p is for Phaedra

Phaedra is a character from Fairy Tail; her mother is the fairy Matisse, her father the King of Ghent. This is an excerpt from when Phaedra is about ten years old:


And this, Matisse found, proved to be the most difficult trait to hide: the ability to know what other creatures liked. All fairies had the ability to some degree, some more than others. But it was particularly strong in Matisse’s family and Phaedra possessed the talent in abundance.

For example, she knew just how the cats liked to be petted. The orange tom especially liked to be scratched behind the ears while the old black one enjoyed being petted from head to tail. Only the calico liked having her belly stroked, so much so that her purr became a rather loud rumble even before Phaedra ever began.

The birds liked seeds or bread or raisins or insects and Phaedra knew exactly who liked what. The dogs generally liked anything offered though they were particularly fond of tummy rubs and ham bones. As for the King, why he positively beamed when she crawled into his lap on the throne and kissed his whiskery face, while Queen Olivia could be brought to tears when Phaedra put her little arms about the royal neck and said, “You’re so pretty, Mummy. I love you.”

And of course all of this got Phaedra nearly anything she asked for. How could anyone resist? She gave everyone exactly what they wanted.