Sabrina spotted Mr. Canis in the crowd. He was watching as if he had no concern for his friend. Sabrina raced to him and tugged on his sleeve. "We have to stop this. Mr. Hamstead is going to get hurt."
Mr. Canis shook his head. "The pig is tougher than he looks, child."
"Tony Fats is twice his size!" Sabrina cried. "And the Wolf is four times his size and Hamstead had no trouble taking me down. As I said, he's tougher than he looks."
Tony Fats kicked Hamstead mercilessly, forcing him to flounder in the mud. Each time their friend tried to get up, Tony attacked, keeping him on his hands and knees.
"You don't come to my town and steal my girl!" Tony Fats bellowed. "You don't know who you're messing with."
"Leave him alone, Tony!" Bess demanded.
Tony's face twisted into a demented smile. "I've got to teach your friend here how we do it in the big city." He lifted his leg to deliver another nasty kick, but this time Hamstead caught it. He pulled hard and Tony Fats fell onto his back. Hamstead leaped onto him and the two men wrestled for dominance.
Then, all at once, Sabrina saw a magic wand appear in Tony Fats's hand.
"Hamstead, look out!" Canis roared.