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Tinkerbell was annoyed.
And her annoyance could be traced back to none other than the red-headed, single minded, outrageously obsessive friend, Peter Pan.
Now, Tinkerbell was a fair creature; although her tiny body could only feel one emotion at any given time. And she wanted to keep an eye out on Jane and Danny just as much as Peter did. Perhaps even more.
Tinkerbell would not soon forget the young girl who had saved her life with the power of belief. And though Jane was Peter Pan’s friend as well, there was a special connection that the fairy had with the daughter of Wendy.
So, when it was Wendy’s figure that greeted her in the window rather than Jane, the fairy became determined to keep an eye out on the girl once she found Jane and Danny’s now countryside dwelling. But once Peter found out Jane was somewhere other than her own home, it was as if Neverland had turned topsy turvy in his desire to find Jane and keep her safe.
Peter Pan could become that way sometimes. Tinkerbell was almost certain that fairy blood rested in his veins with the way he could singularly focus and feel upon one certain thing.
So, on the orders of the boy who never grew up, Tinkerbell flew across the countryside of England every evening searching for her dear friend.
And, after several weeks of fruitless searching, the tinker fairy was becoming desperate. She had nearly exhausted every extra pixie dust portion from Terrence. She had asked Fawn if the mainland animals had any sign of the sibling pair. Even begged Iridesca to search the rays of the sun towards the earth during the daylight hours for any possible evidence that Jane was near.
But no amount of her thinking or asking or resources were helping her get any closer to Jane.
What annoyance she had felt at Peter dissipated into a lonely kind of sadness. Her heart ached that no matter what she did, no matter what avenue she had tried, she had yet to find the children of Wendy. And for all Peter’s obsessive behavior, he had no better luck at finding them than herself.
The sun was waning across the horizon, promises of a peaceful evening dancing in the gentle breeze. Tinkerbell rode that soft wind just a few moments more.
Just one more house. One more. Then I will go back.
And she would have to after “one more house”. Her reserves of pixie dust would last no longer than that.
She flew over the next rise on the hilly land, and the last house for this latest excursion came to view.
And oh, what a house that final house was. Tinkerbell had never been met with such grandiose as such a house could offer. And there were gardens and woods and wildlife surrounding it, as if enclosing the brick structure in the safety of its embrace. High towers rose up from the ground as if kissing the sky. And rows upon windows lined to look on the beauty beyond. Windows enough to fill the faces of many children.
Her heart lifted at such a cheerful sight. But there was something else. Something else within the house that caused her heart to lighten as only it did whenever she was home.
And there! Oh there! What joy!! A child! A girl, a little girl, sitting in the garden, reading a book and humming happily!
Tinkerbell raced towards the humming girl, barely mindful of her dust any longer. For the joy at seeing the short dark brown hair of dear Jane. Beautiful, shoulder length, chestnut hair….
Tinkerbell stopped her flight one second too late.
Jane’s hair was not the color of chestnuts.
And the freckle faced, blue eyed girl staring at the frozen fairy was not Jane.
Her form remained completely petrified in midair, her tiny heart hammering in her tiny chest, the joy forgotten in the face of sudden horror.
That is, until the little girl smiled at her. A gentle, knowing smile.
“Hello little dear friend,” she said softly, as if she knew that fairies’ ears were sensitive. “My name is Lucy. What is yours?”
Tinkerbell gaped, flabbergasted.
The girl, Lucy, laughed quietly.
“It’s alright,” she continued. “You don’t have to tell me your name. But, would you be able to tell me how Queen Clarion is?”
Tinkerbell’s eyes widened.
“How do you know the queen?” she asked, before regretfully remembering that human children could not hear her words. Only Peter could understand her without the help of charades.
Then, she felt it again. That feeling when she had first seen the house on the horizon. That thrum of home. Of a deep magic like from which Pixie Hollow had been born.
“Oh, I have known Queen Clarion for many years,” Lucy continued, as Tinkerbell’s jaw dropped that the girl had continued the conversation as though she had actually heard her.
“Last I knew,” Lucy continued, “She was attempting to find a better way to utilize the effects of the moonstone for the blue fairy dust.”
“She did!” Tinkerbell exclaimed, forgetting her confusion for the apparent moment. “I helped her to do it!”
“Oh, I am glad,” Lucy replied, clapping her hands gently. “I knew that a tinker fairy would get the job done.”
“A tinker fairy? You recommended the tinker fairies?!”
“Why, of course! My own laugh gave birth to a tinker fairy!”
“Wow! It did? I wonder which fairy…... WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!!!”
And the human child, Lucy, folded her hands, and waited patiently as Tinkerbell’s mind raced back into place.
Whilst Tinkerbell, fairy that she was, took her time to formulate the many thoughts that started racing through her head.
“You heard me,” she stated, pointing at the girl. “You heard me. You understood me. You know about Queen Clarion. You know about the moonstone. You knew I was a tinker fairy. And you know about fairy laughs.”
Not questions. All statements. And Lucy nodded at the end of each sentence.
“I don’t understand,” said Tinkerbell softly.
“I don’t think you have to Tinkerbell,” Lucy replied. The thrum of magic became ever stronger around the two. “Even a tinker fairy doesn’t have to understand everything.”
“How do you know my name?!” Tinkerbell shrieked. “I didn’t tell you!”
“You didn’t, that’s true. But Jane lives in the professor’s house with me, and she tells many stories about you.”
Tinkerbell began to think that she had had enough excitement for one day. Because the very next thought shrieking through her head was:
“YOU KNOW JANE!!!”